Wounded Souls

By

Beth

Chapter one

Admiral Harriman Nelson sat at his paper-strewn desk aboard his submarine Seaview wearily trying to catch up on reports and notes from the sub’s last mission. Three weeks spent exploring new submarine volcanic activity in the Philippine Trench had left him with a bounty of new data to look over but had also left him with the sometimes tedious aspect of exploration…reports. Sighing, he was just about to begin turning his reams of notes and observations into a concise report when a call from Sparks in the Radio Shack interrupted his thoughts.

“Admiral? There’s a call for you on scramble. It’s Admiral Johnson.”

Nelson closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “Put him through Sparks,” he said in an exasperated tone.

Reaching to the view phone in front of him, he flicked it on with a touch more force than necessary and watched it flicker to life. “Bill, if this is another mission for Lee you can just…”

“No hello, how are you?”

“How are you Bill? Enjoying the weather back in Washington?” Nelson countered in a saccharine sweet voice. “You can’t have Lee. I…”

“Calm down, Harry and listen, will you? It isn’t Lee we want. It’s you we need.”

“Me? Why?” he asked suspiciously.

“You remember Laos?”

“I have a scar on my stomach that aches whenever the weather changes to make certain I never forget what happened in Laos,” he growled, involuntarily rubbing the scar.

“Do you remember Tuan Nguyen?” he asked.

Pain flitted briefly over Nelson’s face. “Of course I do,” he said in a hard tone. “He died in…in Laos on that blasted mission we were on.”

“No, Harry. He didn’t. You may have seen him fall, but he apparently wasn’t killed.”

“What? What are you saying, Bill?” he asked uneasily, leaning closer to the monitor and scrutinizing Johnson’s face closely.

“It appears that Tuan and a few others from the mission you were on were taken captive after you and the others had escaped. They were held in a prison camp in central Laos by the Communists until fairly recently. He escaped a few months ago and made his way back to Vietnam. He says he has information vital to our country’s security.”

“A few months?”

“Took him awhile to get back across the border and a bit longer to find someone he trusted over there to get a message out to us. Then they relayed it to us.”

Nelson was silent for a time as he remembered Tuan, the man he’d been proud to call friend, and the mission he thought had taken his life.

“What kind of information does he have? It’s been more than a few years since…since he went missing.”

“Don’t know for sure what he has. He says he will hand it over to only one person. You.”

“How reliable is this? How do you know it’s Tuan?” he asked knowing he had no desire to go back to Vietnam now or any time in the future. But if it was true that Tuan was alive…if he had vital intelligence…

“The person he sent the message through had the correct security codes. Old and outdated but they were his designations.”

“Codes that could have been stolen or made up.”

“Possible. But we think this may be true. The agent he contacted …Trang Pham…deemed it important enough to pass it on to the CIA. And he felt pretty certain the man was Nguyen.”

“I remember Pham. He was with us at the base camp in Pleiku. He should know Tuan, but why me? Why didn’t he just hand the information over to Pham?”

“He said you’re the only one he will trust with it. You two were friends, weren’t you?”

Nelson closed his eyes and sat back in his chair as memories flooded back. “Yes, yes we were.”

“We got the message a few days ago and have been looking it over, trying to decide what we need to do…whether there’s a chance it’s legit as well as questioning what he could have that would still be pertinent. I’m sending you coded copies of what was sent by Pham. It’s not much but they should be coming over to you as we speak.”

“Was there any word on what he found?”

Johnson was silent for a time, his eyes focused on his desk. “All that was said was he discovered something during the Phoenix Program,” he answered quietly knowing what Harry’s reaction was going to be.

“The Phoenix Program? You’ve got to be joking! Any information from that program has to be suspect, Bill. You know what that program…”

“Yes, I do know. I read everything you ever wrote about it. And I agree. Phoenix was a mistake. A horrible mistake. But you have to agree we did get some reliable Intel from it, regardless of the methods. Tuan swears he’d discovered something shocking right before the little trip to Laos you two took…something of vital national security to our country. Figuring he’d be back in a few weeks, he hid what he found, planning to take it to someone he trusted. I suspect that would have been you.”

“What does he want?”

“He wants you, and only you, to come for the information.”

Nelson rubbed a hand over his brow thinking hard. The thought of going back…he didn’t want to think of it. The risk of being captured by the Vietnamese government alone was enough to make him say no. But, if there was a chance Tuan was alive and had information… “Suppose I say I’ll go. What do I do? Where am I to meet him?”

A knock on his cabin door startled Nelson for a moment.

“I suspect the answers to those questions are on the other side of your door right now. And I wager Lee Crane is the one that brought it to you. Quite flustered and worried I would suspect,” Johnson said with a smirk.

“Damn it, Bill,” he growled as he rose and walked to his door, opening it to find, as Bill had said, Lee Crane holding a folder with a concerned look on his face.

“This just came for you, Admiral over the teletype. Coded,” he added before glancing to the view phone.

“Thank you, Lee,” Nelson replied distractedly as he pulled some of the sheets from the folder, already trying to decipher the code. “I, uh…I want you to await further orders from me. Soon I think.”

“Aye sir,” he answered quietly, with a frown on his face. “Is there anything I can do?”

“What? Oh…no. I’ll be down shortly with your…our orders.”

“Very well,” he said softly as he closed the door.

Nelson walked to his desk, unmindful that Johnson was still on the phone as he began to decode the packet, knowing the code by heart.

“Well, Harry?” Johnson asked when he saw that Nelson had finished decoding the packet and had sat back with a thoughtful look on his face.

“According to this, I’m supposed to be dropped off and walk until I’m met by Tuan or one of his people.”

“Yes. That’s what he said.”

“You want me to land on shore and just walk into Vietnam, find Tuan and bring back this information, all without getting caught by the Vietnamese government?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Johnson said simply. “You know the land, you know Tuan.”

“Why can’t Tuan just meet me on the shore or in…?”

“Pham said Tuan felt it was unsafe for him to be seen any more than he already had. He says there are people other than us that would be interested in what he found...people that would destroy what he had. He feels it’s safer for you to come to him than for him to be spotted. The area he’s asked you to meet him in is a rather remote area. The government for the most part leaves the villagers alone…stays out of the local business so to speak. We feel there would be minimal chance of you being seen…or captured.”

“Minimal chance? Sounds like a big risk to me.”

“This is important Harry or we wouldn’t be asking you to do this,” Johnson said as he watched Harry lean back in his chair and begin rubbing his hand over the side of his head as he thought.

After a few minutes he slapped the desk and leaned forward. “I don’t see that I have much choice, do I Bill? If what is in here is true, Tuan may have something of value in regards to our national security as you said. If it’s truly Tuan,” he said punctuating each word with a tap on his desk.

“The code word he asked you to remember doesn’t mean anything to you?’ he asked with a furrowed brow.

“Oh…yes…yes it does. I…it means a lot to me,” he finished in a soft tone, a slight smile on his lips.

“Harry, we wouldn’t be asking you to do this if it wasn’t important. You know there were rumors Phoenix had discovered things that had been covered up?”

“Yes, I did. Of course.”

“This may be something big.”

“Or it could be a hoax designed to get me alone and capture me,” he said quietly as he thought over the consequences of being caught by the Communist government of Vietnam. “But…I don’t see that I have a choice.”

“Then you’ll go?”

“How can I refuse when it’s our nation’s security we’re talking about? Yes, I’ll go,” he all but growled out. Turning he pulled a map from a stack behind him, opened it and found the coordinates of the drop site. “He chose a pretty secluded spot. That’s either good or bad.”

“I’m hoping it’s good, Harry. The less chance you, an American, are seen in country the better.”

“I agree. Secluded and as far from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as possible is good.” After a quick calculation he said, “I’ll be at the coordinates in…say eleven hours. I’ll be ashore in twelve. That will put me ashore before dawn so I’ll have the cover of darkness at least.”

“Tell no one what your mission is, Harry. No one.”

“I understand. How many people know about this little operation?”

“Only a handful. All top level CIA, FBI and ONI. It needs to be kept quiet, for your safety as well as Tuan’s.”

“Understood, Bill.”

“Have Seaview drop you off and then head to International waters. Make sure you’re alone when you land. And that you come back in one piece this time.” Nelson’s nod was all the answer he got before he switched off the view phone and began to stalk about his cabin. After a few minutes pacing, he reached for the microphone. “Captain Crane, come to my cabin please.”

“On my way, sir,” Crane’s voice answered.

A short time later, Nelson heard a knock on his door. “Come,” he yelled smiling as he saw the anxious look on Crane’s face as he entered.

“You wanted to see me, Admiral?” he asked, his eyebrows raised inquisitively.

“Yes, Lee,” he said walking towards Crane and handing him a sheet with coordinates written on it. “I want you to set a course to these coordinates at best possible speed. It should take us about eleven hours to arrive.” Nelson seated himself on the edge of his desk as he awaited Crane’s response.

“Sir? These coordinates are off the coast of…”

“I know where they are off the coast of, Lee. We…I…need to be there as soon as possible.”

“Admiral, what’s going on? You get a lengthy call from Admiral Johnson, coded orders and now this,” he said waving the paper in his hand at the admiral.

“I can’t tell you what’s going on, Lee. I wish I could,” Nelson answered as he rose and began to walk about the cabin, his thumb pressed to his lower lip as he walked. “All you need to know…all I have been authorized to tell you… is that Seaview will go to these coordinates and I will go ashore alone. I’ll need someone to row me in, then return. I can’t take the chance of a raft being found on shore, hidden or not. After the raft returns, you will take Seaview to International waters and await further instructions.”

“You’re going ashore alone? Are you crazy? Who gave you these orders? You can’t…”

“Captain! I can and will do just as I have said. No one will go with me. Not even you, Lee,” he continued in a slightly softer tone. “You will stay with Seaview and keep her and the crew safe. You will avoid detection at all costs. Any hostile actions taken against the sub and you get Seaview away safely, even if that means taking her all the way back to Santa Barbara. She and her crew cannot be seen in Vietnamese territorial waters. Understood?”

“Admiral, you can’t go alone. What if this is a trap? What if…?”

“Lee, don’t you think I’ve thought of all the same things you have? Yes, there’s a chance this is a trap. But the risks outweigh the rewards in this case.”

“Risks! Rewards! Admiral, let me come with you. I…”

“No, Lee. No. I need you to follow orders. I understand your concerns. Trust me I do but this is the way it will be. Now, get us headed to the coordinates. I have some preparations I need to make. Let me know when we’re an hour out,” he said tightly as he walked to his cabin door and opened it, letting his captain know the discussion was over.

Crane stared at Nelson for a bit longer, his jaw clenched tight then nodded. “Very well, Admiral. I’ll let you know when we’re close,” he said softly as he strode from the cabin and headed to the Control Room questions and worry filling his mind. What had been in those orders to take them off the coast of Vietnam? He shook his head at the thought of the admiral going ashore alone on some mission - an apparently ONI mission.

“Chip, set a new course. These coordinates,” he ordered when he reached the Control Room and handed the paper Nelson had given him to the exec. “Best possible speed.”

“Aye, sir,” Chip replied as he looked at the coordinates. “Wait…these coordinates take us to…”

“I know, Mr. Morton. Just set the course,” he said tightly before he left the room quickly.

~O~

Eleven hours and ten minutes later, Nelson appeared in the Control Room dressed in jungle fatigues, carrying a backpack and an M-16 rifle slung over his shoulder. A sidearm was strapped snugly around his waist.

“Lee, what’s our position?”

“At the coordinates. On the surface just off shore. Should be a short raft ride. Sharkey’s already top side with the raft ready to row you in.”

“Any sign of activity?”

“No sir. Radar and sonar are clear. Sharkey reports no one on shore. Looks clear.”

“Good. It’s 0400 hours now. Once Sharkey returns, you take Seaview out of territorial waters and await my call. If all goes as planned, I should be in contact in two days. If you run into trouble before I’m back, take Seaview home. Your orders are to keep this boat and her crew safe. Kowalski! Get me a long range radio and a waterproof bag for it,” Nelson called as he adjusted the buckle on his holster.

“Admiral, please reconsider,” Lee murmured as he leaned in close to Nelson. “I can be ready in ten minutes. Don’t do this alone.”

“Lee, I don’t have a choice!” he replied louder than he had intended. “I have my orders and I will follow them to the letter. As will you, yours, Captain. Understood?”

A brief nod and a worried look was all the answer Nelson got.

“Lee, I know this whole plan is sketchy but…if what I’m going ashore for is real…it could mean a lot to our country’s security. And I can’t ignore that.”

“Here’s the radio, sir,” Kowalski said as he handed Nelson the radio already encased in the waterproof bag. “All checked out and functioning.”

“Thanks, Ski,” he said as he took the radio and placed it inside the backpack he carried. “I’ll contact you when I’m ready for pick up.”

“Not before?” Crane asked in concern.

“Probably not. I’ll be out of range once I leave the shore. No sense carrying it with me so I’ll leave the radio behind, hidden in some rocks,” he said as he moved to the ladder and began to climb.

“Admiral?”

Stopping with his foot on the bottom rung, Nelson turned a question in his eyes.

“Be careful, sir.”

“Roger that, Captain,” he joked with a smile as he climbed the ladder quickly.

~O~

Nelson walked down the trail through the thick jungle cautiously, stopping every once in a while to listen. Someone was behind him, he was sure of that but the shadow was good at what he was doing. He could never get a good fix on where the sounds were coming from. The question of who might be following him filled him with a deep unease and he fervently hoped it was simply Tuan or one of his men, not someone with a sinister plan in mind for him.

Deciding to wait out his tail, he secreted himself in brush off the slim path he was traversing and waited. Not long after, the hesitant footfalls on the jungle leaves resumed. Nelson smiled. His tail was confused. That was good. All he had to do was wait just a bit longer.

A few minutes went by as he waited, flies and mosquitoes, badgered him relentlessly but he didn’t dare slap at them no matter how much they bothered him. Shortly, he saw a shadow on the trail and knew his wait for the person trailing him was over and he prepared to find out who. Launching himself at the body that appeared in front of him, he knocked the man to the ground, sitting astride him and was just about to land a punch to the man’s unprotected face when he saw the man under him was Lee Crane.

“Lee! Damn it! What are you doing here?” he asked angrily, taking the time to quickly climb off Crane and drag him back into the brush where he’d left his pack and rifle.

“What I’m doing should be obvious, Admiral. I told you, I didn’t like the idea of you doing this mission alone. I’m not going to let you walk into some trap. Not if I can help it.”

“I ordered you to stay with Seaview! She should be your first concern! I don’t want you involved in this. I’m supposed to come alone, not have a tail following me.”

“I’m not going to let you do this alone.”

“Lee, go back. Now. You don’t know what you’re getting into,” Nelson pleaded.

“And you do? That tells me right there you need help. I’m coming. And don’t tell me to go back because I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I mean…I can’t. I ordered Chip to take Seaview off the coast. She’s safely in International waters by now.”

“You what?”

“You heard me. Chip has orders to keep Seaview safe.”

“Sounds like the very same orders I gave you before I left, Captain!” Nelson said angrily, thinking rapidly of a way to keep Lee from coming with him and came up with nothing. Slumping back against the jungle floor in defeat, he sighed. This was not how this was supposed to go but he should have known Lee wouldn’t have let him go off on this mission by himself. He just wished there was a way to keep him from being exposed to the danger he was about to face: danger Nelson was sure was very near.

“There’s nothing I can do about it I guess. But I swear, if you get yourself killed over this…,” he barked avoiding all eye contact with Crane.

“You were pretty vague back on Seaview. What can you tell me?”

Nelson sighed and closed his eyes. “Since you’re here, against orders, I guess there’s no reason to not tell you everything although I’d much rather you never heard some of what I’m about to say. But we’re too close to the trail. I don’t want to be heard. Follow me,” he said as he stood, grabbed his pack and rifle and hoisted Crane to his feet, then took off through the dense, black jungle, effortlessly walking through the almost impenetrable forest. Finally, after a few minutes of walking, Nelson stopped and gestured for Crane to sit in a small clearing.

“Have you ever heard of The Phoenix Program?” he asked abruptly, his voice tight with suppressed emotion.

Lee wrinkled his brow in thought. “Yes. Yes, I have. Why?”

“What…what do you know about it?”

“It was a program by the CIA and the South Vietnamese to gather intelligence from the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.”

“And how did they gather the intelligence?” Nelson asked, his voice tight.

“With…well, with interrogation and…”

“Yes, go on. And…?”

“With torture.”

“Yes,” Nelson said turning his eyes away from Crane’s. “Suspected members of the NLF, or Viet Cong, were gathered up, taken to interrogation centers and…forced to tell what they knew in an attempt to rout out suspected double agents or target individuals with less than savory actions in mind for our troops. Originally it was called the Intelligence Coordination and Exploitation Program but was later renamed the Phoenix Program. After the Tet Offensive in 1968, and the resulting military setback for us, Phoenix became an even bigger part of our war effort and sadly, was more acceptable.”

“Yes, I remember there being controversy over the program. It tended to target civilians, didn’t it?

“It did. The chief feature of the program was the collection of information on suspected Viet Cong members and their neutralization, or in reality, their death. Provisions were put in place that supposedly protected suspects from random “he said she said” crap as well as phony accusations based on personal reasons. Three separate sources had to be verified before a suspect was incarcerated. That didn’t always work out so well,” Nelson admitted in disgust.

“What does all this have to do with you?”

Nelson was silent for a long time. “I got to see Phoenix up close and personal,” he said in a soft voice. “I was assigned…briefly…to the CIA Saigon office and shown one of the interrogation centers, watched while interrogations were conducted, lived among the troops there for a time. What I saw turned my stomach. It was wholesale torture. Minimal information was given yet very few, if any, of those interrogated survived. I…I almost resigned my…my commission because of what I saw there,” he stammered in such a quiet, pain-filled voice, Crane was shocked.

“Why didn’t you?” Lee asked.

“Jiggs Starke,” Nelson answered with a slight smile and a furtive glance to his companion. “He knew of Phoenix. He was never part of it but he knew I’d been there and saw it in action. He told me… if people who saw things that were wrong simply walked away without doing all they could to change them, things would never change. They’d just continue on. So I stayed and did my best to change things I saw as wrong.”

“Which put a target on your back,” Lee said succinctly remembering the congressional and military leaders who seemed to harbor ill will towards the admiral over the years he had known him. He’d never understood why until now.

“I didn’t make friends and influence people by being outspoken, no,” he answered with a shrug. “But by that time I was a captain on my way to my first admiral’s star. I suppose some of my “eccentricities” were overlooked by some and pounced upon by others. It was more of an attitude of allowing me some latitude in exchange for what I could do for them.”

“How did the program end?”

“By 1971, there was an outcry and Congressional hearings were held. It began to be perceived by the public negatively and was shut down. In theory.”

“It wasn’t?”

“On the record, yes it was. Off the record, I doubt it. There were reports of another covert operation called F-6 that continued it. I was never privy to that and for good reason.”

“You would have never let it continue?”

“Let it? I didn’t have that much influence but I would have done my best to make sure it met the same fate as Phoenix.”

“Regardless of personal attacks?”

Nelson’s short nod was all the answer Lee needed.

“So why are we here?”

“I am here because one of the friends I made here, a man that saved my life in a firefight in Laos, contacted an ONI operative still in Vietnam saying he had information we’d be interested in. Word got to Bill Johnson and…here we are. I thought he, Tuan Nguygen, had been killed years ago during an operation into Laos that didn’t go the way it was supposed to. Things were fouled up from the very beginning,” he recalled, his eyes glazed as if seeing the events in his mind.

“How do you know what happened?” Lee asked, suspecting he knew the answer already.

“Because I was on the mission. We were to cross the border between Vietnam and Laos, push in about fifteen kilometers and make contact with local villagers. Our mission was to work on setting up a spy network among the Hmong. Unfortunately, Communist troops were waiting for us shortly after we crossed. We took heavy losses including, I thought, Tuan Nguygen, the man who saved my life.”

“Where has he been all this time?”

“From what Johnson told me, he was held in a Laotian prison camp until a few months ago when he escaped. Took him some time but he finally made it back to Vietnam. He managed to get word out that he’d come across information vital to our country during one of the Phoenix interrogations. He was about to show what he found to me or the local CIA operative assigned to the project when our mission to Laos came up. He hid the Intel and hoped it would be safe until he returned, thinking it would be just a matter of weeks. That didn’t turn out to be the case. Once he got back to where he’d hidden the information, he found it secure and got word out that he had something we needed to see.”

“Any idea what?”

“Knowing the intelligence that came from Phoenix, it could be anything. I’d rather not speculate on what the it might be. Anyway, he will hand the information over to only me.”

“I’m sorry Admiral but this doesn’t sound legit to me. Sending you in here alone and to some out of the way meeting spot? It’s fishy.”

“I owe Tuan. I trust him. If what he said is true, I need to do this. But you don’t,” he said raising his eyes to Crane who stared back defiantly. “Tuan is my friend and it’s my responsibility…my duty…to go after him and this information.”

“Tuan may be your friend, sir but you’re mine and I’m not going to let you do this alone. I don’t care what you have to say about it.”

“Go back. Please. Wait for me on the shore. Hide yourself. Contact Seaview to pick…”

“No sir. Whether you like it or not, you need back up. I’m going.”

Nelson looked down, plucked a blade of grass and played with it, rolling it back and forth between his fingers, his mind racing to find a way to keep Lee safe. Finding none, he sighed heavily and stood up. “I guess I have no choice. Tuan’s just going to have to understand that some officers don’t know how to follow orders. Come on,” he said brusquely. Grabbing his pack and rifle, he waited until Lee had done the same before heading back to the main trail, Lee following closely behind.

“Where are we meeting this Tuan?”

“My orders are to walk on this trail until I’m met by either Tuan or someone he sends.”

“Someone he sends? How do we know Tuan sent him?”

Nelson smirked slightly. “Code word only I will know.”

“What is it?”

Nelson turned his gaze to the man walking by his side and hesitated. “An Tien,” he said finally a small smile crossing his face as he said it.

“What does that mean?”

“You’re full of questions for some one that isn’t supposed to be here, Captain,” Nelson snapped.

