The Navidad Incident (12 page)

“And not a trace? Not even horse shit?”

“Well, uh, no,” he says, skirting the other's obsession with horses, “but from time to time there were sightings. They were marching up the road, they were sleeping in the forest, they were out swimming … One report even had the commanding officer leading a charge in the middle of the night. But the two soldiers were sure there'd been foul play and feared for their lives.”

“Can't say as I blame them. Right after a revolt and all.”

“Exactly. Even us Navidadians had to think something was up. Well, things were getting mighty tense, when just then the missing troops came back.”

“The horse too?”

“What's with you and this horse?”

“I just like horses. The Japanese forces brought horses, right? Well, I was a groom. Handsome animals, they are, horses.”

“I'm sure. But like I was saying, the whole platoon and horse came back unharmed.”

“That's wonderful. The horse with 'em too.”

“Er, yes, but, funny thing was, when the two men asked the others where'd they'd been so long, nobody could give a clear answer. Don't rightly know, is all they'd say. They all looked healthy enough, like they had a pleasant time and all. But as to what exactly they did and where, they didn't remember. The commanding officer made no report, ordered his men to keep their mouths shut about the whole business. In actual fact, no one had any complaints. No hardships, didn't go hungry, nothing like that. So it must've been nice, wherever.”

“Fancy that, not knowing where they been. Bet that horse knew. Smart animals they are.”

“No doubt, but you can't get a horse to talk.”

“True, true. Can't get a horse to talk.”

“So that was that, the whole incident escaped the German high command. My grandpa told me the story as a boy.”

“News to me. Never knew there was horses on the islands before the Japs brought 'em here.”

At 6:00
AM
, lowest ebb tide, a bus was sighted crossing the lagoon between Gaspar and Baltasár islands, sending ripples across the surface. The yellow and green vehicle careened this way and that, racing gaily over the crystal blue shallows. The first rays of the morning sun over the low central hills of Baltasár glinted off the windows as the bus took to the water out past the airport bearing northeast, skimmed the tip of Tsutomu Point, then disappeared in the direction of Colonia.

Four o'clock in the afternoon, the Presidential Villa. All morning it's been cabinet meetings, consultations with officials, receiving well-wishers, and other face-to-face business that dragged on into the afternoon. Now at last Matías finds himself alone in his office, mulling over various papers. Negotiations with Suzuki have been on hold these last three days. He's had plenty on his hands trying to answer for the disappearance of the Japanese tour group. As president, he personally took charge of search operations while everything was in an uproar. But eventually, with still no clues, people tired of searching and things settled down. Matías reported nothing to the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare; there was no explaining an incident like this. Behind this lapse lurked the wishful thinking that the bus would simply show up sooner or later.

His hand signs this document and that, but his mind is elsewhere. If early morning is his time for abstract thought and formulating strategy, then late afternoons are for tackling specific problems. Right now, however, he doesn't quite know what to make of the subtle waves he senses around him, a premonition that change is in the offing. He doesn't want to believe in anything called fate, but experience tells him there are times when everything proceeds smoothly, and then there are times when everything bristles with resistance like banners brandished in defiance across a vast plain. Generally there are no alliances between the banner bearers, and it only happens once every few years.

This might just be one of those times, he thinks. Time to be on guard, that much is certain. But against whom? First of all, there's Suzuki. He's got the upper hand for now, but Matías can easily turn the tables in their negotiations, take the offensive instead of just hearing him out. He can make demands, push discussions in more favorable directions. He can press for concessions to benefit the country and himself as well. It will be fun to see how far he can go. Suzuki is a manageable adversary. Matías also knows the moves for dealing with all the politicos hovering in the background in Japan. They pose no problem.

No, the problem lies in unseen quarters here at home. Strange things happening all over Navidad of late. Who are these people posting their strange handbills even at village crossroads? Sheets with printed slogans on them—it's not just two or three people doing this. There has to be a whole group bound by some sense of mission. Which doesn't sound like the Navidad he knows. Can there really be an underground cell like that here in this country? Somebody had to stick up those bills and topple the torii at the old shrine. A Japanese flag did go up in flames at the airport. And now a bus carrying Japanese vets is five days missing. Must he admit the existence of a single movement behind all these ominous events? And if so, are they closing in, slowly tightening the noose around him?

Another thing occupies his thoughts, that new girl at Angelina's. Why was he so bewitched by that face of hers? He's never been one to obsess over women, so why did his eyes follow her around? Do her Melchor origins have some special significance for him? Beguiling women from that island are no rarity here, that alone shouldn't mean anything. No, even Angelina must have noticed something odd. Does her clairvoyance bode other foes as well?

Matías has lost none of his self-confidence. The banners are all still a long way off, and the means to combat them are all in his hands. Whatever happens, he's still president. Navidad's ground plan is right here in his head. Despite the domestic situation, when it comes to those all-important dealings with other larger countries, he's the only one around with negotiating savvy. Who knows? Woman or not, the new arrival might even prove a useful ally. He has drawn on the strengths of women any number of times before. Maybe this mystery girl has powers he can use to his advantage. A leader taps the potential of all those under him and shares out the spoils in return. What's the difference between men who advance by their abilities and women who wile their way in on their charms? So treat her like any other woman up to now. Just stand strong and nothing can go wrong.

Having thought that far, he pauses as he sorts through his papers—a letter. The envelope is cut open, like all the others, but why has his secretary flagged this one with a little note?

Another FI letter, Sir. Did not break the inner seal as per enclosed instructions. Do not believe size or weight indicate explosives. If in doubt, will open for you.

