Darke Mission (49 page)

“I believe you have resigned Commodore?” asked Minister Choi.

“Yes, Sir, I have.”

“Do you think that your resignation is fair recompense for our supreme leader being down US$1bn worth of Russian submarine, Commodore?”

“No, Sir,” was all the Commodore could find.

“Neither does the supreme leader, Park. You're obviously too stupid to be in on it,” continued Choi, “and Kim Jong-un does not want to persecute the afflicted. You are stripped of your rank of Commodore and dishonourably discharged from our great people's navy. You will be taken from here to Kwan-il-so No. 22. You will spend the rest of your days there in the kitchen. Perhaps you will be capable of ensuring that no green beans are stolen from fellow prisoners' plates. In his infinite leniency, our leader has ordered that no retribution, of any type, will be sought from your family.”

“Minister,” was all Park replied. His thankfulness at being alive after the Haeju interrogation by Lee had now evaporated. Kwan-il-so was the harshest of the DPRK's penal colonies. It currently housed around 50,000 to 60,000 prisoners, mostly political and all living in desperate squalor and infection. Park doubted that there would be any green beans on prisoners' plates for him to keep tabs on. He would have been better off as a victim of the quiet man. His only morsel of comfort was that his family would not be harmed or left destitute. At least, there was that, he thought as he was taken away by the SSD officers on his way to hell.

“Vice Admiral Goh,” said Major Lee.

“Major,” responded Goh.

“It was your idea to buy the submarine from Russia, correct?”

“Yes, it was.”

“How do you think that the Korean People's Navy was going to pay for such an advanced, expensive vessel?” asked Lee.

“I understand that our supreme leader, in his infinite wisdom, had agreed to release some of the country's gold reserves to purchase the submarine,” replied Goh.

“And where do you think that these gold reserves are, Vice Admiral?” queried Choi.

“Probably in our central bank's vaults or our supreme leader's residence,” suggested Goh, wondering where this line of questioning was going.

“Well, they used to be there. On the same night the submarine was stolen Goh, our central bank, here in Pyongyang, was breached and the thieves made off with the best part, actually nearly all, of the DPRK's gold reserves,” announced Choi. Vice Admiral Goh looked genuinely shocked. He had been in the clutches of the secret police since the incident at Haeju. He knew nothing and had heard nothing about a robbery at the central bank. He said nothing.

“So, Goh,” continued Minister Choi, “it was your idea to purchase the submarine and you knew where the means of payment for it was. Incriminating, don't you think Vice Admiral?”

Goh had his senses back from the secondary shock of the central bank news.

“It is incriminating Minister, but not as far as I am concerned. I know nothing about either robbery and I demand that you release me. I am a Vice Admiral in the KPN, I have been loyal to all of our supreme leaders and I have fought with honour for my country. I am no political dissident, no criminal and certainly no thief of any description,” said Goh, with feeling.

Major Lee said nothing.

Minister Choi, with a slow insincere clapping of his hands said, “Very convincing, Goh.” He then gestured to the guards at the door of the interrogation room. The two burly SSD officers returned, part-dragging a man across the floor. He was handcuffed behind his back. Both of his legs were broken due to several hammer blows inflicted on the poor unfortunate earlier in the day by the SSD's heavies. His hair was sodden with blood and water, the latter being used to wake him up after he had fallen unconscious from the pain of his beatings. Both of his eyes were swollen, his left cheekbone was fractured, he did not have any front teeth left and fresh blood was seeping from his mangled nose. The two heavies tossed the man's limp body into the space between Minister Choi and Vice Admiral Goh. It was deep cover Kwon.

“This man says differently Vice Admiral,” announced Minister Choi. Kwon had run out of luck. After he had successfully ushered the moaner Ji-hun across the border to South Korea and had made initial contact with the family of the Kaesŏng border soldier, one of the four who had defected, he returned to his apartment in Pyongyang. The secret police were waiting for him. The soldier's family did not totally believe Kwon's story. The mother, in particular, thought that it was a set up by the DPRK authorities to test their loyalty to Kim Jong-un. She had received a phone call from her now defected son to tell her that he was okay and that the family should go South, past Songnim and await instructions. The mother did not believe this. If in doubt rat them out was her brain-washed motto. She contacted the SSD and they sprung a trap on Kwon.