Crane shrugged. “I’m here. I should know what you know.”

The two walked on for a few minutes before Nelson answered. “An Tien means roughly beloved angel in Vietnamese.”

“That’s a strange code word.”

Nelson cleared his throat quietly. “It’s not a code word per se. An Tien is…was a young woman I…Tuan and I knew.”

Crane glanced at Nelson in surprise. “A woman?”

“Yes, a woman. And get that look off your face. An was like a little sister to me, always tagging along with Tuan,” he said with a slight smile. “An and Tuan were engaged to be married. I was…I was to be Tuan’s best man. We never got the chance though. Tuan and I…it was supposed to happen after the mission to Laos.”

“The one he supposedly died in?”

“Yes. That one. I was seriously injured in the attack but managed to get out. I don’t remember a lot but we were walking down a trail, Tuan was by my side. Suddenly, he stopped and knocked me to the ground just as the jungle exploded in rifle fire. I…we returned fire but we were outnumbered. I remember firing and reloading but before I could fire again, I felt a burning pain in my stomach. There was blood everywhere,” he said rubbing his stomach lightly as if he could still feel the pain. “I looked up and saw Tuan hit and fall. I don’t remember much more than that after taking the hit. Just seeing Tuan fall and knowing…thinking he was dead. I was picked up by one of the Marines on the mission with us and carried out. I…kept losing consciousness. Choppers met us in a clearing. The pain was incredible…I…I passed out finally and woke up in a field hospital near Da Nang…Place called My Khe Beach.”

“You were at China Beach?” Lee asked, naming the more common name for the field hospital, astonished Nelson had been a patient there.

“Yes…yes I was. When I woke up…An was there. She…I had to tell her Tuan was dead. Or so I thought.”

“Did you ever see her again?”

“A few times. She came to the field hospital. Sat with me. Cried for Tuan only once that I saw. She was…is…a strong woman. Once I was flown back to Germany for further treatment, communication was harder. I do know she stayed in Vietnam. I…I tracked her down when I knew Saigon was going to fall and tried to convince her to come to America where she could be safe but she said Vietnam was her home and she was staying. After that…I lost track of her. I don’t know where she went or if she’s alive,” he replied in a tone of voice Crane had never heard before come from Nelson: sad, pain-filled and full of regret.

“I want you to let me do the talking when we meet my contact,” Nelson said after a few moments of silence as the two walked cautiously down the track. “I don’t know who exactly we’re meeting but I suspect they won’t be happy to see you.”

“I could hide off the trail and watch.”

Nelson laughed briefly. “Whoever is meeting us already knows you’re here, Lee. I would bet my life on it.”

A few more minutes and both Seaview officers were confronted by three men holding M-16s aimed at their heads.

“What is the code?” the apparent leader said in a hard, heavily accented voice.

“An Tien,” Harry said simply never flinching as the muzzle of a rifle dug into his chest.

“You did not do as you were told!” the obvious leader said in a low, angry voice as he stepped closer to Nelson. “You did not come alone!”

“No, I didn’t. The Tuan I knew would understand why,” Harry answered quietly, his hands held loosely at his side.

The man circled Harry then turned his gaze to Crane. “Why did you come?” he asked as he pointed his rifle at Crane’s head. “You are not welcome here.”

“I came to protect the Ad…Harry.”

“Why? Why do you care?”

“I care because he’s my friend. I didn’t think he should come alone.”

“And did he ask you to come?”

“No. He ordered me to stay behind.”

At that, the man laughed heartily and turned to Nelson. “Still the same Harry Nelson are you not? Loyalty. Duty. Respect. You haven’t changed,” he said as he came to stand in front of Nelson who stared at him in confusion then shock.

“Diem? Is that you?”

“It hasn’t been that many years! Do I not look the same?”

“I don’t look the same,” he said with a smile as he grabbed Diem’s hand. “Where is Tuan? Is he…”

“Tuan is right here,” a voice behind him said.

Whirling, Harry watched a short, painfully thin dark-skinned man emerge from the jungle, a smile lighting his gaunt face as he came to stand in front of him. The face and man were thin and aged but he knew it. He knew him. “Don’t I get a hello from my old friend?”

Harry stepped forward and was met half way by Tuan and engulfed in a hug that was returned. Slapping each other on the back, they stepped back and looked at each other. “I…I can’t believe you’re alive! You look the same, Tuan. Thin…but the same,” Harry said happily.

“And you, Captain…I mean Admiral Nelson look like you sit too much behind a desk. No offense my friend.”

“None taken. I do sit behind a desk too much,” he said laughing. “Tuan, this is my friend, Lee Crane. Lee, this is Tuan Nguygen.”

The two men nodded to each other briefly. “You do have a way of finding good men that stand by you, Harry. I’m glad. But not glad he has come.”

“Tuan, what is it I’m here for?” Harry asked, trying to deflect Tuan’s attention from Lee. “Where is this package of Intel?”

“With the only person other than you I trust with it.”

“An Tien?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and a small smile.

“Who else?” She’s safe. Hidden. I will take you to her,” Tuan said. “She…she’s missed you.”

“And I’ve missed both of you. Tell me what…”

“Later. On the way to An Tien. We must go now,” he said, gesturing to the others. Three of Tuan’s men headed down the trail and Harry and Tuan followed with Lee lagging behind, listening intently to the surroundings and to the conversation the two men in front of him had.

“An Tien? She’s well?” Harry asked quietly.

“As well as one can be I suppose considering the past few years.”

“When Saigon fell…I tried to get her out. She refused. She said…she said America had nothing for her,” Nelson said quietly in a tone that said he had been hurt by the words.

“She did not mean it like that, Harry. You must know that.”

“I would have taken care of her. Provided…”

“Would you have been her husband?” Tuan asked in a hard tone.

“That was never my place, Tuan. You were all she ever wanted. The two of you together was all I ever wanted,” he replied turning his eyes to Tuan’s as if searching to see if his words were believed. “It wasn’t like that between us. You know that. We were never more than friends.”

“I know. I do know that. You did not betray me. And you could have,” he said turning his eyes to Nelson who looked away.

“No. I couldn’t,” he whispered.

They walked on in silence until the jungle was suddenly shattered by the sound of gunfire and the two lead men dropped in their tracks. As if in slow motion, Harry turned back to motion Lee down and watched him raise his rifle to fire. Almost immediately, Lee was thrown backward by a round that hit him in the head. Nelson stood as if rooted to the spot for a second as he watched the blood pour from Lee’s head. Then with a cry of rage he raised his rifle and fired but almost immediately felt a burning pain in his arm and the rifle dropped from his suddenly nerveless hand. A hard hit in the back of his head by a rifle butt knocked him to the ground as he heard gunfire continue.

“Stop!” a voice called from the jungle. “Put your weapons down.”

Harry rose to his knees and looked about, seeing Tuan sprawled out beside Lee, blood pouring from a wound high on his shoulder but apparently conscious and very angry. Two of Tuan’s men appeared dead, leaving him, Diem and Tuan. Searching quickly, he found no sign of the other member of Tuan’s group. Seeing the futility in further fire, he, Tuan and Diem put down their weapons.

Immediately they were surrounded by men dressed in grungy jungle fatigues and carrying old, but apparently functional, AK-47s and frisked. Harry was knocked flat on his stomach, his hands wrenched painfully behind him and tied tight. His face pressed to the ground, Harry stared at Lee’s blood-drenched face, trying hard to see any sign he was alive, but failed. “I told you not to come. Why didn’t you listen?” he asked quietly as grief filled him. “Why?”

“Quiet!” one of their captors shouted, emphasizing his order with a kick to Nelson’s ribs. Pain flared through his side but it was nothing compared to the agony that filled his heart.

“Get up!” the leader yelled. Harry was grabbed by his trussed hands, dragged to his feet and pushed down the trail, Tuan by his side.

As he stumbled by Lee, he stared down at his friend in sorrow, trying hard again to see any evidence he was alive…a breath, a sound, anything that would give him hope his best friend was alive but saw nothing and his heart hardened. They’d pay. If it took his dying breath he would make them pay for killing Lee Crane.

Chapter 2

A long walk through the humid tropical forest brought them to a village tucked away in a jungle clearing. Huts ringed the camp while small fires smoldered, sending an almost fragrant aroma through the surroundings. Harry stumbled through the village, anger and grief warring inside him as he saw in his mind’s eye Lee, bloody, still…dead.

His thoughts so centered on the grief he felt fill him; he didn’t notice they had stopped in front of a hut. A huge man with dark eyes, a scar slicing down one side of his face, strode forward and stared at Harry, Tuan and Diem. Where the other survivor of the group had been taken he didn’t know and quite frankly, didn’t care. All he cared about was the fact his best friend was dead.

The man stopped in front of Tuan and questioned him angrily, gesturing occasionally to Nelson who did his best to translate the rapid-fire Vietnamese the man was spouting. It had been a long time since Harry had spoken or heard Vietnamese but he knew enough to know Tuan was being asked why they were in his jungle. A jerk of his head in Nelson’s direction told him the man wanted to know why he was with Tuan. The answer Tuan gave was apparently not the right one as he was backhanded viciously. Kicking him once as he lay on the ground gasping for breath, the man sauntered to Harry, hate radiating off him, and asked in perfect English, “Who are you and what do you want here?”

Harry glanced down at Tuan who stared at him with a hard look and a slight shake of his head. Looking back up, Harry merely stared at the man dispassionately which earned him a vicious blow to his kidneys by someone standing behind him. Agony coursed through him but he managed to straighten back up and when asked again who he was and what he was here for, remained silent.

Anger split the man’s face and he backhanded him, watching as he fell at his feet, blood trickling down his chin.

Barely conscious Harry heard the man say something and felt himself picked up and dragged into a nearby hut. Tuan’s frantic yells followed Harry as he disappeared inside and he knew the real fun was about to begin.

~O~

A few hours later, Harry awoke in a dark pit, his hands tied tightly and raised above him. His feet barely touched the ground and he felt agony tear through him at the pain in his arms, back, side…pretty much everywhere. His shirt lay about his arms and over his chest in ragged strips, having been ripped from him during the questioning. He tried hard to forget the pain, the humiliation he’d felt, but was unsuccessful.

The interrogation had gone on for…he really had no idea how long. The same questions asked over and over again. Questions he knew he couldn’t answer. Wouldn’t answer. No one from the government could know why he was here. Not his government and certainly not Vietnam’s. When unconsciousness finally found him, he sank into blessed nothingness, only to be brought awake by icy buckets of water and the questions and blows began again.

He twisted about; ignoring the pain the action caused and looked about the cell he was in. Overhead, he could make out dim light streaming through a large bamboo-topped hole. His hands had been tied securely to a plank overhead and he knew without a doubt he had no hope of getting out of the cage by himself. No hope at all. Grimacing, he felt his back burn as if it was on fire and he remembered the straps that had bit deeply into his flesh, each one a fiery needle of agony, each stroke accompanied by a question he could not answer. Knives had been used to cut deeply, but not too deeply, into the flesh on his chest and stomach, adding to the pain he felt.

He’d heard screams over the course of his interrogation and wasn’t sure if they were his or Tuan’s or Diem’s. Possibly they were someone else’s. He prayed for the last one. The thought of Tuan or Diem going through what he had was not something he wanted.

At least Lee had found an easy death, he thought, grief flaring through his heart again at the memory of Lee’s lifeless body on the jungle floor, his head a bloody mess from the bullet he’d taken. Why hadn’t he listened? Why had he insisted he needed to be there with him? He shook his head as he knew the relationship he had encouraged, achieved with Lee, was the reason and he felt guilt - abject, heart-wrenching guilt - fill him. He was the reason Lee was dead. He never should have allowed himself the luxury of forming a bond with the young man. Brothers was what he’d once said they were and brothers was what he had meant. His brother was dead. And he knew in his heart that he was the reason. Tears flowed down his bruised face, mixed with the blood that ran freely from cuts on his face and trickled down over his chest that was crisscrossed with slashes. Mercifully, he felt his world begin to spin as dizziness wrapped itself about him and he sank into welcoming darkness.

~O~

The muted light of late afternoon filtered down through the canopy of trees that spread over the man lying on the hard-packed jungle floor as consciousness returned to him slowly. Moaning at the pain that coursed through his head, he tried to roll over and found himself unable. Opening his eyes, blinking until his vision cleared enough to see, he looked down to see a sandaled foot pressed securely to his chest, pinning him to the ground. Raising his eyes, he discovered the muzzle of an M-16 rifle aimed at the center of his forehead.

“Những người bạn?” a voice asked harshly, causing the man’s ears to ring and a flare of dizziness course through his head.

“I…I don’t know what you said,” he managed to whisper as pain exploded in his head.

“I asked who you are?” a female voice repeated in English, her voice heavily accented.

Opening his eyes further, he saw his captor was a small Vietnamese woman. Long black hair flowed about her shoulders and she glared at him harshly.

“An Tien?” he asked softly, hoping the woman with the gun pointed at him was the woman the admiral knew. Blinking in the light that blazed into his eyes, he stared at her as well as he could.

The woman started then glared down at him. “Who are you and how do you know this…An Tien?”

“My name is Lee Crane. I’m a friend of Ad…Harry’s,” he quickly amended, deciding the use of the admiral’s name a better idea than his rank in this situation.

“Harry?” she said softly, her expression lightening slightly before hardening again. “Harry who?”

A few seconds passed as Lee tried to think of a reason to not tell this woman the admiral’s name. “Nelson,” he replied softly, watching in fascination at the emotions that flowed over her face.

“Why…why are you here?”

“You know why I suspect. I wasn’t going to let Harry come here alone as your…betrothed wanted. I followed him.”

Silence met his words as the petite woman stared at him in speculation. “Harry has told you too much,” she said crossly after a few minutes had passed.

“Or not enough,” he countered. “Where are they anyway?”

“Not here,” she said as fear filled her face and she looked about anxiously. She called to one other man with her who nodded and ran off down the trail. “What happened?”

“We were walking down the trail and…there was…gunfire! Admiral! Where…?” he called in anxiety as memory flooded back and he tried to look around

“He is not here.”

“Tuan?”

An Tien’s face crumbled slightly before regaining its hardness. “The same. I’ve sent a few men down the trail to search for evidence of them.”

“But there aren’t any…any bodies?”

“We found two of the men that were with Tuan. They are dead. What happened?” she asked as she allowed Lee to sit up. Only then did he notice a circle of five men surrounding him, guns pointed at him.

“Could you have them put their guns down?” he asked.

After a moment, An Tien motioned for them to drop their rifles.

“Now…what happened?”

“We were walking down the trail. Harry and Tuan were in front of me. Suddenly there was…there was gunfire. I…I don’t know what happened after that. I felt something hit me in the head,” he said as he raised a hand to his bleeding temple. “Then you’re here. Where are they?”

“I have a very bad idea I know but pray I am wrong. We found two bodies and only two as I said. How many men were with Tuan?”

“Uh…it was Tuan, a man Ad…Harry knew…Diem? And…three others.”

“Three. You are certain?”

“Yes, why?”

“I told him Minh should not go. He did not listen.”

“Who is this Minh and why…?”

“No more questions. We must get off this trail and to a place where we can talk, and plan, safely. Can you walk?”

“Yes…I think so,” Crane said as he rose unsteadily to his feet and followed An Tien down the trail for a few steps before she veered off the path. Glancing down at his feet, he saw two bodies lying on the ground, obviously dead. Where was the admiral? What had happened to him? And could he trust the woman that led the way down a barely visible trail? Was she in fact An Tien? She’d brightened noticeably when she had said the admiral’s name but that didn’t mean she was the woman the admiral had talked about.

The walk through the humid jungle went on for what seemed a long time, late afternoon moving into early evening before they stopped. Crane’s head throbbed in beat with his heart and he stumbled over the slightest twig or branch. He definitely had a concussion. Worry filled him as he wondered where the admiral was and if he was alive. He’d come along to protect him and all he had done was get hit by a bullet and awaken to find he was gone, apparently taken somewhere the woman he thought was An Tien found frightening.

“Here,” he heard the woman say after a long walk. “Here we will wait. You will rest.”

Looking about, Lee found they were in a secluded glade. Water from a spring bubbled up nearby and he sank to the ground beside it and drank thirstily. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he soaked it in the spring and laid it on his throbbing head. Probing the wound, he was happy to find just a small furrow along the side of his head. A hole was what he had expected to find judging by how bad the pain in his head was.

An Tien crossed the small glade and sat cross-legged in front of Crane. “Why did you come with Harry? He was to come alone.”

“Yeah. That’s what he told me, too. I wasn’t going to let him walk into a trap so I followed him once he left the sub. When he found out I was shadowing him, he had no choice but to let me come along.”

“I suspect he was not happy to see you,” she said with a small smile.

Crane laughed briefly. “You could say that.”

“You and Harry are good friends?”

“Yes…yes we’re good friends,” he answered, knowing the word friend didn’t begin to describe their relationship.

“Then I understand why you did not listen to him.”

“Do you know what happened? Who attacked us? Lee asked quietly.

An Tien’s gaze flitted away from Crane and stayed focused on something far off.

“I do not know for sure. Minh…the other man…I do not trust him. I’ve never trusted him but he volunteered to go with Tuan to meet Harry and Tuan agreed. I have a bad feeling but I hope I am wrong about where they are. I pray I am wrong.”

“Where do you think they are?” Lee asked as foreboding flowed through him at the tone of her words.

“I suspect, and only suspect, that they were taken to an animal who controls this remote area of Vietnam. He likes to think of himself as a warlord and claims to be descended from the warlords of ancient Vietnam. Whether he is or not, I do not know. Or care. If Tuan and Harry were taken to Chien Hung…” An Tien fought to control the tremble in her voice, then continued, “If they were taken there, he will torture them until he finds out what he wants to know.”

Lee closed his eyes as fear for the admiral flowed through him.

“Why? Of what use are they to him?”

“Chien Hung rules this area of Vietnam with an iron fist. No one intrudes on his territory without his knowing of it and without his dealing with it. Or them. I tried to warn Tuan that things were not the way he thought they would be. He was away too long,” she said sadly.

“What can we do? How can we get them out?”

“I have sent two of my men to scout near Hung’s village. We wait here until they return.”

“How long will that be? If you think that’s where they are, let’s go!”

“No. We wait. As much as I understand your desire to go rescue Harry and Tuan…we must be ready. I have sent men for help. They should be here by morning. My scouts should be here by then, also. In the meantime, you should rest so that you are ready to help. I will bring food,” she said abruptly as she walked off to talk to some of her men who had made a small, smokeless fire and were preparing food.

Lee leaned his head back against a tree and closed his eyes. Visions of what might be happening to the admiral flitted through his mind and helpless to do anything for the man he considered his best friend, felt his anger grow.

He must have fallen asleep, waking when he felt someone settle by his side and an aroma of exotic food wafted over him. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find night had settled over the glade and he glanced about the darkened jungle quickly before turning his eyes back to the woman before him. An Tien, a small smile on her face, handed him a bamboo plate with food on it.

“Here. You must be strong for what we must do tomorrow.”

“What is it?” he asked trying to see the array of food on the small plate.

“That is com – green rice,” she said pointing to a pile of bright green rice. “That is ca nuong do which is simply broiled fish. The fruit is mango. When you finish if you want there is some bia hoi.”

“And that is?”

“Vietnamese beer. With your head injury perhaps you should not drink too much. But eat. Please.”

Lee did as he was told and ate the food on the plate, surprised at how good it was.

“Tell me about Harry,” An Tien said softly after she had poured a small amount of the bia hoi in a cup and handed it to Lee.

“What do you want to know?” he asked as he hesitantly sipped from the cup, finding the brew quite good.

“Is he…is he happy?”

“Yes. I think so. He’s made his dreams come true. He has the Institute and his…how much do you know about what he’s done since he left here?”

“Even here in this place I’ve heard of his Institute and his submarine…Seaview, yes?” she said with a smile.

At Lee’s smile and nod she continued, “He would talk of his plans when we were together. Tuan, Harry and I were…very close. He was not here long, but the time he spent here was spent as friends. Close friends. Even back then he knew what he wanted. Whatever ONI, CIA trained him to do, he did it well. He was very good at his job even though he hated much of it,” she said looking to Lee to see if he knew it too and saw he did in his nod.

“I think anything he puts his mind to he does well,” Lee said loyally. “Whether it’s…what he was here for, or anything else.”

“You care about him a great deal, don’t you?” she asked looking at him closely in speculation.

Lee took another sip of the beer and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I do. I’d…I’d do anything for him.”

“And it’s killing you to sit here and do nothing, is it not?”

“Yes, it is. I came to keep him safe. To protect him. I failed.”

An Tien remained silent as she stared off into the jungle, the rustlings of small animals in the undergrowth the only sounds. “Perhaps…we both failed,” she said softly. “You should finish your bia hoi. It will help you sleep. We should be ready to move by morning.”

An Tien rose and walked off, her head bowed as if the weight of the world were on her slight shoulders. Lee lay back against the thick brush at his back and stared up through the tropical foliage above him, searching for the stars he knew were above and frowned when he couldn’t find them through the dense canopy. He smiled as he remembered all the times he had climbed to the bridge when they ran on the surface, in search of the stars as if they could provide some comfort, only to find the admiral already there, his face turned to the heavens, an enigmatic smile on his lips. At the thought of the admiral, the smile dropped from his face.

“Where are you, Admiral? What’s happening to you?”

Closing his eyes, he tried to sleep as anxiety over what was happening to his friend consumed him.

The local beer helped to calm Lee somewhat and he finally drifted into a deep, healing sleep, the worry fading and mercifully not entering his dreams through the short night.

~O~

A few miles from where Lee lay sleeping, Harry awoke to the sound of the bamboo door above him being opened. Hands grabbed his wrists roughly and yanked him mercilessly upward and threw him to the ground.

“Do you have anything to say, pig?”

Harry looked up, trying to see through eyes that were swollen almost shut, and smiled. “Yes. Yes, I do. I’m going to have to have a talk with my travel agent. When I said I wanted to see the Vietnam no one saw…I didn’t quite expect this,” he said grunting when a foot connected with his ribs.

