North Korean Blowup

by Chet Cunningham

  Ho took out a wad of bills that Hunter had given him. He began to peel off one hundred won notes, each worth about $50 U.S. dollars.

  Unsan’s eyes went wide.

  “Where you get so much money? You rob a bank?”

  “Ten thousand won. I can give you ten thousand for it. Then you report it stolen and you might get it back.”

  “The bus is worth fifteen thousand.”

  Ho laughed. “Hell it isn’t my money. Let’s make it eleven thousand and you still might get it back.”

  They shook hands and Unsan took out a ring of keys and pulled one off it and handed it to Ho. Ho counted out the bills. It almost finished off his roll. He put the remainder in his pocket.

  “Now, fill up the gas tank and I’ll let you get back to sleep.”

  The bus was in a garage behind the man’s house, and he used ten gallon cans to fill the tank with gasoline. Then he grinned.

  “I think I did a good night’s work. And maybe get the bus back.”

  “Just don’t flash around any money, and if the police come, you be sure you tell them you filed a stolen bus report first thing this morning.”

  Ho waved at his friend and hoped that he didn’t get in trouble. The bus would quickly be identified as one that took part in a raid on the bomb plant and the cops might not treat him well. He shrugged. Fortunes of war, and this was a war. His side had to win.

  He hurried into the main part of town where he knew there was an all night food store. He went in and came out with two large boxes jammed full of take out food. Then he was on the highway out of town and on the road to the north. He was about half way to where he had left the SEALs when bright lights down the highway flashed on and off. He frowned but slowed the bus. When the headlights picked up the source, he saw two North Korean Army six bys sitting crossways in the two lane highway. There was no way he could get around them. He slowed and stopped, taking the 9mm pistol out of his waistband and holding it low beside the driver’s door.

  He rolled down the bus’s window as a soldier came up holding an AK-47.

  “Well, an empty bus. Where are you going so late at night?”

  “Just got it repaired in Sunan and going back home to Anju. Is there any problem?”

  “Not if you have your ownership certificate and your identity papers.”

  “Could I talk with your lieutenant?”

  “Ha, no officer on a road stop like this. Just me and my corporal. He’s sleeping and not about to be woke up. Get out of the bus and show me your papers.”

  Ho came out of the bus with his right hand behind him. As soon as his feet hit the ground he brought up the pistol and shot the soldier three times in the chest. He fell hard and didn’t move. Ho ran toward the big trucks. Before he got there the door to one of them opened and a man jumped down with his rifle at the ready.

  It was twenty feet to the soldier. Ho brought up the pistol and aimed carefully. The soldier must have heard the shots but in the darkness beside the bus he couldn’t see Ho. Ho fired three times, then three more times and the soldier screamed and fell. Ho ran up and fired once more to make sure. Then he jumped in the nearest truck, found the keys in the ignition and backed it around out of the way. He went back and dragged the bodies fifty yards off the road, then threw the rifles into the brush and trees.

  He hurried back to the bus, started it and drove past the trucks and slammed down the road. No one would miss the soldiers before they were relieved at dawn. He had a chance to get away clean. He thought for a minute about killing the two men. It had to be done. There were a million lives depending on how well he did his job tonight and tomorrow. He was determined not to let down a million of his countrymen.

  It was just past 0300 when the two SEAL scouts saw another set of lights coming up the highway. They had checked out more than a dozen such headlamps in the past. This time the lights belonged to a pale green bus and it slowed as it came to the grove of trees along the highway. When Tran saw it was a bus, he jumped out into the road where the headlights would wash over him. The bus slowed more and then pulled off the road at a wide place and the door opened.

  “Hey, want ride?” Ho asked.

  Tran used his radio. “Commander, your taxi is here and it’s got a big grin on its Korean face.”

  “Roger that, Tran. Will gather up the chicks and move your direction. Give us ten.”

