Into the Treeline

by John F. Mullins

  “And what do the Northerners say about this?”

  “As soon as we take over, we will ask the Northerners to leave. We will no longer be a threat to them, so they will do so. We will then set about establishing economic and commercial ties, so that both countries may prosper.”

  “And how did you plan to go about this?”

  “There are high-ranking officers in the South Vietnamese forces who think as we do, some of them in critical positions. When the time is right, we intend to capture the warmongers in Saigon and establish a new government.”

  “Yes, yes, we know all about those officers. Most of them have already been picked up. They will be court-martialed. We will wish to check our list, to make sure we have them all. You are to write down all whom you know. We will know if you leave someone out! So do not play us for fools. The American, there, who luckily does not speak our language, already wishes to kill you. I do not know if I can stop him if he finds out you have been lying to us.”

  An hour later Tu handed Jim the completed list. He eyed it briefly, then smiled. So that was why Moira had visited! A lot of people had a lot more explaining to do. Perhaps it wouldn’t be necessary to flee to Saigon after all. Danang would do. But first there was just a little bit more work to do in Hue.

  “Come, my friend, up on the deck,” he said. “We will talk of things important.”

  Chapter XVI

  Moira hadn’t slept well. Several times she had wondered if she should give Jim Carmichael just one more chance. She had never before consigned a man to death, as she had effectively done that afternoon. She’d thought she was hard enough. Now she didn’t know.

  She’d had several more scotches than she should after dinner at the Embassy House, played at charming the young officers, had been satisfied with the attention they had shown to her. Had in the end gone to bed alone, though she could have had her pick. It took forever to drop off, and when she did the dreams came, tormenting her with visions of broken bodies and blood spraying from bullet wounds. And all the bodies looked like Jim, until at the very end of the dream one of them was her. She woke up screaming, her throat sore. Turned the light on and tried to read. But she could not concentrate, found herself reading a paragraph over and over again, and then could not tell what it had been about. Early the next morning she started dozing again, stayed awake long enough to turn off the alarm clock. No reason not to sleep in. Things are in motion now, and I can’t stop them.

  Shortly before noon she was woken by someone banging on the door. Who the hell! The sense of foreboding that came over her was as strong as the taste of stale scotch in her mouth.

  It was one of the young CIA officers, Fitz something-or-other. She remembered thinking that he was the most attractive of the lot, in an immature sort of way. What was he saying?

  “I said,” he repeated, “we just got a message from the province chief. He wants to see you, right now. He sounded pretty agitated. Is there something we can help you with?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Get out of here while I get dressed, and get me a car and driver. Think you can handle that?”

  Had it happened that quickly, she wondered as she hurriedly got dressed and ran a brush through her hair. Were my dreams for real? She felt a sudden, unexplainable sense of loss. Interesting, she thought, storing it away for later analysis. I’ll use it in the novel I’ll write about this place someday.

  “He’s gone,” said the colonel.

  “My God, that was fast,” she said, hoping her face did not give away the shock.

  “No, you fool! He’s gone. Disappeared. Along with some members of the PRU.”

  Was it relief she felt? “I’m sure he’ll show up again. And you can do what is necessary. Don’t be so eager.” And who was this fucking Slope, to be calling her a fool!

  “If only it was so easy,” he said, settling back behind the desk and making sure the reels of the tape recorder were slowly spooling. “We hadn’t intended to go after him last night. It takes more planning to catch a tiger than a dog.”

  “Then what’s the worry?” And why did he get me over here in such a hurry? No wonder these fools were losing the war, if they got so excited over every little thing.

  “The worry, my lovely colleague, is that Nguyen Dinh Minh has also disappeared. He did not report for morning prayers, and when they went to find him, there was no sign. One monk gives a confused story about three people walking the halls last night, one supposedly very drunk. He thinks the drunk could have been Minh, though he cannot be sure.”

