The Korean Gambit

by Charles DeMaris

  “I have a feeling he’s targeting the west, so he’s either working with the North Koreans or he has assets there that are helping him. I know it’s not much, but-”

  “I got it. I’ll tell Jenny when she gets in, and Ahmed when he wakes up.”

  “I’m not asleep,” Ahmed said.

  “You’re going to be soon,” Miriam said, “Off to the bunk with you. I’ll wake you up in a couple hours.”

  “Yes, mother.”

  “Watch it, buddy. We need you sharp. Get some rest.”

  “Ahmed’s trying to do too much?” Rachel asked.

  “Well, with Casey out of town…”

  “Casey’s a field agent, like me. He’s always going to be out of town.”

  “Well, he’s not in the field right now.”

  “Things get much worse, he might have to be.”

  “Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”

  11

  Casey Reddick stood outside the hospital room door and waited for the nurse to leave. He had made the drive down to Tuscaloosa a week before to visit his friend, Jefferson Braxton, who until today had been in Intensive Care. Jefferson, a defensive end for the Crimson Tide, had been in Noland Hospital since injuring his neck in a football practice the previous week.

  Their friendship was an unusual one. It was Braxton who had ended Casey’s football career in the National Championship semi- final game. Casey didn’t hold a grudge for the injury and the two had kept in touch over the subsequent months. Now Jefferson was facing an injury that could have ended more than his football career. He had important decisions to make and Casey was there to lend him some support.

  When the nurse left, Casey took another appreciative look before entering the room.

  “Man Jeff, if I had a nurse like that, I wouldn’t be in any hurry to leave,” he said as he walked in.

  “Actually, she’s a nurse’s aide. Got another lady that’s the nurse. Nurse only comes by to do the stuff the aide can’t do. Kim does everything else.”

  “So that was Kim…wow.”

  “Yeah…she’s somethin’ else. She goes to ‘Bama too, senior this year.”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d guess you’re wanting to get to know her a little more than that.”

  “Well…uh…”

  “Dude, if you weren’t black, you’d be blushing. You got her number yet?”

  “Not yet-”

  “Don’t dilly dally buddy. I saw the way she looked at you when she left the room.”

  “You were checking her out too.”

  “I’m not blind. You’d better ask her out before I do.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Nah, I’ll stay out of your way. Don’t waste your time. Fine looking girl like that won’t be available forever.”

  “You think she’d go for a dumb jock like me?”

  “You’re not exactly a dumb jock. What’s your GPA, 3.9?”

  “Yeah…how’d you know?”

  “Your mom told me.”

  “When did you speak to her?”

  “Yesterday. She gave me your room number, said you were out of ICU and I could get in here to see you.”

  “What else did she tell you?”

  “About what?”

  “She talk to you about football?”

  “She might have mentioned that.”

  “She don’t want me playing again, says I got lucky this time.”

  “What do you think?”

  “Don't know man. Cracked a bone in my neck, no spinal cord damage, doc said it’ll heal back fine. I could play again.”

  “You got any eligibility left after this year?”

  “No, I’m done at ‘Bama, but the NFL…”

  “You were going first round easy next year. Heck, you could have gone first round this year if you came out. Why’d you stay in?”

  “Wanted that title, and Mama wanted me to finish.”

  “Smart mom. How close are you to graduating?”

  “Just need one semester.”

  “So, what about football?”

  “Dog, I been dreaming about the NFL since I was old enough to know what a football was. Now…I don’t know. You come close to breaking your neck…then you see what happened to Williams at USC…makes you think twice. Think about it, bro. I could be paralyzed. Maybe Mama’s right.”

  “How bad was it? How long you here for?”

  “I got lucky, just a crack and no other damage. Did some surgery and left a thing in my neck for a couple days. Kept me in ICU for a bit. Been in this room two days. Might get to go home in a day or two.”

  “Where you gonna go?”

  “Back to mama’s house for a bit. Then back here when school starts.”

  “Your mom’s up in Birmingham?”

  “Huntsville.”

  “How far’s that from here?”

  “Almost to Tennessee, not too far.”

  “Do you some good hanging out there for a while, home cookin’ and all.”

  “Yeah…and mama trying to talk me out of going back to football.”

  “You’re the only one who can make that decision. Just make sure you’re certain. Don’t want any regrets.”

  “How about you? You could have walked on anywhere this year. How’s the knee?”

  “The knee’s great, but I’m good. No regrets.”

  “No regrets? Must be one hell of a job you got now. You sure you can’t tell me more about it.”

  “What’s there to tell? Cyber security is pretty boring really.”

  “That all you do there?”

  “Why you ask?”

  “Talked to your ma couple times I called and you were out of town on some work trip. She thinks your job is more than that.”

  “You know how mothers can be.”

  “Yeah…you make pretty good money?”

  “I can’t complain. Not NFL money, but it’s good, and I don’t have dudes like you trying to hit me.”

  “That’s a plus, I guess. You ever wonder what if?”

