Brothers by Da Chen

Author:Da Chen [Chen, Da]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-49425-2
Publisher: Crown
Published: 2011-08-03T00:00:00+00:00

Shento

CHAPTER 27

1983

NUMBER 9 ISLAND

On the fourth anniversary of my arrival on Number 9 Island, Sergeant La summoned me to his office and said, “Your training here is over. There is no more I can teach you. Tonight, we are sending you back to the Mainland to a new post.”

I knelt on the ground before him. “I am most grateful to you.”

“Grateful is good, but useful is even better. You are leaving at 0700.”

I flew to Beijing that night. The city gleamed with lights. As the plane descended, my chest tightened with emotion. The city of Ding Long. But no longer. Now it was my city. The city of my revenge, my rebirth.

I stepped down the ramp and took my first breath of dry air in this northern city in its golden autumn. Bright lights illuminated the red leaves surrounding the airstrip. I reached out my arms and symbolically embraced my new destiny, then, on a whim, carefully pulled off a perfect leaf from a maple tree near the gate. I placed it in the middle of my diary. Someday, when I had found Sumi again, I would give this to her.

“Comrade Shento!” A soldier saluted me. I saluted back. “Please follow me.” A jeep idled nearby. I stepped into the backseat. The soldier tied a blindfold over my eyes.

The ride took me through what I assumed to be the inner city of the capital. I soaked in the noises—the ding-ding of a thousand bicycle bells, the grumble of buses, the shouts in quaint accents that reminded me of village bazaars. The smell—my keenest sense—told me that the sea was far away and the mountains forgotten. We traveled up a slow hill and then down again before we entered a quiet place where nothing except birds could be heard singing. I was dying to open my eyes and see the world. But I had to wait till I was guided into a room where a soldier took the blindfold away. I was greeted by a middle-aged, olive-shaped officer who smiled at me kindly. “Welcome, soldier. My name is General Wu.”

“Are you my savior who spared my life on the boat?” I felt a surge of gratitude and knelt humbly before him.

He pulled me up from the ground. “On your feet, soldier. We will speak not of your past, but only of your future. Your path to redemption, to glory, lies in your willingness to serve your future benefactor with absolute loyalty.”

“I shall not disappoint you, General.”

“I hope not. You come with the highest recommendation from our trusted Sergeant La. Do you have any idea what you are here for?”

“No, General.”

“You are here to protect the president. Are you ready for that responsibility?”

Chills climbed up my spine. I couldn’t believe my ears. The president! The man who had undone the power of the Long clan. I saluted. “Yes, General!”

COLONEL PAI of Beijing’s Garrison Force was a monk. I did not know what to make of him. Should I kowtow to him or salute him? The colonel got up every day at five and went to bed at nine.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.