Even though the entry points were only a handful of blocks from the safe house, it was still a highly complicated process. Having to move one princeling every hour would only add to the difficulty.
If their tradecraft had failed and any of them were being followed, that added a whole additional layer. Using Chinatown, especially on a busy night, put the odds in his favor. But nothing was a sure thing, especially when the FBI was involved. He was alone and had no backup. Everything would have to be executed flawlessly.
Unit 61398 had tapped into security cameras around Chinatown, creating an overwatch grid he could monitor from his laptop. It wasn’t perfect. There were numerous blind spots. But it was better than nothing.
With his safe house checklist complete, he exited the building and began to explore the neighborhood.
As he walked, he mentally mapped every face, every parked car, and every location for a potential ambush. Within two hours, he knew the area as well as if he had lived there for two years.
It was a surreal sensation knowing that all of the life around him was about to come to an abrupt and painful halt.
CHAPTER 52
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NORTH KOREA
Navy SEAL Lieutenant Jimi Fordyce had a million and one questions he wanted to ask, but he settled on the first one that had come into his mind: “Dude, what the fuck happened in there?”
Billy Tang’s hands and sleeves were stained with blood. “Some Chinese officer cut himself. Came in looking for the doc. I got to practice medicine without a license.”
“Did you smoke him?”
“I had to.”
“Shit,” Fordyce muttered.
“The body’s locked in the exam room. Nobody’s going to find him until the morning.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No,” said Tang. “I’m good.”
“Did we get what we needed?”
Tang nodded and handed Fordyce the patch he had taken off the dead Chinese soldier.
“What’s this?”
“A scalp. Let’s get moving and I’ll tell you the rest.”
“Wait,” said Fordyce as he tucked it into his pocket. “What about Ginseng’s sister?”
Tang shook his head. “She didn’t make it.”
Though nothing had been discussed, much less agreed to, Fordyce had half-expected to see Tang come bolting out of the camp with the girl in tow or over his shoulder. After everything their family had been through, those children deserved a happy ending. But happy endings in North Korea were in exceedingly short supply.
After retrieving their packs, they chose their path back up over the mountain as carefully as they could, but they needed to move quickly. The side trip to the infirmary had already cost them and Tang’s being forced to spend extra time inside had only put them further behind schedule. If they were not at the rendezvous location on time, Hyun Su would leave without them. Those had been his orders.
At the top of the ridgeline, they found some concealment and stopped to take their first break. It had been a grueling climb and both men were sucking wind. Fordyce activated his radio and sent one click, followed by two more. A moment later, his message was answered with a single click. Tucker and Johnson were halfway down on the other side waiting for them.
Though both men were still heaving, Fordyce gave them only a minute more before signaling that it was time again to move.
The way down was no less dangerous than the way up. Gravity was like a dull narcotic tugging at their tired bodies, offering to help them get down the mountain faster if only they’d give in. Fordyce knew all too well that if they sped up, their chances of injury would go through the roof. They had made it this far without incident and he intended to see the entire team back to the coast and to their extraction in one piece.
Hitting the loose scree, they lost their footing several times. Recovering was like catching a pencil rolling off a desk. If you didn’t react immediately, the opportunity was gone. Both Fordyce and Tang took one good stumble each, the momentum of coming downhill only adding to the difficulty of pulling out of the fall. By the time they reached the tree line, their mouths were dry, their bodies were covered in perspiration, and their legs were on fire. But they had picked up some of their lost time. Fordyce signaled another rest break.
Activating his radio, he transmitted a different series of clicks and then waited. Moments later, he received a response and began scanning the terrain beneath them.