2nd Infantry Division
Camp Casey
Spence and Mungo’s Co-meeting
Secure Room, Camp Casey, South Korea
0210 hours Sierra
Comment of the Moment: “Worse than that, much worse than that, how do they know about our newly formed detachment?”
After the members of Mungo’s team left the secure room, Spence and Harvey entered and seated themselves at the conference table. Mungo and Slover seated themselves across the table from them.
Mungo began, “Colonel, these secure rooms are swept daily. In the past, prior Intelligence staffs seldom ever have found spyware in these rooms. Tonight, however, we found about six devices that we have never found before. You’ve had an opportunity to see the ones we piled in a box out in the CQ area?”
“Yes. That was an impressive collection. When others have found spyware, is that number of pieces an unusual number?”
“Colonel, it’s fucking unheard of. On top of that, this time, we’ve found a couple of new devices.”
“How’s that?”
“One of the listening devices, the one we told you about, was a new device to us, and it was one that even when you think you have disabled it by dropping it in water, it boils away the water and resumes transmitting again. It’s powered by its propinquity to a small solar array.”
“Sounds like someone is determined to hear what we have planned.”
“Not only that, sir, but in the other secure room, the ashtray was a recording and transmitting device.”
With the hairs rising on the back of his neck, Spence asked, “What ashtray?”
“The ashtray that was in the other secure room.”
“We didn’t have an ashtray in our secure room. Harvey and I wanted one, but we couldn’t find one.””
Mungo paused in thought for a few seconds. He said, “You say the ashtray wasn’t there when you went in there at first. Then, after the alert, and after the new cleaning woman had been here, there was an ashtray placed there? The new cleaning woman is the only other person who’s been in there today. So, now we know for sure the new cleaning woman was a spy.”
Spence asked, “You’re sure Wilson didn’t put it there?”
Mungo paused, “With all due respect, sir, whatever your disagreement with him is, he’s not fucking likely to do that.”
Spence shrugged and said, “Okay, I get your point. We need to get a description of that cleaning woman so that if she ever comes back, we’ll have her. We need to get it to the South Korean Intelligence Service. What do you think, Captain?”
Harvey agreed, “I think you’re right. But think about the big picture. When you look at the whole picture, and include her, you see an alert called. You see our normal cleaning crew missing. You see a suspicious replacement come in. You see newly placed spyware, and then, ‘poof’ suddenly the alert gets a stand down not long after it is called. It makes you wonder.”
Spence asked, “Are you suggesting that the alert was staged just so that someone could place spyware in here in an effort to find out what this group is doing?”
“If our group is what they are trying to find out about, I think it makes sense. It may sound far out to you, sir, but it looks logical to me.”
“Yeah, but I mean, the whole North Korean Army, within 15 kilometers north of the DMZ mobilizes all of a sudden?”
“Well, sir, what other event would get everyone outside of the buildings and thinking totally about anything other than spyware being placed? Nothing I can think of nothing other than a direct attack on us would do that.”
Mungo said, “That means some smart ass in North Korea has an awful lot of juice to mobilize a portion of the North Korean Army just to place some spyware on us?”
Harvey exclaimed, “Jeez, what do they think we’re after?”
Spence mused, “Militarily, that would make the installation of those pieces of spyware an incredibly important and expensive effort. That’s hard for me to buy into.”
Harvey disagreed, “Let me restate my theory. If you’re the enemy and you have something significant to hide, you would do that. They have several things to hide that they don’t want the world to know about. They don’t want anyone to know what they are doing with nuclear material. They don’t want the world to know what they are doing with testing rockets. They don’t want us to know what they are planning on the battle field. And they don’t want us to know what they are doing in their political meetings. It gives credibility to our General’s suspicions about those supposed tunnels.
“With the North Koreans, you can never tell. They play their cards so close to the vest. They do a lot of stupid shit that sometimes, in retrospect, when you connect the dots, seems really brilliant. I wouldn’t put it past them, but worse than that, much worse than that, it appears they really know something about us. How do they know about our newly formed detachment?”
Spence asked, “Are you sure that all of this is aimed at our detachment? I mean, aside from ourselves only the SECDEF and our General know about us.”
Harvey shrugged, “It is a logical conclusion, given the overall picture. If you were secretly digging tunnels under North Korea, what would you do to keep it secret?
“Just look at Camp Casey. We know they’ve had their eyes all over this camp and all over the other Army installations this close to the DMZ. They know what’s here militarily, and they have their battle plan for dealing with Casey and all the other installations. That should lead us to ask what is new that they want to know about us.”
“Nah, it’s too pat. It’s too much of a stretch. I think it’s coincidental.”
“Colonel, remember what we were taught? Our CIA instructors told us that in the spy world, there are no coincidences.”
“No, I don’t buy that bullshit.”
Harvey shrugged, “I’m just saying.”
“Captain, we don’t even know who the cleaning woman was working for. Was she working for the Russians, for the Chinese? Just because she was Korean doesn’t mean she was working for the DPRK.”
Spence waved Harvey’s speculation aside. He looked at Mungo and said, “After chow, you probably ought to arrange for Supply to have some two-by-four lumber. Also, get a twenty or thirty-foot ladder. No, wait. We don’t know how deep the tunnels are going to be. Better arrange for enough ladders that you can assemble at least 40 feet of length.
“And as for the lumber, you’ll need enough to build a framework that would be twelve feet by twelve feet. That should be enough to keep casual bystanders from falling into whatever hole you have to dig to get down to the tunnel. And if anyone asks you what you’re doing, tell them you’ve found a sink hole and you’re going to fill it in.”
Mungo said, “Copy that, sir.”
Spence concluded, “Okay, I think we’ve covered all bases. Captain Harvey and Staff Sergeant Williams and I have some serious traveling to do. We need to prepare for it.
“Your team needs to get some rest, before you start exploring. Let’s break.”
Everyone but Spence had left the secure room.
In the secure room, He looked to see if the glass ashtray was in the room. He examined the one on the table. He satisfied himself that it was not spyware. He took out his satellite phone and called his General in Washington. The time in Korea was 0220 hours. In Washington, D.C. the time was still the day before at 1320 hours. The General answered on the first ring.
He said, “What can you tell me?”
Spence related, “Sir, the ‘Eye’ missions are good to go. Captain Harvey is on board and actively interested. He wanted Staff Sergeant Williams with us because he is fluent in Spanish. We fly out of here via MAC in about three hours for Fort Lewis, and then on to Huachuca, Bliss, and West Texas.
“We’ve found some listening spy devices and spy cameras in our secure rooms. They are of unique design and purpose. We’re sending them to Sergeant Pearly, our computer and electro-mechanical genius to see what he can do with them. Apparently, someone out here thinks we’re doing something they want to know about.”
“Who do you think it is?”
“It’s hard to say at this point. We have one soldier who saw the individual who we think placed the spyware. The suspect was Korean. But we don’t know for whom she was working. It could have been the Russians, the Chinese, or the North Koreans.”
“We have to keep our current investigation secret from everyone. We don’t know who is connected to whom. Until we investigate further, we have to play it close. You are maintaining strict secrecy, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely!”
“Outstanding!
“Harvey’s file makes him the most likely candidate for the CONUS portion of the Mission. His file is most interesting.
“Keep me posted.”
Spence answered, “Will do, Sir.” He broke the connection. His phone beeped. He held it up before his eyes to see if any lights were blinking. None were. He wondered idly, why did it do that? It’s been doing that recently. Must be a low battery warning. He decided to charge it. Then he put the phone out of his mind.
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