Long Road to Mercy (Atlee Pine, #1)(102)

“But would it be plausible to argue that the North Koreans would plant a bomb on American soil?” said Pine. “They’d know we would destroy them if the truth came out.”

“Well, our side would counter that argument by simply saying if the bomb had exploded there would have been no evidence left of where it had come from. But if it came out that North Korea had tried to detonate a nuke in the heart of America’s greatest natural landmark before we found out and put a stop to it? War would have been inevitable.”

“And a lot of people would die in a war like that,” said Pine.

“It would be long and bloody with human carnage the likes of which we haven’t seen since World War II and the Korean War. Literally millions would die. Hundreds of thousands on the very first day.”

“My God,” said Kettler. “And I thought the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were bad.”

Roth said, “All wars are horrible when it comes to human casualties. I’m sure some wonks in the government have come up with ‘exact’ numbers of deaths in all categories along with the justification to sacrifice them in such a conflict.” He shook his head. “What a business to be in.”

“Why would we need the Russians to help us with this?” asked Pine.

“As I said, the Russians have assisted North Korea with their weapons programs for a long time. They had ready access to ‘legitimate’ fissile materials that our government needed to go through with this plan. The panel with the North Korean characters and the rest? We wouldn’t have to fake it since we could have the real thing. Without Russia we would have had to go out and find similar material, or else try to concoct a bogus weapon made to look like a North Korean weapon using materials we could gather here and there. But the nuclear weapons arena is an elite one. There simply aren’t that many players. And the ones in that arena are well known, as are their weapons-building signatures. So if we had gone to third-party sources other than Russia, that would have left a trail that would lead right back to us, making the plan a nonstarter from the get-go.”

“Okay, but then why would the Russians help us do this?” asked Pine. “What would they get out of it?”

“It would allow them to partner with the world’s only superpower. That elevates them to near our status. And Russia wants to be the lead actor in the Far East, but there is no way they can match Beijing’s economic machine. Thus, they’re looking for other ways to exert influence and have a voice in the region. I would imagine that Russia would be rewarded in some way. Maybe after we won the war, we would annex part or all of North Korea for Russia.”

“Like when they split up Germany after World War II?” said Pine.

“Yes. And North Korea has some natural resources—anthracite coal, for example—that Russia could use to bolster its Far East economy.” He paused and looked thoughtful. “Who knows, this might be the beginning of some grand bargain between us and the Russians to divvy up parts of the world. I mean that was what the Cold War was about, although America and Russia were adversaries back then.”

“We should still be adversaries,” said Pine.

“But that does not appear to be how things are shaping up right now.”

Pine said, “The North Koreans must know something is up. They sent Chung to find out about it. To find you, in fact.”

“They would have every incentive to stop it, since their very existence is on the line.”

“How did you become involved in this?”

“Fred Wormsley was a dear friend, both of my father and me. He was a mentor.”

“I heard that he drowned.”

“He didn’t drown, he was murdered. And he’s the reason I’m down here now.”

“What do you mean?” asked Pine.

“Before he died, Fred secretly met with me. With his high position at the NSA, he had actually been recruited for this crazy mission. The thing is, you’d think there would be a thousand leaks with something like this. Well, as far as I know, Fred was the only one who stood up to them. But he pretended to be a willing participant, so he could learn all he could about it. But then, somehow, he was betrayed.”

“And you took up the fight he couldn’t finish,” commented Pine.

“After Fred told me what he knew, I set out to get to this nuke. Fortunately, he knew the location of the cave where it had been placed, and he gave me that information. Otherwise, it really would have been impossible to locate, given the size of the Canyon.”

“And Ben Priest? What’s the connection?”

“Ben had worked for years at the CIA. Then he joined Defense Intelligence. When I was inspecting WMDs in various countries, Ben was working behind the scenes pushing for greater access for my teams. During that time we became good friends. After that he went out on his own. I’ve never been exactly sure what he was doing then, but he acquired a reputation for assisting people mired in complex situations that required a first-rate knowledge of geopolitics. When I told him about this conspiracy, he was immediately onboard. Ben instantly saw how incredibly foolhardy this plan was. And that it had to be stopped. At all costs.”

“Apparently even if it cost him and his brother their lives,” noted Pine.

Kettler said, “And what about the mule?”

Roth said, “Actually, the mule was the main reason I approached Ben with this. You see, when I learned where the nuclear device was from Fred Wormsley, I recalled that Ben had previously told me about a mule ride he was going to take to the floor of the Canyon. There was no way I could get a mule of my own. You have to reserve your spot over a year in advance. Thus, Ben and I had hatched the plan where I would take his place on the ride down. It was perfect.”