“I have an idea, sir. I’ll speak to the team leader. I’ll have him move in on the scene when the Hong Kong Group makes some deal. The leader can slip away and. . lock up that bastard they call ‘Pig.’ Then, Chairman Pak will come to you, sir, with his tail between his legs. We’ll get such a firm grip on their balls they won’t know which way to turn. Once we catch that group, the rest will just fall into our hands.”
“Will the team leader agree to do that?”
“The sergeant will listen to me, sir. I’ve helped them get through the checkpoints several times. As his subordinate I had no choice, sir.”
“I already knew about that.”
“He’s got to help his men get ready to return home. It’s wise to have the leader in full control of the PX.”
As an afterthought, the captain said to Toi, “Looks like you and Sergeant Ahn are making a great team.”
“In Vietnam, we call men like him ‘quick as a lizard.’”
“I’ll see to it that you get an allowance on top of your salary.”
“No need for an allowance, but I have a favor to ask. I’ve already discussed it with Sergeant Ahn. Give me an opening every now and then.”
“What kind of opening?”
“When the sergeant’s goods are purchased, let me have a chance to invest a little in the buys. A couple of boxes would be enough.”
“All right, I guess that’ll be more of a help to you.”
On Saturday Yong Kyu took the company Jeep and drove out to Turen supply warehouse. As Toi had said, he was quick as a lizard, for he had become a decent driver within a month after his transfer to Da Nang. He flashed his ID at the east gate and went around to the soldiers’ barracks. Finished with the day’s duty, some soldiers were tossing a football around. Leon was among them, soaked with sweat. He must not have expected Yong Kyu to keep his promise, and looked surprised to see him. Within a few minutes he had run inside and come back out, freshly shaven and in civilian clothes.
“Where should we go? China Beach?”
“I’ve been there lots of times.”
“Let’s head downtown, anyway. It’s been a while since you were there, right?”
At this, Leon got excited and whistled loudly.
“That’s an off-limits zone for us. I’ve never been there.”
Leon looked much younger now than when he was in uniform.
“You like to drink, don’t you?”
“Sure.”
“All right if you don’t make it back tonight?”
“Don’t bother with that. If I get caught, hell, I’ll dig ditches or run around the grounds, no big deal. Anyway, I’ll be safe if I make it back to the barracks by tomorrow. The sergeant has gone down to China Beach himself.”
“Will he stay there tonight?”
“I think so. Every weekend he’s been playing poker with some navy officers.”
“What’s his name?”
“Stapley.”
Yong Kyu turned off from Route 1 towards downtown Da Nang. There was a checkpoint, but civilian company vehicles were just waved through. The Vietnamese QC sentry made a slow hand gesture. Soon they were crossing Le Loi Boulevard into the crowded streets of the old market and veering up Puohung Street. He had no intention of going to the Bamboo, for it was a gathering place for too many other black marketeers. He drove a few blocks farther and pulled into an alley line with stores near the mouth of Doc Lap Boulevard. He parked in a back alley where some young boy peddlers were thronging. Leon looked nervously about.
“Where we going?”
“Now we’re becoming complete civilians.”
“Civilians?”
“That’s right. Let’s wash off the soldier scum.”
Unable to grasp what Yong Kyu meant, Leon walked edgily a few steps behind him. They came up to a glass storefront with a sign overhead reading “Steam Bath.” Yong Kyu bought the tickets and they pushed aside a curtain to see a long hall. A boy standing there took the tickets and led them into a small room. They took off their clothes, put them into a basket and headed into the baths. Leon laughed loudly. “What the hell are we doing, anyway?”
“A maintenance job. Wow, your dick is enormous.”
“Shit, yours looks like a frog.”
Bursting into laughter, Leon slapped Yong Kyu on the butt. When they opened the door inside, hot steam came rolling out in a steady stream.
“Hey, I don’t like it.”
“Listen, you should get the sweat out of your system. It’s good for you.”
They went in and sat down in the hot steam bath. Along the wall were seats that looked like stairs. The middle of the space was packed with bamboo branches from out of which steam was pouring upwards. Leon was covering his mouth and nose with a towel. Yong Kyu spoke.
“Take a look. There’s a pile of pebbles down there heated by fire. They’re covered with herbs.”
“It smells awful.”
“It’s not that bad, is it?”
They came out again, pulverized from the heat and the sweating. As they finished washing off with cold water, two girls came in and waited with huge towels. They were scantily clad and wore real flowers in their hair. With one arm Leon leaned on the girl who was drying his body and said, “She’s killing me.”
“Slow down, she’s just a kid.”
“Hey, you shit. It’s been over two months for me. The mere sight of that fucking uniform makes me want to puke.”
The girl smiled, slightly nudging Leon away. Yong Kyu went over to the bed first and lay down, and Leon then came over and lay down on the next bed. The girls were about to pull the curtains when Yong Kyu stopped them.
“I’d like to talk about business.”
Leon opened his eyes wide and tried to read the expression on Yong Kyu’s face.
“I want us to be friends. Friends must never cheat one another. I want to buy things from you.”
“Coffee, you mean? Well, I’ll give you the damn stuff free.”
“Not just a couple of boxes, I mean I want to buy as much as you can handle.”
Leon was silent. Instead of replying, he tapped the head of his bed with his finger, thinking. Yong Kyu went on.
“When you get back home, how much do you think you can make? What can you earn in a week?”
“Well, maybe between a hundred and two hundred. I spend it all on the weekend.”
“You can make ten times that. Look around, there’s a mountain of goods piled up in the warehouse. There’s everything there.”
Leon let out a short laugh. “I know the whole story. And there are many divisions in our warehouse where goods are being sold.”
“So much the better. Our supply vehicle goes to Turen every day. Once a day, or once every other day, whichever you like is fine with me.”
“Once every other day sounds good. We rotate, you know.”
“Let me have two pallets of salad oil on Monday.”
“Big or small?”
“Big would be better.”
Leon held out his hand for Yong Kyu to shake.
“If it’s only B-rations, I can let you have as much as you want.”
They shook hands. The girls were pressing, rubbing, and patting their shoulders and spines, moving down toward the calves.
“I think I can trust you. You’re not greedy,” Leon said.
“Your sergeant, did you say Stapley was his name? What’s his job?”
“He’s in charge of checking all the warehouses in our section. But he’s got no power over us and rarely interferes. A nice guy.”