Lady in Red Pt. 02 Ch. 19

"We can discuss that at the dinner this evening," replied Steve. "We would not insult your nation in any movie, nor would we allow you, or anyone else the right to control or censor anything we make. You'd have to agree to that up front or there would be nothing further to discuss," insisted Steve.

Jong briefly looked annoyed, but then gave a broad smile. "You are reputed to be very frank, Lieutenant Hammer. I see that it is true. Everyone in this room worries about what I will think or do; everyone, that is, but you. We will dine in two hours."

"What are you doing?" demanded Congressman Kasen from Alabama as soon as the American contingent was away from Jong. "You can't arbitrarily negotiate with Jong. That's why members of Congress are here. We'll handle the discussions."

Steve glanced at Senators Mason and Chatham before he answered. "I didn't see you so much as nod when Jong brought up the subject. Feel free to negotiate with him at dinner tonight. Just don't commit me to anything. I was under the impression that I was here because Jong wanted me here. Was I mistaken? Does he really want to speak with you?"

"You really need to discuss your responses with us before you say anything. We're elected officials and you're just an aide to a senator," replied Kasen. "We're not here to make this into a three ring circus with Wild Bill Hickok and Annie Oakley doing trick shots for the audience."

"As you just pointed out, I'm merely an aide to a senator. I happen to be an aide to Senator Chatham, so I follow her directives," responded an obviously annoyed Steve. "If you have a problem with my participation, take it up with her. I respect your office as well as your constituents, but don't speak to me like I'm one of your lackeys. I do not take orders from you."

"Senator Chatham, I demand that you have your aide disciplined for insubordination. He's been rude and uncooperative, to say the least," insisted Kasen. "He has an inflated view of his role here."

"Congressman Kasen, I don't try to order your people around," snapped Chatham. "I don't appreciate you harassing my aide. He's here to try to gain the release of an American family that strayed into North Korean waters. I really have no idea why you're here, but I suggest that you keep your mouth shut and try to learn something. If you do something stupid and ruin things for that family, I'll see that every TV station in your home district learns about it before you board the flight home. Do we understand each other?"

"Well, yes, but I don't understand why we'd go along with some ridiculous shooting match to free the hostages. What happens if Hammer loses? This is not the way diplomacy works."

"Perhaps you didn't get the memo," responded Chatham coldly. "Jong is bat-shit crazy. If he'll free the Duvals when Steve wins some sort of contest, we'll take a chance with the contest. If he wants to see who has the bigger dick, we'll still let Steve represent the US. I'm trying to spell it out for you. Steve gives us the best chance to gain their release regardless of what type of macho game Jong dreams up."

Representative Kasen was stunned into silence by Chatham's crude remarks. Naomi took the opportunity to interject some humor. "I have to back Senator Chatham on this one. Steve is the guy we want in any sort of competition, especially that kind!"

"Lieutenant Wilson, comments like that are not appropriate for a naval officer," cautioned Senator Mason. "And what makes you so certain, anyway?"

Naomi simply winked and then smiled at Senator Mason. By this time the entire American contingent, with the exception of Congressman Kasen, was laughing heartily.

"This is very serious business, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a few laughs," concluded Senator Mason. "I think we've pretty much decided on a course of action, which is to give Steve Hammer the reins and see what he can do with Jong."

"Just don't shoot him by accident, or design," added Chatham. "His number two guy, Kwang Pyong-So, is a psychopath that makes Jong look like Santa Clause. As strange as it seems, the US much prefers to deal with Jong. He's unstable and unpredictable. Kwang wants to go to war. We need to keep Jong around long enough for him to execute Kwang when he annoys Jong in some way."

"Do you actually think Jong would execute his second-in-command?" asked a disbelieving Kasen.

"He purged his own uncle from the government, and he liked him," replied Chatham. "Imagine what he'd do to someone trying to wrest power from him that isn't a relative."

Two hours later, the Americans were dining with Jong in the Royal Palace. Steve was placed to his left while a very surprised Naomi sat next to Jong on his right. Steve could see that Naomi was nervous, so he did his best to maintain a conversation with Jong. He had no doubt that Naomi's nerves would quickly settle and she'd be fine.

