2.
THE DINNER
Lee Cooper had a lot to do before dinner that evening.
For a start, he had to organise, in double quick time, colleagues who could join him. He knew who he wanted to be there, and he also knew that they weren’t so much going to be invited as going to be told to be there. James Piper would see to that.
Professor John Williams was no real problem. He was Director of the Nuclear Research Laboratory at Culham, which the party of overseas visitors was scheduled to visit, so in many ways he was the host. He lived not far from the laboratory, and was therefore not far from Oxford either.
But Cooper wanted someone in authority from the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston. Choi Shin had specially asked to be allowed to visit the place, and Cooper was keen that he should, if only to meet people.
The right people. People who would be able to ask Choi the right questions, and perhaps entice him to stay. He had information everyone wanted, and had already talked about ‘comparing notes’. The sooner he was given the chance to do that, the better.
The problem with Aldermaston was that AWE was a civilian organisation, run by a consortium of technical specialist companies on behalf of the Government. Paul Sheppard was one of the senior technical directors and was working there on secondment from the Ministry of Defence. Still one of us, so to speak.
That’s who Cooper wanted at the dinner table.
He didn’t live near Oxford, but near Reading and the AWE complex. But he knew about Choi Shin from the Americans and our own UK Intelligence sources, so he took no persuading to meet him. A son’s birthday party suddenly went up in smoke.
Having fixed his dinner party hosts, Cooper thought for a minute.
There would be three of them, and three of ‘us’. But an extra pair of eyes and ears would be useful, he concluded. Our team could sit one either side of Choi, isolating him from his colleagues, which was essential, but it would be useful to have someone sitting directly across from Choi. Perhaps someone from Defence Int. could do it. That would leave him to look after the ‘minder’ and the other scientist.
James Piper suggested Martin Davis, a weapons expert with experience of the Far East. Cooper rang him, and although they had never met, they got on well on the phone. Davis quickly got the plot, and agreed to play the part selected for him at the dinner. He’d not been to Korea, but knew Vietnam, which was close enough Cooper thought.
Cooper had booked a private room for their meal at the Hotel, and rang Piper for one more favour.
“We need the place wired up,” he said.
“I’d thought of that, and already got a bloke organised. Len Ellis is one of the best technical officers there is, and he’s been trying to get in touch with you on the secure mobile.”
“Where is he now?” asked Cooper.
“Already of his way to the Old Bank Hotel.”
“He’ll do. I’ll meet him there.”
Ellis got there first, and was already at work with a couple of other technical colleagues in the private dining room when Cooper arrived. Another of Ellis’s team was outside, keeping the hotel staff away, although they had already laid the table and done whatever else it is that hotel staff do at these times.
“The most important bloke will be sitting here,” Cooper pointed.
“I’ll give him two bugs all to himself then!”
“Where will you be?”
“There’s a camper van in the car park. I’ll be there with a couple of chums making sure we don’t miss anything. I’ll have separate feeds into the van from each person, but you’ll have to identify them afterwards. I’m assuming you don’t want video as well – there’s hardly time to fix that.”
“Audio will be enough, thanks. How does that work?”
“Micro-chip wireless transceivers. Short range, but enough to get to the van.”
“Where are you putting them?”
“Mind your own business! No-one will find them; guaranteed.”
“Hope you’re right. Shit will hit fan if you’re wrong.”
“Relax. I’ve done this before.”
“You’ve been recommended.”
Ellis knew his stuff, all right. No doubt about that
“Drop in to the van when it’s all over, and have a quick listen to what we’ve got,” invited Ellis.
“I’ll bring a doggy bag.”
***
After the introductions and a welcome glass of Champagne before dinner, the party relaxed. Most of them, anyway. Mr. Moon Pak didn’t look as if he’d ever relaxed in his life, although that didn’t stop him having a second glass of pre-dinner Champers.