“Fool! You will tell me what I want! You will tell me what you are doing here with Tuan Nguygen!”

“Is that who that is? I had no…” another kick ended what he was about to say.

“Take him. He will tell me what I want,” he spit out, watching as Harry was dragged through the village and back into the hut he had experienced such fun in before. As he was being dragged in, he saw out of the corner of his eye Tuan being dragged out. What the hell did I get involved in? Bill Johnson is going to owe me a lot when I get back. If I get back.

Chapter 3

Dawn broke way too early in the camp not far from where Harry was being kept prisoner sending shafts of golden light through the tropical canopy. Insects droned in the waking jungle and animals called to each other as if welcoming the new day. Remembering where he was, Lee sat up quickly, surprised when no dizziness accompanied the action.

All about him in the clearing was activity. He noticed more men had entered the camp at some point in the night and he saw them checking packs, or rifles, talking quietly or cooking over the open fires.

“You slept well?” He glanced beside him and saw An Tien crouched by his side.

“You move so quietly,” he muttered as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

“It is of necessity. You learn or die.”

“To answer your question, yes I slept surprisingly well.

“Your head?” she asked.

Lee touched the lump on his temple carefully and was surprised the pain had almost gone completely, the dizziness with it. “It’s better.

“Good. Sleep was what you needed.”

“My pack and my rifle…do you know where they are?”

“I saw no rifle but your backpack is here and safe.”

“They must have taken my rifle.”

“Probably. Rifles such as yours command a high price in this part of the world.”

“When do we go after Harry and Tuan?” he asked, anxious to search for the admiral.

“Soon. We planned while you were asleep. More men have arrived.”

“And the scouts you sent to…Chien…?”

“Chien Hung, yes…they have returned,” she said quietly turning her head from him.

“And?” he asked afraid he already knew the answer.

After a moment, she turned back and looked him in the eye. “Harry, Tuan and Diem are…were…his prisoners. They were…tortured through the night as I feared. Chien Hung does not allow intrusions on what he considers his domain to go unpunished. If he wants to know why Harry and Tuan are here, he won’t rest until he knows. The mere fact Harry is American will make him only want his questions answered even more.”

“You said were…did they escape?” Lee asked with hope in his voice.

An Tien lowered her head and shook it slowly. “One of them died during the night. During one of Hung’s …sessions,” she said in a quiet pain-filled voice. “My men could not get close enough to hear who.”

Lee felt his stomach drop as he pondered what she had said. One of the three was dead. Which one? He prayed it wasn’t Harry and then felt shame as he knew if it were Tuan, An Tien would be alone again. His eyes rose to hers and he knew his thoughts had been plain.

“Harry and Tuan…they are survivors,” An Tien said. “Even a man such as Chien Hung can not break them. Or kill them.”

Lee smiled as he watched her rise and walk off, turning back, she motioned for him to follow. “Food is ready for you. Once you eat, we will discuss how to free our friends.”

Nodding, Lee rose and followed the petite woman to a fire where he seated himself and was immediately handed a plate filled with fruit, more rice and some kind of meat. He stared down at it pondering what animal it came from and poked it briefly.

“If you are squeamish, do not ask what animal it comes from,” a man beside him said with a smile, noticing his perusal.

Lee smiled slightly. “I wasn’t going to. And I’m not generally squeamish. Just…not hungry.”

“I understand. But you will need energy for the day ahead.”

Knowing the man spoke true; he nodded again and ate what was on the plate, finding it delicious.

When the others had finished, they set about explaining the plan for rescuing their friends and doing as much damage to Chien Hung and his group as possible.

“For too long we have allowed Chien Hung to rule this area. Once it was the Americans who ruled,” the speaker said in heavily accented English, sending an almost apologetic look in Lee’s direction. “Before that it was the French. And before that it was someone else. Hung wants to continue his reign of terror on this area of Vietnam. We can expect no help from those in Hanoi who care little for our problems. For too long we have been content to allow Hung to do what he wants, but we must stop it. And we must stop it now. Here is what we will do.”

Squatting, he drew a diagram in the dirt by his feet. “Several huts ring this area of Hung’s camp. Here, here and here are three pits dug into the ground and topped with bamboo. The men we seek are in there. If they are still alive. We will surround the camp, find Chien Hung and kill him if we can. You men will create a diversion,” he said pointing to a row of five men. “Then run when they follow. The rest of us will free Tuan, Diem and the American and head for Banh Toi. If you can not keep up…head there when you can. Any questions?”

A few men spoke up questioning certain aspects of the plan but most were in agreement and the men rose and started down the trail at a slight jog with Lee following as well as he could, finding it slightly difficult to keep up with the others, his head beginning to pound at the exertion. Looking beside him he saw An Tien ran at his side.

“What is this Banh…Banh…?”

“Banh Toi is our village. We thought we were far enough away from Chien Hung but he has apparently decided to expand his territory. If we had known this…we would have chosen better in a rendezvous site. When we get to Chien Hung’s village, stay with me. And keep your head down. I do not want to have to explain to Harry that I let you get killed.”

The group ran for what seemed to Crane to be a very long time. Finally, they slowed and then stopped.

“Here we separate. You know what you must do. Do it.”

At this the men peeled off and began to fan out. Lee followed An Tien down the trail, walking as quietly as he could. Shortly, he heard the sound of rifle fire and he and the others with An Tien moved through the jungle quickly and entered the village, huts ringing the outer perimeter. Lee spotted the three bamboo topped pits quickly and started to head for them when he was stopped by An Tien. “Wait,” she hissed.

Lee settled back, his impatience to find the admiral hard to control. All about them he saw An Tien’s men run towards the center of the village chasing those he assumed were Chien Hung’s.

Finally, An Tien touched his arm lightly and she and three others moved towards the pits. Reaching the first one, they opened it only to see a deep, black pit. Lowering the door they moved on. The second was opened and Lee saw bloody hands tied tightly to a plank of wood that lay across the top of the pit. Hands reached down and gently pulled a bloody, battered man to the top. Lee held his breath as he watched the man placed carefully on the ground, his heart sinking as he saw the man wasn’t Harry, but Tuan.

An Tien knelt by him and caressed his face, smiling when he opened his eyes and smiled weakly at her.

A touch on his arm had him tearing his eyes from the lovers and moving towards the last pit, praying the admiral was inside but at the same time, afraid of what he might find.

The first man opened the pit and looked down then turned back to Lee, shaking his head.

Crane sat back on his heels as he felt despair overcome him. Where was he? Was he dead?

Turning he went back to kneel by Tuan. “Where’s the admiral? Is he…?”

Tuan struggled to speak, a cut on his lip opening up and blood ran down his face.

“He…he was taken last night to Chien Hung. I…I was being moved out and back to there,” he said gesturing to the pit. “I did not hear them bring him back.”

“Where is this Hung?” Lee asked, his face hardening.

“There,” Tuan gestured to a hut larger than the others. “If he is not here, he must be in there. If he is still alive.”

Lee rose and began to run towards the hut, ignoring the rifle fire all about him. Kicking in the door to the hut, he saw a tall, huge man inside with a rifle aimed at him.

A hand on his shoulder yanked him back out of the way as two of An Tien’s men fired through the open door at the man. A thump was heard from inside and the men moved through, the last one grabbing Lee’s arm and pulling him inside and out of the way of the battle going on behind them.

Entering, Lee stared down at the man lying dead on the floor then his eyes rose to a body tied to a chair, his head lying limply on his chest and oblivious to the battle going on outside. Walking to the man’s side, he knelt before him, lifted the figure’s head slightly and gasped, his insides twisting at what he saw. If it wasn’t for the auburn hair that covered the man’s head in wild curls, he would never have known it was Nelson before him. Both eyes were swollen shut, bruises marked what he could see of his body and blood dripped from a wound on his right arm. Swallowing the bile that rose in his throat as he moved closer to his friend’s side, he felt anger such as he had never felt before rise up in him. Tamping down his emotions as best as he could, he began to untie Nelson, flinching at the slash marks he saw on the admiral’s chest and the angry welts across his back. Dear God what did they do to you? He thought to himself.

Finally, the ropes were untied and he put out a hand to keep the admiral from toppling onto the floor. Pulling him carefully from the chair, he cradled him gently in his arms, careful to keep his back from touching the filthy floor. Placing a finger on the side of his neck he waited, praying he would feel a pulse beneath his finger, sighing in relief when he did.

“My God…Ad…Harry…” he whispered brokenly as he stared at the man whose face was unrecognizable.

A commotion at the door had Crane turning but saw it was only An Tien and Tuan who was being helped through the door. Hobbling inside, Tuan knelt painfully on the floor by Nelson’s side.

“Is…is he alive?” he asked quietly.

“Barely,” Lee answered, his voice quivering with emotion. “He needs…you both need medical treatment.”

“That will not be easy to do. We will do what we can,” An Tien said turning to a few men behind her. Speaking rapidly, they nodded and ran out.

Lee looked up. “Chien Hung?”

She shook her head sadly. “He has escaped. But we took many of his followers. We must move now.”

Carefully, Nelson’s and Tuan’s injuries were attended to as quickly as possible in the primitive environment, then both were placed on stretchers and carried through the dense jungle for many hours until they reached a remote village on the shores of a fast moving river. Carried inside one of the larger huts, An Tien and a few others set to work caring for the two men as best as they could while Lee watched on in silent anger, worry and guilt.

“Don’t give up, Admiral,” he whispered as he watched Nelson gently cared for, his wounds cleansed and bandaged. “Don’t let him win. Fight. Just…just fight. Please.”

Chapter 4

Lee sat by Nelson’s side on the cool dirt floor, grimacing at the man who lay beside him in the small hut. Placed on his side to keep his wounds not only accessible but also from causing more pain, he lay as he had since they had arrived in the small village. Wringing out a wet rag, Lee bathed his face gently trying hard not to see the bruises that marked his face or the eyes that were almost completely swollen shut or the bandage wrapped tightly about his arm. Lowering his gaze, he scowled at the admiral’s chest that was wrapped in tight bandages, some colored by the blood that still oozed from the wounds on his chest and back.

“I came to keep you safe,” he whispered as he ran the rag over Nelson’s face. “Good job, huh?”

They had been in the village of An Tien and Tuan for more than a day and in that time, Nelson, for the most part, had been unconscious. Periods of awareness had been brief and the man that lay at his feet seemed to have no idea where he was. Mumblings in his unconsciousness told Lee the admiral thought him dead and his heart broke at the anguish he heard in his whispered words.

Sensing someone had entered the small hut that had become his home, Lee turned, surprised to see Tuan behind him, a sad look on his bruised and battered face.

“Is he better?” he asked as he limped slowly and painfully to him

“His fever is down. Whatever An Tien gave him has helped.”

“She is very knowledgeable in folk medicine as you would call it,” he said as he lowered himself slowly to Nelson’s side, grunting in pain as he stared at him in sadness. “I did not think through all the ramifications of my decision. I wanted Harry to be the one to come. Perhaps…I was wrong.”

“Why?” Lee asked.

Tuan shrugged. “Look at him,” he said gesturing to Harry. “He and An Tien are the only ones I would entrust with the information I have. Chien Hung’s presence was a surprise to me and has caused the only man I trust completely to be beaten…tortured.”

“He’ll make it,” Lee said resolutely.

“I hope…”

Tuan’s words were cut off by a soft moan from Nelson.

“Admiral? Can you hear me? Wake up, sir,” he called as he leaned over his friend, smiling as he saw Nelson’s eyes begin to flicker. “That’s it. Try to open your eyes.”

From a great distance, Harry Nelson heard a voice that called to him, pulling him back from the dark, pain-free place he found himself in and towards a place where constant rolling waves of agony buffeted him. Gasping at the pain that enveloped him, he tried to open his eyes, finding it strange that he found it so difficult.

“Where…where am I?” he asked in a soft tone as he tried again to open his swollen eyes. Finally succeeding somewhat, he gazed through slits at the face hovering over his, a smile lighting the man’s features. “Lee? Is that…? No…No, I saw you die,” he said in an anguished voice as he rolled to his back, gasping at the pain it caused and tried to sit up. “I saw you shot in the head. I saw the blood. I…”

Lee put a gentle hand on Nelson’s shoulder, pushing him back down. “Lay back down. It’s me, Admiral. I’m not dead. I’m still alive.”

Nelson searched Lee’s face then reached out a trembling hand to the one resting on his shoulder, smiling as he felt the strong hand under his and he grasped it tightly. “You’re real. You’re not…My God…I thought…”

Lee nodded, shaken by the relief, the joy in Nelson’s words and tone. He’d thought him dead. He knew what he would have felt had the situation been reversed and he smiled. “I’m alive. We both are,” he said simply.

“How?” he asked, his voice stronger, the trembling tone gone.

Lee shrugged. “The bullet hit me in the head. You know how hard my head is. It just grazed me.”

Nelson’s gaze turned from Lee to the man kneeling by Lee’s side. “Tuan? How bad?” he asked, his eyes roaming over his old friend’s face, searching out the injuries done to him.

“I will be fine, my friend. You too. An Tien will see to it.”

“An Tien? She’s here?” he asked simply, with a slight smile.

Tuan nodded, his eyes dancing. “I will tell her, her patient is awake,” he said clasping Harry gently on the shoulder before rising, and with a backward glance, left the two Seaview officers alone.

“How long?” Nelson asked, grimacing at the pain that flowed through him.

“How long have you been here? Almost two days. You were pretty out of it. Hung…he did quite a number on you,” Lee answered, his jaw clenched tight.

“I know. I remember,” Nelson recalled softly, his eyes never leaving the face of the man he had thought dead. The hole that had been left when he’d thought Lee gone began to fill again and he felt life, strength, determination flow back in him. “Diem? Is he alive?”

Lee shook his head. “He didn’t make it. I’m sorry,” he said as he watched the emotions wash over Nelson’s face.

“He was a good man. A good friend. I saw two of Tuan’s men go down but what about the other man that was with us?”

“Two of them went down in the first volley as you said. The other man…I think An Tien said his name was Minh…I don’t know what happened to him. You, Tuan and Diem were the only ones we found. He must have been killed and left behind.”

“Hung…did he find out what he wanted? Did I…?”

“No. He didn’t find out anything,” Lee assured as he patted Nelson gently on the shoulder. “We captured a few of his men. They all said Hung was furious he couldn’t break you, Tuan and Diem.”

Nelson sighed deeply. “That’s good. Tuan was the only one who really knew anything. I still don’t know what I’m here for, for sure.”

“In time, Harry,” a soft vice behind him said.

Nelson tried to turn at the familiar voice he hadn’t heard in a long time and moaned as pain flared through him at the movement.

“Easy, Harry,” An Tien admonished as she moved quickly to his side and knelt by him, her hand on his face soothingly. “You should not be lying on your back. The wounds…”

“An Tien? Is that really you?” he asked, his face searching hers as if looking for any differences from the last time he had seen her.

“Yes, I am here. You had us worried.”

Nelson made a noise low in his throat that told Lee he was dismissing his injuries and what had happened to him. “This? This is nothing,” he said with a smile as he continued to gaze at the petite woman by his side who stroked his forehead soothingly.

“Nevertheless, you must lie still and rest. For a bit yet.”

“From what I’ve been told, I have been resting,” he informed her softly, his eyes scrutinizing the face of the woman before him. “I’m ready to find out what it is Tuan has that I need to see.”

“Still impatient. Have you changed at all?” she asked, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement.

“Doubt it,” he answered with a sleepy smile. “How have you been? Is…?”

“In time. For now…you must sleep,” she said, watching as he began struggling to stay awake.

“All right,” he agreed with a smile. “I’ll rest. But then…”

“Then we will talk. Close your eyes,” she said softly her hand stroking his forehead gently.

Harry nodded, then let his eyes flicker closed, a small smile on his face.

“How did you do that?’ Lee asked in astonishment. “He never willingly rests.”

“It’s all in how you say it,” she said.

“Or in who says it,” Tuan added from the doorway of the hut, a small smile lighting his face as he stared at the woman he loved, who stared back with the same small smile.

~O~

A few hours later, Harry awoke to the enticing aroma of food. Opening his eyes as wide as he could, he turned his head to see Lee sitting cross-legged beside him sound asleep and slumped over a plate filled with food. He almost slapped a hand playfully on his leg to waken him when he noticed the shadows under the man’s eyes, the large bruise that covered the left side of his head and he stopped himself.

“He is very loyal, my friend,” a voice on the other side of him said.

Turning he saw Tuan sitting beside him, a plate of the same food on his lap.

“Yes, yes he is,” Nelson admitted simply, grimacing as he tried to change position. “One I never thought to see again. I thought he was dead.”

Tuan simply nodded, understanding the sentiment. “Seeing the way he has worried about you, I suspect friend does not begin to describe your relationship.”

“No, no I suppose not,” he agreed trying to find a spot to lie on that didn’t hurt.

“I am sorry I brought you into this, Harry,” Tuan said sadly. “I did not know Chien Hung was near.”

“Not your fault. I’m sorry for the loss of your men.”

“So am I. Duc and Huy were good men. The other man, Minh we never found his body nor did we find him in Hung’s village.”

“That’s curious.”

“Perhaps he was hurt and managed to get away or died. We don’t know for sure.”

“I suppose that’s as good an explanation as any. Tuan, what exactly am I here to bring back? What was it you found?”

“Now is not the time.”

Harry and Tuan looked up to see An Tien at the door, a stern look on her face. “You need rest, Harry.”

“I did rest. Just as you ordered,” he answered with a slight smile. “I’m ready for something a little more…invigorating.”

“I knew you wouldn’t just lie there and rest unless someone sat on you,” Lee said as he sat up, a smile tugging at his lips.

“I still can’t get over that you’re not…that you’re alive,” Harry said with joy and disbelief mingling in his tone.

“I know the feeling, sir.”

“You said we’ve been here a few days?”

“Yes. You were hurt pretty badly. You were unconscious most of that time. And before you ask, we contacted Seaview when we got here,” Lee said, knowing where the admiral’s mind was heading. “I told Chip very little of what happened. He just knows we ran into trouble but that we’re…fine or will be and he has the boat waiting someplace safe. When we’re ready to leave, we’ll contact them.”

“You seem to have thought of everything.”

“Just trying to help,” Lee answered with a smile.

“Well, all this talking is not letting Harry rest,” An Tien admonished with a severe tone.

“What if Harry isn’t tired?” he asked with a twitch to his lips. “What if he wants something to eat? And maybe some bia hoi?”

“Bia hoi? You remember what happened the last time you had bia hoi, don’t you?” Tuan asked with a big grin.

“Not really,” Harry said sadly. “No one would ever explain to me what happened. And I’m not asking for mass quantities of the stuff.”

“What happened the last time?” Lee asked, very interested in the turn the conversation had suddenly taken.

“Never mind,” Harry ordered, staring at Tuan with a stern look.

“I will get you something to eat. As for the bia hoi, we will have to see,” An Tien said with a laugh as she disappeared out the door.

“Tell me what happened to you, Tuan. In Laos. The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was you getting hit and falling. When I woke up in the Huey…Seibert said you and the others were dead,” Nelson said softly naming another ONI operative that had been with them. “Tandy, the Marine that carried me out, said the same thing.”

Tuan shrugged. “I don’t know what happened. One minute we were bushwhacking through the jungle and the next we were taking fire,” he recalled with a far off look in his eyes. “I saw you hit and fall. That’s all I remember until I woke up in a work camp in central Laos. They told me I had been left on the battlefield to die.”

“You didn’t believe that, did you?” Nelson asked in a harsh voice, trying again to sit up and being pushed back down by both Lee and Tuan.

“Lay back, Admiral,” Lee said in a gentle voice.

Nelson nodded and turned back to Tuan staring at him.

“No. I did not believe them. At first. Then…after many months…years…it got easier to believe. No one came. Finally, I gave up waiting for rescue and I looked for ways to escape but I was always guarded. Until one day…I wasn’t,” he said with a shrug. “I made it to the border. Located Trang Pham. He was still working covertly for the CIA. He sent the message using my old code. And here you are. The only one other than An Tien I trust.”

“I would have come for you if I had known,” Harry said, his voice breaking slightly. “I…I would have come. You saved my life. I remember you knocking me aside just as the firing started. I would have come for you.”

“I know you would have. It is not you I blame. An Tien told me how badly you were hurt.”

“Who is it you do blame?” Lee asked, his eyes narrowed in speculation.

“Later. For now, you should eat. Both of you,” Tuan said as An Tien appeared with a small plate of food and a bowl placing them beside Harry.

“It would help if I could sit up,” Harry grumbled glaring at An Tien. “I’m not an invalid.”

Smiling at Harry slightly she nodded. She and Tuan reached under Nelson lifting him into a sitting position and placed a rolled blanket behind him to prop him up, easing him back onto it.

“Better?” An Tien asked.

Nelson tried hard not to let the pain show on his face and simply nodded. “Better,” he whispered, taking the bowl from her and doing his best to still the shaking in his hands the mere action caused.

Lee watched as pain flitted over Nelson’s face and he paled markedly before settling down to a bland expression. He knew Nelson was in extreme pain. He’d seen the marks on his back as An Tien had cleansed the wounds and he clenched his jaw in anger as he remembered all that had been done to him.

“You always did make the best chao,” Nelson said as he took a spoon and sipped the thick soup.

“You’re still a sweet talker. You always hated chao because it is meant for those who are sick,” she replied with a smile. “And you were never sick, were you?”

“No. Can’t say as I was.” Smirking slightly, he turned to Lee and explained, “Chao is the Vietnamese equivalent of chicken soup. Meant for queasy stomachs, which I don’t have,” he said as he transferred his slightly miffed gaze to An Tien.

“But you have not had food for a few days. Later, I will bring you something else. Perhaps banh ran?” she asked, smiling at Harry’s look of interest. “You have not had much of anything to eat in some time I suspect.”

“Hung wasn’t interested in feeding us,” Tuan said harshly.

Nelson turned his gaze to Tuan, studying his bruised face. “How badly did he hurt you?”

“Not as badly as you. Or Diem,” he added sadly. “I had reason to be in Vietnam. You, an American, did not. He was worried why you were here.”

