Hwang Sok-Yong - The Shadow of Arms

Dr. Tran pushed up the rim of his glasses and, switching to English, said to Yong Kyu, “Due to budget cuts, our hospital is encountering serious financial difficulties. With the money from disposal of leftover medical supplies, we’re planning to make some new appropriations. We’ll have to follow the formal procedures on paper, however.”

“Of course, you should.”

Having decided not to intervene any further, Yong Kyu left the table for a while. Dr. Tran continued his discussion with Nguyen Thach. “If we organize mobile clinics to make rounds out in the villages, then there’ll be a good reason to expand the supply volume further.”

“Mobile clinics… an excellent idea, doctor.”

“It’ll also be good for the people.”

Thach thought to himself that connecting the mobile clinic teams with the phoenix hamlets project would be very auspicious. Ahn Yong Kyu returned to his seat and as he sat down said, “I’m famished. Mr. Nguyen, hurry and buy us lunch, if you would. Since I don’t know your language, I should have brought Toi for an occasion like this.”

Thach clasped his hands together and said, “I’m truly sorry. There’s an old Tonkinese saying: ‘A marriage arranged by the Chinese.’”

“That sounds like an old proverb about invaders. In Korea we also have a tendency to regard our good customs as legacies derived from invaders from the continent.”

They ordered fried fish and rice. As they ate, the two Vietnamese asked Yong Kyu about Korea, about the family structures and customs back home.

“I’ll send a car to the hospital tonight,” Thach said.

“Before you do, we have one more thing to discuss,” Dr. Tran said, and Thach readily grasped his meaning.

“Later when I return to the office, I’ll give you a call,” Thach said. “If you have some free time this evening, I’d like to meet you in a quiet location.”

Dr. Tran took out a business card and handed it to Thach. “I’ll be resting at home during the siesta. Call me there, please.”

Dr. Tran left first in his chauffeured car from the hospital.

“Are you headed back to the office?” Thach asked Yong Kyu as he got into the van.

“No, I have to drop by the investigation office to take care of a few things. I’ll see you in the market tomorrow morning. And you’ll have to introduce me to one of the clerks at Puohung Company as promised.”

“Of course. And that’s not all. I’ve decided to reciprocate the favor you’ve done for me.”

“Wow, I’m so grateful I almost feel like crying,” Yong Kyu said with a grin.

“No, really, I mean it. Tell your superior I can change your military notes as much as you like into greenbacks without any commission. That’ll put you in a much better position than now.”

“You mean mainland US dollars?”

“Yes, dollars. Just say the word. Bring me military currency and I’ll change it on the spot.”

“Is that all?” Yong Kyu said casually. “We can always find a few Indian moneychangers downtown, you know.”

“Yes, but they take a big bite with their commissions.”

“Well, I’m not interested, but my captain might appreciate the offer. Thanks, anyway.”

They parted. Yong Kyu headed off on foot, intending to walk all the way to the investigation headquarters at the top of Puohung Street. Thach went straight back to the office in Le Loi market. It was siesta time, so the streets were deserted. The surface of the street was a blinding white in the midday heat.

Nguyen Thach was thinking about the orders handed down to him the night before from the district committee. They were operations orders for the 434th Special Action Group of the Third Special District. With tax collection season ahead, the instructions concerned reinforcement of urban guerrilla units in Da Nang and attacks in several enemy facilities and individual targets. The first task was to blow up an oil reservoir tank near China Beach, and then to demolish the main MAC gate near Somdomeh.

The second mission was to set off a bomb over the weekend in the parking lot of the Grand Hotel, or to attack the ARVN barracks over near the smokestack. The last mission was to assassinate Vietnamese government officials or military officers who were objects of popular scorn.

These would be the first combat operations in the city in a long time, breaking the lull since the Tet Offensive. In the Da Nang region there had been the usual fighting by local guerrillas, but peace had been more or less maintained within the city limits. The Fourth Company, recently undergoing training, was due to be mobilized. The military strength of the 434th Special Action Group included one battalion from the outskirts and one from Da Nang city proper, however the companies were actually formed with only fifteen members and each platoon consisted of a five-member cell. Thach used his own discretion as the chief agent for the district and put the black mark of a target under the name of Colonel Cao, the police superintendent.

Thach reached his brother’s warehouse and walked inside. Pham Minh had buried his face on the desk, but he quickly lifted his head when he heard someone entering. As always, Thach sat astride the desk, facing the entrance and keeping an eye on the outside through the window.

“Today is the day to make contact with the company lines, eh?”

“Yes, sir.”

“This month will end the first half of the year. So this is when we’ll implement the first periodic quota for tax collection and for levy of new recruits in the city. The operations orders have been received. This time, only the First Battalion will be carrying out combat missions in Da Nang. Of course, they’re still undergoing training, so they’ve been given relatively simple targets. Next weekend they will set up a high-explosive charge in the parking lot of the Grand Hotel. And they will eliminate the police superintendent, Colonel Cao. These tasks must be completed within five to ten days from the start of next week.”

“Colonel Cao, you say?” Minh asked, puzzled.

“That’s correct. He’s to be the real man in charge of organizing the militias for the phoenix hamlets project. No harm would be done if he cooperates with Kiem, but if he interferes, he’ll become an obstacle to our mission.”

“Judging from the way Kiem talked, he didn’t seem to worry much about Cao or about the liaison officer from the Second Division. As our investigations already revealed, Cao is a paragon of a corrupt officer. He’s deeply involved in all the vice concessions from heroin to cigarettes and beer as well as the brothels, Turkish baths, night clubs, bars, and other operations in the pleasure districts of Da Nang. Aren’t the decadent officials and corrupt military officers usually exempted from being NLF targets? Of course, he’s been an object of complaints, but the more complaints he generates, we were taught, the more the Saigon government itself becomes unpopular. A vicious village mayor should be eliminated instantly, but someone like Cao, wouldn’t he make himself useful to us in our trading operations?”

“Well. . what you say makes sense in a case like your brother,” Thach said. “But there’s a great danger that Cao might openly act on his own plans regarding establishment of the phoenix hamlet militias. We must support Lieutenant Kiem and see to it that he assumes even greater responsibility. What we want is a restructuring of the dealing channels. If a new police superintendent has to take over Cao’s role, he’ll need time to learn the ropes and then he’ll have to reclaim Cao’s concessions one by one. Meanwhile, we can use Kiem to systematically reorganize all of the dealing in war materiel connected with the setting up of the militias.

“It won’t be easy for the new superintendent to interfere with Kiem, since the new system will already be in place from top to bottom in tight order, and the new man will have to focus on his own duties. For instance, he may be content if we offer him a portion of the revenues from draft exemptions or diverted training expenses, and make that into his steady income. As you know, we’re looking now for a way we can develop a steady source of weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies. In addition, if we can solve the problem of procuring C-rations, then the NLF in central Vietnam will be able to find its feet, and that will mean the supply routes along the Ho Chi Minh Trail farther south will also be able to carry larger flows. The elimination of Cao will bring about a big change in the underground economy of Da Nang, wait and see. There’ll be an upheaval in the supply of luxury items from the PXs, and the black market will be up for grabs, since all the dealers, not to mention the Americans and the Koreans, will heatedly compete with one another.”