Sword Of God (21 page)

The possibilities were endless.

Payne sorted through all the questions in his head— who was being tortured, what was being said, who killed Schmidt and his crew—trying to figure out which was most important. In the end, he realized the most pressing question was one that Chung-Ho couldn’t answer.

They needed to speak to the boy himself.

Payne asked Kia to join him in the hall, where they were met by Jones, who’d been watching the interview in an adjacent room. He wanted to take a more active role but realized the bullet hole in his arm might be disconcerting to Chung-Ho, since he had pulled the trigger. Jones spoke first. “We need to talk to the kid.” “I know,” Payne replied. “But it shouldn’t be me.” They both looked at Kia, who appeared less than thrilled with the concept.

“Fine.” She groaned. “What do you want me to ask?” Jones handed her a manila envelope filled with pictures that had been e-mailed by Randy Raskin. “We need to know who the kid saw. Who was alive, who was dead, who was being tortured, and so on. After that, we’ll have a much better grasp of things.”

“Right now the timeline is pretty fuzzy,” Payne admitted. “The kid walks into the cave and sees people covered in blood but claims they were alive. If so, how did he get so much blood on him? Maybe he saw the killers after the fact. Or maybe he walked in during an interrogation. Either way, we need to know who he saw so we can figure out what happened.”

Kia grimaced. “You know, this
isn’t
going to be easy. I can barely get the kid to talk, and when I do, it’s about silly things. What he likes to eat. What he does for fun. Now you want me to ask him about the cave?” She took a deep breath. “Any recommendations?”

Payne nodded. “Yeah. Make a game of it.”

“A game?”

“The kid’s eight and scared out of his mind. The lighter you make it, the better.”

“Easier said than done.”

“I realize that, but you’ve been doing great with him. I have the utmost confidence in you.”

“I do, too,” echoed Jones. “I’ve been watching you in there, and the kid really likes you. You’re a natural at this.”

“Thanks. But I’m still nervous.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll do fine…. Of course, if you think it would help, I’d be happy to give you a kiss for good luck.”

Kia laughed, thankful for the levity.

“Yeah. Didn’t think so.” Jones started to back down the hall. “But if you change your mind, let me know. Just wink at the camera and I’ll come running.”

Payne and Kia sat on one side of the table, the Parks on the other. Kia spread twenty pictures in front of Yong-Su and told him they were going to play a game. The rules were simple. Some of the men in the photos had been to Jeju, while many others hadn’t. For every one he got right, he would be given a piece of candy—his favorite food in the whole world. However, for every one he got wrong, a piece would be taken away.

“Do you understand?” Kia asked. “If you aren’t
sure
about someone, you shouldn’t guess. Only choose the ones that you’re absolutely positive about. Okay?”

Yong-Su glanced at the pictures and nodded.

He could taste the candy already.

Before the incident, Yong-Su was a typical eight-year-old boy. He was adventurous, active, and loved getting dirty. His hair was black and grew way too fast, falling into his eyes if he didn’t get it trimmed every other week. Three of his front teeth were missing—two on top, one on the bottom—giving him a jack-o’-lantern smile that was common among his age Rroup.

Of course, during the past nine days there was little lo smile about. From the moment he stumbled out of the bloody cave, he was a changed person. Partly in shock. Partly in grief. Dealing with things that would devastate most adults.

And yet there he was. Staring at all the pictures, playing Kia’s game.

Looking forward to all the candy he was going to win.

In a complex world, sometimes it is the simple pleasures that get us through.

He studied the images for several seconds, choosing all I he people he saw in the cave. Selecting them in his head before he made his choices. Finally, without saying a word, he picked up a photo. Then another. And another. Two over here, three over there. Gathering them in his hands like a deck of cards. Tapping them against the table to make sure they were nice and straight. Sixteen photos in all. Some Americans. Some Arabs. A wide variety of ages.

When he was done, he handed the stack to Kia. It was much larger than she was expecting.

She said, “You saw all of these people?”

Yong-Su shook his head and pointed to the desk. “No,
those
people.”

