第 14 页

Slowly, his eyes focused on her. "What do they want to know?"

She replied: "Who you are, who hired you and why."

Creasy had taken two faded photographs from the wallet. He showed them to her. They were of

two young girls, one about five and one about three years old. He said: "Tell him also that after

he has drowned, I'll go to his house and kill his daughters as well."

She could see Creasy's eyes in the moonlight, and she believed him. Now there were three lives

in her hands. She spoke to the Vietnamese and something extraordinary happened. He started to

laugh hysterically. From behind, Guido smacked him hard across the face, knocking him

sideways and onto his knees.

Slowly he picked himself up. He started talking to Susanna and gesturing at Creasy. She

translated.

"That is exactly the same threat that he received from the people who hired him. They told him

that if he talked to you or anybody else, they would kill him and his daughters."

"Shit!" The word came out of Creasy's mouth as an explosion. He walked down the jetty,

continuing to curse under his breath. He stood at the end of the jetty for more than two minutes,

then turned and walked slowly back.

"Untie him," he said to Guido. "And the stone from his feet."

Guido followed the instruction while Creasy paced up and down the jetty. The Vietnamese

rubbed the wrists of his freed hands. The fear was still in his eyes as they followed Creasy's every

movement. Finally, Creasy turned and walked up to the slight figure. He reached up his hands

and gripped him by his shoulders. Then he said to Susanna: "Translate exactly everything I say."

He was looking to the Vietnamese man's eyes. He said: "I would not have killed you, and I do

not make war on children. The people you work for have no such qualms." He paused while

Susanna translated. Then he went on. "You're caught between a rock and a hard place. Now

you'll tell me what I want to know, and then, in return, I will give you the gift of your children's

lives.

After you've talked to me, you will continue to follow us for the next forty-eight hours and

continue to report to your masters about our movements. Within those forty-eight hours, I'll

bring two men to Saigon who will guard you and your family. The choice is yours. You can talk

to me and have protection, or you can walk away now."

Susanna finished the translation. Creasy dropped his hands from the Vietnamese man's

shoulders and stood back. The only sounds came from the forest. The Vietnamese was looking

down to the dark, worn planks of the jetty. Slowly, he lifted his head and looked at Creasy, and

then asked a question.

"Who are these men who will protect me and my children?"

Susanna translated, and then translated Creasy's answer. "They are men like me."

The Vietnamese said: "I will talk to you."

Chapter 25

"So you do have a heart."

Creasy gave her a shrug.

"Susanna, about two years ago I was visiting Jens in Copenhagen and I had some trouble with an

old wound. Jens sent me off to the hospital and they gave me a full check-up, including an

ultrasound scan. It was amazing. I was looking at a television monitor and I could see all my

insides, my lungs, liver, kidneys, intestines...And suddenly, I saw it. I asked the doctor: 'What the

hell is that?' He said: 'That's your heart!'" Creasy grinned.

"So yes, I do have one. Occasionally it works. I'm sorry that we put you through that scene

earlier, but it was necessary. You were the psychological conduit to Tran Quock Cong. If you

didn't believe what I was saying, then neither would he."

"You had no intention of drowning him or killing his children?"

"I told you before. I don't kill people who are not trying to kill me."

They were in Creasy's room at the Continental Hotel. Jens was tapping at the keys of his

computer. Beside him was a large-scale map of Indo-China. Guido was on the telephone. The

Owl was encased in the earphones of his Walkman. Tran Quock Cong was sitting at a bar across

the road, watching the hotel entrance.

Guido cradled the phone and stood up. He said: "OK. Maxie got hold of Rene in Brussels.

They're catching a flight out of Paris in the morning. They arrive at Tan Son Nut airport the

following morning at ten a.m. They're flying club class, so they'll be rested...But Creasy, they're

going to need weapons."

"Yes, they will. And so will we. I'll talk to Billy at the Mai Man Bar. He has the connections."

