Free The Cover of War by Travis Stone Page B

physical weight. Amai understood that she had to suppress the feelings and
focus on the task, for as always, distraction in this game meant death.
Military Intelligence knew who she was. They would be hunting her.  
    Yet here I
am, she thought . In the most obvious place in Saigon .
    Focus, she thought.
    Neither she nor
Thi could enter the Maison Blanche for fear of capture, but their plan was
simple: wait for this Major Johnson to leave the club; follow him; seduce him;
drug him; question him; escape. Amai would then dismiss Thi, and tell Major
Johnson the details of Triet's Tet slaughter.
    Amai stroked the
small vial in her moneybag with her index finger. According to Triet, the drug
would take effect in minutes. Major Johnson would become sedate, carefree, and
unable to lie.
    And if it
fails? She thought.
    Amai had not been
told why Major Johnson had been targeted by General Giap's Intelligence staff,
but knew he held secrets vital to Vietnam 's security. Amai only hoped she could extract them quickly and
painlessly.
    Assuming he
takes the bait, she thought. She knew he would.
    The reason that
the black Major had been given to Amai, she knew, was simple: his fetish for
beautiful Asian girls had been noticed by Triet's surveillance teams.
    I'm fresh
meat.
    Focus.
    According to
Triet, several weeks of shadowing had identified the Major's voracious sexual
appetite. However, he targeted only the most beautiful girls, shunning
prostitutes and uglies. For the Pentagon Major, only the best would do, and
apparently Triet thought that two beautiful girls would quadruple the allure.
    Amai shuddered.
She loathed the thought of betraying Danny. He was the man she loved. She
looked across the street to the Maison Blanche's heavy oak doors, and thought: We
have to find this Major first.
    On the street,
foot and vehicle traffic merged in a well rehearsed ballet, and scattered
fragments of light, cast from paper lanterns and headlamps, speckled every
surface with pastel dots.
    The scene was
calm. Amai was not.
    She wished she
could run to Danny and tell him everything. She scanned the dimly lit street,
knowing full well she could not go to Danny. She had to finish the job.
    To calm her
nerves, Amai ordered Binh Tay in a fruit cocktail.
    A skinny waiter
with a limp served them croissants with a bowl of spicy dipping sauce. Amai
picked. Thi ate with a large smile and flashing eyes.
    How can she
possibly be enjoying this? Amai thought.
    Thi leaned back,
stroking her neck. 'Cheer up. I've never fucked a black man before,' she said.
'I hope we get to.'
    Amai smiled
inwardly at Thi's energy. She supposed that Triet hadn't threatened to cut off
any of her family members' body parts. But Amai was worried about Thi's
flamboyantly seductive behavior. It was what the mission called for, but Amai
hoped her immaturity didn't convert to flakiness at the wrong time. In a
pressure situation, her life would be in Thi's hands.
    They had both
memorized a photograph of Major Johnson, and sat watching the shimmering
puddles of light on the sidewalk, scrutinizing every African-American face that
appeared.
    Thi said: 'They all
look the same.'
    'Try not to look
so obvious.'
    Thi re-crossed
her legs, exposing her upper thigh. She began slipping a high-heel on and off.
'Relax. This will be easy - and fun.'
    The waiter gave
Amai her vodka. She downed it and ordered another. The waiter stared too long
at her breasts and Thi giggled.
    Suddenly
serious, Thi sat upright, focusing her attention across the street. Amai
looked. An enormous black-man, wearing green Army fatigues was striding along
the sidewalk toward the Maison Blanche. He fitted the description Triet had
given: Height 6ft 6, weight 280lbs . Amai had never seen anyone so tall.
Her eyes zoomed in: he wore Major's rank insignia. She suppressed a jet of
fright and tried to match his face to the picture in her mind.
    Is it him?
    She felt
incredibly nervous.
    It is.
    Thi said: 'He's
huge.'
    With his head
shaved