Blowback, p.14
Blowback, page 14
part #2 of Bear Logan Series
Falcon opened a door that led down to the cellar. “You can keep our guest down here. It’s dry enough but not too comfortable. I assume he doesn’t deserve the four-star treatment.”
Bear looked over at Kwang. “Not really, no.”
Kwang didn’t put up too much of a struggle as they hauled him downstairs. He’d paled more. The blood loss was finally taking its toll. The more the guy struggled, the more he lost. He wasn’t in any immediate danger, but at some point Bear would have to figure out what to do with him long-term.
By the time Neumann and Bear made it back up the stairs, Falcon had already brewed some tea and laid out cups for everyone. He pulled muffins out of the oven that spilled over the tins.
Bear walked over to Maria, who was sitting on the edge of the couch, cradling the cup of tea in her hands and blowing on it gently. “How’re you holding up?”
She shrugged but didn’t look up at him. Her gaze was distant. “All right, I guess.”
“Your stomach okay?”
“A little wobbly, but better. Comes and goes. I’ve stopped sweating at least.”
“Small miracles.”
Falcon set a tray of muffins on the coffee table in front of them. “There’s a shower in the back. You’re welcome to use it.”
Maria gave him a sad smile and set her teacup down. “Thanks. I could use it.”
Neumann handed her a bundle of clothes he’d pulled from the boat prior to their departure. She retreated to the bathroom with a quiet thanks.
“I’m worried about her,” Neumann said, picking up a muffin and pretending to inspect it.
“She’ll be all right,” Bear said. “She’s strong, remember?”
“Everyone has their breaking point.”
Falcon took a loud sip from his own teacup. “Too true, too true.”
There was a beat of silence. Bear didn’t usually find breaks in conversation awkward, but there was clearly something hanging between Neumann and Falcon. He stared at Ernie waiting for the next move.
Neumann put the muffin back on the tray and leveled a look at Falcon. “I don’t want you flying them to North Korea.”
Falcon’s smile didn’t fade despite Neumann’s sentiments. “Then you shouldn’t have called me.”
“I called you to see if you knew anyone who could get them in without being detected.”
“I do know someone.”
“Other than yourself.”
Falcon’s eyes twinkled. “I’m the best pilot on this island. The best one in all of Asia.”
Bear couldn’t tell if it was true or just an old man’s bluster. He turned to Neumann. “Why don’t you want him to fly?”
It was Bear’s turn to get leveled with a stare now. “No offense to my good friend here, but he’s getting a little up there in years.”
“I’m as healthy now as I was at twenty-two.” Falcon’s voice rose and his tone was sharp.
“I don’t doubt that, Archie, but who knows what the hell could happen.”
“That’s what makes it so fun.” Falcon raised his hands when he saw the deadly look Neumann gave him. “In all honestly, I only know a couple of pilots who would dare to get you close to North Korea, and none of them are here. It might take them weeks to put their affairs in order.”
Sadie flashed in Bear’s mind. He gripped his cup tight, ignoring the heat. “We don’t have weeks. We don’t even have days.”
Falcon took another loud sip from his tea and sat up a little straighter. “I’m prepared to leave in a couple hours.”
Neumann pinched the bridge of his nose. “Archie.”
Falcon set his cup down on the table hard enough for some of the tea to slosh over the side. His eyes flashed. “Now you listen here, boy. I’ve been flying longer than you’ve been alive. You need a favor and I’m willing to give you one. It’s the right thing to do. A little danger never stopped me before.”
Bear liked Falcon’s gumption but needed to make sure the old man knew what he was getting himself into. “I’ve got a lot of people on my tail. You don’t need to pay for my sins.”
The twinkle in Falcon’s eye returned. “If you want, you can owe me a favor, too. But I gotta warn you. I’m older than I look. I won’t have too much time to cash in on it.”
That didn’t make Bear feel better.
Falcon drained the remainder of his tea and stood up. “You need a pilot. A good one. Luckily for you, I’m a great one. I’ll get you closer to the North Korean border than anyone else willing to make the trip. And we’ll do it with a bottle of vodka in our hands.”
Neumann turned to Bear. “I told you he’d be the one giving us the vodka.”
Bear chuckled and stood up. His hand swallowed Falcon’s whole as they shook on the deal. “Sounds like a good time to me.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The plan was simple. Maria was still too sick to be in the field, so she volunteered to stay behind. Neumann had no interest in leaving the Philippines and risking his life in Korea. He had refugees to think about. But he did tell Bear he’d watch over Maria and try to get some additional information out of Kwang.
Keep her close.
He’d prefer to watch over her himself, but Neumann would suffice.
Energy spilled out of Falcon from the moment he stepped into his plane to the minute they landed in China. The small aircraft caused Bear to feel every pocket of air, and every time the plane rose, fell, or pitched to the side. He clenched and unclenched his fists, tightened and released muscle groups, and slowed his breathing down, which was painful at times. By the time they were on the ground, he was willing to walk into North Korea with no weapons and no plan if it meant he’d never have to fly again.
