The Shadow of Arms (35 page)

Back in psychological warfare training he remembered reading a poem that a defector to the NLF had passed around. Back then it had seemed silly enough to toss in the trash, but now it kept coming back into his mind:

Mother, since leaving your side I've been marching with my comrades. I trudged over the mountains and crossed through Laos to come to the heart of Vietnam. My courage didn't fail as I marched through the rain. Now, I am here in a strange place, yet my own country just the same. I'm looking around me and thinking: What is it that I must liberate? The marketplace is crowded and noisy, the rice shoots in the field are billowing before the breeze, there is the sound of a temple gong in the distance, children are playing in the schoolyard and the singing of a choir can be heard. Butterflies are busy flying over the flowers in the bok choy field, and I don't know what it is I'm supposed to liberate.

It's true: anybody who's worn out or who gives up self-discipline for a while is bound to become conservative. City guerrillas especially, he had been taught, must battle against the temptations of city life. Fight against time, fight against self, and most of all, fight against the loneliness of being separated from the organization. Minh passed trees lining the road and turned right past the tennis courts. The wind off the ocean blew his shirt and his hair. He took out the map and looked it over, then stopped by the bottom of the stairs below the fourth house.

The scent of the flowers was overwhelming—the strong fragrance of iris almost made him dizzy. He slowly climbed up the steps. Beside the white wooden gate there was a doorbell. He looked through the wooden lattice into the front yard of the house. This place was not Vietnam. From the dewy freshness of the palm leaves it seemed the garden had just been watered. He rang the doorbell. No answer. He tried again several times but there was still no response. As he turned to head back down the steps, from inside he could hear the sound of a glass door sliding open. Minh turned back once more and stood waiting at the gate. The hall door opened and a woman in a yellow beach robe craned her neck out and asked in English, “Who is it?”

“Is this the residence of Major Pham Quyen?”

“Yes, but he's now at the provincial government office. You should contact him there.”

“I've come to see you.”

“Me? Who are you?”

“I'm Pham Minh, the major's younger brother.”

“Ah, I think I've heard about you.”

The woman came outside in slippers, treading on the stepping stones, and opened the side door. She smelled of shampoo. So she was taking a bath, Minh thought as he looked straight into her eyes. More beautiful than he had expected. Her skin was lighter than that of a Vietnamese woman and her full breasts billowed inside the beach robe. The sight was blinding. Quyen had already accomplished his first goal—he had created a neutral country right here, surrounded by the war-torn city of Da Nang.

“Come in, come in, please.”

She gestured with her chin for him to follow her inside. They sat down facing each other, he on the couch and she on a chair.

“Have you had lunch?”

“Yes, at home.”

“Something to drink? Coffee?”

“Thank you.”

“Hot or iced?”

“Either is fine.”

Mimi looked back at him with a broad warm smile. Somehow Minh could not bring himself to feel any ill will toward her. She seemed not all that different from his sister Mi. The window to the veranda was open and a cool sea breeze was blowing in. The room was quite cheerful. The woman had the television turned on to the American Forces channel. Again the inside of her robe was billowing.

“Everyone is fine at home? Lei, Mi and your mother?”

“Yes.”

After plugging in the coffeepot, Mimi returned and sat with her legs crossed on a wicker chair across from him. The beach robe fastened only from the neck down to the waist, and its lower flaps naturally parted to reveal the thighs of her long legs. Minh shifted his glance here and there somewhat awkwardly. She offered him a cigarette from a pack of Kents. He welcomed the distraction and took one.

“I've heard about a younger brother who was in medical school up in Hue. It was Minh, I think?”

“Yes, that's my name.”

“You don't look much like Major Pham. But wait a minute, yes, I see the resemblance between you and Lei.”

“Lei and I take after our mother, and Big Brother after our father.”

“What about your big sister?”

“I don't know, maybe half and half.”

“I'm sorry, I should visit your home often, but I haven't been there even once yet. What can I do? I'm so scared. I think you can understand. I'm a foreigner, and our lifestyle being what it is . . .”

