Part 28 (1/2)
”I will be honest with you, Captain; I do not want to betray my people. I hope that your countrymen land here rather than mine.”
”But if they don't?”
Akira exhaled deeply. ”In war, alliances sometimes change, yes? You now fight with the Russians when you could easily be fighting against them.”
Joshua thought about the great German armies that had been advancing on Stalingrad when Benevolence Benevolence was sunk. A million men were attacking the city, and a million were defending it. Yes, Joshua thought, we could be fighting the Russians instead of sending them thousands of jeeps, rifles, and tanks. And, G.o.d help us, if that were true, we'd almost certainly lose. ”Hitler should never have marched east,” he agreed. ”But what can you expect from a madman?” was sunk. A million men were attacking the city, and a million were defending it. Yes, Joshua thought, we could be fighting the Russians instead of sending them thousands of jeeps, rifles, and tanks. And, G.o.d help us, if that were true, we'd almost certainly lose. ”Hitler should never have marched east,” he agreed. ”But what can you expect from a madman?”
”True. But will the Red Army fall?”
”I don't think so. The Russians have too many men. And Stalin doesn't mind sending millions to their deaths to stop the German advance.” Joshua spied a flat rock, bent down, and sent it skipping into the sea. ”So you're telling me that you're switching alliances?”
”Not from my country to your country.”
”What then?”
”From my leaders to you.”
Joshua looked for another rock, stalling to give himself time to think. ”Why should I believe this?”
Akira spied a suitable stone and handed it to Joshua. ”May I tell you a story?”
”Of course.”
”It is not quick.”
”I'm in no hurry.”
Akira nodded, clasping his hands together. ”As you must know, one day after Pearl Harbor, we invaded Thailand. I was in southern Thailand. In places like this, near the sea. I led a squad of men, and we occupied a small village. Unlike what we did in China or Korea, we were good to the Thais. We paid them for food. We paid them to work. And most of them did not hate us.” Akira paused, wis.h.i.+ng that other invasions had been as bloodless. ”My squad was in this village for three months. And one of my men . . . he . . . grew close to a Thai woman. He did not tell me this, of course, but I could see what was happening. I liked this man. His grandfather and father had made kimonos, and such should have been his fate. One day, a week before we were to leave the village, this man and woman disappeared. A boat was missing. His gun and uniform and helmet remained on the beach.”
”What did you do?”
Akira smiled faintly. ”I did nothing.”
”Nothing?”
”I never mentioned his disappearance to my men, and I reported to my superior that he had died of malaria.”
”You could have been shot for treason.”
Akira shrugged, handing Joshua another stone. ”In the weeks that followed, I often wondered why this man had left everything, had risked everything, to be with this woman. And I never understood why. If anyone found him, either Thais or j.a.panese, they would most certainly kill him. And yet he went with her.”
Squinting against the young sun, Joshua stopped in his tracks and turned toward Akira. ”And this is how you feel?” he asked. ”You would risk everything . . . for Annie?”
Akira watched a bird as it stalked a school of fish. ”I now understand how the man felt,” he said simply.
”Would you . . . could you kill your countrymen for her?” Joshua asked, amazed at what he was hearing.
”Yes,” Akira said quietly. ”That is why I took the scalpel. To protect her.”
”A scalpel against a gun?”
Akira shook his head. ”Not every danger is posed by my countrymen.”
Joshua started to ask what he meant, but stopped himself. ”I'd never let Roger hurt her. I can also see what my men are doing. And if Roger so much as touches Annie, I'll kill him myself.”
”She does not want him killed.”
”So you've had this talk? A talk of killing him?”
”Yes.”
”And you decided not to?”
”She decided.”
Joshua nodded. ”Well, that sounds like her.”
Akira found Joshua's eyes. ”If my countrymen land, I will help you hide from them. Will you help me?”
”How?”
”Observe Roger. If I should die, know that he has killed me, and that he will then come for Annie.”
”That won't happen.”
”If I should die, I ask that you kill him before he hurts her.” Akira bowed slightly. ”You will do this, yes?”
”Has he threatened her? To you?”
”More than one time.”
Joshua looked at the sea, wondering why G.o.d had decided to send him this j.a.panese soldier. What was the purpose of Akira's delivery? ”Then I agree to what you say,” Joshua replied. ”But don't let him kill you. I need you. And . . . and I believe that Annie needs you. And if you're to be with her, then you're to be with me.” Joshua stuck out his hand, which Akira took firmly.
”We can . . . be friends, yes?” Akira asked.
”I'd like that,” Joshua said, pleased with the handshake, with the partners.h.i.+p. For the first time in months, he thought that perhaps lasting peace was possible. ”I'd like that very much.”
IN THE JUNGLE near the cave, Isabelle and Annie searched for fruit. The sun mostly failed to penetrate the dense canopy of leaves, and the ground was still quite muddy. Emboldened by the wetness, slugs and snails inched across seemingly every rock and fallen branch. Oddly, there appeared to be far fewer insects than normal, almost as if the typhoon had kindly swept the mosquitoes and flies out to sea.
Annie held the machete, and Isabelle carried a few papayas and breadfruits that they'd found near the cave. The sisters moved slowly, searching for more fruit-bearing trees. The typhoon had certainly left its mark on the island's interior, and Annie and Isabelle constantly circ.u.mvented fallen trees or pools of muddy water. The siblings had left with Scarlet, but once they'd reached a large hill, Scarlet had climbed it with the binoculars in hand while Annie and Isabelle had continued onward.
Feeling a large snail crunch underfoot, Annie vowed to watch the ground more carefully. ”Did you hear that?” she asked.
”What?”
”I just murdered a snail.”