NORTH KOREA DECEPTION: AN INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL SPY THRILLER (THE DECEPTION SERIES Book 1) by RICHARD LYNTTON

Author:RICHARD LYNTTON [LYNTTON, RICHARD]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Thriller / Espionage
Publisher: Malchik Media
Published: 2020-12-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Yongbuk Region, North Korea

Steele lay on the dusty wooden floorboards listening to the snapping of dry wood on the fire in the next room. Apart from crackling and popping on the hearth, he heard no other signs of life.

He unfolded the delicate piece of paper again—it was the thinnest piece of paper he had ever touched. Again, he read the prayer. He had never thought about his life in these terms. But the message was refreshingly simple: ignorance to wisdom … restlessness to peace … desires to contentment.

He began to judge himself harshly. He was more ignorant than wise. How could he end up on the other side of the world, risking his life and away from his wife in her hour of need? He had always obeyed other peoples’ rules, regulations, and recommendations, and allowed himself to be influenced by their judgments. The trouble is, Dicky, as an Army superior once said, “You’re not as bright as you think you are.” He had followed his intellect, not his heart. He had always tried to do what other people thought best for him—money, success, fame, family. Bullshit! Why had he become a tank commander in the British Army? Was that supposed to make him happy or bring peace and contentment? To whom? How could it? What was he thinking? He had joined essentially a killing machine, impressively wrapped and steeped in tradition, history, uniforms, medals, and the latest killing technology and firepower. “Boys with toys,” his left-wing friends at Exeter University used to chant to tease him and the other military types. He had been lured by the romantic notion—a century or more out of date—of the cavalry officer and the gentleman’s lifestyle. A Renaissance man even? In retrospect, ludicrous. Or am I just wiser now?

He read the prayer once more and concluded that he was not at peace—certainly not now. In fact, on reflection, he had never experienced peace. Short bursts of happiness, contentment, so-called “achievement” and fun perhaps. But never peace. How many people knew the real meaning of the word? His priest had once told him during Church of England confirmation classes when he was sixteen that it was necessary to experience God, not just read about Him. The same applies to peace, the priest had suggested. Finally, two decades later, he was beginning to understand what the priest had meant.

He had always been searching, seeking for something better, never satisfied with the moment. As a teenager, he was always on the move: He chased girls, played the trumpet in the London Schools Symphony Orchestra, went traveling in Europe and beyond. Then it was time to make money, have a career. But, in retrospect, none of those things, of course, had brought peace. He possessed a wealth of desires and an equal amount of material possessions, none of which, he began to suspect, would ever result in true contentment.

His door suddenly opened.

Steele started, unexpectedly prized from the cavernous corridors of his thoughts. “Hello?” Scrambling to his knees too quickly and looking up, he felt light-headed.

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