The Avengers

Through the receiver, Doo-han's voice swelled.

Ki-jo made no move to refuse him. He needed the help, and it was a chance, besides, to let Doo-han clear a debt that sat heavy on his heart. During the election Doo-han had struck Ma-ryang and driven him off, and the last time they met he had not been able to look Ma-ryang in the eye, nor Ki-jo, with any confidence. This would be his chance to shake that weight loose.

Sure enough, Doo-han spoke of Ma-ryang.

"Of course not."

Doo-han laughed, big and open.

Ki-jo knew Doo-han's footing in Busan was thin. During the war he had clashed more than once with the local muscle, shutting down cabarets among other things. With students themselves going to the front to fight, he had roared that drinking and dancing in Busan was an outrage, closed every cabaret in the city, and beaten the gangsters who stood watch over them. Perhaps it was that old bad blood that made him want Lee Hwa-ryong along — Hwa-ryong, who had kept a quieter, more respectable hand in Busan.

"Thank you, Assemblyman Kim."

Doo-han brought the call to a close on a swell of bluster a man could trust. Ki-jo set the receiver down and smiled faintly, thinking of him.

Kim Doo-han was a man who forced his way through the age with his whole body. No sooner had he won a seat in the National Assembly the year before than the police took him in on a charge of attempted murder — of one of his own men. Freed on the condition that he join the Liberal Party, he had become a Liberal assemblyman only to vote against Syngman Rhee's Third-Term Constitutional Amendment, and that December the party expelled him.

From here on he would throw himself into the opposition, and in the Assembly he would say, cleanly and out loud, what ordinary people wanted said. He would raise his quiet little hells and make mistake after mistake. Even so, there was a human warmth in him.

The call finished, Ki-jo let out a breath and settled back on the sofa. The clock on the wall read ten minutes past ten in the morning. As the tension eased, hunger came on — a low growl from his stomach. He had gone more than twelve hours without a bite, and fatigue came with the hunger. Ki-jo, who had not slept a moment all night, let his heavy eyelids fall.

An hour later Yang-su returned to the office and stood a while without a word, looking at Ki-jo fast asleep on the sofa. Sunlight from the window lay across his face, and still he slept easy. Quietly Yang-su fed more wood into the office stove, fetched the blanket kept for night duty, and laid it over him. Then he whispered to Secretary Kim, who was minding the office.

"Let's let President Lee sleep another two hours. These last few days will have worn him out."

Secretary Kim nodded.

On the night of the thirteenth, Ma-ryang reached Seoul as midnight drew near. He scattered the vehicles between Yeoncheon and points all over the city, and told the transport crew not to report to the company for the time being. Once the Cheongnyangni yard was in order, he took a jeep and headed for the house in Hannam-dong.

Soon-young met him when he came through the door past midnight. At the entryway she caught the smell rising off her husband and flinched — smoke, sweat, and a faint trace of blood, and fear came over her in a rush. She did not know the particulars, but she knew by instinct that he had been through something rough.

"You're all right, aren't you?"

She asked it as she threw her arms around him.

"What's all this? I'm fine. Sorry. I couldn't buy the gum."

"It's all right. You came back safe."

Tears came to her without any reason she could name.

"I'm hungry. Let's eat."

"All right. Just a minute."

She held him hard for about ten seconds and would not let him move.

"I ought to wash."

"Go on, wash. I'll get the food on."

When he had gone into the bathroom, Soon-young washed the rice and set it on to cook, then eased the door open a crack while he was still washing. He sat on the bathroom chair, pouring warm water over himself, and she held her breath and searched the scarred breadth of his back for any new wound. Finding him whole, she closed the door without a sound and let out a long breath.

She set the meal before him and missed nothing — each finger as he worked the chopsticks, every motion as he drank. Ma-ryang ate in silence, rubbed once at the corner of his eye, went out to the living room, and set a cigarette between his lips. Soon-young hated the smell of tobacco, but that night, of all nights, she was glad to have him smoking here, in the house.

When she shut the window he had left open, he spoke.

"Leave it open. Let the smoke out."

"No. You'll be cold."

For Soon-young, it was happiness enough that the one person she could not bear to lose had come home and was simply there. Ma-ryang ground the butt out in the ashtray, and the moment he laid his head back against the sofa his eyes slid shut and he was asleep. She brought a quilt, covered him, and sat down beside him to seek sleep of her own. Under the quilt she held tight to his thick, rough hand.

