Operation Minnow

"Ho...," she began, stopping when a surge of ice-cold water washed over her mouth. "...Kay."

Fighting the onslaught of water, I drew up my bag and pulled out my diamond-titanium snips. Did they cut rebar? I guessed we would find out.

Planting my feet against the steel bars at the three and nine o'clock positions, I relaxed my legs enough to let the water bend my upper body toward the grate, just beside Min-Ji. This was quarter-inch rebar. The gaps were no more than three inches square.

I guess the North Koreans don't even want their fucking otters crossing the border, I said to myself.

Reaching out, I put the first section in the jaws of my snips and squeezed. And squeezed.

I could feel the progress, but it was slow.

Fuck, the water was cold.

Finally, with an audible pop, the first cut had been made.

Next one.

My plan was to snap through the above-water joints first, working my way around the culvert counter-clockwise.

Min-Ji moaned with exhaustion as I cut through more. Her head began to dip under the water for a few seconds.

The absolute chill drained me of life. My legs shook with the effort of keeping myself in a position to make the cuts.

Next one.

Next one.

Next one. The rest of the cuts would be underwater.

Min-Ji cried out. Her face went below the surface, this time for about five seconds.

I could not help her. To do that would mean I would never be able to get back into a position to cut. I just wouldn't have the strength.

No, I decided, the rebar comes first.

Next one.

Five to go. Maybe six.

Min-Ji's face broke the surface. She cried for me.

"Hold on!" I shouted.

Next one.

She sunk.

Squeezing with everything I had, the next one popped.

Min-Ji did not come up.

Fuck!

I raced to the next one. Five seconds later, pop! Two more to go, but maybe I could bend it with just one more.

MIn-Ji had not reappeared.

No!

I let go with my legs, and the water slammed me against the grate. Reaching under the surface, I found Min-Ji and hauled her up by the shirt enough to grip her body. I pulled her to the surface. She was limp in my arms.

And I had dropped the snips. They were gone.

No.

No!

"No!" I shouted. With my back to the grate and Min-Ji in my arms, I planted my feet on the sides of the corrugated metal tube and shoved.

It held, and I pushed once more with what felt like the last of my strength. The metal grate suddenly cranked over.

Instantly, Min-Ji and I were submerged by the rushing water, rocketing through the tunnel on the current.

We surfaced about five seconds later. I glanced backward at the DMZ fence. Every soldier's back was to us; they were searching the field to the north.

And we were now inside the North Korean part of the DMZ.

Immediately, I checked on Min-Ji. Spinning her face towards mine, I rubbed her arms as the current carried us toward the Imjin River.

Her face was bereft of color, but her eyes opened. "Ski-pa," she muttered.

"I've got you, Min-Ji," I said, and I wrapped my legs around her body and began rubbing her intensely as we bobbed on the surface.

Getting her out of the water was imperative, but the fact was I couldn't.

The creek kept us moving—fairly swiftly—toward the river and, ultimately, the border, and there was no fence on the actual line between the two countries. The next set of fences would be on the South Korean edge of the DMZ.

On the other hand, if I climbed out with her, both of us sopping wet, we would still be in North Korea. We would be slowly dying of exposure. I would soon be unable to carry her, and there was no place to hide in these lowlands teeming with minefields.

There were no mines in the river.

Not even sure I could feel my arms, I rubbed away at Min-Ji, keeping her close against my body.

Suddenly, I felt the current increase, and to my left, I saw the Imjin River connect with us. The combined currents pushed us into the middle.

I estimated 2000 meters along the bends and shoots of this river to a place where I could safely pull us out. Watching the bank, I guessed our speed at a touch under two meters per second—a good clip. Maybe 20 more minutes in the frigid water.

There was no point in remaining on guard for DPRK soldiers patrolling inside the DMZ. I couldn't do anything about them. The only thing to do was to keep Min-Ji as warm as possible.

At one point, an eddy spun me about ninety degrees to the west. I glanced along the lighted fence line behind us on both sides. Not much happening.

As I turned back, I saw three sets of headlights about a kilometer away, perhaps more. They were stopped, pointing into the DMZ.

My recollection of the map filled in the blank: there was a gate on that hill—a guarded military gate that let patrols inside the fence.

A platoon, I guessed, in those three trucks. About 40 men were probably jumping out the back of them and sprinting for the river, for us.

