CHAPTER 31
UNIT: Dawn and Slover
SITUATION: Solving Personal
LOCATION: Near Jagwi’s New Chamber
TIME: 0330 hours Local Time, the Same Morning
“Dammit, Slover. What’s your game now?”
“My game?”
“Yes. I don’t know when to believe you anymore. The North Koreans beat you senseless and left you in a bleeding lump on the floor of a cold prison cell. The team, and I, pulled you out of that cell and brought you back. You swore that you would change. Yet you nearly brought destruction on all of us because you went whoring on Yalu Street. The thugs who followed you back to the office nearly destroyed it. Honestly, Slover. I can’t believe you.”
“Yeah, but I have changed.”
“Do you call asking me to ‘hook up’ with you changed?”
“But I was only joking.”
“Oh, were you? You certainly sounded serious to me. What if I had said I would do it with you? What would you have done?”
Silence followed her question.
“I would have done what any man would have done.”
“See. You were serious. I think you would have dragged me to the nearest bed and screwed my brains out. No romance, no foreplay, just wham, bam, thank you ma’am. Because of that, when I think of all the prostitutes on Yalu Street that you might have slept with, and all of the men they might have slept with, who might have had some sexually transmitted disease, it makes my skin crawl. No. It’s going to take your changing a whole lot more. I think you’re just temporarily embarrassed by the fact that the team knows you are responsible for the damage to the offices, and when the embarrassment wears off, you’ll go back to your old ways. You’re going to have to walk a very strict line of behavior for a long time.”
They stood in the dark. She could feel his breath on her forehead while she stood one stair step below him. He could smell her perfume as it arose with the body heat of her anger.
He stammered, “I…I pro…prom…”
“Wait. What was that noise?”
“Did it come from above?”
No. I think it came from the tunnel. Quickly. Come with me to the bottom of the stairs. There is a
“place to hide there. Don’t clomp your feet. Walk on the balls of your feet. Come on Slover. Tiptoe down.”
“At least, turn on your flashlight app.”
“No. Jagwi’s crew might see it.”
“What if it is not his crew?”
“Can’t take that chance. Come on, faster.”
They reached the bottom of the stairs. She grabbed his arm and pulled him under the stairs. “Quick, make sure your feet and your shoes are not sticking out.”
“I have pulled them in. Wait. I hear men’s voices, but I can’t make out what they are saying.”
His whisper was low. “I am hearing boot steps coming through the connecting tunnel?”
“I hear them too. Quick. Get back against the wall.”
A voice called out quietly but clearly, “Dawn, Slover, are you guys here, yet?”
Slover answered, “Harvey, is that you?”
“Yeah, where are you guys?”
Dawn turned on her flashlight app.
“Hey, nice hideout you got there. Dawn, are you guys ready?”
“Yes. And we have the GPS device. We need to get it placed and get out of here now. If Jagwi’s cohorts are watching their GPS monitor, they’ll think Jagwi is here. Let’s place it and get out of here quickly.”
“Then, let’s clear out of here, now. Slover? Are you coming or not?” He looked at Dawn. “What’s up with him?”
She shrugged and walked toward the small tunnel joining the stairwell.
Slover followed with a casual stride. He caught her attention with his eyes as he exited the small tunnel. He waved a forefinger at her as if to say, ‘Don’t say anything about our conversation.’ With his thumb, he pointed over his shoulder at the stairwell.
Dawn rolled her eyes and stomped with her right foot.
Harvey asked, “What’s going on, Dawn? What’s up?”
She shook ger head, “Nothing. Absolutely, nothing. I thought I might have understood some-thing, but I was wrong. It was absolutely, nothing.”
“Whatever you say. Slover, are you still part of the team?”
With a casual smile, he shrugged, “Completely.”
Harvey jerked his head toward where Jagwi’s unconscious body lay, “Did Jagwi just move? Did I see that?” The IFR enhancement shows his body to be warmer and brighter than the other bodies. I think he is waking up. Oh, hell. The best laid plans of mice and men, up in smoke. Cowboy, A question?”
“Yes sir. How long before Jagwi wakes up?”
“Probably within the next hour or so.”
“Shouldn’t we be doing something with him before he wakes up?”
Dawn grabbed Harvey’s arm. “A word, Mister Harvey.”
Oh, man, more of the Colonel’s ideas about Jagwi?”
“Yes, but this might actually work to our advantage.”
“What the hell? Caress my ears with words of wisdom?”
