Skating Free

"You can cease the act," Chin-sun said in a monotone voice. "I know what awaits me. I will be dead before the sun rises."

"My dear Chin-sun, you still do not give me enough credit," Yo-jong replied, again feigning concern. "You will not die for your actions. In all honestly, I cannot say that I blame you. That American... Scott, was it? He is, admittedly, quite handsome. I can see why you would be seduced by him."

"He did not seduce me. He saved my life."

"Hm. Well, it's no concern either way. Though I will admit to taking it personally that my hand selected captain of the Spirit Ambassadors would try to run, I assure you that I will take into account your years of loyal service when rendering your punishment."

"Just kill me and end it."

Yo-jong giggled at this. "No. Oh, no. Your punishment will be far more meaningful than mere death. You see, my brother has need of you, Chin-sun. His wife is a perfectly regal First Lady to be sure, but her skills in the bedroom have been... lacking. My brother has voiced his desire for a younger and more energetic girl to warm his bed. He has noticed you as you have practiced and is quite taken by your beauty."

Snapping out of her trace, Chin-sun glared at Yo-jong. "I would rather die a thousand deaths than touch that disgusting man," she hissed.

"I am quite sure you would," Yo-jong nodded. "But be assured that if you refuse, it will not be you that reaps the penalty. Instead, it will be your family. Yes, if you continue your rebellious streak, your family will suffer for it. You will be made to watch as they die. I wonder who we should start with? Perhaps your mother? Your father? Or maybe... your beloved grandmother?"

"You evil witch!" Chin-sun growled, attempting a clumsy swipe.

"Ah, too slow," Yo-jong laughed as she caught the girl's wrist. Reaching forward with her other hand, she took a firm grip on Chin-sun's cheeks and continued, "It appears we have a verdict. Do I need to make this any clearer for you, Chin-sun? You will submit yourself to my brother and be dealt with as he pleases. If you refuse, if you resist, if you do anything at all that displeases him in any way, you will watch as your dear grandmother dies a slow... painful... agonizing death. After that will be your parents, then any and all remaining members of your family. And once you are the last remnant of your family's bloodline, you will still return to my brother's bed to be used at his pleasure. Stupid girl. No matter what you do, the end result is the same. So, what is your decision? Will you accept your punishment with grace and honor? Or do we need to apply... pressure?"

For a moment, Chin-sun prayed that she was only bluffing, but one look into Kim Yo-jong's eyes told her the truth. She would do everything exactly as she had described. Her eyes were wide and empty, the eyes of a cold and emotionless psychopath who had ordered countless deaths already in her young life. Overseeing the deaths of Chin-sun's family would be as nothing to her. Chin-sun's heart broke as she realized what she would have to do.

"You win," she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I will do ask you ask, just... please, do not hurt my family."

Wiping the tear away tenderly, Yo-jong smiled and replied, "Good girl."

*****

"Any sign of 'em?" Willie asked.

"Not yet. Just keep going; this is the only road leading to the DMZ."

"You sure you'll know the car when you see it?"

"Positive," Scott nodded. "Black sedan with North Korean flags, license plate with the characters for 'government official' on it."

"Ok. We're about twenty kilometers from the DMZ. Keep your eyes peeled."

As he watched the empty road ahead of them, Scott asked, "Why are you doing this, Willie? Why put your neck on the line like this?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," he said shortly.

"Come on, there's got to be more to it than that."

Willie sighed. "You know me, Scott. The U.S. Army is my only family. My parents died when I was in high school. No siblings. No other family of any kind for me. Hell, haven't you wondered why I've never even thought about getting married?"

"I figured it was because of the hundreds of hot girls you go through every week," Scott chuckled.

"Well, maybe," Willie grinned. "But in all seriousness, the world needs men like me. I have no attachments, nobody depending on me. I can throw myself into dangerous missions without any concern for who I might leave behind. I guess you might call it ruthless..."

"I'd call it selfless," Scott replied, punching him in the shoulder. "I knew there was a reason we all called you Braveheart."

Doing his best Scottish accent, Willie said, "If there's one thing ah love, laddie, it's FREEDOM!"

"You do a better Scotsman than Mel Gibson does, that's for sure," Scott deadpanned.

"So, what's your plan once we catch up to them? How do we stop the car?"

