He smiled as he took a taxi
to the airport and it was almost guaranteed he would be long gone
by the time the body was discovered. Two hours from the time he
left strawberry nose, he landed in Chicago. No problem going
through immigration and he took a flight to Boise, Idaho. He
changed ID back to Clyde Walker of Wenatchee and took a flight to
Spokane. From Spokane he bought a used car and drove to Arden to
look it over before flying from Spokane to Seattle to pick up his
SUV in long term parking.
He cruised into Arden and
spotted the convenience store with a gas station attached. He
walked in and right away noticed Koreans were running the place. He
thought, they are everywhere, these Asians. You can’t go anywhere
anymore without running into these people who can’t speak English.
He gave the guy a fifty dollar bill and told him it was a fill up.
Walking back out he was on full alert as he realized Arden was on
the FBI list of where he might strike again. Filling his car with
gas he looked around for cameras and spotted too many for an
average place like this out in the country side. He finished up and
slowly walked back into the store. He saw more cameras as he
wandered around under the pretense of looking for snacks. He picked
up a bag of chips and a bottle of juice. He was, he noticed the
only one in the store and both Koreans were pretending to be busy
behind the counter. Two cameras stared at him while he waited for
his change. After receiving his change he winked at the camera and
left the store having said nothing other than a fill up for
gas.
He drove from one end of
town to the other and left for Spokane. John loved this area and
drove around Spokane and over in Idaho. Four hours later he drove
to the airport and left his car with the keys in it for someone’s
use. A short flight to Sea-Tac and he was in his SUV driving back
up I-5 to the cut off to Wenatchee over the North Cascade pass down
the east side to Wenatchee. Back in his little room he decided to
do some letter writing and take a few months off. That last kill in
Anacortes was too close for comfort, he thought. That Brad Pratt
and his team were good; maybe too good. He told himself he must
make a plan for Arden that will knock the socks off the FBI and the
Pratt Team. Meanwhile, as summer came and the tourists flocked to
the valley, he might do some fishing.
Chapter 16
The weather in South Korea
in May has nice warm days. June begins the hot and muggy weather of
the Monsoon season. Sujin, having lived on the coast of Oregon for
so long didn’t like the humid summers in Korea. However, her visit
pleased her mother and her agent as she could finish up her
collection of photos for a showing she had promised months ago. Her
parents were not poor. Quite the contrary, they were well off and
kept both bedrooms and her dark room at the ready in case either
daughter came home. They lived in the ubiquitous apartment
buildings you see in any city in South Korea. In Sujin’s father’s
apartment was not just one four bedroom apartment, but it was
connected to another two bedroom apartment for the future when
grandkids would come stay along with their daughter’s
husbands.
Brad sat with his father in
law’s apartment enjoying a visit and more tasty Korean food. His
father in law spoke passable English and was well connected from
his government position that Brad had no idea what department he
worked for. He’d found that secrecy as to what a lot of high
ranking officials did or didn’t do was very complex. His father in
law, Taejin, or Mr. Kim as he preferred to be called, was typical
of that hierarchy. He knew what Brad’s mission was and now as they
sat eating and drinking some soju, which Brad detested, some
general conversation about the current events was going around the
table with another government official present. After dinner the
real discussion would begin. But now they enjoyed the visit of
their daughter and Brad, and of course the welcome news of the baby
coming.
After dinner the men
retired to Taejin’s study. Sujin stayed with her mother and
grandmother. Brad would tell her later what transpired at the
meeting. Taejin was the first to speak. He said, “Brad we have an
office in one of our buildings from which your team can operate
from. Accommodations are nearby in a hotel that caters to
foreigners. Now if you please, tell us your plan.”
Brad thanked them for the
hospitality for his team and went on to say, “I will assume the
role of a monk and my area of operation will be the border city of
Dandong. If there is any intelligence to be discovered it will be
there. As you know, obtaining reliable information is slim to none.
However, sometimes we get lucky and maybe among the large
population of North Koreans hiding out, an official might be found
who has some factual information. If you have or know something I
should know, now is the time to tell me. If not tomorrow I will get
a haircut and see into the space you have for my team. After that,
I will make my way into China through my usual contacts. The team
will arrive in a few days and they know what is needed and what to
do. Contact from me will be limited and through my hand phone I
will stay in touch as often as I can. Do you have any questions and
if you do I would be glad to answer them, but not much else I can
tell you until I put myself in place.”
Both men looked at one
another and Taejin said, “We don’t have any questions, but tomorrow
we can have you meet our North Korean expert and maybe then some
questions might arise. Thank you Brad for coming to our rescue; the
world I fear doesn’t realize the dangerous situation it's in at the
present time. The leader of North Korea has some funny ideas and is
playing a dangerous game with half of a once great nation. We have
continually given freely our aid and have promised further aid if
they would only discuss rationally today’s need for a nuclear free
peninsula.” Brad nodded his agreement and stood up following his
father in laws rise to end the meeting. Bows and handshakes with
formal manners put the final touch on a short but effective
meeting.
That night, in their own
room, Brad talked about the meeting expressing his doubts of much
success in finding intelligence to affirm or deny the existence of
nuclear weapons in North Korea. Sujin said she was happy to be home
and that she missed her family. She said, “Brad I’m so scared for
my family living so close to the border with the North. I want them
to come to our house, but you know my father, he will not leave his
beloved Korea. He and his kind, old members so conservative still
believe that not even a madman like Jong il would destroy the
peninsula just to prove he could do it in front of the United
States. Maybe I can talk mother in coming to the States while I
have our baby.”
