Captain Sobong and Sergeant Yeong Jae-gu were dressed in typical business suits. They walked along a busy street until they saw a Chinese policeman. They approached him.
"Good morning, officer. We are new to this area; obviously we are Koreans on a business trip. Police officers always know what goes on in a city, so I will ask you a question. Do you know of a bordello which employs Korean women?" asked Captain Sobong. The officer paused a bit and made a strange motion with his hand. Captain Sobong recognized the movement, having anticipated the corruption level of China. He placed a Chinese bill in his hand. "Yes, there is one," replied the officer. "Go down this street until that curved building on the right. Turn right there and go maybe two kilometers and you will see a blue and green building which has what you want." "Thank you very much, officer," finished Captain Sobong. As they walked away, Captain Sobong spoke softly to Sergeant Yeong, "In Busan, that corrupt behavior would never be tolerated." "In Chongjin, that behavior would be normal," answered Sergeant Yeong with a smile. "Let's take a walk and see if we can determine the opening hours of the bordello," said Captain Sobong. * * * * * Lieutenant Nam was walking along with the two girls when she spotted two boys even younger than the girls. Both boys were pathetically thin and looked as if a slight breeze would topple them over. They were unsuccessfully begging for money or food. "Hello, my name is Lieutenant Nam Tae-yeon. How old are you?" The taller boy slowly turned to her. "I am five." His companion said nothing and just looked at her with lifeless eyes. "I am taking these two girls to get some food at one of the kiosks. Please come with us. You need some food now," cajoled Lieutenant Nam. The two boys listlessly followed the three of them. * * * * * General Terry had never been so busy in his life. His command had become the de facto logistics coordinator, as both the South Korea government and General Grant were too busy with the never-ending refugee tasks. Pyongyang's airport could never handle the extreme traffic which the many ground efforts required. And given how poor the airport's infrastructure had become over the years, he really did not dare to send planes after dark, as the lights and signaling equipment were unsafe. Seoul's Inchon airport was perhaps the best in the world, but the designers had never anticipated the current number of flights departing from and arriving on the Korean peninsula. And he could not monopolize Seoul's airport because shipments from South Korean manufacturers still needed to depart for worldwide customers. The problem was that the countries of the world had other things, pressing matters, to worry about. Depression 2.0 was still in full swing, so no country could afford to solely designate their aircraft to send aid. Aid was coming in droves, but it was coming in from all points of the compass. General Terry sometimes ordered planes to land in Japan where his crews could consolidate, sort, and re-pack the contents. North Korea's railway system was pretty much a joke, with some routes taking days to travel what should have only taken hours. High-speed rail was a mirage. Therefore General Terry needed to plan how supplies were going to travel from an airport or port to where it was needed. Aid was also arriving in ships, though that had just begun because of the time required to sail from North America, Europe, and other places. He wondered if he should route everything to ports on the eastern coast of the Korea peninsula to avoid Chinese naval vessels, given that China had issued a proclamation that the entire South China Sea belonged to it alone; the East China Sea might be next. Unlike his friend General Grant, he planned to remain in his command for a long time to come. His telephone rang. "General, this is Colonel Jang. Have you made any progress on obtaining coal for the winter? Many North Koreans use wood in their stoves and they have essentially denuded the hillsides of trees as a result. I think some people will freeze to death if we do not stockpile coal for the coming winter." "Yes, Colonel, we have ships on the way from Canada, South Africa, Australia, Columbia, and the USA. One from Australia will arrive shortly, headed for the port of Najin. I think we will have no trouble supplying you with enough coal for the winter," replied General Terry. General Terry pondered on how the situation compared with supplying coal and supplies to Berlin during the Berlin Airlift. Sending it by sea was so much more