The next morning Ki-jo waited in front of Busan Station for Cho Choong-hoon and Kim Doo-han. Word had come that the two of them, as chance would have it, were on the same train. Where the great station building had stood before the fire took it, a temporary structure had gone up, cramped inside. Standing in the broad plaza, Ki-jo saw four men come out of it at once — Kim Doo-han and Lee Hwa-ryong, Cho Choong-hoon and a stranger. They had met on the train, it seemed, and taken to one another; they came out talking together.

"Ah! There's Mr. Lee! Mr. Lee! We've arrived!"

Kim Doo-han's voice boomed across the plaza.

"You've come a long way. Thank you for coming."

At Ki-jo's greeting, Cho Choong-hoon introduced the man beside him.

"This is President Chang Key-young of the Hankook Ilbo."

Ki-jo offered his hand.

"How do you do, President Chang? I'm Lee Ki-jo."

"Hello, President Lee. I heard a great deal about you on the way down to Busan. Oh — and from now on, please call me a journalist. I like journalist better than president."

Having traded greetings with the four men come from Seoul, Ki-jo felt the ground firm under him.

They were nothing short of the Avengers.

Lee Hwa-ryong, on easy terms with the Busan gangs. Assemblyman Kim Doo-han. Cho Choong-hoon, a king of connections. Chang Key-young, president of the Hankook Ilbo. And behind them, a dozen staff who had come along in attendance.

"First stop, the Busan Police Station."

Kim Doo-han said it as if the day's route were already drawn.

"You won't be coming, will you, Brother?"

He turned to Hwa-ryong.

"A gangster doesn't go strolling into a police station. I've got the Busan boys to see first."

"All right. Haha."

"Then I'll see you later."

Hwa-ryong lifted the fedora on his head a fraction, took two men of the Myeongdong gang with him, and went to catch a taxi. Ki-jo put the other three in the jeep, sent the attendants off in taxis, and headed for the Busan Police Station.

When they arrived, the police chief was already out front to receive them. Behind the chief — in uniform, offering Kim Doo-han a crisp salute — the working officers of the Busan police stood drawn up in a line. Among them was Kim Won-taek, who had gone out to Seomyeon Rotary at dawn.

"Chief Moon, it's been a while. Saw you last July — this makes twice."

Kim Doo-han greeted him like an old acquaintance. Early in July the year before he had come to Busan to look into the violence at Pier No. 3 of Busan Harbor.

"Have you been well, Assemblyman Kim Doo-han? All has been well with you?"

The chief remembered last July. Doo-han, barely seated in the Assembly, had turned the Busan Police Station upside down over the victims and the offenders in that pier violence having been switched around. An assemblyman putting brute force to use — there had been no way to stop him. Carrying that memory, the chief found Doo-han a hard man to face.

"Well as a man can be. Yesterday I met the Director of the Police Bureau and praised our Chief Moon at length. I'll be seeing the Minister of Home Affairs before long, too."

"You did? Haha. That Assemblyman Kim Doo-han should remember me — it's nothing but an honor."

"You ought to come back up to Seoul. You've already made assistant commissioner. You should go on to deputy commissioner."

"Haha, you do me too much honor. And the gentlemen who've come with you — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠might I know their names..."

"Let me introduce them. This is President Chang Key-young of the Hankook Ilbo — Journalist Chang, journalist of the first rank."

"A pleasure, Journalist Chang."

The chief shook Chang Key-young's hand, feeling the weight of a party that had brought even a newspaper president along.

"And these are the presidents of Hanjin-CS — President ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lee Ki-jo and President Cho Choong-hoon."

"How do you do. An honor to meet you. It's cold — please, come inside."

Under the chief's guidance, Doo-han led Ki-jo's party in. The Busan police chief had a briefing ready in his office and set the mobile unit commander who had gone out the day before to explain the outline of the case.

"This incident was a traffic accident, arising when a truck of Cheongsan Transport hauling beer from Incheon to Busan collided, at approximately 4:30 a.m. on January 13 at Seomyeon Rotary, with a truck carrying liquor dealers who were on the move by night..."

Ki-jo's party sat on the sofa with warm tea and listened carefully to the scenario the police had stitched together. After a good while of it, Kim Doo-han put a question to Kim Won-taek, who was giving the briefing.