"Have you given any thought to my request that you film a movie here in North Korea?" asked Jong through an interpreter.

"I think my partners will strongly consider it if they are convinced that we can move about freely, have our safety guaranteed, and you realize that you will have no influence over the final product we release," offered Steve. "It would not be a political movie and it would not portray your nation in a bad light. I would promise you that. It would simply be a movie where the characters lived in North Korea, for whatever reason."

"Would you use Koreans in this movie or would all of the actors be American?" asked Jong.

"We'd use Americans as the main characters, but there would be many Koreans filling in many of the roles as locals. You need to understand that this movie will need to make the lion's share of its revenue in the United States and we Lady in Red principals always appear in our own films. That keeps our costs down and increases our profits. It's simply how we operate."

"Would Ms. Wilson, that would be Lieutenant Wilson, appear in this movie?" asked Jong as his gaze turned toward Naomi.

"Sir, this movie we're discussing is hypothetical at this point, so it obviously has not been cast. That being said, Naomi is an excellent actress and she's extremely popular. She's beautiful and sexy, so I'd say that we'd have her in the movie if her schedule permits it. Would you want her to be in it?" asked Steve as he observed the look Jong had given Naomi.

"Very much so!" replied Jong eagerly. "Our nation would show you our Korean hospitality. You would change your opinion of our great country if you spent a few months here."

"Sir, please don't assume that we have less than a very high regard for your nation. It's our hope that our nations gradually become friendlier, allowing trade and travel between our two countries to become common place. I'll do my best to persuade our company to make a movie here next year. This is a beautiful capital city."

Jong beamed at Steve's comment and nodded vigorously as his words were translated. The rest of the evening went well as Jong spent most of his time speaking with Steve and Naomi, much to the dismay of Representative Kasen. Almost two hours after they sat down to dine; the Americans complimented Jong and his staff as they left the dinning area.

"You've got no business promising anything to Jong," insisted Kasen as soon as the Americans were gathered in a meeting room at their hotel. "You do not represent the United States here. We are under no obligation to keep any of your promises!"

"Then why are you so upset?" asked Steve calmly. "I have no authority, so any promise I make would be the same as coming from a cab driver in Chicago. Would you be upset if a mechanic from Dallas made a promise to Jong? You need to chill a little, and you'd be well served to think about what you're saying before you say it."

"I just don't want Jong to get the wrong impression!" insisted Kasen. "Was that last remark supposed to be a veiled threat or something?"

"Actually, it was," snapped Steve. "You'd better pull in your horns around me or we'll be mixing it up. Your constant babble is getting on my nerves."

"You don't scare me. I'm a Congressman, and as such, your superior. I can have you court-martialed if I choose."

Steve rose from his chair and strode over to where Kasen was seated. As Steve approached him, Congressman Kasen began to whine to Senator Chatham.

"Senator Chatham! Keep your aide under control, please! If he touches me, he'll be spending the next ten years in a cell. I have witnesses!"

"Kasen, why don't you just shut the hell up?" asked the frank talking senator. "No one here has seen or heard anything. If Steve decides to thump your ass a little, no one will admit seeing anything happen. We're here to free some prisoners, and if buttering up that crazy bastard helps us attain that goal, we'll do it and smile while we do! That family is far more important than your fragile ego. We have a big day tomorrow. Steve's going to try to win a family's freedom. I want you to try to keep from saying anything stupid. It should prove interesting.

"Steve, please take a seat. Congressman Kasen doesn't really understand the situation. For some reason, he hasn't figured out just how influential you are and that it's political suicide to show such disrespect. You need to keep your anger in check and concentrate on tomorrow's activities. Are you prepared, and is there anything we can do to help?"

"I really can't think of anything," replied Steve as he stared at Kasen a few more seconds before facing Chatham. "We're supposed to meet with the family tomorrow morning so we can judge for ourselves that they're in good health. We need to let them know that the U.S. is working for their release, but don't let them think that it's a done deal. I'm not guaranteeing anything, especially when I don't know what rules Jong will have in place. I'll do my best and hope that it's good enough.