  “Oh, my God,” she whispered, the color leaving her face. “And you think it was Captain Carmichael?”

  “I see no other explanation. The question is, what are we to do about it? Minh was privy to all the secrets. He knows the identity of everyone. By now, we must expect that the captain does also. He has so far been very skillful at extracting information from even the most hardened.”

  “Kill him,” she said without hesitation.

  “And if we cannot do it without also harming Minh?”

  “Then kill him too. We can always blame it on Carmichael. He’s now a rogue, beyond all help. Minh can be replaced. We cannot afford for any of this to be made public. It’s too early. And make sure you take care of any of the PRU who were with him.”

  “And in this you also speak with the voice of Mr. Danforth?”

  “Yes,” she said simply. “Would you like to speak with him to confirm that? We can get him on the single-sideband.”

  “That will not be necessary. It will be done. Already my men are searching. I will also notify our friends in the Viet Cong. He will be shot on sight. It will be easier to explain that way. We would not want him brought in, where he might talk.”

  “Indeed we do not,” she replied. Gone was any residual feeling for her former lover. Now he was in the way, and dangerous for her plans. He could not be allowed to spoil her career, not after she had worked so hard and come so far.

  “There’s a couple more questions I’d like you to ask him, before we drop him off,” said Jim, handing Tu a sheet of paper. There was much more he would like to know, but there wasn’t time for a leisurely interrogation. These few questions, distilled from the many that ran through his mind, would have to do.

  Tu read quickly, looked up at Jim and smiled. “Revenge?”

  “Only honest emotion I have left,” he replied. “Plus it’s probably the only way the PRU will be able to survive. One thing the Communists have right, get rid of all your enemies, stem and branch. Can you think of any other way?”

  “No,” Tu admitted. “And even if I could, I’m not sure I would want to take it. Someone must pay for the captain’s death.” He went below.

  Jim continued to enjoy the sunshine. It seemed like forever since he had been able to sit back and relax like this, though it had been only a little over a month ago that he had been in Australia. He watched as Tu’s brother pulled in yet another fish. They’d been very lucky today, catching more in a long morning than they usually did in a week. They’d told him that he brought good fortune. He’d smiled at that. But he hoped that his own luck would also continue to hold.

  He was almost asleep when Tu returned, lulled by the gentle rocking of the boat. “It was as you suspected, Mon Capitane. Our friend below was very happy to be of service. He thinks that he has been badly served by his fellow plotters.”

  “It had to be. Time to get underway.”

  They dropped the prisoner off on a tiny uninhabited spit of land two miles from the coast. They provided him with enough drinking water for two days, some of the fish the family had caught, and a hook and line. “Heavy as this sonofabitch is,” Jim had said, “I don’t think it’ll hurt him too much to go without a meal or two.” The plan was to notify the temple in a couple of days where to find him. After it was all over.

  The monk went over the side happily, glad to be out of the reach of the crazy American. He had not expected to survive. He thought he would stick to religious
matters from now on.

  A couple of hours later they were again chugging up the Perfume River. “May I accompany you?” asked Tu.

  “No, my friend, this is one I must do alone. No matter what happens, I will be leaving you after it is finished. You must stay here, and live with the consequences. It will be easier if it is regarded as the work of a lone man. Besides, you have your own mission to take care of.”

  “I think,” said Tu, “that after I perform that, it will be time to take my cousin up on his offer, and go to France to help him with his restaurant. I need a rest. I have been fighting for over twenty years.”

  “Good idea. We make it through this, anything I can do to help you, let me know.”

  “We will make it through, Mon Capitane. Luck rides with you. You will always survive.”

  Jim shivered. “Yeah. I’ve been told that. Like the fucking Ancient Mariner. Not sure the world wouldn’t be better off without me, but too late to worry about that.”

