North Korean Blowup (22 page)

The big truck jolted onto the roadway and surged ahead. The first debris in the gushing water hit the road just behind them and water splashed onto the truck as it gunned up the hill and barely out of the wash of the flood. Twenty yards past the gully and away from the danger, Ho stopped the truck and they looked behind.

The mountain of water gushed across the road and flowed up the roadway and more drained down the road. Most of it cascaded across the narrow highway to the small valley floor and then rushed downhill.

“What in hell was that?” a voice in Hunter’s ear asked.

“Must have been a cloudburst high up there in the mountains during that electrical storm we saw,” Hunter said. “Six or seven inches of water can fall in ten minutes and it has no where to go except downstream. We almost took an unauthorized swim.”

Hunter motioned forward and Ho drove up the roadway.

“Maybe more?” Ho asked.

“A good chance for washouts, so let’s take it slow and easy.”

The rain had stopped and the winds aloft blew away the clouds.

A mile up the road a small valley opened to the left, and they saw where water had gushed across the road. The width of this side valley had spread out the tremendous quantity of runoff and it had not had the tearing apart effect the narrow gully had produced. Water still flowed over the roadway but it was less than a foot deep and the big truck swam across it with no problem.

The next few miles produced five more floods, but only one had resulted in any damage to the road. The rush of water had gouged out a foot of the roadway, but the six by worked down into that spot and up the other side with no problem.

Two hours later, after climbing up one hill after another, they topped the pass and eased down the other side. An hour after that they came into a large valley and they could see smoke and buildings at the far end.

“That Nangnim,” Ho said.

Hunter clicked on his population estimation soft ware in his brain computer. “Looks like maybe five thousand. At least it will have a food store. First job, Ho, is to buy out some store of most of their food. You and Tran get everything that we can eat. Hard telling when we’ll find another town.”

“Not many roads mountains.” Ho said.

Hunter frowned. “Maybe you should talk to some of the locals and ask them about a route toward the coast.”

“Ho look for map, ask questions.”

“First the food and then chow time.” Hunter was surprised when he checked his watch. It was after eighteen hundred.

For a change they started to see cars and trucks on the road, and houses along the sides of the two lane highway. Then more houses and a store or two. Ho found a food store he liked and drove in and parked. He and Tran went in wearing their North Korean army uniforms. Ho had two hundred dollars worth of won.

A half hour later the two came out with two helpers and three carts filled with boxes and paper sacks staked with food. They hoisted it all into the back of the truck, gave the boys who helped a tip and then powered down the road and into a field where the men dove into the food.

Ho did some explaining. “Much Korean food. Kimchi, vegetables lots of red pepper and garlic.  Also cooked noodles.” He provided plastic cups and plastic spoons to eat them with.

“Cooked rice also barbecued beef we call pulgoki. Grilled fish and namochl steamed vegetables. Lots of rice bread, many fruits. Korean food hot and spicy, red peppers, other spices. All eat.”

The long loaves of rice bread were un-sliced, so they broke off chunks to eat. The barbecued beef was the most popular and it soon vanished. There was plenty of kimchi. Most of the men thought it was too spicy hot for them.

It was growing dark by the time they had finished eating. There was a lot left for the next day and rice for breakfast. They were only a quarter of a mile away from the town, so Ho walked back in to find out about a good map and some suggestions how to drive from here to the coast.

Beth sat in the cab and finished her beef. “Now that was good. But the kimchi was hot. Mexican green salsa I can take, but this kimchi was blowtorch.”

“From what I’ve heard in the news, North Korea is starving,” Hunter said. “This banquet doesn’t look like the folks up here are starving. Some reports put the total at almost two million deaths last year alone.”

“Big cities are worst,” Beth said. “People out here are mostly farmers. They grow almost everything they need to eat. They dry lots of things for winter. Hey, I came from a farm. I know how much of your food you can grow if you work at it.”

“Glad they had some for sale,” Hunter said. He looked at his watch. “We better overnight here.” He turned to his shoulder mike.

“Men, we’ll sack out her for the night. We really don’t know which way to go until Ho gets back. At least you can sleep on a full stomach. Save what we can for breakfast.”

