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"Oh, crap." Yoshi exclaimed, "Now it's raining bodies." Yoshi was riding in the back seat of his car, near Kubota's dojo, when Kubota's body hurtled out of the sky onto the pavement a few yards in front of the car, bouncing almost a foot. Kubota was followed almost immediately by another body that bounced off a taxi a few feet away then rolled into the street right in front of Yoshi's bumper.

"Skipper!"

Three men from Yoshi's special unit jumped from his car and ran to Kubota. Yoshi, taking longer to get out in his weakened condition, got to Skipper just as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Nodding, all Skipper could say at the moment was, "Whew!" Which he followed almost immediately with "Beep, Beep."

"You must be okay, you're still crazy. Stay here, I'll be right back." Yoshi walked over to the men kneeling around Kubota. Moving close to his head Yoshi knelt and began loudly questioning the prostrate form. Skipper could only hear Yoshi's side of the conversation and couldn't make out Kubota's answers.

Yoshi got to his feet with help from one of his officers and returned to Skipper's side just as he started to rise.

"Don't bother yourself, Skipper," he said. "That dog meat's dead. Come on, let's go. There's a lot to do and I have some of the answers you're looking for." Together they drove away in Yoshi's car leaving the others to report finding a man who had probably been killed by a hit and run driver.

Several blocks away fire alarms shrilled their warning and an eerie orange glow brightened the night sky.

"Kubota told me the two Americans and your girl friend Patti are in Korea. They're in the temple of a religious order known as 'The Way,' in the mountains near a city named Kyongju. I assume he's been in contact with them but he was gone before he told me." Yoshi was speaking softly and breathing hard between bites of sentences.

Skipper looked over and saw his friend slouched down in the passenger seat, his face ashen. Skipper touched his friend's shoulder. "Thank you."

"We have some information on The Way and their activities here in Japan. It's a scam operation," Yoshi added.

Switching subjects, Yoshi continued in a low voice. "I made contact with my superiors in Special Branch. They didn't know about Sasaki and the others' connection to Kubota, nor anything of your "arrest" or involvement. They've begun a major investigation. They don't know anything about Niko's involvement, either. They believe the attack was directed toward me alone and was organized by Kubota."

At Sensei Mashuta's home Yoshi was immediately put to bed. He'd done far too much for his condition. Niko stayed and tended him, fed him and changed his dressings as Doctor Ogawa had taught her.

Skipper now had reason to hope Patti would be at Kyongju along with the two Americans and the Roacherian Effect file. He began to formulate a plan. He was pleased to discover that Master Mashuta's home boasted an excellent library (much of it in English) which contained copious information on the Orient, including Korea. He pored over the reference materials. Already familiar with most of Korea and Kyongju in particular Skipper, for the most part, only needed to refresh his memory.

The city of Kyongju is located in the southeast corner of the Korean peninsula. Skipper correctly guessed that Kyongju, having been the historical capitol of ancient Korea's Silla Dynasty, might have been the primary reason Pak located his headquarters there. The terrain in that area is mountainous. The mountains aren't high, one of the tallest peaks is only 1240 feet, but the terrain is steep and rough. The city sits about 600 feet above sea level and the winters are bitterly cold and harsh. This was something Skipper would have to contend with.

He briefly considered entering the country from the sea, either scout swimming (long distance swimming on the surface) or scuba diving to shore. Then, remembering the rugged shoreline in that area and the harsh cold of winter coupled with twenty-five kilometers of rugged terrain to cross before reaching his objective he quickly tossed the idea.

The quickest, quietest and most accurate method of entry would be a High Altitude, Low Opening parachute jump -- known to airborne troops by its acronym: HALO. It would have to be done at night to avoid detection, probably in bad weather due to the time of year and because he couldn't wait for it to clear and definitely alone. Any other time Skipper would have shuddered at the thought. He vividly remembered similar HALO jumps he'd made all too often in the Army. This one would be during a cold, Korean winter night over an unmarked or at best poorly marked target in unfriendly territory.

Recognizing his negative reactions as self defeating he quickly cast them aside and dug into planning his mission with drive born of necessity and an attention to detail born of years of experience and the best training in the world. Once again Skipper slipped into the persona of the unemotional automaton he'd had to be while he wore the coveted Green Beret. "Iceman" his team members had dubbed him. It had become his code name.

