Page 237 of Never
Kai switched channels as instructed. A minute later a radar feed appeared superimposed over a map. However, the skies over North Korea seemed quiet after days of air war.
It was mid-afternoon before Neil returned his call. ‘I was in a meeting,’ he said in his Texan drawl. ‘My boss can talk longer than a Baptist preacher. What’s new?’
Kai said: ‘Is it possible that anyone could know what you and I discussed last time we talked?’
There was a moment of hesitation, then Neil said: ‘Oh, fuck.’
‘What?’
‘You’re using a secure phone, right?’
‘As secure as they get.’
‘We just fired someone.’
‘Who?’
‘A computer techie. He worked for the embassy, not the CIA station, but he was getting into our files anyway. We found out pretty quickly, but he must have seen my note of our conversation. Are you in trouble?’
‘Some of the things I said to you could be misinterpreted – especially by my enemies.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘The techie wasn’t spying for me, obviously.’
‘We think he was reporting to the People’s Liberation Army.’
Which meant General Huang. That was how Kai’s father had learned of the conversation. ‘Thanks for being straight with me, Neil.’
‘Right now we can’t afford to be anything else.’
‘Too damn true. I’ll talk to you soon.’
They hung up.
Kai sat back and reflected. The campaign against him was building. Now it wasn’t just gossip about Ting. Someone was trying to paint him as some kind of traitor. What he needed to do was drop everything and go head-to-head with his enemies. He should raise questions about the loyalty of Vice-Minister Li, spread rumours that General Huang had a serious gambling problem, and circulate an order that no one was to talk about Fu Chuyu’s mental health issues. But that was all bullshit and he did not have time.
Suddenly the radar came alive. The top-left corner of the screen seemed to fill with arrows. Kai found it difficult to estimate how many.
Jin Chin-hwa phoned him and said: ‘Missile attack.’
‘Yes. How many?’
‘A lot. Twenty-five, thirty.’
‘I didn’t think North Korea had that many missiles left.’
‘It might be just about their entire stockpile.’
‘The Supreme Leader’s last gasp.’
‘Watch the lower part of the screen for the South Korean response.’
But something else happened first. Another cluster of arrows appeared, also on the North Korean side but nearer to the border. Kai said: ‘What the hell…’
‘They could be drones,’ said Jin. ‘It might be my imagination but I think they’re moving more slowly.’
Missiles and drones, thought Kai; bombers are next.