Deep cover had hidden most of his incriminating stuff well and the SSD could not link him to Jim Bradbury, JJ or any of his CIA colleagues at PAU Travel. Unfortunately, while checking through Kwon's clothes, one keen-eyed SSD officer had spotted some small scraps of previously-molten metal in the turn-ups of a pair of Kwon's work trousers. That same SSD officer had been detailed to check the central bank's vaults for clues. He had taken as evidence some of the small metal pieces from the floor, left behind from Victor Pagari's thermal lance. He was sure they matched those in Kwon's pants. When your luck's out, it can be really out. Deep cover Kwon had not even been in the central bank's vaults for long. The small, metal fragments must have come from Victor's bag and a few of them accidently transferred to Kwon's trousers. Deep cover was hauled off by the secret police. He had been interrogated, beaten, tortured for most of the time that Goh and Park had been having it relatively easy in the interview room.

Kwon was tough and much stronger than his skinny frame suggested. The secret police thugs kept beating on him. ‘Who stole the gold? Who stole the submarine?' they screamed at him in between punches and kicks. Kwon genuinely had no idea about a stolen submarine so he wasn't going to be able to blab on that one. He tried to keep his wits about him, but he was in severe pain and once they had broken his legs with a heavy hammer it was excruciating, indescribable pain. ‘Who stole the gold, traitor?' ‘Who do you work for?' they kept pounding and asking. ‘Was it Goh?' ‘Was it Park?' ‘Who did it you fucking piece of dead meat trash?' There was no let-up while he was conscious. Kwon knew he wasn't getting out of this. To his eternal credit he had not spilled on his CIA involvement or his colleagues.

The secret police torturers though had opened a small crack of opportunity, unbeknown to those foul dimwits. Kwon had no idea who Park was. He may have come across a hundred Parks in his life, but not one that he could place in a central bank or on a submarine. Goh was a slightly less common Korean name. It was part of his undercover role to know who was who in the DPRK government and armed forces. The Goh they kept yelling about could be Vice Admiral Goh of the KPN. He would have reason, perhaps, to be near or on a submarine, whatever his torturers interest in that was. Kwon waited for another severe beating. As his nose exploded in a spray of blood and his left cheek bone cracked, Kwon finally let out, “It was Goh, Vice Admiral Goh, I work for him.”

Almost immediately the torturous interrogators left Kwon alone. One stood guard over his wrecked body while the other dialled an internal extension. Major Lee passed on Kwon's confession to Minister Choi and now Vice Admiral Goh was confronted by his accuser. Of course, Kwon knew Goh had nothing to do with the central bank heist and he had no idea about the submarine. Despite the intensity of his beatings, he managed to rationalise that if he could take down one final DPRK bad guy then he would have done the best he could. By most standards Vice Admiral Goh was not a bad guy but, like Kwon, he was in the wrong place at very much the wrong time.

“I have no idea what you're talking about Minister,” said Goh with fierce agitation in his voice. “I have never seen this man in my life and I reiterate my total loyalty to the KPN and the DPRK.”

Minister Choi was getting bored. The supreme leader of the DPRK and Choi's immediate boss wanted answers, wanted a suspect, wanted the perpetrators of two heinous crimes in one night. Of course Goh was going to deny it. Who wouldn't under the circumstances? However, the bleeding cripple lying at his feet said it was Goh. He could have said ‘Mickey Mouse' or ‘Captain Falcon' or ‘Hologramps' from
Supah Ninjas
but he didn't, he said ‘Goh'. The Vice Admiral did not look like an arch-criminal and, admittedly thought Choi, the evidence was somewhat flimsy. Nevertheless, there were enough dots to connect to make a discernible picture. Goh was in the frame.

“Vice Admiral,” resumed Minister Choi, “or should I say former Vice Admiral as you are now stripped of your rank and command. You too will be dishonourably discharged from the people's navy. I hereby place you under arrest on suspicion of robbery of our leader's submarine, his gold or both. Time will tell and you will be encouraged in your confession by Major Lee's best interrogators.”