Four photos were spread across the surface. Payne recognized them at once.

It was Trevor Schmidt and his crew.

“Can you tell us where you saw them?” she asked.

He nodded, then explained what happened that day.

Yong-Su had been playing in the woods when he smelled the blood. A strong, pungent odor that piqued his curiosity and gave him the courage to investigate the one spot he was forbidden to go. He knew he should have turned around and run in the opposite direction, but he couldn’t help himself. He was drawn to the place. He had to see it for himself.

So he crept up the hill, carefully. Listening for the screams he sometimes heard at night. But on this morning, everything was silent. It gave him the nerve to continue.

The tunnel opening was dark. Almost black. The only hint of light was somewhere up ahead, cast by a single bulb that hung from the ceiling. He listened for voices but heard none. The cave was quiet, peaceful. The only sound was the occasional crunch of stone under his feet—and even that was just a whisper. The lone thing that stood out to him was the smell. The air was thick with it, filled with the putrid odor that reminded him of a hunting trip he once took with his dad.

The first chamber was unlike anything he had ever seen. Much of the floor and some of the walls were dripping with blood. Not smeared with it, but actually leaking it. Like the earth had been gashed and was starting to bleed. He walked over to the closest wall and touched it. Ran his lingers through it. The light was faint, yet bright enough to prove he wasn’t imagining it.

His hand was now crimson. His face was now pale.

That was the moment he heard the voice. Initially, he thought he was just spooked by the liquid that covered his hand. Then he heard a second one. And a third. Voices emerging from the depths of the cave. Panicked, he turned to run outside but slipped on the slick floor. Soon his skin and clothes were covered in red—a color that saved his life.

He scampered to the far corner of the cave and curled into a tiny ball, partially hidden by a crevice in the rock, partially camouflaged by the blood. In the faint light, he was nearly invisible to the naked eye, especially since no one was looking for him. If they had been, they would have found him immediately. No doubt about it. The chamber was small and they were trained soldiers, but at that moment they assumed they were alone. It wasn’t until much later when they saw his footsteps that they realized their facility had been breached and their secret had been spilled. That’s when they were forced to invade the nearby village and kill everyone they found.

To them, their mission was too important to be derailed by sympathy.

From the back corner, Yong-Su saw four men as they approached the table and chair that were anchored to the middle of the floor. Each of them carried a small box. Each box was filled with three plastic bags. Each bag was filled with blood. The men laughed and joked as they punctured the bags with their knives and squirted the blood everywhere for the second time that day. On the floor. On the ceiling. On the walls. Bag after bag, squeeze after squeeze, until the cave glistened like a ruby in the faint light of the bulb.

There was no violence or torture on that final morning. Just a bunch of clever men who faked their own murders with bags of their own blood, liquid that had been collected over several days and stored in the cave.

DNA
evidence that would prove their deaths while actually giving them life.

Payne excused himself from the interview and met Jones in private, both of them stunned by what they’d just heard. For the past two days, they were under the impression that Trevor Schmidt and his crew had been murdered inside the cave. Butchered and brutalized by some unknown group that was trying to rescue a terrorist. But now, thanks to the testimony of an eight-year-old boy, they knew the truth about the cave. Not only was Schmidt alive, but his team was probably responsible for the massacre in the village.

One minute Payne wanted to avenge his friend’s death. Now he wanted to kill him.

Payne said, “Schmidt was already running a black op. No one knew where he was or what he was doing. So why in the hell would he fake his own death?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say to hide from the man he was working for.”

“Colonel Harrington?”

Jones nodded. “Think back to our time with the MANIACs. We were given a lot of latitude when it came to our missions. If we didn’t report on time, no big deal. They came to expect that from us to a certain extent. But deep down inside, we knew there was a line we couldn’t cross. And if we did, they’d send someone after us—whether we wanted them to or not.”

“And Schmidt’s death erased that line.”

“No more Harrington. No more checking in. He’s a free man to do whatever he wants.”

“Which ain’t a good thing.”

