"Bull. Get up. Slow."
Still holding her hands together, Lan struggled into a kneeling position and bowed once to the American. She hoped Americans understood bowing.
"Skip that crap," the American told her. "On your feet. "
Lan pushed herself to her feet. She took care to stand with her head bowed. She hoped the American would not send her away alone.
"Now, answer my questions, bien?" he said curtly. "Who was on that bus?"
Lan hesitated. She did not understand. The American glared at her. "Lan on bus," she said at last. "Who else?"
"You. No one else."
"Who was driving? And don't tell me it was you."
"You drive. You drive to find American friend. Prisoner. "
The American frowned. "This better not be a trick," he said. "Come on."
He stepped back to let her slide out of the ruined bus, and Lan stepped carefully to the ground. The American kept his weapon trained on her. He looked nervous and unsteady, not confident as he had before.
The American marched her around the shattered bus halves. In the middle of the road they found a sloping depression edged with splashed dirt.
"An antipersonnel mine," the American said, kicking at the dirt. His foot unearthed glinting steel balls. "It tore the bus in two. These are what were staring at me. I thought they were eyes."
Lan nodded. "Khmer Rouge mine."
"Khmer Rouge," the American said excitedly. "You mean Cambodians? Are we in Cambodia?"
"You not remember? You drive us here."
"Us? Us who?"
"Vietnamese prisoners. You free us."
The American looked at her confusedly. He shook his head, his dark eyes distracted.
"Where's the nearest American base camp? Tell me."
"Americans all gone. Long gone. None left."
"Then the next nearest camp. I've got to get back to my unit."
"Lan not understand. Not know where your American friends are. You search."
"I'll settled for an ARVN unit, then."
Lan grew frightened. This man was asking about the long-defeated Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Was he crazy?
"ARVN? No more ARVN. No more ARVN."
"What do you mean-no more ARVN?"
"ARVN surrender."
"Bull. "
"Americans gone home. ARVN gone. No more South. No more North. War over."
"Over?" The American's voice growled. "Who won?"
"Communists. You not remember?"
"My ass. You're VC."
"You no understand. VC no more. ARVN crushed. Americans gone. War over. How I make you understand?"
"You can't, so forget it."
As Lan watched, the American started walking in circles. He put one hand to his head, never letting his eyes stray from her. Lan wondered if he was sick. She had never met any Americans before today. Did they always act so crazy when they were displeased?
"My head is killing me," the American moaned. Then he dropped his rifle in the dirt and fell on it. He did not move after that.
Chapter 13
Captain Dai Chim Sao returned to Hanoi via Moscow. He had slipped across the Mexican border and obtained an Aeroflot flight to the Soviet capital. It was a longer journey than going through Europe, but traveling by Western carrier would have placed him at the risk of arrest and extradition. Only Aeroflot was safe.
In Hanoi he was debriefed by Vietnam's defense minister.
"My mission was successful," Dai concluded after he'd finished his explanation. He stood at attention. The defense minister sat stolidly in his straight-backed chair. His office was decorated with standard Sovietbloc orthodoxy. No shred of color or humor intruded upon its dark-wooded solidity. Dai waited for the at-ease order. It never came.
"Success is relative," the defense minister told him bluntly, and Captain Dai felt his heart sink. What had he done wrong? He cleared his throat prior to asking, but quickly realized that asking would be the same as accepting failure. Captain Dai was not ready to accept any such thing.
"The traitor Phong is dead," Dai repeated thickly. "My internationalist duty has been discharged."
"Had that man not escaped, you would not have had to risk the things you did risk."
"I am prepared to offer my life in service to the glorious revolution."
The defense minister waved his hand dismissively as if the life of one such as Captain Dai was something spent without thinking, like the number of dong required to purchase a cigarette.
"The American press are full of stories," the defense minister said. "The MIA issue, the POW issue. The killing of this Phong was broadcast live. The American government is upset. We were approaching an understanding, but now the political pressure on them to withhold diplomatic recognition until this is settled is enormous. Long months of quiet diplomacy have been jeopardized."
"I did what I had to do."
"In full view of television cameras," said the defense minister bitterly. He shook his iron-gray head.