efficient. "Also, General, I am worried about the many orphans and refugees temporarily housed in abandoned buildings. As you know, we are using these buildings until we can build proper housing, but that will require years. We are still desperately short of cots and blankets," continued Colonel Jang. "Unfortunately we outsourced the production of cots and blankets to China and other countries a long time ago. We have placed orders with manufacturers, paying them extra for top priority. I think we'll beat winter, but not by much," answered General Terry. "Thanks, General," concluded Colonel Jang. * * * * * Sergeants Chu Dong-ju and Paeng Keun-suk walked into the bordello right at opening time. "I am really horny!" loudly announced Sergeant Chu. "I am double-horny!" declared Sergeant Paeng. "We want to see your two youngest girls." A large man with a bulge under his right arm nodded ever so slightly and walked into the hallway behind the lobby. He barked commands and two teenaged girls, perhaps 13-years-old, slowly walked into the lobby. "They'll do fine," said Sergeant Paeng. "No time to waste, let's go!" The two sergeants and two girls walked into the hallway and then into a room with a divider in the middle. Sergeant Chu closed the door behind him. "We are not here for sex. We are going to get you out of here," declared Sergeant Paeng. The two girls looked at him. "You don't want sex?" asked one of them incredulously. Sergeant Paeng got right to business. "How many Korean girls work here, in total?" "Eleven," they both answered as one. "Are all of them in the building right now?" asked Sergeant Chu. The two girls nodded their heads. "We dodged a bullet there," said Sergeant Paeng. "The mission would have to be delayed if one of you was away." "I did not see any customers. Are any customers here now?" asked Sergeant Chu. The two girls shook their heads. "How many employees are in the building right now?" asked Sergeant Chu. "Four: three security and one manager," answered the second girl. Sergeant Paeng pulled his cellphone from his pocket and started texting: "come now, we're in room; 0 clients; 11 girls; 3 heavy, 1 fat." * * * * * Lieutenant Nam saw two more children, this time two girls who were not close in terms of age. As with the others, they were dressed in clothes which only ragamuffins would wear. "Hello, my name is Lieutenant Nam Tae-yeon. How old are you?" she asked the older girl. "I am twelve and my sister is six," she answered. "What happened to your parents?" queried Lieutenant Nam. "They just disappeared one day. Then someone came to our apartment and told us to leave. We have been living on the streets for many months now," she replied. "These four children and I are going to the kiosks to obtain some food. Come with us and you can have a good meal," insisted Lieutenant Nam. As they walked down the street, the 6-year-old girl moved close to Lieutenant Nam and grabbed her hand. * * * * * Captain Roh watched the Chinese farmer balance his load on his under-fed, over-worked donkey. His two young children walked behind. Even though the farmer was straining his muscles keeping the load on the donkey, Captain Roh noticed that he smiled at his children when they asked something. Captain Roh waited until they passed by a roadside cafe before approaching. "Excuse me sir, my name is Roh Sok-yong. I work for the North Korean government, in child welfare. We have been investigating cases of child abandonment and abuse of half-and-half children. However, I could not help but notice that your relationship with your children is good. The boy, he is 100% Chinese while the girl is half-Korean, correct?" asked Captain Roh. "You have an eye for detail, sir. Yes, my son, Shen'en, is Chinese by my first wife who died in childbirth. My daughter, Yunxiang, is half-Korean by my second wife who left us," replied Diao Shaojie. "Please, sir, I would like to buy you and your children lunch at this cafe," offered Captain Roh. "Since we are so poor, I will accept. My children are very hungry," answered Diao as he gave a little bow. "My name is Diao Shaojie." Captain Roh ordered food for the four of them while Diao tied his donkey to a fence. The children looked at him with wide eyes. "They will be attending school soon, yes?" asked Captain Roh. Diao sighed. "Yes, Shen'en will start school in the next session, but I do not know what I will do with Yunxiang. I cannot afford the hukou and the bribes that go along with convincing the bureaucrats that a second child should attend school the same as the first. Our stupid one-child policy is so