"Commander. So — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is this a criminal case, or a civil one?"

"Civil, without question."

"Right. Civil is what it ought to be."

Kim Doo-han looked thoroughly satisfied.

"But here's a thing. Way I heard it, the rotary was in an uproar for a good three hours."

At that the police chief stared straight at the mobile unit commander. The look said he had better answer properly.

"Ah — that was the two sides wrangling at the start, disputing which of them was at fault."

"I see."

When Kim Doo-han nodded, the fierceness went out of the chief's eyes.

"And the explosion in the morning. What was the cause of that?"

"Yes, we looked into that as well. After the wrangling ended, both sides put their strength together to repair the broken-down truck, and someone's cigarette caught in the oil that had leaked..."

"An accidental fire?"

"Yes, Assemblyman. A fine is to be imposed on that count."

The moment a fine was mentioned, the chief shot another look at the commander. Rattled, the commander hurried on.

"The fire brigade's examination found that the liquor dealers' truck was the origin of the blaze, so the fine will fall on the liquor dealers."

The chief nodded, relief plain on his face. Kim Doo-han, satisfied that the police were amending the scenario just as he had meant them to, gave a low heh-heh of a laugh.

"But — Commander!"

Kim Doo-han called out all at once, and Mobile Unit Commander Kim Won-taek, wiping cold sweat, startled.

"Anyone hurt in this accident?"

"You mean the injured, sir?"

"No. Not traffic injuries. I heard a rumor — someone pulled a gun, and someone took an arrow."

"Ah, no. Nothing of the kind. There was a groundless rumor to that effect, but since no victim came forward to report it, we don't plan to investigate."

"That so?"

"Yes, Assemblyman. There were no deadly weapons at the scene. Of that I'm certain."

"Truly?"

"Yes, so far as my investigation..."

Kim Won-taek sweated, watching Doo-han's face. Kim Doo-han, who had been glaring at him, reached inside his coat, drew out a pistol wrapped in a handkerchief, and set it on display before the chief.

"Chief. A Hanjin-CS man found this pistol at the scene and brought it to me. The Busan police's investigation looks a little thin."

The chief's eyes went perfectly round as he stared at the pistol.

"Ahem. Ahem."

He cleared his throat, shot a killing look at Kim Won-taek — the man who had gone to the scene — and then spoke to Doo-han.

"Assemblyman, on that point we will open a further inquiry, find whoever possessed the pistol, and see him severely punished."

"Good. That's how it has to be, if the people of Busan are to live easy without fretting over guns. Hahaha!"

Kim Doo-han handed the pistol to the chief and asked, almost lightly:

"I hear the Busan police are excellent at reading fingerprints."

"Of course, Assemblyman. We have a great many fingerprint specialists. Haha."

The chief passed the pistol, handkerchief and all, to the chief of investigations standing behind him.

With the story of the case and the course of the investigation both settled, Chang Key-young, president of the Hankook Ilbo, stepped forward.

"Chief, the Hankook Ilbo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will keep covering the investigation of this case. For now, if you would prepare a press release for today's edition, I would be grateful."

"Of course, Journalist. We'll have it ready at once."

Chang had intervened only once, but a request from the president of a newspaper sat heavy. The briefing over, Ki-jo's party passed a few easy words with the chief. Before they left the station, Kim Doo-han drove his point home.

"I've come out of the Liberal Party, but I still have my bond with His Excellency President Syngman Rhee. During the war His Excellency offered me the Ministry of Home Affairs, and said he'd give me command of the National Defense Corps besides. That's the sort of terms we're on."

"Is that so? No less than you deserve."

"I don't much like to put it this way, but I do have it in me to go to Gyeongmudae and recommend you for deputy commissioner. So see to it that, from here on, no company with Cheongsan in its name meets with trouble in Busan."

"Understood, Assemblyman. I'll remember."

Doo-han brought out the bluster his body had learned in his gangster days and warned them off laying a hand on Ki-jo's company.

Business done, the Avengers left the police station, climbed into Ki-jo's jeep, and passed along by Yeongdo Bridge. It was still morning, but when Doo-han said he wanted a drink, every one of them agreed, and so they were bound for Jagalchi Market.

"Brother Hwa-ryong will lay on drinks tonight, so let's not drink too much."

Even as he said it, Doo-han smacked his lips at the thought of the liquor.