Hunter left the cab and went to the back of the truck. Inside he found that the body bag they had put Clayton Sanborn in hadn’t changed any. Gases would build up soon unless they could find some dry ice somewhere. He guessed there wouldn’t be any in a town up here of this size. He’d ask Ho when he got back. He left the body bag where it was and went back to the cab.

They had stopped in a copse of a few pine trees and some brush.

He opened the truck cab door.

“Beth, you want to sleep in the cab tonight? Close the doors and curl up your feet and you can stretch out.”

She nodded. “I’ll try it. If that doesn’t work, I’ll find a friendly tree.”

“How are you holding up?”

“Good. This is like an extended camping trip without sleeping bags.”

He closed the door and went to watch for Ho. The big Korean came back with a sack full of just baked sweet rolls and warm bread.

He passed the sack around after taking two of the rolls to Beth.

“Find a map?”

Ho shook his head. “Not big town. Talk man. He said no road go across Korea to coast. Many mountains. Best go down this valley all way to coast.”

“No cross country roads at all?”

“He say new road might be done from Changjing-up to Pujon.

Then easier get coast.”

“How far to that first town Chang something?”

“Fifty mile.”

“This trip to the coast is going to take longer than we expected. I better check in with Quinn on the SATCOM.” He used his shoulder mike. “Walden, power up the SATCOM. Let’s do some talking.”

They found a spot where Walden could access the satellite with the six inch fold out dish antenna, and Hunter raised Quinn on his first call.

“Yes, vagabond. How is it going?”

“Number one target squashed and buried. Been so much fun here I forgot to tell you. We’re on a rough road trying to find the coast. No Interstates here to travel. Beth is holding up beautifully. Got herself in a firefight with some north jokers and did good. Lots of mountains here and damn few roads. Have to move south before we can get across some peaks and then go back north.”

“Sounds like you’re busy. Need anything we can get to you?”

“A pair of SH-60’s would be appreciated.”

“I have to back order on that one. We’ve got assets off the north coast when you’re ready.”

“Looks like at least two more days, maybe three. Depends on the damn roads.”

“Good work, keep it up. Quinn out.”

Hunter had Walden put away the radio. He kept it in its waterproof package.

Hunter used the personal radio. “Anybody still awake? We’ll head out south tomorrow. No roads of any kind go over these damn mountains heading east. We go south so we can go east so we can go north. Go figure. Happy dreams.”

The next morning they hit the road at 0600 after a quick breakfast on the rest of the now cold hot dishes. The bread was used up first. Ho took them back into town and down two blocks to a road that had a signpost on it.

“Right road,” Ho said. “Man say road good all way.”

“We’ll see about that,” Hunter said.

Ten minutes later Hunter admitted that the road showed a big improvement over the ones they had used before. The speed crept up to thirty five and now and again a car or light truck passed them.

“With any luck, we should be in Changjin-up in two hours,” Beth said. “We’re making good time.”

“If our luck holds out,” Hunter said. “I wonder why they aren’t hunting this army truck?”

“Not much army here,” Ho said. “Lower down, more trouble.”

“Is this one of the main north/south roads?” Beth asked.

“Yes, main road.”

They met a few empty stake trucks moving north, and now and then were passed by heavily loaded trucks piled high with crates of vegetables.

“Now we know why we ate so well last night,” Hunter said.

The miles melted away. The highway was good and traffic increased. They passed through three small towns, and then climbed out of a valley and wound up into the mountains again. Around a sharp turn they saw a road block ahead. Three cars were lined up.

“Police,” Ho said. “Not army. Better. Soccer.”

“Everyone in your soccer shirts and shorts,” Hunter barked into his radio mike. “Police road block ahead. Looking for something or someone. Hope it’s not us. All weapons are lock and load with safeties off. Let’s do it.”

The police cleared the waiting cars quickly and Ho rolled the big rig up to the police block.

“Out of the way, we have a schedule to keep,” Ho bellowed in Korean at the uniformed police. One with sergeant stripes on his shoulders, grinned.

“So do I,” he said.

“Who are you looking for?” Ho asked.

