“Yes.”
“From here in town?”
“No, from Korea.”
“How do you know him?”
“He is Kim Cho Pil, and when I knew him, he was a lieutenant in the South Korean Army. He was commander of a team of ROK Rangers in the late sixties.”
“South Korean?”
“He was in the South Korean Army, but later he was a North Korean Spy, planted in our Army to cause havoc. He would cross the border into North Korea with orders to assassinate officers and other soldiers. But he was not really killing anyone across the border. Instead, he was smuggling documents and reporting on South Korean spies and agents. My father was his commander in the ROK Army, and had discovered his lies. The bastard came to our house that same night and murdered my father and mother, and my little brother who was asleep on my mother’s lap. I was in another room and managed to rescue my baby sister by hiding with her under the floorboards of our house. I was only ten years old, but I saw his face clearly and knew it was Kim Cho Pil.”
“That was a long time ago, Mr. Chun. Are you sure it’s the same man?”
“I cannot be mistaken. He came to my house often when I was a child. If you look on his lower back, on the right side, there are three parallel scars, long gashes he got from barbed wire when crossing the border one night. He showed me and the other boys the scar to brag about how tough he was.”
“Are you willing to testify to this in court?”
“Yes, of course. I would go to hell to punish that man. He murdered my parents and my six-year-old brother before my eyes. I would do anything to destroy him.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chun. I will contact you again later as needed. I am sorry for your family.”
“Don’t be sorry for my family. That was almost forty years ago. Instead, grant me my revenge.”
“I will do the best I can.”
Chapter 23
Farmer’s Loop Road
Fairbanks, Alaska
Nikola had dumped the red Dodge Dakota truck in a wooded area off Skyline Road several miles from Farmer’s Loop Road on the north side of Fairbanks. He had put it in four-wheel drive and driven into the trees until the snow and undergrowth ground into the undercarriage. He got out, tossed the keys into the snowy woods, and left the truck.
Adem waited on the road in a dark green all-wheel drive Subaru Forester that had been parked in the garage at their new house on Panorama Drive. Nikola got into the passenger side and they drove back toward Fairbanks, following Farmer’s Loop Road until the curve at which it turned back into University Boulevard. From there, they turned west onto Geist Road and drove back to Mr. Kim’s house.
“I can’t believe we didn’t take the spare units the first time,” Adem said. “We don’t want to be out there with no spares.”
“We were in a hurry. Anyway, I know exactly where they are,” Nikola answered. “They are in the upstairs closet with the weapons. While there, we should grab some extra ammunition and maybe another pistol or two as well, just in case.”
Red-and-blue lights flashed and rotated near the house. Adem slowed the vehicle. A police officer started toward them with his hand up. Adem stopped the vehicle before they were close enough to be recognized. He flipped the turn signal and went down a side street that would take them back out of the neighborhood.
As Adem pulled the vehicle around the corner, Nikola stared out the passenger side window toward Kim’s house. Two people in bulky bombproof armor crossed the road and entered the house. An ambulance pulled away and started in their direction. Two trooper vehicles were with it, one in front and one behind. Nikola stared in disbelief.
Adem said, “We had better inform the others.”
They went back to the house on Panorama Drive, a large, blocky design from the seventies with a three-car garage added on to the side. It was situated on about an acre of heavily treed land. Several other houses were nearby, but none were visible. Nor was this house visible to the others through the thick layers of dark spruce, white birch, and tangled willow that surrounded it.
Adem drove quickly up the two-hundred-foot-long driveway and into the garage. He parked next to a maroon Ford Explorer that was parked in the outer most space.
The men got out of the car and went inside. As they entered the dark house, the glow of a pair of headlights shone in the front windows. They both dropped to their knees and pulled pistols from their waistbands.
“Shit!” Adem cursed. “How did they find us!”
Nikola duck-walked to the front window and peeked through the slit between the curtains. A lone white Chevy Suburban came to a stop in front of the house. The engine turned off and four men got out, wearing parkas and snow pants.A feeling of relief flushed over Nikola. “It is one of the teams of Koreans.”
He walked across the room, turned on the light, and opened the door.
“Brothers, how did it go?” He asked in English.
“Be quiet!” one of them replied harshly. “Go inside.”
The four Korean men entered the house and closed the door. They removed their winter clothes immediately, without talking. After a long period of silence, Adem grew impatient. “Well? Are you going to tell us what is going on? Did you find it?”
“Yes,” replied their leader, Lieutenant Shin Kwang Yu. “But something went wrong. We have two boxes of the substance. The rest of the team was to follow us within an hour with several more boxes.”
“And?” Nikola asked.
“When we got to the truck, we heard gunshots coming from the site. A lot of gunshots. They were