  Once again creeping through darkened rooms. Slowly and softly moving, no maps or sketches to help this time. Not as much to worry about here, the target and his guards aren’t here yet. Just an old houseboy who was easy enough to subdue and leave, taped up, inside a wardrobe. Jim had gone to the office first to make sure everyone was still there. The place was a hive of activity. Still running the search for him, he supposed. But the target would not be up all night. It was not his style. Into the bedroom, take a seat beside the bed. The colonel lived well. The furniture was old, obviously expensive. Some of it, he felt certain, had come out of the old Imperial Palace. He was sure the colonel, if asked, would make the excuse that he was saving it from further damage. There was a bottle of scotch on a silver tray beside the bed, Chivas Regal. Not my favorite, but what the hell? A little shot won’t hurt. Been a long time since I’ve had a drink. Know what? Hasn’t been all that bad. Wonder how much of my life I’ve fucked up because I was too drunk to know better. How many decisions I thought I made, but were actually being made by the other person who resides inside me. He put the bottle back, unopened.

  He heard the jeep pull up outside. Footsteps on the marble floors, two sets. One bodyguard, a better situation than expected. He cocked the pistol, a Ruger .22 with a sound-suppressed barrel, got down behind the bed, and laid it across the mattress. The door opened, flooding the room with light. The guard had only a fraction of a second to see him, start to reach for a holstered gun. Bad move, asshole, he thought, squeezing the trigger. A tiny red hole appeared between the man’s eyes.

  “Don’t even think about running, Colonel,” he hissed. “I’ll drop you before you get an inch. Come on in here and close the door. Then drop that little gun you carry on the table.”

  “You are an idiot,” the province chief said, as Jim taped his arms to the chair. “Everyone in the province is looking for you. You will be dead within hours.”

  “Which means that I’ll probably survive you by at least half that time,” replied Jim.

  “What do you hope to accomplish by this?”

  “Not much,” he admitted. “Maybe find out a few things. Maybe not. I know most of it already. Maybe I’ll just shoot you now, and get it over with.”

  “Wait! There are things you don’t know. You cannot know them. Let me live. I will tell you.”

  “Things like Eliot Danforth being in on this? Is that what you want to tell me? Not good enough.” Jim ostentatiously checked the chamber of the Ruger, though he knew a fresh round was already seated there.

  “You know it, but do you have proof?” the colonel protested. “Only the word of unreliable witnesses. I have better.” He was beginning to sweat profusely. He had no doubt the young madman intended to kill him. His only hope lay in delaying it long enough. Perhaps someone would notice that he had not called in to inquire about progress in the search for the American.

  “Oh? Tell me more.”

  “I have tapes,” he said. “In my office. I taped every conversation I had with the Americans. From the earliest days, when Danforth first came to me with the plan. To the last, today, when the woman directed that you be killed.”

  Jim did not allow the surprise to appear on his face. “Still not good enough,” he said. He pointed the gun at the colonel’s left eye.

  “Wait! There is money, much money. You can have it, all of it. We can leave here, go to Hong Kong. The bank will release it to you if I say so.”

  “That’s what it was all about for you, wasn’t it? The money. You ordered Vanh’s death, didn’t you?”

  “You already know that.”

  “Yeah, but I want to hear it from your lips.”

  “Yes! Of course I did. He knew too much, and I knew that he would not go along with it. He thought of himself as a patriot!” The word, from his lips, dripped with contempt.

  “Is that so wrong?”

  “It is foolish. It is not enough to die for.”

  “So it is better to die for what you did?” Jim took the T-bar from his pocket, drove it forward in an uppercut, jamming it underneath the colonel’s nose, up into the brain. The crosseyed look frozen on his face was almost comical, though Jim didn’t feel like laughing. He left the instrument where it was and departed as quietly as he had come.

  Early in the morning, after the staff had departed Province Headquarters, he broke in. After only a little searching he found the tapes.

  Copely was roughly shaken awake. “Captain Carmichael!” he said. “What…where…we’ve been hearing all sorts of strange stories. What the hell is going on?”