restrictive. She will grow up as an uneducated peasant and never be able to meet her full potential," railed Diao. "Is your donkey your only large animal?" asked Captain Roh. "Yes. And I wish I could afford another one. A tractor would be a gift from heaven, but I am not holding my breath," answered Diao. "I hope I am not being too personal, but what happened to your Korean wife?" queried Captain Roh. "Since you are paying for lunch, I guess you can be a little personal," chuckled Diao. "I met Lee Wen-di through a broker. She was not terribly considerate, but as you can see I am not a looker so I married her immediately. One year after Yunxiang was born, she disappeared. I later heard that she had moved to South Korea. I took every last bit of money we had and traveled to South Korea. I thought she would be happy to see us and we would be a family again. But she had already found another man, one with a good job. She icily told us that she never wanted to see any of us again. I was glad that Yunxiang was too young to understand how her mother rejected her like that. We moved back here, but now we are living from day-to-day because I have no savings," admitted Diao. * * * * * Talvela, Lieutenant Song, and Major Seo had arrived at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, the residence of the Japanese Emperor. "Now let me do the talking. We do not want to insult him," Major Seo insisted. As Major Seo walked into the building first, Talvela looked at Lieutenant Song and winked. She looked at him and mouthed, "Don't you dare!" "Your Imperial Majesty, my name is Major Seo Sun-kyu. This is Christian Talvela and Lieutenant Song Han-na," began Major Seo. They all bowed. "There was a famous boxer in my country named Jack Dempsey. He was casual even for an American, but he also had a poor memory for the names of people. When he could remember someone's name, he would address them, 'Hiya, so-and-so,' but usually he would simply say, 'Hiya, pal,'" started Talvela. Major Seo's eyes were as wide as saucers. "It's an apocryphal story, but one day he met a king of a European country," continued Talvela. "This would have been in the first half of the twentieth century. Upon meeting the king, he said with his usual flair, 'Hiya, king.' So in the spirit of Jack Dempsey, I say to you, 'Hiya, emperor!'" The Japanese Emperor chuckled. * * * * * Lieutenant Nam and her six charges came upon four pre-teen boys begging for food. "What happened to your leg?" she asked one of them. "I tried to climb aboard a moving freight train and slipped. The train wheels cut my leg off. If my friends hadn't immediately applied a tourniquet, I would have bled to death," replied the boy. "Where did you learn how to properly use a tourniquet?" asked Lieutenant Nam of the other boys. "My parents were both medical professionals. Before they were arrested and taken away, they explained first aid to me," revealed one of the boys. "I am taking these children to get something to eat. Come with us," implored Lieutenant Nam. The four boys walked behind the group, with the disabled boy using a crutch cobbled together from scraps of wood. * * * * * The commandos parked their bus and walked to the bordello. Captain Sobong started giving orders. "Sergeant Yeong, you and I will schmooze with the management and pretend to be lushes taking a break from our hard life as Korean businessmen. Corporals Eom and Im, you will be the primary sprayers. Corporals Jeo and Corporal Pan, you will be in reserve for surprises. We will refer to each other as Mister Yeong, Mister Sobong, and so on. Remember, big smiles on everyone! We are sleazy businessmen who want to sleep with Korean girls. Play your part," explained Captain Sobong. As they entered the nightclub, they were met by a large man with a bulge under his right arm. Corporals Eom and Im paid close attention to him. He was obviously a member of their security team, as he did not say a word or smile. A second man, fat with a false smile, walked up to the men. "Welcome to our happy club! I am sure we will make you very happy," he declared in a slimy sort of way. "My friends and I would like to party with Korean girls," said Captain Sobong much louder than necessary. In their room, Sergeants Chu and Paeng and the two girls stood up. "That's what we do best," said the fat man. "We would like to see the girls now, please," said Captain Sobong. "I would like to see all of your girls. Maybe I will party with two of them!" added Sergeant Yeong with a big smile. "Of course. We have eleven girls, but two are busy right now," replied the fat