The Spy of Seoul by David Holmes

Author:David Holmes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: religious & inspirational, Korea, Espionage story, Asian American protagonist, Suspense novel
Publisher: David Holmes
Published: 2018-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

RATTLING NOISES IN the plumbing system woke me as dawn’s first light passed through the tiny bedroom window. From the alley I heard the metallic jostling of bicycles and the arrival of small delivery vans. I climbed out of the bed loaned by my hostess and to use the bathroom. Huei Fun was asleep on the sofa, curled up under a quilted comforter.

After dressing for the journey in the clothing provided, I gazed into a long mirror and hardly recognized myself. The outfit featured a dark blue skirt falling just below the knees, and a matching jacket with wide lapels. Not a dreaded Mao suit, to be sure; nonetheless, it resembled a fashion statement from the 1960s. Huei Fun had insisted that was how working women in Pyongyang dressed for office jobs. Better to fit in than stand out, she insisted.

At least the jacket could be worn open, with a light blue blouse underneath, and the nylons fit. The shoes were leather, black rubber-sole pumps...which might help her outrun someone. The purse was of smooth brown leather, a large one with shoulder straps. Huei Fun pointed out that the clothing was not as drab as most women’s wear in North Korea, which would’ve looked strange on a young businesswoman arriving from prosperous China. Altogether, she’d said, a cut above the plain light brown or pink business wear common in Pyongyang. The real purpose was to enable me to blend in, not appear so much like a foreigner.

Later, with a herringbone-weave carry-on bag and wearing a pair of gold-framed glasses (lightly-tinted glass lenses, zero prescription) like the ones in Huei Fun’s passport photo, I went with my China-based agent to a large hotel the travel agency operated out of. Alone, I entered the international-class establishment, went to the agency’s office and collected the passport and visa. I was told to meet the group at the airport in one hour. Back on the street I saw Huei Fun half a block away and, as I hailed a passing taxi, she turned and walked away.

The formalities at Beijing’s international airport passed in a blur, introductions to the others traveling in my group—five men, two women, all citizens of the People’s Republic of China—went smoothly. While they seemed surprised at my youth, my explanation that “the boss” had gone to Hong Kong for emergency surgery evidently satisfied them. The story was conveniently overheard by a representative of the travel agency used by North Korea and would, no doubt, be passed along to the North Korean embassy in Beijing. The excuse was verifiable. The firm’s managing director really had flown to the ex-British colony for medical treatment, though the surgery was elective in nature.

On the Koryo Air flight, I studied the company’s promotional materials, avoiding conversation with the woman sitting next to me. I recalled Huei Fun’s final words. Basically, she’d said the mission was essential because of the rising tensions on the Korean peninsula, threats of war going back and forth between Pyongyang and Washington.

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