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“Shaw had women in his experiments,” said Nine. That seemed to surprise the general, his clouded, cataract ridden eyes squinting at him. “Didn’t you know?”
“I knew of no such thing!”
“In fact,” said Gaspar, “it was a young woman he couldn’t break. Nothing he did made her fearful. Nothing. She withstood it the longest and, in the end, came home perfectly fine. Your theories are a bit skewed.”
“It doesn’t matter. We will find a way to make superior soldiers.”
“Your government won’t allow that when you return with nothing,” said Gaspar. “There is nothing to show that the experiments worked or that you will be able to build better troops. It cannot be done. Nothing except time, training, heart, and soul will make better troops. But the thing that really makes them great, the thing you can’t have, is trust.”
He frowned at the group of men, and the two guards leaned forward in their chairs as if to listen more carefully.
“If a man cannot trust the man next to him, then teamwork and performance won’t happen. I would rather have a man that is only average at all the skills but is so trustworthy I know that he will always be at my back. Skills I can teach. Trust, I have to earn.”
“Americans. You’re soft. Trust. I suppose you don’t yell at your troops either, do you?” he questioned.
“We yell plenty,” said Nine. “I can yell with the best of them. But what gets me results is my men knowing that I wouldn’t ask them to do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Why the animals?” asked Max. “Why have him torture the animals?”
Cao looked up at the massive man beside him. For just a moment, there was a shadow of fear that crossed his features.
“I know nothing of animals. My only ask was to use young men.”
“You didn’t ask him to torture the animals?” said Ghost.
“I did not. I have no reason to lie to you. I don’t need obedient animals. I need obedient men.”
“How nice of you,” quipped Nine. “We’re going to give you two choices, general. You can get back on your plane and head back to North Korea, at which time the president of the United States will call your leader and tell them what we’ve discovered. He would express his displeasure and disappointment after having worked so hard to build our friendship between the two nations.”
Cao stared at the man, his expression dripping with disdain. If he went back to North Korea with nothing to show for his trip, he would be dead. If he stayed, he would probably die here. Shamed in prison.
“Or?” he said calmly. “I sense there is another option for me.”
“Or,” nodded Nine, “you can be turned over to the federal agents, where you will be charged with multiple crimes and, most likely, will die in prison before you get before a judge. We’re kind of backlogged here in the U.S.”
“You should learn to shoot your offenders.”
“I would be more than happy to shoot my offenders,” said Ghost, walking toward him. “I would like nothing more than to put a bullet in your brain, but I don’t want to waste a good bullet.”
“Choose,” said Nine.
“Take me to prison,” he smirked. “Your people are so weak. I’m certain they will side with an old man who couldn’t remember why he was here.”
“Oh, general, you really should keep up with the times,” said Ian. “You’ve been on camera being recorded this whole time. The world will hear your confession, made from a very alert, very lucid man.”
“Take him away,” said Nine to the federal agents.
When they walked outside, there were six more cars of agents waiting. The three Korean men were taken in handcuffs, photographed, fingerprinted, and placed in federal holding.
“What do we do about the house?” asked Miller. Nine chuckled, shaking his head at his old friend.
“You can’t blow everything up.”
“Why not? I never have any fun anymore.”
“Fine. Blow it up. But quietly,” said Nine. Miller grinned, nudging Raphael and Baptiste. His little brothers had become his willing accomplices.
As they drove back to Belle Fleur, in the rearview mirror, they saw a sudden burst of flames, followed by a thundering rumble of earth. Admittedly, it was much quieter than anyone expected.