Opening the glovebox, Scott said, "Knew it. Leon always keeps a pair of pistols tucked away for emergencies." Pulling out a pair of Sig Sauer P226's, he continued, "Damn, he's even got suppressors for them. Nice. Ok, once we catch up to them, we're gonna have to act fast. If we each shoot out one of the back tires at the same time, that should bring them to a quick stop without hurting anyone. That'll give me my opening to grab Chin-sun from the wreck."

"Good thing I can shoot southpaw," Willie chuckled. "What else does Leon keep in there? Grenades? A rocket launcher?"

"Just a combat knife. Ooh, a Gerber Mark II!"

"Always good. Slip that into your boot; never know if you might need it."

"Good call," Scott agreed. Seeing a black sedan on the road ahead of them, he said, "There they are. Ok, show time. Turn off the headlights and get as close as you can."

"Turn off the headlights? How are we gonna see what we're aiming at?"

"On my signal, flip 'em back on and we'll take our shots. They'll never know what hit 'em," Scott replied.

Willie followed Scott's directions, inching closer to the sedan with his headlights turned off. As Scott had hoped, this gave them the element of surprise; the sedan gave no indication that they had noticed their approach. As they reached a long straightaway, Willie aligned his speed with the sedan and put the SUV on cruise control. Scott then lowered both windows and leaned out with pistol in hand, motioning for Willie to do the same.

"Lights!" said Scott.

Taking care to keep the wheel steady, Willie flipped the headlights back on, allowing them to take careful aim at each of the back tires of the car. There was a decent amount of snow flying, but not enough to deter two sure-shots from the U.S. Army.

"I've got mine in my sights," Willie said.

"Same here. Fire in 3... 2... 1!"

As if it were a scripted dance, Scott and Willie squeezed their triggers in unison, each firing a single suppressed shot into the tires. Sparks appeared as the rubber flew off, leaving only the metal rims to grip the road. Willie then took the SUV off cruise control and deftly navigated them to a safe spot, ensuring they would not be caught in the ensuing wreck. As the North Korean car began to fishtail, Song tried his best to steer them back on course but soon hit an icy patch. Their car spun out and eventually came to a stop on the left shoulder with the front of the car facing Scott and Willie. The pair approached with caution, but once no movement was detected, Scott felt it was safe to exit the SUV.

"Get Chin-sun in here pronto! I'll keep you covered!" Willie said, keeping his pistol trained on the car.

"Roger that!"

Scott zipped up his coat as he stepped into the cold night air, keeping his pistol close at hand as he approached the wreck. He saw Song in the driver's seat with a nasty bump on his head, most likely from hitting it on the steering wheel. As the man was still shell-shocked, Scott pocketed his weapon and opened the back-driver's side door to reveal a very frightened and confused Chin-sun.

"Unh... Scott?!" she stammered.

"Come on, we're leaving!" he said, pulling her out of the car.

"Wait! My backpack, i-it has my passport," Chin-sun replied, stumbling to the ground.

Nodding, Scott reached into the back seat and grabbed the backpack, but it wouldn't budge. He looked up to see an enraged Kim Yo-jong holding onto the other strap, her eyes bulging with fury.

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER!!!" Yo-jong shrieked.

Scott gritted his teeth as they struggled. "I wouldn't normally hit a lady, but you're no lady!"

With that, he lunged forward and smashed his fist against Kim Yo-jong's cheekbone, forcing her to release the backpack as she recoiled in pain. Scott helped Chin-sun to her feet and they began climbing the slight embankment towards the SUV. Little did they know that Yo-jong's screaming had alerted Song that something was happening. Though he was still woozy from the wreck, he was awake enough to see Chin-sun running alongside another person. Relying only on instinct, Song drew his pistol and took aim at the pair.

"Gun!" shouted Willie.

As soon as he heard the warning, Scott tackled Chin-sun to the ground and flattened his body on top of hers. This gave Willie a clear line of sight down to the car, but he never had a chance to pull the trigger. Song had already squeezed off a shot from his pistol. The bullet flew safely over Scott and Chin-sun, but as bad luck would have it, the bullet flew into the undercarriage and struck the fuel line, igniting a fire right next to the gas tank. Before anyone knew what had happened, the SUV exploded in a ball of flame, peppering Scott and Chin-sun with shrapnel and knocking Song unconscious once more from the blast.

