As promised, here's the first chapter of the next FLAGSHIP! Series story.
VECTORS is a full-length novel that I will release serially in three novella-length installments. "Phase One -- Index Case" is the first installment.
Below is the prologue, "Phase Zero." Look for another excerpt soon, and the first e-book installment by Thanksgiving.
Enjoy!
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Phase Zero
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Chapter 1
Pyongyang, Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK)
“She escaped?” Vice Marshal Sung Chunghee, second in command to the Supreme Leader, advance on General Jin Dongsun, Minister of People’s Security. “If you lie, the Supreme Leader will personally cut out your tongue and feed it to his dogs.”
General Jin stepped back and bowed. His hand hovered over the pistol holstered at his hip, but his superior’s hostile glare caused him to move the hand. Jin knew better than to threaten the Supreme Leader’s most trusted advisor. In fact, this man stood between Jin and death at the whim of their self-proclaimed “Dear Leader.”
“Comrade Vice Marshal, I regret it is true. The American pilot escaped.” He bowed and stepped back again. “Her savage comrades invaded our nation and took her.”
The vice marshal’s face tensed and his eyes narrowed. “Where was Chul Boo Ju when this happened?”
“Colonel Chul is dead, Comrade Vice Marshal. Shot when the American bitch fled.”
The vice marshal’s sudden retort showered spittle over the general’s face. “Shot? How did the slut get a gun?”
Jin squared his stance and rested his hand on the holstered pistol. “The American did not kill Boo Ju. Lee Yeong Nae shot him. She aided the wench’s escape.”
The vice marshal’s complexion waxed purple. He closed on General Jin, eyes and mouth a few centimeters from the man’s face. “Tell me, Comrade General, how one of our most trusted agents shot a revered comrade and helped an American spy to escape.” He closed his own hand over the general’s on the holstered pistol. “Tell me the whole truth in the next minute or I will shoot you with your own gun.” He squeezed the general’s hand. “Or do you prefer I let the Dear Leader decide your fate?”
Jin removed his hand from the pistol. Vice Marshal Sung withdrew the gun from the holster and held it by his side. General Jin’s words came in a rush. “Lee Yeong Nae betrayed the true Korean people and whored herself to the imperialists’ intelligence agency. Wearing the uniform of the Korean People’s Army she infiltrated the camp, killed Comrade Chul Boo Ju and extracted the prisoner. An American Navy helicopter retrieved the fugitive before our soldiers caught up to them. This occurred soon after American jets destroyed our nearby biological lab, so our defense forces were distracted.”
The vice marshal pressed the gun’s muzzle against General Jin’s forehead. “You are dead, Jin Dongsun. But first you tell me whether the traitor Lee Yeong Nae also fled.”
Jin stared into the vice marshal’s eyes, his voice defiant. “Lee Yeong Nae is dead, Comrade Vice Marshal. The fugitive kicked her off the helicopter as it lifted. Then our soldiers demolished the traitor with gunfire.”
“The Supreme Leader does not tolerate failure.” Sung pressed the muzzle hard against the general’s forehead and pulled the trigger, blowing half the man’s head off in a shower of bone and blood and brain.
At the sound of the gunshot, guards rushed into the vice marshal’s office. “Get this carcass out of here,” he said. “And clean up the mess before I return.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, in a secure location deep in the bowels of the headquarters building, Vice Marshal Sung conferred with a handful of trusted confidantes on the National Defense Commission.
“The Supreme Leader will demand retribution.” Sung gestured toward General Jin’s empty seat. “Our own lives hang by a thread.”
General Woo, Minister of the People’s Armed Forces, spoke. “Our Special Purpose Operations Reconnaissance Bureau may have the solution. In six months, the American imperialists and their ROK bastards will conduct their annual military exercise. That could be the stage where we exact the Supreme Leader’s revenge for the affront to our people by the American spy and her despicable leaders.”
“Tell us.”
“The true Korea will behead the invading American naval force and wreak massive destruction on the puppet ROK. We have a more trusted agent, a cousin of Lee Yeong Nae—”
________________
“She escaped?” Vice Marshal Sung Chunghee, second in command to the Supreme Leader, advance on General Jin Dongsun, Minister of People’s Security. “If you lie, the Supreme Leader will personally cut out your tongue and feed it to his dogs.”
General Jin stepped back and bowed. His hand hovered over the pistol holstered at his hip, but his superior’s hostile glare caused him to move the hand. Jin knew better than to threaten the Supreme Leader’s most trusted advisor. In fact, this man stood between Jin and death at the whim of their self-proclaimed “Dear Leader.”
“Comrade Vice Marshal, I regret it is true. The American pilot escaped.” He bowed and stepped back again. “Her savage comrades invaded our nation and took her.”
The vice marshal’s face tensed and his eyes narrowed. “Where was Chul Boo Ju when this happened?”
“Colonel Chul is dead, Comrade Vice Marshal. Shot when the American bitch fled.”
The vice marshal’s sudden retort showered spittle over the general’s face. “Shot? How did the slut get a gun?”
Jin squared his stance and rested his hand on the holstered pistol. “The American did not kill Boo Ju. Lee Yeong Nae shot him. She aided the wench’s escape.”
The vice marshal’s complexion waxed purple. He closed on General Jin, eyes and mouth a few centimeters from the man’s face. “Tell me, Comrade General, how one of our most trusted agents shot a revered comrade and helped an American spy to escape.” He closed his own hand over the general’s on the holstered pistol. “Tell me the whole truth in the next minute or I will shoot you with your own gun.” He squeezed the general’s hand. “Or do you prefer I let the Dear Leader decide your fate?”
Jin removed his hand from the pistol. Vice Marshal Sung withdrew the gun from the holster and held it by his side. General Jin’s words came in a rush. “Lee Yeong Nae betrayed the true Korean people and whored herself to the imperialists’ intelligence agency. Wearing the uniform of the Korean People’s Army she infiltrated the camp, killed Comrade Chul Boo Ju and extracted the prisoner. An American Navy helicopter retrieved the fugitive before our soldiers caught up to them. This occurred soon after American jets destroyed our nearby biological lab, so our defense forces were distracted.”
The vice marshal pressed the gun’s muzzle against General Jin’s forehead. “You are dead, Jin Dongsun. But first you tell me whether the traitor Lee Yeong Nae also fled.”
Jin stared into the vice marshal’s eyes, his voice defiant. “Lee Yeong Nae is dead, Comrade Vice Marshal. The fugitive kicked her off the helicopter as it lifted. Then our soldiers demolished the traitor with gunfire.”
“The Supreme Leader does not tolerate failure.” Sung pressed the muzzle hard against the general’s forehead and pulled the trigger, blowing half the man’s head off in a shower of bone and blood and brain.
At the sound of the gunshot, guards rushed into the vice marshal’s office. “Get this carcass out of here,” he said. “And clean up the mess before I return.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, in a secure location deep in the bowels of the headquarters building, Vice Marshal Sung conferred with a handful of trusted confidantes on the National Defense Commission.
“The Supreme Leader will demand retribution.” Sung gestured toward General Jin’s empty seat. “Our own lives hang by a thread.”
General Woo, Minister of the People’s Armed Forces, spoke. “Our Special Purpose Operations Reconnaissance Bureau may have the solution. In six months, the American imperialists and their ROK bastards will conduct their annual military exercise. That could be the stage where we exact the Supreme Leader’s revenge for the affront to our people by the American spy and her despicable leaders.”
“Tell us.”
