“Probably.”
“I just can’t believe it. We found it. We found it!”
The moment of victorious jubilation was cut short as Baldwin stepped closer to Sean. He stood over the American as he spoke. “You have done well. You will always have friends in the Brotherhood for as long as you live. Should you ever need our assistance, you know where to find us.”
Baldwin stuck out his hand. Sean hesitated for a second and then shook it as firmly as possible.
“Actually, we don’t know where to find you.”
Baldwin let go and straightened up. “I know,” he said with a wink. He turned and motioned for his men to get moving.
“Did he just make a joke?” Sean asked Tommy.
“I think he did,” Tommy said, amazed.
“What about the sword?” Adriana asked. “What do you want us to do with it?”
Baldwin stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “Do whatever you feel is right.”
He and his men trudged back up the path and disappeared around the bend.
“So… what?” June said. “We get equipment up here to move this stone out of the way and then start digging? What’s the normal process for something like this?”
Tommy looked at Sean, then Adriana, and then into the eyes of his parents. His mother and father stared at him with a warmth in their eyes.
“No,” Tommy said finally. “We’re going to leave it here.”
“What?” June said. “I don’t understand. We’ve been through so much. Your parents… they’ve waited their whole lives to see this.”
“I know. I know. It’s just that… this sword, if it’s as powerful as we think it might be… it could be dangerous to take it out of its hiding place. In the wrong hands, it could cause a whole lot of trouble.”
“But if we don’t dig down there, we won’t know if it’s really there. Don’t you want to know for sure?”
“I have a pretty good feeling it’s there,” Tommy said. “The only question is, can you keep it a secret?”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
June had a pouty look on her face that cracked as Tommy moved nearer. He pressed his lips to hers and squeezed her tight.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Sean said. He looked at Tommy’s parents with a relieved expression on his face, like a two-ton yoke had been taken off his back. “You have no idea how bad he needed to find a girl.”
They didn’t get the joke.
“Hey,” Tommy said, pulling away from June for a second. “We’re right here.”
June pressed her fingers to his face and twisted his head back around to face her again. “I think you boys have had enough fun together for one week.”
“You’re probably right.”
Sean stared at the stone. He rested his arms on his knees, finally catching his breath. Adriana sat down next to him and followed his gaze.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” she said. “This sacred place where Moses was shown the promised land is the same place where the sword he gave Joshua is hidden. That stone sits atop Excalibur.”
“It sure is. A lot to take in when you think about it.”
She tilted her head over and rested it on his shoulder. “How is it we keep finding ourselves in these kinds of situations? You know, shootouts and fighting for our lives?”
Sean sighed. “Because we’re the best people for the job, I guess. Would anyone else have been able to take these guys down or figure out all the clues to get here?”
“Mmm. I don’t know. But we’ll have to slow down some day. Can’t do this sort of thing forever.”
He snorted. “You’re right about that. I guess when the time is right we’ll know.”
Tommy and June joined his parents standing by the stone and gave them the biggest hug of his life. Sean wondered if he’d ever let go.
“Well, I’m glad it’s over,” Adriana said.
Sean kept his thoughts to himself.
Not quite.
Chapter 36
General Min-Woo walked into his apartment and locked the door behind him. He wasn’t afraid someone would try to break in. No one would be foolish enough to do that. He was one of the Chairman’s most trusted advisers. If a criminal tried to enter his home, that person would be put through their own personal hell before dying.
Min-Woo stepped into the kitchen and switched on the lights. He pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and poured half the contents down his throat.
It had been another long day of ridiculous meetings, war room briefings, and more meetings, followed by watching soldiers perform military marching drills for two hours.
Min-Woo made his way over to the living room and turned on the television. State-approved television was pretty awful, but it beat sitting around in silence. He eased into his big vinyl chair and put his head back, taking a moment to relax and forget about the stupidity of all the things he’d done over the course of the day.
Maybe after he rested for a few minutes he’d call one of the girls on his list. While Min-Woo hated much of the way the Chairman ran things, he had to admit that being one of Dear Leader’s most trusted advisers did have its privileges.
After sitting in his favorite chair for ten minutes, Min-Woo realized he was still wearing his full uniform. He shook his head and got up, walked into the bedroom, and started taking off the medals from his jacket. He kicked off his shoes and was about to remove his pants in favor of some sweats when his phone started ringing in the living room.
It wasn’t his burn phone, the one he used to keep in contact with Han-Jae. It was his day-to-day phone.
He hurried back into the other room and pressed the green button. “Hello?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, General. Something has come up.”
Min-Woo didn’t recognize the voice on the other end, but that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. He got calls from different people all the time. As soldiers were promoted up through the ranks, new ones came in under them to take their place.
“What is it?” Min-Woo asked.
“The Chairman requires your presence. Something has come up, and your expertise is needed.”
The answer was cryptic, but again, nothing out of the ordinary. North Korea was a place full of paranoia. Citizens knew not to say anything stupid on the phones because the government was always listening. Every now and then, the secret police would go out and pick up random people just to reinforce fear in the minds of the people.
Fear led to respect. Respect led to following the rules.
Min-Woo also knew better than to ask if whatever the Chairman needed could wait. Dear Leader was soft. He couldn’t make decisions on his own, like a kid in a candy store unable to choose which sweet to buy.
“Very well,” Min-Woo said. “I’ll put my shoes back on and head that way.”
“Not the usual place, General. We’re afraid there might be a security breach. The Chairman has requested to meet you at backup headquarters.”
“Security breach? What kind of security breach? I wasn’t aware of anything like that.”
“I’ve been asked not to discuss the details on the phone, sir.”
Min-Woo sighed. “Very well. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
He ended the call and slid the phone into his pocket. As he put his clothes back on, he glanced over at the burner phone sitting on the glass table. He’d not heard from Han-Jae in days, which either meant his operative was still in pursuit of the sword, or something worse….
He pushed away the second thought. Han-Jae and his men were some of the best North Korea had to offer. They knew how to move in and out of the shadows, keep a low profile, and avoid security checkpoints in every country in the world.