Red Phoenix Burning (33 page)

“Three forward,” Rhee said from the third position. Moving past Corporal Ban, he found Guk about ten meters ahead, prone, goggles up, using night vision binoculars. Rhee quietly approached and went prone as well. Without speaking, Guk offered the colonel his binoculars and pointed to a spot two-thirds of the way up the hill. Rhee flipped up his own night vision gear and adjusted the binoculars.

Unlike his goggles, which sensed heat, the binoculars amplified the existing light, as well as magnifying the image. Bracing his elbows, Rhee followed the lieutenant’s cue and searched the hillside.

Movement caught his eye, and he saw someone come up to a kneeling position, fire, and then drop down again. It was a short burst, and he was firing up the hill, away from the river. What was he shooting at?

There was another shot, this time from the pistol again, but it wasn’t quite a pistol. And then a different person fired, but remaining prone.

Rhee lowered the binoculars and turned his head to see Guk watching him. “Sir, we need that hill.” It was obvious, but the lieutenant was confirming the logical conclusion that followed from that fact.

There weren’t supposed to be any friendlies in this area. “Take Dae and swing south until you can go up from the back. I’ll bring the others in from here. Tell me when you’re ready.”

Guk took Corporal Dae and headed off, while Rhee called the other two team members forward into line-abreast formation. He used the binoculars to study the hillside, not only to watch for any reaction to Guk’s movements, but also to try and get some sort of clue about who was fighting whom.
So much for sneaking in
, he thought.

Rhee heard a “Ready” over his headset, and answered, “Moving.”

Corporal Ban was the team sniper, and had set up his DSR-50, a heavy .50-caliber sniper rifle. It was fitted with a powerful night vision sight, and he’d provide overwatch while his two comrades moved up.

As soon as Rhee heard Guk’s radio signal, he advanced, staying low, eyes on the hill, rushing to the best cover he could find. A beat after the colonel stopped, Oh moved up, then it was Dae’s turn to displace forward while Rhee had his glasses trained on the hillside.

They’d practiced the tactic so much it was almost instinctive. Each could pick a piece of cover that gave his comrades good places to go when it was their turn to move. Whenever he was stationary, Rhee studied the combatants and watched the clock. The ROK Air Force raids would keep any Chinese fighters occupied for a while, but Rhee wanted his team done and gone before the Chinese got a chance to notice anything else.

There were several shooters on each side. One group was armed with automatic rifles, and Rhee was pretty sure now that strange pistol shot he’d heard before was some sort of silenced assault rifle. That implied special operations forces. Before everything came apart in the DPRK, the North had plenty of SOF troops.

And he’d bet at least one of the sides was allied with the Kim faction. That made the other group at least a nominal ally, but there was no guarantee that they’d be friends. And he didn’t have time to sort out who was who.

They were getting close, perhaps two hundred meters from the hill, when Guk reported, “We’ve found a body. It’s Chinese.”

That brought him up short. The others with Rhee had heard the report as well, and he signed for them to remain in place. “Confirm Chinese,” Rhee transmitted.

Guk responded immediately. “Digital pattern fatigues, weapon is a suppressed QBZ-03.”

Chinese weapon, Chinese uniform
. The pieces fell into place instantly. Pathfinders, sent to seize and hold a strategic chokepoint, like a bridge, were a tactic as old as war. And the others must be Kim faction troops guarding the bridge.

“Engage the Chinese,” Rhee ordered. “Self-defense only against the other side.”

Rhee had barely finished speaking before Ban’s rifle boomed. Even with a muzzle brake and a suppressor, it sounded like a thunderclap. Rhee kept the glasses to his face long enough to see what was likely a Chinese soldier fall, and brought his own weapon up to cover Ban as he hurriedly shifted position forward. Oh was firing as well.

It was another two bounds before they saw any return fire, coming from the Chinese positions. It struck close to Rhee, who was in front, but Ban’s rifle boomed again and Rhee heard Ban report, “Target down.” The Kim side of the firefight was silent, but Rhee could hear the fire from his men, and Guk reported, “Engaged, two down.”

They kept moving forward, up the hill slope, team members staying low and bringing a lethal crossfire down on anyone that shot back.