Mimi stopped mid-sentence and rushed over to the steaming coffeepot.

“Your mother doesn't like me, right? Or, rather, the whole family doesn't.”

“I didn't either.”

“Ah, then I'd better make a good impression on you.”

“Are you getting married?”

“We already did. Legally, I'm his wife.”

“Do you believe he'll actually take you abroad?”

She set the coffee down in front of him, then picked up the cigarette she'd placed in the ashtray and took a deep puff.

“Yes, as long as his plans and mine don't conflict. I extended the time I'm willing to wait from three months to a year. Quyen is always talking about it: either we go out or we send you first, but in any event the whole family has to leave this country, that's what he says. Then we won't have to worry about having a child.”

She was some woman, direct and uninhibited. Minh didn't know how to respond.

“How did you find the house? Did your brother tell you the way?”

“No. Lei said she was here once and drew me a map.”

“Lei is naughty. She knows where I am and never paid a visit.”

“Are you always at home?”

“I go downtown now and then.”

“Da Nang must be boring for you.”

“Living is more or less the same wherever you are. Have you left school for good?”

“I'm going to enlist.”

“Well I'm sure your brother will find a way to help you out.”

“He probably will. I've come to ask a favor.”

Mimi looked at him with widened eyes but said nothing.

“I want to earn some money until I'm ready to go abroad to study.”

“Money? It's filthy stuff, true, but look at those Americans. With it there's not a thing in the world they can't do. Money's not just a piece of paper or gold.”

“What is it, then?”

“Money is freedom itself. The more you have, the freer you'll be. No money, no freedom.”

“Madame is not a housewife, but is running some kind of business, I suppose?”

“Both,” said Mimi with a wink.

What little hatred Minh had felt for her by this time was gone. She was different from Quyen. A woman who had pulled herself up from the very bottom, she was frank and generous both to herself and others.

“We're partners and we love each other. I'm not just wasting time, either. To settle abroad there's something more convenient than gold.”

“Dollars?”

“No. Money orders—military remittance checks. Occasionally I go to the Sports Club with the finance office staff to play cards and be their friend. We need it. And you will, too, when you take off. Wait, you said you wanted to ask a favor . . . to make money, is that what you said?”

“That's right.”

“Business, that's what you should do.”

“What kind?”

“In a place like this, the most profitable business, after all, is to buy and sell the goods of those American bastards.”

“That's why I came here, to ask you to talk my brother into finding a job for me.”

“I've got an idea. There's a merchant named Cuong. He has dealings with Quyen, and maybe you can go there and help with your brother's trading, right?”

“Is it Nguyen Cuong?”

“You know him?”

“Ah, no. He's one of the richest merchants in Da Nang. My father used to be one, too.”

“I heard he was in the medicinal herb business. Anyway, don't worry. Major Pham listens attentively to my advice. You'll have no problem working for Cuong. What do you say, does that kind of work suit you?”

“Yes, sure.”

“Consider it done.”

Mimi laughed, cracking the joints of her fingers. Minh laughed as well.

“Stay for dinner, won't you? I'll call the office right away.”

“Ah, please don't. Brother will be angry. Don't even mention my visit to him, please.”

“Well, then how can I bring up the subject of getting a job for you?”

“You can say Lei came by and asked for my sake, and please make it something I was unaware of.”

“Are you afraid of your brother?”

“It's not that exactly, but he used to get awfully mad if somebody ever went into his room and took a book off the shelf. He's greedy, you know.”

“True, he's greedy. Then we'll keep this as a secret between us,” Mimi whispered with her finger over her mouth.

“Is your country at war now, too?”

Pham Minh's question came from out of the blue. Startled, Mimi said, “I beg your pardon?”

“I asked if Korea is going through a war now?”

“Oh, it's subsided now, but it's not over.”

“Aren't you ever going back there?”

Mimi shook her head violently. “Never again.”

