Battle Born

“Then I’m staying,” the President said resolutely. “Unless we actually see ICBMs appearing over the horizon, I’m staying. That goes for the senior leadership as well.”

“Sir, you know that if the Russians launch an attack, all of our political and bureaucratic institutions will suffer greatly, even be wiped out,” Jerrod Hale said. “Congress is still in session; the entire leadership is still in town…”

“I don’t think the people will give a rat’s ass if the political and bureaucratic institutions get wiped out, Jerrod,” the President said wryly. “In fact, I think they’ll see it as a sad but welcome relief.” Then his tone grew serious. “But since you mention it, you’d better send a military aide over to the congressional leadership and let them know what’s happening. I’ll leave it up to them if they want to adjourn. But make sure they know I’m staying.”

“But, sir,” Hale protested, trying once more to convince his boss that it was not a safe move to stay, “the National Airborne Operations Center aircraft were designed and tasked to provide global communications in fluid emergency situations such as this. It is not a symbol of panic, desperation, aggression, or cowardice to use them.”

“It is to me, Jerrod,” the President answered. “Besides, I’m not going to run to the safety of the skies while the Vice President is in the middle of a nuclear fire storm. Now, since State hasn’t been able to get through, you see if you can get President Jiang on the phone for me — and see to it that the congressional leadership is up to speed about what’s going on.”

As his chief of staff got on the telephone, President Martindale’s eyes were on the banks of computer and TV monitors but not really watching them. CNN was showing a live broadcast from Seoul, which was little more than a cloud of black smoke on the horizon toward the site of a high-explosive rocket barrage and a chemical weapons attack. He had seen much worse. Then the focus shifted to the streets. They were filled with cars and people, but there was no sign of panic. In fact, it looked like the reverse. Surreal, that’s what it was. There was a military attack under way, but it was as if the crowds realized something else was happening — something long awaited.

Just then Jerrod Hale, phone in hand, shouted, “Mr. President! It’s the Vice President, calling from Osan!”

“Thank God,” Martindale said. He snatched the telephone out of Hale’s hand. “Ellen! Are you all right?”

“Yes, Mr. President, we’re all right,” Whiting replied. “We had a close call, but everyone inside the facility here survived. The fallout levels were low enough, so they decided to evacuate us.”

“Good,” he said. “We thought you didn’t make it. Information is coming out very slowly, in bits. Where are you? We’ll send someone to fly you out.”

“I’ve got at least a couple of hundred marines within a stone’s throw of me right now,” Whiting said, her voice cheerful. “I feel very safe. They can evacuate me out in one of those tilt-rotor planes any minute, but I’m not ready to go back just yet.”

“What? Why?”

“Mr. President, President Kwon is going to Pyongyang,” Whiting said. “He’s meeting with First Vice President Pak Chung-chu of North Korea, who apparently has been helping Kwon orchestrate this revolution for many months. Mr. President, the Communist government in Pyongyang, the entire Politburo, has fled the country, and the North Korean People’s Army has disbanded. Kwon and Pak are going to announce the formation of a new democratic government, headquartered in Pyongyang. The peninsula has been reunited, Mr. President. Korea is one. And I would like to be there when they make the announcement.”

Martindale sank into his chair. The reports Chastain had relayed were real. This was truly unbelievable. “Ellen… Ellen, how can you be sure it’s safe for you?”

“I guess I can’t, Kevin,” Whiting replied. “But I feel I have to go. I’m going to take all the marines I can in the tilt-rotor, probably twenty or thirty. Kwon and Pak are taking an enormous risk, far greater than me.” She paused. “Mr. President, this is an extraordinary opportunity for peace in Asia. It’s up to us to seize it. The two leaders plan on meeting in three hours in Pyongyang. I want to be there. I want representatives from China, Russia, and Japan to be there too. If we do this, if all six of the participants in the Korean split appear at once when the peninsula wants to reunify, no one can argue that this is illegitimate. What do you say?”

“I’m worried about your safety, Ellen,” Martindale answered. “But… of course. I’ll call Beijing, Moscow, and Tokyo and try to arrange for some representatives, the highest-ranking ones I can find willing to go to Pyongyang so soon after the nuclear attacks. But make sure you listen to the marines. If they think it’s unsafe, if they can’t guarantee your safety, I want you out of there.”

“Thank you, Mr. President. This is going to be wonderful. I can feel it.”

“Maybe. But things are still explosive over there, Ellen. Remember, this revolution is still only hours old. Don’t take any more chances. There’s plenty of time for announcements and proclamations and photo ops when things are calmer.”

He heard the line go dead abruptly. Another thrill of panic shot down Martindale’s spine, and he held the phone to his ear for several long moments, hoping she would come back on the line.

Then he hung up. “She’s going to Pyongyang,” he said.

“What? Pyongyang?” Plank exclaimed. “The capital of North Korea? Why? Has she been captured? Is she all right?”

“She sounds all right,” the President responded. “In fact, very much so. And apparently there is no North Korea anymore. The Politburo has fled the country, and the army has disbanded.”

“There is no way we can verify that, sir!” Plank insisted. “Just because South Korean planes are freely flying over the North and they’ve opened the borders doesn’t mean the North is safe for foreigners to travel, let alone the Vice President. It’s too hazardous!”

“Sir, we wouldn’t let the Vice President go to Disneyland without adequate preparation by an advance team,” the chief of staff reminded the President. “We should at least try to postpone this. One day. Twelve hours. It’ll give military intelligence a chance to look the place over first.”

“I hear you,” the President said, “and I agree one hundred percent. But events are moving too fast. President Kwon is on his way to Pyongyang right now, and he’s going to stand right beside the vice president of North Korea and make the proclamation that will stun the world. We need to be part of it. Ellen accepts the risk, and I”—he swallowed hard—”and I accept the responsibility.”

To Secretary of State Jeffrey Hartman, he said, “Jeff, Ellen says Kwon and Pak are requesting representatives of Russia, China, and Japan at the announcement. Make some calls and find out if they’re interested.”

The United Republic of Korea. United Korea. Despite a few apparently knee-jerk rocket launches, it really was virtually a bloodless birth: the people throwing off the shackles of communism that had left them ostracized by the rest of their country — and by the rest of the world. First independent Taiwan, now United Korea. What a way to start the new millennium!

But the wild card was still China. Would they stand aside and watch their Communist brothers vanish before their eyes? Would they launch the massive attack everyone had long feared they would?

“Jerrod.”

“Sir?”

“Alert the media. Address to the nation in thirty minutes, from the Oval Office.” He took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to announce my support of the United Republic of Korea.”

OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL NEVADA

THAT SAME TIME

Aces, Two-Zero is defensive, triple-A at T3,” Rebecca Furness, who was now dropping on their second target, said on the interplane frequency just as Patrick switched back to normal radio.

“What d’ya got, Go-Fast?” Rinc radioed.

“Big-time concentrations of triple-A north of T3,” Rebecca said. “We had to scram west.”

“Time for an airshow, boss,” Rinc said on inter-plane. “Aces Two-Zero, how about airshow north plus three minutes, repeat, airshow north plus three.”

“No way,” Furness responded. “Just do the run and do the best you can with the threats. We’ll be behind you to try again.”

“Beck, they’ll be expecting attacks from the same axis as before — we can’t give it to them,” Rinc said. “Airshow north plus three. That’s plenty of room, and the range is ours.”