When his calculations revealed that the temperature outside the aircraft when he jumped would have an approximate wind-chill factor of fifty-four degrees below zero his only reaction was a calm "Well, whaddaya know 'bout that?"

Armed with basic information and a plan Skipper placed a call to Master Lee and subsequent calls to several unlisted phone numbers inside Korea for the detailed information and assistance he needed to carry out his plans for retrieving Patti and the file. Through Master Lee Skipper contacted General Dae Joon Kim. Years earlier General Kim had been a Captain in the Republic of Korea Special Forces and Master Lee had been his commanding officer. Kim was now CO of the Korean Special Forces Command. As such he exercised a great deal of power within the military command structure answering only to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Korean Armed Forces. Skipper had presented himself to General Kim once before with a letter of introduction from Master Lee and had been warmly received.

Through General Kim Skipper gathered a good deal of information on Pak's operation. Not only did he establish the exact location of the temple, he also learned important details about the number of personnel believed to be within the grounds and their armament. He was relieved to learn Pak had a radio and microwave antenna that carried a beacon light to warn aircraft. The beacon operated twenty-four hours a day, in all weather. Being distinctive it would guide Skipper out of the night sky...if it wasn't obscured by clouds.

General Kim agreed to furnish Skipper with equipment and air transportation over his target from Pusan. That was all Kim could do, but it was all Skipper needed.

All he has to do now is get to Pusan undetected by Pak's people. Skipper had a feeling that news of Kubota's death would travel quickly to the Americans and they may be expecting him.

Pak's blemish was spreading everywhere like an insidious cancer and Skipper felt certain Kempo International Airport in Seoul would be closely watched as would most of the rest of the customs areas at the various points of entry into Korea. "But," reasoned Skipper, "they sure as hell can't watch all of them, all the time." He also knew it would interfere with his plans to be caught in Korea on some minor charge only to have it escalated into a big deal by being in the country illegally.

Through old friends in the US military and with Bert's help stateside Skipper was spirited out of Japan aboard a U.S. Air Force C141 cargo jet from Tachikawa Air Base near Tokyo, directly to Pusan Air Force Base in Korea. During the short flight Skipper dropped into a fitful and tormented sleep from which he was awakened by the thud of the landing gear locking into place.

Kil Choong Pak watched Patti slowly climbing her way back to full lucidity. The sedatives she'd been given since her abduction wore off about every six hours. When that happened Patti became very agitated and confused, trying to make sense of her abduction. Another dose would leave her a little unhappy but more tractable.

Pak had read Choi's background report on Patti hoping to find more leverage to use on Mason should he escape the plans the Americans had told him about.

"I will have to indoctrinate this woman into The Way," Pak said softly. "She's much too lovely to waste like this." He paced up and down the cell housing Patti. He'd been thinking while walking the grounds and halls of the old temple, for more than twenty-four hours. Pak was unsure how to proceed with Arnburg and Peterson. They'd forced Choi to bring them here and were now making demands for safe passage to Hong Kong and thus further away from his grasp.

They'd arrived with no luggage and their clothing had been searched. No plans had been found. Thus far he'd given them free run of the old temple grounds (but not the inner command center) as though they weren't the prisoners they really were. Should they attempt to leave his guards would prevent it.

Arnburg and Peterson indicated they could deliver the Roacherian Effect file if and when their conditions were met. Pak had to keep the two Americans off balance until he secured the Roacherian Effect documents and ensured their silence. They knew who they were dealing with now and that made them dangerous. He was furious that they were trying to make demands of him but in light of the way the original exchange had failed followed by Choi's further bungling, he wasn't surprised by their insolence.

He looked at Patti again. She was staring at him with a confused, angry look on her pretty face. The telltale signs of dehydration had etched their way into the shallow areas of her eyes and cheeks. He knew he wanted to keep her, no matter what.

Pak stepped out of the cell, motioning to the nurse waiting patiently in the hall. She began preparing another injection.

As he walked down the hall an idea began to form. The nurse had triggered a thought. Perhaps the Americans have had the plans with them all along. Pak hurried toward the small hospital located deep within his mountain.