  “I’ve got something I think you ought to listen to,” the shadowy figure said. “I think you’ll find it interesting. If you want to talk to me later, I’ll be at the PRU compound.”

  “Goddamn, Jimmy,” said Al. “You be in a heap of shit, boy.”

  “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find you here. Roger send you?”

  “Uh-huh. He thought you might be needing some help about now. Looks like to me a whole bunch of other people might be the ones needing the help. Though I guess there’s no helping them now. You’ve been very thorough, my man.”

  “You talk to Copely?”

  “Yeah. He’s about to shit himself. Put Moira Culpepper under arrest. They’re shipping her out this afternoon.”

  “What about Danforth?”

  “Took the ‘gentleman’s way out.’ I can just see some of these Agency types, seen too many movies, I think. Probably talked to him, left him a gun, told him they’d come back later.”

  “You think it was just him?”

  “Shit, I don’t know. I’m just a simple soldier, remember? I’ll leave the big picture to people like you, want to save the world. Roger tells me he thinks that was the case, though. Danforth found out about the movement, figured if he could use it to end the war it would do a hell of a lot of good for his career. He’d be a real hero, become DCI, go into politics. Roger says he always was too ambitious for his own good.”

  “What are they going to do about Culpepper?”

  “They’ve been trying to figure that one out for the last couple of days. They’re trying to keep a lid on this thing. Wouldn’t do for the government in Saigon to find out that one of their American allies was ready to sell them down the river. She keeps her mouth shut, she may be allowed to resign. She doesn’t, I imagine she may be seeing the inside of a jail cell. If she doesn’t have an accident before that.”

  “And what about me?”

  “You, my good friend, are going to have a short tour. Orders already been cut. You’re going back to the States for early attendance at the Infantry Officers Advanced Course at Fort Benning. Needs of the army, and all that shit, you know. Then you’re going to get a nice tour in Germany.”

  “And suppose I don’t want to go back?”

  “You don’t seem to understand, mon frere. That’s not your call to make. You got more enemies than Dick Nixon. All the Buddhists are still pissed at you. We got the PC’s people calmed down, mainly because your
man Tu went to the second in command and told him the story. He realized the colonel had put a bum rap on you. But there’s still the little matter of the price on your head, which, in case you hadn’t heard, has been doubled. And finally, the boys in Saigon would feel a lot better if you weren’t around to talk too much about this, either. I’m here to escort you to Danang, where you’ll get on the next thing smoking back to the land of the roundeyes, and I’m not to let you out of my sight. Else Roger has threatened to cut my balls off. And I think he would, too. So you can go easy, or you can go hard.”

  “Al, on your best day you couldn’t make me do anything.”

  “Want to bet, you big skinny motherfucker?”

  Jim looked at his friend speculatively. Jesus, why have I never noticed his arms are as big around as my thighs? “Ah, fuck it,” he said. “I was getting tired of this place anyway. Goddamn war ain’t fun anymore. What are you going to do?”

  “Serve out my tour. Get drunk occasionally. Go on as many R&Rs as I can get away with. Try to stay alive. The usual shit. Way I hear it, my tour may not be too long either. Roger tells me that Senator J. William Halfbright is making a lot of noise about us conducting an assassination program. Word is, we all may be thrown out of country. Then the Viets will kill ever-fucking-body they catch, instead of just most of them.”

  “And then?”

  “Then I’ll probably see you at Benning. Got to get my ticket punched, too. This thing isn’t going to last forever. God, I’m not looking forward to the peacetime army. I think I’ve probably forgotten how to shine boots.”

  “You ever thought of just giving it up?”

  “Yeah. Thought about it. For about ten seconds. What the hell would I do? Other than maybe in the Mafia, there isn’t too much call for my peculiar skills in the civilian world.”

  “You could go to school. GI Bill.”