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Amazon
Category:
Action/Thriller
Publisher: Publish America
ISBN-10: 1592865011
Type: Fiction
Pages: 227
Copyright: 2003
In 1947, on a military base absent from any map, a black ops project took place which, even after more than fifty years, is still categorically denied. The best and brightest Allied scientists met with a single purpose in mind: to reverse engineer a crippled UFO, prying the alien technology from within and claiming it for their own. In time, secrets pulled from the extraterrestrial craft send close friends Ed Reilly and Gil Randolph on a roller coaster ride that rushes from the desolate Nevada desert to a closely guarded industrial complex nestled in the pine forests of northern California. Working at San Diego’s North Island Naval Station, he encounters unusual problems with a submarine tracking system manufactured by prime military contractor Randolph & Van Wyck—the core company of Gil Randolph’s industrial empire. Soon, information provided by his grandfather launches Charlie on a frantic mission to deflect a deadly attack against US submarines, orchestrated by rogue North Korean military officers. In the meantime, Ed faces his own dilemma: finding a way to send Charlie data crucial to the success of the mission and staying alive long enough to do it.
May 14, 1995
Naval Station, Hamhung, North Korea
Admiral Park Sok Won clasped his hands behind his back and gazed out the window at the crowd gathered in the courtyard below his office. He cursed his President, Kim Il Sung, for dying at a time when the people needed decisive leadership. In the months since Kim, the founding father of the nation of North Korea, had died, famine had grown to epic proportions. Rain continued to fall in the agricultural regions, turning life-giving streams into rivers of death and destruction. Massive flooding exacerbated the chronic food shortage and there was no sign of let up. The country was falling apart before his eyes.
Park’s aide, Commander Chu Kwang Hak, knocked politely at the Admiral’s open door and bowed as he entered the room. He waited a respectful distance from Park, concealing his excitement behind a wall of professional self-control.
The Admiral turned around.
“Close the door.” He said. The strain of command was beginning to show in his face. He dark mustache was streaked with gray and the lines around his mouth were becoming deep furrows.
Chu closed the door and returned to the middle of the room.
“What is the status?” Park asked.
“The last of the Tracker devices has been released, Admiral. San Francisco bay was seeded on Wednesday and the San Diego operation was completed on Friday.”
The sound of gunfire erupted from the couryard. Neither officer needed to look out the window to know what had happened. Another group of peasants had been executed for resorting to cannibalism. The disgusting practice was spreading.
Kim Il Sung was dead and his son and heir, Kin Jong Il, was too indecisive and morally corrupt to deal with the crisis. In the minds of many, North Korea was in imminent danger of ceasing to exist as a sovereign nation. Earlier in the year, Admiral Park had led a small group of military leaders in making a sacred oath of duty. Vowing to do everything within their power to protect the country, the men were resigned to committing high treason in order to save the nation.
The first stage of their far-reaching plan had been accomplished with the final Tracker units dropped into the shallow waters near the American naval stations on the Pacific Coast. The second stage would begin when Park gave the orders to float the hybrid torpedo-mines, called whale killers, at strategic locations throughout the world. Once deployed, they would give Park the ability to cleanse the oceans of the powerful U. S. submarine fleet. If he was pushed that far.
Having accomplished a feat of such magnitude, Park reasoned that none would oppose him when it came time to eliminate the weakling, Kim, who currently controlled the government, and seize the helm of state with his own hands. The old Kim was a strong leader, but his son was nothing more than a proud fool who had refused to accept offers of food and support even though his subjects were dying all around him. The mangy dog wouldn’t do the one decent thing guaranteed to end rampant hunger and relieve Park of his duty to shoot fellow countrymen for resorting to cannibalism.
Outside in the courtyard, another volley of rifle shots reverberated through the morning air.
“Deploy the whale killers.” He ordered Chu. “It is time to finish this thing.”
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