Hwang Sok-Yong - The Shadow of Arms

“Is that all?”

“One more thing. Get us a vehicle permit authorized by the general himself that’ll let us pass freely anywhere in the city and throughout the Second Army command region. That’s all we ask.”

Pham Quyen lowered his head and thought it over. Then he asked Toi, “These requests, where are they coming from? I understand this sergeant here is with the CID investigation team, but I don’t feel comfortable talking with him about this.”

“The Americans run their own economic operations. This idea is something the sergeant and I came up with ourselves. With your cooperation, the three of us can run the whole thing independently. What his people want is information.”

“So you’ll be dealing in the black market and then reporting on your own activities,” Pham said sarcastically.

Toi waved his hand and said, “That’s precisely the point. We need to get deeply involved in the market. From the various channels, we must single out the line that is funneling military supplies to the NLF.”

Pham Quyen laughed. “And along the way you intend to make some money, is that it?”

“Nobody else is any different. A lot of money is needed to run an operations team. Our reports will be more than adequate as long as we pass along some information.”

Pham Quyen’s mood had changed for the better. He took out a cigar and lit it.

“I also have a few conditions. First, once I plug you into a dealing channel, we will not interfere with one another’s transactions. If you break this rule even once, I’ll see to it that you’ll never be able to buy or sell a single pack of cigarettes ever again in Da Nang. Second, the warehouse and containers will be available, but each time you use them, you will pay a ten percent surcharge on the total value of the goods. Third, I’ll supply you with a patrol vehicle with a special pass. You will pay separately for the use of that pass. If you find these three conditions acceptable, I’ll agree to help you.”

Toi interpreted it to Yong Kyu and then said, “Major Pham, in this war the Vietnamese army is forced into irrational behavior. And there’s always some risk. It’s because the American military support is largely focused on tracking military supplies. If you cooperate, we can help to minimize such risks. We’ll mainly be dealing daily necessities and once in a while some luxury goods. You must allow us use of a special pass without extra charge so that we can have our goods flowing more freely.”

“That may be true. But not, absolutely not, while I’m with the provincial government office,” Pham said, thinking of the three hundred planned phoenix hamlets.

“I can see you don’t trust us. But if you give us free access to a pass, you can still check the warehouse and container terminal every time we use them, can’t you?”

“I’ve got an idea. I’ll have to renew the permit every month.”

Again Toi translated for Yong Kyu. Then Yong Kyu said to the major, “The incident with C-rations was your mistake. It takes time to penetrate indirect dealings, but we can quickly uncover direct transactions in the markets or the satellite villages. Once we gather data from the vehicle logs and identify the buyers and the quantities, it’s not hard to pinpoint the dealer and the source of supply. This time I only confirmed your identity in my report. But I’ll have to speak with my boss about the dealings we’ve negotiated. Any transactions in military supplies will be reported in detail all the way up to the American in charge of the joint CID team. That’s our duty. Business and duty will be kept separated.”

“All right. Is your boss responsible for the black markets?”

“He’s just kept informed about it. I’m the one taking responsibility. Whatever information we dig up in the market will have nothing to do with you. And we won’t interfere with any of your deals, either.”

Pham Quyen was satisfied. He almost beamed as he held out a hand to Yong Kyu to shake on it.

“I’ll vouch for Miss Oh until she acquires a nationality. Let’s include her status of stay in Vietnam in our deal.”

Pham Quyen spoke frankly about the topic which was still of considerable concern to him. Unlike a little earlier, Yong Kyu’s voice was calm when he replied. “The Korean government always gives top priority to the interests of Koreans who hold jobs and earn money. So, provided Miss Oh can obtain employment, her residence in Vietnam will automatically be recognized. In other words, once she has a job, the business of having her visa extended is for the Vietnamese, not us, to decide.”

“You almost fooled me. Employment here is no problem at all. I’ll have her hired at the provincial government office.”

“We didn’t intend to fool you. We just wanted to discuss this idea with you. Besides, if we had wanted to, it would not have been impossible to have her deported.”

They had resolved their differences and lowered their guards and were laughing and slapping each other on the back. Yong Kyu looked at his watch. It was time to call Pointer.

“Excuse me for a minute, please.”

“Calling the captain?” asked Toi.

“Yeah, I told him we were coming here. He’ll be waiting.”

“Give him the details later. Leave me out of this. I’m nothing more than your advisor.”

Yong Kyu stared piercingly at his sunglasses, then smirked. “You’re my partner. And you’re our source of information.”

Yong Kyu left the room. A good number of drinkers had gathered in the main room of the club. It was about half-full with white civilians, soldiers, and bar girls. Music blared. He went up to the bar and placed a call to the Dragon Palace Restaurant. In a few seconds the captain was on the line.

“It’s me, sir. I’m with Major Pham now. I think we should disregard the report, sir.”

“Why? The boss wants the details.”

“Give him a verbal report, sir. The Vietnamese business dealings are more important than that.”

“Can you connect with their dealing channels?”

“Just finished the negotiations.”

“Good. Take your time. I’ll get the details from you tomorrow morning at the hotel.”

When Yong Kyu got back to the room he saw that girls and liquor had arrived. One bottle of Johnnie Walker, two girls. One was in a tank top that clung like a swimsuit and a red miniskirt, and the other was wearing a black miniskirt and a polka-dotted blouse. The red miniskirt had wavy-permed hair cascading down her back and the black miniskirt had bobbed her hair very short.

Major Pham poured a drink for Yong Kyu, speaking in a friendly tone. “Drinks are on me. I like you.”

Yong Kyu found himself thinking back to a night he had spent at a campside village near Tam Ky during his days in the infantry. He had gone AWOL for one night. Guerrillas were attacking a guard bunker on the village’s edge. He was with a girl, writhing on her belly with a.45 in one hand. He remembered how the sweat covered her small brown body. She kept gesturing for Yong Kyu to put the gun away.

After finishing, he had walked over to the window naked with the pistol still in his hand. Bright red flares rose in the air, then fell. He pushed up the bamboo window frame and peered out into the night. Tracers were flashing across the sky in a continuous stream. The girl quietly came up behind him and stroked his hair. He took the gun and hid it in the folds of the jungle pants he had taken off. The girl tried again and again to say something in awkward English: “Much sleep, sleep. Sun come up. That’s OK.”

She lay down first on the bamboo bed and pulled him toward her. As he rested his head against her breasts, she wrapped her arms around his head and, patting gently, said “Sleep, sleep, that’s OK.”