Dawn smiled a quick smile, “I don’t know about the caressing part, but this is what the Colonel said to me. He believed that we might be able use the GPS device and Jagwi’s being here to solidify the idea that would make the South Korean Communist Party think Jagwi is working for us.”
“I don’t see how that idea would play out. They have to be convinced already that Jagwi would never work for us. They saw us kidnap him from the middle of their Parade off the street in front of them.”
“Sure, but would they be suspicious later when he shows up? Wouldn’t they wonder if that wasn’t a good way to set up a covert meeting?”
“I see. Given the way the Colonel thinks, it might work. It would explain a few things, but what is the bigger picture?”
“Okay, come over here, out of the way of the team and give me a few minutes to explain.”
UNIT: Harvey and the team
LOCATION: In the Tunnel Near Jagwi’s Chamber
TIME: 0340 hours Local Time, The Same Morning

“Okay guys. Listen up. Dawn has just shared some more of Spence’s thoughts on our situation. We’ve got Jagwi just where we want him, and we would like to get away from him. Dude?”
“Isn’t that what we’ve just done? I mean, he’s over on the ground, ready to be discovered,”
“Yeah, but like Olaedoen’s tar covered water bottle, we can’t let go of him.”
“Why not?”
“We cannot because the Colonel wants to make the South Korean Communist Party think that Jagwi might have been working with us.”
“Oh, my god. Isn’t that what we have just done? Why wouldn’t they think that?”
“Do you remember the weapons cache that we found out in the tunnel?”
“Yeah?”
“Okay, Spence has received information telling him that the South Korean Communist Party is planning a move on the South Korean government to pull a political coup.”
“Are you kidding me? South Korea has millions of current soldiers and reserve soldiers that could go against a thousand Communist Party Members.”
Harvey grinned. “True, but not if they had kidnapped all the government and elected officials and threaten to kill all of them if they are attacked.”
“Oh, man. The government is currently in session. They really could kidnap the entire governing system.”
“Right. So, what we have to do is quickly inject some confusion and doubt into the Communist Party’s plans.”
“Hell, why don’t we just go tell the South Korean government about the planned coup?”
“Well, where’s our proof of a planned coup?”
“What about the weapon’s cache that was stored here in the tunnel?” was stored’ Do you really think that any of those weapons would still be anywhere near the tunnel after a battle with us that they lost? The Communists would have to know that we would tell somebody. Look around you. Tell me how much of a weapons cache do you see.”
“Well, What about? Hmm. No, that won’t work. Why can’t we just go warn them anyway?”
“Do you realize how many fake warnings they receive every year with Communists constantly trying to unsettle the government?”
“Yeah. So, how are we going to do this?
“We’re going to stage it.”
“Yeah but…Look, sir. It is obvious that we kidnapped him out of a parade in front of about a thousand parade watchers.”
“That’s part one of the staging. That was going to be his cover story. He was kidnapped by us. He couldn’t just walk over to us and have a casual conversation. No, they had to believe it.”
Dude grinned. “They certainly believed it. I was afraid we wouldn’t get out of there alive.”
“Right. Now we’ve got to make them continue to believe it.”
“Wait a minute. I think the Communists are going to be curious about him when they do get him back. They will want to know what he has told us. They might think we tortured him to make him talk.”
“That’s right. That’s part two of staging it. We have to set up a situation where, right in front of the Communist Party, we make it appear that Jagwi is colluding with us. Cowboy?”
“I’m following most of what you’re saying, but what I don’t get yet is how do we, with Jagwi’s full cooperation, do that?”
“That’s what we have to figure out.”
Mungo stood. “Look fellas, you are on the verge of overthinking this. If you will pardon the thought, our brains are addled. You’re grasping at straws Let’s get some organization into our thinking. First, we have him, according to our original plan, where we wanted him. He’s here in the tunnel. His GPS shows that he traveled to here above ground. They know he is here in the tunnel, now. Chances are they are on their way here right now, which means we need to get out of here, right now. Second, they will find an awakening Jagwi and will be glad they found him. Also, If Jagwi is as smart as he acts, when he wakes up and finds them ministering to his physical body, he will keep his mouth shut and let them rage on about the Americans having repelled their assault. Don’t forget, we have done our work. And above all, we need to get the hell out of here like right now.”
Harvey stood. “You’ve convinced me. What do you say, Dawn?”
“It sounds right to me. The Colonel did say we could improvise if necessary. My vote is to leave.”
“I agree. Everyone, mount up now."