  The bus had thirty seats. Tran could not decide what make it was and it showed numerous repairs and repainting. The windows were all intact, but the seats had been gouged and burned by cigarettes and there was the definite odor of many unwashed bodies who had used the rig.

  The SEALs settled in most using two seats, and Hunter told them to get into their soccer uniforms. They were going to need them shortly. He checked the time. It was 0315. He talked to Ho.

  “Any trouble?”

  “I bought bus like you said. Eleven thousand won.” He held out the pistol. “Had to use at roadblock. Two soldiers.”

  Hunter released the magazine and looked at it. It was light, maybe half full.

  “Will anyone come looking for us?”

  “No. No radio. Two hid.”

  “Good. Without you we’d be in deep shit here, my friend.” He slapped Ho on the back. “Now back to business. Did you see the two stunted pine trees and the tumbled down house where we turn off?”

  “Not south. More north.”

  “Okay. It’s close by somewhere and then we have only fifteen miles to go to the new village. We’ll be too early. When would the best time be to get to the gate?”

  “Nine o’clock,” Ho said.

  “That’s six hours from now. We need to find a place off the highway where we can hide the bus. Shouldn’t take us more than an hour to get from here to our target. See what you can find.”

  Ten minutes later, Ho pulled the bus off the two lane highway into a side road that wound into a small valley. Two hundred yards from the highway was a large patch of woods, with several kinds of hardwood trees, some brush, and some pines. The bus slid into a small opening and was invisible from the highway.

  “Guys, we have six hours to kill. Up to you. Sleep, wet dreams, whatever. That’s after the surprise Ho has for you.”

  Ho went to the back of the bus and brought up two big cardboard boxes filled with sweet rolls, sandwiches, a can of cooked baby shrimp, boxes of crackers. He made a second trip and brought up three cases of 24 cans each of Coca Cola.

  “Eat,” Hunter said. “Then sleep. We’re gonna need it. Once we leave that complex we’re going to have a whole shit pot full of army troopers hot on our tail. We’ll drive back here and leave the bus and bust our asses to get over to our pick up point.”

  After they ate everything in sight and polished off most of the Cokes, Hunter put Tran out thirty yards from the bus toward the highway and Dengler the same distance the other direction.

  “You’ll get relief in two hours, so stay awake and watch for anything that might give us trouble,” Hunter told them. He settled down in a seat near the window, leaned against the glass and stretched his feet out on the second seat. There were two seats on each side of the aisle and eight rows. Thirty two seats. Hunter looked over his men, set his count down wrist watch for two hours and pushed in the alarm button. Then he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

  What seemed like a moment later a familiar buzzing sound awoke him. He checked the glowing dial of his watch: 0410. He pushed off the seat and found Bradford, waking him gently. When the JG opened his eyes, he nodded.

  “I’m awake.”

  “You’ve got the con here. I and Foster are going on watch. Send two out to replace us at oh six hundred.”

  “Gotcha.” He set his count down watch and Hunter searched the sleeping bodies with his pen light to find the medic.

  A little after 0700 it was full light. Most of the SEALs were awake. They polished off the last of the Coke and yelled at Ho for breakfast.

  “No breakfast sonsbitches. Lucky get Coke.�
� They hooted at him and they all laughed.

  They waited until 0800 to move out on the main highway hunting the turnoff to the bomb plant. Hunter spotted it two miles north, where he saw the stunted two pine trees and a run down farm house. The roadway they turned right on was good, well traveled and maintained. They rolled along at thirty five miles an hour and soon they could see the fortified gates, the barbed wire, and high fences ahead.

  Everyone had on soccer uniforms and played catch with the three soccer balls. Ho drove up to the two armed soldiers twenty yards from the swing out steel gate. Six guards stood in front of the gate. Ho waved at the sergeant who stared at him.

  “Morning. Guess we’re a little early for the game. We’re the Lancers soccer team touring this area for the army, making stops at all the facilities. Your recreation officer should have received a message from our headquarters a week ago.”

  “No army soccer team here,” the guard said frowning.