"WILLIE! NOOOOO!" Scott screamed in rage, but it was too late. Willie "Braveheart" Wallace was dead.

In an instant, Scott's grief was overtaken by his survival instincts. They were still in danger as long as they stayed there, and if they didn't hurry, Willie's sacrifice would be for nothing. The two of them struggled to their feet and climbed back up to the road. Scott stole a glance over his shoulder and saw that Song was still recovering from the explosion he had triggered. As long as they could get out of sight, they should be able to make their escape. With a heavy sigh, Scott wrapped an arm around a shivering Chin-sun and darted into the woods on the other side of the road.

*****

"Song! Song, wake up!!!" Kim Yo-jong screamed, slapping the man across the face.

"GAH! Wha... what happened?"

"What happened?! They escaped, you fool! That is what happened!"

Before Song could inquire further, a car with North Korean flags pulled up, having broken off from the busses ahead of them when they had heard the explosion. A trio of soldiers exited and surrounded Kim Yo-jong's wrecked car.

"Director Kim, we must get you out of here!" the soldier in charge said.

"NO! One of our people has betrayed us and escaped!" Yo-jong snarled.

"Director, if the enemy finds you here, they will assume you were involved in an act of terror. We must get you across the Demilitarized Zone. I am under orders from Dear Leader to keep you safe at all costs," the solder replied forcefully. "We leave. Now."

Yo-jong gritted her teeth at this. There was no way a soldier would lie about his orders from Kim Jong-un; to do so would mean execution. In a fit of anger and frustration, she opened the driver's door and yanked Song from the car, landing him on his knees. She then pulled the pistol from the soldier's coat and pressed it to his head.

"This is all your fault," she seethed.

"Then let me make it right!" Song pleaded. "I am the best tracker in the army; you know this to be true. I will find them. I will kill the bastard. And I will bring the girl back."

This gave Yo-jong pause. As much as she wanted to be done with this, getting Chin-sun back was a mark of personal pride for her. She had personally selected the girl as captain, after all. Snorting, she strode to the trunk of the car and pulled out a duffel bag, tossing it at Song's feet with the pistol.

"You will bring her back alive or you will die," Kim Yo-jong ordered him. "Finish the mission... no matter the cost."

As Yo-jong entered the newly arrived car and sped off towards the DMZ, Song reached for the duffel back on the ground in front of him. Upon opening it, his eyes went wide with surprise at what he found inside. This, he thought with a smile, will be everything he needed to finish the job.

*****

"Scott... I'm so cold," Chin-sun whimpered.

"I know. We just have to keep moving," Scott encouraged her. "Here, take my hand. That should help keep you warm."

"Thank you." As she followed him through the dark woods, she asked, "Where are we going?"

"I saw a sign for a town less than four kilometers from here," Scott replied. "With any luck, someone there will give us shelter for the night."

"Why would a stranger do this?" Chin-sun asked.

"I'm guessing these towns near the border see defectors on a regular basis. I think someone will sympathize and be willing to offer help."

"I hope so. Scott, I... I am so sorry about your friend."

Scott lowered his head at this. "Me too. Willie knew the risks, but still..."

The pair summoned all the strength they had as they pressed on. The night was bitter cold and the wind constant, though the trees around them helped mitigate the latter to some extent. In spite of Scott's superior fitness due to his athletic and military training, Chin-sun kept up with his pace, if only to remain near the relative warmth of his body. She still wondered if they would manage to survive this ordeal, but even if not, she would be happy to die by Scott's side as a free woman.

After half an hour of trudging through the snow, they finally emerged from the woods to find a sleepy little town nestled at the base of a nearby mountain. They made their way through the empty market, seeing what appeared to be residences on the far side of town. Most of the houses were dark, but one single-story dwelling still had a few lights on and smoke coming from the chimney. By this point, poor Chin-sun was practically hanging from Scott's shoulder from sheer exhaustion. He continued helping her along and approached the door, knocking three times. They could hear movement on the other side, and after a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a short elderly man.

"Wonhaneunge mwoya?" the old man said, inquiring as to what they were doing here.

"Jebal dowajuseyo. I sonyeoneun talbugjaibnida," Scott replied, explaining that Chin-sun was a defector and needed shelter.

