Chapter 8
Agendas
May 30th, 1936. Market District, Changchun…
Wu Lio-fan strolled through the market. It was a beautiful day, spring finally coming to Manchuria. As she walked amongst the stalls and vendors, her mind was filled with many thoughts, first and foremost, Major Wang Li. He had been gone two days now, yet it seemed an eternity. On the one hand she was glad he was gone. She had so much to think about, so much to contemplate. Yet, she missed him as well. This brought to the fore thoughts of that night, that one night. Fear and hope warred inside her. Her body shuddered slightly at the remembered pleasures; her mind trembled at the shared pain. Yin and Yang, one could not exist without the other. Her mother’s words echoed in her head.
“Men can be completely oblivious without intending to. It was one of the weakness the gods gave them to counter their strengths. That is why the gods also created women, to add balance to a man’s life, to counter their weaknesses. Individually, both man and woman are incomplete, lacking in the characteristics of the other.”
With the memories of that night fresh in her head, now she understood these words, now they had meaning, context…and they were so very true. She felt incomplete. This feeling stayed with her as made her way through the crowds, looking at this, examining that, but not really seeing any of it, so it should have been no surprise when a voice addressed her from behind, startling her from her thoughts.
“A lovely day Miss Wu, wouldn’t you say?”, said the voice in a casual manner.
Wu turned to find herself looking at a man in the uniform of the Japanese. She looked at his face, yes, definitely Japanese. Looking at the uniform again, she could tell he was an officer, but not understanding the insignias on his collar she could not say what rank he was. The man smiled at her and then looked at one of the nearby tables. Slowly…no, not slowly she thought…casually, he reached out and picked up a tomato.
“A perfect day for this sort of thing, no?”, he said as he examined the fruit, and then just as casually replaced it…perfectly…in the spot he had taken it from. She did not know why his movements were making such an impression on her, but they were. There was something in the way he moved that was familiar, yet…not. She returned her gaze to the man’s face. The smile was still there, casual, nothing threatening in any way, so why was a feeling of dread welling up inside her.
“Do I know you sir?”, she asked.
The man’s smile never faltered. “No Miss Wu, you do not, my apologies. Please allow me to introduce myself”, he brought himself into a formal posture, heels together, as he bowed from the waist. “Lieutenant Colonel Ryochi Naito, Imperial Japanese Army.”
The name meant nothing to Wu. “A, uhm….pleasure to make your acquaintance, and uhmm…how is it that you know me?”
The man’s smile broadened slightly, as if he knew some secret and was enjoying the fact that only he knew. “Again, my apologies Miss Wu, it is not my intention to confuse. I know you only by your acquaintances. Are you not on friendly terms with a certain Major Wang Li?”, his eyebrow rose in a questioning manner momentarily, and then the smile returned. “Or am I mistaken?”
Wu was getting more confused by the moment. What was this about? How did this man know her, know Wang? Everything about this was telling her that this was no chance encounter, which meant only one thing…he had been following her. The dread inside her grew as she struggled to keep her thoughts from betraying her.
She put on a smile of her own, though she could not be sure how genuine it looked. “You know Major Li? Why yes I know him, he is an old family friend. And how is it that you are acquainted with Wang?”, she asked, still smiling, trying to remain calm. But it was hard, it all felt so forced.
The Colonel smiled again as his eyes wandered to the next table, his hand slowly moving over the produce. “Ah, yes, well you see Miss Wu, we are in the same line of work. Major Li works for Imperial Security, while I am assigned with the Kempeitai. The same job, so to speak, just for different governments. Imperial Security and the Kempeitai work very closely to ensure state security, so our paths have crossed from time to time.” His eyes came back to hers, the smile never wavering. “So you see Miss Wu, we are…”, his eyes wandered as he searched for the word, a slight frown of concentration replacing the smile, and then the smile returned as his gaze came back to her again. “…colleagues you could say.”
“I see”, said Wu, when in fact she could not see.
The Colonel placed his right hand in his pocket while he used his left to gesture. How fluid his movements were. His eyes scanned down the street. “Family friends you say. Come now Miss Wu, I think we can safely say that there is more to it than that.” His eyes came back to her again. Again came the knowing smile. “Much more.”
Wu’s eyes widened slightly at this. That night…by the gods, this man had been there. The Colonel’s smile broadened slightly again as he noted her reaction. His eyes wandered from her again, as he moved towards one of the other tables. She followed him with her eyes. So graceful, so…deadly. She had not seen this kind of ease in a man since…
“Wu! How wonderful to see you”, said a familiar voice from the side. Wu turned her head, her eyes wide with surprise and…relief.
“Pinch!” she said.
Pinch moved up next to Wu and took her hand. “How are you Wu?” he asked, a friendly smile on his face.
Wu smiled back. “Fine Pinch, fine.” She felt Naito’s presence beside her. “Pinch, I would like you to meet…”
“…Lieutenant Colonel Ryochi Naito”, Pinch finished for her. “We’ve met.” Pinch looked to the Colonel, came to attention and presented a formal salute. “Sir. And how is it you find yourself so far from Harbin?”
Naito returned the salute, if not quite so formally. Naito smiled at Pinch, Pinch smiled back. “Official business Lieut…”, Naito stopped, noting the new collar tabs on Pinch’s uniform… “I’m sorry, Captain. Congratulations.”
“Why thank you sir. Quite unexpected I must say.” Pinch turned to Wu. “Wu, Sergeant Duang here will escort you home.” Another uniformed man came seemingly out of nowhere. Pinch moved Wu towards the man.
“Captain”, Pinch turned to Naito. “Miss Wu and I were having a converstion…”
“…Which appears to be over”, Pinch finished, then turned to Wu, “Wu?”
Wu looked from Pinch to Naito and back. There was more going on here than she could see…and it scared her. “Well, uhmmm….Colonel?”, she said, looking at Naito.
Colonel Naito smiled and looked down. “But of course. Another time perhaps?”, he said, his eyes meeting hers again.
“So, it is settled then. Wu, please go with Sergeant Duang.” The Sergeant held out his arm to her and she took it as he led her away down the street. She looked over shoulder to see the two men eying each other like stalking tigers, and then Duang took her around the corner.
Pinch looked over his shoulder and watched as Duang and Wu disappeared around the corner, and then turned back to the Colonel. The Colonel had also watched and now his eyes came back to rest on Pinch. “Fortuitous”, said Naito.
Pinch smiled, “Isn’t it” said Pinch.
Naito chuckled, “Until we meet again Captain”, he said as he turned away.
“I tremble in anticipation of the day sir”, said Pinch to his slowly retreating back.
“As do I Captain. As do I”, Naito replied as he brought his hands together behind his back, while he walked away, his eyes wandering about the market, as if he had nothing better to do than go for a stroll.