No military vehicles were allowed in the DMZ, only soldiers on foot, and the Armistice had strict rules about how many at a time.

I guessed the DPRK was willing to flex that rule a bit on this occasion, but they would never violate the vehicle rule and risk an all-out war with the US and South Korea.

I worked the mental math for our speed and distance, and I did the same for those soldiers.

This would be a close thing.

I ran my hands up and down Min-Ji. Looking south, I could see a South Korean observation post and the lights of the ROK side of the DMZ about 1300 meters away.

There was a place, I knew, where I could get us out of the river sooner on the South Korean side. It was maybe five more minutes on the river, and I could step out onto free soil. The trouble was that OP would quickly spot us. True, being seen and caught by ROK soldiers was a vastly different matter than by DPRK. Still, my orders for Operation Minnow were to avoid any and all contact with the ROK.

I had to ride it out.

"Stay with me, Min-Ji. Come on," I urged, massaging her body with wet noodles for arms.

Suddenly, a flare went up into the sky from the South Side. I saw ROK soldiers running down the hill from the OP. DPRK coming south. ROK running north.

What the fuck? I thought. Is there going to be an international incident here?

A minute later, the river bent west. Now and for the next 900 meters, the border was the river. On my left, freedom; on my right, capture.

"Come on, girl. Get warm, girl," I murmured.

The North Koreans were closing in—400 meters.

The South Koreans were a mere 200 meters from the river, but they were running at an angle that would put them on the river's edge behind us.

What the hell? I wondered. Do they not see us?

Focusing on Min-Ji, I spent the next minute or so doing everything I could in my weakness to keep her warm.

Then, I heard the shouting.

Craning back to see, the South Koreans were on the riverbank, and they were taunting, it seemed, taunting the North Korean soldiers.

Turning to the other side, the North Korean soldier running at the front of the pack appeared to hear the ROK soldiers. He bent toward them.

I blinked.

The rest of the DPRK platoon, scattered behind this leader, began angling to where the fastest man was running.

I didn't want to make a sound. I didn't want to be seen. I let the river carry us and, using my hand as a steering oar, turned myself around to watch the confrontation.

There they were. The South Koreans were chanting something on one side. A bunch of the North Koreans were screaming on the other. Another smaller group of DPRK soldiers was walking along the bank, scanning the river. Between them, an officer yelled at the men in the argument with their neighbors.

There's my luck, I thought. I just got it. The North Koreans must have thought we climbed out where the South Koreans were. It made sense. If I could have, I would have.

I listened to the diminishing sounds of the conflict as the river bent south. While I paddled us to the bank, I could have sworn I heard singing.

They're singing at each other, I thought, singing their National Anthems.

Necessity breeds the strength to go on. I hauled Min-Ji out of the river. I put her on my back in a fireman's carry, and I walked the last 90 meters to the nearest hillside.

I set her down, gathered up some leafy branches, and undressed us both. Completely naked, I put her under the solar blanket and laid the camouflage on top. Then I climbed inside and tucked the ends under us until we were completely sealed inside. I drew her shivering body to mine, and I wrapped her in my arms and legs.

The time was 0103.

It took every bit of the next two hours to bring her body up to temperature. With what little energy she had regained, she guzzled down her entire canteen and half of mine. I finished the rest and left our little hooch long enough to refill them and return.

By 0422, she seemed recovered enough that I could leave her for a spell.

I found a shitty little drop and began to dig out a tunnel. With all of the stones and rocks that my knife encountered, it took two hours to finish. In the growing daylight, I moved us inside and concealed the outer edge.

We were safe enough.

We slept.

***

A few times in the morning, I was awakened by noises—the South Korean side of the DMZ was a mere 275 meters from our shelter. I heard vehicles and voices, but nothing to keep me up.

A little after 1300, I woke up and stayed up.

Night of nights, I thought ruefully. That was no bullshit, right there.

The final phase of my mission was fairly straightforward—get us out of the DMZ, past the ROK Civilian Control line, and call in my position, which was quite similar to my initial plan.

On my original route, there was to be a cell phone waiting for me at a certain set of coordinates. I was to retrieve it and call a number. A car would pick us up, and there would be the end of things.

Everything in the original plan remained except the phone. That cell phone was many kilometers away and would most certainly have been retrieved by now.

I knew the number to call; I just wouldn't have the phone to do it with.