  “Yeah, that happens. The Colonel told us we’d run into that. He said to find the local civilian team and set up a game for the enjoyment of all. Who should we talk to?”

  The sergeant’s frown grew. He walked around the bus looking at the uniforms and the men tossing the balls. They tried to keep their backs to him most of the time.

  He came back and scowled. “I’ll have to call my unit officer. Wait there off the road.”

  “Sure, no rush. Can’t play until this afternoon.”

  Ho pulled the bus off the road to a parking area and they all waited while the sergeant was replaced at his post and he went into a guard building evidently to use a telephone.

  It was five minutes before the sergeant guard came back. He nodded. “I talked to the facility general manager and he said it was about time a soccer team came up here. Been more than six months he said. He has a civilian team and they will meet you at the soccer field at four o’clock this afternoon. No lights on the field.”

  “Great, we’ll go inside and get in a short practice. We’re a little rusty sitting around in this bus so long.”

  The sergeant waved at the gate guards who swung out the heavy steel barrier. The sergeant came back.

  “You need a guide to help you find the field?”

  Ho chuckled. “Hell no, a soccer field isn’t hard to find. Anyway we have lots of time. Thanks for your help.”

  Ho started the engine, pulled the bus back on the road, and drove through the gate into the highly protected facility.

  “Damn, we made it,” Hunter said. “Figured it was touch and go there for a while. Wonder how many troops they have protecting this place.”

  “Not big group or they have soccer team,” Ho said. “Guess maybe fifty.”

  “That will be good news if we have to shoot our way out of here. Now let’s find that soccer field and make believe, while we scout out the three building Dr. Sung said we should shatter.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  No one seemed to care that they were there. They drove though three streets of houses, then down an avenue with a few shops and stores. They passed what had to be the soccer field with goal posts at each end.

  Well beyond the houses and shops they came to the industrial area. This was made up of a series of one and two story buildings. Some had trucks outside. There were no parking lots as would be usual in the U.S.

  “The first building we need has a fence and barbed wire around it,” Hunter said reading his notes. “Dr. Sung said this was the main one with the bombs in it and that the other two were where major components were built.”

  They drove around another block and they saw it. The place looked like Fort Knox should. A pair of ten foot chain link fences set ten feet apart surrounded the entire building. On top of both fences were rolls of razor barbed wire. Between the fences they saw roving guard dogs.

  The big drive-in gate located at one side of the layout, was a series of three stop and go barriers, all electrically rolled away and made of what looked like bar steel two inches square. They were placed thirty yards apart. Nobody would drive a six by through those gates. Each gate had four soldiers guarding it. All had AK-47s.

  They kept driving past the area fast enough not to attract attention.

  “Now there is a secure building,” Hunter said. “How in hell are we going to get inside?”

  “Can’t get inside,” his earpiece said. It was Senior Chief Chapman from the back of the bus. “We’ll have to do it from the outside.”

  “Let’s find the other two buildings we need to blow,” Bancroft said. “Maybe they will be easier.”

  They went past the soccer field and this time a team worked out on driving the ball downfield.

  “We not play them,” Ho said. “They good.”

  The second building Dr. Sung had described was about a quarter of a mile down the main industrial section road. It was made of unpainted concrete blocks. It had the look of an office building and they saw men coming in and out. There were no guards, no fences, and it appeared to be less important than the first one. It had lots of windows along the street side. They drove on by and circled around to go the opposite direction.

  The third building they need to destroy was larger than the second one, but it had armed guards posted, two at each of the three doors on the street side. It was two story and probably built from concrete blocks, but it had been painted a dull yellow so they couldn’t be sure.

  “Got to be a block house,” Tran said. “It has an arched roof, rather than a flat one, so there must be a lot of wood inside. Maybe laminated wood arches hold up the roof.”