man. He motioned to the security guard to bring the girls out for display. Nine sad-looking, young Korean women walked out slowly. They stood there looking at the floor. The security guard walked behind the bar. Captain Sobong noticed that every girl looked like a doll, with heavy black mascara and eyeliner, over-the-top rouge, ruby red lipstick, garishly electric blue finger and toe nail polish, and thick concealer to hide the circles under their eyes from long days. The youngest was probably 15-years-old. "I would like a drink," said Sergeant Yeong. "Mister Eom, please join me." "Mister Im, please bring the money bag over here," said Captain Sobong. Captain Sobong and Sergeant Yeong looked at each other. Captain Sobong nodded ever so slightly. Captain Sobong gently squeezed the arm of Corporal Im and Sergeant Yeong gently squeezed the arm of Corporal Eom. "Now!" shouted Captain Sobong. Corporals Eom and Im reached into their bags and brought out their pepper spray bottles. In one smooth, fluid motion, they brought them level with the eyes of the two Chinese men and started spraying. The security guard did not even look up until the gas was upon him. He doubled up with his hands over his face. Sergeant Yeong and Corporal Eom removed the pistol from under his arm and laid it on the floor in the far corner of the room. The fat man saw the attack coming, but he was so fat and slow that he could not raise his hands before the gas enveloped him. He doubled up just like his employee. Two other security men walked quickly into the lobby from the other end of the hallway after hearing the commotion. Sergeants Chu and Paeng opened the door of their room as quietly as they could and walked behind the two security men. "I'll bet my gun is bigger than yours," said Sergeant Paeng. The two security men turned around in surprise, not realizing that anyone was behind them. Sergeants Chu and Paeng sprayed them heavily in the face with their pepper spray. As the two men doubled over, the two sergeants removed their pistols from their holsters. "We are Korean commandos, North and South! We will take you back home! If you have any valuables, run to your rooms and retrieve them! We must leave immediately!" ordered Captain Sobong, addressing the women. The girls ran to their rooms as ordered, grabbed what little possessions they had, and ran back to the lobby. Sergeants Chu and Paeng followed them, looking through all of the rooms to make sure they left no one behind. They threw the two pistols onto one of the beds. Corporals Eom and Im opened their bags again and brought out cheap dresses and makeup remover pads for the girls. "They aren't couture, but they will make you look like typical girls," instructed Captain Sobong. "Just throw them on over your clothes. And try to remove some of that gaudy makeup." Sergeant Yeong brought out his satellite telephone. "Departing now!" he told the driver of their bus. Corporals Jeo and Pan opened the door and cautiously peered out, looking for policemen or anyone else who could cause them trouble, but the only people in the street were children playing a game. They exited the building, followed by Sergeant Yeong, Sergeants Chu and Paeng, the eleven girls, Corporals Eom and Im, and finally Captain Sobong. They walked down the street towards their bus. They boarded it and rode it out of the city. * * * * * "Major, you really need to see this," said Sergeant Ju. Major Suk walked to the car which had been stopped on the approach to the bridge. He could see that the driver was the mayor of Pyongyang, Bling Ka-ching. Their car was filled to the roof with loot, so much so that the tires were sagging. The soldiers had already started to empty it and had discovered gold coins, bottles of expensive French wine, a small box of diamonds, Rolex watches, boxes of Cuban cigars, a large box of euros and dollars, Chanel stockings, and cases of perfume. Many of the items had come from Bling's stores in Pyongyang which offered luxury goods to the elite. His star had risen dramatically after the death of Kim Gour-met, who had once sentenced him to house arrest for almost two years for trying to gain too much power for himself. "Just like rats leaving a sinking ship," thought Major Suk. "Major, this one's not quite as good as the last car, right?" asked Sergeant Ju. Major Suk chuckled. "You mean, you liked the car with the spheres of plutonium in it better?" Copyright 2020 Pete Prunskunas - All rights reserved.
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April 2024
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