Bimat--A Vietnamese Adventure

by Robert A Webster

  They all had cuts and bruises, but apart from their initial treatment, they'd received no follow up care. The heat inside the cell was unbearable, with no fans or any form of relief from the high temperature. Drinking water came from a large drum in the corner, but the liquid smelled soiled, so none of them drank. The flies were relentless and swarmed around the new inmates, laying eggs in their open wounds.

  Most of the guards only spoke Vietnamese, so any requests went ignored. Grimes and Akhim tried to plot a way out. They thought they could get money, bribe the guards, escape from Vietnam, and start again. An English speaking guard told them that Mophi would be joining them after recovering from the anaesthetic, with their respective Embassies visiting shortly. They would then be moved into the main prison to await a trial date.

  Ca was now in custody in the police station cells in Ho Chi Minh. The police released the technicians after realising they didn’t have anything to do with the caper. They were only hired workers.

  Ca sat along in the small cell and pondered his situation. He knew that he would receive the harshest of punishments, especially after a policeman told him about the carnage he and his colleagues had caused in Hanoi. Ca, although denying any knowledge of that, knew no Vietnamese would believe him, and knew he would be in for a rough time. His head pounded as he stared through his cell bars into space, thinking about his family and his young brother, Captain Ca.

  ****

  Lee and Thran returned to the dining room after thirty minutes. They both appeared a little more relaxed as the conversation shifted to the food, which Spock and Stu had finished off.

  Pon and Kim went back upstairs to phone Banti and tell her they would be coming home soon. Pon then called Taksin to finalise the arrangements and asked him to arrange for Vitchae and Cenat to visit him and help him with some spiritual matters.

  Spock and Stu went back to the pool. They wanted to phone Dao and Moo but did not have Vietnamese phone cards, and didn’t want to disturb the group engrossed in conversation inside. They decided to wait until they got back to Thailand.

  Lee, Thran, Nga, and Captain Ca sat around the now cleared table, and Thran explained about his outburst and relayed the story of Ca, Kim, Phan Yar and the feelings of betrayal and deceit he now felt toward Ca.

  Kim had told her father the previous evening about Ca’s involvement and said that if he had not been there she would not have survived.

  She had told Thran how Ca had also been an unwitting participant of Grimes’s con.

  Lee reminded his brother how he once considered Ca as a son in Phan Yar, before he broke his trust.

  Captain Ca felt uncomfortable and stayed silent. The conversation went on for an hour with sporadic discussion and then silence, giving Thran time to consider the information.

  He wanted the full force of the law brought to bear on Ca at the start of the conversation. However, the longer he thought about what his brother Lee had said, and with Kim now happily married to Pon, he realised that he did not handle the Ca situation well and had let anger cloud his judgement.

  Thran composed himself as his thoughts drifted back to the happy quiet times, and Ca’s fresh fish.

  Pon came downstairs and stood in the doorway, listening to the last few minutes of discussion. Captain Ca noticed him first and stood as Pon came into the room and went over to sit by Thran.

  Lee noticed a look in Ca’s eyes that he’d seen in his prodigy before, but only shown to him... respect and a little fear.

  Thran looked at Pon and asked. “What are your thoughts on this, Pon?”

  Pon thought for a moment. “I didn’t catch the whole story, but Kim and I will be fine. We just need time to heal further,” said Pon and sighed. “I felt angry, but that anger will never disappear so long as the thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as the thoughts of resentment are forgotten, and it seems Thran, your resentful thoughts are rapidly diminishing.”

  There was another silence as they tried to decipher the load of old bollocks that Pon had just come out with.

  Thran then said to Captain Ca, “Your brother will need to be punished. But I will show leniency, after all, you two are brothers, and I don’t know what I would do without mine.” He smiled at Lee, with the tender family moment abruptly broken by the arrival of several police cars screeching to a halt outside Thran’s door.

  There came a knock on the door, Thran opened it, and the Hanoi Police Chief apologised for the disturbance as two armed police arrested the gardener.

