Hwang Sok-Yong - The Shadow of Arms

“Soon we’ll be able to pinpoint identities. We already have very reliable information that it’s a certain Vietnamese officer working in the provincial administration.”

“How does the Korean woman fit in? She was a key in yesterday’s report, wasn’t she?”

“Yes, sir. But we have confirmation that the woman we want is Vietnamese. It appears the Korean just happened to be in the same vehicle.”

“All right. We won’t be able to arrest or interrogate the Vietnamese officer. But since we have orders from the boss, investigate in detail and we’ll send a report up to him.”

Immediately Yong Kyu regretted what he had done. Now the case had become his responsibility. From then on, all he did would have to be based on his own judgment. Suddenly, he felt Toi was to blame for his predicament. The bastard, he’s the one who got me knee-deep in this shit, Yong Kyu said to himself.

Upon leaving the office he telephoned Toi, and the latter asked him to come to the Sports Club in Da Nang. Yong Kyu had been there with Kang a few times. The Sports Club was, in fact, an ideal location for black marketeers to conduct secret meetings. There was absolutely no way of discovering what went on in the secluded rooms hidden deep in the back of that place. There was probably a separate exit out back, too.

“Sorry, I’m running a little late.” Toi, still wearing his sunglasses in the dark, plopped down in front of Yong Kyu.

“I left out the part about Miss Oh in my report to Pointer because of you,” grumbled Yong Kyu.

“Good. You can always fill him in on the details later, can’t you? I found out who her boyfriend is.”

“That was fast.”

“Well, it was easy enough. It was no secret among the girls she worked with at the PX. They said the Dai Han woman — you know the Vietnamese call Koreans “Dai Han”—rented a room in the house of a Vietnamese girl named Chin. Lots of Americans frequented the place, but only one Vietnamese, a Major Pham, was a regular caller.”

“Who’s he?”

“Pham Quyen, the chief aide-de-camp to the top regional commander, General Liam. In other words, he’s the chief secretary to the military governor of Quang Nam Province.”

“Let’s summon him to CID right away.”

Toi laughed out loud, as if he could not believe what he was hearing.

“Don’t even think of that. You see, all the foreign forces in Quang Nam are under his command, at least in effect, even though a US Marine division commander has actual say in operations decisions. But General Liam’s approval is necessary for everything. It’s just a formality, of course, but even so, you want to try and call in his chief aide to be interrogated about a couple of cartons of C-rations? You tell Krapensky about Pham, and that’ll be the end of this case for sure. Understand?”

“Then we’d be through with this case, too.”

Toi shook his head violently.

“We’ve got hold of a line into the most lucrative dealings in Da Nang.”

“I don’t make deals.”

“Listen, even if you don’t jump into it yourself, deals are being made everyday, everywhere, by someone or other. The same goes for Krapensky. If you’re not involved yourself in the market, you get no valuable information about the black marketeers. Plunge in first, then you can come up with information much more valuable than your own involvement. By that information, and only by that, your work performance will be evaluated.”

“I get it. As for the captain. .”

“I’ll leave that to you. Dealing and intelligence are like body and shadow.”

“Okay, where do we start?”

“You can’t fall on Major Pham directly, but pull that Dai Han woman and the major’ll come dangling along like a potato on the end of a string, you’ll see.”

Toi explained what he had in mind, and Yong Kyu asked, “What do we do after that?”

“You and Pham will shake hands. He probably knows nothing about the Liberation Front. If we dig deep enough, we’ll also be able to catch the goings on related to that.”

“By that time I’ll be headed home.”

“The war’s alive and moving, like an elephant. Anything alive eats, sleeps, and breathes. Even if you yourself end up going home, as long as Dai Hans are going to stay here you should understand that. You and I, Ahn, we’re both gooks, slopeheads.”

“In the eyes of the Americans, I suppose so.”

“In our own eyes, too. It’s nothing to feel bad about. I have to agree with them. I’m Vietnamese. In times like these, if you’re Vietnamese you go reeling around dizzy to the brink of madness. Your position is bound to be complicated whether you’re on the side of the government or of the NLF.”

“And how about you?”

“You’re my friend, so I’ll tell you. I’ll be honest. Ask me what I think of Ho Chi Minh, that’ll be the fastest way.”

“All right, what do you think of him?”

“Honestly,” Toi said, pressing his fingers to his temples. “I think he has mediocre ideas.” Then Toi pounded on his chest and added, “But he has excellent qualities as a man.”

Yong Kyu got what he meant, but still could not figure Toi out.

“I understand that; it’s you I don’t understand.”

“I know. Probably half the population of South Vietnam is made up of people like me. It’s a condition of life we owe to the French colonial regime, to Ngo Dinh Diem, and to the United States.”

“Then how can you hold a gun?”

“I’m already discharged. I’m a disabled veteran missing one eye. I never got my disability compensation; it was gobbled up by corrupt bureaucrats. I live like this because Da Nang is my home. That’s why I was drafted. Now I’m living here, caring for my family. That’s all there is.”

“This is important. You’re a contract employee of our office.”

“Right. That’s my job. I’m paid thirty dollars a month for it. And they don’t send me on militia duty to guard the outskirts of the city. All I want is to survive this war with my family.”

The waiter approached and they stopped talking.

“What are you having?” Yong Kyu asked.

“Let’s see. . I haven’t eaten yet.”

“Me neither. Toast and coffee?”

Yong Kyu ordered. The waiter was about to turn and leave when Toi called him back and asked something in Vietnamese. The waiter responded in Vietnamese.

“What was that?”

“I told him I wanted to see the woman who owns this place. He said she should be here around noon. Madame Lin is Chinese. Her husband is a Brit born in Hong Kong. Madame Lin may know the Dai Han woman; I’ve heard she comes here often.”

They ate. When they finished breakfast it was still a half hour until twelve.

Toi cautioned Yong Kyu, “Pretend you don’t understand English. And don’t act like a soldier.”

“Can I ask you about something we discussed earlier?”

“What?”

“If the war goes on long after I’ve returned home, will you still keep this job to make a living?”

“I don’t know. There are millions of people in South Vietnam… ARVN soldiers, government officials, police, the militia. Anyway, when they reach a certain age, everybody gets enlistment orders. And anybody who pays a thousand dollars to the police can evade service, and for a lousy three hundred you can get assigned to the navy or air force or other less dangerous duty. That’s the way life is lived here. The only thing certain is that I won’t move a single step from here. I live in Vietnam. My children live here. When you go home, remember me as that kind of man.”

Yong Kyu did not want Toi to say any more. But as he sat there in silence, Toi spoke again.

“I voted in the last election. Because the military government had to end. But the cities, not to mention the hamlets, were in utter chaos. In Da Nang, the army soldiers openly snatched the ballot boxes and substituted others they’d stuffed. When the Buddhists rioted, people like me took their side. We’ve lost our chance. Time passes by faster and faster. This is Vietnam’s destiny.”