Edge of War

“You have no rooms?” said Mara.

“Many reservations.”

“There are no rooms for anyone?”

“Very sorry.”

The reception area was small, with a pair of Western-style couches and some fake flowers. There was no one inside, but of course that didn’t mean the hotel was empty. Still, Mara had a hard time believing that there were no rooms available.

“I know hotels sometimes keep places for special guests,” she said. “Perhaps if we paid extra.”

“No. I’m very sorry,” said the man. “All rooms are reserved.”

“Is there a place where we could shower?” she asked.

“I’m sorry.”

Mara thought of using M?, whom she’d left outside, to plead her case. But she worried that Kerfer was right about the girl making people more suspicious.

“Could you recommend another hotel?” Mara asked.

“We are all booked,” said the man. “Because of the war.”

“There’s nothing else?”

“No. I am sorry.”

Mara gradually wheedled more information out of him. The oil companies had booked the hotel rooms for their employees, whom they were trying to evacuate. A cruise ship was supposed to be on its way to take them away.

The only problem was that the cruise ship was two days overdue.

Mara decided it wasn’t worth going to each hotel to hear the same message. Instead, she took Josh, M?, and the SEALs up the road to an athletic club, where she spent the last of her Vietnamese money buying them a day pass to the tennis court in the back. She didn’t care about tennis; she wanted the showers.

* * *

The shower helped Josh as much as the pills had, though pulling on his sweaty clothes took some of the edge off his improved mood.

Little Joe had liberated some snacks from a vending machine and shared them with the others. Josh didn’t realize how hungry he was until he ripped into a bag of soy-soaked strips of puffed rice and gobbled them down. But the food only stoked his hunger.

Mara met them outside near the entrance. She’d changed into a flowery shirt that fell to her thighs.

“I found it,” she told Josh. “What do you think?”

“Nice.”

“It’s a dress. It’s a little tight, but it works.”

“Stealing clothes,” said Kerfer.

“It was a barter. Heft mine.”

M?, meanwhile, had found a tennis ball. The SEALs took turns playing with her, improvising a game of little kid soccer as they walked back toward the airport. She smiled and even laughed as they played with her.

“Maybe there’s hope for her,” said Mara.

Josh glanced at the CIA officer gazing intently at the little girl he’d rescued. He knew exactly what she meant, but was surprised she was thinking that. Mara had seemed… not uncaring, but focused on her job.

It made him like her even more.

They walked down along the western side of the airport, along the far end of the runway. Only a field separated them from the concrete strip, and they had a clear view of the back of the complex.

The airport’s main runway was a thousand meters, long enough for a turboprop or perhaps a small jet. But most of the aircraft that used it were helicopters. Three large Russian choppers — civilian Mil Mi-58s — sat in front of hangars.

“Maybe we oughta take our own chopper,” said Kerfer.

“Can you fly it?” asked Josh.

“Don’t get funny with me, kid.”

“I’m serious.”

“Flying lessons are next month,” said Kerfer.

There was no fence at the far end of the field; they could have walked straight onto the runway if they’d wanted. Instead, they walked down the long shrub-lined boulevard that marked the southern edge of the complex, passing a row of new but seemingly deserted warehouses. Josh wondered if they had been abandoned because of the war, or if they were just unused; there was no way to tell. Near the end of the block they saw another hotel complex. Mara went over to see if there were rooms, but soon came out saying there weren’t.

“What is it with Vietnam and tennis courts?” asked Squeaky as they began walking again. “Tennis courts all over the place here.”

“It was a big sport when the French were here,” said Josh. “And it was associated with being rich. So when people in the country started having money, they started paying a lot of attention to it.”

“You’re a big tennis fan?” asked Kerfer.

“One of our translators gave me the whole story,” said Josh, thinking of Li Huy, who’d told him how good his son was at the sport.

His ten-year-old son. Now fatherless. As Huy said he had been after what he called the American war.

Josh glanced down at M?.

“Police car, six o’clock,” said Squeaky.

* * *

Mara acted as if the police officers were godsends, speaking as quickly as she could manage, saying they had been told to come here by their company only to find that there were no rooms. The men were oil workers, expecting to get off by ship, but unsure when it was arriving. She and her daughter — they were careful to keep M? back by Josh and Kerfer — had come to visit her father and grandfather and were now hoping to get out with the rest of the workers.

Mara leaned into the car as she spoke, practically pressing her boobs into the nearest officer’s face.

“Is there a hotel where we could stay?” Mara asked. “Our company will pay the best prices.”

The policemen began talking among themselves. Mara pressed closer until the cop started to roll up the window.

She stepped back.

“Throw yourself at him, why don’t you?” said Kerfer.

“Don’t speak English,” said Mara in a stage whisper.

The police car began backing away slowly. Mara put a disappointed look on her face, pretending to be sad that they couldn’t help.

“What happened?” asked Josh.

“I think they were afraid that we were going to ask for a favor that they couldn’t grant,” said Mara. “Or maybe they have an emergency somewhere else. Whatever — they’re gone. For now. We ought to find a better place to hang out.”

“When the fuck is that helo coming?” asked Kerfer. “They said daybreak.”

“They said after daybreak. Maybe not until noon.”

“It’s after daybreak. As far as I’m concerned, it’s going on noon.”

“It’s a Navy helicopter,” said Mara. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Call them.”

“Every time I call, the Chinese show up,” said Mara.

She spotted a grove of trees near the highway that ran along the eastern end of the runway, and began walking toward it. M?, who was walking with Josh and Little Joe, began sobbing and holding her stomach.

“What’s with the kid?” Kerfer asked.

Mara bent and spoke to her. M? said she was hungry.

“We oughta get her some food,” said Kerfer. “How much money you guys got?”

They dug through their pockets, but the only one with cash was Josh, who found two twenty-thousand-dong notes — about two dollars.