Sword of God(17)
Payne interrupted. “You mean we watched the executions?”
Sheldon nodded. “We were summoned to South Korea after World War II to help set up a provisional government. Unfortunately, we had no authority to intervene in an internal conflict. All we could do was keep meticulous records and pray the violence stopped on its own.”
Payne scowled because he knew that was bullshit. The U.S. military had a long-standing tradition of butting into battles where they didn’t belong. Not that he had a problem with that. Sometimes the biggest kid on the block needed to flex his muscles to protect the weakest. Yet for some reason mat wasn’t the case on Jeju. The only question was, why?
Jones wondered the same tiling. “What was our real reason for doing nothing?”
Sheldon smiled under his mask. “Take a wild guess.”
“Because we had more to gain by staying out of it.”
“Such as?”
“Damning information against the new government.”
“And why was that important?”
Jones gave it some thought. “Because Jeju is an island in the Korea Strait. The perfect place for Americans to spy on Japan, Russia, China, and North Korea.”
Sheldon nodded, then signaled for them to follow him deeper into the cave. “Smugglers used this facility until 1951. That’s three years after the revolt started, which goes to show how secret this place actually was. Outside of locals, no one knew about it. Not the police. Not the government. Not even us. At least until much later.”
He stopped in front of the first cell and admired its simplicity. Iron bars were anchored in the volcanic rock, creating a series of jail cells that stretched deep into the darkness. “Local villagers were held here by the South Korean government. Young, old, men, women. It didn’t matter. Everyone was locked in this cave for weeks. Then, one by one, they were tortured for information about the rebel army that most of them knew nothing about. To this day, the unlucky ones are still buried in the deepest sections of this cave. Hidden behind piles of rock.”
Payne hated stories like this—especially ones that happened so long ago—because no matter how good a soldier he was, there was nothing he could do about tragedies from the 1950s. Of course, there was something he could do about the present—that is, if he was given all the facts. Yet for some reason he sensed that Sheldon was hiding something important from them. He wasn’t sure what it was, but his patience was wearing thin.
“Not to be rude, but can we fast-forward to recent history?”
Sheldon glanced at Payne. “Of course we can. What would you like to know?”
“Everything you’re keeping from us.”
The smile faded under his mask, the crinkles disappearing from the corners of his eyes. “Nothing like cutting to the chase.”
“Actually, the chase started two days ago, when we first got on a plane. Yet for one reason or another, you’ve been stonewalling ever since. First by proxy, now in person.”
“What do you mean?”
Payne pointed at him. “There you go! A perfect example. Most people respond to questions with answers, not other questions.”
“Jon,” Jones whispered, trying to calm him down.
But Payne brushed him aside. “Seriously, Doc, it’s time for some straight facts. No more history lessons. No more bullshit. Why the hell are we here?”
“To find a missing person. Actually, several missing people.”
Payne rolled his hand in front of him, urging Sheldon to go on. “Some names would help.”
“Before I continue, I need to give you some more background info on—”
“Holy hell! Give me a fuckin’ break!”
“Seriously. This is important information.”
Payne shook his head, unwilling to listen further. “D.J., I swear to God, if he starts talking about the Korean War, I’m going to kick him in the balls.”
“Jon!” Jones shouted, thankful his mask covered his smile. “Let the guy talk.”
“Talk? All he does is talk. Ten minutes ago I asked him about this facility, and he started blabbing about the effects of molten lava.... Seriously, who the hell does that?” He pointed at Sheldon. “Why would you do that? Do I look like I give a damn about molten anything?”
Jones stepped between the two, knowing full well that Payne wasn’t really mad or the least bit out of control. But when it came to acquiring information, they realized fear often went a long way toward lessening someone’s reluctance to speak—especially someone like Dr. Sheldon, who was holding his cards much tighter than he should have been. Thankfully, when someone as large as Payne started to roar, people usually did whatever they could to calm him down.