  “I did a few months ago. Now…not really.”

  “Guess I got a lot to think about.”

  “While you’re thinking, I gotta pee. Be right back.”

  “I got a toilet right here…never mind.”

  Five minutes later, Casey came back to the room.

  “What you up to, dog,” Jefferson asked, “You look like you’re up to something.”

  “Got you something while I was out there,” Casey said as he handed Jefferson a slip of paper.

  “What’s this?”

  “Open it up and take a look.”

  “A phone number? Who’s…you didn’t?”

  “I did. You can call her any time. She gets off work in two hours.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. You hungry?”

  “You know it. Hospital don’t know how to feed a growing boy.”

  “I passed a place on the way here, sign said they had catfish. You like catfish?”

  “I’m from Alabama, ain’t I? But last time I checked, I’m in a hospital room.”

  “You don’t have anything hooked up to you, do you?”

  “Well…no…”

  “Okay, that settles it. You need a good lunch and I have a car. We’ll be back before they miss you.”

  “Man, I don’t know…”

  “They ever let you out of your room?”

  “They let me go down to the cafeteria.”

  “Then we’ll pass by the cafeteria on the way to the car. What can it hurt?”

  Ashraf Zaman pulled up to the house in Cottondale and checked the address on his app. This was the place. He only had to wait a minute until a young couple exited the house and got in his car.

  “You’re Ashraf?” the woman asked him as she got in.

  “Yes, you must be Julie,” he replied.

  “Sure am, and this is my boyfriend Mike.”

  Ashraf started the trip and loo
ked at the destination on his phone.

  “So, you’re going back to campus. You students?”

  “Yep, last year. So, how long you been driving for Uber?”

  “Oh…about eight months.”

  “You like it?”

  “Sometimes. Get to meet a lot of different people. Don't like it much late at night.”

  “Too many drunks at night?”

  “That’s part of it. I want to spend time with my wife and daughters.”

  “How many daughters?”

  “I have two. My youngest turns nine today. If I’m not home in a couple hours, she’s going to kill me.”

  “Are we your last ride?”

  “I might do one or two more after I drop you off.”

  “I can’t place your accent. Where are you from?”

  “You have an accent too.”

  “Uh…I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “No problem. I’m from Lebanon.”

  “Why did you come here?”

  “Came to go to school. Didn’t want to go back. Too many crazy people over there now.”

  “Crazy people?”

  “People who want to cut your head off or blow you up. I don’t want to blow anyone up.”

  “That’s good.”

  A few moments later Ashraf pulled into the campus and came to the address in his phone.

  “Is this your building? Which entrance do you want?” he asked.

  “You can let us off at this door right here. Thank you for the ride.”

  “Okay. Have a good day.”

  “You, too.”

  After the couple got out of the car, he went to a parking lot to wait for his next fare, pulling out a paperback novel to pass the time. He would do maybe one or two more, then head home for his daughter’s birthday party, stopping at the bakery on the way home to pick up the cake.

  He had just settled down with the book open on the steering wheel when he got an alert on his phone, a passenger right there on campus. That was close enough, not one of those annoying requests on the other side of town that ended up going a couple miles and not being worth the drive. He accepted the trip and drove to the library, where he found his fare ready when he pulled up, another young man with a backpack.

  The passenger walked up to the door and waited. Ashraf lowered the window.

  “You’re Ashraf?” the man asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m Mikhail. You can call me Mike,” the passenger said as he got in the back seat.

  Ashraf started the trip and looked at the destination, Noland Hospital.

  “Going to the hospital? Main entrance or emergency?”

  “Uh…emergency…I think.”

  “Okay, just wanted to drop you in the right place. Visiting someone?”

  “Friend was just taken. He might still be in emergency. Find out when I get there.”

  “How long you been in America?”

  “Just a month. Starting this semester. How about you?”

  “Ten years. Became a citizen last month. You have plans to stay after school?”

  “Too early to tell. Still have four years to go. I’ll see how it is at home before I decide.”

  “Where’s home?”

  “Ukraine. How about you?”

  “Lebanon, but America is my home now.”

  Mikhail didn’t offer a reply and Ashraf didn’t continue the conversation. Sometimes he got tired of overly talkative passengers and he didn’t mind them being quiet on occasion. When he got to the hospital, he followed the signs for Emergency and pulled up in front of the door to let Mikhail out.

  “Here you are, hope you find your friend.”

  “Thanks for the ride,” Mikhail said as he exited the car, still engrossed in his phone.

  Ashraf ended the trip and rated the passenger, then glanced into the back seat. Mikhail had left his backpack on the floor behind the seat. He looked around to see if he was still close by so he could flag him down, but he was nowhere to be seen. Probably already in the hospital. He grabbed the door handle to get out and take the backpack in, when he noticed he couldn’t unlock the car. He tried the windows and they wouldn’t lower either. That was weird. He reached into the back seat and tried the doors but couldn’t open any of them.

