The Third World War: A Terrifying Novel of Global Conflict

61

'Campbell will be there in an hour,' said Kozerski, finishing the call.

'Have you got Sato yet?' asked West.

'Sato's dead. He stayed above ground in Tokyo,' said Pierce. 'Just hold a moment, Mr President—'

West turned to Kozerski. 'Is Kozlov still on the line?'

'The line's open. I can get him.'

'Is he in Beijing or Moscow?'

'Just back in Moscow, sir.'

'Japan's launched on North Korea,' said Pierce. 'A 20-kiloton nuclear warhead, airburst above Pyongyang at 2,000 feet.'

For a stunned moment, there was complete silence in the Oval Office.

'One launch?' asked West softly. An old saying came to mind. After the first time, the rest is easy. Amid the confusion and hard facts, a cold truth was coming out. How could he blame Sato? He would do the same, if one of his cities was hit. Only Mehta had shown self-control. And for that he had lost.

'President Cho from Seoul,' said Kozerski.

'Hold him for a couple of seconds,' said West. 'Chris, we have to go in across the DMZ. Now.'

'Our troops?' Pierce looked sharply at the President.

'They're fighting a war. They'll do fine. John, put Cho on.'

'Don't hit them, Mr President. Or they're going to hit us. Let it settle. We're emptying Seoul. I can't go nuclear on the border because the fucking wind's blowing south.' Cho sounded desparate.

'We're going in,' said West calmly. 'We have treaty obligations with you and with Japan.'

'Fuck. No—'

'Cho, we've got to draw a line on this. It'll be fine.'