Free North Korean Blowup by Chet Cunningham Page B

back after driving her husband to the meeting. But she also would be more cautious what she said when he was near.
    Vivian watched her daughters. Stephanie had slightly darker skin, like her father and impressive oval eyes on a startlingly beautiful teenage face. If they were in New York or Chicago she could be a teen model. Yuan on the other hand had soft blonde hair, delicate features and lighter skin. Her oval eyes were more a distraction than an exotic beauty mark.  Vivian loved them both to pieces and now that there was a chance to get out of this prison, her hopes for them soared.  
    She caught a little gasp and then steadied. Everything as usual. Ordinary. Just another day with Kim coming home late. Keep it simple and natural. Like every other day. All she had to do now was hold it together for two or three days. Really? Could it be that soon?
    It could be. She set her jaw and checked on the girls. Yes, it was now or probably never.
     
    Vivian didn’t know how she made it through the rest of the day and the evening. But then it was almost nine o’clock. The girls were in bed reading. She was reading in the living room. Then the car drove in and she heard the garage door close and steps in the back hallway. It took all of her resolve to keep reading until Kim slipped in and kissed her on the side of the neck.
    “Your hero is home. Did you miss me?”
    “Manpo?” she whispered the question.
    He tilted up her face and kissed her. Then grinned. His voice too was low. “Someone came?”
    She nodded.
    “God, I wasn’t here. Where are they?”
    “Third floor probably going crazy. Yon Lee had a headache. I sent her to her room. Is Manpo there by now?”
    “He should be. I’ll check with him to be sure he locked the garage.”
    Dr. Kim Sung was back in twenty seconds. She handed him the key to the room that had been in her hand all day.
    She whispered again. “His name is Lieutenant Hunter. Two men with him. They are Navy SEALs. Go talk.”
    For a moment Dr. Sung sat down beside his wife on the sofa.
    “Been waiting so damn long,” he said softly. “Now that it could almost be here, my knees are shaking.”
    “Prove to them who we are, who you are. He has a radio he can use on the second floor out a window. Go see him.”
    Dr. Sung had slipped off his shoes the minute he came in the house. He stood. He would make no noise on the stairs. He went up them quickly and knocked softly on the door. He heard a key in the lock, and then the door edged open. He saw a big hand gun aimed at his heart, and then a face showed.
    “Lieutenant Hunter? I’m Dr. Kim Suk Sung. I believe you wished to see me.”
    Hunter snapped on the room lights and opened the door. He put away the Glock and held out his right hand.
    “Good to meet you, Dr. Sung. We’re still in a quiet mode?”
    “Yes.”
    They sat down on the edge of the bed.
    “I’m so relieved that you came. Evidently my badminton player got through to the FBI. Good. How can I prove who I am?”
    “Who is Johnny Carson?”
    Sung smiled. “The best late night talk show host ever. I used to listen to his old telecasts when I was in school. What a treat.”
    “What are the three most vial components of a nuclear bomb?”
    The scientist rattled them off in rapid order. Hunter listened and nodded as if he knew what the words meant. He didn’t.
    “Where are the two finished bombs being stored?”
    “The first one went up north a hundred miles to Kanggye. It is in a deep coal mine where even if it went off would not endanger anyone.”
    “The second one?”
    “They took it over to the coast near the Sea of Japan at Kilchu. There it is housed in a deep vault of concrete and steel.”
    “The manufacturing plant for these bombs?”
    “Close by, less than an hour’s drive north and east into the mountains. A small community has been built from empty fields. The plant itself, and housing for the engineers and worker are all new. About five hundred people live nearby and