Flower Girl: A Burton Family Mystery (15 page)

"One of the things I find most interesting in these legends is the roles of women as goddesses, as wives, daughters, and slaves," Rhyly said as Reddy finished his addition to Summers Day's telling of the Cheju creation myth.

As we trekked back along the coast line road and up the mountain trail towards Reddy's house, I was seeing the role of women in these parts and globally differently than ever before. The pearl divers not only served as colorful memories of Korean history and the role of women; they also triggered the revenge motives I felt at the loss of my mother. The green glass ball added to this sense of revenge. I was deprived of ever knowing my mother except through Reddy's eyes and stories.

Matte called the Zubaida case a righteous one. But, how does revenge get reconciled with Reddy's Rule #2 when the target is likely to be one of the Park brothers.

When Reddy spoke of my first assignment, he intimated that the target called for a shooter and a spotter/computer operator. I thought, Sincere and Junior makes two targets, a twofer. This is the very kind of case Reddy avoids. No partners, Reddy's Rule Number 3. But, now here I am, a trusted family member, trained and in some ways as good a shot as he is and he is one of the very best at his trade according to the CIA report on him. Besides, I have seen him shoot many times; he never misses. However, admittedly, I have not seen him on an assignment.

The next day, we're back on another grassy knoll on the west side of the volcano on Udo Island, arriving as the fog lifted. We were careful not to practice shooting from the exact same area a second day in a row. "Don't want the local fishermen to get too annoyed," Reddy reminded me, pointing to two fishermen who were departing the area after repairing their buoys and nets.

I did a 360 degree check of the site and carefully looked down at the emerald green waters just offshore slamming into the rocky cove below, and then up into the clear blue cloudless sky, the sixth direction. "Looking up!" I said. We were wearing green camouflage fatigues and covering ourselves with a camouflage tarp to make it difficult for those pesky CIA spy satellites to spot us.

"That's good. The rumblings of war by the North Koreans are bringing a lot of spying activities to this area, so we need to be extra careful of the sixth direction if we're to remain invisible while completing our assignments," Reddy replied. "I did my six directions bit yesterday and checked the satellite images last night. There was nothing to be seen of our practice session. Our camouflage is excellent."

I realized that Reddy had done what was needed a day before I had. I still had much to learn.

Reddy changed the subject, saying, "I have a surprise for you. Michaela II. She's the most perfect sniper weapon in the world, one of a kind made especially for you. Care to try her out?"

I watched as he placed a metallic object on a flat rock. It was half the size of a wasp with two wings that opened when the guidance system kicked in. It also had two small antennae. Reddy carefully loaded the wasp projectile into the barrel of the customized rifle and pointed it in the direction of the green glass buoys in the eastern corner of the cove. Using the laptop, he synchronized the latitude and longitude of the wasp and that of his target buoy which he had previously determined, then entered the windage and other data into the laptop. The laptop screen read TARGET ENGAGED. It flashed twice and then I saw the small splash on the screen and the message TARGET DESTROYED.

"Your turn," Reddy said, pointing to the remaining small wasp on the flat rock. "Be sure not to compress the wings nor the antennae. Cup it in your open palm and slide it into the barrel butt end first, gently tilt the barrel until you hear a soft click. There is a tiny magnet in the wasp's ass that engages with the firing mechanism."

I followed Reddy's laptop voice commands precisely. It was totally different from the SR-25 where I took two deep breaths, exhaled slowly and softly squeezed the trigger. "Soft isn't good enough. It has to be oh so gentle,” Reddy said.

We reviewed what I did in slow motion and I soon learned how this weapon worked. Reddy had developed a tiny battery that propelled the wasp drone. It had a range of one  to two kilometers depending on headwinds and humidity. The CIA, and who knows which other governments and/or organizations, wanted this miniature battery for several military and spy adaptations.

"Push the enter button when the screen says TARGET ENGAGED."

