Chapter 32
476 Words
Chapter 32
“We have a fast-sweep radar ahead.” Henderson’s comment was calm, uninflected.
“That’s a problem. They weren’t there when we were inbound.” Beale had jerked them to a standstill.
Without asking, the crew chiefs had shoved open their access doors and had their hands on their miniguns.
“Did they hear us on our inbound leg?”
“We entered five clicks to the west. Unless they’ve lit up the whole border.”
Daniel and the two Koreans leaned over to look out the cabin windows. Some vague glimmer of light revealed that they were hovering only a few feet above an open meadow. Trees ahead and to the side were visible as dark blotches in front of the stars.
“We have to climb to get out of here. Twenty-five feet at least. That will put us right in their eyes. All we’re hearing now is the spillover and reflections. They won’t have any signal on us yet.”
The Koreans conversed briefly over the intercom and the guard spoke for the first time since boarding.
“Tests. Last five minutes, no more minutes. We conserve power, no continuous radar.” He tried to speak proudly.
But Daniel could hear the bluff, read between the lines. Either they were unsophisticated enough to think that leaving them off most of the time meant they weren’t known and mapped; unlikely. Or, more likely, they didn’t have sufficient fuel to justify constant operation of the power draining equipment. North Korea had many problems, food and fuel shortages nearing the top of those lists.
Daniel started the lapse timer on his watch.
They knew Pyongyang was surrounded by more anti-aircraft guns than all other cities in the world combined. Over six hundred known sites surrounded the city. Hence their remote country meeting at one of Kim Jong-un’s vacation retreats.
But the border was also guarded.
If the radar sweep spotted their helicopter, they might still get out, but they’d never manage to get the Supreme Leader back in with the whole country on alert for an invasion.
The guard started to speak and Daniel could see him waved to silence. He tried again, but finally relented at the sharpness of his leader’s gesture.
So, they sat and waited.
Daniel stared at his watch through three minutes. Then four. Then five. He closed his eyes and did his best to not count in his head. To not think about the sheer mass of weaponry planted about them. North Korea’s weaponry was old, but current estimates stated that they were so heavily armed they could throw over sixty-thousand tons of highly explosive shells into the air in the first minute.
“It has been seven minutes,” Beale stated.
Daniel could feel the sweat soaking this palms, his forehead, his thoughts—murky, confused. His breath was short. Ragged.
“There we go.” Henderson sounded cheerful enough that Daniel’s thoughts of imminent death eased slightly.
“Sky reads clear. We’ll give them another minute.”
Daniel spent the very long sixty seconds blessing the people who had trained this flight crew and designed the equipment they used to keep him alive.
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