Chapter 6 – The Briefing
July 30th 5:25 pm
Osan Air Force Base, South Korea.
The C-17 transport plane coming inbound from Fairhaven landed on Osan Air Force base in South Korea, the base was ran by both U.S. and Korean military personnel. On the tarmac were many F-22, F-16 and different transport planes. The plane made its final stop at a hangar, inside was a smaller private jet which was used by Agents Frank Romano and his people. The hatch from the back of the plane opened, Dalton, Marcus and Col. Sam Duncan were the first ones to come out of the aircraft.
"Welcome to South Korea, sir" said a Korean soldier with a thick accent as he saluted the Colonel.
"Thank you, son. At ease" the Colonel responded.
"I've never been inside a military facility" said Marcus as he observed the soldiers and the military vehicles scattered around the base.
"It's not like the police stations you used to hang out" Dalton responded.
The trio walked towards a Jeep where it would drive them from the hangar to the main building where the briefing would take place. Behind them was another Jeep which Wade Mulligan and Jade Wong were riding towards the same location. Both Jeeps exited the hangar and headed to the main building.
"Reporters weren't kidding about how much tension is felt around here" Marcus observed how soldiers seemed to be on edge at all times.
"The military here have so much to defend but common citizens live normal lives, maybe after the operation you should spend a couple of days in Seoul. It's just like many other cities around the world" Col. Duncan replied.
"Maybe I should do that" Marcus said.
Dalton was quiet since they landed.
"You're awfully quiet" Marcus looked at Dalton.
"Just thinking" Dalton responded.
The Jeep arrived at the building. Once inside the building they made their way into a briefing room which contained many screens and super computers, it was very high tech that it resembled something out of a comic book such as the Justice League or the X-men.
"This is unreal" Marcus was amazed by so much equipment, he's never seen anything like it during his days as a cop.
"This is what tax payers give their money for" said Jade who was right behind Marcus.
"Ironic, isn't it?" Dalton said.
"What is?" Jade asked.
"People support regimes and wars against other peoples without knowing how bloody wars can be" Dalton explained.
"I see your point" Marcus agreed.
From a distance a young female standing 5'7, with a well-proportioned body with long raven-black hair reaching just over her waist could be seen talking to Agent Frank Romano. She was wearing a business attire. She looked like a model and not like someone who could be in the intelligence community. Dalton walked up to them.
"Hey kid… I see you made it here with the cop" said Romano in reference to Marcus.
"Yeah, and did you bring your agent?" Dalton asked. The female turned around and faced him.
"You must be the famous Lance Dalton…" The female extended her hand.
"Yeah… Lance Dalton I am" Dalton shook the female's hand.
"This is Agent Kira Mercier, one of the best agents in the Agency" said Romano
"It's a pleasure to meet you Agent Mercier" Dalton said politely.
"Likewise… but please call me Kira"
"Ok…" Dalton replied.
Kira looked at both Jade and Marcus "Is that the cop from Tri City?"
"Yeah…" Dalton answered "Yo Marcus…. Here's someone I'd like you to meet"
Marcus walked where Dalton was standing.
"I'd like you to meet our driver…. Kira Mercier from the Agency" Dalton said.
"Damn… If the CIA had agents like this, I would've become an agent instead of becoming a cop" Marcus said in his usual teasing tone.
"I thought you had a girl back home" Dalton rained on Marcus' parade.
"I take that as a compliment" Kira giggled.
"See someone appreciates my sense of humor" Marcus replied
"If your girl only knew" Dalton shook his head.
Col. Duncan walked into the room with Dr. Mulligan.
"Gentlemen… let's take a seat" Col. Duncan stood in front of the room, everybody followed suit.
A huge screen behind the Colonel displayed a bunch of pictures and files, all belonging to the Red Lazarus, the North Korean regime and Chase Lihn…
"So you used to fly fighter jets?" Kira asked Dalton as she sat next to him.
"How long have you been in the Agency?" Dalton replied with a question.
"Long enough to know pretty much about you and Dick Tracy right here" Kira replied.
"Enlighten me" Dalton said with a cocky tone in his voice.
Kira smiled at Dalton "Well for starters, you started flying the F-18 as it is the Royal Canadian Air Force's plane of choice but you're far more specialized on the F-22 raptor and Suhkoi fighter jets since you were attached to NATO as well, you also like driving muscle cars in fact you own a Chevelle SS. Want me to continue?"
"You obviously read my profile… you did your homework. There's a lot you don't know" Dalton replied.
"Wanna bet?" Kira said with a flirtatious tone.
More people went inside the room, ranging from data analysts and radio communications experts to both US and South Korean military officials. The lights dimmed down and Col. Duncan addressed the group in attendance.
"Gentlemen… as you know we've got a situation up north" Col. Duncan announced as the screen behind him displayed a map of the Korean peninsula.
"The Red Lazarus bio weapon was stolen from one of our NATO bases in Germany by this woman" A picture of a woman appeared onscreen, she had dark hair and she was wearing a trench coat over her black military outfit "Her name is Valerie Storm but that's just an alias, her real name is Chase Lihn. She used to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation years ago but had ties to diverse criminal organizations. She was apprehended by former Tri City Detective Marcus Rodriguez" Col. Duncan pointed at Marcus.
Marcus acknowledged as many people took a quick glance at him.
"She was apparently found dead in her cell but she faked her death with the help of known terrorist Rasheed Al-Nazari. Sometime after Al-Nazari's death in Egypt she became a gun for hire" Col. Duncan kept explaining.
"You must feel good…. Hero" Dalton said to Marcus.
