Code Word: Paternity, A Presidential Thriller (23 page)

Chapter 42

Secretary of Defense Easterly, face and
tone carefully neutral, said, “No, sir, we have options, several of them. None
of them are clean or sure, but we’ve got ’em.

 
“You can change our policy and we can try to
kill Kim. Or we could take out Yongbyon and all his other known nuclear sites
with cruise missiles and hope that the ROK, Japan, and our bases could survive
any of Kim’s missiles we didn’t get. Or, we could destroy any part of the DPRK,
or all of it, with nuclear weapons delivered by cruise missiles, ballistic
missiles, or stealth bombers.”

Flinging his
briefing paper toward a wastebasket, Martin said, “None of those are options!”

The vice president cleared his throat,
turning all eyes toward his image. “Sir, I submit that those are indeed
options. Horrible? Yes. Unprecedented? No—but worse than any president since Kennedy
has faced.”

As if trumping, Martin said, “Eric, if we
nuke Pyongyang,
how many people die?”

“Sir, the population is between three and
four million. Depending on the size of the warhead, burst height, and other
technical decisions, I’d say from one million to all of them, however many that
is.”

 
“And
what
would we accomplish?”

“Maybe kill Kim and his gang. Maybe
convince him to go into exile. Maybe the shock of a nuke would get Ming to
cooperate with us in pushing him out. Maybe create such fear among the elite
that a coup would come out of nowhere and take him out.”

Rick felt the blood rising in his neck.
His face flushed. Leaning forward, eyes sweeping the room like shotgun barrels,
he fired into the crowd: “Look, I want some
graduated
options! I refuse to believe we’ve got nothing short of violating our
principles by assassinating Kim or using a nuclear weapon! Bomb his palaces.
Destroy Pyongyang’s
airport. Shoot down their air force. Level a small city with conventional
bombs. Engineer a coup—he must have
some
rivals.
Don’t give me only choices between surrender and Armageddon!”

Everyone looked at Guarini.

Bart knew Rick was trying to bulldoze his
advisors, as if that would change the facts.
Why? I’m as political as he is, but I can see we can’t tolerate Kim
much longer. Why doesn’t he see that?

 
Immediately he knew the answer:
Because he’s the one who would have to sign
Kim’s death warrant or push the nuclear button!

Knowing that he might be the only one
able to move Martin, the chief of staff said, “Sir, we could do any of those
things—except the coup—but they each lead to the same terrible outcome. For
example, let’s say we bomb Pyongyang’s airport
and Kim responds by lobbing nuclear missiles at Japan and one gets through the
Aegis and the Patriots. Can we make the case that we took a reasonable risk, or
do we look foolish and callous, ready to fight to the last Japanese city? And Tokyo wouldn’t be Kim’s
only option. He could put one into Seoul,
too—and hit Okinawa. A Taepodong-two might
even have the range for Anderson Air Force Base on Guam.”

Cautiously but firmly, hoping to gentle
the president around, Guarini said what he hoped his friend could accept as
bedrock truth: “All options to break Kim’s control short of eliminating him or
flattening the DPRK in one blow run a high risk that he will devastate South
Korea and Japan and maybe hit us again.”

Eyes narrowed, voice stinging, Martin
said, “Look, Bart—all of you! We started this meeting to figure out how to
leverage our extraordinary success in Baltimore
to move ahead in the UN and the Northeast Asia Group. Now you’re talking as if Baltimore had been blown
up. It wasn’t.
We
won this round! I
refuse to talk about doomsday scenarios! Now get busy and get me something
better!”

Martin stood and said in a tight, quiet
voice. “John, you were right—this group
doesn’t
have its arms around things yet!”

Anne Battista recalled the British
foreign minister at the UN but said nothing, telling herself this wasn’t the
time. The room’s silence was broken only by the sounds of Martin leaving.

Feeling like he had been punched in the
stomach, Guarini looked around the table, glanced at the faces on the screens,
and drew a shaky breath. “He’ll come around. It’s just that this is so
terribly, terribly hard. He’s facing choices he never thought he’d face—that
none of us thought we’d face after the Cold War. This is the conclusion of a
slow-motion train wreck that began when we—the world—gave Kim time to make
nuclear bombs and build missiles. We laughed at him; we made him a joke—the
crazy uncle locked in the attic—instead of preventing him from becoming a
deadly threat to millions. Now we have to deal with that—
the president
does—and there are nothing but awful choices and not
much time.”

Vice President Griffith’s voice, as clear
as if he were seated next to each of them, froze his distant colleagues: “Bart,
is he up to it?
Can
he do it and do
it in time, before we lose another city?”

If
he’s bold enough to ask that question in this meeting,
thought Guarini,
he must think he’s got the votes for impeachment!
His gut heaved.

“Yes, he can! Since you have doubts, Mr.
Vice President, you should return to Washington
immediately and speak with the president!”

Griffith
’s voice was calm: “I agree, Bart.

“Look, you all probably think what I just
said is the worst of all political crimes: disloyalty. But, I ask you—do you
think the man who just ranted about the Baltimore
debacle being a
victory
, then stormed
out when others differed—do you think that man should be leading this country
right now when it’s coming apart at the seams? As for me, I have my doubts!”

His face carefully composed and voice
more sorrowful than angry, the VP continued: “I want Rick Martin to succeed.
But the oath I took—and the ones you each took, too—were not to him. Our oaths
are to uphold the Constitution, which right now means protecting Americans from
attacks by Kim. If the government doesn’t do that—quickly and
convincingly—well, then you see the face of the new America right now on CNN: hundreds
of thousands of frightened people fleeing! The president told us time isn’t on
our side, but in the end, all he did was put off decisions.

