Kim told Hwan she would, and he listened as the hos-pital-to-Op-Center-to-Sorak-san link took on one more participant: Captain Ahn II at "Home," which Hwan knew was the North Korean Intelligence Agency's headquarters in the capital, located in the subbasements of the Haebangsang Hotel on the west bank of the Taedong River.

"Home," Kim said, "I have received incontrovertible evidence that a cell of South Korean soldiers, and not-- repeat, not-- the government or military in Seoul, was behind today's bombing and the attempted gassing at the base. Major Lee, the officer with the eyepatch, is the person behind the entire operation."

There was a moment of silence, then: "Seoul Oh-Miyo, what man with the eyepatch?"

"The man who was handling the poison gas."

"No such man was involved."

Paul said, "Ms. Chong, please tell him to wait. I'm going to try and find Major Lee-- and if I do, they'll have to act quickly to stop him."

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE

Wednesday, 6:17 A.M., Op-Center

Paul Hood put Kim Hwan on hold and rang Bob Herbert.

"Bob, do we have a photo of Major Lee?"

"It's in his dossier--"

"Scan it over to NRO fast, then come here with Lowell Coffey, McCaskey, and Mackall."

Hood called over to Stephen Viens at NRO.

"Steve, you've got a photo coming in from Bob Herbert. The man may still be on the North side of the DMZ in Panmunjom: I need to find and track him. Check the area near the conference center first-- give me two satellites on it."

"Secretary Colon has authorized the second eye, right?"

"He would if he knew about it," Hood said dryly.

"That's what I figured," Viens said. "The mug shot's coming through now. Will the subject be alone?"

"Most likely," said Hood, "and in a ROK uniform. I want to watch as the pictures come in."

"Hold on."

Hood listened as Viens ordered a second satellite camera turned on the area, and ordered it to look down from a relative height of twenty-five feet. Then he had Major Lee's photograph fed into the satellite computer: it would search the area for anyone with those features and outline him in blue.

The roof of the conference center appeared; he wasn't there, or the watchtowers on both sides would have spotted him. Then, 4.4 seconds later, staggered with images from the first, the second satellite gave them a photograph of the area in front of the building-- the small caravan and the jeep with what was probably General Hong-koo.

Bob Herbert came wheeling in, followed by Martha, Coffey, McCaskey, and Ann Farris. Hood had a feeling she'd come, not so much to check on the crisis but to look after him. Her mothering made him both uncomfortable and strangely content, though he let the discomfort go for now. He'd liked how her hand felt on his shoulder before.

"Darrell," Hood said, "why is Hong-koo just sitting there? He has to know by now what's happened."

"It wouldn't matter," Martha answered for him. Darrell shot her a look. "The North Koreans would still have a party even if the birthday boy was shot dead. They like being unflappable. A holdover of President Kim Il Sung's ideology of juche-- self-reliance."