Inside is a single sheet of stationery and a very thick envelope with no return address, only the words “A Friend of the Islands” on the back flap. How many of these “inside communiqués” has he received these past few years? This “Friend of the Islands” in who-knows-what government bureau in Japan always surfaces to deliver some important piece of top-secret Navidad-related information, always just in the nick of time. Lately the letters had stopped, so there's something almost nostalgic about receiving one, even if the tidings they bring are not, in most cases, good news. Navidad has pursued a path of goodwill toward Japan, and the better part of that policy, Matías likes to think, is of his own making. Yet all too often Japan chooses unscrupulous methods to undermine Navidad's position. Learning beforehand about Japanese treacheries is potentially helpful; what's difficult is not letting on that he has advance information. Opening these letters is always touch and go.

Underneath the address on the front is a bold red
CONFIDENTIAL
, but the secretary cut it open anyway following standard protocol. The inner envelope, however, remains intact. Marked
TO HIS EXCELLENCY MATÍAS GUILI PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAVIDAD
along with yet another
CONFIDENTIAL
, it bears an overblown warning:

Proceed no further. To be opened solely by the President himself. Contains no hazardous or noxious materials. A good official knows his place.

Phrased the same as ever, though he has to admit, it does the trick. He picks up a pair of scissors and carefully slits open the inner envelope. Inside are several sheets of official stationery written in masterful Japanese calligraphy. As on other occasions, the paper is stamped in the lower left-hand corner with a small seal—that of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which doesn't necessarily place the sender in that ministry. Most of the information supplied up to now has come from other government sources: the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, financial circles. He lays out the pages and reads.

To His Excellency Matías Guili:

Please excuse the lack of communications. While it no doubt speaks auspiciously of relations between our two countries that there has been nothing to report for so long, an incident has arisen and we can no longer afford to be so complacent. Let me convey what information I have obtained.

I am aware that His Excellency has been engaged in discussions with secret emissary Kanroku Suzuki concerning the projected construction of an oil-stockpiling base at Brun Reef. In all likelihood, his presentation consisted of first outlining the plan, then detailing how the project would benefit you personally.

There is a hidden agenda to the plan. No doubt they intend to tell you at some later stage, probably once the ten tankers are lined up in place, along with a Marine Island Security patrol boat and newly built Island Security armory equipped with the latest weapons. To not inform His Excellency of the truth until all this is a fait accompli, however, is tantamount to blackmail. Considering the hidden realities, I believe it would be most inadvisable to base relations on such maneuvers.

Their present plan does not call for all ten tankers to store petroleum. At least one of these will be a Japanese Marine Self-Defense Force warship disguised as commercial transport. From the outside it will appear identical to the other tankers, but inside it will secretly house considerable firepower, repair and maintenance supplies, and dry dock facilities, as well as a complete medical clinic with surgical capabilities. None of which, if the truth be told, has any place in an oil-stockpiling depot. If fuel storage were the real objective, inland on the main islands would be far more realistic. What they want is a military base, a foothold; all this talk of oil is mere subterfuge.

The Japanese government is set on assuming a more active political role in the Asia-Pacific region, fully implementing a Self-Defense Force presence throughout Southeast Asia. To do this, Japan must secure sea lanes by readying at least three tactical bases. Hot spots such as Cambodia and the Spratlys are seen as threats to the stability of the region. Beyond the immediate countries, Japan now unilaterally counts herself as a concerned party. Naturally Japan cannot come out and assert territorial rights. According to my sources, rather than embark on a policy of direct intervention, Japan intends to co-opt participation by backing lesser nations in the vicinity. Hence, positioning a Self-Defense Force base on an outlying reef close to international waters would carry great significance in the wider strategic scheme. That is the general picture.

Nonetheless, considering domestic public opinion and the reactions of other nations, it would prove difficult to openly pursue such a plan. Before all else, again according to my sources, they must start constructing clandestinely in the Navidads, then watch and wait before gradually expanding the project. Part of the scheme apparently includes staging the rescue of a merchant cargo ship, using a Marine Self-Defense Force cruiser to drive off a pirate vessel in international waters in the South China Sea. The aim is to heighten the image of Japan's Self-Defense Force as a maritime power comparable to the American 7th Fleet.

As His Excellency will have gathered by now, I am an insider to this policy-making process. I am neither pro nor con; my only thoughts on the matter are that, given the times, this is what we can expect. As always, His Excellency is at complete liberty to choose how to use this information. One might affect ignorance, or lay one's cards on the table in order to steer negotiations in a more beneficial direction, or break off negotiations altogether, a slap in the face to Japanese duplicity. Whichever the path taken, your judgment will decide the future of the Republic of Navidad, and I will be glad if this letter has been of help toward that decision.

Unfortunately, now is neither the time nor place to reveal documentary evidence of the Self-Defense Force's camouflaged warship plan. His Excellency will just have to be satisfied that I happen to be in a position to write this letter. I look forward, however, to that happy day when I know my sincere efforts have in some small way favorably influenced the fortunes of your country.

Respectfully,

A Friend of the Islands

Matías ponders the psychology behind this inside indiscretion: the idea of belonging to an organization, while secretly upholding different principles; obeying a double set of directives, invoking one or the other according to the circumstances; following the organization to the letter on minor points, yet disavowing it on major issues to stand upon higher moral ground.

But is this really an inside informant's letter? Even assuming a secret plan actually exists, a warning could only serve to steer him in a certain direction, a ploy to get things moving at the appropriate moment. Come to think of it, hadn't most of the tip-offs he's received from this Friend of the Islands ultimately played into Japanese hands? All information easily conceals background disinformation. On the one hand, we have Suzuki's smokescreen negotiations; on the other, ostensibly from different channels, these contrary signals. No, let's trust our Friend and his offering of intelligence. Japan
is
trying to pull a fast one. Building a military base in another country without its consent—isn't that outright invasion?