“Yes. He didn’t believe my story that I was on a tour of the Vietnam no one knew. He didn’t like that answer,” he said ruefully as he wrapped an arm about his aching ribs as he remembered the kicks he’d taken for his remark.

“He thought he could break you into telling him why you were in Vietnam.”

“Since I don’t know, it wasn’t hard to keep quiet.” After a few spoonfuls of the soup, he looked up at Tuan who kept his eyes focused on the ground and asked, “Who is this Chien Hung? Other than a thug with a big fist.”

“An Tien told me of him when I first returned. She warned me things were different but I did not know how different. I thought Hung was merely a local who considered the part of Vietnam we were in to be his: his land, his resources, his people. But I am beginning to suspect he is more.”

“What?” Nelson asked.

“I think that discussion will need to wait until tomorrow, Tuan,” An Tien said laying her hand on Tuan’s.

“I want to know now. Why am I here?” Nelson asked his face hardening.

“Tomorrow, Harry,” An Tien said quietly, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. “There is no hurry now. You can do nothing until you heal a bit more. Tonight you will rest, eat, and perhaps have some bia hoi if you think you can do so without getting drunk. Tomorrow we will talk of why you are here and of Tuan’s fears.”

Nelson sighed loudly as he stared from An Tien, who had a severe look pasted on her face, to Tuan who simply smiled, knowing An Tien would have her way when he heard Harry sigh and lay his head back.

“Fine. Tomorrow. But make sure it’s tomorrow. I need to get back to my boat.”

“Yes, Harry. I promise,” An Tien said rising and walking out, Tuan on her heels.

Sighing, Harry watched them go then turned his eyes to Lee who studied him with a slight smile. “What?”

“Nothing, Admiral. Nothing at all,” he answered with an innocent look on his face.

“That look says you’re thinking something. What is it?”

Lee shook his head and laughed. “She has you wrapped around her little finger just like Edith does.”

Harry was just about to deny it but felt exhaustion waft over him and knew he was too tired to deny something they both knew was true. “Perhaps,” he agreed.

“You really do care for them and what happens to them, don’t you?”

“Tuan and I…we were close. As close as…as close as you and I are,” he answered softly turning his eyes to Lee’s. “I’d do anything for them…just as I would you.” Laying his head back and closing his eyes, he drifted back to sleep easily as Lee watched him, knowing the truth in his words.

“I’d do the same for you,” he said, pulling the blanket higher on his shoulders, a slight smile on his lips.

Chapter 5

The next morning dawned hot and humid, the air as heavy as a suffocating blanket wrapped about them. Lee moaned, rolled over and smiled as he saw Nelson was already awake, sitting up and staring at him with a slight smile.

“Sleep well, Lee?”

“I guess so. I gotta take some of that bia hoi back with us. Beats those sedatives Jamie’s always foisting on me,” he said with a yawn.

Nelson laughed shortly, wrapping an arm around his ribs as they protested the movement. “You drink too much of it and you’ll pay for it. Trust me.”

“Yeah? Tell me about it,” he said as he sat up, crossed his legs and smiled at the admiral, happy to see the bruises on his face were beginning to fade and his eyes opened almost the whole way. He knew the man was still in quite a bit of pain, but he also knew he would never admit to it.

“Eh…not now. Maybe when we’re old and gray,” he chuckled.

“When who is old and gray?” An Tien asked as she came into the small room with plates of food followed by Tuan who carried a tray with cups on it.

“When Lee is old and gray, I’ll tell him what happens when you drink too much bia hoi.”

“Ah, you really want to do that, Harry? Might destroy any illusions he has about you,” Tuan joked.

“Tuan…stop. I was young.”

“You weren’t that young Harry. It wasn’t that long ago as I remember,” An Tien said with a bright smile. “As a matter of fact…”

“Will both of you stop. Tell me what I’m…we’re…here for,” he demanded, doing his best to change the subject.

“First we eat. Then we talk.”

With a long sigh, Harry nodded and he, Lee, An Tien and Tuan ate quickly enjoying the food and talking as friends.

“All right. Talk. What is it you found during Phoenix?” Harry asked putting his plate aside and staring intently at Tuan. He watched as Tuan nodded and An Tien left, returning shortly with a small knapsack that had once been an olive green but now was aged and dirt covered with small holes in it. She handed it to Tuan who opened it carefully and pulled out several papers wrapped in oilskin.

“This…this is what I found during Phoenix,” he answered softly handing the packet to Nelson who took it, careful to keep the old water-stained pages from being destroyed.

Tuan watched as Harry read over the sheets, his face going from interested to outraged as he progressed through the pages.

“How certain are you of what’s in here?” he asked in a low, deadly quiet voice.

“Fairly certain.”

“Admiral? What is it?” Lee asked frowning at the look on his friend’s face.

Harry was a long time in answering. “These pages show that someone who is now high up in Washington may not be all he seems.”

“Who?”

Nelson struggled for a long time, debating the wisdom in telling Lee what he’d read. Coming to a decision, he looked Lee in the eye and said, “Senator--formerly General--Adam Lin.”

“Senator…are you sure?” he asked in a perplexed voice.

“No. I’m not sure of anything. But if what is in here is accurate, he was courted, groomed and planted in our government by the Chinese from the moment he entered West Point, if not before.”

“But why? Senator Lin is one of our military’s biggest supporters! He’s anti-everything Communist!”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know, Lee. I don’t know what to think. Lin is a walking encyclopedia of information on everything from how our embassies are guarded to names of operatives to locations of our underwater missile silos to the missile launch codes for them and others,” he said rubbing his head as he felt the beginnings of a monster headache coming on

“There were rumors, Harry. Even when you were here, you questioned some of his tactics, some of his maneuvers. Privately, of course,” Tuan said.

“Yes,” he agreed nodding his head. “Maneuvers that got a lot of men killed but there were never any investigations, no censure.”

“Which could mean there were…or are… more involved than just him,” Lee replied, staring at Nelson in concern as he continued to rub his head.

“The operations he sent out…they took heavy losses. Far heavier than what I thought reasonable. If this is true, he may have been feeding troop strengths and movements to the Viet Cong during the war or leaking operations. Our enemies would have been delighted as our losses mounted. Damn that man!” Nelson exclaimed angrily as he thought of all the possible ways the man could have betrayed his country during the war and wondering what he may have been involved in since then.

“Tuan, do you remember the man this confession came from?” Harry asked after a moment in thought.

“Yes. He was a Chinese agent caught infiltrating the camp one night. I saw them drag him into the interrogation tent. Major MacDonald was the one who interrogated him.”

“Sean MacDonald?”

“Yes,” Tuan answered, knowing Nelson was putting the pieces together by the shock then contemplation on his face.

“Who’s this MacDonald?” Lee asked watching the interplay between the two men.

“Major Sean MacDonald was the lead American…interviewer for the Phoenix program at that time based in Pleiku. One night, shortly before our mission into Laos, he was found outside the camp’s perimeter with his throat slit. It was suspected he was killed during a raid by the North Vietnamese. Then the Laos mission came up and…I guess I forgot about Sean while I was recuperating. I never heard anything about any investigation.”

“So you think Lin found out what had been said, implicating him and MacDonald was killed?” Lee asked

“Possibly, although there would be no proof,” Nelson answered thoughtfully. “Who else was in the room at the time of the interrogation, Tuan?”

“General Hue,” Tuan answered.

“Hue was the top level South Vietnamese officer with us at that time. He attended all interrogations,” Nelson told Lee. “How did you find out about the confession, Tuan?”

“I’d heard a Chinese agent had been captured and was taken for questioning. The night of the interrogation, I was walking back to my tent. It was late. I heard voices that sounded agitated and I walked towards them. I saw General Hue and General Lin talking. It seemed odd to me, their manner suspicious, so I hid and listened.”

“Could you hear what they were saying?” Nelson asked.

Tuan nodded slowly. “Hue was telling Lin what the prisoner had said to MacDonald and showed him the documents from the interrogation. Hue told Lin Macdonald was angry about what he’d heard. Once the interrogation was over, he took the written confession before Hue could get it and said he needed to show it to Colonel Watts, find out how they should handle it.”

“Watts?” Lee asked.

“James Watts, Lee,” Nelson said. “He was the lead member of another component of Phoenix. He didn’t deal with the interrogations but headed the groups known as Provincial Reconnaissance Units that went out and…let’s just say “neutralized” suspected Viet Cong leaders or…or villagers suspected of either being VC or harboring VC. What happened next, Tuan?”

“Hue said he followed MacDonald and…neutralized him before he could get to Watts and took the confession. Lin seemed angry about that but Hue convinced him there had been no choice. Then they discussed what to do next. Hue was worried they would be found out but Lin seemed confident they were safe. The prisoner had died during the interrogation so he wasn’t a problem any more. With the prisoner dead as well as MacDonald, the only way to implicate them was the confession. Lin took the papers from Hue and said he would take care of them.”

“So General Hue was also in on it…another Chinese agent. How did you get the documents if Lin was going to destroy them?” Nelson asked.

“Once I heard what Hue had said, I knew I needed to tell someone but I needed proof of what I’d heard. A low level South Vietnamese soldier would not be believed by any high up American officers…other than you, Harry,” he said before Nelson could protest.

“What did you do?”

“I watched Lin walk away towards his tent with the documents and tried to think of a way to get them. I was afraid he would burn them before I could get them. But before Lin reached his tent, he was called away on some urgent business. He ran into his tent and when he came out a short time later, he didn’t have the papers with him. I waited for a bit then I snuck inside, hoping he hadn’t taken the time to destroy them. I searched his tent until I found the documents and left with them.”

“He must have known the documents had been stolen,” Harry said deep in thought. “Was there any way he could have known it was you that took them?”

“I did not think so. I was careful but you remember there were eyes everywhere in camp. Nothing remained secret for long but…someone must have seen me leave the tent and told Lin or Hue.”

“Why do you say must have?”

“Because the next night when I got back to my tent, my things were out of place…just simple things that had been moved and not put back. Someone in camp with us must have seen me and told Lin.”

“Someone in camp with us at that time,” Nelson murmured thoughtfully, trying to remember who had been there that might have known and cared enough to stop the information from getting out.

“I did not know how many others were involved. Taking the information to the wrong people would have been disastrous. I wanted to take the information to you but you had been sent to Phu Nhon for a few days. When you got back, I was just about to show what I had found but before I could, we were ordered to get ready for the mission to Laos.”

“I…I remember you seemed upset about something. All you would say was we needed to talk when we got back.”

“I thought we would be back in a few weeks time and I would show you then.”

“Turned out to be a lot longer than a few weeks.”

“Admiral, this mission you and Tuan went on, could it have been a set up?” Lee questioned.

Nelson and Tuan looked at each other for a long moment as if the thought wasn’t a new one to them. “There was always something not right about that mission. I should have never been a part of it from the start,” Nelson said softly. “It wasn’t what I was here for.”

“No, it wasn’t. I always thought it strange.”

“Maybe whoever saw you take the papers told Lin that it was you and Lin sent you both out on the mission hoping to silence the two of you,” Lee said.

“And find the documents while we were gone,” Nelson added.

“You two were always close, always together,” An Tien said softly. “Whoever found out that you had discovered something from the interrogations may have thought Harry knew, also.”

“And sent you out on the mission with the hopes you two wouldn’t come back. But why not just kill you both and be done with it?” Lee asked.

“Lin would have no way of knowing whether Tuan had told anyone else or had given the documents to someone,” Nelson answered.

“Likely you,” Lee said.

“And with MacDonald’s death still fresh on everyone’s mind, he probably didn’t want to risk more unexplained deaths which is why we weren’t just killed outright. If three deaths were attributed to the Viet Cong or Chinese agents, the camp would have ratcheted up to high alert status which probably would have put a damper on their operation.”

“Operation?”

“Think about it. A Chinese agent is found infiltrating the camp. Under confession he admits that he is under the employ of General Lin who is also an agent of the Chinese. Lin must have been feeding information to the Viet Cong about troop movements or other top level Intel. With the camp on heightened security, it would be harder to pass any information on.”

“There is more my friend,” Tuan said uneasily. “I believe that Chien Hung is also an agent of the Chinese and quite possibly Lin. Somehow, he found out that I had information from Phoenix on Lin. He did his best when he captured us to get me to tell him where I had hidden it. I suspect that was the real reason he took us, tortured us. Somehow he knew what I had and wanted the information. He may be working with General Lin.”

“But if Hung knew or suspected you had the documents, why didn’t Hung ask me where the documents were when he tortured me?” Nelson asked.

“I don’t know for sure,” Tuan said. “Perhaps, he didn’t know who you were or remember you from the war. If he did know you, perhaps he wasn’t sure you knew anything about them and didn’t want to start asking questions about something you may have no knowledge of and raise your suspicions.”

“There’s always the possibility what is in there is wrong,” An Tien offered. “Phoenix was known for producing confessions that were lies.”

“Yes, it did. But it seems the mere possibility the documents exist stirred Hung up enough to capture us and try to find out,” Harry replied.

“But the only ones here that knew were Trang Pham, whose loyalty to the United States I would swear to, and our own people,” Tuan said.

“I’d swear to Pham’s loyalty, also. He’s a good man,” Harry added. “There’s no doubt in my mind about that.”

“Perhaps someone in the village found out after you got back from talking to Pham and warned Hung,” Lee said.

“No one except An Tien and a few others in the village knew I was back. I made sure to keep it quiet for the exact reason that, other than Pham, I didn’t know who to trust. Perhaps I’m wrong about Hung working for Lin.”

“But you said he knew about the documents,” Lee said.

“Yes, he did,” Tuan said thoughtfully.

“It seems logical to assume someone found out…someone in the village that you trust,” Harry said.

“I do not like that idea at all, Harry,” An Tien said. “One of our own?”

“Money talks, An Tien. If it’s true that someone in the village gave you away to Hung, the questions become who and does Lin know,” Harry said.

“If Hung is working for Lin, it seems certain he knows about the documents being found and me being alive,” Tuan said.

“Lin may not know,” Lee interjected. “If Hung has someone feeding him information from the village, Hung may be working solely for Hung.”

“Why?” An Tien asked.

Harry shrugged. “Sell the information to the highest bidder? I don’t know.”

For a few moments the group sat quietly thinking, trying to figure out who might have betrayed them to Hung before Harry asked quietly, “Tuan, do you believe what is in here? Do you believe this confession is true?”

Tuan took a long time to answer but finally he nodded slowly, his eyes rising to Harry’s. “I do,” he said simply.

Harry looked away from Tuan’s earnest face and chewed on his lip. “Then I do also,” he said after several moments in thought.

“What do we do now, Admiral?” Lee asked quietly.

“We take the documents and head home. Give this to someone we trust,” he said holding the pack of papers up.

“Who?”

Perplexed, he shrugged and said softly, “Johnson I suppose. He obviously knows something. I trust him. I guess we have to trust him. But we have to warn him that Lin may already know the documents have been found. And if he does, he may run.”

“You will have time to think about what to do and who to warn later,” An Tien said sternly as she took the papers from Nelson and wrapped them back up in the oilskin and placed the bundle back in the well-worn satchel. “You will go nowhere for a few more days.”

When Nelson began to protest, she put a finger up, silencing him. “You are weak, feverish and still in a great deal of pain. You cannot deny that. I see it. Lee sees it. You will rest, grow stronger and we will talk more of what is to be done.”

With a simple nod, Nelson lay back and did his best to ignore the look of amusement on Lee’s face.

Chapter 6

The next few days went by quickly as Harry regained his strength and his mobility. Pain still accompanied his every movement but the urge to cry out in agony wasn’t as strong. His ribs, while still tender, were less painful, the welts on his back and the slashes on his chest slowly healing as An Tien’s herbs quelled the fever and soreness that had filled him.

“You’re healing well, my friend,” Tuan said one afternoon as he and Harry walked along the river that flowed in front of the village tucked away in a deep part of the jungle, watching the far shore for any movement that told them they were being watched.

“I’m feeling better. Thanks to you and An Tien. I need to go, Tuan. Soon,” he said quietly, more than a touch of remorse in his voice.

“I know. I think perhaps tomorrow. Today you will rest. An Tien has made up a pack for you to take back with you of food and more of her herbs,” he said with a smile.

“You and An Tien could come back with me. You could have asylum in the US,” Harry said carefully, watching Tuan’s face for any sign the man would agree, hoping in his heart he said yes.

Sighing deeply, Tuan shook his head and turned his eyes from Harry’s, focusing on the far bank again. “I do not think that is an option. An Tien stayed when it was hard to be in Vietnam. She stayed through the bad. I must stay now and do what I can for what is still my country.”

“What does An Tien think?”

Tuan laughed lightly and turned his eyes to Harry. “She told me that I could go off with you to America, but she is staying here.”

“You have yourself one strong woman, Tuan,” Harry chuckled with just a touch of envy in his voice.

“I know. But what of you? Is there a woman that waits for you back home?”

“No,” Harry said shaking his head. “There’s no woman waiting at home for me. My life is too busy.”

“You never found a woman that made you want to be less busy?”

Harry was silent for a long time as he twirled a piece of grass between his fingers. “Never said that,” he admitted with a sad smile. “But…”

What he was about to say was interrupted by voices coming from the village. Turning they saw Lee running towards them.

“Tuan, Minh is back! He’s in the village!”

“Minh! How…Come on!” Tuan yelled as he raced up the slope to the village, Harry doing his best to keep up, his wounds protesting the action.

The pair raced into the village followed by Lee and headed for the circle of people in the center of the village.

Pushing his way through, Tuan watched as Minh Tran slowly turned. His face was covered in bruises and his clothes were torn and dirty.

“Minh! We thought you were dead! How did you get away?” he asked.

“It does not matter now. I need to talk to you. Now. It’s about Chien Hung.”

“All right. We can talk in here,” Tuan said gesturing to a hut nearby.

Harry started to follow the pair but Minh turned back and almost snarled, “Only Tuan needs to hear this. Not you.”

Harry turned his eyes to Tuan and raised one eyebrow, seeking reassurance.

“It is all right, Harry,” he assured with a quick smile. “I’ll be fine. We will be out soon.”

Lee looked to Nelson who had a decidedly anxious look on his face as the two disappeared into the hut.

“Admiral, what is it?”

“There’s something about him that makes me uneasy. He looks…familiar to me. I thought that when we first met but I can’t place him. I just know I don’t trust him.”

“Don’t trust who? What is going on here?”

Harry turned and saw that An Tien had come out of the jungle with a few others and were headed in their direction.

“Minh is back. He and Tuan went…”

“No! Where are they?” she asked in an anxious tone.

“They’re in there,” Harry said, pointing to the hut the two had disappeared into.

“I do not trust Minh. I’ve never trusted him,” she said heading towards the hut. Harry reached a hand out and grabbed her by the elbow.

“Stay here,” he ordered as he walked to the hut and stopped outside listening.

“I told you I need the information! If you don’t give it to me Chien Hung will kill us all!” Minh said in a hushed voice.

“You are working for him,” Tuan said sadly. “It was you that told Lin I had information all those years ago. Wasn’t it? It was you that saw me come out of Lin’s tent with the documents. I did not remember you being there with us in camp, but you were, weren’t you?”

“Yes, yes I was there but I…I had no choice. I have to work for him. Please. They have my family. Give me what you have that Hung wants. He will spare the village!”

“You cannot be that stupid as to believe he will leave witnesses!”

“I…I have to believe it.”

“I won’t give you what I have. I’m sorry for your family but…”

“Then you will die! An Tien will give me what I want,” Minh growled as he reached for a knife strapped to his side, pulling it free of its sheath.

Before he could move toward Tuan, he was tackled by Harry who landed a blistering punch to his face, smiling as the man’s eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped back.

“Are you all right?” Harry asked as the hut began to fill with people. “What happened?”

“He is the one from the village working for Chien Hung. He wanted the documents. You must leave now. If Hung is nearby…I cannot guarantee your safety. An Tien, gather the pack you have prepared and find two rifles for them. Harry, contact your submarine. Tell them you are leaving now. It will be a two day walk from here. Have them wait off shore.”

“Lee…”

“I’ll make the call, sir,” Lee interrupted before leaving quickly.

“Tuan, come with us! I can…”

“No. I told you I cannot. My place is here with my people. I thank you but it is not possible. Maybe some day that will change.”

“You and An Tien will always have a place in America. You know how to contact me.”

“I do. Thank you. Now go.”

Harry left the low hut and came out to see Lee hurrying towards him, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

“I got in contact, sir. Chip will meet us where we came ashore in two days.”

“Very well,” he said softly as he watched An Tien hurrying towards him, his pack and two rifles slung over her small shoulder.

“You must go,” she said with more than a touch of sadness in her voice when she came to stand by him.

“Yes. Yes, we do. I tried to talk Tuan into the two of you coming with us.”

“It is not our home, Harry no matter who is there,” she replied with a sad smile. “You must go and be safe.”

“If you ever need me…”

“We know where you are,” she interjected as she handed him the pack and rifles. “The documents are in the small pack inside. I also gathered some food for you as well as some of my herbs and some other first-aid supplies for your wounds. Keep them covered or you will be fighting infection again.

“Yes ma’am,” he answered softly, a miserable look on his face.

“Be safe, my friend,” Tuan said as he stood with An Tien, reaching out his hand to Harry who grasped it firmly, before pulling him into a hug.

“You too,” he murmured as he pulled away and shouldered the pack and a rifle, ignoring the pain in his back at the action.

An Tien hugged Lee to her briefly and whispered in his ear, “Take care of him.”

“If he lets me, I will. Always.”

Nodding, she stepped back and stared at Harry for a long moment before hugging him to her tightly and whispering in his ear, “Be safe. I…when you asked me to come with you before…I did not mean that you…that what you offered was not enough for me. That the life you offered was not enough. I…”

“I know what you meant,” Harry interrupted as he pushed her away gently so he could look into her eyes. “I know. Your place is here. It always has been.”

Hugging her to him again briefly, he pulled away and kissed her quickly on the cheek but before the two Seaview officers could finish their good-byes, gunfire was heard on the far side of the village.

“They’re here! Go my friend!” Tuan cried pushing Harry towards the trail to the shore.

Harry watched in indecision as Tuan and the others ran off, torn to be leaving his friends behind again.

