A Dubious Curse (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 8)
Page 29
“We start building the facility immediately. You will be transferred to it before the beginning of 1936. You are needed there to conduct early experiments,” the colonel replied. “Some of you will be sent to satellite units in the surrounding countryside. We plan on having several.”
“But where are we being transferred to? I thought the facility would be here, in Tokyo.” one doctor asked.
“The secret facility will be built in Manchukuo, in a town called Pingfang, near the city of Harbin. We will have our own airstrip and the use of the nearby existing Zhongma fortress there,” Colonel Mura added. “We already have a small unit in the fortress.”
“Can we bring our families?” another doctor asked.
“You can bring them, but I do not recommend it. There is much fighting in China, and we wouldn’t want them harmed,” the colonel replied.
“Does this new unit have a name?” a doctor asked.
“It is officially called the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army,” the colonel said. “But, to those of us who will be working there, we will simply call it ‘Unit 731’.”
wo months later, Colonel Hiorki Mura returned to China. The first thing he did upon his return was to report to his commander at the Zhongma fortress. Lieutenant General Shiro Ishii currently occupied a suite of rooms in the old fort. As Colonel Mura followed an aide through the dark corridors to the suite, he thought about his commander.
Mura had actually known Shiro Ishii and his family all his life. They both came from the wealthy Chiba prefecture in Japan, across the bay from Tokyo. By coincidence, in 1932, they both came to work at the Tōgō Unit in the fortress, and when Mura introduced himself, Ishii took him under his wing, promoted him several times, and relied upon him to perform the tasks that others found distasteful. Mura knew they weren’t friends, but they were tied by their Shogun heritage.
Mura understood Shiro Ishii was a man of immense privilege. His family was the largest landowner in the entire prefecture. The Ishii family had great power and influence in Japan, even with the Imperial family. As they both were about the same age, Mura had run across the General many times during their youth. He knew Ishii to be very selfish, pushy, and demanding. At times, the young Ishii seemed obsessed, and even disturbed, but his family protected him and intended to help him succeed at something, even during wartime.
Mura was not surprised that Ishii had decided to enter the field of medicine. He had observed Ishii experimenting on birds and other animals as they grew up. After graduating from medical school, the rumor was that his family had purchased his position in the Imperial Army. Soon, Ishii took a two-year tour in the West and became interested in chemical and biological warfare research.
When Japan took over Manchuria, Ishii suddenly appeared as the head of a secret medical research facility, known as the Tōgō Unit. It seemed almost as though his family had provided him with a big toy to play with, only it involved people’s lives. That was why Colonel Mura decided to attach himself to Ishii. It was his way to the top.
Mura’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the aide rapping on Ishii’s door. The door flew open and the general appeared in a nightshirt. He had a crazed look in his bloodshot eyes. His long, non-regulation-length hair stood out as though it had been blown in the wind. He was unshaven and his mustache was well-beyond overgrown.
“You are late. We have much to discuss,” General Ishii reprimanded Colonel Mura.
“Sorry, sir there were delays in transit,” the aide apologized.
“You are dismissed,” he said to the aide, waving his hand.
“Good to see you, General,” Colonel Mura said cordially and bowed, but General Ishii had already turned and headed for the large desk in the middle of the room. Colonel Mura followed him into the suite.
The first thing that he noticed was the young, naked girl huddled on the floor. She didn’t appear to be Japanese. She looked more Korean to him. She appeared to have been beaten and ravaged. General Ishii simply pointed to her. “Get out,” he ordered. The girl, in obvious pain, struggled to her feet and ran for the door.
“Who was that?” Colonel Mura asked quietly.
“She is nothing,” Ishii replied off hand. “She is a Korean slave. We import them to fill our ‘comfort houses’. We have established several places for the ‘comfort women’ here. You can take advantage of them anytime you wish. When they wear out, we’ll just bring in more. It is important our workers are satisfied,” he said.
“A satisfied worker is a good worker,” Colonel Mura agreed.
The general turned to the desk. “These are the actual plans for Unit 731,” Ishii pointed to reams of paper on his desk. “These buildings here, are the detention facilities. You will start filling them tomorrow,” Ishii ordered.
“How many prisoners will it take to fill them?” Mura asked.
“They are not prisoners, they are test subjects,” Ishii roared as spittle flew from his mouth. “And you will always refer to them as maruta,” the general screamed in rage.
“Logs… why call them logs?”
“This is a very secret facility. The local people think we are a lumberyard. See these two smokestacks?”
“Yes,” the colonel replied.
“That is where we will burn the bodies and leave no trace of our maruta.
Colonel Mura was only slightly shocked. He had worked with General Ishii before and knew some of his efforts would include test subjects dying. “How many logs should I collect tomorrow?” he asked with a puffed-out chest.
“The wards will hold 600 people. We already have some prisoners of war, but I want a cross-section of men, women, children, and even infants for our experiments. Bring me five hundred and fifty,” the general calculated in his head, like he was ordering toilet paper.
“From where?”
“I don’t care. Just go to a local village and take everybody who is fit.” the General said, throwing up his hands. “I have enough decisions to make.”
“Why do they need to be fit?”
“Our experiments will mean nothing if the logs are sick or broken. They must be in good health for me to perform proper experiments on them. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Mura replied.
“And another thing…” Ishii blustered as he held up his finger. “The logs in our facility must be fed a proper diet, and you must make them exercise. Malnutrition and weak hearts will only ruin my data. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my General.”
“Good. You are dismissed”
erald J. Kubicki currently has eight ‘Dubious’ books in print. Additional sequels are in the works. They include: A Dubious Crime, A Dubious Device, and A Dubious Heritage. The books follow the continued adventures of Colton Banyon and his team of unique characters.
Gerald started writing fiction novels after a long career as a successful businessman. He has traveled the world and is an avid history buff. His writings contain large amounts of actual historical events and real places woven into the plots.
He currently resides in Las Vegas.
You can find out more about this author by visiting his website at
www.geraldjkubickibooks.com.
Kristopher Kubicki has joined his father in writing the Colton Banyon series.
Kristopher has been writing articles for major magazines and trade publications since entering college. He currently owns a company that does research on the Internet, but has collaborated with his father on several books.
He currently resides in Chicago.
You can find out more about this author by visiting him on his father’s website, www.geraldjkubickibooks.com.
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