The man's eyes went wide upon hearing this and he swung the door open, ushering the pair into his home. He and Scott placed the shivering Chin-sun between them, helping her to sit by the fire in the den. While their host fetched a blanket for her, Scott grabbed a log from a nearby pile to stoke the dying flames. The man attempted to ask Chin-sun her name, but she was still too cold to say much of anything in reply.

"Geunyeoui ileum-eun Chin-sun," Scott told him.

Seeing that Chin-sun was now beginning to warm, the man now turned his attention to Scott and eyed him warily. "You... American?" he asked in English.

"Yes, I am," Scott replied, surprised that an old man so far out in the country would know English. "My name is Tom," he continued, remembering that he was posing as his brother.

After a moment of silence, the man grasped Scott's extended hand firmly. "I am Kim Myung-dae," he said.

"Thank you for allowing us into your home, Kim Ssi," Scott said.

"Of course. Come, I have tea brewing."

Scott followed Myung-dae into the small kitchen, watching as he prepared a tray with a trio of cups. Once Myung-dae placed the teapot on the tray, Scott stepped forward and volunteered to carry it. Before he could leave, though, Myung-dae placed a hand on Scott's shoulder.

"You are far from home, Tom. What are you doing with this girl?" he asked.

"I am helping her defect. I... was in Pyeongchang for the Olympics when I first met her. Have you been watching the games?"

"I have."

"Chin-sun is one of the North Korean cheerleaders that have been all over the news. She escaped two nights ago before being caught by her handler," Scott explained. "I saw him beating her in an alley and rushed in to save her. That was when she told me who she was and what she was trying to do."

Myung-dae furrowed his brow at this. "I thought the North and South had signed an agreement to disallow any defectors during the Olympics?"

"They did," Scott sighed. "That's why a government official arrived to stop Chin-sun's defection and deliver her back to her countrymen. But to me, that is unacceptable. I made her a promise that I would help her gain her freedom, so I went after her the moment the Closing Ceremony had finished. Caught up to her handler's car a couple of miles west of here and rescued her from them. That brought us here."

"I see... and what do you hope to gain from helping this girl?"

"Nothing," Scott replied.

Myung-dae laughed at this. "You cannot fool me, Tom! Nobody does something like this for nothing! Besides, I know how you American men feel about the exotic beauties here in the Far East."

"It's the truth. I'm helping her because it's the right thing to do. And as to your other observation, my attraction to Chin-sun has no impact on my actions."

"So, you admit your attraction to her?"

"I do, but I am perfectly capable of acting contrary to those baser instincts," Scott insisted.

"Hmm... very well. If you are truly helping her because it is the right thing to do, you will have no issue with the sleeping arrangements. She will take the guest room and you will sleep on the floor in my room. I am a light sleeper, so do not think of trying to sneak out to visit her. Agreed?"

Scott grinned at how protective Myung-dae was of his guest. "That will be fine."

"Perhaps, but it is unacceptable to me." The two men turned to find Chin-sun in the doorway of the kitchen, the blanket still wrapped around her. "I am sorry for interrupting, but I heard you talking about me, and I am feeling much better now."

"What are you doing here?" Scott scolded her playfully. "You need to stay by the fire."

"I told you I am feeling much better," she replied.

"Not to me. Your hand is still like ice," said Myung-dae, feeling her skin. "Come, back to the den. Tom, if you will bring the tea."

Chin-sun glanced at Scott with a questioning look at hearing him called Tom, but Scott gave a wink to let her know it would all be fine. Soon, they were situated comfortably around the fire and Scott poured a cup of tea for each of them.

"Mmm... delicious," Chin-sun purred. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Myung-dae replied. "Now, why do you say the sleeping arrangements are unacceptable, young lady?"

"I have my reasons," she said.

Myung-dae chuckled at this. "I will need more than that, my dear. A young defector arrives at my house with a strange American man? My only concern is to ensure her safety from both her countrymen and this stranger."

While Scott took no offense to his concerns, Chin-sun narrowed her eyes. "I thank you for your hospitality but be assured that the best way to ensure my safety is to allow him to remain by my side at all times. Sco... Tom has saved my life no less than three times in the last two days. Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary."

"Forgive my overprotectiveness, I simply do not want you to be placed in any situation in which you could be taken advantage of," Myung-dae replied.

"If Tom had wanted to take advantage of me, he would have done so already. He had ample opportunity yesterday. I trust him with my life. He will sleep with me in the guest room tonight."