 

 

23

Ahn Yong Kyu was sitting in the Dragon Palace Restaurant waiting for the captain and the sergeant. Three civilian technicians were at another table eating Korean-style
bulgogi
and drinking beer. The air was stale. As soon as he walked in Yong Kyu identified what the customers were eating. That particular aroma of garlic-marinated roast beef was to be found only one place in the whole city of Da Nang.

He had left Toi behind at Thach's office in the old market and come alone. They were having an operations conference. Tomorrow was the weekend, so they had to move this very day. Unless they could get the Hong Kong Group safely in their grip, relations with the US forces would deteriorate from bad to worse. The Americans had demanded that the dealings of the Hong Kong Group be cut down to a minimum and that all ties with third countries be severed. But Lukas had tipped off Yong Kyu that in actuality the biggest source of annoyance to the Americans was the growing quantities of Korean beer that had been leaking into the market. In any event, to tighten the screws on the Hong Kong Group was no less urgent for Yong Kyu's own group. A rundown Jeep with Philco markings pulled up outside and the captain and the sergeant got out and went inside.

The captain was in a casual suit and the sergeant was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and sunglasses. They looked like tourists.

“Waiting long?”

“No, just got here, sir.”

The captain scanned the room and then peered over at the inside rooms.

“Let's go on in and have a talk.”

“It's hot in there,” grumbled the head sergeant, who had already sat down and was getting comfortable.

“You, take off those glasses,” the captain barked in a taut voice. “It's all thanks to you that we're in this mess.”

The sergeant was noticeably gloomy and immediately removed his sunglasses. They went into one of the back rooms. The fat proprietress came back and fussily greeted the captain. She and her drowsy-looking sister ran the restaurant with the help of two Vietnamese women.

“What'll it be, Captain? Try the beef ribs, excellent quality, you can be sure.”

“Hey, you buy lunch,” the captain ordered the sergeant.

“Yes, sir. Bring us ribs for three, ma'am,” the latter replied in a dispirited voice.

“Will that be enough for you? I don't think so. You should order six portions at least to feel like you've eaten something.”

“Right, since you'll be out on a stakeout all day with the boys, better fill up now. Bring us five, ma'am, and another order of five to take out when we go.”

As if disgusted at the mere sight of the sergeant, the captain turned aside and just stared at the wall calendar's picture of a smiling Korean movie actress.

“Did you see the lieutenant colonel this morning?” Yong Kyu asked.

The sergeant nodded and then the captain said, “I hear we have two operations today—one at the PX and the other down at the pier.”

“Then we need to be fully mobilized?”

“Looks that way. That's why I'm asking for plenty of beef. Hey, Sarge, I'm not going to come down on you so hard for the fix you've got us into. Still, if this is how we act within the family, how the hell are we going to get on with our duties? You've gone too far, so far you've got the big noses dropping hints to us. Dumb bastard, it would serve you right if I sent you straight to the stockade.”

The sergeant kept puffing on his cigarette, his head hanging. Yong Kyu asked him, “The ship hasn't docked at the pier yet . . . as for the PX, there'll be a pickup right after lunch. What's your plan?”

“After finishing their work, they'll take the goods home.”

“Instead of to the supply corps detachment for warehousing?”

“They'll probably cut through downtown with the ID I loaned them.”

“Hear that? He loaned his ID? You idiot! If they do anything more with that, we're finished in Da Nang.”

“All right, is it that same house?”

“Yeah, you know, don't you?”

Yong Kyu was familiar with the house on Puohung Street rented by the Hong Kong Group as well as with the checkpoint on the corner nearby.

“We can send Toi to retrieve the ID, and we'll have the police let the truck pass on through.”

Before they got down to business, the captain and Yong Kyu had to calm the sergeant down. With only a little over two months left before shipping home, they said, why should he waste time helping them out with his ID? Why not get a grip on the PX himself, and then he could sock away something for after he got home and help the boys make some money besides. Those civilians came here empty-handed and now, thanks to us they were getting fat at the cost of others' blood. Worse, by disrupting the market circulation networks in Da Nang, they were muddying up the black market channels—it's our job to keep a watch on those channels.