“Admiral. We need to go. Now!” Lee shouted as he pulled Harry away from the village.

Nodding, Harry began to follow then stopped when he heard the plaintive cries coming from the village. Looking back up the trail into the village, he watched as Tuan’s men dropped like flies as bullets ripped into them.

“No!” he yelled in anguish, turning to go back to the fight. “Tuan! An Tien!”

“No, Admiral! We can’t help them! Come on!” Lee yelled, grabbing his arm quickly. “I need to get you back to Seaview safely!”

Harry allowed himself to be pulled down the trail, ignoring the agony Lee’s tugging caused. The ache in his heart was far worse than any physical pain as he knew without a doubt that his friends were fighting a fight they had no hope of winning.

The two ran down the track fighting the vines that constantly threatened to trip them, only stopping for the briefest of times to rest or drink thirstily from the canteens of water An Tien had provided them.

After they had run for what seemed like hours to Nelson, they began to slow their pace while keeping a constant watch behind them for anyone following them. Lee suddenly felt Nelson’s hand on his arm pulling him back and stopped. He looked questioningly at Nelson who stared at the ground in front of him, his hand tightening on Lee’s arm. “What is it?”

“Look,” Nelson said pointing to an area in front of them that, to Lee, seemed unremarkable.

“What? What is it?”

Nelson walked carefully to a tree by the side of the trail and with his finger gently pulled a wire concealed by brush forward slightly. Looking over his shoulder at Lee, he said quietly. “Booby trap.” Pulling on the wire a bit more, an arrow sped from the brush, embedding itself in the tree across from it with tremendous force.

“It’s called an arrow trap for obvious reasons. I hadn’t considered that the jungle may still be littered with them. This one seems to have been set recently,” he said thoughtfully as he stood and walked to the shaft quivering in the tree and examined it. “Fresh wood. Usually they’re angled up more so it strikes in the chest. This one seems set to merely maim.”

“Why?’ Lee asked as he knelt by Nelson’s side.

Nelson shrugged. “Whoever set them wants the injured person alive, not dead.”

“For?”

“I suspect our trap setter is Chien Hung or one of his people. He controls this area. Anyone in this region that Hung isn’t familiar with is an enemy to him and someone he’d want to interrogate.”

“Well, let’s make sure we aren’t one of them,” Lee replied forcefully. “You had enough of Hung’s hospitality.”

Nelson laughed slightly. “You’re right. I have. We’re going to have to be cautious as we head to the rendezvous. Look for anything about the jungle that looks wrong. Trip wires like this one might be another arrow trap or an area of dead grass surrounded by fresh green may be what’s called a tiger trap.”

“I’ve seen them,” Lee said shivering as he thought of what might have happened if he had continued on. “Thanks, Admiral. I would have stepped right in that.”

“Just be aware. Come on we need to get moving.”

Chapter 7

Dusk fell over the jungle rapidly as the two men traversed the path they followed as quickly as they could. The light that filtered through the dense canopy overhead became muted; the trail cast in deepening shadows and the two men knew they needed to find shelter for the night.

“We need to stop and find a safe place for the night, Lee. We can’t see anything in front of us,” Harry said looking about him for a time. “Down there. That stand of trees looks promising. We can spend the night up in one of them. If Hung’s men come, we won’t be so obvious. And we should be out of the way of any animals passing through. Come on.”

Taking the time to wipe their tracks away as they moved cautiously down the trail, the two walked to the stand of tall trees that had branches a few feet off the ground. “You first, Admiral,” Lee offered with a smile as he watched the admiral search out the best place to spend the night.

Glancing at the amusement in Lee’s tone, he noticed the smile he did nothing to hide and shook his head. The man didn’t think he knew how to climb a tree. He was crushed. Swinging the pack he carried up into the first fork in the tree, he jumped up to wrap his arms about a branch high above him and groaned as pain flared through his ribs and he dropped back down, falling to his knees.

“Damn! I forgot about your ribs,” Lee apologized, kneeling by the admiral’s side as he struggled against the waves of pain.

“It’s all right. I just need to take it slower,” he croaked out, breathing slowly in and out to control the pain, then rose to his feet and tried again. Clambering quickly up to the first fork, he grabbed his pack and continued on until he was several feet off the ground and situated in a quite comfortable looking fork.

Pausing to regain his breath, he stared down at Crane below. “Well, do you need help?”

Smiling, Lee shook his head. Who knew the admiral could climb trees like a monkey, bruised ribs and all? “I’ll be right there,” he called as he tried to follow the same route up the admiral had taken.

A few tries later, he settled himself by Nelson’s side and gazed at him in the dimming light in admiration. “Where did you learn to climb trees like that?” he asked in amazement.

Nelson snorted. “As a kid I was always examining things…bugs, slugs, flies…whatever happened to cross my path. Not all of them stayed on the ground. If I wanted to find out where they went, what they did, what they ate, I had to follow them. Up trees, in the water…where they went I went.”

“You must have made your mother so happy,” Lee joked as he tried to settle himself more securely in the tree.

“I remember she didn’t always seem delighted when I would come home all covered in dirt or slime or leaves.”

“Do you wonder why?”

“No. No I don’t. But she always seemed to understand my need to explore.”

The two quieted down and listened as the jungle seemed to explode in sound. Bugs called out lustily in the still air and Harry settled back against the tree, knowing as long as he still heard the jungle noises, people or predators were not about.

“We should take turns sleeping. We need to keep an eye out for not only Hung and his men but snakes or other wildlife. Unfortunately, Vietnam has many species of snakes. A good many of those are poisonous, and they like trees,” Nelson informed Lee as he reached inside the pack he carried and pulled out some dried meat, handing some to Lee who took it, sniffing it cautiously.

“What is it?”

“Does it matter? It’s meat.”

“No seriously. What is it?”

Nelson sighed, sniffed it, took a bite and said matter-of-factly, “I think it’s monkey. Eat it. We have a long day ahead tomorrow.”

Lee watched as Nelson tore another piece off and ate it slowly, drinking from the canteen sparingly, then looked at the meat in his hand. Tearing off a chunk, he chewed and swallowed quickly. “Not bad actually. Tastes like…”

“…chicken. I know,” Nelson finished with a little smile.

Reaching inside the pack again, he slowly withdrew a package wrapped in leaves and stared at it for a moment.

“What’s that?” Lee asked as he chewed on his jerky.

“I don’t know. I didn’t notice it until now,” he said, unwrapping the leaves to find six round sugared cakes. “Banh ran,” he whispered.

“What?”

“It’s…banh ran. Filled sugared cakes covered in sesame seeds,” he said staring at them in silence.

“Is something wrong with them?” Lee asked quietly.

Startled, Nelson looked up and smiled. “No…no…it’s just…An Tien promised me some back in the village. She must have put them in the pack,” he muttered softly, grief flitting over his face. “Here, try one.”

Lee reached out and took one, biting into it and sighing in ecstasy. “That is so much better than dried monkey meat,” he sighed happily.

Nelson laughed and handed two more to his starving friend, smiling as he ate every last crumb.

Finishing his meal, Nelson rubbed his hands on his pants and leaned back his thoughts on the village they’d left far behind them.

“Do you think we’re far enough away?” Lee asked quietly, his gaze on the jungle night.

“No. Hung has long arms I suspect. Longer than An Tien and Tuan knew. We’re not safe anywhere right now.”

There was a long silence between the two. Lee knew the admiral’s thoughts were on his friends he had left behind and he searched for something to say but came up with nothing that would help the man deal with his fears. Telling him he thought Tuan and An Tien were alive or had made it out seemed useless as he had heard the same sounds come from the village that Nelson had.

“I’ll take first watch, Admiral,” Lee said quietly after some time had passed.

“I’m not really tired, Lee. Go ahead and get some rest if you can. I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

“All right,” he said as he tried to get comfortable. Settling into the crook of the tree, Lee watched as Nelson stared about him, constantly checking and rechecking that they were safe and felt an enormous rush of admiration flow over him. The man seemed comfortable in any environment or any situation. Smiling, Crane let himself drift into a restful sleep, sure that he was safe.

More than a few hours later, Nelson woke Lee and settled back against the tree, closed his eyes and was asleep in seconds.

~O~

A few hours later, Nelson awoke to the gentle but insistent tapping on his leg and a gentle hand over his mouth. Opening his eyes, he saw Lee staring at him with a finger to his lips. Pointing down, Nelson saw a few men dressed in jungle fatigues under the tree they were hidden in, misty fog enveloping them in eerie shadows. Their hushed voices carried up to the two men and Lee watched as Harry cocked his head, listening hard at what was being said. It amazed him that Nelson knew as many languages as he did and as he watched emotions cross his friend’s face, he knew that Vietnamese was apparently one he was familiar with.

After a few minutes in conversation, the men below scattered in different directions and after a period of time, the jungle came alive again.

“What did they say?” Lee asked as he saw Harry frowning.

“They’re looking for us. They know we escaped and that we have the package Chien Hung wants. They’ve separated. One group is going in the direction we need to be headed in. We need to be cautious.”

“The village?” Lee asked softly.

Nelson was quiet for a time, looking off to the side. “The village has been neutralized…their words,” he muttered, his voice catching briefly. “We need to go. I won’t let their deaths be in vain.”

“We can’t be positive they’re dead.”

“Hung wouldn’t leave them alive. Any of them. I suspect he has a strong vengeful side.”

“Let’s go then,” Lee answered as he gathered up a few items and put them back in his backpack.

Nelson gathered his and climbed carefully and slowly down the tree, landing silently on the jungle floor. He held a hand up to Lee to stop him, then after a few seconds motioned him down while he shouldered his pack and rifle.

“We need to be quiet. We head for the shore and the rendezvous. If one of us falls, the other takes the pack with the documents and gets it back to Seaview. Understood?”

Lee was silent as he stared hard at Nelson for a few seconds but the admiral’s eyes bore through his, commanding, not asking him to agree. After a brief struggle, he nodded. “Understood.”

The early morning fog burned off quickly as the day progressed, the coolness of the morning rapidly changing to the oppressive heat of early afternoon before the two stopped again.

“We need to rest here for a bit, get something to eat and drink,” Nelson said as he sat under a sheltering row of bushes and low trees, satisfied they were hidden from the trail as well as they could be.

The two ate quietly, their thoughts on the task ahead of them.

“Admiral, do you think what Tuan found…the documents…do you think it will make a difference to anyone?”

Nelson sighed heavily and dropped his hand that held a chunk of dried meat to his lap. “I don’t know, Lee. Lin is a powerful man with powerful friends. We can only hope justice is done. I just hope Hung, or anyone else, hasn’t contacted him to let him know.”

“Do you believe what Tuan says?”

“About Lin? I don’t know. I know he believes…believed it. I just don’t know. It was so long ago and Phoenix used tactics that…well people would say anything just to make the “questioning” stop. It was brutal. But…what he heard Lin and Hue saying just seems to corroborate what Tuan said.”

A few minutes of silence passed before Nelson stood up. “We need to move. Chip will be at the rendezvous on time. We can’t miss it. Seaview can’t keep sailing these waters waiting for us. If they’re found, it’s going to be hard to explain what they’re doing here.”

The two shouldered their packs, picked up their rifles and headed off down the trail, silently watching, listening for any sound out of the ordinary.

Two hours later, Nelson stopped Lee with a hand on his arm and a finger to his lips. He motioned with his hand to hide behind a row of prickly jungle brush. Peering through the tangled vines, Nelson and Crane stared, listening. Their patience was rewarded a few minutes later by the sight of four men…Hung’s men…walking stealthily through the jungle. Nelson motioned to Crane that they would stay put until they disappeared. Lee nodded his understanding and went back to watching the group move off, hoping they hadn’t left enough of a trail to lead them to where they hid.

Seconds became several long minutes before the two rose and carefully continued down the trail. Not long after the air was filled with the sound of gunfire and bullets whizzed past the two men, hitting the vines and sending bits of leaves flying in their faces. The two hid behind an outcrop of rock and looked for their assailants, finding them quickly when another round of bullets flew at them.

“There are four of them. They must be the same ones that we hid from. Damn! I thought they had moved on,” Nelson called angrily, berating himself for letting them get the drop on them.

“You take the two on the right, I’ll take the two on the left,” Lee called, peering around the rock, waiting for a clear shot. The two men fired round after round, smiling in grim satisfaction as their shots hit home and the firing from the others died away.

Rising slowly, the two cautiously made their way to the bodies sprawled in death on the other side of the small clearing. Checking them, Lee nodded to Nelson. “They’re dead.”

“We’re about out of clean water. Grab their canteens. And let’s move them off the trail. No use letting their friends know of their demise,” Nelson said shortly.

Grabbing the extra water, the two moved the bodies, wiped their trail clear and began a sprint down the trail.

Another two hours and Nelson came to a stop, his arms wrapping about his ribs momentarily. He couldn’t let Lee know how much their headlong flight was hurting. “Let’s stop for a minute and get a drink,” he grunted as he pulled the pack from his shoulder and laid it on the ground.

“Your ribs bothering you?” Lee asked in concern as he watched Nelson lean against a tree and take a long drink from the canteen.

“I’m fine,” he lied smoothly. “They’re fine. Just need a break.”

“Uh huh,” Crane responded, knowing the man was lying by the way the muscle in his jaw was clenched. Taking a long drink from his own canteen, he searched the jungle on either side of the trail. Wandering away from where the admiral was studiously examining the brush, he was suddenly knocked to the side of the trail and heard the admiral yell, “Lee, look out!”

At almost the same time he heard the sound of an arrow being released, then heard Nelson’s agonized cry of pain. Looking back he saw Nelson on the ground, his face a mask of agony and his hands gripping his left leg above a long arrow that protruded from either side of his thigh about six inches above his knee.

“Oh my God…Admiral!” he yelled as he crawled to Nelson’s side. “I…I’m sorry…I didn’t see it!”

“It’s…it’s all right. It was an accident. They had it camouflaged quite well,” Nelson gasped, his lips clenched tight against the pain. “Get me off the trail. Move the packs.”

Lee grabbed Nelson under the arms and pulled him as gently as he could into the brush, stopping when he found a secluded glade far enough off the trail that they wouldn’t be seen. Propping Nelson against a tree he ran back for the backpacks, rifles and canteens, taking the time to wipe the area of any prints before heading back to Nelson who lay with his head back against the tree, eyes closed and breathing heavily.

“Admiral…”

“It was an accident. Not your fault,” Nelson grated out, his lips tight against the pain. “You remember that.”

“Yeah. I’ll do that,” Lee replied sarcastically. Agonized thoughts filled his mind as he pondered the ramifications of what had happened. Not only had his inattentiveness resulted in his best friend being shot through the leg, but he had consigned the two of them to capture and death if Nelson was unable to walk the rest of the way to the rendezvous and there was no way he was going to leave him behind, despite what he had agreed to.

“These aren’t amateurs we’re dealing with. They know how to hide their traps.”

“You saw it,” Crane muttered softly as he began to rummage in the backpack he knew An Tien had put medical supplies in.

“Only because I’ve been here before…seen them in use,” he commented softly, ignoring Lee’s inquisitive look. “You’re going to have to get moving. Anyone nearby could have heard my cry. Leave me a few bandages and get going.”

Crane stared at Nelson with an incredulous look on his face. “What are you talking about? There’s no way I’m leaving you.”

“Lee…”

“No. I don’t want to hear it.”

“You know I can’t...”

“Yes, you can. I’ll help you.”

“You said you understood. One of us has to…”

“I said I understood. I didn’t say I agreed,” Crane interrupted harshly “Let me get this taken care of, then we can get moving.”

“You know I can’t make it. They’ll be after us. I’ll only slow you down.”

“Then we’d better get moving and move fast. The longer you sit there telling me no, the sooner they’ll be on us.”

Nelson stared into Crane’s distraught, determined face, swearing when the man seated himself by his side, staring at him defiantly. “Damn it. Stubborn…If you’re determined to disobey my orders, you’re going to have to pull the damn thing out.”

“But I thought Jamie always said to leave something like that alone.”

“Normally yes. But if I’m going to be traipsing across country with you, I can’t have it hanging out of my leg, now can I? Just…pull it through and I’ll try not to pass out. All right?” he asked with a slight smile designed to put Lee at ease. “Break it off near the fletching. Then pull it through.”

Crane stared at Nelson for a few minutes, hating what he was about to do but knowing Nelson was right. Nodding, he grasped the arrow tightly, scored the wood deeply by the fletching and snapped it off; trying not to hear the gasp of pain that accompanied his breaking the shaft. “Ready for the next part?” he asked as he wrapped his hands around the remainder of the arrow.

“Ready whenever…”

He never got a chance to finish as Crane yanked the arrow out of Nelson’s thigh, doing his best to ignore the muffled cry that came from the man. Looking up, he was relieved to see Nelson’s eyes slide closed and his head fall back against the tree.

Knowing he had very little time before Nelson came to, he hurriedly set to work taking care of the injured man.

Ripping the material from the wounds on either side of Nelson’s leg, he exposed it to the light, his lips thinning as he saw the jagged holes in the man’s leg. “Why is it always the left side?” he muttered as he tore a packet of antibiotic powder open and sprinkled it on the wounds, covering that with a layer of An Tien’s herbs. Pulling the pack closer, he drew wads of gauze from the pack and stuffed them unflinchingly into the wounds pressing hard, trying desperately to not hear the deep moan that came from Nelson even in his unconsciousness. Fishing around in the bag again, he drew out another roll of gauze and proceeded to wrap it about the leg, binding it as tightly as he could. Glancing into Nelson’s face, he saw pain etched on it even in his unconsciousness and his heart broke, knowing it was there because of him. Thoughts raced about in his mind. Damn! Why? Why wasn’t I more careful? What am I going to do? I can’t leave him! He’ll die! I won’t let that happen. I can’t!

Finishing the binding, he gathered up the trash and stuffed it in Nelson’s pack then took out a few items, including the precious documents, and put them in his bag. Digging a hole quickly, he buried Nelson’s backpack and sat back, staring at Nelson in concern. They had to get moving. It was only a matter of time before their trail was found. Hating to do it but knowing he had no choice, Lee leaned closer to Nelson and shook him, once then again before Nelson opened his pain-filled eyes.

“What happened?” he asked quietly as he tried to get his eyes to focus.

“I got the arrow out, put some antibiotic powder and some of An Tien’s herbs on the wounds and bound it up. Doesn’t seem to be bleeding right now,” Lee answered softly.

“Then you should get moving,” Nelson responded firmly.

“We’ve been through this. You stay, I stay.”

“Someone has to get those documents back to…”

“I don’t give a damn about the documents! What I do give a damn about is getting you back to Seaview safely. Now you can either get up and let me help you or I’ll pick you up and throw you over my shoulder which I guarantee you is not going to be pleasant with those ribs.”

Nelson laid his head back against the tree and stared at Crane’s determined expression and knew he had no choice. He couldn’t help but feel that by going with Lee he was consigning them both to probable capture. But he would be doing the same thing if he refused to go and Lee stayed with him as he threatened: a threat he knew he would carry out.

“Help me,” he said, holding a hand out to Crane who grabbed it and pulled him to his feet. Wavering for a second, Nelson leaned hard on Crane, trying to control the pain that coursed through him. “Give me a second,” he whispered harshly as he waited for the pain to ease. “All right, let’s go while we can.”

Crane grabbed the backpack, rifles and canteens then wrapped an arm about Nelson, steadying him. “Ready?”

“Where’s my pack?” he asked.

“I can’t carry both packs and you. I took out what we needed from yours, including the documents, put it in mine and buried yours.” Nelson nodded briefly in approval and the two continued through the jungle, paralleling the trail until they came to an impenetrable section of lianas and low bushes.

“We’ll have to go back to the trail,” Lee sighed, turning them towards the path above them.

“Wait. Listen,” Nelson demanded, cocking his head slightly. “There’s water nearby. If we can cross it, they’ll lose our tracks.”

“Let’s go,” Lee said as he headed for the sound of the water.

After several long minutes hobbling through the jungle, the pair came to a slight incline above a rapidly moving river. Thick rows of impenetrable mangrove trees lined the river’s edge on the far side.

The two men gazed down the slight slope clear of all vegetation save for a few straggly vines to the milky water flowing rapidly below. “Looks as though this area has been in flood. There’s not much in the way of cover on either side of the river but it seems narrow enough,” Nelson said softly. “It looks like a good spot to cross. We can probably swim it easily. If we get across here, our tracks will be hidden. We just have to aim for the section of shore clear of mangroves…maybe head downstream a bit.”

“Admiral…your leg…,” Lee warned, knowing the water was not the cleanest and worried infection would set in.

“There’s nothing we can do about it now. We need to cross,” Nelson stated firmly staring Lee in the eye, knowing his thoughts. “There’s no choice.”

Nodding, Lee helped Nelson down the incline and took his pack and the rifles from his back. “You hold the pack and rifles out of the water,” he said wanting to keep the bandages clean and dry. “I’ll tow you across. Don’t argue,” he ordered when he saw Nelson was about to protest.

Nelson nodded grimly, took Lee’s pack and, holding it in front of him, waded unsteadily into the rapidly moving water until it covered his chest. Holding the backpack as far out of the water as he could, he let Lee settle himself behind him and began to swim them across the rapidly moving water, angling away from the thick mangrove swamp.

His thoughts on what was ahead, Lee mechanically propelled the two of them across the river, not noticing they had reached the far shore until he felt the sandy bottom brush his back. Standing, he put his arms under Nelson’s shoulders and hoisted him from the water. Hauling him up, he wrapped an arm under his shoulder, took the pack and rifles from him and helped him up the shore to a stand of scraggly trees that grew sparsely on the shore. Laying him down by one, he gazed in concern at Nelson’s leg that was bright red with blood.

“I need to rewrap that,” he said shortly as he reached inside the pack and drew out the small bag of medical supplies.

Exhausted, Nelson laid his head back and watched as Lee worked on the wound, knowing there wasn’t much he could do but grateful Lee was there with him.

“There. That’s better,” he said as he packed the supplies up, put them back in the pack and zippered it shut. “Ready to go, Admiral?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No. Not really. We’re both getting back to Seaview. Or we’re both going to spend some time with Chien Hung.”

