“Yes”
“I will have my M4 rifle as I always do. Does it make sense to have, effectively, two rifles, one of which doesn’t kill?”
Anderson stepped forward “You should use your M4 as your primary weapon. This ADS is light and that dish on the end folds, so you can attach this to your back. What we are concerned about is if you get swarmed, your M4 will only do so much. This thing can hit 50 people at once.”
“Sir, with respect, if I get swarmed, they will have me surrounded and I will get killed nonetheless. And they’ll get that weapon.”
Sara shivered. Real intelligence operations were not like the movies. An officer was not supposed to ride in like a cowboy and start fighting. The most successful missions were those where not a single shot was fired. In those missions, the SAD was able to get intelligence without the opposing side knowing. Tom and the other operatives brought their rifles on some of the more dangerous missions, but just as an insurance policy. In case somebody started shooting at them, they could shoot back. Or if there was no way to get into a facility other than shooting a guard outside, they could shoot. But in those cases, even if the operative got back with the intelligence, the operation was still considered unsuccessful. A successful clandestine operation against an enemy meant that afterwards, the enemy would not know that you know what he knows, Sara sometimes thought with a smile. That idea seemed to bang all around her head.
“Look, Tom, let’s not get sidetracked about you getting swarmed. But at the end of the day this weapon is very light and powerful. And quiet. I think you should just take it and if you don’t use it, so be it.”
Tom sat back in his chair and gave out a calm “Roger that, sir”.
Anderson nodded at Tom. “Tom, you can go get your gear. We have a plane ready to take you to South Korea now. Sara and Matt can you two message Pacific Fleet Command and American Forces Korea? Can you tell them we are inserting someone into North Korea and need the Virginia? I’ll connect with them later to fill them in. By the way — Sara — what codename did you come up with for this mission?”
Sara paused.
“Devil’s Fork” she replied.
Everyone looked at each other with heads tilted. Sam mouthed to Eric “what is that?”
CHAPTER 4
Tom was at his locker in the gear room. He had a large, sturdy bag he always put his gear into for missions. He always checked his modified M4 first. He had used it on all his SEAL deployments and it felt like an extension of his arms. He packed plenty of ammunition, his all-black night uniform, scuba gear, night vision goggles, helmet and this new particle beam weapon they gave him. Tom knew that on high-risk covert missions, it is usually better to stick to what has always worked. He thought he could fire his M4 almost without aiming because he had used it so many times. But he knew it did nothing to think about it — the particle beam rifle was coming along, so he better accept it. It was better to focus on the mission.
From his SEAL days he had learned to evaluate a mission on the spot. This was based on the key elements needed in special operations for a mission to succeed. Anybody could learn about these elements as they were all outlined in Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare Theory and Practice, which could be picked up in any bookstore. But Tom had memorized it. Written by a brilliant SEAL officer, it served as a manual for planning special missions. The key takeaway is that special operations succeed when a small team attains “relative superiority” over a larger enemy force. That relative superiority could be achieved through six elements: simplicity, security, repetition, surprise, speed, and sense of purpose. He scrolled though each item in his mind.
“Simplicity: I am just getting to shore, sneaking up to this secret base, possibly neutralizing a couple guards outside, taking a look inside and leaving before sunrise. Yes that’s pretty simple,” he thought.
“Security: they don’t have any way of knowing that I’m coming. Check.”
“Repetition: I’ve done this before. I will practice shooting and maneuvering in South Korea. Check”
“Surprise: The North Koreans do not expect me to show up at that base.”
“Speed: I’ll be in and out in one night. That should be fast enough.”
“Sense of purpose: It’s definitely clear we have to figure out whether North Korea has nuclear weapons before they use them. Because they would use them. Yes I feel this mission is important.”
Just then he heard the door to the locker room open. He turned around and saw Sara walking in, ignoring the “Men” sign outside.
“You’re not much for men only signs are you?” Tom quipped.
“Well, I needed to talk to you before you left” She said.
She stopped a few feet from him. Tom kept packing his gear but was looking at Sara. He liked how she looked wearing her hair up — it showed more of her face. He also liked the way she dressed — she always seemed to take the typical dark work suit and add a dash of color — today she was wearing a small scarf that was deep red. She always looked well put-together. He appreciated her presence because he knew she was concerned for him. He could feel it sitting next to her at the briefing. That together with her sharp mind made her one of the top analysts in SAD, he often thought.
Sara started speaking a little too slowly “I — just wanted to see if you needed anything while you were gone. Like do you need me to do anything for you while you’re away?” She was touching her hair while she talked.
“Can you grab my mail? I was actually expecting a package today.”
She paused “OK — sure I can do that.”
“I ordered a book — Heart of Darkness. Would have been nice to read it on the plane, but I guess that’s not happening.”
She paused again “I’ll be watching over the mission closely on this one, Tom. I’ll make sure it goes right from this end.”
“With you here, I know we’ll be in good shape.”
“Well I better go help Matt send that message to PACOM. Good luck Tom. I’ll get that book for you.”
“Thanks.”
Sara walked out of the gear room slowly. Tom stood still for a few moments — he knew it was better to avoid saying a mission will go well. It always seemed to jinx it. He shrugged off the odd feeling and kept packing. But in the back of his head, he remembered what he had learned from countless DEVGRU and SAD operations. Missions rarely went completely according to plan.
CHAPTER 5
Officer 2135 decided it was time to check in. He had been sitting in his apartment, looking at the grey sky. Evening was creeping in, which he actually preferred to the dim clouds during the day. His apartment had a yellow hue from his lights.
He got up from his couch and walked into his small bedroom. There was only enough room to walk in and sit on the bed. 2135 was never bothered by it. On the floor next to his bed was a small table. 2135 pushed it aside and looked underneath at the usual spot. A hand-sized door was cut out of the floor where the table stood. He thought of it more as a cubby. He opened the compartment and saw his phone in its plastic bag, sitting in the usual place.
Officer 2135 performed the same ritual he had every night for the last fifteen years. This has been quite a journey, he thought, as he reminisced back to his childhood.
He had seen many bright days in his small childhood town in South Korea. He never had much contact with foreigners. He had not seen a westerner or even a tourist from China until he was in college. Young 2135 had no need to run around town with others or take trips to a city to spend a few nights in clubs or bars. He was always content with himself. But he could always talk to anyone and had always felt respected by others in school. His soccer team voted him captain in high school. He suspected his journey had started when he joined the South Korean Army after college. He remembered having to take a psychology exam. He thought nothing of it at the time. He sat with his class of cadets and spent thirty minutes answering questions on a piece of paper. Most of the questions blurred with time. But a few stayed in his mind. One he remembered clearly was: