The Cover of War Read Online Free PDF Page A

his day, leaving out following her to The Trung
Hoa, and the grilling from Nash and Loan. He described the bombing and choked-up;
but he studied Amai's face. Hearing about the dead mother, the injured child,
and the distraught father, Amai's mouth dropped.
    She said:
'That's horrific.'
    Her eyes turned
glassy, her movements twitchy. Her sorrow wasn't faked.  
    'I heard the
blast,' she said. 'It's awful to think we can do this to our own.'
    Danny tensed.
'Where were you?'
    Her eyes
smoldered, and then she said: 'Hunting out the best ingredients for a romantic
dinner for two - of course. Lotus root and ginger are not easy to find, let alone
prawns. 
    They smiled at
each other. Danny said: 'Thank you my darling. I think it was your best yet.'
    She giggled.
'Darling is the strangest word I've ever heard - but I love it.'
    'The bomb,'
Danny said. 'Seems the Viet Cong were involved. Would your contacts know
anything?'
    There was a
knock at the door and they both tensed.
    Danny got up and
made his voice deep: 'Who is it.'
    The reply was a
small boy's: 'I have something for Mister Thorn.'
    Danny went to
the broken door and pulled it ajar. A boy of no more than ten handed him an
envelope through the gap, and then ran back down the stairs, almost toppling at
the bend.
    Danny opened it.
It held a single slip of typed paper. He knew it was from General Weyand. Danny
thought it unusual for a top Military officer to leak to the press this way,
but Danny would not betray him; trust was the name of the game at this level. A
story like this could make history - Danny knew he was on to a winner - he
could just feel it.
    Amai leaned on
his back. 'What is it?'
    'Nothing.' He
shrugged out of her hold, walked to his satchel, and put the envelope inside. 'Just
some info for a story.'
    'Important?'
    'Confidential.' Now's
the time, he thought. I have to ask her.
    His throat
tightened. 'Amai,' he said; his tongue suddenly too thick to form words. 'I'm
not here to take sides.' Hesitating, not knowing how to proceed, he ran his
fingers through his thick hair. Then he looked into her liquid brown eyes.
    'Military
Intelligence says you're a Communist spy.'

4
    A mai went ridged.
    She felt like
she had been thrown into icy water. Once, bathing near the Chinese boarder, she
had jumped into a freezing river; the heart-stopping breathlessness felt
physically the same.
    She fought the
panic. On the inside she was roiling; on the outside she kept her appearance
calm. This could be the moment she lost the most important person in her world.
    She had two
options: dispel Danny's suspicion; or tell him the truth.
    Would he stay
with me if he knew the truth? She knew he would
not. She loved him. He meant everything to her. She could not loose him.
    She looked into
Danny's concerned eyes and knew he was expecting an answer. 'Why do they say
that?' She smiled remorsefully. 'Because I gave you some good information for
your stories? A spy would lie, Danny.'
    I'm lying to
him, she thought. I'm shameful.
    Danny looked
thoughtful. 'That's what I thought too.'
    She felt his
hand on her shoulder.
    He said: 'One
was the guy that broke in here this morning - A General Loan.'
    'Him. He's an
extortionist.'
    'Why didn't you
tell me?'
    'It's not the
way we do things here, Danny. I just want him to leave me alone.'
    'I hope I'm not
getting played here, Amai. I care about you. You know that, right?'
    'I'm no
communist.' It was kind of truthful. Amai felt tears threatening. She walked to
the sink and filled a glass with water.
    Loan or his men
would be outside her building now, waiting for her to move; waiting for her to
take them to Triet. Loan would get what he wanted. She would give him
Triet. But if she wasn't careful, she would end up floating in the Mekong - or worse. Suddenly she was in a
concrete room; Loan's smirking face hovered above her - and then he was raping
her.
    She dropped the
glass and it smashed in the sink.
    Danny came to
her. 'It's been a hell-of-a day.'
    Amai