But he was plainly on edge, knowing that it would be impossible for him to monitor, let alone influence, what was said to or by his two scientist colleagues. He could only hope that they stuck to the rules. Not that they had so far. He knew that Dr Shin had already been out of the Hotel for a walk around the city centre, exposing himself to the appalling life style enjoyed by the West, and leaving himself open to be influenced by the decadence to be found in the capitalist life style of alcohol and drugs enjoyed by the youth who purported to be students in this University city.
He knew, though, that Choi Shin was a strong character, well able to resist any temptations which he might come across. As a scientist, the Doctor had an enquiring mind, and no doubt his brief excursion was in the interests of research more than anything else.
Pak could not have been more wrong.
Choi Shin’s ‘brief excursion’ had only one object – to help him decide if this life-style was better than that in North Korea, and if so whether it was worth the enormous risk involved if he should decide to defect and stay there.
He had already concluded that it was certainly better than he had witnessed in America, and that both were better than his own. He longed for the freedom enjoyed here. Living in this country, he would have access to everything he could wish for, but which was denied him at home, where he and his fellow citizens were weighed down by restrictions, suppressed by an overbearing state machine and denied the very basic of human rights. Here, he would be able to openly discuss his work with others and have access to every imaginable research tool he could wish for, not only radio and television which was independent of Government influence, but a free press producing literature and news - and comment - about every aspect of life here and abroad. He was able, as he had demonstrated quietly in his hotel room, to access the internet with its endless array of research opportunities. He had been able this afternoon to browse through scientific journals openly on display in newsagents. He had visited the Bodleian Library, with its world famous collection of books, manuscripts, learned papers, any of which he would have been able to study if he had wished in one of the many reading rooms.
And the people – freely able to meet together, to talk, to discuss, to argue, to eat and drink, to come and go as they wished. Dr Choi had been out of his hotel for only an hour or so – he lost track of time – and had not seen a single policemen or official in uniform. Yet his own country, in which he was a prominent citizen, had chosen to send with him and his colleague their own ‘policeman’, the civil servant minder Moon Pak. The British, though, were sufficiently trusting to let him come and go freely as he wished. They had not dictated what he did or where he went, and had not imposed any restrictions on him or followed him wherever he went.
He had not noticed the two men on a motorbike.
***
But the dinner had gone well.
Even the hotel staff thought so. They were used to visiting dignitaries from abroad, but they were usually entertained by University staff. This seemed to be a smaller party than usual, and was certainly not sponsored by one of the university colleges. It was a small reception, hosted by the Government, with people up from London, entertaining people from the Far East, it looked. Some said they were from Korea, but how can you tell? They all look the same. They enjoyed their food, were polite to the staff, and everything went well. One of the Government chaps said so afterwards and thanked them, as well as thanking the Manager, which was nice.
It was a late night, though, for the hosts. After coffee in the lounge, the two scientists and their civil servant colleague, Moon Pak, went to their rooms, while the others held a quick de-brief.
John Williams started the ball rolling.
“That man Dr. Shin is a worried scientist if ever I saw one,” he pronounced.
“In what way?” asked Cooper.
“He’s worried about what he is doing back home. Reading between the lines, he sees that his country could well be heading for some sort of nuclear disaster if their current research programme continues unchecked, and the Chinese are pushing them along at all speed. The development work he’s involved in is world-leading, so far as he can tell, but if it is successful, he has no idea how his Government will use the new weapons. He acknowledges that it is an unstable regime, which could do anything.”
“I get much the same impression,” said Paul Sheppard from Aldermaston. “He seems to understand that once they have managed to develop their revolutionary method of enriching uranium, they will be able to produce weapons far more quickly than anyone else and in greater numbers.”
“He sounded frustrated that he could do nothing about it, either. He sees no way of stopping the programme, short of military action by the West, which he considers out of the question.”
“I hope he’s right,” said Cooper. “So what can be done?”
“It seems to me,” opined Martin Davis, “that we need to know in some detail what they are doing so that we can perhaps develop some form of defensive counter measure.”
“I agree,” said Sheppard. “The man plainly has information which is vital to us, but can we persuade him to give it to us?”