“You’re the most stubborn man I’ve ever met,” Nelson croaked gruffly as he reached a hand up to Crane who grabbed it and pulled him up.

“I’m stubborn? Where do you think I learned it?” Crane joked with a slight smile.

Chuckling, Nelson leaned heavily on Crane as he waited for the bout of dizziness that washed over him fade. “Thanks, Lee,” he murmured.

“For what? Getting you shot?” he asked sarcastically.

“No. For being here…helping me. It was an accident. Let it go.”

“Could you?” he asked quietly as he put an arm under Nelson and began to head away from the river bank and towards the jungle far above them.

Chapter 8

The two walked up the slight rise to the top of the riverbank and turned to head in the direction of the coastline still several miles away. As the hours passed, Nelson felt himself grow weaker and weaker until Lee was practically carrying him. When the light through the canopy overhead began to fade, Nelson stopped and whispered, “We need to find shelter for the night. It will be dark soon.”

“We still have some time yet. We should keep moving,” Lee disagreed, looking behind them as if he could feel their pursuers behind them.

“Need to…to find shelter now while there’s still light. Make sure it’s…it’s safe.”

“All right,” Lee agreed quietly as he helped Nelson to a tall, broad tree and placed him gently on the ground to lean against the trunk. Taking the pack from his back, he dropped it to the jungle by Nelson’s side, then took one of the rifles and placed it on his lap. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

“Take the pack with the documents with you,” Nelson said in a quiet voice staring Lee in the eye, willing him to understand his reasons; he was more likely to be found than Lee.

Frowning at the order, but understanding Nelson’s concerns, he grabbed the pack, shouldering it quickly and stared down at Nelson. “You had better be here when I get back. Understand?”

Nelson nodded slightly and gave his friend a brief smile, hoping it put the young man at ease. Watching him walk away, his head turning from side to side as he looked for a safe spot for the two to spend the night, he sighed deeply as he watched Lee move off. He knew Lee felt guilt over what had happened but Nelson knew there was no guilt or blame to be had. The trick was in getting him to understand and accept that.

“I need to find a way to get you to leave me. Somehow I have to convince you to go on without me,” he whispered. “Somehow.”

After what felt like mere seconds, Nelson felt a soft hand settle on his forehead and he startled, his hand going to the gun on his lap.

“Easy, Admiral. It’s just me.” Nelson woke completely and stared into the worried face of his captain. “You’re feverish,” he added quietly.

“How…how long were you gone?” he asked, ignoring Lee’s statement as he struggled to clear the fog from his brain. He couldn’t give in to the darkness that called to him. Not yet.

“About a half hour, forty-five minutes. I found an overhang in some rocks up ahead. It’s high enough up a hill that we can see the surrounding area pretty well. No animals in there now and it doesn’t look as though any have been there. It’s safe,” he finished as he stared at Nelson’s closed eyes.

“Sounds…sounds good. Let’s go.”

Lee hauled Nelson from the ground and practically carried the semi-conscious man to the shelter he had found. Getting the injured man up the steep, rock-strewn hill was easier said than done but finally the two crawled under the overhang where Nelson collapsed on the dirty floor and lay back, breathing hard.

Panting, Lee stared out the opening to the trail down the slope. Looking to his left and his right, he saw no one and he relaxed slightly. Glancing to Nelson by his side, his heart clenched as he saw the bandage wrapped about Nelson’s thigh was soaked through with blood again. Pulling the backpack to his side, he rummaged around until he found more bandages and set about changing the old ones for new as Nelson lay semi-conscious.

“You need to leave me here, Lee,” he heard Nelson say in a soft murmur. “You can…make the shore in a few hours.”

“And leave you to Hung? No way.”

“We…we don’t know if he’s even on our trail.”

“I’m not taking any chances. Not when it’s your life we’re talking about.”

“It’s bleeding again,” Nelson said matter-of-factly as he stared down at his leg that Lee was working on cleaning out.

“I know. I’m running out of bandages.”

“Find some cobwebs,” Nelson murmured weakly as he laid his head back and closed his eyes. “Good anticoagulant and…antibiotic.”

Remembering another time they’d needed cobwebs to stop bleeding,* Crane nodded, kicking himself for not remembering, and looked about the cave for some. Finding an abundant supply in the corner of one part of the overhang, he gathered them; grimacing at the stickiness of them and carried them back to Nelson. “I found some, Admiral. This is going to hurt,” he warned simply, watching as Nelson nodded and braced himself.

Pushing the webs into the wound as far as he could, he tried hard not to hear the gasps of pain that came from Nelson. Looking down at him in concern, he noted the pain that filled his sweat-bathed face and glowered. It seemed all he was good for on this trip was to hurt the man he respected and cared about more than just about anyone. His heart ached to know he was causing his friend undue pain and he hurried to finish.

“There,” he said after the last of the webs had been placed as well as they could be. Looking down again, he saw the lines of pain that had been etched into Nelson’s craggy face had smoothed out as unconsciousness had claimed him once again. Reaching to his wrist he took it in hand and checked his pulse, reassured by the steady beat. He patted the hand under his, put the last of the herbs in the wounds and wrapped the thigh in the remaining bandages.

Sitting back, he stared down at the man lying unconscious before him and shook his head. “I came to keep you safe…to protect you. I’m doing such a good job, aren’t I?” he scoffed, Running a hand over his face he sat back, leaning against the cool stone behind him and tried to calm his worried thoughts. Nelson was a strong man in more ways than one. He’d survive. He had to. If he didn’t…if he died here in this godforsaken jungle…he didn’t know what he would do. The man had come to mean more to him in the last few years than he had ever thought possible. To know the feelings he had for Nelson were returned was still a wonder to him.

The man had the weight of the world on his shoulders many times and had accepted it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Even now. Nelson had come to this piece of jungle Lee knew he would just as soon never see again because his country had asked him to come. How many times had his country called him to do something, save them from something? When was it going to be one time too many? Lee bowed his head and prayed hard it wasn’t tonight that it all caught up to Harriman Nelson. He begged it to not be now or any time in the near future. He wasn’t ready to let go of the man.

A sudden crack of thunder jerked Crane from his musings and he stared out at the jungle, brightly lit by a brilliant flash of lightning. “Storm,” he muttered to himself as he stood up as far as he could under the low hanging rocks and grabbed the pack, rummaging inside until he found a piece of tarp that Nelson had brought along and carried it outside the overhang. Opening it, he cut a small square from it and tied it on all four sides to small trees just outside the rock overhang’s protection. Cutting a small hole in the center, he placed one of the canteens under it at a lower spot on the slope and waited for the first drops of rain to fall, praying they had fresh water in the morning.

“Not bad,” he heard a weak voice from inside say.

Turning he saw Nelson awake and with a slight grin on his face. “I guess you did learn something from all that ONI training after all,” he said as he struggled to sit up.”

“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” he joked as he came back inside, helped Nelson sit up and settled him back against the wall. Seating himself by Nelson’s side, he sighed heavily. “We’ll have fresh water soon. Hopefully it will rain enough to fill all the canteens.”

“Then you’ll have plenty of water for tomorrow,” Nelson said weakly as he tried to find a comfortable spot on the jagged rocks, grimacing as he felt the rocks dig into the wounds on his back.

“We’ll have plenty of water,” Crane corrected, staring hard at Nelson who frowned.

“Lee…”

“No. You’re coming with me if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you. I won’t leave you behind. You should eat something,” he said changing the subject abruptly as he pulled the pack to his side, reached in and grabbed a piece of mystery meat, handing it to Nelson who waved it off.

“I…I can’t. You eat it,” he said knowing the amount of food left was dwindling.

“You need the protein.”

“If you’re going to force me to come with you, you’ll be the one doing all the work so you’re the one that needs it. Besides, I don’t think I have the strength to chew that,” he said gesturing to the piece of jerked meat in Lee’s hand.

Lee’s hand dropped to his lap as he stared in worry at Nelson, guilt filling him again.

“Let it go, Lee,” Nelson said weakly as if he knew where Lee’s thoughts had gone. “It was an accident.”

“A costly accident. If I hadn’t…”

“Lee. Please. I don’t have the strength to keep telling you to let it go.”

Lee stared into Nelson’s face, watching as he tried unsuccessfully to hide the pain he was in. Reaching a hand up to Nelson’s forehead, he was surprised and more than a bit concerned when the man allowed the touch without so much as a frown and felt the warmth there. Grimacing, he pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wet it in the gently falling rain then placed it on Nelson’s forehead.

“Thanks,” Nelson said quietly. “That feels good.”

“It’s the least…you’re welcome,” he finished when he saw Nelson’s eyes turned to his in warning. “I think I’ll check on that canteen. Maybe it’s filled by now.”

Nelson watched Lee crawl to the entryway and check the canteen, pulling it out from under the tarp and putting another one under. He knew Lee was feeling guilt over what had happened but he didn’t blame his young friend. “I’ve got to find a way to get you to leave me. I can’t let you get caught,” he whispered to himself remembering what Chien Hung had put him through. “I won’t let you go through what he did to me if I can help it. Not if…if…” Nelson’s eyes slid closed, his mumblings fading as he drifted off into unconsciousness, unaware of Crane’s worried eyes on him.

Crawling back under the ledge, he moved closer to Nelson and stared at him in concern. His shoulders slumped against the weight of responsibility he felt for Nelson, as well as his guilt at having triggered the trap. He shook his head and settled himself once more by Nelson’s side, watching, waiting, guarding.

Droplets of rain dripped from the rocks and plopped dully on the ground outside, lulling Crane into a restless sleep which was disturbed a few hours later by Nelson’s anguished mutterings. Reaching a hand to his forehead, he was distressed to feel the heat that radiated from him and he wet the handkerchief once more, bathing Nelson’s face and chest in the cool water.

Rising he walked to the canteen in the rain that still fell from the jungle sky and collected it before putting another under. Taking a long swallow, he was pleased at the coolness of the water and walked back to Nelson, rinsing the rag in the cool rainwater and putting it back on Nelson’s forehead. Concerned, he watched as Nelson continued to murmur in his delirium. When the mutterings began to rise in volume, he shook Nelson gently, knowing his words, although unintelligible to Lee, might alert anyone looking for them of their location.

“Admiral? Wake up. It’s Lee. Wake up, sir,” he called soothingly, shaking him gently.

A few minutes passed before Nelson could pull himself from the darkness he found himself in and his eyes flickered open. He stared about the cave in puzzlement until he heard the soft, concerned voice beside him calling to him.

“It’s all right, sir. You just need to wake up.”

“Lee?” he croaked. “What is it? Where are we?”

“We’re still in Vietnam unfortunately. You…you were talking in your sleep. You were having a nightmare.”

“Talking in my…? What was I saying?” he asked as he looked into Lee’s concerned face.

“I don’t know,” he said shrugging. “I think you were speaking in Vietnamese.”

Sighing, Nelson rested his head back against the cool rock and rubbed a hand over his face. “I…I was dreaming…just a dream,” he muttered as if to assure himself it hadn’t been real.

“It didn’t sound like a good dream, sir.”

“No. No, it wasn’t,” he whispered without explaining further. “How long until dawn?”

“About four hours? It’s been raining all night so any tracks we made should be gone.”

“Hopefully,” he said trying to find a more comfortable spot on the narrow ledge.

“Do you want to talk about the dream?” Lee asked.

Nelson was silent for a long time before answering. “It…it was jumbled…pieces of things that happened. Laos…Tuan…Chien Hung’s camp and his…ministrations. It was like it was all happening at the same time. I saw An Tien. She…she was dead. I saw her looking at me. Like she was blaming me for what happened.”

“It wasn’t your fault. None of this is your fault. It’s just the fever,” Lee reassured.

“I know,” Nelson said turning his head to Lee, seeing the worry on his face. “Lee, listen to me…”

“If it’s about leaving you here, the answer is no.”

“I can’t make it. If you stay with me, you’ll die. Hung will find us. I don’t want to be responsible for another death, especially when that death would be yours.”

“Stop! Please. I can’t leave you. I know you think it’s what’s best but I can’t. I won’t. Don’t ask me again. My carelessness caused this,” he spat out, gesturing to Nelson’s leg. “I’m going to get us both out of this.”

Sighing heavily, Nelson closed his eyes and tried hard not to think of what might lay ahead for the two of them in the coming day. He knew the man at his side wouldn’t leave him, wouldn’t save himself, but would do everything he could to make sure they both survived. Shaking his head, he smiled ruefully. What had he done in his life to find someone so loyal? Someone so devoted. Turning his head, he frowned at the sadness he saw etched on the young man’s face as he stared out at the jungle night and slapped him on the leg. “You should get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

“I will. As soon as you go back to sleep,” he answered, a slight smile leaching some of the sadness and worry from his face.

Nodding, Nelson closed his eyes and almost immediately fell asleep, his breathing soft and deep. Staring at his friend in the dim light, Crane felt his fear grow for Nelson. How was he going to get him home? The man was so weak now. Another couple of hours and the fever would be ravishing his body even more than it was now. But he couldn’t leave him here. It went against everything he knew, everything he had been trained to do, everything he felt was right.

“I can’t leave you. I won’t,” he whispered as he curled up by Nelson’s side and slept.

Chapter 9

An hour before dawn, Lee woke from a rather unpleasant dream and sat up, looking quickly to Nelson in fear for a moment. Reaching a hand out, he clasped Nelson’s, feeling the warmth that told him not only that he was still alive, but that his fever was still raging.

Rising, he walked to the lip of the ledge and looked out. Rubbing a hand over his face, he stretched and stared out at the rainforest before him that still dripped droplets of water, reminders of the storm that had raged most of the night. From his perch, he stared hard at the trail to his right, trying to detect any movement, any spot of color that didn’t belong, any unusual noise that told him they weren’t alone and was slightly relieved to hear and see nothing out of place. Turning to the left, he did the same and felt a measure of calm envelop him.

Glancing back into the shadowy cave, he watched Nelson, his sleep punctuated by soft moans and a slight twitching that told of pain and mental torment. Suddenly feeling the weight of his decisions on him, he looked away, overwhelmed with uncertainty. Make the wrong choice and both he and Nelson could die. His shoulders slumped against the burden of responsibility he felt for the life of Admiral Nelson, as well as the guilt he felt at having triggered the trap. One moment’s inattention and Nelson might pay the ultimate price. How could he live with that? Turning his head he peered into the shadowy light once more. Stay or go? Which was the right answer? Could he live with himself if he made it to the rendezvous only to get back and find Nelson dead or gone, a prisoner of Hung once more?

No matter how many times he replayed his options in his mind, he kept coming back to the fact that Nelson would never leave him behind. No matter what, he knew that the man asleep inside the dank cave would find a way to get them both home, knowing that together they stood a better chance at making it. His decision made, he felt a slight relief envelop him, then decided to scout around a bit to see if he could spot any evidence Hung or his men were near.

Walking outside hesitantly, he peered about for any sign they weren’t alone. Light from the rising sun began to filter though the tropical foliage as Crane carefully climbed up the rocky, wet outcrop until he came to the top. Throwing himself flat, he gazed in the direction he and Nelson had walked the day before and saw nothing, no movement at all. Listening, he heard the cacophonous sounds of the jungle begin to explode as the sun rose and he relaxed slightly.

Looking off to the left, he spotted the coastline in the distance, barely visible through the rainforest before him. They were so close. A few hours walking would see them safely to the shore. But with Nelson’s condition deteriorating, it might add several more hours to that estimate. Laying his head on his hands, he lay still. They had to get moving. He couldn’t leave Nelson behind. He wouldn’t. Just as he was about to rise, he noticed the jungle had grown quiet and he looked up, alarmed. Off to his right, he saw movement on the trail he and Nelson had traversed the day before. Three men walked slowly through the underbrush peering at the ground before them, pointing at spots on the trail under rows of dense vegetation. Apparently, the rain hadn’t washed all of their tracks away.

“Damn,” he whispered as he watched them draw closer. In dismay he realized his rifle was still in the cave. Three men against one and him armed only with the sidearm strapped to his waist? Not good odds. Glancing up at the sunlight filtering from the sky through the canopy, Crane felt certain the men below couldn’t see him which gave him a slight element of surprise. Watching, he saw them lose the tracks the two men had left the night before and scouted around trying to find it. When they couldn’t, they looked up and noticed the overhang, pointing to it.

The apparent leader gestured for one man to go to the left, one to the right and he would head straight up the rocks. From here, he might get two of the men before the other could react but that left one more who, alerted to his presence, could pick him off. Or enter the cave to get the admiral.

His heart pounding as the men climbed, Crane looked about trying hard to form a plan that wouldn’t get him and the admiral killed. Spying a fairly large rock, one began to take shape in his mind. Taking his pistol from his holster, he placed it on the ground within easy reach, then, hefting the large rock, threw it towards the man on the far side of the ledge, hitting him a glancing blow on the shoulder and knocking him down. Surprised, the man turned but before he or the others could react, Crane grabbed his pistol and fired twice in rapid succession hitting the other two men, one in the chest, one in the head, and knocked them back down to the trail. The last man dodged behind some rocks and began firing at Crane who was now unfortunately pinned down. Sliding back down behind some rocks, Crane waited. It was only a matter of time until the man became curious. Peering over the edge, he saw the man begin to rise hesitantly. Crane drew a bead and fired, hitting him in the chest and dropping where he was.

Clambering down the rocks, he checked the man quickly, glanced down the trail at the bodies below and went inside to see Nelson struggling to get up.

“Easy, Admiral. It’s all right,” he said hurriedly, laying a hand on Nelson’s chest to keep him still. “We just had a visit from three of Hung’s men. They’re dead.”

“You…you all right?” Nelson asked in anxiety as he tried to get his eyes to focus.

“I’m fine,” he answered as he began to gather up the canteens. Handing one to Nelson, he watched in satisfaction as he took a healthy swallow then put it along with the others in the remaining backpack. “Do you see what would have happened if I had left you here? You’d be Hung’s guest again.”

“And you’d be safely back on Seaview by now,” Nelson whispered as he struggled to clear the fog from his fevered mind.

“We need to get moving. Those shots could have been heard for miles around. Come on,” he said, ignoring what Nelson had said.

Knowing it was useless to argue any more with his stubborn captain. Nelson tried to rise only to fall back, jarring his leg. Trying and failing to keep the moan inside, Crane was by his side in a flash. “Let me help you,” he ordered as he laid the pack on the ground and grabbed Nelson under the arms and pulled him to his feet where he wavered. “All right?”

Nelson nodded quickly. “Fine. Just…just fine,” he whispered, doing his best to ignore the way the jungle wavered before him and his legs felt like jelly.

“Sure you are,” Lee growled as he put the pack on his back and reached an arm under Nelson. “This is going to be tricky. We need to get to the bottom without falling.”

“Easier said than done,” Nelson joked with a slight grin.

The two began a slow descent down the rocky outcrop. Crane kept a firm hold on Nelson, practically carrying him down the rock-strewn slope to the bottom.

Reaching the trail below, Crane sat Nelson down on a tree trunk. “Wait here a minute,” Crane said. Walking to the bodies lying at the base of the outcrop, he turned them over.

“Those two are Hung’s men,” Nelson whispered weakly as he stared at the two before him. “I remember them.”

Seeing the look on Nelson’s face, he knew the men weren’t just Hung’s men. “Who were they?” he asked softly.

“They…they helped with the…interrogation,” he answered briefly as he turned his eyes away, almost flinching in pain as he remembered the straps biting into his back when he gave the wrong answer.

“Interrogation,” Crane whispered to himself as he dragged them off the trail and into the jungle. “You mean they’re the ones who tortured you. Don’t you?”

Looking up into the hate in Crane’s eyes he could only nod. “Two of many. Let’s get out of here,” he said quietly.

Wrapping his arm about Nelson, he hauled him up, ignoring the little gasp of pain. “We need to put some distance between us and them. We’re going to need to move quickly.”

Nelson’s nod was all he had the energy to do.

The two Seaview officers walked down the trail, Nelson doing more of the walking than Crane had anticipated. “You feeling better?” he asked quietly shortly after they began.

“Some,” he lied smoothly, knowing Crane was worried. He also knew he was right about needing to move quickly. It took everything he had to keep up with the pace Crane had set.

“Good. Let’s get back to Seaview and some hot food and cool drinks.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Nelson said quietly as he struggled to walk down the trail, trying hard to not put so much of his weight on Crane, but failing more and more as the morning shifted into afternoon.

~O~

After several hours of walking, Crane looked over at Nelson and saw the man was barely conscious, mindlessly putting one foot in front of the other as they made their way through the jungle.

“Let’s stop for a minute. I’m exhausted. I bet you are, too,” he said as he sat Nelson down in a patch of shade.

Sighing heavily, Nelson sank to the ground and slumped back, moaning when his back hit the ground. He didn’t know how he was going to go any further. His leg throbbed in beat with his heart, his back felt as though there were matches laid on it and his ribs ached with a ferocity he found disturbing. He wrapped an arm about them and tried to take a deep breath.

Watching him surreptitiously, Crane’s heart sank as he saw that Nelson was weakening more and more. But there was no choice now. They had to keep going. Turning his eyes from Nelson’s pain-filled face to his leg; he saw the red-soaked bandage and frowned. He hadn’t noticed that the bleeding had started again. Peering about him, he saw a rocky outcrop and headed to it, searching for any cobwebs and was rewarded. Walking back he sank down in front of Nelson.

“What are you doing?” Nelson asked as he watched Crane remove his outer shirt, then took off his t-shirt.

“We’re out of bandages. I’ll use my t-shirt,” he said as he proceeded to tear the shirt into strips. Leaning over Nelson he removed the blood-soaked bandages and grabbed one of the canteens from the pack. Using one of the strips, he soaked it and began to clean out the wound once more, doing his best to ignore Nelson’s sharp intake of breath and the flinch. “Sorry. I need to clean it out.”

“It’s…all right. Doesn’t hurt a bit,” Nelson whispered.

Snorting, Crane looked up into Nelson’s tightly clenched lips and shook his head in disbelief. “There,” he said after a few minutes. “Now I need to get these cobwebs in there. Ready?”

It took a minute before Nelson murmured, “Ready.”

