Third World War by Unknown Page B

along, a guard pushed open the double doors of a room which began with a small marbled hallway and a cloakroom. Another set of double doors was open to reveal a high-ceilinged suite, carpeted, with pale-green freshly painted walls and a view over a river towards the monuments and parks of Pyongyang. As they came in, three women in bright blue and yellow full-length dresses appeared and bowed.
    'We can talk here,' said Park, indicating that Qureshi should take the sofa. 'You must have had a tiring flight.'
    'Certainly it had its excitements,' agreed Qureshi, who had taken off in the middle of a firefight against troops loyal to President Khan. One of his men bled to death in the aircraft. Two men were either dead or wounded on the tarmac and there had been three bullet holes in the starboard wing, luckily not puncturing fuel tanks or cables. Crucially his cargo, resting on specially designed suspension apparatus in the centre of the fuselage, remained unharmed. There was half an hour of slight turbulence as they flew over eastern Russia down into China and began their descent. But it passed quickly and Qureshi delivered safely the five tactical warheads, assembled apart from the insertion of detonators. Now, with luck, he would be able to catch the afternoon train back to Beijing, giving him twenty-four hours' rest, before joining the fray again.
    Once settled, Park took charge. 'How is the situation?' he asked, addressing Qureshi.
    'As good as can be expected,' said Qureshi. 'The opposition is no more than we anticipated. So far dissent has remained within the military. Nothing has spilled over from the barracks to the streets. To the world outside, there has been a tragic assassination, but the same civilian government is in control.'
    'And you can hold the military?' pressed Park.
    Qureshi nodded slowly. 'I think so.' He paused while one of the hostesses sank to her knees and offered him coffee, which he took black. Memed had nothing and Park only water. 'When they understand what we want to achieve,' said Qureshi, 'and how swiftly we will be able to do it, they will come on board.' He sipped his coffee. 'Tell me, General, did you have opposition?' Qureshi had a genuine curiosity to compare.
    'Yes, but it was dealt with,' said Park, giving only the barest information.
    Irritated but patient, Qureshi turned to Memed. 'And you have done well, so well,' he said, smiling. 'He and I have taken control only of our own generals. You have won over a whole society. I hear there are celebrations of liberation everywhere.'
    'Thank you,' said Memed humbly. 'By removing oppression anything is possible.'
    'You spoke of a second catalyst,' said Park.
    'Yes, yes,' agreed Memed. 'The first worked perfectly. You, General, by striking Yokata, showed how easy it was to deliver a wounding blow to the United States. The killing of Asif Latif Khan, the most pro-American leader of any Islamic nation, provided us with a symbolic call to battle. I know you have plans, General. I know that Air Vice-Marshal Qureshi has provided you with the means to conduct the next major stage of your operation. That was in the agreement. What I suggest now is perhaps a half-stage, a nudge to continue the momentum. I have a plan for Hassan Muda.' He glanced at Park. 'That is why he is with me. And you, General, should do whatever you think fit. But you will need another catalyst to win.'
    'When will you declare independence?' Qureshi asked Memed.
    'As soon as we know we have control,' said Memed. 'Key governments will recognize the sovereignty of Daulah Islamiah Nusantara, the Sovereign Islamic Archipelago or SIA as it will be known, a glorious Islamic homeland stretching right across northern Borneo, through the Sulu Archipelago, and into Mindanao in the southern Philippines.'
    'We will recognize it immediately,' said Qureshi.
    'Who else?' asked Park.
    'Iran, Syria, Palestine, Yemen. These have promised. North Korea, of course. There will be a number of smaller