"I think I walked out before we got to that part last time. "
"That is why I bring it up now."
"You can get off here if you want."
"Nonsense. You drive. I will talk. Hopefully, you will listen in spite of your stubbornness. It was your stubbornness that created my dilemma."
"What dilemma is that?" Remo asked in spite of himself.
"Smith ordered you not to go to Vietnam."
"So I went anyway. I had an obligation. American POW's. It's about something you can't seem to understand. Loyalty. "
"I understand loyalty. I also understand higher obligations. My obligation to Smith. Your obligation to Smith."
"Sometimes I don't give a rat's ass about Smith."
"Ordinarily I would give even less. But emperors are hard to find in the modern world. Especially emperors with vast stores of gold. I may not value Smith, but I value his gold. It supports my village. Your village, now."
"So what's the beef?"
"The beef is that while I may turn a blind eye to your disobedience toward Smith, you have a deeper obligation to me. I gave Smith my word you would not go to Vietnam, and you did."
"I don't know what came over me," Remo said vaguely. "Must have been those flashbacks I was having."
"A convenient excuse," Chiun sniffed. "But I will continue my tale. I cannot have you disobeying me."
"It was a special case. It won't happen again."
"So you say. Your word was not good enough before. I cannot trust it now."
"Where is this leading? I'd like to take a shortcut."
"Impatient white," Chiun snapped. "We will probably be driving about all night and you do not even wish to converse. Very well. This is where this is leading: you asked me why I did not shed tears for the giving up of my elephant and I will tell you. He is a nice elephant, but truly I have no interest in him. He was merely a tool."
"To do what?"
"To educate."
"I get it," Remo said."As a Master of Sinanju I'm supposed to learn all there is to learn about elephants because your ancestors had to. Is that right?"
"No, it is not right. You disobeyed me and I had to teach you. Rambo was my choice to teach you a lesson."
"Whaaat!" Remo said, open mouthed.
"I made you wash him, feed him, and walk him so that you would learn the consequences of your actions."
"Wait a minute. You told me he was being abused. Then you tricked me into getting him aboard the sub. When did it occur to you to use him like that?"
"Before then. When I first came upon him."
"I thought he was your transportation through the freaking jungle.
"He was," Chiun said brightly. "He is a dual-purpose elephant."
"You mean to tell me," Remo shouted, "that the only reason you dragged that bag of wrinkled meat back to America was to stick it to me?"
"Hush, Remo," Chiun warned. "Rambo will hear you. He is sensitive."
From the rear of the trunk came a low, forlorn trumpeting. "See?" said Chiun.
"Yeah, I see. I see a lot. You're really something, you know that?"
"Yes," Chiun said happily. "I am something special."
"I don't believe this," Remo said under his breath. "All this because you wanted to teach me a lesson."
"Not just a lesson. Something more. Responsibility. Someday you will take over the village of Sinanju. Someday I will not be here to guide you through the thorny paths of life. I will not be at your side, but my teachings will stay with you. Especially this one. The next time you consider embarrassing me in front of my emperor, you will think of Rambo. And you will hesitate. Perhaps even reconsider. It is too much to hope you will refrain from your headstrong ways, but after a few additional experiences such as this, you may learn. It is enough to give me hope. "
"It is enough to give me a headache. I can't believe you've put me through all this just to make a point."
"An important point," Chiun corrected.
Remo said nothing. He came to a cross street. The sign said "Tower Avenue." Back at the last gas station they'd told him the Stonebrook Zoo was off Tower Avenue. But they hadn't said right or left. Remo decided to go left.
After three-quarters of a mile they came to a stone-rimmed gate that said "Stonebrook Zoo" in wrought-iron letters. A steel sign added that it was "Closed for the Season."
"Damn," Remo said, slapping the steering wheel in frustration. It shattered into three sections, leaving only the post.
"Now we are stuck," Chiun complained.
"No, we're not," Remo said grimly. "They may be closed, but not to us." He stepped out of the cab. Chiun followed.
"What do you plan, O determined one?" Chiun asked as Remo rattled the padlocked chain on the gate.
"I made a mistake last time," Remo said, testing various links in the chain. When he found one that seemed right, he pulled it apart with both hands. The link snapped. The chain rattled to the ground and Remo shoved open the gate.
"You make a mistake every time," Chiun said.
"Last time," Remo went on, ignoring him, "we offered to donate Rambo. Mistake. Nobody wants him. This time the donation will be anonymous."
Remo opened the back of the truck and pulled down the ramp. He did it with one hand. Normally it took two men. Rambo backed out of the truck and stood docilely. Chiun patted him on the cheek and said to Remo, "Lead, and Rambo and I will follow."
"Come on," Remo said. Chiun tugged on one of the elephant's saillike ears and Rambo padded alongside him. They walked through the open zoo gates.
"All we have to do is find the elephant house and we're home free," Remo whispered.