Crane worked as quickly as he could, then bandaged the wound with the remaining strips, tying them tightly. Looking up into Nelson’s face he tried hard not to scream at the pain he saw etched on the man’s face. He placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You all right?”

Without opening his eyes, Nelson only nodded.

Sitting by the man’s side, he reached behind him and grabbed some palm fronds, wiping his hands clean on them. Grabbing the canteen, he took a quick drink of water and handed it to Nelson who sat with it on his lap. “You’re supposed to drink that,” he said quietly.

“I did. I’m not thirsty.”

“You’re not a very good liar. Drink.”

Nelson glared at Crane but drank from the canteen as Crane watched him swallow.

“Satisfied?” he asked.

“Better. Now, eat this,” he said handing him a piece of dried meat. “And I don’t want to hear how you’re too tired. You need the protein.”

Grunting, Nelson took the meat, tore off a chunk and ate it. “I take it back,” he murmured after a few minutes of chewing. “I think this is goat meat, not monkey.”

“I really wish you had said goat meat before,” Crane returned unhappily.

“Why?”

“Goat I’ve had. Monkey? Never.”

“What’s the difference?”

“I don’t know. Monkey? They’re kind of…you know…cute. Goat? Not so much.”

Nelson tried hard but couldn’t quite contain the laugh that erupted from him, which he paid for as pain flared through his body.

“Don’t make me laugh,” he groaned.

“I wasn’t joking,” Crane said as he watched Nelson try to wipe the pain from his face. “I hate to say it but we should get moving. You ready?”

A brief nod was all the answer he got as Nelson raised his hand to Crane who took it, pulling him to his feet easily and wrapped an arm about him. Grabbing the pack and the rifles, they headed off down the trail. The brief respite had revived them both and Crane’s hopes began to rise that they would both make it back to Seaview alive.

The two walked down the trail for several long minutes when he glanced at Nelson who seemed to be fading again and tried to think of some way to keep him alert.

“Admiral, tell me about An Tien,” he said quietly.

He felt Nelson turn his head to him, “What do you mean? You saw her. Met her.

“I did but…were you two…well…”

“If you’re asking what I think you’re asking…or trying to ask…no… we were never lovers. Tuan was all she ever wanted. All she ever had eyes for. And that was as it should be. I never saw her that way…felt about her that way. I saw An Tien as a…younger sister. A pesky little sister. Reminded me in some ways of Edith, who I missed terribly.”

“How? How did she remind you of Edith?”

“They were about the same age I guess. Always talking. Always insisting that her way was the right way. She had a way of looking at you that made you just know you weren’t going to win an argument with her.”

Crane laughed at the description. “I see what you mean. She does sound like Edith.”

“I know,” Nelson laughed. “She always had to follow us around. Waited in camp for us to return from whatever mission we were on. When Tuan died…or when we thought he died…it tore her up. She went from being a happy, energetic young woman to a deeply quiet woman who…had given up,” he finished, shrugging his shoulders. “She felt that with Tuan gone, so was her future.”

“It must have been hard on her.”

“She had no family that I know of,” he continued. “Tuan was all she had.”

“She had you,” Lee said quietly.

Nelson was silent for a few minutes as he tried to tamp down the grief, fear and worry that clouded his thoughts. “She did. But when I was moved to the hospital in Germany…she couldn’t follow. By the time I got back, she was gone.”

“You never heard from her again?”

“I did. Several months later she got in contact with me to see how I was doing. We kept in contact as much as we could after that. When I knew Saigon was about to fall, I managed to get transport there. Found her. Begged her to come with me. I didn’t know what was ahead for her. I was terrified of what could happen.”

“But she refused.”

“Yes. Her place was in Vietnam no matter what happened. No matter what it became, it was still her country, her people.”

“You have to admire that,” Lee said quietly.

Nelson nodded. “Yes, you do. I suspect she didn’t want to leave for another reason.”

“What?”

“It was where she and Tuan had found each other, where they’d planned their lives together. It was their future. She couldn’t…wouldn’t…leave that, or him, behind.”

The two walked on letting the silence between them grow as they both reflected on An Tien and Tuan and the paths they’d chosen.

The brutal afternoon sun beat down on the two as they walked through the jungle, the heat becoming so oppressive; they found it hard to breathe in the humid air.

Stopping abruptly, Crane almost jerked Nelson off his feet. “What is it?” he asked in concern.

“Smell it,” Crane said with a smile. “The ocean. We’re close! Come on.”

Knowing they were getting close to their destination, Nelson revived and walked faster, doing his best to ignore the pain that threatened to send him into oblivion.

Finally, they spotted the shore in front of them and they stopped, still under the shelter of the rainforest and stared. The river they had crossed the day before was to their right and between them and the radio Nelson had secreted in the rocks on the far side. Crane helped Nelson sit on the ground, and stared uneasily at the river that flowed rapidly by them.

“The radio’s on the other side,” he said without looking to Nelson. “We’ll have to cross the river again.”

“Lee…I can’t. You need to go on. The radio’s right under that…”

“I know where it is,” Lee broke in.

“How?” Nelson asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I…I watched you hide it.”

Nelson shook his head in chagrin. “I did a pretty bad job. I never knew you were behind me. I should have known you wouldn’t obey my orders."

“You didn’t know you were being followed. Besides, I think your mind was elsewhere.”

“That doesn’t say much for me, does it? Get moving then. You’ll be back in a few minutes. Go,” he said as he sank back against a nearby tree and closed his eyes.

Crane turned his gaze from Nelson to the far shore and back again then behind them to the trail they’d just traversed. He knew Nelson was worn out, feverish and in pain and as much as he wanted to let the man rest; he knew they needed to cross together.

“Admiral…you need to come with me. Hung may be right behind us.”

“Lee…”

“No. I’m not leaving you. If Hung or his men come, you’ll have no protection.”

Nelson stared hard into Crane’s eyes, knowing he felt responsible for him. More than that, he was afraid for him. He tore his eyes from Crane’s pleading ones and stared across the swollen, debris-filled river, flowing faster than it had yesterday. Shaking his head, he looked back to Crane and nodded. “All right. You win again,” he conceded as he reached a hand up to Crane who took it, helping Nelson to his feet.

“It’s not going to be as easy as yesterday,” Lee said as he took the backpack from his back and handed it Nelson who clutched it in front of him. “But we’ll make it.”

Settling the rifles more firmly on his shoulders, Lee all but carried Nelson to the shore and helped him walk into the swiftly moving water. The two struggled to keep their feet under them as the current tore viciously at their legs. Crane was glad the admiral had the pack in front of him. If he lost his hold on the man, the pack might keep him afloat.

When the water was to their chests, Crane began to swim across the debris-filled water, kicking his feet to help propel them to the far shore. They’d almost reached it when a large tree branch coming downstream smashed into Crane’s back and he grunted, the intense pain causing him to lose his hold on the rapidly weakening Nelson who slipped under the water and disappeared.

Spluttering, Crane yelled, “NO!” and frantically began searching the water for Nelson. Reaching about him as he was pulled downstream, he tried to find his friend, anguish tearing at him when his hands met nothing but debris.

Finally, he felt a hand grab hold of his and he pulled. Gasping for air, Nelson’s head shot to the surface and he was yanked from the murky water and wrapped tightly in Crane’s strong arms as the two continued across, sighing in relief when they felt the bottom under them.

Lying in the water on the far shore, his head pressed into the wet sand, Nelson struggled for air, coughing hard as he lay in Crane’s arms.

“You all right?” Crane asked, as he put his face close to Nelson who nodded slowly.

You?” he managed to get out before another bout of coughing took hold.

“Just bruised.”

“What happened?”

“Something hit me in the back. I…I’m sorry I let go of you.”

“It’s okay…we’re okay,” Nelson gasped as he patted the hand wrapped about his chest and felt himself being drawn up on the beach by Crane where the two lay, trying to regain their breath.

After a few minutes, Crane rose unsteadily, hauled Nelson to his feet, took the pack the admiral had a firm grip on and helped him to the rocks nearby where Nelson collapsed in the sand while Crane walked to where he knew Nelson had hidden the radio and uncovered it.

“Crane to Seaview. Crane to Seaview. Do you read?” he called into the radio waiting anxiously until he heard Morton’s relieved voice answer.

“This is Seaview. Come in. What’s your status?”

“We’re ready for pick up. The admiral’s been hurt. He needs medical treatment. We need you to bring a raft in as close as you can get to the shore.”

Silence met Crane’s orders then Morton said, “Understood. We’re close. Just been circling, waiting for your call and playing cat and mouse with a destroyer. We have a big storm system approaching from the west, we’ll do our best to get to you before it hits. Uh, how badly is the admiral hurt?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

“It’s bad. Long story but among other things he…he was hit with an arrow in the leg. It’s infected. We’ve been chased for the past two days. He’s pretty weak,” he replied quietly as he stared at Nelson who lay where he’d dropped, unmoving.

“Tell him to hang on. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Will do. Crane out.”

“Well, I guess we get to spend some more time here in lovely tropical Vietnam,” Crane joked as he placed the radio by Nelson’s side.

“Not a place I want to spend more time in but it’s…it’s good to know they’re close. The weather’s about to turn bad I think,” he said gesturing to the sky to the west that was darkening ominously.

“Yeah, Chip says there’s a pretty impressive storm system approaching. He’ll do his best to get us out of here before it hits.” Stretching he grimaced at the pain in his back.

Noticing, Nelson struggled to sit up, leaned against a rock and stared at him in concern. “You all right?”

“Yeah. My back feels bruised though. Must have been a tree branch that hit me,” he said wincing.

“Pull your shirt up. Let’s make sure there’s nothing else wrong,” Nelson said in concern.

“I’m fine. I…”

“Lee…”

Knowing he wasn’t going to win, he gave in and tugged his shirt up far enough for Nelson to see a large bruise covering the right side of Crane’s back.

“Pretty good bruise there. Might have a broken rib or two. Nothing we can really do for that unfortunately,” he said as he closed his eyes and rested his head on some rocks.

“We’ll be out of here and back onboard soon. Jamie can take care of that after he takes care of you,” he said studying Nelson’s flushed, pain-filled face carefully.

“Are you so sure you will be out of here soon?” a voice behind them asked.

Turning Nelson was startled when he saw Chien Hung and two of his henchmen come through the brush to stand arrogantly in front of the two officers, guns aimed at their heads.

“Hung. What do you want?” Nelson asked, rising unsteadily to his feet, knowing Lee had done the same.

“What I want is what Nguygen gave you.”

“I don’t know what you mean. He gave me nothing other than food and...”

In two long strides, Hung reached Nelson and backhanded him, smiling as Nelson grunted and fell to the ground.

Angered, Crane leapt to help his friend but was restrained by Hung’s men.

Crouching in front of Nelson who tried to sit up, Hung grabbed him by the chin, jerking his head up. Smiling, he took a finger and dragged it through the blood that trickled from Nelson’s mouth. “It doesn’t have to be like this, Admiral Nelson,” he said quietly. Smiling at the look of surprise on Nelson’s face he laughed. “Oh yes. I know who you are. I remember you quite clearly now. Minh helped fill in the details. You were with Nguygen at Pleiku during the war. CIA…no…ONI!”

“I’m so happy you finally remember me.”

“Yes, I remember you. Always watching. Always on alert. Such a good military man, weren’t you?”

“So, you were there, too. Sorry I don’t remember you. Perhaps you were skulking in the shadows where I couldn’t see.”

Hung’s face turned bright red but he stilled his anger. “Give me what I want,” he growled.

“Why? So your boss can continue living a lie? Pretending to be a patriot when all he really is, is a spy and a traitor.”

“So you did read the documents. That’s a shame.”

“Of course I read them!” Nelson said angrily as he rose from the ground. “And once we get back to the States, you boss will be court-martialed.”

“First, Lin is no longer my boss. I work for only one person now…me. Second, who says you’re going home? Ever.” Spying the backpack in the rocks behind Nelson, he gestured to one of his men. “Search it.”

Turning back to Nelson he sneered. “As I said, I no longer work for Lin and owe nothing to him, especially not the information he would love to have or the confession of a poor helpless agent, long since dead. I work for me and whoever will pay for the documents Lin wanted. Perhaps, I will use them to blackmail Lin though. It’s an interesting idea. Or I may sell them to whoever pays the most. The Chinese to keep the information of their spy ring secret? The United States for information on Lin? It’s rather like what I will do with you, Nelson…sell to the highest bidder. I actually know of someone that will welcome you warmly. I will have to contact him. Do you speak Chinese?” he laughed, turning his attention slightly to the man searching the backpack.

Nelson’s gaze shot to Crane who stared at him intently, noticing the subtle hand gesture the admiral made to him and nodded. While attention was on the man searching the backpack, Crane took advantage of the distraction, elbowed the man standing beside him in the stomach, grabbed his gun hand and brought it down sharply over his leg, smiling in satisfaction as he heard the bone break.

Turning at the bellow of pain, Hung aimed his gun at Crane. Nelson launched himself at him, grabbed his gun hand with his left hand and pushed the barrel away, the shot going wide of his mark but not wide enough as it hit Lee who spun to the ground. Anguished, Nelson twisted his body and brought his elbow back into Hung’s nose. Taking advantage of Hung’s pain, he grabbed his gun hand with both hands, brought the pistol up, aimed it in the general direction of the henchman who had been searching the backpack, and fired, smiling as the shot hit him in the stomach.

Blood pouring down his arm, Lee rose unsteadily from the ground, and watched the struggle briefly. Reaching down, he grabbed the gun from the man with the broken arm but before he could aim it at Hung, had his legs knocked out from under him, landing hard on his back, and the breath knocked from him. The two began their own struggle for the gun. Bringing his hand down sharply on the bone sticking from the man’s arm, Crane managed to turn the gun towards him, firing it once. The man’s body jerked, then relaxed as death claimed him. Crane fought to get to his feet trying to get a clear shot of Hung as he and Nelson fought for control of the gun.

Knocking Nelson off balance, he fell to the ground, Hung landing on top of him. Rolling, Nelson straddled Hung, desperately trying to push the gun away from him. Managing to get his knee up between them, Hung kicked out, launching Nelson away from him. Before Crane could shoot, Hung aimed and fired, hitting Nelson in the chest.

With a bellow of rage, Crane heard Nelson grunt in pain and surprise then fall backwards, blood pouring down his chest. Aiming the pistol at Hung, he fired once, hitting him in the chest. Staring in shock and horror at Nelson’s unmoving body, he fired two more times then raced to his friend’s side and gathered him in his arms.

“Admiral? Admiral…hang on. Please. Stay with me,” he whispered as he tore the cloth from the wound high on Nelson’s right chest and looked about desperately for something to press against the wound. Ignoring the pain the action caused in his arm, he quickly stripped his shirt off and pressed it hard against the wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

Moaning, Nelson opened his eyes to see Lee, fear in his face hovering over him.

“Lee? Lee…are you all right? I…I s…saw you hit.”

“I’m fine, Admiral. Just hit me in the arm. I seem to have all the luck on this trip of ours,” he whispered sadly.

“Better me…than…than you,” he muttered closing his eyes against the pain. “At least…it’s not the left side again.”

“It’s not a contest, Admiral,” Lee admonished as he drew the weakening body closer.

“I…I want to thank you, Lee.”

“Thank me? For what? Getting you hurt? Not being able to protect you?” he asked angrily. “That’s why I came, you know.”

“I…I know. Thank you for being here…saving my life. Hung…would have killed me.”

Lee shook his head sadly. “Admiral…”

“Make sure Tuan’s…documents…get to Johnson. And…and only Johnson,” Nelson whispered weakly, interrupting Crane’s words. “Warn him Lin may…may know despite what Hung said.”

“I will, Admiral. I promise. Just rest now. Seaview’s on her way. No…she’s here,” he said as he watched the submarine rise from the waters offshore. “Do you see her?”

Nelson’s eyes flickered open and he turned his head, smiling as he watched his creation rise from the water.

“She’s beautiful. Isn’t she, Admiral?”

“The…most beautiful boat I ever saw,” he answered before the darkness he had held off took control and he sank into her welcoming arms, unmindful of the anguish of his young friend.

Crane glanced back down and watched as Nelson’s eyes slid closed and felt him go limp in his arms. “Not yet, Admiral. Not yet. Please, not yet,” he whispered as he drew Nelson closer to him as if he could infuse the man with his own strength.

“Skipper!”

He heard the call and looked up to see Sharkey and Kowalski leading a group of men up the beach towards them, Dr. Jamieson and two corpsmen following as quickly as they could.

“What happened, sir?” Sharkey asked as he knelt by Crane’s side and stared at the bodies lying unmoving behind the two Seaview officers.

“The admiral’s been shot,” he said shortly, never loosening his hold on the injured man. “We…we were attacked. He…”

“Let me have him, sir,” he heard Jamie call to him and felt himself being dragged away.

“Danny, take care of the captain’s arm,” he heard Jamie say.

“No…no help him. I’m fine,” Crane whispered as he watched Nelson’s face begin to pale in the dusky evening light. You can’t die. You just can’t. Please! He thought to himself as he watched Nelson’s bloody shirt, or what was left of it, cut away and saw the worried look that came across Jamieson’s face.

“What the hell happened to him?” the doctor asked as he saw the slash marks across Nelson’s chest.

“He…he was tortured. He…please…tell me he’ll make it, Jamie. He has to. It’s my fault. All my…my…,” he whispered before he passed out cold.

Chapter 10

Chip Morton paced back and forth in the Observation Nose of Seaview, anxiety filling him as he worried about the two men down in the Sick Bay: one fighting for his life and the other apparently fighting for his soul. He’d watched the battle take place on the beach through the periscope, his insides twisting in fear and helplessness as he knew they were too far out to help.

He’d watched as Lee had fallen, then the admiral. Saw Lee rise, a gun in his hand and shoot, more than once, the man that had shot the admiral. He’d watched him run to his side and gather him in his arms, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

It had seemed an eternity until they had been able to surface and launch the rafts to help. Watching from the deck, he saw Jamieson and the others race to their sides, then saw Lee collapse and the fear inside him threatened to explode. It hadn’t taken long for them to do what little they could for the two men and begin to bring them home, placing them both on the raft gently. He had been confused for a moment as he saw Sharkey run back to where the two men had fought for their lives and grab something, then run back.

When the rafts had finally reached the side of the boat, he’d stared down in fear at the paleness of Nelson’s face and the blood that ran down his chest. Tearing his eyes from the admiral, he watched as Lee’s unconscious body was brought aboard, a bloody bandage wrapped about his left arm.

He’d heard Jamieson order the two taken to Sick Bay as fast as they could and watched them carried inside.

Reaching a hand out, he’d stopped Jamieson before he could follow his patients below. “Jamie…how…how bad?”

“The admiral’s hurt badly. He’s losing blood fast. As for the captain, I don’t know. I need to get the bleeding stopped in his arm and soon. I’ll let you know when I know anything,” he answered in a rush before racing off to follow his patients.

He’d felt someone come up beside him, then heard a quiet, “Mr. Morton?”

Turning he saw Chief Sharkey, anxiety plastered on his face. “Chief?”

“Mr. Morton, the…the Skipper…well, he came to just as we were putting him on the raft and he…well he seemed very adamant that we find this backpack and bring it with us,” he said handing it to the exec.

“Did he say what I’m to do with it?”

“No sir. He just said it was important. He…well he passed out before he could say anything else.”

“Thanks, Chief. I’ll take care of it,” he said as he took the pack and stared down at it, trying not to flinch at the flecks of red on the outside. What the hell happened to you two out there?

That had been six hours ago. In that time, he’d set a course for the nearest naval hospital and put the pack in his cabin. He’d yet to hear anything from Doc and was just about to call down to Sick Bay when Jamieson’s tired voice came over the intercom telling him he could come to Sick Bay.

“Jamie?” he asked in concern as he practically burst through the doors to the Sick Bay, his eyes searching for Crane and Nelson.

“Easy, Commander.”

“How are they?” he asked anxiously.

“Come in my office and we’ll talk,” he said turning away and heading to his office. Morton looked back at the two occupied gurneys, corpsmen hovering over the still forms and fought the urge to go to them and see for himself that they were alive.

“Mr. Morton?”

Forcing himself to turn away, he headed into Jamieson’s office. Sitting heavily in the chair by the doctor’s desk, he asked, “How are they?”

“Alive. Captain Crane will be fine. He was shot in the left arm but the bullet went right through without causing too much damage, although it did nick the artery. He lost a lot of blood but he’ll be fine with some rest. He has a rather large bruise on the side of his face. I don’t know what happened there but it looks as though it happened a few days ago.”

“And the admiral?”

Jamieson sighed heavily and Morton knew it wasn’t going to be the same easy prognosis. “The admiral has a gunshot wound to the chest and two holes in his leg. I’m assuming the leg wound is from the arrow the captain told you about. The chest wound is bad. He lost a lot of blood before we could get it under control. The good thing is it didn’t hit anything vital. The leg wound is septic however. I’m pumping him full of antibiotics, hoping he begins to respond to them but his temperature has been climbing.”

“Will he be all right?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, sadness tingeing is voice. “He’s weak, as I said. I don’t know if he has the strength to fight. We…we lost him briefly while we were operating to take the bullet out of his chest.”

“Oh man, Admiral…”

“Something else you should know is, it looks as though he was tortured.”

“What? Dear God,” he whispered. “Lee never said anything about that when he called in. What the hell kind of mission was the admiral on?”

“That I don’t know. But apparently they’re both concerned about a backpack. The admiral muttered something about it when we got him in here. The captain woke up long enough on the raft to ask about it. Sharkey retrieved it I think. I assume it has something to do with whatever the admiral was sent there for.”

“I have the backpack. If either of them wakes up asking about it, it’s safe,” he said. “Can I see them?”

“They’re not awake and won’t be for some time,” Jamieson said as he stood slowly from his chair and walked back into the Sick Bay. “I want the captain to sleep for a bit…more than a bit actually. He’s exhausted. The admiral isn’t conscious at all and I suspect he won’t be for some time to come.”

“Assuming he lives?” Chip added quietly.

“Yes. Assuming that,” Jamieson said sadly after a brief hesitation.