“I’ll fly back right away!”

 
Behind his closed door, Guarini yanked his tie down and unbuttoned his
collar.
Griffith
’s smooth confidence scares me. He’s moved from secretly encouraging
impeachment talk to openly questioning the president’s fitness to remain in
office. Rick’s going to have to do one of the things he hates: go toe to toe.
This is so Rick! The man can’t bring himself to recognize flaws in people on
his team. I think—
 

It hit him like a sledgehammer:
the army, the military. They’re already in
position to control the country; we put them there with N-SEPA! The internal
security troops report to Griffith.
And what about the FBI? A big part of its field force is under Griffith’s control. Is
that
why he’s so bold?

Guarini nearly stopped breathing.
Would they follow Griffith in a showdown, if he claimed it was
the only way to protect the country and stop society from unraveling?
Hairs
bristling on his neck, he glanced at the door.

Chapter 43

 
“President Martin calling, sir. Your
interpreter is on.”

Ming was watching a
Xinhua News Agency
feed
showing jammed American highways.
With
such a crisis, why would Martin take the time to call me? Could
Kim
be his reason?

Surely
Kim wouldn’t have . . . A few minutes ago, I considered calling Kim. He never,
ever takes phone calls. He will call back but is never available when called.
And, at this point, Kim could lie to me with ease—better to see if the weapon
is identified.

But
what if the Americans have already identified the bomb’s “parent,” as they
called it? What if it is Kim?

Ming picked up, feeling sweat in his palm
as he grasped the handset. “Good evening, President Martin. I’m watching the
flight from America’s
cities. You have a hard task to get matters back under control!”

Stifling irritation and hoping his
antacid tablet would kick in, Martin said, “Good morning, President Ming. Yes,
you’re right, but I believe that once our people realize today’s events show
the strength of our protective measures, they will return. As you may know, my
family and I will be spending the next week in our major cities, demonstrating
that they are safe.

“But I’m calling about something else.
The bomb we seized will be delivered to our military base at Kwajalein, in the Marshal Islands. Scientists and engineers will
examine it carefully and will determine its origin. I’m calling to invite you
to send a personal representative. I will also invite the IAEA”

He didn’t mention Kim!
Ming exhaled but said nothing.

Martin went on.
“As you can imagine, consequences will flow from the identification. I want no
question to arise about the accuracy of this analysis. I also want everyone to
know that China and the United States
operate on a basis of mutual trust and mutual respect. We are not and never
will be adversaries when it comes to combating nuclear terrorism. Rather, we
are the two nations who should lead in putting an end to it through our
coordinated diplomacy. As the two most influential nations in the world, we
have a special obligation to do this.”

As Martin intended, his final sentence
brought a slight smile to Ming’s face.
Martin
is coming the rest of the way to us! He accepts China
as America’s
equal! So, let’s see whether he will say it publicly.

“Mr. President, that is both bold and
wise of you. China
accepts your offer. Perhaps we should issue a joint statement along the lines
of your words.”

That’s why I said them,
thought Martin.
I have to have your support.

“Certainly,
President Ming. I’ll instruct our ambassador to work with your government on
that. And, Mr. President, there is another reason we will welcome your
representative’s presence. It’s possible the warhead is a design we know was
sold by that bastard A. Q. Khan. That design is said to be Chinese; of course,
only Khan could tell us where and how he got it. As you know, we are
questioning him. If the design is Chinese, Kim and others might attempt to use
that to divide us. I want to tell you now that I am certain China did not
provide a warhead design to Kim Jong-il. If the design proves to be Chinese, I
am sure it was stolen.”

Ming’s smile returned.
This is getting better and better! Martin
has just eliminated one of China’s
vulnerabilities in this affair. But why? What does he need from me?

“Mr. President—Rick—Americans are a
resilient people and I am sure that only a relative few are now in panicky
flight. Others are reacting differently, are they not?”

“Ming, public opinion is overwhelming
that we must eliminate Kim’s power to attack us. There are still those who
favor diplomacy, but that number is dwindling, and I expect what happened today
will drown them out, even though I am one of them. I’m sure you have an understanding
of our impeachment process. I believe opinion will soon reach the point that,
unless I take military action, I will be replaced by someone who has no doubts
about using our military, Vice President Griffith.”

Pausing, Rick thought:
OK, now you know both the carrot and the
stick. Let’s see if you’re willing to
do what I need
.
His chest tightened.

Ming said nothing. Earnestly, Martin
resumed: “I believe that China
and America, working
together, can prevent war in Northeast Asia, but we don’t have much time. So I
ask you: if America
determines, with the concurrence of China and the IAEA, that this bomb
is also Kim’s, will you use your powers in concert with ours to force him into
exile and replace him with someone who will dismantle the DPRK’s nuclear capacities?”

Ming thought,
so, Rick Martin, now I know what you ask and what you offer. I don’t
want Griffith,
but I cannot control Kim. I don’t have the means to force him from power, other
than having him killed or taking over the DPRK, and I am not willing to do
either, at least not now. No matter—I’ll have the joint statement and you’ll
have to settle for what I give you. As for Griffith? Huang Bo said impeachment is a
deliberate, public process. I’ll have time to adjust.

He said, “Rick, as Korea’s elder cousin, China will urge that accommodations
be made. But we are a family and family members do not attack each other.
Between 1950 and 1953, a few years before you were born, China
sacrificed over eight hundred thousand soldiers to superior American firepower
in order save the DPRK. One of them was my own father. The cigarette case I use
is all of him that returned to us.
Perhaps
I can persuade Kim to do what you suggest without loss of face. Face is
important to Kim and to all of us in what you call Northeast Asia. Think on
that, I urge you.”