Tess Gerritsen - Double Impact

The old man whispered words of awe and wonder.

“He saw a medallion just like it once before,” said Maitland. “Years ago, in Laos. It was hanging around the neck of Prince Souvanna.”

Guy took in a sharp breath. “It’s the royal crest. That passenger-”

“Was the king’s half brother,” said Maitland. “Prince Lo Van.”

An uneasy murmur rippled through the gathering.

“I don’t understand,” said Willy. “Why would the Company want him dead?”

“It doesn’t make sense,” said Guy. “Lo Van was a neutral, shifting to our side. And he was straight-arrow, a clean leader. With our backing, he could’ve carved us a foothold in Laos. That might have tipped the scales in our favor.”

“That’s what he was meant to do,” said Maitland. “That crate of gold was his. To be dropped in Laos.”

“To buy an army?” asked Willy.

“Exactly.”

“Then why assassinate him? He was on our side, so-”

“But the guys who blew up the plane weren’t,” said Guy.

“You mean the Communists planted that bomb?”

“No, someone more dangerous. One of ours.”

The elders had fallen silent. They were watching their guests, studying them the way a teacher watches a pupil struggle for answers.

Once again the old woman began to speak. Maitland translated.

“‘During the war, some of us lived with the Pathet Lao, the Communists in Laos. There were few places to hide, so we slept in caves. But we had gardens and chickens and pigs, everything we needed to survive. Once, when I was new to the cave, I heard a plane. I thought it was the enemy, the Americans, and I took my rifle and went out to shoot it down. But my cell commander stopped me. I could not understand why he let the plane land. It had enemy markings, the American flag. Our cell commander ordered us to unload the plane. We carried off crates of guns and ammunition. Then we loaded the plane with opium, bags and bags of it. An exchange of goods, I thought. This must be a stolen plane. But then the pilot stepped out, and I saw his face. He was neither Lao nor Vietnamese. He was like you. An American.’”

“Friar Tuck,” said Guy softly.

The woman looked at them, her eyes dark and unreadable.

“I’ve seen him, too,” said Maitland. “I was being held in a camp just west of here when he landed to make an exchange. I tell you, the whole damn country was an opium factory, money being made left and right on both sides. All under cover of war. I think that’s why Lo Van was killed. To keep the place in turmoil. There’s nothing like a dirty war to hide your profits.”

“Who else has seen the pilot’s face?” Guy asked in Viet-namese, looking around the room. “Who else remembers what he looked like?”

A man and a woman, huddled in a corner, slowly raised their hands. Perhaps there were others, too timid to reveal themselves.

“There were four other POWs in that camp with me,” said Maitland. “They saw the pilot’s face. As far as I know, not a single one made it home alive.”

The joss sticks had burned down to ashes, but the smoke still hung in the gloom. No one made a sound, not even the children.

That’s why you’re afraid, thought Willy, gazing at the circle of faces. Even now, after all these years, the war casts its shadow over your lives.

And mine.

“COME BACK WITH US, Maitland,” said Guy. “Tell your story. It’s the only way to put it behind you. To be free.”

Maitland stood in the doorway of his hut, staring out at the children playing in the courtyard.

“Guy’s right,” said Willy. “You can’t spend your life in hiding. It’s time to end it.”

Her father turned and looked at her. “What about Lan? The children? If I leave, how do I know the Vietnamese will ever let me back into the country?”

“It’s a risk you have to take,” said Guy.

“Be a hero-is that what you’re telling me?” Maitland shook his head. “Let me tell you something, Barnard. The real heroes of this world aren’t the guys who go out and take stupid risks. No, they’re the ones who hang in where they’re needed, where they belong. Maybe life gets a little dull. Maybe the wife and kids drive ‘ em crazy. But they hang in.” He looked meaningfully at Willy, then back at Guy. “Believe me. I’ve made enough mistakes to know.”

Maitland looked back at his daughter. “Tonight, you both go back to Hanoi. You’ve got to go home, get on with your own life, Willy.”

“If she gets home,” said Guy.

Maitland was silent.

“What do you think her chances are?” Guy pressed him mercilessly. “Think about it. You suppose they’ll leave her alone knowing what she knows? You think they’ll let her live?”

“So call me a coward!” Maitland blurted out. “Call me any damn name you please. It won’t change things. I can’t leave this time.” He fled the hut.

Through the doorway, they saw him cross the courtyard to where Lan now sat beneath the trees. Lan smiled and handed their baby to her husband. For a long time he sat there, rocking his daughter, holding her tightly to his chest, as though he feared someone might wrench her from his grasp.

You have the world right there in your arms, Willy thought, watching him. You’d be crazy to let it go.

“We have to change his mind,” said Guy. “We have to get him to come back with us.”

At that instant Lan looked up, and her gaze met Willy’s. “He’s not coming back, Guy,” Willy said. “He belongs here.”

“You’re his family, too,” Guy protested.

“But not the one who needs him now.” She leaned her head in the doorway. A leaf fluttered down from the trees and tumbled across the courtyard. A bare-bottomed baby toddled after it. “For twenty years I’ve hated that man…” She sighed. And then she smiled. “I guess it’s time I finally grew up.”

“SOMETHING’S WRONG. Andersen should’ve been back by now.”

Maitland stood at the edge of the jungle and peered up the dirt road. From where the doctor’s jeep had been parked, tire tracks led northward. The branches he’d used for camouflage lay scattered at the roadside. But there was no sign of a vehicle.

Willy and Guy wandered onto the road, where they stood puzzling over Andersen’s delay.

“He knows you’re waiting for him,” said Maitland. “He’s already an hour late.”

Guy kicked a pebble and watched it skitter into the bushes. “Looks like we’re not going back to Hanoi tonight. Not without a ride.” He glanced up at the darkening sky. “It’s almost sunset. I think it’s time to head back to the village.”

Maitland didn’t move. He was still staring up the road.

“He might have a flat tire,” said Willy. “Or he ran out of gas. Either way, Dad, it looks like you’re stuck with us tonight.” She reached out and threaded her arm in his. “Guy’s right. It’s time to go back.”

“Not yet.”

Willy smiled. “Are you that anxious to get rid of us?”

“What?” He glanced at his daughter. “No, no, of course not. It’s just…” He gazed up the road again. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

Willy watched him, suddenly sharing his uneasiness. “You think there’s trouble.”

“And we’re not ready for it,” he said grimly.

“What do you mean?” said Guy, turning to look at him. “The village must have some sort of defenses.”

“We have maybe one working pistol, a few old war relics that haven’t been used in decades. Plus Andersen’s rifle. He left it today.”

“How many rounds?”

“Not enough to-” Maitland’s chin suddenly snapped up. He spun around at the sound of an approaching car.

“Hit the deck!” Guy commanded.

Willy was already leaping for the cover of the nearest bush. At the same instant, Guy and Maitland sprang in the other direction, into the foliage across the road from her.