The tapping of his feet on concrete and stone changed to thumping as his shoes repeatedly pounded on the wooden dock. In the boat, he could see Adriana was looking his way.
“Start the boat!” he yelled.
She didn’t need to be told twice. Adriana twisted the key in the ignition and the motor roared to life. She’d only tied off the back end. She stepped over and loosened the rope, dropping it on the deck. Then she stepped back to the wheel and wrapped her fingers around the knob to the side.
The sirens grew louder. Sean noted the police boats splashing through the waves as they drew close to the docks. The spotters were pointing at the crowd of people near the piazza.
He took two last steps and then dove from the dock into the boat, rolling to a crashing halt against the gunwale.
Adriana didn’t wait for an order. She shifted the knob forward and eased the boat out of its slip. The motor groaned and lifted the bow several feet. Adriana guided the craft out into the open water, keeping her eyes forward just in case the police had noticed her escape. Looking casual was the first step in remaining anonymous.
Her dark brown hair was pulled back tight into a ponytail, but a few loose strands had pulled free and flapped around in the wind.
When they were clear of the busy channels, she turned the wheel and steered toward the backside of the nearest island across the way. She glanced down at Sean and flashed him a bright smile.
“Had some trouble back there?” she asked in her Spanish accent.
Sean was still catching his breath. He sat up enough to look out behind them at the chaos surrounding San Marco Square. “A little. It wasn’t easy; I’ll say that.”
“Is it ever?”
He shook his head. “Almost never.”
She gazed out over the water as the bow rose and fell in the two-foot swells. “I’m assuming it’s in your jacket. That or you dropped it in your mad dash for the boat.”
Sean chuckled and reached into his jacket. He produced the object, still wrapped in its brown paper. He held it up triumphantly and shook it with a flick of the wrist.
“Aww, that was nice of you to gift wrap it for him.”
“I thought he’d think it was a nice touch,” Sean said, continuing her sarcasm. “A brown bag was the best I could do. Thought it might help to disguise it.”
“Did it?”
“Not even close.”
Adriana snorted. “Well, Tommy should be happy. I imagine he’ll get a good amount of press for this one. Not to mention some powerful friends.”
“Yeah. And enemies.”
Chapter 4
Han-Jae Pak strode through the dark corridor, wearing the smile of a triumphant warrior. He carried a small metallic case in his right hand, locked to his wrist by a thin chain and cuff.
None of the soldiers saluted as he walked by. He wasn’t an officer, not that they knew of. Pak’s job was entirely undercover, only known to the highest of officials in the North Korean government. Not even the Chairman knew who he was or what he did.
His boss made sure of that.
Pak stopped at the pair of elevators and pressed the button. It didn’t surprise him that the door to the right opened immediately. Due to the lateness of the hour, he doubted anyone would be out and about. Curfews made certain that the city’s citizens were off the streets well before midnight.
After a slow ride up to the penthouse, Pak stepped off and turned to his left. One of the guards — a low-level soldier in the North Korean army — greeted him with a nod and moved aside to allow Pak to pass.
Pak recognized the man but didn’t say anything to him. There was no time for chitchat. He had something of extreme importance to share.
At the last door on the right, Pak stopped and knocked three times. A moment later, an older man in a gray shirt and pants opened the door. His black hair was slicked back. The cheeks below his eyes were slightly swollen and his neck a tad pudgy.
Pak wasn’t surprised. The only people in the country who tended to eat well were the ones who ran it. General Ku Min-Woo was one of those. When the general had first approached Pak about a secret mission, the younger man had been wary. After a little convincing, however, Pak started to see things the general’s way.
What they were doing wasn’t some piddly little thing, either. It was clear-cut treason. If the Chairman found out about it, they’d both be dead men, along with at least a dozen or so others who’d been in on the conspiracy. For most of those involved, it was worth it, including Han-Jae Pak.
He’d worked as a spy for nearly a decade. The general knew he was one of their best operatives, but that wasn’t the only reason he’d chosen Pak. He knew that Pak had a desperate family who was — at this very moment — probably starving to death. A promise of extra rations would make people do things they’d normally scoff at. Especially in North Korea. The rules here were different.
Since Dear Leader had done nothing to assist Pak’s family, he figured it didn’t matter if what he was doing was treason or not. In reality, the Chairman had betrayed his people. Now it was time to set things straight.
Han-Jae wasn’t anti-government. He was proud of his heritage and believed North Korea should assert its power on a global stage, but in the pursuit of vainglory, the government had forgotten its most important responsibility: its people.
“You’ve done well,” the general said. He moved aside and motioned for Pak to enter.
Once he was inside, the general closed the door and led the way to a dining room table in a corner just beyond the kitchen. The condo was minimally decorated, as were those of most officials who worked in government. General Min-Woo, however, had a much larger living space than the average citizen. The condo featured three bedrooms, two baths, and a living room that was the size of most apartments in Pyongyang.
Pak set the metal case on the table and pulled a small key out of his right pocket. He loosened the cuff from his wrist first and then inserted the key into the hole on top of the case.
“There’s nothing dangerous in there, correct?”
“Of course not, sir. All of the samples are currently in our labs under safe watch.”
Min-Woo gave an approving nod.
Pak flipped the snaps holding the two halves of the case together and lifted the top. Inside was a stack of printed images and papers.
“The reports you asked for,” Pak said. “Along with images of the DNA samples, straight from the German’s lab.”
Min-Woo picked up the documents and pored over them. He set them down after a rudimentary glance and pinched the corner of one of the images. He held it up to the light and stared at the genetic sequence.
“The mutated blocks are smaller than the others.”
“Just as you predicted, sir. Your theory about the source of the mutation fits perfectly with this evidence.”
Min-Woo’s head rocked back and forth absentmindedly. He was mesmerized by the picture. “I knew it. And even so, I couldn’t believe it was real until now, having seen it with my own eyes.”
“This will make us a world superpower, General. No one will be able to stand in our way.”
“In time, Han-Jae. In time. There is much work to be done before that can happen. And we must operate with the utmost secrecy. If the Chairman were to find out about our clandestine operations, he would have us both shot.”
No other person in the city would dare speak of performing secret operations outside the scope of the Chairman’s knowledge. But Min-Woo was not an average citizen. He personally swept his condo for bugs every other day, making sure no one was listening in on his schemes. Of course, he’d found devices. It was easy enough to remove them, place them somewhere quiet when he needed to, and then put them back where he found them. That way, whoever put them there would find them upon checking in every now and then.