Falcon had access to a private airfield in Dandong, adjacent to the northwest corner of North Korea. When Bear deplaned, there was a Jeep Wrangler waiting for him with the keys in the ignition. He turned to Falcon and stuck out his hand.
“It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Falcon’s smile was framed by his thin mustache and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “I might’ve given him grief back there, but Ernest was right. I’d love to get out there and go with you, but I’m just getting too old.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Bear opened the door to the Wrangler. “You’re still one hell of a pilot.”
“I appreciate that.” Falcon’s eyes drooped just a little bit. “You gonna be okay, son? You got a plan?”
“Half a one anyway.” He threw the bag of supplies that Falcon had given him into the passenger seat and slid behind the wheel. “The smartest play will be to cross the Yalu River before the sun comes up. Should be frozen enough to drive right across.”
“Should be?” Falcon’s lips twitched with concern.
Bear looked out over the dashboard like he could see the river from miles away. “Frozen enough. They won’t be expecting anyone to make that trip.”
“And for good reason. Isn’t there another way?”
“There are plenty of other ways” Bear shut the door between them and rolled down the window. “But this is the only one that gives me a decent chance of making it across without being caught.”
Falcon took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. His visible breath rose like smoke and disappeared into the air above his head. Then he reached into the car to shake Bear’s hand. “In that case, good luck and Godspeed. You’re gonna need all the help you can get.”
Bear put the Wrangler in first gear and looked back at Falcon before taking off. “Don’t I know it.”
Getting to the river wasn’t an issue. Bear turned his lights off before it was in sight. No point in making it that easy for them. The full moon lit up his path. After a few short minutes his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He kept the pace slow and steady. It’d be stupid to make a mistake this close to the border.
The river appeared and his pulse quickened twenty beats per minute at least. He’d picked an area away from border towns and bridges. He didn’t want to risk running into a checkpoint or being spotted by local villagers who might be getting paid to keep their eyes out for anyone trying to escape North Korea.
The Yalu River wasn’t particularly wide in most places, but Bear had to sacrifice the notion of a quick hop, skip, and a jump through the water in order to be in a more secluded location. Where he was sitting now was less than a quarter of a mile wide, but if he couldn’t make it across in the Jeep, he’d be SOL on the other side.
And half-frozen.
Bear sat in the darkness a half-hour before making his move. In that time he let his eyes further adjust to the landscape. There was no movement, animal or human, and he didn’t spot any lights in the distance. As far as he could tell, he was in complete solitude.
The frozen river glistened in the moonlight, looking like a silver blanket stretching out in front of him. It was bitterly cold, but he also knew that the thickness of the ice would depend on the depth of the river. If he had made a mistake and picked an area that wasn’t shallow enough, that meant the ice would break away and he’d be soaked to the bone. It wouldn’t kill him—right away at least. But if he lost the car, chances were that he’d barely make it to the other side before hypothermia set in.
He performed one last scan of his surroundings and then flicked on the Jeep’s fog lights. The sudden brightness made him squint, but he pushed through the pain and waited another couple minutes before he was used to it. It was a risk to have the lights on at all, but he’d rather see what lay ahead of him than all of a sudden find himself under the ice without so much as a warning.
When he was sure he was alone, Bear hopped out of the Wrangler and walked over to the edge of the bank. He tested the shallows with his full body weight. It’d be uncomfortable if he broke through, but the worst that would happen is he’d wind up with wet socks.
The ice held.
He slid one foot forward, and then the next, until he was several feet from the shore. His weight was nothing compared to the Wrangler’s, but the ice didn’t so much as pop in protest against his invasion. Maybe this would end up being the easiest part of the journey so far.
Bear muttered under his breath. “Don’t get ahead of yourself just yet.”
After standing out there for a few minutes Bear made his way back to the Jeep and hopped in. He coaxed the Wrangler into four-wheel-drive and left it in first gear, then took his foot off the gas. A Wrangler will roll on when configured as such, straight ahead or up a cliff, so long as it doesn’t tip backward…
…or fall through the ice.
The Jeep rolled forward, the hum of the engine sounding more and more like the quiet purr of a content kitten.
The knobby tires crunched across the thin layer of snow that had settled over the ice. He held his breath until all four tires were off solid ground and were inching their way across the frozen river.
The fog lights made it difficult to look directly at the ice in front of him. He stared on and waited for his eyes to adjust. If there was even a single crack, he could go under in a matter of seconds. He’d have to decide whether or not to throw the Jeep in reverse or floor it, hoping he could get to the other side before the river’s icy claws dragged him under.
Bear tugged his coat around him a little tighter and sat up straight behind the wheel. The lights washed out the surrounding darkness. With it so bright right in front of him, he wouldn’t have a chance in hell of spotting someone or something crawling out of the shadows.
He was operating on pure, dumb luck.
Luckily most people were trying to escape North Korea, not break into it. Another problem was that once he got into the country, he would stick out like a sore thumb. Even worse than in Hong Kong. At least China was used to Americans coming and going for business deals. North Koreans were bound to start whispering.
And in a land of silence, whispers were deafening.