We watched on the laptop screen as the wasp projectile left the barrel and as it progressed toward the target. Nearing the target area, its wings unfolded so it could make flight path adjustments which were invisible in real time. Reddy showed me how he had made these corrections with the small wireless direction controller, like the ones used for computer combat games. He purposely missed the target for educational reasons.

My second round ripped through the green glass buoy puncturing it front and back at exit without shattering it; it soon filled with water and sank.

"I like the way you handled Michaela II. Would you prefer her or the SR-25 for your first assignment?" Reddy asked.

"No offense, but I feel more confident with the SR-25," I replied, adding, "assuming the range to the target is as we have practiced and with the laptop of course so I won't need a spotter/partner."

"That practice was with special no mess rounds." He smiled, an almost wicked grin crossing his face. He reminded me of a mad scientist unleashing his creation on an unsuspecting world. "We can load the wasp with an explosive if needed."

That steely-eyed look was the same look that has kept me at a distance from my father. I secretly thought he enjoys the kill. However, it might be that he enjoyed the challenge of a very difficult task and trade at which he was highly skilled. I also enjoyed such challenges. Either way, that look had always disturbed me.

Reddy spoke softly, "Good choice. Always choose the weapon you know best. And, you have correctly assumed that I can configure the SR-25 to respond to laptop commands. No spotter necessary. I told you at the lake that you're ready for your first assignment - your target is Dr. Evel Park Junior."

Junior! I tried not to react to this announcement. To act as cool as Reddy always was. I definitely had motivation enough to take Junior on as my first Burton's Family Business assignment. Junior clearly met Reddy's Rule # 1. However, revenge violated Reddy's Rule Number 2. I had to come to grips with my sense of retribution.

The next day we were scheduled to depart for Mokpo to start our Silla dynasty tour. Rhyly got up early so she could interview a few of the haenyeo divers, so we told her to catch a taxi and meet us at the ferry in Jeju City in two hours. We gathered Rhyly's and our bags from Reddy's place and caught a taxi of our own. Then we headed for the ferry to Mokpo. Meanwhile, Hamish had flown down from Seoul and would meet us at the Mokpo ferry landing.

"Hamish is going to be our guide and driver for a tour of Gyeongju," Reddy said as Rhyly joined us. "He says it is best not to drive in Korea. Let a local do the driving or take a taxi or a bus."

"I have never been on the Gyeongbu Expressway which runs from Pusan to Seoul. It'll be a blast and we can really see the countryside. Hamish is flying into Gwangju airport and picking up a rental car in Mokpo. On our driving tour to Gyeongju we will see several of the wonders of ancient Silla. Over a thousand years of Silla heritage, ancient tombs at Namsan Mountain, archaeological ruins, the Silla Bell, and Queen Seondeok's star gazing tower. Fantastic stuff!"

Five hours later, Hamish greeted us with his usual jolly smile. "An young ha seyo? You must be Dr. Rhyly Raincrow. Delighted to meet you. And you are Dr. Shannon Lee Burton." He said each name with a slight hesitation, adding, "I have waited many years for my goddaughter to return."

I broke my rule and allowed him to give me a bear hug that nearly crushed me.

"Our chariot awaits us in the parking area," Hamish added as he took Reddy's hand and gave him a hug. As we piled into the Hyundai SUV, Hamish immediately began his role as guide and historian.

"As with the haenyeo, we see the relevance of women in times past and in ancient Korean mythology," Hamish said as we drove from Mokpo to Busan. "I believe that has become the theme of our tour."

"We visited the haenyeo yesterday and Reddy told us about their matriarchal culture," Rhyly said.

Hamish smiled and said, "Ask Reddy who taught him." Reddy pointed at Hamish.

"During our Silla tour, the artifacts and sites we'll focus on have a history of association with women's contributions to Korea's development," Hamish said. “That is why I have asked Sister Cerice to join us. These are but a few of the many women's contributions. Many others have been systematically destroyed or lost over the centuries of wars and change and she is an expert on these injustices to women.

