Chung-Cha reached into her pocket and produced the authorizing documents. Doh took them, adjusted his glasses again, and read through them before meekly handing them back.
“I understand. The Supreme Leader is wise beyond his years. It is an honor to do his bidding.”
“I’m sure. But let us get down to it. I was in the total control zone. I was not core, or wavering. I was in the hostile class, Comrade Doh. And now I am acknowledged as one of the most valuable assets we have. Perhaps there are other such assets here, but going to waste. The Supreme Leader does not like waste.”
“No, no, of course not. I…what would you have me do, Comrade Yie? Please, you have but to name it and it shall be done.”
Chung-Cha looked the man over. He was far smaller and weaker-looking than she remembered. To a little girl whose very life or death depended on the daily mood of this person and his underlings, he might as well have been a giant. Now, though, he was nothing to her.
“I want to look over some of the hostiles. The girls in particular.”
“Girls?” he repeated in a bewildered tone that matched his expression.
“Yes. The Supreme Leader understands quite clearly how useful females can be in certain areas of service. Much more so than males, who are more easily identified and targeted as potential enemies of other countries. Do you understand?”
He nodded quickly. “Yes, yes, of course, I can see that.”
Chung-Cha added, “And I want you to show me some of the more interesting prospects.”
He nodded again. “Yes, yes. I will take you myself.”
“I’m sure you will,” she said without smiling.
He did not seem to grasp the significance of what she had said. He was a cruel, cagey, and evil man; that she knew. But he was also petty, vain, and shallow. And such a person could never attain brilliance or even acuity no matter how hard he tried.
“And I will be sure to communicate your excellent level of cooperation.”
“Oh, thank you, Comrade Yie. Thank you, you have no idea what that means to me.”
“On the contrary, I have every idea.”
He looked a bit put off by this statement but regained his composure and said, “Um, by interesting you mean…?”
“By that, Comrade, I mean someone like me.”
Chapter
50
SHE HAD EXAMINED OVER A hundred children aged four to fourteen. They all looked alike in many respects: malnourished, filthy, and blank-eyed. She spoke a few words to each of them. Their answers, when they came, were halting, inelegant, and simple. None of this was their fault, she knew.
She turned to the guard accompanying her. “How many were born here?”
He looked at her with some insolence, but had no doubt been told to cooperate fully or feel the Supreme Leader’s wrath. He gazed over the ranks of young prisoners with a lazy eye. They might as well have been chickens lined up for slaughter.
“About half,” he answered in a casual tone and then rubbed a smudge of dirt off his gun. “There were more, but they were unauthorized births, so they were of course killed along with their mothers.”
Chung-Cha knew that the children’s education, what there was of it, was totally inadequate. They had been raised as simpletons and they would perish as simpletons despite whatever belly fire they might have for something more in life. At some point, no matter the rage that dwelled within, the beatings and starvation and brainwashing that were all prevalent here would douse all hope until there was nothing left inside. She felt if she had stayed one more day in Yodok she never would have left it alive.
In the distance Chung-Cha saw a group of children laboring along under the weight of either logs or buckets she knew were filled with dung. One child stumbled and fell, dislodging the contents of her bucket. The guard accompanying the group hit her with both a stick and then the butt of his rifle, and then encouraged the other children to attack her, which they did. They had been taught that when one worker failed they would all be punished, directing their anger away from the guards, where it rightfully should be, onto one of their own.
Chung-Cha watched the beating until it stopped. She made no move to halt the attack herself. Even with the authority of the Supreme Leader riding in her pocket, she could never do such a thing and hope to avoid punishment. The rules of the camps were inviolate and certainly no one like her could intervene and break them without consequences.
But she had no desire to stop the beating. She wanted to see the result of it, because even from this distance she had noticed something that intrigued her.
The beaten child rose, wiped the blood off her face, grabbed the bucket off the ground, scooped the dung into the bucket with her bare hands, and marched past the guard and the other children who had beaten her. Her head was held high and her gaze was fixed determinedly ahead.
“Who is that prisoner?” Chung-Cha asked the guard.
He squinted in the distance and then blanched. “Her name is Min.”
“How old is she?”
The guard shrugged. “Maybe ten. Maybe younger. She is trouble.”
“Why?”
He turned and grinned at her. “She is a tough little bitch. She gets beaten and then gets up and walks off like she won a great victory. She is stupid.”
“You will bring her to me.”
The guard’s grin faded and he glanced at his watch. “She still has six hours of work to perform.”
“You will bring her to me,” said Chung-Cha again, more firmly, her gaze never leaving the man’s face.
“We heard about you here. What you did at Bukchang.” The guard said this in a surly manner, but Chung-Cha, who could sense fear from almost anyone, could see that the man was afraid of her.
“About my killing the corrupt men? Yes, I did. I killed them all. The Supreme Leader was most grateful. He gave me an electric rice cooker in reward.”
The guard gazed at her in astonishment, as though she had just informed him that a mountain of gold had been delivered to her door.
“Is that why you are here?” he asked. “They suspect corruption?”
“Is there corruption here?” asked Chung-Cha aggressively.
“No, no. None. I promise it.”
“A promise is a strong thing, Comrade. I will hold you to it. Now bring me Min.”
He bowed quickly and hurriedly set off to fetch the child.