Critical Incidents: The ROK - Land of HAN (A Jack Gunn Mystery Thriller Book 1) (10 page)

Ted said, “You mean the National Intelligence Service.”

“Yes, that’s right. Lee told me that he and the other guards were assigned new duties. They were given desk jobs and were replaced by one man, named Kwon. Now, maybe you know this and maybe not, but the Director of the NIS is appointed by the President, but needs to be approved by the National Assembly and the Army Chief of Staff. He reports directly to the President.”

“Yes, I understand that.”

“Well, the Director of the NIS was replaced, about a month ago, without the approval of the National Assembly or the Army. The new Director is named Jin-chil Suk. This guy, Kwon, is now in charge of the President’s security and he reports to Suk.

“Lee is concerned that the President is being set up. He wonders how the NIS Director can be replaced without the proper approval. Lee and the other bodyguards were secretly removed without even getting a chance to say good-bye to President Roh. They were his close bodyguards for four years. Doesn’t that seem odd?”

“Damn, Jack. This is a complicated situation alright. It sure makes me wonder what’s going on with the NIS and National Assembly. It sounds like some type of internal coup has taken place. But maybe Roh did approve the new NIS Director. How does your buddy Lee know that he didn’t?”

“He doesn’t, but the main point is the National Assembly and Army Chief of Staff hasn’t approved the new NIS director.”

“Maybe they will and haven’t got around to it yet.”

I replied, “The main reason Lee thinks something is funny is because there was no news about the change, officially or unofficially. Nothing was in the media about it. So going a step further, I wonder if Wright and Ellington are involved in this in some way.”

“That’s really a stretch, but a good question. For now keep the two separate until you find a connection. I really don’t want to get openly involved in Korean politics. That’s a big no-no,” Ted said.

“What if there is a coup in progress?” I asked. “We have to know what the hell is going on because it affects the security of the United States. Like it or not, Ted, Korea is a hot zone.”

“Yes, I guess you’re right about that.” Ted scratched his chin and looked at the time. It was nine o’clock, time for the meeting. “Jack, let’s go to the meeting and after that we can discuss this situation further.”

At the staff meeting I was introduced to Master Gunnery Sergeant Wilson Smith who is in charge of the ten man MSG detail at the embassy. Gunny Smith was a big guy, standing at least three or four inches over me. He appeared to be in his mid-forties, which made him an old timer. His uniform was pressed and it fit him perfectly. He stood tall and straight like he was at attention all the time. He had the standard Marine close-cut hair and didn’t crack a smile. He was a real old school Marine and I liked what I saw. Gunny Smith would make my job easier.   

I was also introduced to my Security Agents who all report directly to me. I set a time to meet with them to review the security procedures and the overall situation.

After the meeting, Ted and I returned to his office. He said, “So you want permission to work with your friend, Lee, to find out what’s going on with the NIS and President Roh. And you want to investigate these other men you mentioned, because they seem suspicious.”

“Yes, but unofficially of course.” I said.

“Unofficially, go ahead. But you’re treading on thin ice, Jack. I ask you to keep this investigation under your hat until something concrete is uncovered.”

“Don’t worry, I will. By the way, have you ever met Roh?”

“Yes, one time. He had a welcome dinner for me at the Blue House. But that was before this stuff about the NIS happened.”

“Ted, what do you think about giving him a phone call to see if everything is ok?”

Ted thought about this for a minute. “That sounds a little tacky. What will I say? President Roh, are you ok? Is you security team alright? Who is the new Director of the NIS and why did you change people?”

After what seemed like a five minute pause, Ted said, “No, I can’t phone him right now. Let me think about it while you continue the investigation. I need a good reason to call the President. If you can bring me some concrete proof that something is going on, I’ll phone him.”

“Ok. I understand.”

“If that’s all for now, I have several meetings to attend.”

“Yeah, that’s all for now. I have a lot of work to do.”

“Jack, you’ve only been here two days and I already got a headache.”