The sergeant owned up to what he'd been doing. The Hong Kong Group had turned cigarettes and beer into major lines of dealing. They'd secured regular customers in the entertainment business. Colonel Cao, the police superintendent, and Colonel Thanbat, the military mayor of Da Nang, must be extremely upset. As far as the investigation headquarters was concerned, fancy foods and big-ticket luxury items from the PX were another source of profit. As for Colonel Cao, headquarters had some information indicating he was trading with American soldiers.

“The problem is the pier,” Yong Kyu said to the captain. “It falls outside military jurisdiction. For practical purposes it's off-limits. Even we are using their conex box, aren't we? They nominally demarcate the civilian from the military area, but there are rows and rows of container storehouses and only one exit through which both civilians and soldiers come and go as they please. If those guys dump goods from containers into their conex and take out a little at a time in that station wagon, there's no way to catch them. Who knows, this deal may be done already. If they pay the price, they can use any conex they choose—they just move the pallets from the ship and hide them there and then swap the money for the key.”

“Well, then what choice do we have but to catch them in the act?”

“That means we'll step on the toes of the supply corps detachment . . . no good will come of it for either side.”

“Don't worry, we'll wait until the moment their wagon shows up for loading to nail them.”

“It'll be trouble for us.”

“Come on, let's deploy the men now.”

“The PX is no problem. We'll post one of our men there and have him notify us when the car leaves. Toi will go to the last checkpoint on Puohung Street. He'll be able to get some cooperation from his former QC comrades.”

“Good. We'll also have another man out front of the house used by Lieutenant Colonel Pak and his gang.”

“I've got a man on duty at the Marine PX in Dong Dao who I can pull out and send over there.”

“We'll need two more men: one for the supply corps detachment and one for the pier. The pier is the key spot . . .”

“Once I dispatch the boys, I'll head down to the pier myself for tonight's ambush.”

“Then there's nothing for me to worry about.”

“We'll need a couple of cameras, too. You can lend me yours . . . Toi should have it. He needs to snap a picture of them as they pass the checkpoint. The other I'll use down at the pier.”

“Smaller is better, and you'll need a flash for the pier. Have you got one?”

“I bought a shaver, but since I came to Da Nang all I've bought is cigarettes.”

“Sarge, you should follow Yong Kyu's example.”

At this, Yong Kyu laughed and said, “No point in following each other's example, sir. You should also make a living within the bounds of duty, you know. I'm hoping to have a few opportunities of my own by the time I'm ready to ship home.”

“I like your honesty. We've got to be responsible for our men who come out to Da Nang after risking their lives in the combat zones. For the two months you have left, Sarge, you should look after that task.”

Utterly deflated, the sergeant just cast quick sidelong glances whenever the captain said something to him. When the burning charcoal and the beef ribs were brought in, Yong Kyu stood up.

“I'll give you a call, sir. I should dispatch the boys now.”

“Why not eat first, then you can make the rounds by car.”

“In that case, I should let the boys know they should stay put till I come by. Toi has no idea about the timing, so I better have him head for the checkpoint as soon as he can. Is your camera at the office?”

“Yes, tell Miss Hoa to give it to Toi.”

Yong Kyu had the operator connect him with the US forces headquarters and sent orders separately to each of the men on the team. Then he contacted Toi at Thach's office in Le Loi market. By the time he returned to the room, the ribs were cooked just right.

As he went to work on the ribs, the sergeant asked, “What are you going to do with the Hong Kong Group when you get hold of them?”

“Even after he just spelled it all out for you,” the captain said, “you still don't get it, do you? We'll minimize their dealing as much as possible.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Pak, he's not a nobody, sir.”

“Lieutenant Colonel, my ass. What does somebody from the reserves like him think he's doing in a war zone? Besides, I haven't seen his record. The bastard seems to know a few faces of senior staff at brigade, but that's nothing.”