"The history of women in Korea includes numerous despotic eras of enslavement and forced prostitution as well as artists and craftswomen being enslaved and sent to Japan to bolster a sagging culture. The Manchu, the Mongols, and internal clans and forces have enslaved Korean women and expatriated them to other countries as wives and to bolster populations. In the twentieth century the Japanese enslaved thousands of Korean women, somewhere between seventy and 200,000,as 'comfort women' for their military occupation forces. However, much about their history has been lost over time and I fear it is also been systematically eradicated in an effort to preserve male-dominance for Korea. Enough introduction. Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the tour." 

As we drove from Mokpo to Gyeongju, the ancient capital of Silla, Rhyly asked Hamish, "How did you accrue this vast knowledge of the contributions of women to Korean development?"

"I was raised by the sisters of Saint Catherine at a century old convent on Seoul's Namsan Mountain. Sister Cerice is a research faculty member at Ewha Women's University. She does not teach classes as she has Tourette's syndrome and prefers to stay in the convent and avoid strangers. She is nearly eighty and has been my history teacher for many years. She shared her English translations of the Sagi and other records of the Silla with me and a few other orphans at the convent. It is this knowledge that I am sharing with you now."

"But, where did you acquire your knowledge of the systematic destruction of women's contributions?" Rhyly persisted.

"That too came from Sister Cerice. She has long suspected that historical records of the contributions of the women of the Silla era have been and continue to be systematically destroyed. These are not just lost to wars and regime changes over the centuries as values changed from Buddhist to Confucian to Christian," Hamish replied.

"When will we meet her?" Rhyly asked.

"If you approached her, she might share the secrets of lost and destroyed documents and artifacts of that era. She works with the scholars at Ewha Women's University, and  only travels outside the convent to visit children and the infirm who need her services as she is also a nurse. I do believe that in olden times she would have been a powerful female shaman," Hamish responded. "Sister Cerice has agreed to join us at the Emille Bell, before we enter Gyeongju."

We drove on for nearly an hour enjoying the scenery before Hamish broke the silence. 

"Chinese culture heavily influenced the Korean peninsula during all three kingdoms due to close geographic proximity. From the first century to the seventh in the Common Era, during the years when the Silla ruled, the kingdom did not rapidly absorb Chinese culture and did not embrace Buddhism until the sixth century. In the seventh century, the capital of Gyeongju was a spectacular Asian city and the two to three hundred years of the Unified Silla Kingdom produced a time of magnificence in pottery and art, many examples of which have survived and are in museums around the country. Our tour focuses mostly on the seventh century and the first Queen of Silla, Queen Seondeok, who ruled during these times and built the first star gazing tower in Asia." 

Our black Hyundai SUV rental car reached Pusan in a few hours. Once clear of the industrial pollution and traffic jams of Pusan, we began picking up some heavy north bound traffic, trucks and cars carrying cargo and passengers to Seoul, and to Gyeongju.

I assumed all along that Hamish was in on Reddy's using the tour as a cover story and that he knew about our plans to rescue Zubaida's granddaughter. I knew Reddy had briefed Hamish on the rescue mission; however, I wondered if he knew about my first assignment.

As we neared Gyeongju, Hamish said, "In addition to Cheju-do and the fabulous legends of the island's goddesses, matriarchs, and the sea women, we are about to hear and see one of the most revered artifacts of ancient Silla. Rhyly, the tour will provide you with an excellent briefing for your research," Hamish said. Of course the tour was providing us more than that.

“The Emille bell is a national treasure, located at the National Museum at Gyeongju. When rung, it is said that it can be heard from forty miles away on a clear day. We'll test that theory soon," Hamish said.

Traffic was at a minimum as Hamish pulled in to a service station for gas while we purchased some bottles of water. A small nun walked steadily toward us saying, "The bell is best known as the Emille Bell, an ancient Silla term for 'mommy.' Hamish then introduced us to Sister Cerice, and she took the front passenger seat so she could best talk to us in the back.

Playing our role as tourists, we bought souvenirs and took lots of photos at every opportunity. At the souvenir kiosk outside the station, I caught a glimpse of a Benz limousine. Out of habit I memorized the license plate number, RG 22-N-78.