“Sorry, Ted. I’ll keep you posted.”

We both stood up and shook hands. Ted handed me a folder marked ‘Secret’ and said, “Here, take this information folder. Read it and keep it locked up.” Ted hesitated for a minute. “Jack, I want you to know, even with the headache it’s still great to have you on my team.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. I won’t let you down. See you later.”

As I walked out of the room, Ted commented, “Remember, we have a dinner date. How’s this weekend sound? Maybe Saturday.”

“That sounds good to me,” I said, as I left his office.

I felt a little stupid giving Ted all the bad news on the first day meeting him. But he was in the big leagues now and needed to step up to the plate.

I went to my office located in the basement, next to the armory room. Sitting at a desk, in a room next to mine, was my secretary an older career woman, named Lisa Shoemaker, whom I had met earlier. Lisa does all the correspondence and paperwork for the agents and the Marines. People like her are a valuable asset and usually know better than anyone else how to get around the red tape.

She stood up as I walked in. “Agent Gunn, this is your office,” as she pointed to the door. “The other agents are located down the hall. Anything you need, please let me know.”

She took me inside my office and showed me the intercom, the handheld radio, computer, and explained the filing system.

“Thank you, Lisa. I appreciate your help,” I said.  

It was a nice big office, but it didn’t have any windows. There were ten large security monitors mounted on the walls, showing rotating views of the embassy. My office and those of my five agents are located in one area, all next to each other. Outside of my office, to the left, is the armory room, which is nothing more than a huge safe. Alongside of the armory room is a “Secret Room” which is also another large safe that contains confidential and secret files along with information on all the embassy employees. Standing in between the large safes was a Marine Security Guard. One is on duty here around the clock.

I sat down in my plush leather office chair. It was comfortable, so I leaned back and put my feet up on the oversized wooden desk. I picked up the classified file, given to me by Ted, and started reading it. The file contained information on all my agents and the Marine Guards. I read about their backgrounds and experience. Also enclosed was an outline of how the embassy functioned and whom to contact if there were any type of problems. A little over two hundred people work here everyday. The embassy has a dispensary with a nurse, cafeteria, and a driver service. Of course, any person employed by the embassy is given a complete background check by the DSS.

Below my office, in the sub-basement, is a secure panic room. It contains enough beds to sleep sixty people, including showers. There is a generator that will automatically turn on if a power failure occurs. It will run for thirty days before it needs fuel. Basically, people can survive for thirty days living in the embassy because food and water reserves are stored.

I found the combination to the Armory Safe in my files. According to the rules, the only ones who have the combination are the Marines, DS agents, and Ambassador Stevens. No one else is permitted in the room unless approved by me or the Ambassador.

I wanted to see what was inside of the Armory. I needed to review the type of weapons inside and how many. Walking up to the Marine on guard, I said, “Hello, Corporal. I’m Jack Gunn, the new RSO.”

He snapped to attention. “Yes, Sir. I know who you are, Sir.”

“I’d like to look inside the Armory and take a weapons inventory.”

“Yes, Sir. There is an inventory list hanging on the inside of the door, Sir. Master Gunny takes inventory every Sunday. Sir, shall I open the safe now?”

I looked at his name tag. “Yes, Corporal Richards, please do so.”

Richards swung the massive metal door open. I stepped inside the room and each wall was lined with all types of weapons. Glancing inside the safe, it was a lot bigger than I thought. It was the size of a UPS panel truck. I read the inventory list hanging on the door.

Mark 14 Grenade Launcher … Quantity 1

The Mark 14 or Mk 14 40mm super six, can launch grenades up to a range of 1,000 yards. It holds six grenades and can fire them in rapid order. It is a lightweight weapon and is used by USSOCOM operators.

M4 Carbine … Quantity 20

The M4 is a lightweight, 5.56 mm caliber, magazine-fed, air cooled rifle. It is manufactured with extensive use of aluminum alloys and synthetic materials. The M4 is the standard combat weapon. It is a redesigned smaller and lighter version of the M16.

