The Devil's Playground Read online

like a man throwing his toys out of the pram when he doesn't like what his next door is neighbor saying," he had continued flippantly before apologizing to him for his rather colorful summing up of the man that he, O, had sworn an Oath of Allegiance to protect with his life.

  Rob had picked up his beer. "It's just that they prefer the Agencies to be run by men and women like us," he had finished after he sipped it.

  "How do you mean?" O had asked.

  "Humble servants," he had said with a warm smile.

  "Humble servants?" O had repeated back at the time because he had still been learning to speak English so his understanding of the meaning behind the language's phrases had been limited. "Please explain?"

  "Men and women who can be trusted understand their country's or employer's needs and talk the same language as them," Rob had clarified as he picked up his chopsticks. "Your country is far richer than your friends in the South who rely on the support of America and Japan. By placing your natural resources into one fund then seeking out partners who contract with your National Resources Agency using international recognized agreements, not Korean Law," he had said with a wink.

  "Your country will have the outcome it needs to capitalize on the wealth under its soil: some four trillion dollars," he had continued referring to the estimated value of the North's natural resources before pausing for another mouthful of sweet and sour pork.

  "Will buy you a lot of friends and make you equal partners of the South in any reunification plan! If you do that I guarantee you won't go the way of East Germany," he had said, referring to last great reunification between a western style and state-led communist economy.

  Of course O had known it wasn't as simple as that, but the Englishman's idea had legs. So much so, he had put the plan to his father who had then convinced the Supreme Leader, knowing he was so near to death to approve it. Unfortunately, the great man's son had squandered his fresh international political capital in less than two years and instead tried to stop it because he saw it as a direct threat to his rule.

  Ruthlessly purging his inner circle with efficiency and brutality, the execution of his own uncle by dogs being one such example when he tried to enter into an agreement with a Chinese coal company.

  With the men and women that formed the 'Humble Servants' now in place around the world and armed with the all the necessary knowledge sets to deliver the outline strategy of his friend all those years ago, O knew his loyalty was to protect the vision of the work, his father, the Supreme Leader and the Eternal President, Kim II Sung, and deliver on the dream of a United Korea.

  Something O intended to do by this by setting the plan in motion, stepping out of the shadows then using his old friend and many like him as his instruments to introduce the country's new agency to right partners.

  As O stepped out from the black 1990s Mercedes S600 that he kept as his personal vehicle, he was met by the Head of the "Bravest Comrade" personal security detail with a salute while he stood rigidly to attention.

  "Sojang," offered the young Lieutenant, who was a loyal member of 'Room 39' and a veteran of the assault on Qusair in Syria, using O's Major-General rank.

  "Chungwi," O replied, using the young man's rank in return before asking him if the men were ready to do their duty.

  "Yes Sir," answered the young officer, while still maintaining his rigid stance.

  O nodded. He flicked open the cheap mobile handset that was serviced by Koryolink, the joint venture between Korea Post and Telecommunications Corporation and the Egyptian company Orascom, the only mobile provider in North Korea. He then dialed the preset number.

  "Humble Servant," He said using the call sign to begin the operation to take over the country to the person on the other end of the call.

  Once done, he threw the handset on the floor and smashed it with his foot.

  He looked at his gold Longines watch, a personal gift he had once received from the Supreme Leader as a reward for establishing links with the Japanese Yazuka. He smiled as he noted the time and date. Then he ordered the young lieutenant to take him to the Bravest Comrade. As O followed the young man, the bile and acid he had felt earlier had dissipated, much to his stomach's relief. Instead his body pulsed with adrenalin.?Tonight was either going to end in glorious failure, or mark the start a dream held by all Koreans-Reunification!

  2

  Beverly Hills, Los Angeles

  The Secretary of State of United States of America, John Kerry, was attending a private dinner in his honor with his wife at the home of the new Governor of California, Steve Krivets and his wife, the former reporter Jessica Austin Krivets, when he was informed of the news.

