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“And who would believe that?”
“Well, we’ve done it before,” pointed out Tucker. “In other countries.”
“But not for a long time,” replied the president. “That’s why there’s a law now that—” He broke off and muttered “Shit” again.
“Great Britain is our closest ally. No one would believe they would act without us on something like this,” added Potter.
“They will torture Pak and his family until he tells all he knows,” said Tucker. “He will have details, facts that will substantiate his position. He will tell them of the video conference here where you gave him your word—”
The president slammed his fist against the tabletop. “Don’t throw that in my face, Tucker; this is your screwup and yours only.”
“I absolutely agree with you, sir. Only—”
“Only what!” snapped the president.
Potter spoke, perhaps feeling that as the president’s advisor he needed to, well, advise. “Only the ultimate blame will fall to you, sir,” he said in an apologetic tone.
The president put a hand to his face and said, “Harry Truman, right? Buck stops here?”
Potter nodded and eyed Tucker severely. “Unfair, sir, but true. The DCI won’t be the main target. You will.”
The president opened his eyes and looked at Tucker.
“We certainly hoped for better, sir,” said Tucker lamely.
The president sighed and said resignedly, “So they tell the world. All right. They torture Pak and he gives them ammo for it. All right. I guess we wait and counterpunch when the blow comes. Do we know what the timing will be? I assume they already have Pak in custody.”
“He’s not in North Korea,” answered Tucker.
The president shot him a glance. “What?”
“He left North Korea both on official business and because of a medical condition that needed tending to and which he felt foreign doctors were better suited to treat. Because of his position within the leadership he was able to do that.”
“Well, where the hell is he?” sputtered the president, evidently still trying to process all of this.
“He’s in France.”
“But with what the North Koreans know, won’t he already be under arrest there?”
“He would have been, except he has unofficially left his entourage and is now in hiding.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because I needed you to fully understand the situation, sir, before I started to present possible solutions.”
Potter spoke up. “If he’s in hiding and not under North Korean arrest, why don’t we simply go get him and put him in hiding permanently?”
“With what explanation?” asked Tucker.
The president said, “Why the need for explanation at all? They don’t have to know that we have him.”
“Then they’ll simply release publicly that we attempted to use Pak to overthrow the government in violation of both international law and our own laws. And that we are now harboring him and granting him asylum in the United States.”
“And they won’t have a shred of proof.”
“Sir, they do not deal in facts. But consider this. If they do make the allegations, it will stir up a lot of attention. As you’ve said, Carson was a Brit. That will entangle our allies in London. He goes missing in France. Our Paris colleagues will be targeted. No one will believe that they acted without the United States. The media will have a field day. They will leave no stone unturned. Questions will be asked. Answers will have to be given. And if the truth comes out?” He looked at both Potter and the president. “I personally do not want to go to prison over this.”
The president jerked to his feet, put his hands in his pockets, and began to pace, agitation all over his features. “I can’t believe this situation, I really cannot believe that I allowed myself to be put in this…in this untenable, bullshit position.”
“I think that we must remain calm and think this through,” said Potter, though his face was very pale.
The president stopped pacing and looked derisively at his aide. “Easy for you to say, Josh. Your participation in this will amount to no more than a stupid footnote in history. I’ll take the major hit. I’ll be the president in disgrace.”
Potter’s face turned bright red. “Of course, sir, I did not mean to imply otherwise. I—”
The president held up his hand and dropped into his seat. “Just…don’t,” he said wearily. He looked at Tucker. “So what are you proposing?”
Tucker took a moment to compose his reply while the president and Potter watched him closely. “I propose that we target and kill General Pak while he is in France and then blame it on the North Koreans.”
The president gaped. “Kill him? But I gave the man my word. I—”
Tucker broke in. “That was then and this is now. And besides, I blame Pak for this. He must’ve known Carson was compromised. He never should have answered the damn phone. He screwed up. And when you screw up you pay the price.” He looked at both men. “Well,” he said breathlessly, “this is the price.”
“His death? His murder?” said the president.
“How does that help us?” asked Potter.
“Power struggles occur in North Korea all the time. There was a recent assassination attempt on Un that failed. We can tie all that to Pak and wrap it up neatly. With that as an alternative explanation and with the help of our allies I believe we can effectively turn this around and throw it right in their faces. We can argue that they’re blaming us for something they did. General and blanket denials without the need to get into specifics that might come back to haunt us, all based on Pak as the scapegoat.”
The president was about to say something and then stopped as he continued to mull this over.
Neither Potter nor Tucker seemed inclined to break the silence.
“This is a choice that would befuddle Solomon,” the president said at last. “A choice between awful and terrible.”
“Yes, sir,” agreed Tucker.
“If we do what you propose, it must be now.”
“I have my team in place. They can be deployed at once.”
The president cast him a sharp glance. “Robie and Reel?”
Tucker nodded. “Robie and Reel.”
More silence passed.
Finally, Tucker said, “Sir, have you made a decision?”
The president didn’t speak right away. When he did, his voice was weak and resigned. “I really can’t believe this is happening. But it is. We’ve gone far enough down this road that there’s no turning back.”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Well, at least we didn’t start a war, right? No American has died.” His face was ashen as he said this.
“Not yet,” muttered Potter under his breath.
“No, sir,” replied Tucker firmly.
The president rose and without looking at Tucker said, “Do what you have to do. And when this is all over, start thinking about a career outside of my administration, Tucker. You’re done.”
Then he walked out of the room.
Chapter
26
THEY WAITED. THEY HAD BEEN waiting for some time now.
Reel looked at Robie and he glanced back at her. Then both their gazes turned to the door, which was opening.
They had expected to see DD Marks standing there, and were startled when, instead, it was DCI Evan Tucker.
He strode briskly in with an air of calm and authority. He unbuttoned his suit coat, sat down, and opened the bottle of water waiting for him there. He turned to an aide who had walked in with him.
