"Then we have another item, a special television device that records simultaneous shows I gather, then feeds them back consecutively into a single television set. The explanation has something to do with soap operas, I believe."
"Correct."
"Would it be possible to have tapes mailed to you, sir? It would really be much less expensive."
"No," said Chiun.
"Well, I'm glad we've settled that," said Corbish.
"What about Smith?" said Remo. He noticed that Chiun, who had railed against serving a succeeding emperor, now seemed satisfied. Chiun placed himself on the floor in a full lotus position and with barely casual curiosity observed the goings-on.
"Your instructor's profile prohibits his participation in these matters."
"He doesn't understand what's going on anyhow. He thinks of Smith as an emperor. He's all right," Remo said.
"As you know," said Corbish somberly, "this is a very delicate organization. You are one of the three men, I guess now four, who knows specifically what we are about. These are hard times and it is a hard thing I must tell you. Dr. Smith—perhaps it was the pressure of the job, I don't know—but Dr. Smith suffered a nervous breakdown a week ago. He fled the sanitarium and has not been heard from since."
"But why you in his place?" said Remo. He rested a hand on the new long conference table that butted up against Smith's old desk.
"Because you failed, Williams. Your assignment, according to your employment profile, was, if Smith showed mental aberrations, to kill him. Now did you or did you not observe that he was deteriorating?"
"I saw some unusual things but he's often ordered unusual things."
"Like terminating an employee strata of a major American corporation? Didn't you question his actions?"
"I was too busy."
"You were too busy following his demented instructions, Williams. What you have literally done is fail your country. This organization was set up with enough checks and balances so that if any move were made to endanger this country through this organization, it would begin to disband. You know that. Your job was to kill Smith. I believe when he was sane he personally gave you those instructions. Am I correct?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you?" asked Corbish.
"I wasn't sure he'd lost his marbles," said Remo.
"That's not so, is it?"
"Well, I knew he was under a lot of pressure."
"You knew you didn't want to kill him, isn't that so?" Corbish said.
"Yeah, I guess it is," said Remo.
"That makes you unreliable, doesn't it?"
"I guess so," said Remo.
"What do you think I ought to do about it?"
"Try pissing up a rope," said Remo.
Chiun emitted a cackle. Corbish nodded solemnly. He talked about a nation struggling for its survival. He talked about each man doing his duty. He talked about Remo's life and he talked about many lives. He said he could not force Remo to help undo the damage of Smith's last months. But he said he was going to go ahead by himself and try to return the organization back to its original objectives. That was how Smith, in his saner moments, would have wanted it.
Remo felt old stirrings of allegiance that he thought were long since gone. He glanced at Chiun. In Korean, the Master of Sinanju had one word: "bird droppings."
"Who appointed you?" Remo asked Corbish.
"The same person who appointed Smith. Frankly, I didn't want this job. I saw what it did to Smith. I think it might do that to me. If you should decide to continue to work for us, I would hope that before I deteriorated like Dr. Smith has, you would do your duty properly and prevent me from causing the severe sort of damage Smith did in his last days."
"Bird droppings," said Chiun again in Korean but Remo ignored him. Chiun had never understood the love of country or loyalty to a cause, considering them a waste of talent. Well, so be it. That was the Master of Sinanju. He had been trained since childhood to think that way. But Remo was an American and there still lingered in him an ember of childhood patriotism that would not die no matter how he changed. Looking at this man who had replaced Smith, Remo thought that he just might give this man and his country another chance.
Corbish apparently was not as rigid as Smith. Remo realized that he had come to think of the organization as Smith's, that he had incorrectly believed it could not exist without the parsimonious old wet blanket. Maybe it would even be better with this man who seemed to be more reasonable than Smith, and definitely less fidgety.
"I'd like to think a few moments," said Remo.
"Yes," said Chiun in English. "He wants to exercise muscles never used before."
"I think you're the kind of man we need on the team," said Corbish.
"I think I'm going to be unable to eat for a month," said Chiun.
Corbish left his office to Remo and went outside.
"Little Father," said Remo, "I must at least try."
"Of course," said Chiun. "You have nothing invested in you. Minimal talent and less energy. I have created you. I have a great investment."
"I appreciate what you have done for me, but I also have other loyalties. I think I can trust this man. He may even be an improvement over Smith."
"The second emperor buries the sword of the first," said Chiun.
"If that's so, why does Corbish want me to continue?"
"What makes you think he does?"
"He just asked me. Didn't you hear?"
"I heard," said Chiun.
"I'm going to give it a shot," said Remo. "I'm going to see what happens."
"With my gift of wisdom," said Chiun disdainfully.
"Your village will be supported. The gold will get there to care for the elderly and the orphans. You have no worries, no worries at all," said Remo.
"Bird droppings," said the Master of Sinanju.