"Smartass" Marcus chuckled.
"The Red Lazarus is a very dangerous weapon and in the hands of the North Korean regime can bring very dire consequences" Col. Duncan added.
A young Korean woman in her 20's walked towards the Colonel, she was wearing a business outfit that consisted of short skirt, a blouse and a blazer. She had dark hair with brown highlights and it reached just below her shoulders, she stood 5'6.
"This is Keun Sun Yeung, she's an expert on bio-chemical weapons working for the South Korean government… she's a civilian but her knowledge on the matter at hand is very valuable" Col. Duncan moved to the side and Sun Yeung took over the briefing.
"As Col. Duncan was saying, the Red Lazarus was stolen from a military facility in Germany, now our intelligence agencies have confirmed that the North is in possession of this bio weapon. The Red Lazarus can kill a city's population by causing the cells to literally burst, causing it's victims to suddenly collapse. We've found out that Pyongyang has plans of unleashing this weapon in Seoul and Tokyo. Japan's Ministry of Defense is on high alert as well" Sun Yeung explained.
"I have a question…" Marcus got up from his seat.
"Yes" Sun Yeung responded.
"How much do you know about Chase Lihn?" Marcus asked.
"You are the officer who brought her down, right?" Sun Yeung looked at Marcus.
"Four years ago in Tri City. I wanna know how she went from a rogue FBI agent to a terrorist" Marcus demanded answers.
"All we know she took up the alias of Valerie Storm but other than that…. We know as much as you do" Sun Yeung answered.
"Something tells me you know more than you're willing to say" Marcus felt Sun Yeung was hiding something.
"I'm sorry but that's all we know" Sun Yeung responded.
"Besides Chase who are we targeting?" Kira asked.
Sun Yeung looked at Kira "I was about to get to that…."
"You either tell us the truth or I'm walking out" Marcus interrupted.
"Put a sock in it and let her talk, cop" a South Korean official got on Marcus' face.
"And who are you? Her bodyguard?" Marcus barked back.
"Disrespectful rat" The official replied. Him and Marcus were ready to go at it until Dalton got up from his seat and dragged Marcus back "You gotta chill, she's doing her job"
Kira only looked at Dalton trying to calm Marcus down.
"Ok…. Well as I was saying" Sun Yeung started to explain as the screen displayed the picture of a man in his mid 50's "There's a facility fifty miles north from Kaesong, we had undercover agents who provided solid evidence of such facility ran by General Dae Hwang. They also have the ballistic missiles to carry such an attack"
"So how are we going to stop them?" another Korean official asked.
"We've formulated a plan of action at the Pentagon, we're deploying three stealth vehicles into North Korea, these vehicles can infiltrate and destroy the enemy facility without alerting them" Col. Duncan explained.
"So we're relying on these vehicles instead of a full on assault?" the official asked.
"It's our best shot" the Colonel reassured. The Official wasn't convinced on how effective the plan of action was going to be.
"So what's the insertion method since we're using these prototype stealth vehicles?" Dalton asked.
Sun Yeung felt nervous as she saw Dalton.
"Sun… it's been a while" Dalton smiled.
"Well Lieutenant…. There's a section of the DMZ that is completely desolated and security from the north is not too tight. That's the best place to cross" Sun Yeung seemed to have met Dalton before.
"Just like old times" said Dalton.
"I suppose this is a black op?" Kira asked.
Col. Duncan looked at Kira "The usual, no official support so if you get captured or killed, we'll disavow all knowledge of your activities in enemy territory"
"When do we start?" Dalton inquired.
"At 5:00 hours" the Colonel responded.
"I see, suicide mission" Marcus said.
"It rides all on you, Godspeed" Col. Duncan dismissed the briefing. Everyone in attendance were leaving while others were discussing details. Sun Yeung made her way out of the briefing room, Dalton followed her.
"Sun… wait up" Dalton caught up with her.
"Dalton, what do you want?" Sun Yeung asked with annoyance in her voice.
"It's been a while, I haven't heard from you" Dalton responded.
Sun Yeung took a deep breath "And you wonder why?"
"I sent you e-mails" said Dalton.
"Gee… here I thought it was junk mail" Sun Yeung said sarcastically.
"I sent you letters" Dalton insisted.
"I made fires" Sun Yeung continued with her sarcasm.
"Ok you're mad at me for doing my job" Dalton got in front of Sun Yeung.
"I thought you cared about me but you care more about all these missions" Sun Yeung protested. Years ago Dalton and Sun Yeung had a quick relationship but Dalton's career was more important, something Sun Yeung felt uneasy about.
"I see you went from being just a data analyst to having a good career with your government. Maybe we should grab a drink and catch up on old times" Dalton said cynically.
"Look, Dalton. I'm busy and can't play your love games" Sun Yeung walked away.
Kira and Marcus saw what happened as they were walking on the same direction.
"What a hell was that all about" Marcus asked.
"Nothing" Dalton replied.
"I know… she was your girl three years ago" Kira said.
"You seem to know everything. Marcus, you should ask her" Dalton dismissed Marcus' question.
Wade Mulligan and Jade walked up to them
"We don't have too much time so I'll go with you over the details on the cars" Wade said.
Kira nodded. Now that the team has been assembled, three individuals will cross into one of the most hostile places on earth. One wants redemption, the other wants justice and the third is committed to duty. Only destiny will guide them from this point on.
The Junkie's notes: I'm sorry if you feel a bit inpatient about some races. I feel it was important to introduce the main characters and the whole setting. Look forward to some action on the next chapters. God Bless and One Love…..
