“I understand, sir.”
Yong Kyu reported to the captain.
“Now, we’ve got that operation under control,” the captain said to the sergeant. “I’m heading out, so call me at the hotel when the job’s done. Give Sergeant Ahn a lift to the pier and then take the guy from the marine PX over to the supply warehouse.”
“If the evidence is solid down at the pier I’ll make an immediate arrest, sir,” said Yong Kyu. The captain nodded.
“Right. A Vietnamese worker, if not the Pig himself, will show up. Take them straight to the police station and lock them up. Tomorrow morning at six, we’ll go and wake up the so-called chairman, Pak.”
24
The ship had already arrived and was berthed alongside the dock in the inner harbor reserved for navy vessels. The whale-like mouth of the landing ship was gaping wide. Beneath it, waves rhythmically beat and broke on the iron hull. After unloading, the navy transport would remain at berth for a day of rest and then return to Vung Tau harbor.
A double wire barricade had been erected at the pier to demarcate the military from the civilian sector. After 1800 hours only vehicle traffic was permitted in and out. Here and there Vietnamese sailors armed with carbines were posted as sentries. Searchlights constantly licked over the waters of the bay that was strictly off-limits to civilian watercraft. Anyone approaching the shore without advance clearance would be met with a burst of fire from the machine gun nests up and down the coast.
Vehicles with access passes were moving cargo from the stockpiles rising along the docks. The sound of cranes was deafening and constant. Sitting on the grass at the rotary overlooking the guarded gate above the pier, Yong Kyu was scanning the activity at Da Nang harbor as darkness began to fall. Toi eventually showed up.
“Hey, buddy, this spot is no good. If they use a military truck and sneak out through the far side you won’t be able to see them from here. Besides, if you hang around here in civilian clothes for too long, you’ll attract suspicion not only from the guards but also from lookouts on the ships. Have they come?”
“The master sergeant from the supply corps detachment is down there. No sign of the Hong Kong Group yet.”
“Eaten?”
“No, I’m in between — not hungry, not full. It was the ribs, I guess.”
“Cough up some cash, let’s get some bánh mì.”
Yong Kyu handed Toi a one-dollar military note. “Get me some, too. I like lots of red pepper on mine, you know.”
Toi crossed the main road for the bánh mì. After hearing Toi’s opinion, Yong Kyu felt uncomfortable staying where he was. Dressed in a baggy shirt and work pants with long and unkempt hair, he feared someone might take him for a guerilla slinking around the pier. Also, there was a chance that the Pig or the staff sergeant might recognize him somehow and abort the deal.
Yong Kyu had come packing a.45 automatic, on loan from the chief sergeant, holstered inside his shirt under his armpit. The leather shoulder holster was so heavy and bulky he felt like his ribs were in a plaster cast. Slowly Yong Kyu got to his feet and walked down to the right toward the white wall of the Da Nang customs house. A cement lattice was reinforced with a thick barbed wire fence and he plopped down at the foot of the wall with his back to it. Toi came back and started looking around for him.
“Over here,” Yong Kyu called out.
“You moved to an even worse place,” Toi said, holding out a can of beer and the bánh mì, a long loaf of French bread stuffed with vegetables. “Might as well come in full uniform and mount a lookout tower. I see a good spot over there.”
Toi pointed to a dark place around the corner from the customs house. The lampposts cast a bright light on the white customs house and on the pier area just below, but there were two enormous sycamore trees nearby and through their foliage another white building was visible in the shadows. It was a two-story residence with an elevated terrace jutting out toward the pier, overlooking the bay.
“If we sit up there we’ll have an overview of the whole area, what do you say?”
“It’s a private home. We’ll be taken for burglars.”
“Let’s go on up first. If the owner comes out we can quietly ask for his cooperation.”
“It’s a very nice house. If it belongs to somebody of high rank, it’ll be a problem. He’ll complain to headquarters later.”
Yong Kyu was reluctant, but Toi took the lead and moved down along the wall toward the residence. “Just follow me.”
They reached the corner of the customs house. By grasping the wire strands, they climbed up the wall and reached overhead to the railings of the overhanging veranda of the house. Toi confidently grabbed a railing, and with a single motion pulled himself up onto the veranda. Yong Kyu, too, despite his doubts, clambered up the wall and grabbed Toi’s extended hand.
“Come on up, hold on.”
Yong Kyu was being pulled up by Toi when, from out of the darkness, there came the ferocious barking of a dog. It was loud enough to wake the entire house.
“That’s a German shepherd. Don’t worry, it’s leashed.”
Yong Kyu flopped over onto the veranda next to Toi. The dog was barking more furiously than before. The front yard down below was suddenly brightly illuminated. Someone must have turned on the porch light. A man’s voice shouted something.
“What’s he saying?”
“Asking who’s there.”
“You handle this.”
The room opening onto the veranda was unlit and seemed empty. Yong Kyu tried to open the sliding glass door but it would not budge. A man’s quaking voice came up from directly below the veranda. Toi stepped forward and replied in Vietnamese. The man below was silent for a moment, then the sound of metal clinking was heard.
“It’s a submachine gun,” Toi said. “You should put your hands up like me.”
As a bright flashlight showered their faces, Toi and Yong Kyu half-stood from their squatting positions with both hands in the air. There seemed to be two people on the ground below.
“Take out your ID and throw it down to them,” Toi said.
Yong Kyu did as told. There was brief whispering and then one of the men spoke in English.
“You invaded a civilian residence without permission. We can’t trust your identification. Come down here. The Korean first.”
The flashlight moved to a narrow passage between the roof and the veranda.
“Walk straight over there and you’ll find a metal staircase. Come down. And no unnecessary movements.”
Yong Kyu fumbled his way down the metal steps. He had no choice but to assume a position with his back to them. The staircase was steep like a ladder and very wobbly. He reached the ground and then Toi followed after. Two men were standing there. The lankier of the two had a submachine gun aimed at them while the heavier one was holding the flashlight.
“Turn around and put your hands on the wall.”
“You’ve seen the ID,” Yong Kyu said without moving. “Isn’t that good enough? We’re on duty assigned for joint investigation with the national police. You’re interfering with our duty.”
“Sergeant, we understand that you’re here as an allied force to help us, but, say what you will, this clearly was a house break-in. I’m going to report you to a department I know. Let’s go inside.”
Toi said something in return, but the older man responded sharply in a reproachful tone. They turned to enter the interior of the house. Without warning, a black form rushed up and jumped at Yong Kyu. It was the German shepherd, a dog about half Yong Kyu’s size. It bit him on the arm and held on. Yong Kyu pulled out his.45 and started to aim it at the dog’s head.