Edge of War

“Do as you wish. Just remember all that I have said.”

“Thank you, Ms. Hu,” said Jing Yo, rising. “I will.”

4

Ho Chi Minh City

Most of the large foreign hotels were located in or near District 1, the heart of the city adjacent to the Saigon River. DeBiase arranged for rooms at the Renoir Riverside Hotel, a well-appointed skyscraper on the riverfront. Mara spent the last of her money buying some luggage and a few shirts at a secondhand store, hoping to make the SEALs look less like soldiers and more like tourists when they checked in.

“We don’t want to all check in together,” she told Kerfer as they cleaned up a bit in the back of small restaurant. “Why don’t you go in first, get a room, and make sure things look good.”

“No shit.”

“Don’t get pissy with me. I’m not the one who closed the airport.”

“They should have evaced us out of Hanoi,” said Kerfer. “Nobody’s got any balls.”

“Hey, the submarine belongs to the Navy, not us,” retorted Mara. “Where the hell was it?”

“I would have swum for it, if was up to me,” said Kerfer.

Back in the vehicles, they started hunting for a place to park. Mara wanted the truck and car near enough to the hotel so that they could retrieve them if they needed to, yet far enough away to avoid suspicion if the vehicles were discovered. By now, even Squeaky was getting cranky. As they circled through the crowded downtown area, he groused that the police had far better things to do than check for stolen registrations.

“The plates show where the cars come from,” Mara said. “Let’s not screw this up by getting lazy.”

“I’m not saying to get lazy.”

Mara finally found a place to park in a lot at the back of a row of small stores. She pushed the truck against a chain-link fence, and had everyone get out on the other side. Kerfer did the same thing he-hind her.

“We stay together until we get two blocks from the hotel,” said Kerfer. “Then Little Joe and I go ahead. We get our room, Joey comes down and gives the high sign. You, Josh, and the tyke go in, register. Then everyone else. Ones and twos. Sound good, lady?”

“It’ll do.”

“You with us, mad scientist?” Kerfer asked Josh.

“Hanging in there.”

* * *

At first, being out of the truck invigorated Josh. It felt good to move his legs. There was a gentle breeze, and the air, though damper than it had been up north, had a cool feel to it. But after a block, Josh felt his energy running down. His stomach and lower abdomen felt as if they were on fire. He struggled to keep up even with M?, who tugged at his hand as she walked.

“It’s not too far,” said Mara, slowing her pace.

“I’m okay,” he insisted.

“We can sit up ahead and rest. There’s a bench there.”

“Let’s just go to the hotel.”

“We’re going to make sure it’s safe first.” She put her hand to his forehead. “You’re not as hot as you were.”

“Good. Your hand feels nice.”

“Are you hungry?”

“No. It hurts.”

“Where?”

“Here. When I eat. And everything.”

“Here, let’s sit on this bench.”

She took his elbow and guided him to the bench. Josh folded his arms in front of his chest, wishing away whatever it was that had gotten into his system. He closed his eyes.

He thought of the train, then the hand poking from the ground…

A siren wailing nearby jarred him. He jerked up, alert, worried. A police van rushed by, then another — they were at the head of a group of black Mercedes sedans. A pair of motorcycles escorted them. A troop truck took up the rear.

“What was that?” Josh asked.

“Just a diplomat,” said Mara. “Can you walk?”

Josh got up, legs stiff. M? looked at him doubtfully.

“Just two blocks,” said Mara. She hooked her arm in his. M? took his other hand.

Mara was nearly as tall as he was, far taller than any woman he’d ever dated.

“The hotel’s up there,” said Mara. “I’ll talk.”

Was he attracted to her? Or just feeling lonely?

He wasn’t lonely. Sick, yes. Tired. Not lonely.

The grip of her arm was reassuring.

“Okay?” she asked. “I’ll get the room.”

“Of course.”

* * *

DeBiase had arranged to forward money through the hotel’s international parent, but the hotel would disperse only a few hundred dollars cash. The clerk told Mara that the banks were still operating, and he gave her a list of nearby ATMs. She sensed that he was just trying to get rid of her.

She took Josh and M? up to the suite room. M? threw herself on the couch and immediately dozed off. Josh insisted he was fine, but Mara told him to go to bed. DeBiase had arranged for a doctor; as soon as she was sure all of the SEALs were squared away — they were all in rooms on the same floor, Kerfer right next door — she called his office.

He was there a half hour later. He introduced himself as Dr. Jacques. His accent seemed more Russian than French, but Mara wasn’t about to question him. He took Josh’s temperature, then sent him to the bathroom with a cup for what he delicately called “le sample.”

“You’ve had sex?” the doctor asked.

“No,” said Josh. “Not recently.”

The doctor looked at Mara.

“I don’t know if he had sex,” said Mara. “And it wasn’t with me.”

“You have a urinary infection,” the doctor told Josh.

“What about my stomach?”

“There, too.”

Jacques opened the battered North Face backpack he used as a medicine bag. He took a prescription pad out. “This is an antibiotic,” he said. “The hotel can help you get it filled.”

He wrote out the prescription and handed it to Josh. Then he wrote another one and gave it to Mara.

“What’s this?” Mara asked. “A backup?”

“Both people need them.”

“We didn’t have sex.”

The doctor zipped up his bag without saying anything else.

Kerfer stayed with Josh while Mara went down to the desk to see about getting the prescription filled. After giving it to the concierge, she took a walk around the hotel, getting a feel for what was going on. The atrium lounge, normally fairly busy at this time of day, was almost empty; the only guests were a nervous-looking European woman and two small children, who were fidgeting on a couch packed with suitcases.

The hotel’s Kabin Chinese Restaurant was considered one of the best in Southeast Asia; Peter Lucas raved about its fish and dim sum. It was about a quarter full. Upstairs at the Club Lounge on the penthouse level, all of