“I’ll ask the questions. Where are you coming from?”

“Nangnim. We’re an army soccer team going to a game down in Changjin-up.”

“You have army orders?”

“Of course but you aren’t cleared to see them.” Ho took won notes from his pocket. Hunter pushed more into his lap. He lifted the bills, about three hundred won and let the policeman see them.

“We’re always glad to share our good fortune with others,” Ho said holding the money where the cop could see it. Three hundred.”

It was as much as the policeman made in two months. The man came close to the window so no one could see and took the money.

He waved the truck forward and Ho gunned the engine and they rolled ahead up the mountain.

“Nice move,” Hunter said.

“Enough money get anything,” Ho said. He laughed. “Father was policeman.”

The mountain proved to be a low one with the road connecting one valley with another. Now far ahead they could see a large town.

“Must be it,” Hunter said. “First you and Tran buy more food, enough to last us two days at least. Then ask about this new road you’ve heard about that goes over through the mountains to Pujon.”

Seven miles later they came into Changjin-up. They saw no army in the town and Ho and Tran bought food that would last up to two days, packages, loaves of bread, fruit and cooked food for that day. He filled two ten gallon water cans so they wouldn’t have to rely on local stream water to drink. Ho inquired about the new road to Pujon. He came back to the truck smiling.

“New road just open. No black topped but trucks driving. Save fifty miles.”

“Anyplace look like it might have dry ice?” Hunter asked. “We need some right now to keep our dead body sociable.”

“One store might. Ho go back.”

He went to the store and came back twenty minutes later with forty pounds of dry ice. They opened the body bag, and the men cleared out of the truck to escape the smell. Hunter and Ho packed the dry ice around Sanborn. Closed up that way it should last for two or three days before it vaporized.

It was only eleven hundred when they stopped outside the town to eat lunch.

“We eat and then we haul ass fast over that new road and get closer to our target,” Hunter said. “I’m tired of all this driving.”

The road was brand new with cuts along the sides of the mountain, twists and turns as the engineers used the path of least resistance up the mountain and then down the other side. They came to a small valley. The craggy peaks here were too rugged for even a minimum of terrace farming, but the valley was a gold mine. Now that the road was open Hunter figured that the valley would soon be staked out and used up by farmers.

They came around a sharp bend in the road before heading up the far side of the mountain, when Hunter yelled.

“Look out!”

A five point buck deer had just started to cross the road. It froze when it saw the sudden appearance of the huge machine. It may have been the first truck it had ever seen. It’s fight or flee brain soon said flee and it darted right in front of the six by. Ho had slammed on the brakes but there was a resounding thud as the big buck hit the bumper and the steel push bar in front of the truck. Ho stopped as quickly as possible. The animal had been thrown to the side almost off the road.

Hunter jumped out of the truck and ran to the animal. It was dead already, eyes staring blankly back at him. Its chest was caved in, half the antlers had broken off and the deer’s head had suffered a serious blow. Some of the SEALs came out of the truck.

“Who is the mighty hunter in our platoon?” Hunter asked. “Who has butchered out a deer or an elk?”

Senior Chief Lenny Chapman walked up. “That would be me, Cap. Done my share of deer up in Oregon. We have some sharp knives?

They carried the deer into the woods to avoid curious eyes, parked the truck off the road, and Lenny got busy. He hoisted the carcass up hanging it head up by a rope tied to a tree. Then he bled it out, cleaned the body cavity, took off the head, and cut up the carcass   into quarters.

“No sense skinning it now,” he said. Just get dirty.” He looked at his watch. “Cap, it’s only a little after fourteen hundred. Say we drive for another two hours, then stop and find a place to camp where we can start a fire and have ourselves some roasted venison.”

“Sounds good Senior Chief. Stow that venison in the truck and we’ll move out.”

They drove again, climbing high into the mountain. From time to time they could see a large body of water north of them. Hunter looked at his map and decided it must be a reservoir that showed on his map north of Pujon. The road became crooked and up and down and slowed their travel. When it was near fourteen hundred, Hunter found a small valley with a stream and they pulled off the road and went into the woods into good cover.