Mortal Allies
Chapter One
There are two things about Korea you never forget.
The first is the roiling mishmash of stinks. That May, there was the
bitter stench of tear gas, an essence of spring and fall, since
Korean students are what you might term fair-weather protesters.
There was the ripened aroma of kimchi, a spiced and aged cabbage
that makes your nostrils think your upper lip's plagued with
gangrene. On top of that was the acrid odor of garlic, the lifeblood
of every Korean. Finally, there were all the smells of careless
progress: smog, construction, and human sweat.
The second thing you never forget is exactly how miserably steamy a
Korean late spring day can be. My shirt was pasted to my back before
I got halfway across the tarmac to the flight building of Osan Air
Base.
I dashed straight through the entry and shoved aside a sputtering
Army captain who was rooted like a potted plant waiting to meet and
greet me.
"Major Drummond, I, ooof-"was all he could manage before he crashed
up against the wall. Then I heard him skittering along behind me.
I moved my stiff legs as fast as I could, till I spied the door I so
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