Chapter Two: Down Twisted — Part 9

Aside — The Choir Boy’s Tale
Part 3







Bring the boy back to our shores,
and we will kill him.







The note has passed between two men who cannot be more different in appearance or behavior than if they were a tiger and a lamb. Anybody watching their motions toward each other would immediately see that the two are good friends. The argument is in Mandarin, and Blake, though conscious, cannot begin to understand it. He only knows he must stay still and be quiet, because he is too sore to do otherwise. He listens, having not thought to try to talk yet. The language sounds harsh to him, but the Captain and the Doctor show great physical respect for each other. The Doctor sits in his chair, the good Captain Smith sits across from him, and they drink rice wine and talk seriously. Blake knows they are talking about him, though it will be years before he fully masters the words needed to understand them. Mandarin is the only language that both men speak fluently other than English, and they don’t want to talk about the boy or leave him alone, nor do they wish to be understood in their communications.

“How is he?” Captain Smith says, his concern genuine.

“He is stable, finally.” Doctor Wong says. “He’ll need plenty of ice cream or frozen yogurt soon, to get his strength back.”

“The boy should be brought to the proper authorities when we get to shore. He is obviously American, and the American Embassy will take responsibility for him from there.” The Captain says.

“The Americans seem to have failed in protecting him thus far.” The Doctor snaps. “I will adopt him.”

“Mother China will see him as one more mouth to feed.” The Captain replies, “Our Corporate Heads will want this handled quietly, as well. This cannot be done if too many voices are involved in the matter.”

Mother China is Wong’s wife, who has been begging him to take a job on the dry land, and who is, in actuality, Japanese. She is called Mother China by her family because she married Doctor Wong, and it is a mostly humorous title. “I am allowed one extra mouth at home, if I want it.” The Doctor says, knowing there will be much discussion about his spontaneous decision, at least until ‘Mother China’ is fully appraised of the child and his needs.

“Will your wife want this burden? Somebody took his voice, he is too young to read or write, and how many white boys do you know who speak Mandarin, or Japanese for that matter? This is too much to ask, even of Mother China.”

“Let me worry about the nature of my wife. I only ask that you help me. You were prior military, and you may know somebody who can help find the path of least resistance, both within the company, and within the government.”

“Getting the boy in your care may be easier than keeping your wife from killing you for bringing home a stray. At least there’s no hint of the child being yours.” The Captain laughs and finishes his wine in a gulp, pouring himself another. “Why him?” The Captain adds the last question suddenly, as if he is caught off guard by his own inquisitiveness.

The Doctor doesn’t look over at Blake, doesn’t answer directly. “I humbly ask that you use the honor of your position to strengthen my request.”

“It may well cost me a doctor.” Captain Smith is taken aback, though he hardly shows it. “If all you need is honor, you need not be humble in asking for it. I am certain I have plenty to spare.”

* * *

It took much quiet backroom discussion to get Blake permanent residence with the Doctor and his wife, Bik. Though she was known as Mother China, the couple decided to move in with her family who lived on the western Coast of the main island of Japan. Corporate executives spun it in the press, and in the name of amnesty, the boy’s name and picture were not released. The American Embassy took necessary but ineffective offense, of course, but was sated with untold political and fiscal compensation on the part of the Chinese, Japanese, and unexpectedly, British governments, as Captain Smith’s muscle came to play. The story was posted on page five of three different Newspapers at the Port in San Diego, where the boy had undoubtedly been acquired. The article stated that all investigations were being dropped, and that the Corporation increased security on the ships, to include arming the Cargo Chiefs when taking service in American ports.

Doctor Wong agreed to take a position at a government hospital with the Nation State of Japan as payment for the burden placed on that great nation and its people, and also to sate Bik, a woman not nearly so hard, cold, and jealous as her name might imply. From that day forward, Blake knew only love, and worked hard to please his new parents, who would help him through silent fury and fits of rage, until those dark moods lessened, and then died. He would spend many years keeping up his English writing skills while taking naturally to written Japanese, written Mandarin, and learning all three auditory languages. He would master ASL, CSL, JSL, and create a number of home signs just for himself and his parents. The three of them lived in Japan, joined two years later by his younger sister, whom he would grow quite fond of. Having a mastery of written and sign language and a natural aptitude for math, Blake might well have gone on to teach. If not for a need to settle a debt of honor, he would never have left Japan.

“Such a mess. What can we do?” His father asked him one day, as he neared his eighteenth year, looking at news on a television.

“About what?” Blake asks, his hands timid, not knowing why.

“Captain Smith, the good Captain whose ship brought you to our home, has run afoul with a prison warden. The crew got out with coordinates and their lives, but the Good Captain is dead. International waters and international red tape, I’m afraid, have people’s hands tied.”

Blake looks at the coordinates on the letter and, being keen for numbers, files them away in the recesses of his mind. Two days later, he would leave home to settle the score, and two months later, he would recruit Joe for the task. Having engaged in serious criminal activities against several countries in order to acquire the resources needed for his war with the warden, Blake would distance himself from his family for many years to come. He was headed home to them, with Joe in tow, when the Storm put a halt to his plans.

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