Part 25 (1/2)
”So far, they have sent only fighters. No bombers. I suspect the Allies have not yet gathered the air power for such a mission.” Charlie shrugged. ”Regardless, we can reach the railway terminal just as easily as any bomber. And the j.a.panese transmitter is in Hongkew. Right outside the ghetto.”
”Reach them how?” Jia-Li nodded in the direction of his crutches. ”Besides, what would you use to blow up the terminal or the transmitter?”
Charlie's grin only widened. ”Fireworks, if need be.”
”Charlie, you are in no condition for that,” Sunny said. ”You are still recovering from-”
Jia-Li leapt to her feet. ”This is nothing but fantasy!” she cried, waving her cigarette wildly. ”You see yourself liberating Shanghai. A hero. The same way I imagine myself as a wife, and even a mother someday. A woman of virtue. Not what I really am: a glorified wild pheasant.”
Charlie stared at her, his smile tempered but not gone.
Jia-Li dropped to her knees in front of him, grabbing his hand in hers. When she spoke again, her voice trembled. ”The truth is we are both damaged beyond repair. You and I . . . we are only dreaming, Chun.”
As Sunny walked through the International Settlement, she reflected on Jia-Li's outburst. Her best friend was smitten to a degree Sunny had never seen before. Pleased as she was for Jia-Li, Sunny worried over the risks of this new romance. Not only could Charlie be gone or lost in an instant but Jia-Li would remain in grave danger every moment that she spent with him.
As Sunny crossed the Bund and entered the Public Garden, her mind turned to the real purpose of her trip out of the ghetto.
Wen-Cheng was sitting on the same park bench as always, holding a newspaper in front of his face. A quick look around her confirmed that no one else was in the gardens. Sunny dropped down onto the far end of the bench.
”How is Franz?” Wen-Cheng asked without lowering the paper.
”Better.”
”I am pleased to hear it.” He paused. ”And Charlie?”
”What about him?”
”Have you found him alternative accommodations?”
”Yes.”
”Where?”
”With Jia-Li.”
Wen-Cheng nodded. ”And you, Soon Yi? How are you?”
”I am no longer . . . comfortable.”
Wen-Cheng turned a page but said nothing.
”Our contact-the old man,” Sunny continued. ”Do you know much about him?”
”He was a friend of my father's. Before the invasion, he was involved with the munic.i.p.al council.”
”That must be how he knew Kubota. The colonel used to work in the mayor's office.” Sunny nodded to herself. ”I knew they must have had some kind of previous relations.h.i.+p. You can tell by the way he speaks about him.”
Wen-Cheng eyed her momentarily before turning back to the newspaper. His voice took on a sudden urgency. ”I warned you: once you commit, there is no way out.”
Sunny felt a heavy weight descend on her shoulders, but she could only nod.
”You feel a debt of loyalty toward the colonel. I understand that.” Wen-Cheng exhaled. ”But it is not up to you or me to decide such things. We are like . . . soldiers. We must do as we are told. Otherwise it will become very dangerous for us.”
”How can I simply-” Sunny detected movement out of the corner of her eye. Her pulse raced as she watched the old man in the grey Zhongshan suit limping down the pathway toward them. He moved at a leisurely pace, stopping every few yards to stare at the weed-riddled lawn.
Sunny knew that the old man and his network were not the enemy. The members of the Resistance were risking so much-their lives and those of their loved ones, too-to liberate her city. She admired their bravery and selflessness, but at that moment, all she wanted was to see the old man turn and walk away forever. By the time he finally reached the bench, Sunny's mouth had gone dry.
He stood with his back turned to them, holding his arthritic fingers interlocked behind his back. ”Soon Yi, we need you to set up an appointment with Colonel Kubota.”
”An appointment?” Sunny shook her head. ”I cannot do that.”
The old man stood absolutely still. ”Cannot or will not?”
”I cannot get in to see the colonel,” Sunny said, remembering what she had practised saying earlier that day with Franz. ”I already tried, last week.”
”Oh?” The old man turned slightly in her direction. ”And why were you trying to see the colonel?”
”To stop my husband from being flogged,” Sunny lied. ”I went to his office and begged the guards to allow me in. I waited outside for hours, and when the colonel finally came out, he just breezed past me and got into his car. He did not even acknowledge me.”
The man shrugged slightly. ”Perhaps if you are calmer when you return.”
”It won't make a difference.” Sunny willed indifference into her tone. ”My stepdaughter was caught smuggling cigarettes into the ghetto. My husband is persona non grata with the j.a.panese. I doubt the colonel would see me under any circ.u.mstances.”
”Sunny is right,” Wen-Cheng said from behind his newspaper. ”Perhaps it would be better to revise the plan.”
The old man just turned his head and gazed out at the river. The breeze blew a few blades of brown gra.s.s across Sunny's feet. Her heart thumped as she waited for his next words.
”I had a.s.sumed you would be more resourceful, Soon Yi,” the old man said with a small sigh. ”Considering how the j.a.panese mistreated your ill.u.s.trious father, I thought you would at least be dedicated to our cause.”
”I am dedicated,” she insisted. ”Those savages killed my father. They whipped my husband. I would do anything to be rid of the Rbn guzi.”
”Then you will find a way to meet with the colonel,” he said sharply. ”This week.”
Sunny went cold. ”And if I cannot?”
The old man looked skyward. ”The battle lines have long been drawn, Soon Yi. All that is left is for you to decide exactly where you stand.”
CHAPTER 35.
Franz leaned back in his chair and immediately regretted it. His back stung as though someone were digging their nails into the open wounds, but he bit his lip and fought off the pain. Hannah was watching.
”Can I get you anything, Papa?” she asked as she hopped to her feet and headed toward the kitchen.
”I am not an invalid, Hannah.”
How quickly the roles are reversed, he thought. A year and a half earlier, he had hovered day and night over his daughter's bed as she fought a cholera infection that had nearly proven fatal. At the time, he had been cognizant of her every movement; even the smallest suggestion of discomfort launched him into action. Now, it was Hannah treating him as the patient.