“We can treat him decently and at the same time give him as much trouble as we want. I want to teach that bastard Oh, the one they call ‘Pig,' a lesson. I hear he's a veteran who used to go to Tsushima when he was in Pusan . . . that bastard takes us for idiots.”

“But it'll be a headache, I'm telling you. We can't drag them into the investigation headquarters in front of the Americans. After all, this is an internal matter among us, you know.”

“That's precisely what makes it more convenient for us. You see, we'll haul them down to the Da Nang police station. Sir, you can personally ask for a little favor from Colonel Cao or one of his subordinates.”

“I'll call Colonel Cao. He's invited me to his house a few times.”

“Now, let's stop the shop talk and have a few beers,” the sergeant said.

“You're lucky, anyhow,” the captain said with a laugh, “you're the only one getting something for nothing out of this case.”

“I'll be sure to play by the rules, sir.”

The captain ceased with the stern stares he'd been aiming at the sergeant. Yong Kyu felt full and got up from the table to leave.

“I'll get the boys in place and come back here. This'll be a good place for a command post, eh?”

“Right. The Grand Hotel has phone service through an operator, not so good. I'll go inside and stay there in the main room, maybe play some cards with the owner. If you have some money for stakes, Sarge, the three of us can play.”

“Sure, why not?” the sergeant said.

Yong Kyu took the separately wrapped order of food outside and got into the Jeep. When he reached the main gate of the air force PX, the man on duty bounded out of the checkpoint office to report.

“Here yet?” Yong Kyu asked.

“Came in, sir,” the private replied, pointing in the direction of the parking lot. “But it's not the station wagon, sir.”

“Army truck, then?”

“A vehicle from brigade, sir.”

Down on the right side of the road Yong Kyu could see the dust-covered truck. He had been in it on a few past runs to see it past checkpoints.

“It's at a supply pickup dock, isn't it?”

“That's what I thought, it's been standing there a while. The wagon was here but left after dropping off the Hong Kong Pig. He went inside the office with a master sergeant from the headquarters PX. That bastard Pig was dressed up in US jungle fatigues and a combat helmet to boot.”

Yong Kyu reckoned Pig was posing as the soldier in charge of the truck using the sergeant's CID identification.

“All right. As soon as that trucks moves out of here, call the Dragon Palace Restaurant using the switchboard downtown.”

Yong Kyu drove the Jeep back through the air base and came out at the Dong Dao junction. The man who was supposed to be on duty there was nowhere to be seen. After parking, Yong Kyu walked around for some time before he spotted the private, wearing a green T-shirt, near the back gate of the marine PX. He was drinking a soda and chatting with an American guard. Judging from this loitering out back, where most PX goods were taken out to the units, he must have been looking for a chance to make some money.

By now this private had probably made friends with the guards and the Vietnamese office girls. With their help he was probably able to get his hands on a few cartons of cigarettes and maybe some appliances without a ration card. As Yong Kyu observed from a distance the soldier noticed who was watching, tossed away his coke can and hurried over with a startled expression. Yong Kyu had already decided to chew him out and as he approached he fixed a reproachful look on him.

“You bastard!” he yelled. “You sure as hell got your orders, didn't you?”

“Yes, sir, but it's not time yet.”

“Follow me.”

Yong Kyu marched over to the rear of the Quonset huts occupied by the PX staff with the private in tow. He looked around and then turned back.

“At-ten-tion!”

The private snapped to attention. Yong Kyu gave him a kick on the shin with the toe of his boot. “Look, bastard, you think you're a tourist here?”

Frowning, the private rubbed his shin. “Hey, I know all about it, too. Making a hole is something you can figure out how to do within your duty area.”

As the private stood back up, Yong Kyu kicked him again.

“Stand up. A short walk from here you'll find corpses strewn all over. But you and I will just serve our time and get the hell out of this country, that's all. Today's mission is important. Why don't you do as you're told? When I go home, I'll be rid of this uniform and that'll be the end of it, but meantime I don't want to get kicked back down to platoon. You don't want that either, do you? Make sure those American bastards don't crush us flat, you hear?”