  “Bancroft, this baby is yours,” Hunter said. “Figure out how you’re going to take it down. You’ll have yourself and four men. Three of your men will go with the Senior Chief to get building number two. Chief Chapman, you’ll get one man from my squad. The rest of Alpha will take down the first building we looked at. Let’s keep our radios working.

  “Ho, you stay with the bus dropping off the men at the three targets, then move out a half mile and wait for a pickup call. If we have any problems, we’ll try to take care of them as the show up. Any questions?”

  “Yeah, we going to hit all the buildings at the same time?” The senior chief asked.

  “Good point. Ho, when you drop off the last team, give them five minutes to get in position, then use your radio and give us all a go on the assault. Everyone have that?”

  He heard assents over the radio and saw heads nod.

  “Okay, can we wait until dark to attack?”

  Ho shook his head. “No. Many soldiers curious about bus. Some scowl.”

  “Bancroft?” Hunter queried.

  “I’ve seen some strange looks from some of the soldiers. The civilians don’t seem to care about our bus. I’d say we go as soon as we can get in position.”

  “Senior Chief?”

  “Yeah, I like to see who I’m shooting. I’d say go as soon as we can.”

  “Tran, how will daylight affect you in getting us out of here?”

  “We have to stay with the bus, so no scouting. We shoot them up, blow the buildings, then get out with as much fire fight as we run up against.”

  “Fine, I agree. We’ll go now. Ho, find our first building. Bancroft,

  designate the men you send to Chapman. From Alpha it’s Walden. Ho, what building is the first drop off?”

  “The big one, fences.”

  “Let us off in the street that heads into it so we’re a block away and don’t attract any attention. Let’s do it.”

  Ho drove the bus over a block and stopped at what looked like a small clothing store.

  “Hunter and his three men bailed out. Hunter waved at Ho. “Meet us right here for the pickup.” Then he was gone running down the block with his men to the building where they could see the assembly building facing the street. Hunter and his three men edged up to the corner of the building facing the fenced plant.

  Four windows showed down the street side of the building. The fence was far enou
gh out that they could stand and fire twenty millimeter rounds over the fence and into the structure. Hunter decided at once that was the only way they could take down the place. They had two Bull Pups. He outlined the idea to his men.

  “Mo and I will fire WP rounds into the windows as soon as we get the go from the radio. Chang, you and Tanner use the AK-47’s and blast any soldiers who come out of the building to escape the fire.

  They waited. Hunter hit his stop watch ascending time. It was thirteen minutes before their radios gave Ho’s go ahead.

  “Let’s do it,” he said to Mo.

  The two of them fired five rounds each. Guards at the gate half a block away turned toward them but didn’t leave their posts. All but two of the devil burning white phosphorous rounds went through the windows and inside. Almost at once they heard a siren which must be a fire alarm. The main truck doors to the big facility remained closed. Smaller people sized doors along the front popped open.

  “Let the people come out,” Hunter said. “We don’t want them, we want the bombs.”

  At first just a few civilians came out, then dozens. Soon Hunter could see smoke gushing from the broken windows. The flat roof was out of sight.

  The fire siren kept wailing, then another sound came, a loud horn blasted and the main truck doors opened. The three wide entrance gates rolled back and at the same time a large truck drove out of the main doors. On the flat bed was a large assembly covered by a canvas that frantic men were still strapping down.

  “Moving the bombs,” Hunter said. Take out the truck.” Both he and Mo fired twenties at the truck cab. The first round hit the window on the right and exploded inside tearing the driver into spare parts. The second round slammed through the hood and fenders and exploded inside the engine. The big rig ground to a halt blocking the big double truck doors into the assembly building.

  “Take out the cargo,” Hunter said. Both men fired at the assembly of what looked like it was big enough to be an almost finished nuclear weapon strapped on the flat bed. Two men scrambled off the rig just before the rounds hit. The first round blasted half of the tarp off the weapon. The next two hit a panel and slammed it off the side of the seven foot long device. More rounds from the twenties thundered into the bomb, chewing it up and mashing and smashing vital components.