“He would need to defect and stay here to do that,” said Williams. “You simply cannot pass on that sort of information over a cup of tea one afternoon. We not only need to know what it is they are doing, but how they are doing it and what the Chinese role is. That means technical information, specifications, drawings and all the rest of it.”
“Which he won’t have brought with him,” said Sheppard.
“Even if he does want to co-operate, I doubt he would want to stay over here. He’s too afraid of the consequences for his family and friends back home.”
“And it’s big ‘if’, too. He hasn’t actually said in so many words that he wants to help us has he?” Cooper asked. “It’s only an impression we’ve got.”
“I wouldn’t mind listening again to what he said over dinner,” said Williams.
“That can be arranged,” said Cooper. “I didn’t tell you beforehand, but the whole evening has been carefully monitored and recorded.”
“I’ll be damned,” exclaimed Sheppard. “I should have guessed you guys would do something like that.”
“I’ll arrange for you to have transcripts tomorrow morning.
“It’s nearly that, now,” said Davis.
“Tomorrow, we’re all due to visit your establishment John. I suggest, if you can arrange it, that we get Choi to Aldermaston, on his own, the next day, prior to the final day at Culham before they leave the UK.”
“I can arrange that,” said John Williams. “And I shall be happy to show him what I can of Aldermaston, within the bounds of security,” said Sheppard. “I can quickly adapt the tour we give to first year university students.”
“Let’s all be as nice as we can to the guy, and make him feel at home,” said Cooper. “I’ll organise a full debrief as soon as they’ve gone back to Korea.”
***
Jang Nam, the other scientist in the party, returned to his room totally bemused. He had to admit that he had actually enjoyed his evening, although he had not in the least been expecting to.
Quite the contrary.
Before they went to the dining room, he had been talking with Moon Pak, mostly about ideology, but also agreeing about the need to be exceptionally cautious at the event which was to follow. It was absolutely essential, Moon had reminded Jang, to say as little as possible about his own work, but to learn as much as possible about the work of their hosts. That was why they were here, and it was the least their Great Leader expected. He and Choi should ask as many technical questions as they could and be wary of being drawn into any conversations which might betray their own wonderful country.
“Where was Choi, by the way?”
“Walking in the extensive hotel gardens,” replied Jang, “preparing himself to meet our foes at dinner.”
That was all right then. Pak reminded his colleague that their hosts were really nothing better than spies, and that their intention would be to ply the visitors with quantities of alcohol in an effort to learn all they could about the pioneering and world leading work they were engaged in on behalf of the fatherland.
“And another thing,” Pak frowned. “Remember not to touch any food which is not served to them as well. If you do, you could well find it laced with drugs designed to loosen your tongue. I must remember to remind Choi.”
So Jang Nam had not really been looking forward to his dinner. He was unused to being surrounded by foreign spies, and his colleague Pak had successfully put him off his food.
He was, however, much looking forward to his visit to the Culham laboratory, where he would see work akin to his own, designed to harness nuclear fusion as a source of great power. It was not quite Choi Shin’s field of work, but he was generally acknowledged to be a brilliant scientist, and was bound to learn a great deal which would be of use to his country on their return. Choi’s brilliance had been demonstrated when he asked to be allowed to visit the Atomic Weapons facilities. It looked as if he might just be allowed to make such a visit, as well. Certainly the British had not rejected his request out of hand. If Choi could bring that off, then they would all be hailed as national heroes on their return. Choi himself was leading a major research project with colleagues from China into the future development of nuclear weapons, and he was bound to learn a great deal that would be of immense value to their glorious country. Perhaps they would learn over dinner whether or not Choi’s bold initiative had been successful.
Cooper, the man who had met them on arrival, was ready to greet them when they went to the small private room downstairs for dinner. Cooper quickly introduced them to the others present. They were all said to be scientists, but the foreign delegation from North Korea all new that they were British spies, sent specially to learn as much as possible from them. One of them was said to be from the Aldermaston weapons facility, and immediately fell into conversation with Choi Shin. ‘Be very careful, dear friend,’ thought Nam.
