The Orphan Master's Son_ A Novel - Adam Johnson [136]
She eyed him, to make sure he was listening. “Next, the children will reveal their names to you only when they decide.”
“Agreed,” he said.
Far below, dogs began baying in the Central Zoo. Brando whimpered in his sleep.
“And you cannot ever use taekwondo on them,” she said. “You will never make them prove their loyalty, you will never test them in any way.” She trained her eyes on him. “Tonight you discovered that my husband’s friends are happy to hurt you in public. It is still within my power to have one person crippled in this world.”
From the botanical gardens down the hill came an intense blue flash that filled the room. There’s no arc quite like a human meeting an electric fence. Sometimes birds set off the fence in Prison 33. But a person—a deep-humming blue snap—that was a light that came through your eyelids and a buzz that entered your bones. In his barracks, that light, that sound, woke him up every time, though Mongnan said after a while you stop noticing.
“Are there other rules?” he asked.
“Only one,” she said. “You will never touch me.”
In the dark, there was a long silence.
He took a deep breath.
“One morning, they lined up all the miners,” he said. “There were about six hundred of us. The Warden approached. He had a black eye, a fresh one. There was a military officer with him—tall-brimmed hat, lots of medals. This was your husband. He told the Warden to have us all remove our shirts.”
He paused, waiting to see if Sun Moon would encourage the story or not.
When she didn’t speak, he went on. “Your husband had an electronic device. He went down the rows of men, pointing it at their chests. When held up to most men, the box was silent. But for some, it made a staticky sound. This was what happened to me, when he aimed the device at my lungs, it crackled. He asked me, What part of the mine do you work in? I told him the new tier, down in the subfloor. He asked me, Is it hot down there, or cold? I told him Hot.
“Ga turned to the Warden. That’s enough proof, yes? From now on, all work will focus on that part of the mine. No more digging for nickel and tin.
“Yes, Minister Ga, the Warden said.
“It was only then that Commander Ga seemed to notice the tattoo on my chest. A disbelieving smile crossed his face. Where did you get that? he asked me.
“At sea, I said.
“He reached out and held my shoulder so that he could get a good look at the tattoo over my heart. I hadn’t bathed in almost a year, and I’ll never forget the look of his white, buffed fingernails against my skin. Do you know who I am? he asked. I nodded. Do you want to explain that tattoo to me?
“All the choices that came to me seemed like bad ones. It’s pure patriotism, I finally said, toward our nation’s greatest treasure.
“Ga took some pleasure in that answer. If you only knew, he told me. Then he turned to the Warden. Did you hear that? Ga asked him. I think I have discovered the only damn heterosexual in this whole prison.
“Ga took a closer look at me. He lifted my arm and noticed the burn marks from my pain training. Yes, he said in recognition. Then he took hold of my other arm. He turned it so he could study the circle of scars. Intrigued, he said, Something happened here.
“Then Commander Ga took a step back, and I could see his rear foot go light. I lifted my arm just in time to block a lightning-fast head kick. That’s what I was looking for, he said.
“By resetting his teeth, Commander Ga made a piercing whistle, and we could see that on the other side of the prison gate, Ga’s driver opened the trunk to his Mercedes. The driver pulled something out of the trunk, and the guards opened the gate for him. He came our way, and whatever he had, it was extremely burdensome.
“What’s your name? Ga asked me. Wait, I don’t need it. I’ll know you by this. He touched my chest with a lone finger. He said to me, Have you ever seen the Warden set foot in the mine?
“I looked at the Warden, who glared at me. No, I told Commander Ga.
“The driver came to us, carrying a large white stone. It must have weighed twenty-five kilos. Take it, Commander