Working for me, though, were several benefits. First, the South Koreans had removed and proofed all of their minefields. Second, they didn't much patrol the DMZ. They patrolled the area between the DMZ and their CC line, but it was no longer 1954.

Those soldiers really weren't worried about a North Korean invasion anymore. What troubled the ROK military the most was idiots trying to gain notoriety by sneaking into the DMZ. Those soldiers tended to focus their attention south, not north.

Food was the bigger concern because we could not travel until nightfall. I climbed out of the shelter, dressed in my wet clothes, hung out Min-Ji's to dry, and went to forage in the trees.

It didn't take long for me to decide to start gathering pine cones, tons of them. The things were everywhere. I filled my shirt over and over again, making a heaping pile. Then, entering a small clearing, I found a treasure: wild strawberries. I took every one that seemed ripe enough.

On a medium-sized, flat-topped stone, I tapped the cones and pine nuts began falling free. In twenty-five minutes, I had a meal of them. After another twenty minutes, I had two meals. Along with the strawberries, we were set.

Finding a small brook in the forest that led to the Imjin, I took all of the nuts and berries in my shirt and rinsed them clean with filtered water out of my canteen. Then I carried everything back to Min-Ji.

She was awake. Her color had returned, but not completely. She seemed listless. I handed her a refilled canteen, and then I climbed in beside her and laid out our meal.

She smiled weakly, and we nibbled on the pine nuts.

When they were gone, I brought in the strawberries, and Min-Ji's eyes went wide. She spoke excitedly. We finished them all, tossing the green leaves outside the tent.

Fifteen minutes later, she was asleep.

I went back to my water source and rinsed my body.

The sun shined brightly, and the day grew reasonably warm—72 degrees. I took all of our clothes to the brook and rinsed them as well, wringing them out and hanging them back out to dry. Afterward, I sat on the grass outside our shelter, reliving the past three nights.

What could I have done differently? If we made it out, what decisions would Deacon question?

There had been risks, surely. Some were rewarded. Others not, but we had our share of bad luck.

I recalled with a shudder how close I had been to killing Min-Ji more than once.

"No," I whispered.

I grabbed my map to study and plan for the night.

Min-Ji climbed out of the shelter at around 1545. She seemed re-energized. I grabbed my canteen and my filter, and I carried her to the brook. There, I rinsed her body clean—every inch of it.

I had seen it all before, but never this clearly. I guessed her height at 5 feet 1 inch. Her weight was definitely under 100 pounds; my earlier estimate of 90 was probably right, though she may have been even skinnier now due to the last three days. Her hair fell down to her shoulder blades when wet.

She was surprisingly fit. In her previous life, she must have decided or been forced to keep fit. Still, her frame was exceedingly skinny, making her breasts seem all the more disproportional. I was a big fella with big mitts, and I could not wrangle one of her tits into a single hand.

Her legs had strength and fitness, beautiful curves under that creamed tea skin. If anything truly surprised me, it was her little ass.

Min-Ji was one of those women gifted with a sharply arching lower back that had the effect of bubbling out her butt. I rinsed that ass for a long, long time. My hands could not get enough.

Min-Ji smiled at my erection.

Finished, I carried her into the sunshine and laid her down. My body felt alive with anticipation. I knew exactly what I wanted, and I wanted it badly.

I kissed Min-Ji and caressed her body. She accepted it, responding in kind to my touches. Then, I rose and spread her knees apart, climbing between.

She watched me nervously. I assumed her insides may have been a little sore from losing her virginity, but that wasn't my objective yet.

I laid on my belly between her thighs.

Min-Ji's eyes widened. She began whispering something, but it must have caught in her throat when she felt my tongue wiggle through her hairs and caress her vagina.

I wanted my mouth on this pussy so badly. My cock, mirroring my excitement, was like the steel barrel of a grenade launcher underneath me.

With two fingers, I spread her apart and softly licked her clit, turning circles around it with the tip of my tongue.

Min-Ji gasped.

I continued using my lips and tongue on her little spot, taking her higher and higher.

She whispered dreamy words to the sky above. She made little squeaks of pleasure.

When she felt my finger slide beneath my tongue and inch inside of her pussy, she moaned in delight. Time slipped away from me between her thighs. Eventually, Min-Ji covered her mouth and cried out into her hands.

I smiled, not yet satisfied.