A tall man introduced himself to Jang Nam as Professor John Williams, Director of the Culham laboratory where the UK’s research into nuclear fusion was being conducted. ‘Now I must be careful’, thought Nam. They were to sit together at dinner.
“We are very much looking forward to seeing you at our Culham research laboratory tomorrow,” said Cooper, by way of briefing. “We shall be able to show you our work, and hopefully give you a demonstration of our fusion experiment in operation. If not tomorrow, then certainly the day after. I am also pleased to say that we have been able to arrange, through the good offices of Paul Sheppard here, for Dr. Choi Shin to visit our facilities at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston.”
“I shall accompany him there,” announced Moon Pak.
“I am afraid that will not be possible, Mr. Moon, for security reasons.”
“But I insist,” protested Moon. “It is my job to guide my colleagues during this visit.”
“I really am sorry,” said Sheppard, “but I have only been able to obtain a limited security clearance for Dr. Choi. I am sure you will understand that this is a top secret installation where it is difficult to arrange for visitors other than scientists known to us.”
“I must protest most strongly,” blustered Moon.
“And you must understand our position,” countered Sheppard. “Dr Choi is welcome to make the visit, but he will do so on his own, or not at all.”
“Very well then,” said Moon, “but I shall protest most strongly to my Government.”
“You may be better advised not to,” said Choi bravely. “What will they think if you protest that I have been denied this chance because of your own stubbornness?”
Choi took Moon by the arm.
“Trust me,” he said. “This is an opportunity which will not be available to any of us again. If I must go alone, then I shall go alone.”
Martin Davis turned to Paul Sheppard.
“That was close,” he muttered, with his back to the others. “You nearly didn’t get him to yourself.”
Jang Nam turned to Moon.
“You cannot be in two places at once, and I shall explain on our return, if anyone should query your behaviour, that you had no option. Our dear leader would not have wished you to deny our country this unique opportunity.”
“Very well, then,” said Moon again. “I am sure that we are most grateful to you for allowing one of our top scientists to visit your establishment at such short notice,” he said to Sheppard. “We shall probably learn a great deal that will be of value to our country”.
“It’s our pleasure.”
The humour was lost on him.
As they took their places for dinner, Choi and Sheppard were soon in earnest conversation, as were Williams and Nam. Moon Pak heard virtually nothing of either conversation, not least because of the non-stop chatter from Lee Cooper who was sitting next to him.
From Cooper’s point of view it was all working out rather well after a shaky start.
Moon Pak had given up.
Dr.Choi Shin was like a dog with two tails. A visit to Aldermaston agreed, and sitting next to one of its head scientists at dinner.
Paul Sheppard from Aldermaston was also delighted to be next to the one man they all really wanted, either as a defector or as an informer.
Jang Nam was seated next to the Director of the Culham Nuclear Research Laboratory, which he was to visit in the next two days.
Martin Davis was fast learning about the Chinese involvement in the North Korean nuclear development programme, and could see promotion looming once his Ministry of Defence superiors heard what he had to tell them.
Len Ellis was busy in the car park, but looking forward to his doggy bag.
***
As the party left, Cooper made his way across the car park to the camper van.
Ellis was waiting for him.
“I heard all that, as you would expect,” he announced, “and I’ve already put in hand the verbatim transcripts you want. You shall have them in the morning.”
“Brilliant – thanks.”
“Don’t mention it! And while you were enjoying yourself at Her Majesty’s expense, I’ve run taps into their Hotel rooms as well. They’re live feeds into the Ops Room at HQ.”
“I should have thought of that,” admitted Cooper.
“You didn’t need to. James Piper asked me to fix it.”
“I suppose that’s why he’s in charge and I’m not!”
“Probably. And I suppose you forgot my doggy bag, too.”
There was no doubt about it; the dinner had gone well.
***
There were people who needed to know what had happened at the dinner.
James Piper, for one, was under orders to de-brief his boss, ‘C’, as soon as possible. He had listened to the conversations as they took place during the meal, and briefly visited the Ops Room to hear some of the after-dinner chat between the Koreans, before contacting Sir Geoffrey Sefton.