  ****

  Grimes sat in a dingy interview room along with a fierce looking Vietnamese Police interrogator and a British Embassy official. Grimes had sung like a canary about the plot and execution of the kidnap. He implicated everyone and tried to make them believe that he was a victim in this terrible episode.

  Grimes then offered the police officer a few thousand dollars so that this mess could be sorted out. The interrogator took notes and, after Grimes implicated the gardener, he left the room leaving Grimes alone with the Embassy official.

  “Okay,” said Grimes looking smug, “so how much will it cost to get out of here and flown back to the UK.”

  The small, wiry, Embassy official said nothing and scribbled down notes as Grimes became frustrated with him not talking to him. Grimes glared at the man. “I am a British citizen and I know my rights and I demand you get me released and repatriated.”

  Throughout the time that the Embassy official had been in the interrogation room with Grimes, he had said very little, but when he did, it was carefully considered.

  He leant forward, looked at Grimes, and said. “Mr Julian Grimes, John Crawford, Duke Phillip, or whatever name you go by nowadays; you do not appear to understand the seriousness of your situation. The UK Embassy can do nothing, and no Vietnamese defence lawyers will touch this case. Minister Tangh is too powerful and apart from kidnapping his daughter, your actions killed Vietnamese soldiers and police.”

  Grimes glared at the man and sounding arrogant said. “I have money; just bribe somebody and get me out of here.”

  “Have you any family you want me to contact in the UK?” the Embassy official asked, ignoring Grimes’s statement.

  “You’re not listening to me!” yelled Grimes. “There’s money in it for you too.”

  The man stared at Grimes and sounding calm but in control, said. “No sir, you are not listening to me. We can’t do anything for you. This is Vietnam and we have no authority here, especially against the Minister you targeted, plus the terrorist attack on his neighbourhood and the murders you and your accomplice’s com…”

  “Money will sort it out,” said Grimes interrupting the official and then grinned, “but if you won’t accept it, someone will.”

  “Mr Grimes,” said the man sounding annoyed, “money will not help your case and you can’t buy off the Vietnamese. Here, you are not innocent until proven guilty… you are already guilty. There can be only one sentence in Vietnam for your crime,” said the official and told Grimes what his sentence and punishment would be.

  Pale, shocked, and numb, Grimes shuffled unsteadily away in his shackles and escorted back to the cell trembling, his brash arrogance gone.

  As Grimes was the first one to have his Embassy visit, the others were keen to find out what he had been told.

  After the guards shackled Grimes to Akhim, he noticed his vacant expression and frowned. “What happened Julian?”

  Julian Grimes gazed at his foul and filthy surrounds and knew the main prison would be just as bad, if not worse. Trying to come to terms with what he was told, and with his voice quivering, said. “It seems that it has already been decided gentlemen.” He gulped, not wanting to hear the words come out, and with a quake in his voice, said. “We will all receive the death penalty.”

  ****

  Early that evening, Thran, Pon, Lee, Captain Ca, and Brigadier Nhat, sat in Thran’s living room discussing the recent events with an army General, a
senior police chief, and two top judges. Thran wanted to find a quick, but fitting court date to hand out the verdicts, sentences, and punishments for the insurrectionary prisoners now in custody.

  There would be no slick lawyers to get them out. In Vietnam, the power, authority, and influence lay with the men within this room, the power between life and death, and they all agreed on the latter.

  Spock and Stu sat in comfortable armchairs watching Vietnamese TV in the conservatory. Thran noticed them looking bored. Although he now considered them part of the family, they could play no part in this conversation. He phoned his driver and spoke to Pon, who shouted over to them. “Thran has put his car and driver at your disposal if you want to go out.”

  “You’ll need money, but if yo...” said Thran, unable to finish his sentence as the pair were already out of the door.

  Lee, Pon, and Captain Ca laughed as the two lads did their disappearing act and they saw Spock and Stu hurrying over to the parked car as the driver started it up. The lads got in and smiled at the shocked driver.