“No, it’s not. One of my instructors at the Academy told me
soldiers should fight for freedom but they shouldn’t have it.
I never knew what he meant until I went overseas mid saw what happened when no one was watching.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “Structure is in place for a reason. Commanding officers are there for a reason. Without them, a soldier like Schmidt is capable of doing a lot of damage.”

“I’m assuming he already has.”

“You mean the village?”

Payne nodded. “Less than an hour after he faked his death, he killed how many innocents? And for what reason? To make sure no one knew he was alive?” He paused. “Unless—”

“Unless what?”

“Maybe he didn’t kill them to protect his death. Maybe he killed them to protect his mission. Obviously he saw Yong-Su’s bloody footsteps outside the cave. That’s probably what led him to the village. And if Schmidt was discussing the mission while the boy was in there? You know damn well he would’ve been forced to plug the leak before anyone could talk about it.”

“The black stone,” Jones suggested. “The boy kept muttering something about the black stone. Maybe that has more significance than we think.”

Ten minutes later, they’d realize how much more.

Payne walked into the interview room with a bagful of candy, the first time in his career that he’d ever resorted to a confectionery bribe. Yong-Su’s eyes lit up when he saw the wide assortment of sweets that Payne had borrowed from Crawford’s desk.

“Now, don’t get too excited. You earned only four pieces.”

Yong-Su nodded and smiled, practically knocking over the table as he reached for the bag.

“Wow! You
really
like candy, don’t you?”

He nodded again, grinning.

“In that case, how would like to make a deal?” Payne glanced at Chung-Ho, seeking his permission. “If it’s okay with your dad, I’d like to ask you a few more questions. If you get them right, we can double your reward.”

“Do you know how many pieces that is?” Kia asked.

Yong-Su held up both hands, spreading his fingers wide.

“That’s right! Eight whole pieces!”

“Sir,” Payne asked, “is that all right with you?”

Chung-Ho nodded, thrilled that Yong-Su was happy about anything.

“Great!” said Payne as he shook the bag for emphasis. The boy stared at it like a pit bull eyeing a pork chop. “Then let’s get started.”

The photographs of Schmidt and his crew were still on the table. Payne pushed them closer to the boy so he could get a better look. “When I was talking to your neighbor Mr. Kim, he told me that you heard the men talking in the cave. Do you remember what they said?”

Yong-Su nodded.

“Do you remember who was talking the most?”

Yong-Su nodded again, this time pointing to one of the photos. It was Trevor Schmidt.

“That’s good, real good. That’s what I figured.”

Payne collected the other three photos and moved them out of the way so Yong-Su could focus on the only person that mattered. “Okay, now here’s the fun part, the part that’s going to double all your candy. I’d like you to tell me what this man was talking about.”

Yong-Su glanced at his dad, who whispered something to him in Korean. Whether it was fatherly advice or a reminder of what Yong-Su had told him earlier in the week, Payne wasn’t sure. But whatever he said, it was effective, because Yong-Su started to talk.

“Man say black stone.”

“Black stone?”

“He say black stone come from heaven.”

“It came from heaven?”

“But he send it to hell.”

Payne grimaced. “He wanted to send the black stone to hell?”

Yong-Su nodded. “Me get candy now.”

“In a minute,” Kia said, giving Payne a chance to think. “As soon as he’s done asking you questions, you’ll get your candy.”

“Okay. Me wait.”

The problem was Payne didn’t know what to ask next. He didn’t know what the black stone was or why Schmidt wanted to send it to hell. Obviously he wasn’t talking about the hotel on Jeju, but it could have been anything else— maybe even a code that only Schmidt and his crew understood. For all he knew, Black Stone could have been the name of Schmidt’s mission.

But if that was the case, what did heaven and hell have to do with anything?

Payne paused for a minute, glancing through his small notebook. He had jotted different phrases in his personal shorthand, his way of guaranteeing secrecy, although with this mission, it wouldn’t have mattered who read it. There were too many holes to make sense of anything. Thankfully, just as his frustration was starting to build, he was saved by a knock on the door.