She protested for a moment before biting her lower lip and humming sweetly.

When her next orgasm appeared imminent, I promptly rolled her over and hauled her to her hands and knees.

She gasped in surprise.

Without hesitating, I seized her hips and immersed my face in her pussy to finish her off.

I listened to her choke back the rapturous cries of another orgasm. With one long and languorous lick, I drew back. MIn-Ji's arms gave way. Her face and chest sank to the grass.

On my knees behind her, I put my hands on that beautiful ass, caressing and kneading the flesh. Her skin there was warm and lush. The flesh underneath was full and firm.

I listened to Min-Ji's breathing slow from a rapid pant to a relaxed sigh.

My erection ached for a connection. The skin upon it shined, feeling as if stretched to its very limits over a cast-iron bar underneath.

The moment my hand grasped the shaft, it flexed in response to the contact. I guided the tip towards Min-Ji's pussy. When the head divided her labia and began to penetrate, Min-Ji flinched and pulled away.

Her face spun to me. She shook her head and spoke urgently. Then, sitting up on her knees, she touched her vagina and winced as if sore.

I understood, nodding. Her body ached from losing her virginity the day before. She wasn't ready to do it again.

When she saw that I grasped her meaning, she smiled sadly and began to lay on her tummy, but I stopped her.

She looked back at me.

I stared down at her ass. I watched my thumbs drag over the flesh. I watched them knead circles. I moved them closer to the cleft. Closer. I drew her apart, letting her anus peak out.

I felt my breath catch in my windpipe. My lungs drew air raggedly. Nervous energy flooded my body.

I knew Min-Ji watched me.

I bent down, keeping her ass spread. My mouth hovered an inch over Min-Ji's tiny puncture. I twirled my tongue in my mouth a few times, gathered up the fluids, and let them fall off my bottom lip, blanketing her anus in my saliva.

Rising behind her, we locked eyes. She was stunningly gorgeous and utterly unreadable.

Still looking at one another, I massaged the wetness into the wrinkled flesh. It grew pliable. I urged the tip of my middle finger against it, and her taut ring allowed its passage inside.

Min-Ji's eyes widened. Her jaw unhinged.

I buried my finger to the second knuckle, gradually inching it back and forth.

Min-Ji didn't speak. She gazed at me, breathing deeply.

Tugging out my finger, I cupped the head of my cock. My tongue swept through every nook and pocket of my mouth, drawing together a large dollop of saliva. I pursed my lips and let gravity convey the flow over the head of my cock. My hand caught the spillover, and I massaged the saliva all over the shaft.

It needed more, and I provided it. Then, I applied yet more to Min-Ji.

I guided the glistening, sopping head of my cock to her. It grazed the wet, crinkled skin. Satisfied at the position, I glanced at Min-Ji.

Her chest pumped air in anxious anticipation. She watched me like prey peers at the predator.

I advanced.

Min-Ji's anus resisted only momentarily. It soon began to dilate, admitting my cock in the tiniest increments. It was like watching the sun slowly sink into the earth at dusk watching the great head of my cock pass so ploddingly inside of her.

I didn't wish to rush matters. I wanted to let her body yield to mine at its own pace.

Min-Ji pinched her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. She stifled a high squeak of a hum. I felt her haunches bear down, and a moment later the tip of my cock sank home, locked inside by the fierce grip of her anus.

She voiced a long-held, throaty moan. Her head undulated as she drew deep draughts of air and blew them out. Her eyes opened. She swallowed, and then she nodded expressively.

Fucking her ass was, at the moment, the next best thing to what I truly desired but could not have. The feel of our bodies joined together was exulting.

I had no urge to plunge inside of her. I had no desire to fuck-attack her body. I just needed this connection to her—to be one, my body and hers.

I fucked her slowly, taking only what she was willing to give, and it was not much.

But she gave more than enough. Her body was an engine of soft, feminine flesh. Joining with it charged me with rippling power.

Our eyes met, and she saw how her body was giving me intense pleasure. Panting and with a sheen of perspiration that made her skin glow, she said my name. Her face showed all of the strain, but newfound joy as well.

I said her name, and she smiled in spite of her labor. When I saw it, I was swept to the end. I clutched her hips and held her steady. I drew back, leaving only the plum head inside of her anus, and I watched the shaft pulse. Liquid volleys of cum flowed through me.