Page 9 of Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier

“Then follow me to the janitor’s closet.”

3

The Sea of Japan

Wonsan Naval Base

North Korea

A hard rain lashed the entire region. Thick drops pelted the temporary metal shelter like ball bearings poured into an empty steel drum. The sound was deafening.

Captain Song-hyok looked around at his tiny command. Like his men, he was dressed in blue pixelated camouflage. He checked his watch. Thirty seconds to go.

The weather was perfect to shield tonight’s rendezvous from the prying eyes of American satellites. The metal shelter hanging over the pier was just an extra precaution as per the Vendor’s instructions.

Song-hyok, a seasoned naval officer, surveyed the scene again, running through a mental checklist. The area had been ordered entirely cleared of nonessential personnel. Standing next to him was a naval intelligence officer—a lower-ranking lieutenant commander—and his adjutant, an anxious lieutenant, junior grade.

The dutiful truck driver sat quietly in his cab farther down the pier, as did the lift driver. Both vehicles were parked under portable tarps. Each driver was secretly employed by the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), North Korea’s far-more-terrifying version of the KGB.

A half dozen trusted enlisted men stood ramrod straight in the downpour, soaked to the bone and shivering. A portable gangplank lay nearby.

“There,” the high-strung lieutenant said, pointing excitedly at the roiling water.

Song-hyok checked his watch. Exactly on time. Moments later, the submarine gently broke the rain-spattering surface of the dark water. Strangely, it had no “sail.” The lack of a superstructure gave the appearance of a huge torpedo instead of a sub.

The intelligence officer pulled a small Sony digital camera from his pocket and snapped photos of the hull, angled like the fuselage of a stealth aircraft.

Song-hyok, a surface warfare officer, was no expert on submarines. But in his estimation the vehicle’s skin appeared to be something other than steel; possibly carbon fiber. It also seemed to be wrapped in some sort of anechoic sound-absorbing material. If powered by an air-independent fuel cell propulsion system, it would indeed be nearly impossible to detect.

The fact it was completely automated and AI-driven made the machine even more wondrous and terrifying.

Song-hyok and the senior intelligence officer exchanged a glance. Both had been in contact with coastal command over the last two hours. Sonar, radar, and underwater detection units were on full alert and yet nothing had been triggered by the submarine.

Incredible.

Both men shared the same thought. An undetectable drone submarine was worth as much if not more than the valuable cargo it carried on board. But their instructions were clear. Do not board the submarine to effect transfer until instructed to do so, and under no conditions attempt to enter the submarine.

Once the vessel’s deck cleared the surface, the bubbling discharge from the ballast tanks stopped and a red LED warning light on the deck began flashing. The sub had surfaced exactly next to the large rubber fenders protecting the pier. Its automated navigational sensors must have been accurate to within millimeters. Song-hyok shook his head in silent amazement.

The boat sat in the water motionless save for the blinking red LEDlight. Mechanical noises hummed and clanged beneath its decks. Several minutes passed.

“What do we do now?” the young lieutenant asked. He had to shout over the noise of the rain pounding against the sheet metal above their heads.

“We wait,” his commander said.

“How do we know this isn’t an enemy vessel? An explosive device? It looks just like a torpedo.”

The senior intelligence officer’s expressionless face panicked his young subordinate. The lieutenant had put himself out on a limb. There was no turning back from his position without losing face. Tonight’s mission was historic and the young officer was determined to rise to the occasion.

“Sir, perhaps there’s been a malfunction. What if it sinks? What if it leaves without delivering its payload to us? We’ll look like fools if we just stand here all night.”

The senior intelligence officer squinted at Song-hyok, then turned to the lieutenant. “What do you suggest?”

“A closer inspection.”

“We should follow instructions,” Song-hyok said. But in truth, he was intensely curious about the strange vessel.

Five more minutes passed. The mechanical sounds suddenly stopped.