Red Shark

The door’s security bolts slammed open and General Yi and a companion marched into the Dear Leader’s office.

Marshal Jin sprang to his feet and gaped from behind his desk. “What are you doing here? What is he doing here?”

Yi turned to a fashionably slim Kim Jong-il, who was dressed in a tailored olive-green jumpsuit and gleaming Italian loafers. “We are here to deliver the final report on the spy investigation you authorized. And to discuss other matters as well.”

Jin, his face stony, said, “I have no time to discuss the spy investigation. Certain events have occurred that require my attention in a meeting of the People’s Defense Ministry this morning, and I am already late for the meeting.”

“By certain events,” Yi said, “you mean the destruction of the terrorist base in Davao and the sinking of the Red Shark.”

Jin looked at Yi with deep suspicion. “What do you know about this?”

“Quite a bit, actually.” He motioned that Kim should take a seat in front of Jin’s massive desk. Jin frowned as Yi said, “I know that the Red Shark was destroyed by the Americans, that the base in Davao was attacked last night, that the Americans will attack Pyongyang and our nuclear facilities if we do not admit our intention to attack U.S. cities with smuggled nuclear weapons.”

Jin blanched. “You’re mad. None of what you say is true. We will never surrender to U.S. demands. I will admit nothing. In fact, after the U.S. cities are destroyed, I will order an attack on Seoul as well.”

“Marshal, please, your scheme is finished. Why do you insist on pretending otherwise? I know, too, that you have requested a meeting with the U.S. representative at the United Nations to find a way out of our dilemma.”

Jin was mute as he slowly sank to his chair.

Yi took time to light a cigarette for himself and one for Kim. He blew smoke toward the ceiling and said, “I have certain contacts with foreign governments — the Danes, for instance. It is a way for me, and for them, to discuss matters of importance that would be of interest to other governments. You understand, Marshal,” said Yi, “that change can often bring with it benefits. The right kind of change, of course, not the changes you recently initiated.”

“You traitor! Now you try to absolve yourself by assuming the role of a statesman.”

“I had to try to stop you from executing your mad scheme, which would have worked as long as you had the unwavering loyalty of the heads of the army and navy and of our nuclear forces. They’ve been arrested.”

“You were just as eager as I was, as they were,” Jin shouted, “to destroy our enemies and to kill him!” He pointed to Kim Jong-il.

“No, I never shared your hatred for the West, for the United States. All that your hatred would have accomplished is to turn the DPRK into an ash pit.”

Jin stared at Yi, the hatred Yi spoke of evident in his twisted features and searing gaze.

Yi loudly tap-tapped his cigarette lighter on Jin’s desk, then stepped aside as two uniformed security officers entered Jin’s office.

“Marshal Jin, in the name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, I arrest you for treason against the State.”

Jin didn’t resist. The security officers frog-marched him out of his office and down the corridor, his boot heels echoing like gunshots on the polished marble. Yi gestured that Kim should take Jin’s place behind the desk. Kim rose, and, relishing the moment, swept everything off the desktop and then sat down.

Yi bowed to Kim and said, “Dear Leader, I await your orders.”

Acknowledgments