Shadows of War

Expecting that the airport would be a mustering point for the army as well as the air force, Mara took a right onto the first decent-looking road she came to, heading south. She hadn’t had much to eat back in the village, and on top of the bruises and cuts, she was beginning to feel faint. She wasn’t tired at least — her heart was beating too fast to let her rest.

There were plenty of houses along the road, and Mara slowed, hoping to see one with a clothesline where she could steal a dress. About a mile after turning off the main highway she came to a shantytown of shacks, each seemingly leaning on the other. She decided it would be the perfect place to “shop.”

Idling back her engine, Mara eased the bike into the warren of houses, looking down the alleys into the backyards. Rope was strung between the houses for clotheslines, but there were only a few items out; the handful of things she saw that might be close to her size were dresses, and she would have greatly preferred pants. But she was in no position to be too picky, and after leaning the bike against a building across the way, she slipped back through the alley and found a dress and pair of men’s pants that looked as if they would fit.

She felt guilty about taking the clothes, which were undoubtedly among the family’s few possessions. Her conscience suggested that she leave one of her hundred-dollar bills, but that might be dangerous for the family, since it would inevitably raise questions about where the funds had come from. In the end, she left nothing.

Mara drove back to the highway, then found a narrow lane that led to a fallow field where she could change. The pants came to her calves, but their pockets gave her a place where she could tuck her satellite phone, money, and ID. She hiked the dress — a bit short and tight at the bosom, though ample at the waist — and folded it beneath her thighs so she could ride the bike more easily. Then she set back out for Hanoi, dumping her pants in a ditch before returning to the highway.

Two kilometers later, Mara saw a dim red shadow from a flashing police light beyond the next rise. She pulled over, checking her passport, but decided to avoid the checkpoint by going back to the side streets. There were still a few hours before dawn, and it would seem more than a little odd to a Vietnamese policeman that a foreigner was driving when almost no one else was.

Her first right took her down a street lined with warehouse buildings, all relatively new. Streetlights lit the intersections, hazes of yellow mist wafting around the lights.

She started to turn left at the first intersection, then pulled back as she caught sight of a line of trucks idling in the road ahead. They looked like troop trucks, but it was dark and she didn’t think it wise to stop or get any closer to find out.

Mara wound her way through the industrial park into an apartment complex and then an older residential area, going slowly to soften the noise of her engine. She had only the vaguest idea of where she was in the city, and soon became confused enough that she decided she needed to take a break. Making sure she was alone, she pulled off to the side of the road on a quiet street down the hill from an apartment complex.

Mara decided to check in with Bangkok. She couldn’t call from the Star, and whoever was on the communications desk might also be able to point her in the right direction. She was getting low on gas, and admitting she was lost was better than walking.

“It’s Mara,” she said as the line connected.

“This is Peter.”

“Hey, boss.”

“I’m glad you checked in. We have a developing situation. That science team — ”

“Fleming?”

“Somebody else on the team. He’s south of Lao Cai. You think you can get there?”

“Yeah. No problem. He’s in the city?”

“No, he’s in the jungle somewhere. We’re working on getting a real fix — we can track his satellite phone, but only when he transmits. How long will it take you?”

“I have no idea. A day, maybe. I’ll have to find better wheels.”

Lucas didn’t answer for a moment. Then he asked where she was, surprise in his voice.

“That’s a good question. I got kind of confused on these side streets — ”

“You’re in Hanoi. “

“Right. Somewhere west of the center of town, but I don’t — ”

“What the hell are you doing there? Didn’t I tell you to stay where you were?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Bullshit — ”

“You told me you didn’t know when you could get me out. I figured if I’d stayed there, I’d be behind Chinese lines.”

“Goddamn it.”

“I didn’t know you were going to give me another assignment. You should have told me.”

“That’s not the point, Mara.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can get back. There are no checkpoints beyond Vinh Yen. Do these people realize they’re at war?”

“You’re two hundred friggin’ kilometers from where MacArthur is.”

“Where is he exactly?”

“You’re not going back.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, then how do you know he’s two hundred friggin’ kilometers away? Give me the location of the last transmission.”

“Get yourself to the embassy. Get out.”

“Like hell. If I go to the embassy, I’m burned for Southeast Asia. Right? The Vietnamese watch the place around the clock. That’s the reason you didn’t use them for this. Correct?”

“Get your ass to Hanoi.”

“I’m in Hanoi.”

“I want you out of the country, Mara. Come back to Bangkok.”

“Bullshit!” Mara couldn’t help herself. “This is what I’m trained to do, Peter — you want this guy? Fine. I’m here. I’m ready. You have a covert fucking mission, it’s mine. You know I’m good. You know what I’ve done. You know this is for me.”

“You’re supposed to do what you’re told,” he said, his voice slightly more subdued.

“You did not tell me to stay put. And even if you had — which you didn’t — if you had, it’s up to the officer in the field to make the final call. Lucas — Peter — you always say you don’t second- guess… If I were a man, you would not be giving me crap over this, Peter. I know you wouldn’t. You’re treating me like your daughter. And I’m not. I’m a field agent. With experience. Good experience. This is my mission, these scientists.”

“I don’t think of you as my daughter.”

“Then why are you giving me crap? Because of Malaysia?”

“You did fine in Malaysia.”

“So it’s sex, huh?”

The words weren’t coming out the way she wanted them to, but she was too mad to get them into the right order.

“This is what I was trained to do,” she repeated. “Don’t screw me here, Peter.”

“Damn it, Mara, give me a break.”

She heard him expel a deep breath, almost a hoarse sigh, as if his whole body were involved in the act of thinking, of making a decision.

Men always claimed that they didn’t think about an officer’s gender before making a decision on a mission, but Mara and most other women knew that was a crock; it always entered into the equation, whether consciously or not. She was always fighting to overcome the prejudice. Every woman did.

“I’ll be back in Nam Det by this time tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll need a good location by then.”

“You’re going to need help. The Chinese are all around him.”

“So get me help.”

Before Lucas could reply, the ground shook as if in an earthquake. The night flashed white, then red. Mara