Page 31 of Mastermind

“The call stopped,” I say like a confused child.

“Probably a routing center. Or an overload. She’s fine. She knows you’re fine. I’ll send her an email. That’s still working, for now. Get some rest.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

DARKNESS

“Are you sure they want us here?” I ask when I see the massive armored personnel carrier parked at the end of the runway and surrounded by Korean National Police vehicles with flashing lights.

“I think we’re good,” says Jessica as she grabs her bag. “Hold on.” She takes a look at me and makes a concerned face.

“Do I look like the subject of a hostage-rescue video?”

“Not that bad . . . just . . . well, a little on the gaunt side. Let me see if I can borrow a jacket from the pilot.”

I glance down at the belt cinched around my waist with the pants fabric bunched up like a cloth sack. It’s not the worst I’ve looked, but not exactly the image of confidence we want to project. I’d offer to stay behind, but I don’t want to miss this.

Jessica returns from the front with a black bomber jacket. “Try this.”

I put it on. The bottom at least covers my belt and potato-sack pants. “Better?”

“A little. At least they’re less likely to charge me with reckless endangerment.” She heads toward the open door and stairs. “If anyone asks, you’re a consultant for the FBI.”

“Technically, I’ve been just that. So no stretch there.” I glance out at the small group of Korean officials waiting for us. “How exactly did you arrange this?”

Jessica points to a tall Korean woman in a suit with blonde streaks in her hair. She’s got sharp features, attractive but forceful. She kind of reminds me of Jessica.

“That’s Lilith. I did some teaching for the FBI program that works with international agencies. We got along pretty well. She ran an entire unit that went after North Korean saboteurs. She started out by doing undercover operations when she was nineteen. Tough as nails. If she asks you a question, don’t lie to her. She’ll know.”

“Okay. And what is our situation here? Do we have to worry about IDR showing up?”

“We shouldn’t. Fingers crossed. I did a little paperwork while you were sleeping,” she explains.

“Okay . . .”

“Being the first to file, make requisitions, and tell the chain of command what you’re doing is basically the Hogwarts magic of the FBI. If I say that I brought a person of interest in to interview and I ask a supervisor what questions they want answered, it basically commits them to approving the whole endeavor. Anyway, I can give you plenty more tips later. I learned from a master at sailing the seas of bureaucracy: bullshit reports are the wind in your sails.”

“That sounds like a horrible way to live.”

“You’re telling me. Are you good on the stairs?” she asks.

“I’m good. I feel better than I look.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Jessica steps onto the tarmac and greets her friend with a hug, then motions me forward. I reach the circle of officials and keep my appropriate distance. Lilith gives me a nod, and then two others are introduced, an older man named Dr. Gap-Kyum and a younger Korean official whose name is given as Ray.

The Western nicknames some Asian people use have always fascinated me. I’ve wondered if adopting that name also helps in assuming, at least partially, a Western frame of mind.

“Are you ready, Dr. Cray?” asks Lilith. Her English is perfect. I suspect she probably speaks a number of other dialects and languages with equal ease. Some minds are capable like that. Johnny could do it, and the poor kid never even had a proper tutor. He could even pronounce the complicated names on our medicine bottles after hearing them spoken aloud only once.

In a better world, he wouldn’t be sleeping on a piece of cardboard in the back of his grandmother’s junk shed. He’d be in high school and on his way to whatever university he chose. I’ve seen so much untapped potential in the darkest places. Children who could be doctors. Adults fixing bent bicycle rims with a spoon who could be designing Teslas. If you were to ask me what’s broken in this world, I’d say it’s the amount of talent found in the places we ignore.

“When the event happened, we’d already had personnel outside the major cities prepared,” Lilith explains as we walk toward the massive armored vehicle.

“New York was enough for you?” asks Jessica.

“We fared okay after COVID-19 because we took a hard hit on SARS and learned to be proactive. We also decided to prepare for other contingencies. When we heard about the mini-EMPs, our first concern was, what if our friends to the north managed to get their hands on some?” Lilith explains. “Watch your heads.”