and you will sit in this hotel until your money runs out and you will call them on the telephone and they will say ‘yes’ and then maybe they will give you your passports and maybe they will let you leave the country. They will be very polite.”
Trin’s scars bunched. Livid. “There is another kind of Vietnamese who lives in a big house and drives a late- model four-wheel-drive vehicle with a license plate with the letter A on it. This is a party official. And he will grab up your gold and then if Ray’s bones are indeed under it, he will
“There’s evidence,” protested Nina.
“But if the bureaucrats get there first there will be no crime that involves Cyrus LaPorte
“What makes you so sure?” said Nina.
Trin fumed, gesturing brusquely. “Cyrus LaPorte is dangling millions of American dollars, talking about joint ventures. I work sometimes at the reception desk at the Century Hotel in Hue. All people talk about these days is deals. They won’t jeopardize those deals on the basis of a theory.”
Broker interrupted. “It’s all timing. We have to catch him
“Correct. It is…policework,” said Trin. “Then we call in everybody so they all arrive at the same time. The press, too. There’s always some Australian reporters around, and the French. CNN has an office here. If we can manage that, it will stink all the way to Washington, which is what you want, Nina.”
“The three of us.” Nina’s voice was grim, unconvinced.
“And my men,” said Trin with an enthusiasm that showed more evidence of alcohol than good sense.
“What men?” said Broker.
“The men at the home. From my old battalion in the Front. You don’t think they’d let me set up a home for soldiers who backed the south, do you?” Trin said indignantly.
“How many men?” asked Nina.
“A dozen.”
Nina’s voice strove for patience. “Trin, I talked to Kevin Eichleay in Lansing, Michigan. He helped you set up the home-”
Trin nodded. “I know Kevin.”
“Those men are paraplegics. Cripples.” She made a face. “I’m sorry. I mean no disrespect, but it’s laughable.”
Trin scowled at her and drew himself up. “I held the flag tower in the Citadel in Hue for twenty-five days during Tet with those men.” His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. “You weren’t laughing then.”
“Okay,” said Broker, stepping between them. “Time out. Take a break.”
“Ah,” yelped Trin, pointing to the TV. “Four hundred and sixty-five dollars an ounce. Twelve troy ounces to a pound. That’s, ah, five thousand five hundred something to the pound times two thousand…”
Nina turned and stalked from the room. Broker followed her.
56
They froze in the hall, paralyzed by the innocent smile of a passing Vietnamese maid. Nina unlocked her door and they quickly entered her room. She closed the door and leaned against it.
“That guy has me jumpy as a coot.”
“He is a little paranoid,” said Broker.
“A little? He drinks too much and he has a grandiose streak.”
“True, Trin always figured there were three sides in the war: the Commies, us, and him.”
“And…” She wagged her finger in a no-no gesture. “He pulled a knife on me.”
She stomped into the room and fell backward on the bed. “No shit,” she said in a disbelieving voice. “
“I need him.”
“He’s seriously cracked, Broker.”
“Maybe. But he knows his way around.”
She sat up and hugged herself. “You go out on some deserted beach with Trin and his army of cripples and dig up a fortune in gold and get your throat cut. Not me.”
“We just have to wing it a little. I have a hunch Trin’s all right.”
“Don’t be cavalier. This is serious.”
Broker exhaled. “And I’m serious. Look, it would be great if Trin was sober, industrious, and reliable. But he’s been pretty roughed up. That means he’s had to scramble to survive.” A grim smile played across Broker’s lips. “He’s taken a dive from regimental commander to street hustler, Nina. And I know how to handle street hustlers.”
“Look out the window. I don’t see the steeples of Stillwater, Minnesota…”
Broker waved her quiet. “I’ll bet he’s doing this tour guide number without a government license. The fact is, with his background, he’s got more to fear from the cops right now than we do.”
“It’s a stretch,” said Nina. Her tone was cautious but no longer adamant.
Broker shrugged. “My kind of scene. Of course it works better when you know the turf and everybody speaks the same language.”
She sat up and folded her legs Indian fashion. “And what really pisses me off is that he makes some sense, especially about the MIA office. Damn.” Frustrated, she sprang from the bed, paced two steps, and spun, one hip pushed out, arms hanging loosely.
Broker studied her. She was so close and eager to take her shot. Like David, she had the guts to cool it in Goliath’s shadow and the murderous concentration to bet it all on one throw.
But she was young and the petticoats of her ambition were showing-as was her need to control events. She wanted to be identified officially with the project from the start; she wanted it documented.
Nina Pryce, mentioned in dispatches.
Yeah, he was probably in love with her and she was a goddamned careerist. She’d be gone the second this thing was over.
“Okay,” she said reluctantly. “We’ll play it by ear with Mister Trin. But if he gets funny, we head for the liaison office. Agreed?”
“Deal,” said Broker.
“You have the map,” she worried suddenly.
“Right here.” Broker tapped his waist.
“Didn’t think I’d be this jumpy,” she said. “We haven’t even left the hotel yet.”
“We’ll do better once we’re in the countryside.”
“Broker, I just had this really terrible image: Bevode Fret in Hanoi.”
Broker grimaced. He hadn’t thought about Fret for a whole continent. “Look, are you hungry or anything?”
She shook her head. “I’m clogged with airplane food. I need some sleep. About fourteen hours.”
“We both do. I’ll check on Trin and be right back. I’m sleeping here.”
She squinted at him. “I’m not in a mood for fooling around.”
“Sleep,” said Broker. He left her room and unlocked his door. Trin had taken off his shoes and sprawled, slack-jawed, passed out on the bed. Broker took the smoldering cigarette from his fingers and turned off the TV.
He returned to Nina’s room with his toothbrush. She was already under the covers. He pulled the blinds against the late afternoon light and showered quickly, brushed his teeth, and slid in beside her. He dimmed the
