toilet, washbasin, and tub and shower, as opposed to most of the others, which had only toilets and washbasins, according to Major Kim Pak Su while conducting a tour of the place the night before.
McCoy tested the water, and after a moment it turned hot. He got a safety razor from his duffel bag and shaved while showering. When he returned to the bedroom, the bed had been stripped, and a freshly pressed set of utilities had been laid on it. And a freshly pressed T-shirt and drawers.
He wondered how many Marines in the 1st Brigade would wear freshly washed—much less pressed—utilities and underwear today.
And he was just a little uncomfortable with the knowledge that someone in the hotel was watching him closely enough to know when he’d gotten out of bed, and that he hadn’t heard anyone enter the room while he was showering.
He put on the underwear, then strapped his Fairbairn to his lower left arm, put on the utilities, and slipped his bare feet into rubber sandals. Then he went looking for the dining room.
There were five oblong, six-place tables in the room. Major Kim, Lieutenant Taylor, and Master Gunner Zimmerman were sitting at one of them. The chair at the head of the table was empty. McCoy wondered if that was a coincidence or if it had been left empty for him, as recognition that he was in charge. The Marines recruited from the 1st Brigade were spread among the other tables.
They were, McCoy noticed, all wearing freshly laundered utilities.
Zimmerman rose as McCoy approached the table. After a moment, Major Kim got up, and finally Taylor.
"Good morning, sir,” Zimmerman said.
That explained the empty chair at the head of the table. It was Zimmerman’s method of making the pecking order clear to all hands.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” McCoy replied, as he sat down at the head of the table. “Please take your seats.”
A young Korean woman in a white ankle-length dress and white apron immediately appeared with a pitcher of coffee. She was no beauty, but she was female and young, and McCoy made a mental note to pass the word to the Marines that the help was off-limits.
Breakfast was in keeping with what were apparently the standards of life in the hotel; it was not at all like what the rest of the Marines in Korea were getting. They were eating powdered eggs with chopped Spam off stainless-steel trays and drinking black coffee from canteen cups. McCoy was served two fried eggs and two slices of Spam on a china plate. Another plate held toast. There was both orange marmalade and butter.
It was too much for McCoy to let pass without comment.
“I’m delighted the Navy has taken over the mess, Mr. Taylor, ” he said. “We Marines are not used to living like this.”
“But you can get used to it in a hurry, right?” Taylor said. “Actually, you have Major Kim to thank.”
“Then thank you, Major Kim,” McCoy said, in Korean.
Kim shrugged to suggest thanks were not necessary.
“Major Dunston said whatever I could do to . . .”
“Did he get into what we’re supposed to do here?”
“No, sir.”
“A Marine pilot has been shot down,” McCoy said. “Near Taejon. There is reason to believe he survived the crash and may still be alive. For reasons I can’t get into, it is important that we get him back. Or have proof that he’s dead.”
“If he has been taken prisoner,” Kim said, immediately, “we can probably find that out, and also, probably, where he is being held. But . . . the Communists often do not take prisoners. . . .”
“And they don’t keep records of which prisoners were shot and where,” McCoy finished for him.
Kim nodded.
“Right after breakfast,” McCoy said, “you and I are going into Pusan. Major Dunston’s been working on this overnight, and maybe you’ll be able to help,” McCoy said.
“Yes, sir.”
I think he swallowed that.
“If we can locate him,” McCoy went on. “My men here are trained to operate behind the enemy’s lines. We may try to go get him.”
Major Kim said nothing.
He thinks that’s a stupid idea. But I think he believes me, which is important.
“The junk here, if we decide to go after this pilot, would be useful in infiltrating the team,” McCoy said. “So while we are in Pusan, Lieutenant Taylor is going to see what shape it’s in. If there’s something wrong with it, it will have to be repaired. If it’s seaworthy, we’ll take it out for a dry run as