“I’d like that,” Brad said
with sincerity. “Your father and my father have never met so maybe
we can put the two of them together for some past reflections of
his beloved Korea.”
“I will tell mother
tomorrow about what we talked about. I have a full schedule for the
next couple weeks. In about a month my agent tells me we will have
a showing that he says will,” and she laughed, “rock the socks off
the people.”
Brad held her close and
laughed with her. She thought he was so sensitive and thanked her
lucky stars she met him so long ago on a rocky mountain trail not
knowing whether he would live or die. Now she knew he was going
back in harm’s way. Never had she met a man who cared for his
fellow man like Brad did. His continuous battle against evil would
one day prove his undoing, but to her, that would be all right.
Meanwhile the world should pay homage to someone who gives
unselfishly to others. And with those thoughts they fell asleep in
each other’s arms.
The next day, after Brad
called home and talked to his team, who were anxious to join him in
South Korea, gave them the go ahead. Brad, once he thought about it
decided it would not be unusual for a monk to have a dog. He told
Mike to bring Rocky with him when they came. Not long after that
sitting in a downtown office around a conference table with
government officials Brad listened through a set of headphones for
translation of the opening statements and introductions. His
knowledge of Korean was good, but it was always a good idea to have
a professional back up his hearing. Now as he listened to some
bureaucrat ramble on and on about what a good sport they had been
sending countless tons of rice and cement to the North he was
getting a little fed up with listening to the old man with thick
glasses speak. Spittle was flying and he had the bad habit of
adjusting his glasses when they were perfectly level. By adjusting
it made him look queer with one side higher than the other. Finally
he sat down, adjusting his glasses once more and taking a long pull
on bottled water.
The next man to speak, from
a dozen or more men sitting around the table, was a young man in
his early forties. Soft spoken and when he stood up, said, “For our
honored guest I will speak his native language.” Quickly the others
picked up their headphones and listened. Brad was impressed with
the man. Later he found out he was educated in America and England.
Political Science was his field and he gave Brad a succinct account
of what he knew of the North Korean’s attempt to go nuclear. There
was in fact nothing new in his report, but Brad liked him for his
straight forward account of his knowledge of the
subject.
After the meeting a long
lunch was endured by Brad and his father in law apologized later
for the boring afternoon. Brad assured him he wasn’t bored as he
needed time to digest and sort fact from fiction. Brad always made
the person he was talking to feel he or she was the most important
person for the moment at least. Cross the line and he would cut
your heart with his subtle sarcastic remarks you would have to
think about while he was long gone from your presence.
Now waiting for his team to
arrive Brad went to the local bath house known as a Mok Yuk Tong.
There he enjoyed a hot water bath and a haircut. The barber thought
he was strange to cut off all his lovely blonde hair. Brad knew he
was gay and inwardly smiled when he saw tears well up in his eyes
while he ran the clippers across his head, he felt he should have
gave him a tip. But in Korea, tips are not allowed and it is bad
manners to offer a tip.
Back at home Sujin raise an
eyebrow when she saw her husband hairless after he took off his
ball cap. He looked ridiculous and then she laughed and said, “Wait
until Rocky sees you and the rest of the team.” He laughed with her
and gave her a hug, but looked around first to make sure mother or
grandmother didn’t see him showing affection in public. Her father
didn’t come until later, which is usual for a Korean man, and the
rest of them spent a quiet evening looking at her photos. Brad sat
on the sofa looking at his wife scamper around on the floor
arranging here and there until she was satisfied all was in
order.
Suddenly with Sujin
scampering around the floor reminded him when they were in place
looking down into a very small valley at the terrorist training
camp. The afternoon sun was behind them so any reflection or
movement would be difficult to see. Brad was trying to get a fix
with his handheld GPS and moving around for a better look see. Then
without warning Sujin leaped up and with her feet took out a guard
who was on the lookout above the camp. Before Brad could move to
help her, he lay dead with his throat cut. From that day forward,
he knew she could take care of herself. She looked up at him and
without a smile, wiped her knife off on the dead man and placed it
back in its sheath located in the small of her back. Brad had been
so preoccupied with is GPS, without her he might be dead today and
the mission a complete failure.
He woke from his flash back
when his wife was shaking his legs. He looked into her eyes and she
knew he was back in the mountains fighting his demons. She handed
him a cup of strong tea and went back playing with her
pictures.
About midnight his phone
rang with Mike telling him they were at the airport waiting on
Billy who was having a nicotine fit while waiting for their bags to
show up. Mike laughed and so did Brad about Billy needing four
nicotine patches for the crossing of the Pacific Ocean. Brad told
them the address and Mike said not to worry as someone was here
from the government to pick them up. Brad signed off saying he
would meet them at their hotel in the morning for
breakfast.
Rocky went a little crazy
the next morning when he saw his master and Sujin. He made sounds
from his throat of affection and greeting. Sujin let him lick her
face and Brad gave him a big hug telling him words of greetings
back to his long tall black ears. A Korea guide accompanied them
and Sujin explained the role of the big black dog. Koreans as a
rule love animals and have many dogs living with them, but not
usually this big. Billy was standing outside having his morning
injection of nicotine and followed them into the restaurant. The
restaurant was set up for both Koreans and foreigners with tables
without chairs and with chairs. For everyone’s convenience they sat
at a table with chairs.
Brad cut to the chase when
he asked about any news of the serial killer. Wendy spoke first and
said, “We have him on tape in Arden. When he left he winked at the
camera. That is all we have at this time.”
“What is your take on what
he is doing or what he might be thinking of doing next,
Wendy.”