Robert Ludlum's The Utopia Experiment - By Kyle Mills Page 0,121

than five guns were pointed at them. Orders were shouted in Korean and, though unintelligible, it seemed likely that they wanted their new captives to raise their hands and stand.

They were forced to more open ground with the guns still on them, some only a few inches from their heads. Running would almost certainly get them shot before they made it more than a few steps. And even if they did managed to slip away, what then?

A man emerged from the darkness and came to a stop directly in front of Smith. Based on the nervous deference the others gave him as he reached into his jacket, he was in command.

Instead of the expected gun, he produced a phone and held it out. His accent was thick, but the English still decipherable: “Call your boss.”

Smith just stood there. Did they still think he worked for Dresner? And if so, how could he take advantage of their confusion?

His inaction elicited a frustrated huff from the man and he began dialing the phone himself.

“Take,” he said, holding it out again.

Smith did, and listened to the ringing on the other end. Apparently, they had a way through the military’s jamming.

He was still trying to formulate some kind of plan when a familiar voice came on.

“Go ahead.”

“Fred?”

“Jon! Are you and Randi all right?”

The men lowered their guns and backed into the woods to take up perimeter positions. Randi didn’t seem sure what was happening but took the opportunity to kneel next to Kyong and examine the gash in his head.

“We’re fine. I should have known you’d be connected here.”

“The resistance movement is small and not very well organized, but there were a few people I could call on. They’ll do their best for you, but no guarantees. North Korea runs by its own set of rules and I’m afraid none of them favor you getting out.”

59

Prince George’s County, Maryland

USA

YOU TWO LOOK AWFUL!” Maggie Templeton said, actually standing up from behind her monitors to give them an apprehensive once-over.

“The aftermath of being smuggled across North Korea,” Randi said. “On foot, in boats, hidden in oil drums, on flatbeds…”

“And don’t forget under half a ton of rice on that horse-drawn cart,” Smith added.

“How could I? I still have grains stuck in places I’m not sure they’re ever going to come out of.”

It had taken the better part of two weeks, but they’d finally made it over the Chinese border, where Randi’s language skills and Covert-One’s contacts were a hell of a lot more useful.

Fred Klein appeared in his doorway and motioned them inside, taking the unusual added step of closing the door behind them.

“Sit,” he said, apparently deciding to dispense with any niceties about being happy they weren’t dead.

“We got into the facility before they destroyed it,” Randi told him, ignoring the invitation. “The scale of the human testing is worse—”

“Sit!” Klein repeated and she fell into a defiant silence, but not a chair.

Smith, on the other hand, did as he was told. Randi hadn’t worked with Klein long enough to know how out of character his tone was and to be concerned by it.

“Your investigation has ended.”

“What?” Randi said.

“Was I unclear?”

Smith shifted uncomfortably. After what he’d seen, even he would have a hard time taking that order at face value. The chances of Randi just nodding submissively were hovering around zero. When you signed on with her, you got the skills but you didn’t get the obedient soldier.

“Yes,” she said. “You were unclear.”

Based on Klein’s expression, he’d anticipated the pushback. Whether he was starting to regret bringing Randi into the fold was less obvious.

“Whitfield identified me at your cabin and went to the president. The three of us had a meeting and decided to…” He paused for a moment, considering his phrasing. “De-escalate the situation.”

“A meeting?” Randi said, the volume of her voice rising. “You had a meeting? Do you have any idea what we found in Korea? What they were doing to those people?”

“This isn’t my call to make, Randi. But the consensus is that America needs the technology and the only people looking for skeletons in Dresner’s closet are you and Jon.”

“So we’re supposed to just walk away from people who’ve been murdered, tortured, and experimented on because Jon and his soldier buddies need a new toy to play with?”

Smith passively examined an antique globe by the back wall while she stalked out and slammed the door. A string of muffled expletives was audible for a few moments as she headed for the