  Quietly entering the dining room, the aide walked up to his ear then whispered, "Mr. Secretary, it appears that there has been a coup in North Korea."

  The Secretary put down his fork then turned to the Krivets and his wife.

  "Would you excuse me for a few moments?" he asked.

  "Would you like to use my study?" asked Steve, picking up on the fact that the news must have been important. The Secretary nodded then followed him out and into the room, with his aide in tow.

  Once Steve had left and they were alone, the tall man spoke to the young man, who like him was an Alumni of Yale in Political Science.

  "Is it confirmed?" the Secretary asked.

  "Yes, Mr. Secretary. State Media announced it." He added, "The man in charge appears to be a Major General called O-Su-Lee."

  "What do we know about him?" the Secretary probed.

  "Director Young sent a jacket on him," replied the aide, referring to the Director of the CIA. "He's in his mid-forties, part of the inner circle, and the Head of "Room 39."

  "'Room 39?'" asked the Secretary.

  "The name they give their Secret Service," answered the Aide with authority.

  The Secretary of State nodded and then focused his brain on the steps he needed to put in place over the next few hours to ensure the government was kept informed of the situation because the U.S. had over 28,000 members of its armed forces stationed in South Korea and trade worth US$11 billion a year with the country.

  "Okay! Ask Director Young to have a full briefing ready for tomorrow for the President," he said. The aide made notes on his iPad as the Secretary spoke. "Ask the Swedes to clarify the situation for us," he ordered, as U.S. and North Korea did not have diplomatic relations with each other outside the United Nations.

  "Then organize a call for me with Choi Yoon Ohk once we are airborne," he continued referring to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea otherwise known as South Korea. "Finally ask Mr. McGiven to organize a suitable holding statement with the White House until I get back," he said referring to his Chief of Staff.

  "Yes, Mr. Secretary," answered the aide just as the Secretary felt his secure BlackBerry handset start to buzz. Pulling it out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and on seeing the caller ID said POTUS, which stood for "President of the United States," he immediately accepted the call.

  "Mr. Secretary, please hold for the President of the United States," the voice at the other end requested.

  As soon as the North Korean newsreader with tears in her eyes announced that the Bravest Comrade otherwise known as the world's youngest leader at just 32 years of age, Kim Jong Se, had died of a heart attack and Major-General O Su Lee was now in charge, the analysts of the CIA's Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis teams had all quickly been recalled to their offices. There they prepared a jacket, the word the staff at Langley used to describe a briefing document, for the director to present to POTUS and members of the National Security Council, known as the NSC.

  As he read it, Young could see it was pretty limited and full of subjective comments, rather than containing actual intelligence. He knew why. The fact was the CIA had zero assets in North Korea that were part of the inner circle, any actual HUMINT, the phrase used to describe Human Intelligence; what they did have was mostly supplied by the South Koreans and with
regard to the new head of state was over five years old.

  "I can't put this in front of POTUS," he said out loud to his empty office before he caught sight of the codename of the asset the HUMINT had originally came from. It was a name he immediately recognized.

  Picking up the phone on his desk, he dialed the number for Ali Mansoor, the Deputy Director of the Special Activities Division.

  The American-Pakistani immediately picked up.

  "Director," answered the man who had since the mid-1980s had served the agency faithfully earning an Intelligence Star and then a Distinguished Intelligence Cross along the way.

  "Once traditional?niceties were out of the way," David Young got down to business. "Ali, can you come see me please? And bring with you the case officer for an asset called Thesiger," he added.

  "I can do one better than that, Sir," answered Ali.

  "How so?" Young asked.

  "The asset himself," offered Ali.

  "Excellent, I'll see you all in an hour," Young ordered before putting down the telephone.

  Using the desktop on his desk, he clicked on the secure server and typed in his password. He confirmed the security number the Data Protection Manager that went everywhere with him was displaying before he entered the database containing all the files of the NOC intelligence assets. Once inside the secure area of the server he then typed the name 'Thesiger' so he could bring up the asset's personal file.

  At the precise moment Ali Mansoor