Perfect Justice

19.

NHUNG VU CREPT THROUGH the pitch-black night behind Pham and the other four men, careful to make no noise, no sound whatsoever. He knew some of them were watching him, hoping he would do something wrong. He had to make sure that didn’t happen. He had to make sure he didn’t let Pham down.

Many of Pham’s men had thought it foolhardy to include Nhung in their group. He’s only fifteen, they had insisted. He’s only a boy. But Pham had waved their concerns away. This is a battle of the young, Pham said. The elders will not help us. There is no guarantee the job will be completed soon. The young are our future.

And so Nhung had been permitted to join them, to attend their meetings, to share in their plans. And most importantly he had been allowed to be part of the select group making this midnight raid—their first organized act of resistance against ASP.

It was a momentous occasion, made all the more special by the fact that Pham had permitted—in fact, practically invited—him to come. Dan Pham was Nhung’s hero. He was the only man with the courage to speak out against the elders, to force them to take action against these killers. Whatever Pham wanted Nhung to do, he would do.

Crouching close to the ground, they crept over the crest of the last hill and saw the ASP camp in the valley below. A barbed-wire fence surrounded the encampment. Nhung had expected it to be patrolled, but there was no sign of a guard. It would seem ASP wasn’t expecting any trouble.

Their mistake.

Pham’s group crept down the hill toward the camp. Nhung watched Pham remove the components of the firebomb from his backpack and carefully assemble them. Pham had learned that one of the barracks in the camp was the armory, the place where weapons were kept. And explosives. That would be their target. No one knew how Pham came by this knowledge. He seemed to have an undisclosed source of inside information about ASP. His secrecy had created some dissension in the ranks. But when all was said and done, Pham’s information was usually correct.

Pham stuffed an oily rag down the delivery case. He was preparing to light the fuse when Nhung felt a strong arm wrap around his throat.

“Pha—” He tried to warn someone, but a hand clamped over his mouth.

Pham heard the noise. He whirled around, then froze.

Nhung saw the barrel of an automatic weapon protrude over his shoulder.

“You gook boys are coming with me,” the voice behind Nhung said. “We’re going to have a little talk with the Grand Dragon. And if you don’t cooperate, I’ll kill you like the stupid ape-bastards you are.”

“Then you’ll hang for our murders,” Pham said.

“Shit.” The man holding Nhung laughed. “We’ll kill you, skin you, then bury you on the premises. No one will ever know a damn thing about it.”

“We have committed no crime against you,” Pham said.

“No, not yet,” the guard hissed. “But only because you’re dumb fuck Vietcong niggers who let yourself get caught.”

Pham’s face burned with rage. “Your raiders shot my grandmother!”

“Now ain’t that too fuckin’ bad.” He shoved Nhung toward the compound. “That’ll be a picnic compared to what we’re gonna do to you.”

Nhung could see the worry in Pham’s eyes. It was Pham’s first strike, the assault the Colonel and so many others had urged him not to make. And it was turning into a disaster. The resistance was being squelched before it had even begun.

He had to do something.

Nhung rammed his elbow back into the guard’s gut, then thrust the gun barrel upward. The gun fired into the air, splitting the silence of the night. Pham and two others rushed forward, fists clenched. Seconds later the guard tumbled to the ground, unconscious.

Lights came on in the compound, followed by shouts and movement.

“Come on!” Nhung said.

“Not yet.” Pham lit the rag, reared back his arm, and tossed the firebomb into the camp. It soared through the air like a glowing orange meteor, then struck the side of one of the barracks. A second later the north wall of the building burst into flame.

Nhung followed the rest of Pham’s men back over the hill. It was a long run to the place where they had left the car, but they would make it. Since the ASP men were awake and alerted, they would probably be able to put out the fire before it consumed the camp. But that would keep ASP from following them. They would be able to get away. They would escape the wrath of ASP.

At least for the moment.