The Third World War: A Terrifying Novel of Global Conflict

63

'They're clear,' announced Kozerski, pulling off his telephone headset and wiping perspiration from his brow.

'Thank God,' said West. To have lost Mary Newman to a Chinese mob would have been too much for him to bear. That he had sent her there in the first place had filled him with guilt. He should have guessed that China was cracking, that Jamie Song had lost his grip. West drained the cup of water in front of him and turned to the screen at the end of the table.

Pierce had persuaded West to move down to the situation room in the basement, where the imagery was clearer and communications more reliable. West had taken a seat next to Patton, who had joined them, along with Caroline Brock.

Kozerski stayed at the back of the room with the internal White House communications links. The directors of the CIA, FBI, NSA and other agencies remained in their offices. Half a dozen military and intelligence officers were around the table. The Vice-President was working from a secure location outside Washington. Marine One was on standby at the White House should evacuation be needed, with Air Force One fully crewed and fuelled ready for immediate take-off. National Guard fighter aircraft patrolled the skies over America's major cities.

Patton had ordered the arrest of twenty-eight Koreans suspected of sympathies with the North. Seven Korean associations were under surveillance and surrounded by police and National Guard. Smallpox vaccine had been sent to centres around the United States, with stockpiles distributed to mobile vaccination vehicles. The television and radio networks were running with the holocaust in India and Pakistan and the pending war with North Korea. There had been some incidents of panic buying at supermarkets and a brisk trade in gas masks. But Tom Patton had taken the decision to maintain normality as much as possible. Borders and airports remained open.

'Five minutes to target,' said Pierce, pointing to the images of B-1 and B-52 bombers which had flown in from Hawaii and US bases on the West Coast. He turned to a screen at the side of the table where a single image had been constructed with data from ground-penetrating radar, high-frequency seismic tests, magnetic mapping and thermal infrared imagery.

They showed the network of tunnels in the border area with clear outlines of the military hardware inside — long-range artillery, including the 170mm guns and 240mm rockets which could hit Seoul, and fighter aircraft positioned on underground runways for take-off. Under camouflaged cover were outdated military hovercraft, once designed to cross the DMZ without setting off landmines. But now their capability was questionable. Further underground thousands of men were in formation to pour into the South.

'Our aim is to defeat them in detail,' said Pierce. 'That means we kill or bury every soldier and every piece of equipment along the 151 miles of the DMZ. We're also deploying NBC detectors along the whole sector. They are self-propelling miniature unmanned vehicles which will stay airborne for twenty-four hours. Within five minutes of being activated they will detect any known nuclear, biological or chemical threat. Some are equipped with 360-degree cameras which will give added detail of the effect of the strikes. In other words, we should know within an hour under what conditions our troops will be crossing into North Korea.'

But as he glanced back at the radar images of the fleet of bombers flying at 630 miles an hour across the Sea of Japan, Pierce's expression turned into a look of horror. He put his finger to his headset. 'Repeat, for Christ's sake. Just say that again.'

All eyes were on Pierce as he reaffirmed what he had been told. 'Car bombs in Seoul,' he whispered. 'Wait—'

'Put it on the goddamn open speaker,' ordered West.

Kozerski flipped the switch. There was a crackle of static, then a crossed line, as Pierce locked on to the channel from the office of the chairman of the joint chiefs at the Pentagon.

'… at Itaewon, the US embassy, Chong-kak station. All car bombs. Gunman at Seoul International Airport, indiscriminate shooting in the departure lounge—'

'How the hell did they get the weapons in there?' muttered West.

'Mr President, explosions on two airliners on the ground. Please hold, Mr President—'

'Three minutes to target,' said another voice across the line.

'Holy shit,' whispered Kozerski. 'Look at that.'

On the side-screen, the blurred but recognizable images of heavy artillery turned and shifted position — but not enough for it to clear the cave. In another image, North Korean troops were pouring south through one of the tunnels. The hovercraft were breaking cover and being watched by the cameras of the Global Hawks.

'Is that artillery going to work?' asked West.

'Not where they are,' said Pierce.

'Maybe,' said Kozerski, his eyes on the new images from a Global Hawk camera. A cloud of smoke from a soundless explosion appeared from the side of the mountain.

'They've cut a firing angle into the rock,' said Pierce.

'Artillery launch,' said the voice from the Pentagon.

'Surface-to-air missile on the airport perimeter,' said another voice, as Pierce listened across two channels.

'170mm. Second shell. No, third. Fourth. 170mm and 152mm. Seoul is in range.'

'Confirmed hit in civilian airliner… SAM—'

'What the hell's it flying for?'

'Seoul International Airport is a write-off. Pictures? Yes. The networks are showing them live, now.'

'North Korean troops are through the tunnels.'

'Thirty seconds to strike.'

Kozerski's voice broke through. 'Mr President, the Chinese ambassador is on the line. He has been instructed to tell us that his government will consider an attack on North Korea as an act of war against China.'

'He's too late,' said West bluntly.

At the end of the table Tom Patton put down his telephone receiver and grasped Caroline Brock's hand. She looked up at him. She was tired. Very tired. Her hair fell over her face. They had been working round the clock in the White House, and nothing needed to be said between them. Caroline pushed back her hair, stood up and put on her coat.

'Mr President,' said Patton. 'Suicide bombing in Times Square. Variola major is detected.'