  As if he thought things couldn’t get any weirder, the car went into drive on its own and started moving. There was nothing he could do to get control. The car pulled away from the Emergency entrance and started moving toward the parking garage. He tried turning the wheel, stepping on the brake, pulling the hand brake, all to no avail. It was like the car had a mind of its own. He was completely helpless as the car turned into the parking garage and down the aisle like it was looking for a parking place.

  “Don’t that beat all,” Jefferson said as Casey drove out of the parking garage.

  “Don’t what beat what?”

  “That car back there. Dude didn’t have his hands on the wheel.”

  “Maybe driving with his knees and messing with his phone?”

  “He was pounding on the window. Weird.”

  “That does sound weird. You sure you saw right?”

  “Yeah, and he looked kinda like he was freaking out.”

  “You see a lot of odd stuff sometimes.”

  “You got that right. So where’s that restaurant you saw?”

  “Over near Cottondale, not too far I figure.”

  “Hope it’s good. Gotta be worth sneaking out.”

  “Do you good to get out either way, good food or not.”

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  Ashraf continued pounding on the window and trying to get anyone’s attention, but there weren’t many people in the parking garage at this hour. There was another car exiting as he was going in, looked like a couple of young black men in the car. One of them saw him, but the car didn’t stop. They probably didn’t know what was going on. The car was under complete control, but he wasn’t controlling it. Someone else had control, but who? He tried to call 911, but his phone was completely locked up. He couldn’t do anything, not even turn it off to reboot it. At this moment his mind went from concern to panic and then to utter fear as the car slowly pulled into a parking spot and came to a stop.

  He thought of his daughter’s birthday party that evening, of his wife at home putting the whole thing together, and he allowed himself to wonder if he would ever see them again. The answer to that came a split second after a strange tone he heard from the backpack in the back seat.

  Casey was on McFarland Blvd. and turning left onto 15th St. when he heard the blast and felt the car rocked by the shock wave.

  “What the hell was that?” Jefferson asked.

  Casey knew too well what it was as he pulled the car off the road and got out.

  “Good Lord, no…no…,” Jefferson was saying.

  Casey looked back where they had come and could say nothing. There was the same plume of smoke and dust in the sky that he remembered all too well, but a larger explosion from the looks of it. Jefferson was standing there clenching and unclenching his fists and sobbing uncontrollably.

  Casey walked over and stood next to his friend, but said nothing. There was nothing to say. They both knew what had happened and at that moment, Casey thought about the man they saw driving into the garage without his hands on the wheel. Jefferson was already walking toward the hospital, tears streaming down his cheeks. Casey caught up to him.

  “We should wait for the first responders to arrive. There’s nothing we can do there right now.”

  “How would you know…wait…never mind…sorry.”

  “This one looks bigger.”

  “Bigger than what?”

  “The bus station back home.”

  “You think they’ll need any help?”

  “Probably, but it will be too hot for us. Let the firemen do their job.”

  “You think anyone survived?”

  “Hard to tell. Let’s get closer and see what it looks like.”


  “Hey, your pocket’s buzzing.”

  “Hello?”

  “Casey, tell me you weren’t at the hospital,” Ahmed said.

  “I was just there. Picked Jeff up to go get lunch.”

  “All kinds of talk about a bomb. How big was it? Media’s not even on it yet.”

  “Ahmed, it only happened a couple minutes ago. The media’s still on the way. How did you know already?”

  “You know we monitor everything.”

  “Well, it looks big, bigger than the bus station bomb. We’re only a couple blocks away. We’re gonna get a closer look and get back to you…hold a sec. Don’t hang up yet. One more thing that might be important. When we were leaving the parking garage, Jeff saw a car coming in and the driver didn’t have his hands on the wheel and looked frightened. I didn’t think much at the time, but he might not have been in control of the car.”

  “That might be important. I’ll see what I can see…oh crap!”

  “What?”

  “That wasn’t the only one. Police chatter about other hospital bombings. Gotta go. Keep me posted if you find anything out there.”

  “Okay.”

  “Who was that?” Jefferson asked.

  “Guy back at the office.”

  “Didn’t sound like you were talking about cyber security.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Can I borrow that phone for a sec? Think I left mine in my room. Mama’s gonna see this on the news and think I was there.”

  “Here you go, buddy.”

  As they got closer the extent of the damage became more evident. The explosion was devastating. The hospital was completely leveled and buildings a block away had windows blown out. Two fire trucks were arriving on the scene and police officers were starting to establish a perimeter. One officer stopped them when they were almost there.

  “Sorry, gentlemen, this is as close as I can let you get,” the officer said.

  “I got a friend in there,” Jefferson said, “I need to check on her.”

  “Son, it’s gonna be a long while before we know anything about survivors, but it doesn’t look good.”

  “Come on, man. I was just there. I was supposed to be there. I need to know about Kim.”

  “I understand, but it’s too early. Let the firemen get in there and then we’ll know something.”