Kwon shook his head. "No, no. I'm in Special Services. We cover such areas as accounting and finance, advertising and public relations. You're talking about Special Projects. They have a research laboratory down there that works on things like equipment for nuclear medicine. I really don't know what all they do. Classmate of mine's a chemical engineer at Chuwangsan."
The man next to Duane decided it was time to start the old drinking game. As Jerry watched, he saw that Duane remembered to hold his glass in both hands as the man poured it full to the rim. Duane turned it up and gulped down about half a glassful before pausing. The Koreans cheered. Another glass was passed to him. The trick was to pass yours on as quickly as possible and not let the glasses accumulate in front of you.
Too late, Jerry realized he had forgotten to tell Duane it wasn't necessary to drink the entire glassful every time someone passed a glass and poured for you.
The following day, Jerry Chan finished his morning run and pulled off the bright orange warm-up suit lettered in white: "University of Tennessee Volunteers." It was damp and heavy with sweat despite the cold outside. He showered, shaved, dressed and headed down to the coffee shop for breakfast. Burke was already into his second cup. They chatted casually as they ate. He found Burke was not all that thrilled about his morning walk as the mercury continued its drop. He suspected that back home his boss would have been striding comfortably in the warmth of a nearly-deserted shopping mall.
When Burke asked how the evening had gone, Jerry delivered an innocuous reply accompanied by a grin that said all he needed to say until they had reached the safety of the office. They were seated close to a table full of apparent Korean businessmen, but they didn't take chances in such situations.
After Burke returned to his room, Jerry took the elevator to Duane's floor. He knocked at the door and listened, but heard nothing. He knocked again, louder. After the third knock, he half expected someone from a nearby room to stick their head out and berate him for disturbing the peace.
The door finally cracked open. About the worst-looking face he had ever encountered materialized in the small gap. It reminded him of something out of a Stephen King horror novel. His hair looked like he'd been caught in a rainstorm. His eyes, streaked with red thunderbolts, blinked uncertainly, and he smelled as if he had been doused with a rather unappetizing French fragrance called Le Vomit.
"Jerry?" The wretch spoke haltingly.
"In the flesh. But I'm not too sure you're Duane. At least not the Duane I knew yesterday."
Duane held a hand up to his forehead. "I've got the mother of all hangovers." His voice was strained. "How did I get back here?"
Jerry shook his head at the miserable sight. "Courtesy of yours truly and my new Reijeo friend, Mr. Kwon. You don't steer very easily when you're dead on your feet, old buddy."
Duane turned to look around the room behind him. "I'd invite you in, but I don't believe you'd want to."
"Thanks. I'll pass. You gonna be okay?"
Duane stuck out his tongue and wagged it as if searching for moisture.
"Give me a little time. I'll be all right."
"No rush," Jerry said. "Come on over when you feel like it. Did you learn anything useful last night?"
Duane gave him a blank stare, then shook his head. "I can't remember."
Chapter 39
Jerry took the Kyongbu Expressway south to near Suwon, where he turned east on the Yongdong Expressway. The superhighways were well maintained, and he made good time in the black Hyundai he had purchased that morning. Near Wonju, he headed southeast through the mountains. The scenery was breathtaking, particularly around Mt. Sobaeksan, north of Yongju. There he saw rugged ridges, deep valleys and occasional waterfalls. Fringes of white reflected in the sun where snow had fallen over the high peaks. He arrived at Andong in mid-afternoon and checked into a yogwan, a Korean-style inn, which featured rooms with ondol floors, furnished with a mattress, quilt and hard pillow.
He spent an hour or so familiarizing himself with the area. The central part of the town presented the usual modern jumble of commercial enterprises, including shops, tabangs and maggolli houses. But he found many large traditional style homes in the residential areas. He drove east of the town and saw the impressive seven-story pagoda Kwon had told him about. A little farther out, he came to a restored village of traditional houses alongside Andong Lake, an artificial body created recently by a dam project. The village was composed of buildings moved to the site to save them from the encroaching lake. It had an authentic atmosphere of old Korea, including inns where maggolli and anju were served.
Jerry took a brief stroll around the village, then headed back to his car. As he approached the parking area, a yellow bus drove up and pulled in near where he had parked. The familiar Reijeo logo with the hangul characters surrounded by four thunderbolts was painted on the sides of the vehicle. When the doors opened, a stream of men in casual attire poured off and headed toward the nearest inn. Jerry walked up to the open front door of the bus, where a tall man wearing a baseball cap and a heavy blue jacket stood talking to the driver. Jerry saw the Reijeo logo embroidered on the left of his jacket, beneath it the word Chikchang, foreman. Lettered on the door of the bus was "Special Projects Division, Chuwangsan Plant."
"Hi! I'm Rhee Po-san." Jerry introduced himself using the name that appeared on a set of fake Korean documents he carried. They would only be used in a setting where there was no chance of anyone following up on the identification. "You guys get up here often?"
The tall man nodded. "Once a month."
Jerry smiled. "It must be a pretty welcome break in the routine. They looked awfully happy coming off that bus."
"A break certainly helps. We spent a few hours in Andong before coming here. This place offers something a little different. Of course, they'd really rather go to Pusan or Seoul. That's a bit far, though, and the company's afraid they might not all make it back."
"Can't blame them. Pusan can get pretty wicked." Jerry changed to a little more businesslike tone. "I'm a chemical engineer from Changwon. I have a lady friend in Andong who's been after me to move up here. Do you know if Reijeo is hiring any chemical engineers at Chuwangsan?"
The foreman stepped down out of the bus. "Come on. We can talk while we walk. I'd better get over to the inn and see what's going on. I'm responsible for these guys."
"Sure," Jerry said, getting in step beside him.
"You're interested in a chemical engineering job, huh? My division isn't looking for any, but Explosives might be. I don't really have any idea. As you can imagine, Explosives is pretty particular about who gets into their side of the plant. Takes a different type of identification from this." He pulled a security badge from his pocket and held it up. Attached to it on a chain was a small vial.
"Why the dosimeter?" Jerry asked.
"We work some with nuclear materials, use them in things like medical supplies and equipment."
Jerry nodded with a thin smile. "But you don't need any chemical engineers."
He shrugged. "Explosives might. I have a friend in personnel who says they're still hiring professional people. What school did you get your degree from?"
Jerry decided not to risk getting tripped up by someone familiar with the Korean college scene. "I graduated from California Institute of Technology in the United States," he said.
"That's good," said the foreman. "It could increase your chances of getting on. My friend says you'd be surprised at the number of American college graduates there are at Chuwangsan."