Jack Salisbury, Head of the Joint intelligence Organisation thought he should know what had happened, and looked to General Sir Pearson-Jones, Chief of Defence Intelligence, to tell him.
So Martin Davis didn’t get much sleep that night, either. Salisbury was adamant that Ministers should not be briefed at this stage, so went out of his way to tell the Permanent Secretaries of both the Foreign Office and the Home Office to mind their own business for the time being. That meant that the Government’s Chief Scientist was also not told what was going on.
Lower down the pecking order, though, it was different. Those people who needed to know because they needed to do something, were briefed immediately.
James Piper got on to his opposite number in charge of Section 11. It was their job to keep tabs on important people, and make sure they came to no harm. Retired Colonel Bill Clayton ran that operation, and it was his two men on a motorbike who had been keeping a close eye on Dr.Choi Shin during his stroll round Oxford that afternoon. Actually, it was yesterday afternoon now, but they were all still ‘on the case’ in spite of the late hour.
Clayton reported that Choi had seemed relaxed as he strolled down the High Street. He had looked in to a couple of book shops, browsed the newspaper stand, and actually been in to the Bodleian Library, although not for long. He had returned to the news stand to buy a copy of The Times, and then sat outside Jane’s’ Team Rooms for a cuppa while he read it. He left the paper behind when he returned to the Old Bank Hotel. Section 11 had retrieved it, and so far as they could tell from a quick examination, he had not written in it or left any messages inside. Neither did they think that he had been followed, either – except by them, of course. They were keeping watch outside the Hotel, but agreed it was not necessary to follow him on his official visits.
And so the jig-saw was being put together, and the impression gained that Dr.Choi Shin was a probable target who might talk, even if he did not defect.
They were all encouraged.
But there was also a consensus developing that Dr. Choi could be of more value to the UK if he returned to Korea, rather than stay in this country. If a means could be established to keep in touch with the man, he would be able to keep us informed of developments, both there and in China, whereas if he defected and stayed in the UK, his information would soon become dated and of increasingly reduced value.
So it was agreed, subject to further analysis based on what was said during the rest of his visit, that if Dr. Choi did decide to co-operate with us, he should return home and keep in touch from there, rather than stay in this country. The option could always be left open for him to return here ‘on asylum’ at a later date.
Agreed, that is, apart from a few within the defence industry. They, after all, were in charge of our nuclear deterrent, and that meant that for it to remain viable, they needed to know what it was that it had to deter. So they were desperate to know what the Chinese were doing which might in some way prejudice the effectiveness of our Trident submarines and their missiles. The Americans, for the same reasons, were also desperate to know, but had seemingly let the man slip though their fingers during his visit to the States.
The Defence Intelligence organisation had, almost within their grasp, the one man who could brief them in detail about what was happening in China, and yet those buffoons in Whitehall were intending to send him home. It beggared belief, in their mind.
Martin Davis was firmly of the view that the man should be kept here if that was an option. He discussed his views briefly over the secure phone link with his Director, General Pearson-Jones, and agreed to meet him, also secretly, later that night, with a few others from within the armed services. Paul Sheppard, the MOD man on secondment to Aldermaston, was among them.
There was a long discussion of all the pros and cons. On the one hand, if he could be persuaded to stay in this country, Choi could be offered work, a new identity and a safe haven from his fellow countrymen. On the other hand, he would be an on-going security liability, and, as someone pointed out, could well be a ‘plant’, sent to infiltrate our nuclear defence organisation to pass intelligence back to North Korea and China. Whatever happened, he would need to be closely monitored.
At the end of a long night, it was agreed that he should be invited to defect and stay here in relative safety to work alongside our own nuclear physicists, providing he agreed willingly to pass on what information he had about the Chinese work in which he was involved.
In spite of all the late night deliberations and discussion, one thing remained plain.
Nothing could be done without Choi’s agreement.
Except that, if he did return home in a couple of days, as arranged, the Defence Ministry people thought it might be worth going after him, in a final attempt to persuade him to defect.
The Special Services were to be briefed, secretly and in secret.
***