  Thran looked taken aback and Pon told him he would get used to that. Thran called his driver again and told him to give them some money, a few million Dong, equivalent to $200 each and told him to give them more if they needed it.

  The car pulled out and drove along route 3. The driver spoke Pidgin English and asked them where they wanted to go.

  “I think first on the agenda ... a soapy,” said Spock and Stu nodded.

  “Take us to a soapy massage, driver,” said Spock with a smile a mile wide.

  They sat back and enjoyed the sights, sounds, hustle and bustle as they entered the heart of Hanoi. The driver drove around the city and the lads took in the sights and succulent aromas from the open-air restaurants. The driver pulled into the rear of a large hotel and Spock and Stu saw a large sign written in Vietnamese with small English writing underneath and pictures of young Vietnamese women in various massage positions. Spock and Stu smiled at one another, got out of the car, and asked the driver to wait.

  Several Vietnamese women greeted them at the door. Because they only spoke Vietnamese, Spock and Stu couldn’t understand them, but they smiled when the women looked at their injuries and started rubbing their backs and chests.

  A smartly dressed man came over and, speaking English, asked which masseuses they wanted.

  They didn’t hang about and chose two women, who took clean towels and oils from shelves and led them upstairs. Spock and Stu went into a large wooden panelled room divided into sections where a small white massage mattress lay on the floor of each section.

  After given baggy shorts and a robe, the women led them to shower cubicles and gave them a bottle of liquid soap. Speaking no English, the women made signals and instructed them to wash themselves.

  One hour later, Spock and Stu met up in the foyer both wincing in pain and went outside. “There’s the git.” said Stu pointing to the driver who got out of the car when he saw the lads leave the massage parlour and stood at the car door smiling.

  Spock and Stu, after having their already aching bodies, kneaded, twisted, and pummelled as the masseuses gave them a full body massage with no happy ending, went over to give the driver a severe clipping.

  The driver opened the door for them, but felt scared as the two strode towards him looking angry.

  “Good massage sir?” he asked the oncoming lads.

  “No stupid. It wasn’t a bloody soapy, it was a bloody agony,” said Spock, spitting on his clipping hand to prime it, ready to meet the drivers head.

  The driver furrowed his brow, looked confused, and nodded. “Yes, that’s here,” he said and pointed to the large sign.

  Spock and Stu had ignored the small English writing underneath because they wanted to hurry inside. When they looked at the sign again, they read the English writing. So-Pee’s Body Massage and Spa.

  “Huh,” said Spock and glowered at the driver.

  Stu sighed and although sore, said. “Well, I don’t suppose we can blame him, after all, it was a so-pee, but unfortunately not the soapy we know and loved.” Spock mumbled as they got back in the car.

  Their ardour had worn off due to them being in more pain, so when the driver told them they would feel the benefits the next day, he got his clip around his ear because Spock didn’t want to waste his primed hand.

  They decided to go to the bars and told the driver to take them to the beer bar area.

  With his ear stinging, the driver took them to the old quarter of the city and dropped them off at the Spotted Cow bar.

  “I will wait close by,” said the now cautious driver rubbing his clipped ear.

  The narrow streets bustled with Vietnamese and foreigners in a party mood with Mopeds buzzing around like wasps.

  Spock and Stu went into the Spotted Cow, sat at the bar, and ordered two Bia hoi’s to lubricate their stiff joints. The beer tasted great, so they ordered two more.

  Two Vietnamese women joined them and chinked the lad’s glasses, “Zho Zho,” they said. The lads, remembering from Maureen that it meant cheers, repeated the toast. They bought the girls a drink and spoke to the Australian bar owner who asked them about their cuts and bruises, but he lost interest when they explained what happened.

  The bar owner thought it sounded like just another load of old bollocks, which he usually got from the Yanks that came in talking about their heroism during the war. He smiled and went to serve another customer.

  While Spock and Stu had been speaking to the owner, their female companions went to speak with other men in the bar.

  “The people in here don’t seem that friendly matey,” said Spock frowning.