“You're an ass and an ass-licker Choi!” yelled Goh, making a lurch for the Minister. His direct path to Choi's throat was intercepted by Major Lee's gun butt and as Goh fell to the floor, his head inches from Kwon's, the courageous deep cover operative looked into his eyes, managed a grimace and muttered ‘Goh'.

Former Vice Admiral Goh was taken away. He would be interrogated harshly. He did not have the inner courage of Kwon nor his ability to withstand pain. He was visited by the supreme leader himself, no stranger to the SSD, he had worked there before the announcement in September 2010 that he was to be heir apparent. Kim Jong-un was not convinced Goh was guilty. He had indeed been instrumental in acquiring the Russian submarine but he also had over thirty years of loyal service in the KPN. The fact that he had known or guessed where the DPRK's gold hoard was, simply reflected that he was knowledgeable, not necessarily criminal. Deep cover Kwon's ‘confession' was more troublesome. He really did have no apparent reason to finger Goh and he had done so before even setting eyes on the man inside the SSD. The supreme leader could not be bothered thinking about it anymore. One man doesn't steal a submarine and billions of US dollars' worth of gold. There must be accomplices, Minister Choi's task is not over. In the meantime, the supreme Leader decided that Goh needed to be made an example of. A firing squad would be organised in the next day or so and then there would be no Goh. Following his confession and subsequent outing of Goh, Kwon was taken to a secure ward in Taesongsan combined hospital in Pyongyang to get fixed up and cleaned up. This may have seemed like surprisingly decent behaviour given what had occurred before, but the DPRK authorities wanted most of their political prisoners to be able to work in the camps, not loll about whiling the day away. Once his broken legs and other injuries were healed, Kwon was destined for penal camp 22, where he could look forward to some daily slop from former Commodore Park but with no glimpse of a green bean ever to be seen.

* * *

SVR Deputy Director Igor Kruglov had fared a lot better than any of the ‘invitees' in Pyongyang's SSD. The director of the SVR, frankly, was hopping mad that the
Admiral Vinogradov
had not managed to recapture or destroy the missing nuclear submarine. The President of Russia was even more outraged. Not only had US$1bn of elite Russian naval engineering and weaponry gone AWOL, those deviants in the DPRK hadn't fully paid for the Borei. On top of that, the glaikit looking scunner who called himself their supreme leader didn't have the readies to pay his debt. Some old flannel about a robbery at their central bank. For god's sake, thought the President, why did we ever get into bed with that lot!

Livid as they both were, neither the President nor the SVR Director blamed Kruglov. At least he had tried and had had one of his agents on the submarine, though that channel seemed to have now been switched off. Investigations by the FSB showed that Kruglov had acted with expediency and could not have done much more. Admiral Chirkov had been on the case too and his instructions to the captain of the
Vinogradov
were clear, concise and timely. Maybe Captain Sergei Kargin could have aimed better, but it was a long-shot from the off, both in planning and in targeting. Kruglov was exonerated from any blame. However, both the President and Kruglov's SVR boss felt that the job was still unfinished. When the
Admiral Vinogradov
had reached the missiles detonation site in the East China Sea, there was no sign of wreckage or debris or fuel. There had clearly been no direct hits on the submarine. While that was disappointing, thought the President, it meant that $1bn of Russian nuclear submarine was still in the hands of an unknown enemy. Kruglov could redeem himself fully by tracking down the sub's whereabouts and discovering the identities of the audacious thieves. Kruglov said that he would, but in his heart, he did not know if he could.

The SVR had operatives all over Europe, Asia and North America. The Illegals programme in North America was, with the absence of Anyata Ivanovna, down to one. That one was well-placed in the US Congress but would not likely have access to any information in this regard. Kruglov reasoned that the submarine would not surface in Asia. He thought that if he had stolen it, he would not just drive it around the corner. Also, the route that the submarine had been on suggested that it was headed for Europe, possibly eventually, the United States. That was where he would concentrate the efforts of the SVR. Over the next few hours Kruglov contacted several key SVR operatives in Europe, principally located in Italy, Germany and France. The Deputy Director of the SVR did not gauge that Eastern Europe was a likely destination for the submarine. While there was the occasional political spat with allies and former parts of the Soviet Union, these countries were primarily friends and would be unlikely to sponsor such an act against Russia.