"Who are these people?" Susanna asked.

"Old friends," Creasy answered. "Maxie Macdonald is an ex-Rhodesian. He fought in the war

there with the elite Selous Scouts, one of the toughest units in any army anywhere. Rene Callard

is a Belgian. He was with me and Guido in the French Foreign Legion. Now he's a specialist

bodyguard. Tran Quock Cong and his family will be safer than if they were holed up in Fort

Knox." He turned to the Dane. "So what do we have, Jens?"

The Dane stretched his shoulders and then studied the screen of his computer and assumed his

policeman's tone.

"Tran Quock Cong, born September 1958 in a village near Hui. He only had primary-school

education. His parents were killed during an American bombing raid when he was twelve years

old. He found his way to Saigon and became one of the thousands of street urchins feeding

himself by being a pickpocket and petty thief. When the communists took over, he became an

informer for the secret police and was trained by them in surveillance techniques. He remains an

informer but does private work on the side. Three weeks ago he was approached by a man

called Cong Hung. That is probably a false name. He was offered a job to follow a foreigner

who was expected to arrive in Saigon about two weeks later. He was given a thousand US

dollars in cash and told to travel to Phnom Penh and check into the Quai Ban guest house.

He did so and was contacted by a Cambodian woman called Pan Chamnan, probably also a false

name. She took him by train to the town of Sisophon near the Thai border, and from there they

were taken by Land Rover on a two-hour journey during which Tran Quock Cong was

blindfolded. It was a dirt road. They arrived at an army camp in the forest, near a village. Tran

Quock Cong estimates that they were travelling due north, and looking up a map later, thinks

that they may have been near a village called Chek. It was a Khmer Rouge camp. There he met a

man who called himself Ha Minh Hien, who from his description is almost certainly your friend

Van Luk Wan.

He was given a photograph of yourself. It was taken at least twenty years ago but

showed the scars on your face that you still carry. He was given a further two thousand dollars in

cash and a portable Samsung fax machine and a fax number in Phnom Penh. He was to send his

reports to that fax number with the prefix code word of CALAN. He was to send his reports

daily at six p.m. He spent a day and a night at the camp, during which time he overheard several

conversations indicating that the Khmer Rouge were holding several American prisoners who

were put to work clearing mines. The following morning he saw one of them at a distance.

He wore leg shackles which restricted his movements. He was bearded, aged between forty and fifty

years old. Before he was driven back blindfolded to Sisophon, he was told by the man calling

himself Ha Minh Hien that if he failed on his job, he and his wife and two daughters would be

killed."

The Dane looked up at Creasy. "I've checked the area in Cambodia and confirm that it's a

Khmer Rouge stronghold." He glanced down at the map. "It's only twenty miles from the Thai

border. As far as the Cambodian army is concerned, it's a no-go area."

Susanna stood up and moved to the phone, saying: "I have to call my boss in Washington. If

there are Americans there, they must be MIAs."

"Hold on," Creasy said. "If you pass that information on to your boss, what will he do?"

"He'll send in agents, maybe even come himself. This is the first real sighting we've had for

years."

"What will those agents do?"

"They'll try to infiltrate the area."

Creasy glanced at Guido, and then said to her: "That could be a major disaster. The last thing I

want is a bunch of enthusiasts running around that area. If there are MIAs there, the Khmer

Rouge can always whisk them away within minutes."

"It's my duty," she said.

Guido spoke up. "Fuck your duty, Susanna! You were told to co-operate with us. You also told

us that you're now officially on holiday. I suggest you let us work out a plan and then if we need

any back-up, we can call on your department."

"It's the best way," Jens agreed. "First we need more information. I want to trace the fax

number in Cambodia. Now that we have Tran Quock Cong on our side, it's possible we can set

up a dummy operation and flush these people out. At least the Phnom Penh cell. In this kind of

operation it's necessary to move step by step." He looked at Creasy. "I think that Tran Quock

Cong was an unknowing plant. They expected you to pick him up. It's the next step in their

carefully organized paper chase."