Finally, they were near the crest, and Rhee saw a dead Chinese soldier, one of Ban’s victims, given the size of the hole in his chest. He switched back and forth between the IR goggles and the night vision binoculars, looking for enemies. All the nearby heat sources belonged to his men or freshly dead Chinese.

Guk’s voice warned, “Coming in from your right,” and the lieutenant and Corporal Dae joined the other three.

Corporal Dae reported, “Sir, while we were working our way up the hill, I got word the UAV is on station.” Dae was the team’s radioman and UAV controller.

Now that the long-delayed vehicle was on station, Rhee could only smile. “Look for the Chinese. Send it up the highway.” While Dae did that, the rest of the team stayed low and kept a wary eye down the hill.

A few moments later, a voice called out, “Yellow Five.” At least it was in Korean.

While the rest of his team took cover and searched for targets, Rhee called back, “I don’t know the countersign. There are nine dead Chinese soldiers over here. Are there more?” Ban was still moving, looking for a clear angle, but Oh and Dae both reported that they had targets.

There was no immediate response, and Rhee added, “Do you have wounded? We have a medic.”

The voice answered, “Identify yourselves.”

Rhee wasn’t going to lie. “ROK Army. We’re here to blow up the bridge. Will you agree to a truce? We don’t have to fight.”

“We’re supposed to guard the bridge.”

“The Chinese are coming soon, before daybreak if those bodies tell us anything.” Rhee was beginning to feel silly, holding a conversation with someone twenty meters away in the dark. The clock was ticking, but he really didn’t want to kill other Koreans if he didn’t have to. He repeated, “Will you agree to a truce?”

After a short pause, the voice responded, “Truce.” He didn’t sound pleased, but stood and took two steps forward. In his goggles, Rhee could see a figure in fatigues. He was holding an assault rifle, but it was pointed down.

Hoping that if they were double-crossers, they were also bad shots, he stood, moving slowly, and said, “Colonel Rhee Han-gil, ROK Special Forces.”

“Captain Tak Ho-rim, DPRK Reconnaissance Bureau.” Tak didn’t mention allegiance to any faction, but it didn’t really matter. “Where’s the rest of your team?” Tak asked.

“They are ready to stand down, if your men are as well.”

Tak sighed. “There’s nothing to fight about—at the moment,” he added.

The two sides rose to their feet slowly, weapons lowered, but everyone seemed reluctant to sling them. “We have two men wounded,” Tak announced.

Rhee motioned to Corporal Ban, who was the team medic as well as their sniper. He hurried in the direction Tak had indicated.

“What’s this about the Chinese army?” Tak demanded.

Corporal Dae reported, “Sir, the UAV has movement on the highway.” Dae offered the colonel a video tablet.

Feigning more nonchalance than he felt, Rhee took the tablet and invited Tak to look as well. Curious, the captain slung his assault rifle and walked over, standing next to Rhee.

“This is National Route 1,” Dae explained, which ran down from the north and led to their bridge. The infrared image showed a straight section of highway. It was filled with a long column of armored fighting vehicles, smaller ones in the vanguard and a phalanx of main battle tanks in the center. They were heading south.

Rhee looked at the readouts from the drone. “You’ve got the UAV moving south.”

“Pacing the front of the column,” Dae explained. “About thirty kilometers an hour.”

“And the drone is less than thirty kilometers from here,” Rhee observed, checking its location.
No time to waste.
“Lieutenant Guk, monitor the UAV and use the binoculars to watch the far side of the river. Call out if you see any movement. Master Sergeant, Corporal Dae, get the transmitter set up. Ban, as soon as you’ve treated the wounded, set up to cover the bridge.” If the main column was within thirty kilometers, there could be more scouts closer than that—much closer.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Tak demanded angrily, and Rhee explained about the transmitter and how it would help guide the missiles.

The explanation only made the North Korean angrier. “Your aircraft are spying on our country. You are sending missiles to destroy our bridges. When will you leave us alone?”

Rhee tried to stay calm. He also had leftover adrenaline from the battle. “Should we have let the Chinese kill you?”

Ban walked up and reported, “Sir, I’ve treated them, both bullet wounds. They need to be evacuated, but they should be all right once they’re in hospital.” Turning to the captain, he added, “There are five others, already dead. I’m sorry. I couldn’t do anything for them.”

Tak acknowledged the report with a nod. “We just wanted to be left alone,” he said sadly, but his anger flashed again. “You’ve destroyed my country, and now the Chinese are jumping in to help finish us off. We won’t go down quietly!”