Glock 17 … Quantity 20

A Glock is without a doubt the best handgun ever made. The barrels never wear out and they are very dependable. It will fire under water, you can throw it in the mud or run it over with a truck, and it still works every time. It is lightweight and has a 17-round magazine capacity. It fires a luger 9mm round, which is the most common handgun ammunition in the world.

M2 Heavy Machine Gun … Quantity 2

The M2 heavy machine gun is a 50-caliber Browning machine gun (BMG) round that can go through steel, even an engine block. It can go through one side of a car, come out the other side, and kill someone. The BMG has a muzzle velocity of 1,900 miles per hour or 2,800 feet per second. The BMG bullet is a ½-inch in diameter and nearly two inches long. I call it the Superman Bullet.

M67 Hand Grenades … Quantity 50

The M67 hand grenade is a small bomb that can be thrown by hand. It’s designed to detonate after a set amount of time, usually about four seconds. The M67 is an anti-personnel fragmentation grenade that disperses lethal fragments upon detonation. If you’re within a few meters, kiss your ass good-bye.

M249 Light Machine Gun … Quantity 2

The M249 is a light machine gun that fires a 5.56 NATO round, up to 700 rounds per minute. It is an awesome weapon that can be moved very quickly using a two-man team. You need two men to carry all the ammo this baby fires. It is belt fed or uses 100 round drums. The effective range is 600 yards.

M240 Medium Machine Gun … Quantity 2

The M240 General Purpose Medium Machine Gun has been in use since 1970. It is used extensively by ground troops as well as ground vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft. It is highly regarded for reliability, and its standardization among NATO members is a major advantage. It fires a 7.62x51mm round at a rate of 800 rounds per minute.

M134 Gatling Gun … Quantity 1

The M134 Mini Gatling gun fires a 7.62x51 mm NATO round out of six-barrels at a high rate of fire, up to 6,000 rounds per minute. It has rotating barrels and runs on an electric motor. This baby shoots a steam of fire that can cut trees in half.

MK153 Assault Weapon … Quantity 1 

The MK153 SMAW means Shoulder-launched, Muti-purpose Assault Weapon. This is a handheld shoulder-fired missile system used to blow up vehicles and buildings. A very powerful weapon that is reusable.

There were other pages listing all the ammunition and other items, but I didn’t take time to read them. My interest was in the weapons. I assumed just by looking in the room there were enough weapons and ammo to start a small war.

As I scanned around, I spotted metal drawers along the back wall. They were marked ‘Surveillance Devices and Detectors.’ I opened a few drawers and found all kinds of electronic gadgets.

After searching a while, I found MELD110s or Miniature Electronic Listening Devices, Model 110. It’s about the size of a small memory stick and is very thin. It has an adhesive back that can stick to any surface. This device, once activated, records conversations down to a whisper from ten feet away, and stores it for playback at a later time. It does not transmit, which makes this bug virtually undetectable.

I marked the inventory card in the box, and took five of these. I knew where I was going to use these little babies.

I glanced around the safe, one more time, and didn’t see the M2 50 caliber machine guns. I asked Corporal Richards, “Where are the M2s?”

“They’re on top of the building, in weather-proof lockboxes. Master Gunny likes them up there instead of being locked up down here, in case something happens, Sir.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Ok Corporal, button up the safe. I’m done here.”

“Yes, Sir.”

I returned to my office to do some thinking. Opening the personal file, I reviewed the background of the agents assigned to me. Three were based here at the Seoul Embassy. Two were assigned to the Pusan consulate office, at the southern tip of South Korea.

Looking at the list, the man with the most seniority was Tim Noda. He had eight years experience and had been in Korea almost two years. Prior to this he was in the Marines and served two combat tours in the Middle East. Tim received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star while there. He’s an expert in martial arts and weapons.