Creasy was shaking his head. "It doesn't make sense, Jens. The guy is an expert. If they were

going for a set-up, they would have put an amateur in there to be sure I spotted him. And they

would not have blindfolded him on the way to that camp."

"They were very clever," Jens said. "They only blindfolded him ten minutes after they left the

town of Sisophon. At that time, by looking at the sun, he would have known the direction.

Whoever wants you knows you well. They know that you would pick up even an expert. But they

don't know you as well as I do. They would assume that after picking him up and extracting his

information, you would kill him so that he could not warn them. Now I think the advantage is

with us." He looked at Susanna.

"You're the only one able to communicate with him. Do you really think that he believes Creasy

can protect him?"

She had sat down again. "Yes," she answered. "He believes that Creasy will keep his word."

"Then that's our advantage," Creasy said. "And it's all we have. Jens, tomorrow I want you to

travel with The Owl to Phnom Penh and try to trace that fax number. Also, get as much

information as you can about the area surrounding the village of Chek. It'll be useful to know

some details about the local Khmer Rouge commander and how many men he has and the size

of the area he controls." He turned to Guido. "In the morning I want you to go and see Billy

Chan at the Mai Man Bar. I'll give you a note for him. He'll plug you into the Black Market and

you'll buy us some machinery. We need at least two SMGs, four handguns, and some grenades

and whatever else you think might be useful. There's probably a lot of Russian machinery

around. AK47s will be fine, unless you come across Uzis. The Chinese made a very good

version of the Soviet Tokarev pistols. They must be all over this country. Try to get the type 51,

with plenty of spare mags."

He turned to Susanna. "I want you to pick up Maxie and Rene from the airport and give them

each a pistol that Guido will buy. Take them to Tran's home together with enough tinned food

and bottled water to last a week. Bring them up to date on what's happened and hire three

mobile phones. Give one to Maxie, I'll have one and so will you so we can keep the

communication network. You can do that through the hotel reception."

"And what will you be doing?" Susanna asked.

"I'll be doing some sightseeing," Creasy answered. "Tran will be faxing the movements of a

typical tourist. Once Jens has done the groundwork in Phnom Penh, we all move into

Cambodia." He glanced at his watch and stood up. "Maybe the puppy is alive, but for sure he's

no longer a puppy. Not after twenty-five years as a prisoner of the Vietnamese and the Khmer

Rouge."

Chapter 26

She would have recognized them even without a description.

She picked them out as they came through customs: two men carrying canvas bags, small

enough to be carried into an airliner's cabin. One was of medium height, stocky and

broad-shouldered; a square face with sandy hair. The other was dark and tall and elegant with a

suntan and jet-black hair. Physically they were different, but in their walk and behaviour, they

were the same. They moved with an awareness, a constant shifting of the gaze, a strange caution,

as though they were walking into a battlefield.

Susanna stepped forward, introduced herself and stated: "Creasy asked me to pick you up and

take you to the place."

She was under immediate scrutiny; cold eyes evaluating. Then the Belgian held out his hand.

"I am Rene Callard. This is my colleague Maxie."

Callard sat in the front passenger seat, Maxie in the back. As they drove towards Cholon, it was

the Rhodesian who asked the questions.

"You have the machinery?"

"Yes...In the bag on the seat next to you."

"What is it?"

Susanna drew a breath, never having realized that she would ever be uttering such words. "Two

Chinese-made Tokarev pistols with six spare mags. And six hundred rounds. A Nokia mobile

phone and also the twenty square metres of fishing net you requested."

"Supplies?"

"Enough food and bottled water for a week."

"The family?"

"They are stocked up with enough food for a month. They have their instructions."

She got a grunt of approval from behind. Rene asked: "The others?"

"Jens and The Owl left for Phnom Penh yesterday. Creasy is acting as a tourist. Guido has