The North Korean army had collapsed. While on paper it was one of the most ferocious fighting forces in the world, the reality had proven considerably different. As American and Korean troops came across the border following the missile launches and artillery strikes, most of the soldiers had fled. Roughly a dozen strongholds remained in North Korean hands, as did the capital and the area close to the Chinese border. But not even the most optimistic Pentagon scenario envisioned such a swift collapse. The remaining units were dangerous, surely, but negotiations were already under way with most of them for a peaceful surrender. The real problem now was to plan for the peace.

The President handed Blitz the last page, then checked his hair in a mirror held by one of his aides.

“Last thoughts?” the President asked Blitz.

“Only that we can’t trust the Chinese.”

“Agreed. But they seem to have been taken by surprise.”

“That’s why we can’t trust them.”

The Chinese had moved two fresh divisions to the border area, saying that they were to help with refugees. There were refugees; nonetheless, the troops and China in general had to be watched very carefully. The President planned on mentioning their involvement as peace brokers in the speech, praising their cooperation and mentioning his three phone calls with the country’s leaders.

“What was the latest with Colonel Howe and the E-bomb plot?” asked the President as one of his aides appeared in the hall, gesturing that all was ready.

“Still trying to figure out who we helped escape,” said Blitz. “The ambassador thinks it was one of Kim Jong Il’s sons.”

“A very good guess.”

“I think it’s Paektu,” said Blitz, meaning the number two man in the security police agency, Hwang Paektu Jang. “He’s the sort who would think this up.”

“Hopefully we’ll find him soon.”

Blitz didn’t answer. With that well-thought-out a plot, he felt it unlikely.

The national security advisor listened to the President’s opening remarks from the hallway. He had to give D’Amici credit: The President managed to communicate his personal vision in a speech meant for the masses. Blitz knew that D’Amici’s model for the presidency was Eisenhower, but in his ability to speak he was closer to Reagan, though D’Amici lacked the folksy, casual touch Reagan could muster without any apparent effort.

Historically, however, D’Amici’s vision seemed more like a blend of Teddy Roosevelt with some Woodrow Wilson thrown in, assuming one could remove some of the naiveté from Wilson ’s vision of world peace.

That was probably a bum rap on Wilson, Blitz thought; Wilson ’s private papers showed he was hardly naive, and while he’d been snookered in Europe, it would have been difficult if not impossible to get the French to do the right thing after the bloodbath of World War I anyway.

And to be honest, it only became apparent what the right thing was long after that indecisive war.

There were no real parallels, Blitz thought as the President summed up and started taking questions. They were in completely new territory.

Someone grabbed Blitz’s shoulder. He turned around and found the press secretary, who seemed nearly out of breath.

“The AP is reporting that P’yongyang has been declared an open city,” he told Blitz. “The war is over.”

“Now comes the hard part,” said Blitz, walking out to tell the President personally.

Chapter 7

“Atropine mixed with oximes. Classic antidote for sarin gas,” said Macklin.

“But no trace of sarin in the basement on anything,” said Kowalski.

“Maybe they were neat,” said Fisher.

“Or maybe they never brought it there,” said Macklin.

“No, they must have,” said Fisher. “The landlady smelled something.”

“Sarin would have made her pretty sick,” said Kowalski. He got up from the table and began pacing at the back of the room.

“She smelled the bleach, most likely,” said Fisher. “He used it to clean up any traces of the chemicals.”

“That’s going pretty far,” said Kowalski. “Not to mention that there might have been a reaction.”

“But there wasn’t,” said Fisher.

“We’ve looked at his phone records,” said Macklin. “He only made a few calls.”

Fisher leaned his head back on the chair. Sarin gas-of which there was as yet no real evidence-represented a serious left turn in the investigation. But left turns were often useful. If you kept turning right, you would end up in the same place you started.

“The landlady’s phone-did you check that?” he asked.

“The landlady?”

“Maybe he cut into her line,” said Fisher. “There’s probably some sort of connection to the Internet, something along those lines.”

“Subpoenaing the landlady’s records isn’t going to make us look very good,” said Macklin.

“She’ll give them voluntarily,” said Fisher. “Just tell her we’re looking for a billing error and rave about her sauce.”

Macklin frowned.

“The problem is, we’re not getting any closer to the E-bomb,” said Kowalski. “This is just a diversion.”

“Maybe there is no E-bomb,” said Macklin. “That’s the latest thinking from the CIA.”