"That's all we can ask for. I'm sure you'll do very well, but who knows how Jong will try to stack the deck. It's good that you sort of promised you'd make a movie here. That may prevent him from cheating somehow. He doesn't want to upset you if you're going to film a major movie in his capital city."

The following morning saw the American delegation finishing breakfast when the Duval family was led into the room. They wore prison garb and were barefooted. Their expressions brightened when they heard Americans speaking in English.

While they were not allowed to move toward the Americans, the guards did not prevent the contingent from approaching them. Kasen was the first one to reach them. It was obvious that he was preening for the media that was allowed to attend and record the meeting.

"I'm Congressman Kasen and I promise you that we'll do everything in our power to gain your release. The North Koreans have no right to hold you and I've told them that. I expect to take you back to the States with us!"

Hampton Duval politely listened to Kasen, but his eyes were glued to Steve, who was wearing his fatigues as he stood at attention and saluted. Obviously Duval was not in uniform, but the respect Steve showed him was not lost on the delegation, nor the reporters.

Duval nodded slightly to Steve and then spoke quietly to his wife. She quickly diverted her attention from the verbose Kasen and focused on Steve. Her face immediately lit up. She immediately pointed Steve out to her son and two daughters. The girls were unable to contain their pleasure. They waved and smiled broadly as he approached their family.

Duval quickly put his hand out and Steve shook it firmly. Then he stepped over to Mrs. Duval. She was a thin, dark haired woman approaching fifty. She quickly wrapped her arms around Steve and hugged him tightly. Next was Bonnie, the older daughter, who also hugged Steve and kissed his cheek. When it was sixteen year old Kirsten's turn, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the lips.

"I've always wanted to do that!" was all she said as she released Steve so her brother could shake his hand.

Kasen was a bright red as his embarrassment and anger raged over the snub he felt he was receiving. With as much dignity as he could muster, he retreated back to stand with the rest of the American contingent.

"Naomi! Come on over. The girls want to see you," insisted Steve as he beckoned for Naomi to join him. Soon Naomi was receiving hugs from the family as Steve spoke to them in a low voice.

After just a few minutes, the guards indicated that the Duvals had to leave the room. It was evident that they left feeling much better about their situation than when they had entered.

"I noticed Hammer did his best to hog the photo opportunity," complained Kasen as the Americans returned to their meeting room. 'Maybe it'll sell some more songs or gain some viewers for his next movie. He seems to have lost sight of our goal here. We need to negotiate some sort of settlement with Jong. Photo ops won't cut it."

"Kasen, this will be the last trip you ever go on with me," replied a testy Senator Mason. "You're an unadulterated ass. Who did those people want to see? Was it some prattling idiot, or fellow naval officers that were friends with the family? When they saw that Steve and Naomi were here, it gave them hope. They were more polite to you than you deserved. If you hadn't tried so hard to steal the spotlight, you wouldn't have come off looking like such a pompous ass.

"The rest of us knew enough to allow the Duvals time to see that we were there and to let them decide with whom they wished to speak. If you persist in defaming Steve, you're going to have a very short political life. I would think that you would've learned that much from watching the ethics hearings a few weeks ago."

"I just happen to think that a Congressman is more important than a Navy lieutenant, especially one that's serving as an aide to a senator," responded Kasen as he tried to defend his actions.

"And that's exactly where you're making your mistake," retorted Senator Chatham. "Did anyone hear Jong insist that Congressman Kasen personally make the trip to negotiate for the release of the Duvals? No! He wanted Steve and that's because he's known around the globe for his deeds. You're not. In almost any circumstance you can possibly imagine, Steve is far more important that you. Accept it."

Two hours later, the Americans joined numerous reporters that were allowed access to the competition. They entered a large structure and were led to the firing range. Jong stood behind a large window of very thick plate glass, where the American contingent and reporters joined him. Steve was escorted through a door to the front where three Koreans stood next to small tables with handguns on them. Steve saw a fourth table with a gun, so he assumed it was where he was supposed to stand.

