Still, it was unlike Han-Jae not to check in.
Then Min-Woo remembered the last thing he’d told his asset. He’d told him not to call until he had the sword in his possession.
Easy enough explanation. Han-Jae was still looking.
Min-Woo left the apartment and walked down the stairs. The elevators would be shut down by now to save power, just one more irritation brought about by the current leadership.
At the bottom of the stairs, he made his way through the empty lobby and out the glass doors in front. A black sedan was sitting there with the engine on and the back door open. A soldier stood next to the door.
“General,” he said with a quick salute. “The Chairman sent his car to pick you up.”
Min-Woo was surprised by the act, but it wasn’t the first time something like that happened. He got into the back seat without thanking the soldier, who closed the door and rushed around to the front.
In his years of serving the Chairman and his father, Min-Woo had only been to Headquarters 2 on three occasions. One was when they believed an assassin had infiltrated the country. It turned out to be nothing more than a hoax, probably instigated by the south.
The driver pulled the car out onto the empty city streets and did a U-turn, heading out of town toward the mountains.
Pyongyang was a ghost town. No lights burned in any of the apartments, though some citizens had circumvented the power rationing by lighting candles after dark. No one walked on the sidewalks or drove on the streets, partly because of strict curfews, partly because there was nothing to do anyway.
Ten minutes after leaving the city, Min-Woo noticed the secret road to Headquarters 2 pass by on the right.
“Excuse me,” he said. “Where are you going? You just missed the road.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, General. I got word that the Chairman has another location in mind. He’s very concerned about this security breach.”
There it was again. More worry about a security breach. Min-Woo had been in contact with his contemporaries all day. Whatever this breach was, it had the leader concerned enough that he wanted to meet in the middle of nowhere.
Another ten minutes passed before the driver made a left turn onto a worn-out gravel road. It was more dirt than gravel now, filled in by years of erosion.
The car bumped and jostled in the ruts and holes, causing Min-Woo to wonder if the vehicle could finish the journey.
“Maybe the Chairman should have sent a truck,” he half joked.
The driver said nothing and maneuvered the vehicle around a left-hand curve, then a right. When he straightened out the wheel, he drove the car straight ahead into a grove of trees. The canopy blocked out the starry sky above, leaving nothing to look at but the skeletal trunks passing by on either side.
Finally, more cars appeared in a meadow directly ahead. Soldiers were standing around at attention. In the middle of them was the Chairman in his usual suit.
When the car came to a stop, Min-Woo didn’t wait for the driver to come around and get him. He opened the door and stepped out, anxious to find out what was going on to cause such a panic.
He walked toward the Chairman and stopped a few feet short to salute him.
“What’s going on, sir? I heard there was some kind of security issue.”
The Chairman stared at Min-Woo for a long moment and then put his arm around him. “Thank you for coming. I’ve heard some troubling news, and I wanted to have your opinion on it in person. I’m afraid over the phone wouldn’t do.”
“It’s no problem, Chairman. What’s going on?”
“We have a traitor in our midst. Someone is plotting against us.” The Chairman kept his arm around the general, walking away from the cars toward the darkness of the forest. “I need your advice on what to do.”
The general raised an eyebrow and looked at his leader. “This traitor, he’s involved with the security breach?”
“Yes. And I need to know what you would do. I need your counsel. You have always been one of my most trusted advisers.”
“Understood, sir. Get me the details on this traitor. Who is he? Where does he live?”
“What would you do to him if you found him?”
“What we do with any traitor, sir. Execute them like the dog they are.”
The Chairman nodded. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”
His arm slid off of Min-Woo’s shoulders. The general felt something press into his back. Before he could react, the gun fired.
Min-Woo felt the bullet pierce his skin and come out of his abdomen. It severed his spinal cord on the way in, and instantly he lost all feeling in his legs. With no control over his lower extremities, he dropped to the ground and clutched the wound in his gut with both hands.
“I received word,” the Chairman said, “from an outside source. They told me that you assigned a team to find the sword called Excalibur and that your plan was to use it to overthrow me.” His voice swelled with every word until he was yelling. “I trusted you! This is how you repay that trust and the generosity I’ve shown you!?”
“Please,” Min-Woo said. He coughed several times before he could speak again. “Please, sir. You’re mistaken.”
“Mistaken? I’m mistaken? How then did I receive this picture of one of our operatives in captivity?” He held up an image of a man Min-Woo knew was a part of Han-Jae’s team.
“Sir, please. You don’t understand.”
“Enough, Min-Woo. You betrayed me. And you have condemned yourself with your own words.”
The Chairman raised the weapon and aimed it at Min-Woo’s head.
“Sir, please. Don’t do this. I was only working for the glory of our—”
The muzzle erupted, and Min-Woo fell instantly silent.
The Chairman stuffed the gun back in his jacket and motioned for two of his soldiers to dispose of the body.
He returned to one of the big cars sitting in the meadow and looked at the officer standing next to it.
“They didn’t say anything about the location of where the other operatives were, did they?” the Chairman asked.
The officer shook his head. “No, sir. They didn’t.”
“Just as well. They’re all traitors. Perhaps now we can put this foolishness about a mythical sword behind us.”
Chapter 37
Sean stood close to the camera crews shooting video and snapping hundreds of pictures.
The decision to leave Excalibur in its hiding place had, at first, seemed to be the right one, but after a day or two of reflection Tommy felt his parents at least deserved to see the relic they’d worked so hard to find.
They protested, of course, telling their son that it wasn’t important. Part of him wondered if they feared the location on the mountain wasn’t where the sword was hidden. There was an odd comfort in not knowing for certain.
After a discussion with Sean, Tommy knew what he had to do.
Getting the permits from the Jordanian government had taken time. Fortunately, the king of Jordan was swelling with pride at learning one of the most sought-after artifacts of all time was in his country.
Tommy promised that if they were to find the blade, it would be well cared for and presented to the government.
After weeks of working through red tape and months of carefully running the excavation, the crews finally found something: the corner of a stone box.
The workers toiled around the clock, in shifts to allow for rest. Tommy and his parents barely slept once the box had been found. They spent more time on site than anyone else.
Finally, the slender container was opened. Its lid was sealed with wax to prevent intrusion of air and water, a measure that managed to preserve the weapon in nearly perfect condition.