Free Devil's Fork by Spencer Adams

I stopped
thinking.” Tom looked down at the ADS – maybe it was a good idea to bring
this along, he thought. He didn’t realize the stopping power it
had. Maybe human beings are conditioned to run away from heat, he
thought.
    The sergeant said “OK guys, take him to the
mess hall and get some water. Also, Corporal—“ The sergeant said to
the brave test subject “you can skip PT tomorrow.” The group of
soldiers walked away.
    The sergeant looked at Tom. He waited for a
minute and then asked, “you’re going in there aren’t you?”
    Tom did not look back but could tell the
sergeant was staring at him. Tom did not answer. His silence
implied his answer.
    The sergeant continued, “we’ve been watching
the news. You think there really could be a war this time?”
    Tom looked up, “if it comes we’ll have to
deal with it.”
    “ Well, remember man, over
here at the edge of the world, ends justify means. You guys do
whatever you can to prevent World War III.”
    “ That’s the idea.” Tom
replied.
     
    * * *
     
    Tom was walking back to the locker room with
his M4 strapped across his chest. He could see a few helicopters
taking off in the distance. They were probably training. He
expected to ride one of them to the submarine in two days for the
first leg of the mission.
    Suddenly Jiyeon walked out of a building to
his right. She saw him, smiled and came over. She moved carefully
like a cat. It emphasized her slim figure.
    “ You really like being at
this base, huh?” Tom said.
    “ Yeah, Mr. Lee went back to
the office but I met with some of the helicopter pilots here. I
briefed them on North Korean naval activity. For when they fly you
to the Virginia .”
    The importance of that did not escape Tom.
Despite the fact that North Korea was technologically backwards,
they employed their navy often. In recent years, they launched a
torpedo at a South Korean naval boat which killed a significant
number of sailors. The year before a North Korean ship entered the
South’s waters and started firing at a South Korean naval vessel.
The South Korean ship returned fire and the North Korean boat was
significantly damaged. A similar incident took place several years
earlier. Rarely reported by American media, these incidents showed
that the North Korean navy was looking to pick a fight, and if they
saw an American helicopter flying low, it would be within their
logical process to think to shoot it down. Whoever was flying Tom
would have to be aware of potential ships.
    “ Let’s get dinner,” Tom
said to Jiyeon.
    She smiled. “OK. But I have to drop off my
files at the office. What should we do?”
    “ I need to put my gear away
and change anyway. Let’s meet in an hour.” Tom said, pointing to
his rifle.
    “ OK. See you soon then.” It
pleased Tom to look at her smile.
     
    * * *
     
    In the locker room Tom quickly put on BBC
World News. They were reporting on the only story everyone was
thinking about.
     
    “ North Korea released a
video today of its troops preparing for war. North Korean soldiers
were seen demonstrating their hand-to-hand combat skills and
shouting war slogans in unison. A video was also shown of missile
batteries being raised into a firing position. The regime released
a statement saying ‘If the American puppet state dares to strike
us, we will unleash a fiery response they cannot imagine. Our
nuclear forces are on the highest alert and are prepared to smite
all of America’s major cities with terrible destruction.’ South
Korea meanwhile has called up its reservists and has moved several
Marine units closer to the border. The United States is reported to
have sent its B-2 bombers to the region. These are the planes that
can carry nuclear bombs.”
     
    Tom stared at the screen.
    Why do they talk that way?
    The martial arts demonstrations coming out
of North Korean or Chinese militaries always amused him. Kicking
and punching was useful in a small percent of hand-to-hand