* * *
As the helicopter started descending towards Yongsan Garrison in South Korea, Tom woke up. Shortly after he had boarded the helicopter in the Sea of Japan, he fell into a catnap. He had learned to grab some sleep whenever he could. Now as he was about to disembark at Yongsan, he felt somewhat rested.
Soon he felt the wheels touch the ground and Tom hopped out of the craft. He started to walk towards the building out of which he came the previous night. The sun was now overhead and the world seemed to be stirring awake all around.
Tom saw a soldier approaching him from the building ahead. As he came closer, Tom noticed that the soldier was the sergeant he had befriended at the firing range. The sergeant was smiling.
“Great to see you back,” he said holding out his hand. He clasped Tom’s hand.
“Thanks,” Tom said.
“You OK? Your face looks a little swollen. You have a cut under your eye. I’ll get a medic for you.”
“Thanks but I should be fine. This is nothing.”
“Oh and also, we have Conference room D in there with a video link to your people. They want to talk to you quickly. It sounds like you did a good job over there.”
“Conference room D. Thanks.”
Tom continued walking. When he entered the building he walked down the white hallway and turned into the locker room first. He took off his helmet and put his rifle away. He put his utility bag with all of the documents in his locker. Then he walked out of the locker room and headed down the hallway, looking for conference room D. He turned the corner and walked past several other conference rooms. Finally he found D. He walked inside. The conference room itself was empty, but in the front he saw a screen. On the screen, Tom saw Anderson looking back at him.
“Tom, it’s good to see you,” Anderson started talking right away. Tom felt Anderson was talking a bit slower than usual. He was not smiling.
“Thanks. How are you guys over there?”
“We’re fine. We’re glad to see you in one piece after everything that happened today.”
“Thanks. I’ll give the intelligence I took to the IT guys so they can start scanning the documents. Anything else you need?”
“Tom, you should know about what happened to the NIS officer who was abducted. Jiyeon. The one who briefed you.”
Tom stood in silence, waiting for Anderson to just say it.
“Tom, she didn’t make it. Jiyeon’s dead.”
Tom stood motionless like a statue. The room was silent. He could feel Anderson staring at him from the screen.
Tom asked, “How?”
“They didn’t get her in time. The North Koreans who kidnapped her shot her as the house was being raided.”
Tom felt a coldness enter his chest. Few people knew him well. Those who were close provided a rare warmth. Her loss blew out an ember.
“Do we know how she was targeted? Or why they did this to her?” He asked slowly.
“The North Koreans in that house were all killed. The NIS thinks they have the other pieces of the puzzle together. They are about to get even.”
Tom was still staring at the ground. He nodded slowly. He could tell his face was expressionless.
“I’ve got you set up to fly back on a military flight in 24 hours,” Anderson continued. “You can rest up in the meantime.”
Tom looked up, “OK. I’ll be there.”
Tom walked out of the conference room. As he walked down the hallway he could feel that he had the thousand yard stare. He had learned from his time in the SEALs, in DEVGRU, and in SAD that sometimes the worst can happen. But the training and time spent in those units got him used to the idea that the worst could happen to him. What still felt wrong was the idea that the worst could happen to someone who he had thought was safe. Now Jiyeon will be remembered as a star on a wall or a name in a book, but her quiet smile and her inquisitive eyes will be forgotten by others, he thought.
He entered the locker room. He started putting his gear away. Tom wondered what the NIS was about to do. What did Anderson mean when he said the NIS was about to get even?
Devil's Fork Page 66