Bear hoped he could get to where he needed to go before he was spotted and detained. He tried not to think about the fact that he didn’t have an escape route. Falcon had offered to stick around and pick him back up in Dandong, but Bear had turned him down. There was no point in both of them getting caught if things went sideways.
The plan was straightforward. Get in, find Sadie, and get back across the border. If he could manage that, he was fairly certain he’d be able to find a way back to the Philippines. Of course, that was easier said than done.
A crackle and a pop startled Bear out of his thoughts about eventually making it back home to the States. He looked over at the satellite phone that Neumann had provided. The plan was to call them back at Falcon’s cottage, which was their temporary home base, once Bear was safe. Neumann was working on getting more information from Kwang. Information that Bear would need in order to find Sadie.
But Bear had purposefully kept the sat phone off in case he was trying to hide out. The last thing he needed was for it to go off and give away his location.
So when Bear heard another strange pop, he knew it was the ice beneath his wheels.
He took a deep breath, and then popped his driver’s side door open wide enough to look down at the ice. The ice illuminated in the moonlight. There were several thin cracks crawling out like a spiderweb from beneath his wheels.
The river was deeper out here away from the shore, which meant it was harder to freeze even in the dead of winter. He had tried to take that into consideration, calculating the best area to cross by making sure it wasn’t wider or too deep and still far enough from civilization.
Bear gently closed his door, afraid that even the sound of it clicking shut would be enough to send him plummeting through the frozen terrain. He looked out over his hood and watched the ice bathed in light. He hadn’t spotted it at first, as blinding as the light was, but sure enough, there the cracks were.
He didn’t allow himself to panic. He squinted at the far side of the river, trying to gauge how far he’d gotten before the ice had started to crack. He wasn’t even halfway yet, which meant he wasn’t to the deepest part of the river where the thinnest ice would be.
His knuckles turned white as he gripped the wheel. He kept his foot on the floor next to the accelerator to prevent himself from speeding up or panicking and hitting the brake. If he slowed the Jeep down, chances were the ice would give way almost immediately. His momentum was the only thing keeping him dry. But if he sped up, there was a chance the tires might slip on the ice. Once they caught again, it might be enough to shatter it completely.
Rolling his head from one side to the other, he cracked the vertebrae in his neck until he felt looser and calmer. But it didn’t drown out the popping of the ice outside the car. He pushed against his door and peered down at the ice beneath his tires.
It looked slick with water. Which only meant one thing—the ice was giving way.
Bear toed the gas pedal just a little bit, sending the Wrangler forward an extra three miles an hour. Peering through the windshield, he figured he’d crossed the halfway point about a minute or two ago. A quarter of a mile was starting to feel like the longest marathon of his life.
He kept his door propped open, hoping it would provide him enough warning should something start to give. It wouldn’t be much, but he preferred the idea of launching himself out of the Jeep and onto the ice a couple feet away instead of going down with the Wrangler.
The Jeep rocked to the right. Bear looked down in time to see the tip of a rock sticking out of the water like the tip of an iceberg. When the water was flowing, it created quite the eddy in the middle of the river. But with the water frozen, it had been impossible to spot.
The Wrangler could handle driving over a little rock, but the ice wasn’t as sturdy. As soon as the Jeep’s tire connected with the ground again, the ice split beneath the wheel and he was jostled to the side. If he had been on solid ground, he wouldn’t have even noticed the movement. It was par for the course when you were driving over roots and stones or even potholes on an asphalt road.
But Bear was hyper attuned to everything going on around him. When the ice gave the final pop and he saw the water bubble up to the surface, Bear pushed his foot down a little harder on the gas and prayed that the tires wouldn’t lose traction.
The noise as the ice shifted was deafening in the night air. Had anyone else heard it? Doubtful. Not out here. And even if they did, he didn’t care. He could fight off anyone who came looking for him. It was improbable that he could fight off hypothermia.
So when his driver’s side wheel started going under, Bear shifted into second and slammed the accelerator down the rest of the way and listened as the engine revved in response. He slammed his door shut, gripped the wheel until his hands hurt, and made a beeline for the shore.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Though the trip lasted a few minutes at most, it felt like hours. Bear counted down every foot he got closer to the bank, and just as he felt the back end of the Wrangler dip down past the ice and into the water, the front end hit land and nearly launched him out of his seat. His head slammed against the roof. His elbow smacked the door hard enough he thought it might’ve broken. None of that mattered. The pain faded. He was on dry ground.
Bear cut the lights and engine. As it cooled off, it ticked louder and louder. He waited until his eyes adjusted to the darkness before he hopped out. The cold penetrated his clothing, freezing his sweat-soaked skin.
He did a once over of the Jeep and everything seemed to be in order. The water on the backend of the car was already starting to frost over, reminding Bear just how lucky he was.
A branch snapped off to his left. He spun in that direction and reached for a gun that wasn’t there. He had left his weapons in the vehicle.
His heart pounded against his ribcage. He stood as still as possible. If he was lucky, whoever was out there didn’t have night vision. Without that he’d be hard to spot even with the moon shining as brightly as it was. Leave him enough of a chance to duck and run. Or if he was less lucky, take a bullet and live to tell about it.
