Part 42 (1/2)
I put the money back in his pocket.
He said something to the driver, and they went inside the office.
Susan and I made eye contact. She said, ”Mr. Cam is not dressed for a night drive up north.”
”The car has a heater.”
”They rarely use the heater because they think it wastes gas. Same with headlights, if you can believe that. Also, if the car breaks down, they'd freeze to death.”
”How cold is it up north?”
”Probably in the fifties at night. That's very cold for someone from Nha Trang.”
I nodded and said, ”We must look stupid.”
”Speak for yourself. Also, Mr. Cam may speak some English. So watch what you say.”
”I know that.”
She looked at me and said, ”Are you sure you don't want to take the mini-bus tomorrow?”
I replied, ”I can handle Mr. Cam.”
”Can you handle getting robbed on the road?”
”I'm driving.”
”Paul, you aren't allowed to drive.”
”Don't worry about it.”
She informed me, ”Sometimes they're in cahoots with the police. They'll pull over the chauffeured car and fine the Westerners in the car big bucks. If you're driving, you'll get arrested.”
”If they catch me.”
She looked at me and said, ”I guess the R&R is over.”
”You bet.”
She forced a smile and said, ”So we outrun the police or speed through the ambush.”
”Right. Mr. Cam wouldn't be so accommodating.” I asked, ”Is there an alternate route?”
”No. At night, it's Highway One, or stay home. The other roads aren't drivable at night, unless you want to go about ten miles an hour.”
”Okay. This is a challenge. I like challenges.”
She didn't reply.
I realized that Susan might not share my enthusiasm for irrational behavior. I said, ”Look, I'm the one who needs to make a rendezvous. I'll go, and you follow with the Frenchmen tomorrow.”
”Oh, so I have to ride with a busload of Frenchmen, and all you have to do is stay awake eight hours and watch out for highway robbers. I thought you were a gentleman.”
”Be serious.”
”Look, Paul, chances are nothing is going to happen. And if it does, the nice thing about this country is that they don't kill you. And the women aren't raped. It's only about money. You just hand over everything you own, and they're gone.” She added, ”We can hitchhike the rest of the way in the morning.”
”I'm not getting a good image of us standing in our underwear on Highway One, trying to flag down an ox cart.”
She handed me her tote bag, which was heavy.
I said, ”What do you have in here?”
She replied, ”Some American companies keep a little protection locked in the safe.”
I didn't say anything.
She continued, ”In the Binh Tay Market in Cholan, you can buy pieces of American military hardware under the counter. You put the pieces together, and voila, you have something. In this case, a Colt.45 automatic, American military issue. You're familiar with this weapon.”
I looked at her and reminded her, ”You said this was a capital offense.”
”Only if you get caught.”
”Susan... where did you hide this?”
She replied, ”In the hot water tank. There's always an access panel.”
My mind was reeling, and I started to say something, but Mr. Thuc and Mr. Cam had come out of the office.
I looked at them and had the impression that they'd gone over the final details of their plan, as Susan and I had gone over the details of our plan to screw up their plan.
Mr. Thuc was smiling again, and he said, ”Mr. Cam ready. You ready. Have good journey to Hue.” He added, ”Chuc Mung Nam Moi,” then reminded us, ”Pay Mr. Cam when you get to Hue.”
Not wanting to seem as jumpy as Mr. Cam, we shook hands with Slicky Boy and wished him a Happy New Year. Mr. Thuc and Mr. Cam each opened a rear door for us, and we both got in the back.
We pulled out of the lot and halfway down Van Hoa Street, Susan said something to Mr. Cam. He replied, and she got a little sharp with him. I put my hand on his shoulder and said in English, ”Do what lady say.”
He realized we weren't going to be that easy. Within a few minutes, he pulled into a gas station.
He filled the tank, and I stood near him. Susan went into the service station office, and came out a few minutes later with a guy who was carrying two ten-liter cans of gasoline. Susan had a plastic bag that contained two liters of bottled water, a lot of cellophane bags filled with snacks, and a road map.
I made Mr. Cam pay for the gas, and as he did, I took my Nha Trang map and guidebook out of my overnight bag. We all got in the car, me in the front this time, and off we went.
We headed north, and on the map I could see we were going in the right direction, toward the Xam Bong Bridge.
The long bridge pa.s.sed over a few small islands where the Nha Trang River widened and emptied into the South China Sea. The sea had turned from blue to gold as the sun began to set above the hills to our west. It would be dark within half an hour.
We continued north on a fairly decent road that cut through the high hills north of Nha Trang.
I recognized this road and looked to my right. I said to Susan, ”That's where the giant fairy fell down drunk and put his handprint in the rock.”