  Stu creaked his neck from side to side until he felt it click, and said. “Nah, you’re right, let’s move on.”

  Aching, they got off their barstools. It had been a hard few days, and they felt worn out, besides, they knew that they would see their wives the next day. Stu, still concerned and confused about Dao, hoped everything would be okay when he got home.

  They went into a small bar called the Polite Pub, which wasn’t busy and the people didn’t seem that polite.

  The fatigued lads drank a beer, walked outside, and looked around. They smelt delicious odours wafting through the street and saw squid sizzling on oil-drum barbeques. They watched old Vietnamese women wearing Non-la’s walking along balancing thick wooden poles over their shoulders that looked like weighing scales, with baskets of food on each side.

  Stu yawned, and stretching his face, said, “I’m knackered. Shall we grab a bite to eat and call it a night?”

  Spock smiled. “Yeah, good idea.”

  They sat on small plastic stools at a small outdoor restaurant in front of a market and studied the menu written in Vietnamese.

  Stu shrugged and Spock looked at what the foreigners on the next table were eating.

  Spock grinned, and flashing his shiny gums at the German couple, said. “That looks nice, and it smells good.” He held up the menu and asked. “Where is it on here?”

  “At the top in big letters,” said the German man and pointed his fork at the menu. “It is this restaurants speciality, and it’s delicious.”

  “It isn’t spicy is it?” asked Stu as he and Spock struggled to eat spicy Thai food. In fact, they both struggled to eat anything spicier than Yorkshire puddings.

  The German couple shook their heads as the waitress dressed in pyjamas came over and took their order. Spock pointed to the top of the menu and ordered two cold bottles of Tiger beer as they heard the patter of rain on the corrugated tin roof.

  Spock and Stu watched the rain as the sudden downpour sent people outside scurrying for shelter.

  Spock moved his stool as rain dripped on his head from a hole in the roof.

  “I don’t think much of Vietnam,” said Stu frowning.

  “Me neither,” said Spock wiping his head with a tissue.

  Ten minutes later, the woman came with two steaming hot bowls of chunky meat broth
with rice and a hot sticky roll of sweet coconut.

  They tucked into the soup which tasted delicious and they ordered two more bottles of beer.

  “This beef stew tastes great,” said Stu savouring the flavour.

  “mm… mmm,” Spock mumbled, trying to gum down on the tender meat.

  Vietnamese and foreigners chatted and Stu looked around the noisy market, furrowed his brow, and pointed for Spock to look.

  “That’s different, they have a pet shop inside a food market,” said Stu chewing on a lump of meat as Spock turned around to look.

  “They have a lot of dogs and they look mangey,” said Spock with chunks of kneaded meat in his gob.

  “Look, they’ve sold one,” said Stu smiling as a Vietnamese woman lifted a dog out of a cage and took it around the back.

  The German couple on the next table smiled and pointed to their empty bowls. They then pointed at the dogs and the man said. “We have just ordered another bowl.”

  Stu looked horrified as he thought of old Chunky and what he’d just eaten. He spat out the lump he was chewing, took a swig of beer, and carried on spitting.

  Spock smirked and carried on gumming the meat also thinking about Chunky, or rather, fricasseed Chunky.

  After a boring evening and with Stu feeling disgusted, the drenched lads went back to Thran’s house early.

  Stu couldn’t wait to leave Vietnam and wondered what they had been eating while at Thrans.

  Although another shag-less night, they knew they would make up for it the following day when they got back to the land of smiles.

  — Chapter Sixteen —

  “It’s good to be home matey,” said Spock as the plane landed at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

  Stu looked out of the window and as the plane stopped a short distance from the terminal, he smiled and nodded.

  Covered with cuts and bruises, Pon, Kim, Spock, and Stu walked down the plane’s boarding steps along with the other passengers.

  Taksin waited with other officials and greeted the four at the foot of the steps while journalists took photographs of the bedraggled party, while the other passengers boarded busses to take them into the arrivals section.