‘Are you talking about an invasion of North Korea?’
‘If necessary.’
Pauline wanted to stomp on this idea right way. ‘The US would not join forces with you.’
No’s answer surprised her. ‘We would not want you to.’
Pauline was temporarily lost for words.
No Korean leader had talked this way since the 1950s. If the north and south were reunited by this war, the south would somehow have to cope with a sudden influx of twenty-five million half-starved people who had no idea how to live in a capitalist economy. No had campaigned on a promise of reunification in the vague future: her slogan Before I die meant not never, but it could also mean not now. However, the economic issue was not her main problem. China was.
Reading her mind, No said: ‘If you stay out of it, we believe the Chinese will do the same. We will say that Korea’s problems must be solved by Korea’s people, without the involvement of other countries.’
‘Beijing will not allow you to install a pro-American government in Pyongyang.’
‘I know. We would discuss the future of North and South Korea with our allies and our neighbours, of course. But we believe the time has come for Korea as a whole to stop being merely a pawn in someone else’s game.’
This was not realistic, in Pauline’s opinion. If they tried it, there would be hell to pay. She took a deep breath. ‘Madam President, I sympathize with your feelings but I believe that what you propose is dangerous to Korea and to the world.’
‘I have promised to reunite my country. There may not be another moment like this for fifty years. I will not go down in history as the president who missed her chance.’
And that was it, Pauline thought. This was about revenge for the murder of her lover, and about keeping her campaign promise; but most of all, it was about her legacy. She was sixty-five, and thinking of her place in history. This was her destiny.
There was nothing left to say. Pauline said abruptly: ‘Thank you, Madam President,’ and hung up.
She looked around the table. They had all heard the conversation. She said: ‘Our strategy for dealing with the Korea crisis has now collapsed. The north has attacked and lost, and the south is determined to invade. My peace conference has died before it could be born. President No is planning a giant swerve in world politics.’
She paused, making sure the gravity of the predicament had time to sink in. Then she turned to practical details.
‘Bill, I want you to take the morning conference in the White House press-briefing room today.’ Schneider looked reluctant, but she wanted a man in uniform. ‘Sandip Chakraborty will be with you.’ She almost added to hold your hand but stopped herself. ‘Say that we were prepared for the attack and fought it off with minimum damage. Give them as much military detail as you can: numbers of missiles fired, enemy planes downed, military casualties, civilian casualties. You can say that I was in touch with the presidents of China and South Korea throughout the night, but don’t answer any political questions; tell them that the situation is still unclear and, anyway, you’re just a simple soldier.’
‘Very good, ma’am.’
‘With luck we now have a few hours to reflect. Everyone, please get your deputies into this room and go off and get some rest while East Asia is sleeping. I’m going to take a shower. We meet again this evening, when it’s dawn in Korea.’
She stood up, and the others all did the same. She caught a look from Gus and realized he wanted to accompany her, but she thought it a bad idea to favour him too obviously, so she looked away and left the room.
She returned to the Residence and showered. She felt refreshed but tired; she was desperate for sleep. However, first she sat on the edge of the bed in her towelling bathrobe and called Pippa to ask how the holiday was going.
‘The traffic was terrible last night and we took two hours getting here!’ Pippa said.
‘Bummer,’ said Pauline.
‘But then we all had supper and that was fun. This morning, Josephine and I went for an early ride.’
‘What horse did you have?’
‘A nice little pony called Parsley, lively but obedient.’
‘Perfect.’
‘Then Dad drove us into Middleburg to buy pumpkin pies and guess who we ran into? Ms Judd!’
Pauline had a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. So Gerry had arranged a rendezvous with his lover at Thanksgiving. Boston had not been merely a one-night stand, after all. ‘Well, well,’ she said, forcing a cheerful tone of voice. But she could not help adding: ‘What a coincidence!’ She hoped Pippa did not detect the sarcasm.