The rules, although different than any Steve had ever encountered before, were quite simple. Each shooter would have an opportunity to shoot ten rounds from a CZ 82 handgun at an electronic target. The location of each round would be automatically recorded. A shot totally inside the center circle was worth ten points. As you moved out from the center, each concentric ring had a lower value by one point. If a bullet hit a border between two circles, the lower value ring would be credited. The time, in seconds, from the first shot to the last would be subtracted from the score. The time was recorded automatically as well. High score won. It would require just seconds to record each shooters score.

The first person to fire would be the man on the left. Once he finished, the next man would have one minute to begin firing his weapon. Steve was third in line, which meant that two men would shoot before him and one after. Steve knew that the first two would be slow and less than perfect so he would be lulled into a false feeling of confidence. The final shooter would be their best and he would have the advantage of seeing how fast and accurate Steve was before he fired his weapon.

Steve knew the old CZ 82's were quite accurate handguns at the range he would be shooting, which was thirty meters. He had fired the model more than a few times over the years and was comfortable with it. He forced himself to focus on his objective and ignore everything around him. He felt as prepared as he would ever be, considering he hadn't been allowed to take any shots with the weapon to see where it was shooting. Luckily, at that range, Steve relied on his hand-to-eye coordination and seldom used the sights, such as they were. As he looked at the weapon before him, Steve realized the front sight had been filed down, which caused him to chuckle to himself as he thought about how Jong had tried to stack the deck.

Each shooter was told to inspect his gun and to signal if he was satisfied with it. When Steve nodded that he was content with his handgun, he saw Jong's surprise. He had probably expected Steve to request a different weapon.

Once the four men indicated they were ready to begin, the actual shooting was over in less than two minutes. The first man fired his weapon rather slowly, but was quite accurate. He scored 88 but had taken six seconds, so his score was 82. The next man fired quite rapidly, but scored just an 87 with a deduction of 3.5 for a final score of 83.5.

Steve watched as the second man to fire placed the gun on the table, but kept his hand on it. Steve had been on so many firing ranges that he counted the shoots without conscious effort, and he was certain the man had fired only nine times.

Knowing that the man following him would be the one he had to beat, Steve calmly picked up his weapon and faced the target. He raised his weapon and pulled the trigger ten times. He had done it so rapidly that it had sounded like one continuous roar. His total read 97 less 2.5 seconds for a final score of 94.5! He carefully placed his weapon on the table and as he turned to watch the next shooter, stepped closer to the man that had gone before him.

As Steve suspected, Jong had saved his best for last. The man looked very steady as he hefted his handgun and faced the target. He raised the weapon and began shooting. He was very fast. His score of 97 matched Steve's, but his time was 3 seconds, thus giving Steve the win by just half a point!

A guard opened the door and a stern looking Jong stepped onto the firing range. The man that had fired just before Steve suddenly swung his gun around and fired it! Steve had been concerned about the man when he realized that he had never fired his last round. He was not surprised when the man suddenly made an attempt to shoot Jong in the head. Steve simply slapped the shooter's hand upward and the bullet lodged into the wall over Jong's left shoulder.

Bedlam erupted as two of Jong's body guards pushed the shooter to the floor while several others rushed onto the range with guns drawn. Steve stood motionless with his hands held high above his head. One of the other shooters in the competition suddenly made the incorrect decision to flee. He managed two steps before he was cut down in a hail of bullets.

Steve and the remaining Korean shooter stood very still with their hands still over their heads as the handguns they had used were gathered and removed from the room. Then they were thoroughly patted down to determine if they had any more weapons on their person. The man that had attempted to shoot Jong was led away by several heavily armed troops as Jong strained to regain his composure.

Everyone waited to learn just how he'd react to the assassination attempt. Once he had mopped his brow, and then wiped it again, he summoned his interpreter over and spoke quietly to him. The man nodded and walked over to Steve and indicated he should walk away from everyone so Jong could speak to him privately.