The Tiger's Den

Waku: “Lieutenant, I just want you to watch, understand? No talking.” Kenda: “Yes, sir.” They get out and walk inside. Kenda following with his cane. They go to a room on the second floor. Major Waku goes through the door without knocking. The sergeant follows and Kenda follows him in. There is a Mongolian man sitting in a chair in the center of the room. He is not restrained. He does not appear to be injured. Two of the intelligence sergeants are guarding him. One of them hands a clipboard to Major Waku. Waku examines the clipboard. He looks at the man, then back to the clipboard. Waku: “So, your name is Khan. Is that like Genghis Khan? Same family name?” One of the sergeants translates to Khalka Mongolian. The man does not respond. Waku: “You are lead man at a small factory that produces textiles. Hmm… you have a good job.” The major is walking in a circle around the man as he reads the clipboard. “Married. Three children. The youngest is… only four, eh?” The sergeant continues to translate. No response. Waku: “And my sergeant found you by interrogating another of your group… Oh, yes. Someone in your group gave you up. But don’t be angry… no one could stand up to the interrogation that these men can provide.” The man shifts in his chair. Says nothing. His brow is furrowed. Waku: “But now, here you are… a member of a partisan group that has sworn to kill Japanese soldiers… and you are in a room full of Japanese soldiers. Hmm… sort of like a dream come true, don’t you think?” The man maintains a stoic face. Waku: “So, here we are. Do you want to kill us? You are not tied… what do you want to do?” Still no response. Waku turns to his sergeant: “Oh, he is shy. But he should not be. He has done some excellent work. He should be very proud of his service to his group. After all, your group killed one of my officers a few weeks ago. You should be laughing and howling like a hyena.” Khan (Mongolian): “I did not kill anyone.” The sergeant translates. Waku: “Ah… he speaks! A moral victory… But, no… I don’t believe that you killed him either. You were… let’s see… at home with your family; having dinner the night that he was killed. Weren’t you?” Khan (Mongolian): “That’s right.” The major pulls a chair up, sits right in front of Khan. Waku: “See, guys like you, Mr. Khan… you have a problem. See, you want to do something; make a statement. Participate in a revolution… maybe fight back if you can. But… you have other considerations. You have a family. Your wife, Mari. She must be lovely. And your children. The oldest ready to learn a trade and carry on the family name… How do you propose to protect them? You know that we know all about you, don’t you?” Khan sits, jaws tight; listening to the sergeant’s translation. Waku: “And you are going to cooperate with us, Mr. Khan. Do you know why?” Khan does not answer. Waku: “Because of this…” He pulls a photograph from the clipboard and shows it to Khan. A small girl smiling for a picture. “And this…” He pulls another photo of a young girl about ten years old. “And this…” He pulls another photo of a young man about fourteen. “And this…” A photo of a young woman walking, holding hands with the small child. “And this…” A photo of the textile factory. “You hate us, Mr. Khan, and I understand that. I don’t even blame you. If it was me, I would want to fight back against an occupying force as well. But my sympathy for you does not deter me from doing my job. Do you understand what I am telling you?” Khan (Mongolian): “You would kill my family?” Waku: “Slowly.” Khan speaks in his native tongue for a moment. Kenda waits for the translation. Sergeant: “You are right. I hate you fucking Japanese. You come here and take what you want… money, goods, food, women. You destroy my country’s economy and murder our citizens… yes, I want to kill you all. Slowly.” Waku smiles: “Ah, then we understand one another. Now you are going to tell me who killed my officer. And make no mistake, Mr. Khan. I will not stop at simple murder to get you to tell me. You are in a perfect position for me. See, I know that you and probably all of your co-workers at the factory are members of the partisans. Even if you don’t know who took my officer, I know you can find out if you want to. Now let’s get down to business. Who took my officer and who killed him?” Khan (Mongolian): “Maybe I am willing to die first…” Waku: “Are you? And are you willing to sentence your children to death as well?” Khan looks the major in the eye for a long time. Khan (Mongolian): “No.” Waku: “Then tell me and your life can go on as always. You go to work, you go home for dinner, you pat your little one on the head and you kiss your wife. Life is good.” Khan (Mongolian): “If they find out it was me…” Waku: “We can fix it so that no one will know.” Khan looks down at his feet. He sits silent for several minutes. The major allows him the time as the pressure is on his side. Khan (Mongolian): “I can find out.” Waku practically shouts as he cuts him off. “Oh, no! Mr. Khan, that was the wrong answer! You had an excellent chance here but you have the wrong answer, but thank you for playing our game. Sergeant! What do we have for the loser?” The sergeant opens the door to an adjoining room and Khan can see another soldier is carrying a small girl about four years old. Khan: “Khisa!” He jumps up from his chair and is immediately struck by both the sergeants and he falls to the floor. The child sees him and yells for her father, “Papi!” The sergeant holds Khan to the floor. Waku: “Let’s see… should we make him watch the death of his child or make the child watch the death of her father? Hmm… decisions, decisions.” Kenda is watching intently almost as if watching a movie. It does not seem real. Khan (Mongolian): “Wait! I can tell you. I can tell… please don’t hurt my little girl.” He is crying now. Waku: “Oh, really? Well, just a minute ago you were a big bad ass that wanted to kill us all slowly. I remember that… Lieutenant, don’t you remember him saying that?” Kenda: “Um, yes, sir.” Waku: “See? My officer knows what you said too. Now tell me Mr. Khan… why should I let you live? Or your family for that matter? How is that in my best interest?” Khan (Mongolian): “I can tell you about the group. I can give you names… places. Please, just don’t hurt her, she is innocent.” Waku: “I see, so you want another chance at our game, is that it?” Khan (Mongolian): “Yes, I want another chance. Please…” Waku motions to his sergeant and they pick Khan up and put him back in the chair. Another wave, and the sergeant in the other room releases the girl and she immediately runs to her father. He grasps her in a protective hug and just cries. Waku: “Okay, now, Mr. Khan. The sergeant here is going to give you another chance to play our game. He is going to write down all the names and places of our new playmates. And you are not going to screw around with us any more, right?” Khan (Mongolian): “Yes, I will tell… everything you want…” Waku: “Okay, then. Sergeant, it looks like Mr. Khan is willing to help us now. Carry on.” Major Waku stands up, hands the clipboard to the sergeant, then nods to Kenda. The driver and the major walk with Kenda down to the car. They get in and drive away. Kenda: “I don’t understand.” Waku: “Oh?” Kenda: “Why don’t we stay and hear the information?” Waku: “We don’t need to. All he can tell us is names and places. The sergeant will get what we need.” Kenda: “And you trust that he will not lie to you?” Waku: “Him? Lie? At this point, he would sell his own mother to save that little girl. No, he is completely broken now.” Kenda: “Hmm..."