The remnants of Tak’s force, just four more men, had gathered behind their commander. As opposed to the well-equipped Southerners, the group carried basic AKM assault rifles. Rhee saw one handheld night vision scope. They looked underfed and battered by weeks of combat. Rhee wanted them to lose, but they were still Koreans. There was no joy in winning a civil war.

Rhee checked Oh and Dae’s progress. They had unfolded the transmitter, and were taking readings with a laser rangefinder. They weren’t done yet, but would be soon. There was no time for an extended political discussion, but he had to try.

Rhee spoke to the entire group. “We don’t have to fight anymore. The two factions fighting each other in Pyongyang have stopped and joined with the ROK Army. They’re turning to face the Chinese as a single force. Come back with us. Your wounded will get excellent medical care, and—”

“Desertion!” Tak shouted. “Betrayal!” one of Tak’s men added. Another said, “Surrender? I don’t want to be a prisoner.”

“You will not be prisoners. Wouldn’t you rather fight our common enemy, the Chinese?” Rhee proposed hopefully.

“It’s all lies anyway,” Tak concluded.

“Are the Chinese a lie?” Rhee countered, pointing to the corpses.

“Colonel, the transmitter checks out and is calibrated,” Oh reported. Rhee could see him gesturing with a thumbs-up.

“Dae, send the message,” Rhee ordered, frustrated. At least the original part of his mission was proceeding. A moment later, the corporal said, “Message received. Six and a half minutes.”

But the radio gave him an idea. Rhee said, “Now contact Third Army, and see if we can get in comms with General Tae. He should be at General Sohn’s headquarters.”

Rhee turned back to Tak and his men. “I’m going to get you proof that the North and South have joined forces—there is only one Korea!”

Tak and the others shook their heads, but one of his men asked, “What happened in Pyongyang? We’ve had no word since the city was surrounded.”

By the time Rhee had explained about the ROK’s truce with Tae’s forces in the city, Dae announced, “The headquarters staff is waking General Tae now.”

Rhee checked his watch. The missiles were just under four minutes out. The receiver came alive with static, and then, “This is General Tae Seok-won.”

“Sir, this is Colonel Rhee. We met on the southern bank of the Taedong River a few days ago.”

“The Special Forces brigade commander. I remember you.” The flat statement held a question.

Rhee explained where he was, and who he was with. The general listened quietly, then said, “Let me speak with the captain.”

Rhee passed the handset to the captain. Dae turned up the volume, and Tak held the receiver so everyone could hear. “This is Tae Seok-won of the General Staff.”

Tak’s men recognized the name. Some came to attention. Tak did not, but discipline held enough for him to respond. “Captain Tak Ho-rim, Fifth Reconnaissance Battalion. There is no more General Staff, and my leaders say you are responsible for the fifteenth of August and the war.”

“The General Staff is gone, but there still is a Korea, and it needs to be protected. I have many divisions under my command, and we’re going to stop the Chinese army. What are you fighting for? Your cause is lost. Join us, and fight for your home.”

“You are not the rightful leaders of our country!”

“Kim’s rule is ended. It cannot be restored.”

Tak just shook his head, and gave the handset back to Rhee. After Rhee signed off, Guk announced, “Two minutes.”

Everyone looked toward the bridge, and began taking cover. If a missile missed the bridge at all, it might miss by more than a little bit.

“Dae, signal the helicopter. Give them our location for immediate extraction.” It didn’t matter if the missiles hit or missed. Their job was done, and there was nothing more they could do. And while the sound of small-arms fire might not reach to the troops in the city, the imminent explosions would attract unwelcome visitors to the hill.

Master Sergeant Oh waited near the transmitter, and when he saw Rhee watching, gave another thumbs-up. Everything was working properly.

The laser rangefinders said they were four hundred meters away from the bridge, but he was taking no chances. Rhee was prone, behind cover. Watching through binoculars, he half-expected to see Chinese vehicles approaching the far end.

The first sign of the missiles’ arrival was a roar and fireball at the base of the bridge’s center pier. A second blossomed at almost the same spot half a second later, and quickly looking left down the valley, Rhee spotted four small sparks in a line, moving too fast to follow, each hammering the same spot on the bridge pier.