Morton walked to Crane’s side and stared down at him. A bruise marked the left side of his head while his left arm was bandaged heavily and propped up on pillows. Leaning closer, he placed a hand on his friend’s arm and spoke softly. “Lee? It’s Chip. You’re safe. So is the admiral. You kept him alive. Rest easy.”

Rising, he walked to the next bed and stared down at Nelson, silent and still, dressings around his chest, his leg wrapped in thick bandages and propped up on pillows. Fading bruises and one black eye marred his craggy face. Peaking out from the bandages on his chest, Chip could see marks crossing Nelson’s chest. “Doc? What are those?” he asked, pointing to the slash marks.

“I’m afraid he was slashed. Probably from whoever tortured him. He also has marks on his back…welts actually. They’re healing but they look like he was hit with straps of some kind. He also has some bruised ribs. Thankfully, they aren’t broken.”

“Damn. If I had the monster that did that here…I’d…”

“I know the feeling,” Jamie said.

Morton leaned close and whispered into Nelson’s ear. “Hang on, sir. You need to fight. Lee’s all right. I know you must be worried about him but he’s here with you and he’ll be fine. Just get better.”

Patting Nelson’s hand gently, he looked up at Jamieson. “I set course for Okinawa. The naval hospital has been warned we’re coming in with casualties. We should be there by the day after tomorrow. We have a pretty major storm system up above right now, or we could life flight him out.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that. He’ll just have to hold on.”

“Can I sit with them?”

“Neither of them is going to be awake any time soon. But…I suspect you don’t really care so pull up a seat. But only for a few minutes.”

“Just a few minutes, Doc,” he said turning his eyes back to his two friends. “What happened to you two out there?”

Chapter 11

Consciousness returned slowly to Lee Crane. His head, arm and various parts of his body throbbed in time with his heart. He lay still, trying to think, to remember what had happened and where he was. The smells gave him his answer to where he was and he frowned.

“Sick Bay. I’m in Sick Bay,” he thought to himself. Why? What am I doing here? What happened? What…The beach! I was on…no... no we were on a beach. The admiral…no…”

Memory flooded back swiftly and he sat up, nearly banging his head on the bunk over him. “Admiral!” he shouted. Admiral? Where are…”

“Easy, Lee. Easy. He’s here,” a voice by his side assured, a gentle hand on his chest pushing him back down.

Looking beside him he saw Chip Morton, kneeling by his bed, a chair nearby. “Where? Where is he? Is he all right? Is he alive?” he asked as quickly as he could get the words out of his decidedly dry mouth.

“He’s…alive,” Chip said looking away. “Here’s some water. I bet your mouth feels like a desert.”

Taking the offered glass, he drank the contents in one swallow. “How badly is he hurt?”

“I should let Jamie tell you that.”

“No, you tell me. No…better yet, let me see him,” he said throwing his legs over the side of the bunk and trying to get up, swaying as a bout of dizziness hit him and he fell back.

“Lee, you need to…”

“I need to see him. That’s what I need. Help me up.”

“Let him,” a voice behind him said.

Lee looked up and saw the tall form of Seaview’s doctor, exhaustion beading his face, standing behind Chip.

“Jamie…where is he?” Lee asked climbing from the bunk with a lot of help from Chip, swaying for a moment as another bout of dizziness hit him.

“He’s over there,” Jamie gestured to the other side of the room, stopping the captain from going to his commanding officer and friend with a hand on his chest.

“We need to talk first.”

Nodding, Crane braced himself for what was about to come, praying it wasn’t as bad as the thoughts in his head told him it was.

“He’s been hurt badly, but you already knew that,” Jamie said. “The wound in his thigh is bad. I got it cleaned out but the infection is serious. The arm wound looks like it happened a few days ago?”

“Yes, yes it did,” he said softly remembering the little he could of the battle that seemed to have taken place a lot longer ago than a few days. “It was cleaned out pretty well and taken care of I think.”

“Looks like it was kept pretty clean so it’s healing well. The only good news I have for you is he’s beginning to respond to the antibiotics we’ve been pumping him full of. His temperature has dropped slightly over the last hour.”

“That’s…that’s good,” Crane said softly as he watched Jamieson’s face.

“Yes, it is. But the chest wound is the bigger issue right now. He lost a lot of blood and he…we lost him while operating to take the slug out.”

Crane closed his eyes as he heard Jamieson’s words echo in his head. He died. Dear God he died. “Chip…Chip said he was alive. He said he was alive,” he whispered as his heart seemed to stop.

“He is alive, Skipper. Barely. We’re in route to Okinawa Naval Base Hospital right now. We…”

“You can’t do anything for him here?” Crane interrupted, knowing Nelson would rather stay onboard his creation.

“I’ve done what I can but he needs to be in a hospital. Okinawa is the closest.”

“What about taking him there in the Flying Sub? He could be there in…”

“We had some heavy weather move in shortly after we got you both aboard. Remember I told you about that? Nothing’s flying right now or will be any time soon,” Chip said softly.”

“Will he make it to Okinawa?” Crane asked, turning his eyes back to the doctor.

Jamie looked away from the probing gaze of his captain before answering. “I can’t answer that. He’s weak, but he’s fighting. He just has a lot to fight against right now.”

“And he may not be strong enough to win the battle he’s in, is that what you’re saying?” Crane asked, his tone hard.

“It’s what I’m trying not to say, but yes. This may be the one fight he doesn’t win. I’m sorry. I wish I had better news. If it makes any difference, the odds of him making it wouldn’t improve a whole lot even if we could get him to Okinawa now.”

Lee closed his eyes as he pondered what Jamie had said and felt the guilt coil tighter about him. It was his fault Nelson was here. It would be his fault if the man he thought of as a brother died. His fault. No one else’s. “Jamie, can I see him?”

“He’s not conscious but you can see him. This way.”

Crane, Morton and Jamieson made their way across the Sick Bay to a gurney in the center of the room, machines surrounding it, IV bags dripping medicine and blood into the man lying still and pale before him. Bandages were wrapped about his chest and right arm while his left thigh was wrapped in thick, white, clean dressings and propped up on pillows.

“My God, Admiral…I’m so sorry,” he whispered in anguish as he reached a hand out to rest on Nelson’s arm, flinching slightly. “He’s so hot.”

“He still has a pretty good fever going,” Jamie said. “But it’s better than when he got here.”

“How long have we been here?” he asked turning confused eyes to Jamieson.

“A little over twenty-four hours.”

“Twenty…where have I been?”

“You, Captain had a pretty nasty gunshot wound to your arm. The bullet nicked the artery. We kept you sedated until a few hours ago.”

“He could have died while I was sleeping!” Crane said angrily. “He could have slipped away and I wouldn’t have been able to…to…”

“I figure you two have already said everything you needed to at some point in the past. He knows. You know,” Jamieson assured as he watched Crane closely, knowing the bond the two men had. “Now, you’ve seen him. I want you go back to your bunk and rest.”

“I’ve been resting,” Crane mumbled as he watched Nelson breathe, his hand tightening on his arm. “Bring me a chair. I’ll rest there.”

Sighing heavily but knowing, short of picking him up and bodily carrying him back to bed, he wasn’t going to win. Jamieson motioned a corpsman to bring a chair to Nelson’s bedside. “Sit,” he commanded. “I’ll bring you something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” he whispered as he placed a hand on Nelson’s, flinching again at the heat he felt.

“Nevertheless, if you want to sit there, you eat. Or go back to bed.”

“Fine,” he said, not really caring whether he ate or not.

“Lee, what happened out there?” Chip asked as he pulled a chair up by Nelson’s side and sat down, his eyes on Crane’s face. “You never said anything about him being tortured but from those marks on his chest and back, he was.”

“Yeah…yeah he was,” Crane answered quietly. “Everything went wrong. So wrong. I didn’t want him to go ashore alone. I thought I could keep him safe. Look at how good a job I did.”

“You kept him alive, Lee.”

“Kept him alive? What I did was allow him to be drug off by some maniac who tortured him and then I shot him in the leg with an arrow! That’s what I did,” he replied harshly, turning anguished eyes to Chip.

“What? No way you shot…”

“Not on purpose,” he said turning back to Nelson. “I tripped an arrow trap when we were running through the jungle. I never saw it. He did though and pulled me out of the way, but it hit him.”

“That’s not the same thing as shooting him, Lee.”

“It feels the same,” he muttered so quietly, Chip had to lean closer to hear. “It should have been me. Not him.”

“Can you tell me what he was there for? What the mission was?”

Crane was silent for a long time, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he debated what to say…what he could say.

“I can’t tell you a lot of it. I only know because I forced his hand. I can tell you he was asked to go retrieve something important to our national security from someone he knew in a village…a friend. Someone else wanted the same thing and attacked us before we got it. I don’t know what happened. I must have been hit by the first volley,” he said rubbing his head where a nasty bruise was still visible. “I remember firing, then nothing. The admiral and some of the others, including the man he was to meet, were carried off by Chien Hung and his men.”

“Hung? Is that the guy who tortured him?”

“Yeah. When I came to, I was with people that were allied with the admiral’s friend. They helped me free him and this friend of his. But…they’d both been tortured,” he said quietly as he remembered Nelson being tied to the chair, blood pooling on the floor. “Hung wanted the same information and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.”

“What happened then?” Chip asked when Crane stopped talking to lean closer to Nelson as if making sure he was still breathing despite the monitors that said he was.

“He’d been hurt pretty badly…he was unconscious but we got both of them out and took them to a village. Spent a couple days there recuperating before Hung hit again and we started running with the information he was sent in for. I had a hard time getting him to leave the fight and his friends but…there was no choice and he knew it. We had to get the information back. After that it was just trying to stay alive. We…wait…” Crane interrupted, anxiety suddenly filling his face. “…the pack! Where’s the pack?”

“The backpack you had near you? It’s in my cabin. It’s safe.”

Crane closed his eyes and sighed audibly. “Thank God. If I lost it after all we went through…”

“What’s so special about it? Sharkey said on the raft you and the admiral kept mumbling about keeping the pack some place safe.”

“That’s something I can’t tell you but I can tell you it’s vital to our national security. I really need to contact Admiral Johnson.”

“That can wait, Skipper,” Jamie called as he came back in the room with a tray of food. “First you eat. Then you can contact anyone you want.”

Crane stared at Jamie for a minute, wanting to deny he was hungry but the gnawing in his stomach and the accompanying sounds told him it wasn’t a good time to lie. “Fine,” he said taking the tray and making short work of the food on it. “OK?”

“OK,” Jamie agreed with a satisfied smile.

Rising slowly from his seat, he leaned over Nelson. “I’ll be back, Admiral. You make sure you’re here,” he whispered to Nelson, his hand squeezing his tightly before walking out of the room, Morton on his heels.

The two walked down the corridors slowly, Morton afraid Crane would pass out at any time. “What does Johnson have to do with this, Lee?”

“He’s the one that sent the admiral into Vietnam. He’s the one that I need to talk to. I have to tell him what happened.”

“He’s not going to be happy to find out you know, is he?”

Crane snorted. “Not hardly but it’s done. He never should have asked the admiral to go in there. Especially not alone.”

Reaching the cabin, he opened the door and called for Sparks to put a call in to Admiral Johnson, scrambled.

“I’ll leave you to it, Lee,” Chip said backing out of the room.

“Chip?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“Didn’t do anything but you’re welcome,” he replied with a slight smile. “I’ll go sit with the admiral until you’re done. You need help getting back, let me know.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Skipper? I have Admiral Johnson on scramble sir,” Sparks voice called.

Reaching for the view phone he turned it on and watched as Johnson’s flushed face appeared.

“Crane? What’s going on? Where’s Nelson?”

“Admiral Nelson is in Sick Bay fighting for his life, sir. From the mission you sent him on.”

“What do you know of…?”

“Let’s not waste time. I followed Admiral Nelson once he left the boat. I know what happened and I know what he was there for. And I have the information.”

“You what? What gives you the right to disobey…?”

“I gave myself the right. You know as well as I do he should never have been asked…ordered…to go in there alone.”

Johnson sighed and leaned back in his chair. “What happened? Is…is Harry going to be all right?”

“I…I don’t know if he’ll be all right or not,” he answered and began to fill him in on all that had happened.

“Damn. You said the man that was after the same information was named Hung?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Chien Hung?”

“You know him?” Crane asked, his eyes narrowing at the news.

“He’s been suspected of being an agent of the Red Chinese. He’s been working throughout Southeast Asia for the past fifteen, twenty years. I didn’t know he would be involved.”

“Well, he was.”

“The information…do you have it?”

“I’ve been assured it’s in my exec’s keeping and is safe.”

“Do you by any chance know what it’s about?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is it as important as Nguygen said?”

“Yes sir. Every word of it is important. The admiral wanted me to tell you that this mission needs to be kept quiet. There’s a good chance someone high up in Washington may already know of the documents we brought back.”

“It’s already being kept quiet but we’ll limit the number of people who have access to what you found.”

“We’re on our way to Okinawa now. The admiral needs to be in a hospital.”

“I’ll meet you there then. I need to get my hands on the information as soon as I can.”

“We’ll be there tomorrow evening I think.”

“I’ll meet you at the hospital then. And captain?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Thank you.”

“For?”

“For keeping him safe. And…going against orders.”

“Yes, sir,” he said watching as Johnson severed the connection. Leaning back in his chair he ran a hand over his face and swore. “Kept him safe. What a joke.”

Chapter 12

Softness was the first thing he noticed. Softness and a scent he’d smelled multiple times in the past: antiseptic. He lay still, hoping the pain that he felt would stay at a manageable level. Breathing slowly, he listened intently trying to figure out where he was. Incessant beeping of a machine told him he, or someone in the room, was hooked to a heart monitor. Beeping…that’s good, he thought to himself. But where am I? Not on Seaview. Where?

Opening his eyes slowly, he blinked as bright light assaulted his eyes and he turned his head in its direction. Moaning as the slight motion caused pain to ripple throughout his body, he willed himself to stay still and breathe deeply, urging the pain to abate.

“Admiral?”

He heard the quiet, tender voice through the waves of pain and felt a slight touch on his arm but didn’t want to open his eyes again or move lest the pain renew itself. But he knew the voice as if it was his own. It was a voice he knew he would hear.

“Lee?” he whispered, daring to open his eyes a tiny bit. A gentle squeeze on his arm reassured him his friend was there.

“I’m here. You’re going to be all right. You…you had us pretty worried,” he said, something indefinable in his voice.

Opening his eyes further, he gazed at Crane, worry on the man’s face. Examining him more closely, he saw his arm in a sling, exhaustion smudging his eyes and a bristly beard covering his chin. “Where…where are we?” he asked weakly.

“Okinawa Naval Base Hospital. Before you start complaining about not being on Seaview, Jamie said you needed a hospital, not a Sick Bay. You were hurt pretty badly,” he finished, his eyes turning from Nelson’s in guilt.

Nelson lay quietly staring at Crane, the mission and everything that had happened coursing through his mind, giving him the answer to why Crane wouldn’t look at him. “Lee…”

“The doctors think you’re going to be fine but you had us pretty worried for awhile. We didn’t know if you were going to pull through for a long time. The bullet in your chest…caused a lot of damage. You lost a lot of blood. And your…your leg wound was infected. Jamie said you’re going to need…”

“Lee,” Nelson called, louder this time, interrupting Crane. “Look at me.”

The simple command was hard for Crane to obey but he finally turned his eyes to Nelson’s, seeing pain in the steel-blue eyes that looked at him compassionately, but no blame or reproach. “You need to find a way to let it go,” he said simply.

“I…I’m trying, sir,” he answered quietly.

“Try harder,” he whispered, smiling as he said it.

“Yes, sir. I’ll…try,” he said giving Nelson’s arm a squeeze and smiling slightly.

“Wait a minute…the documents…Tuan’s…”

“Easy, Admiral,” Lee said as he placed a gentling hand on Nelson’s chest, calming him. “I met with Admiral Johnson a few days ago and gave him the documents.”

“And?”

Crane shrugged. “I haven’t heard anything back. I know he flew back to Washington right after I gave them to him.”

“Did he…did he look at them?”

Crane nodded briefly. “He seemed as upset by what was in there as we were.”

“Good. I don’t want this swept under the rug,” he said weakly, his eyes struggling to stay open. “Did you warn him Lin may know?”

“I did. He assured me the investigation would be kept to a need to know only basis. He also warned me if might take some time to reach a decision.”

“On?”

“On whether or not the confession is deemed…believable.”

“Believable? Of all the…they asked me to retrieve them and aren’t sure they’re believable? Of all the…”

“Admiral, you have to calm down. There’s nothing for you to do now except get better, stronger,” Lee soothed, a hand on Nelson’s chest to keep him still. “Just rest now. Please.”

“I…I guess I have no choice, do I?” he said sourly. “Any idea how long I’ll be here?”

“As long as it takes for your wounds to heal and your fever to come down, Admiral.”

Crane looked over his shoulder and saw Jamieson standing there, a slight smile on his face as he walked to his patient’s side.

“It’s good to see you awake finally. How are you feeling?”

“I feel like I have a few new holes in me,” he murmured, struggling again to keep his eyes open.

“That’s because you do.”

“What’s the prognosis?” he asked, his voice heavy with sleep.

“Do what your doctors tell you and you’ll be out of here in, oh ten days…two weeks. Maybe longer if you rush it,” he added quickly when he saw Nelson getting upset at the timetable.

“I…I have things to do. I can’t…”

“You can and will do what Jamie says,” Lee said firmly.

Surprised at Lee’s tone, he turned his eyes to the man by his side, frowning at the look on his face. Resigned to the fact he was outnumbered, for now, he lay back with a deep sigh.

“Why don’t you stop fighting the sleep your body is begging you for and give in? The more rest you get. The sooner you get out of here,” Jamie said.

“I will…I just need to…to…”

“What you need to do, is sleep,” Jamie ordered, watching as Nelson lost his battle against the exhaustion that overwhelmed him and slipped back to sleep.

“Is he going to be all right, Jamie?” Lee asked quietly, his eyes never leaving Nelson.

“He’s responding. His fever’s down. His wounds are healing. Now, why don’t you go get something to eat and some sleep. Chip’s down in the cafeteria I think. Go join him.”

“I…I don’t want to be away if he…”

“I’ll be here. I’m not going to let anything happen to him. He won’t be alone.”

Staring from Nelson’s peaceful face to Jamie’s smiling one then back, he finally nodded. “All right. But I’ll be back in an hour.”

“No, you’ll be back later tonight. He doesn’t need you hovering over him watching him breathe and you need rest. Go.”

Sighing heavily, he nodded, glanced back once at the sleeping man and left the room, closing the door quietly.

“Now, you need to mend, Admiral. Lee has some demons he’s fighting about this mission and I think you’re the only one that can help him deal with them.”

~O~

Over the next several days, Nelson continued to heal. The infection in the leg responded to the antibiotics and he grew stronger and became more adamant about going home. Admiral Johnson returned and visited a few times, listening as Nelson told him his version of what had happened. Both knew what was in the documents and didn’t need to rehash what they both knew. Johnson, as outraged as Nelson at Lin’s apparent duplicity, had assured him the information was vital and Lin was quietly being investigated, his actions past and present under scrutiny: a process that would not be hurried. As for Lin, he seemed to have no idea the documents he’d done his best to make sure were never seen by anyone had resurfaced.

Seaview and her men, with the exception of Lee Crane, had left port a few days earlier, heading back to Santa Barbara, leaving Nelson a bit at odds. Or truth be told, bored. Things between the two Seaview officers were strained as Lee insisted on carrying his guilt on his face and in his actions, causing Nelson extreme angst over his friend. No matter what he said, no matter how hard he tried to get Lee to understand what had happened was an accident, Lee still refused to let go of the guilt.

Finally, two weeks after he had arrived at the naval hospital, Nelson was released and he joyfully fled the antiseptic halls, happy to be leaving the poking, prodding and the lack of privacy behind, and pleased to be headed home. Crane had sent for the Flying Sub to be flown to the base and the two men were driven to the dock where she was berthed.

“It’ll be good to get back home, won’t it, Lee?” Nelson asked quietly as he lay his head back against the car seat and closed his eyes, his head turned to the brilliant sunshine streaming through the car window.

“Yes, sir. It will,” Crane agreed with a smile before his eyes dropped to the crutches by Nelson’s side, the grin dropping from his face instantly.

Sensing a change in his friend’s demeanor, Nelson turned his head from the warmth of the sun on his face and opened his eyes, staring in sadness at the clenched jaw of Crane who stared out the window. Intercepting a furtive glance to his injured leg, Nelson sighed deeply. No matter what he had said to Crane, the man insisted on carrying a load of guilt for what had happened.

Shaking his head, he turned his gaze back to the scenery passing by the car window. As much as he understood the feelings Lee had, he knew what had happened was an accident. The question was how to get Lee Crane to accept that fact.

Arriving at the dock, Nelson was happy to see the Flying Sub bobbing in the current, Chief Sharkey and Doctor Jamieson standing on the pier waiting for them. Opening the door quickly, Nelson suddenly found himself surrounded by Crane, Sharkey and Jamieson all trying to help him from the car.

“Gentlemen, I’m quite capable of getting out of a car all by myself,” he grumped, nodding in satisfaction at their weak choruses of “Yes, sir. Sorry sir.”

Hauling himself from the car, he steadied himself as he wobbled briefly on the unfamiliar crutches, Crane’s hand going to his elbow with a slightly defiant look on his face. Sighing, Nelson allowed it, even permitting the hand to stay there as the men walked down the pier to the waiting sub. Climbing through the hatch was a bit more difficult than Nelson had anticipated but he was finally ensconced in one of the rear seats of the sub. Breathing heavily, a light sweat beading on his forehead, he was astonished at the weakness he felt on the simple exertion.

As if Jamieson knew Nelson’s thoughts, he leaned close as he seated himself in the chair by his side and said in a soft voice, “Give it time. Your strength will come back.”

“How long?” he whispered back.

“Can’t answer that. Just don’t expect to be running around as you usually do.”

Nodding his head briefly in acknowledgement, Nelson laid his head back against the chair, closed his eyes and was asleep before they were in the air.

From the co-pilot’s seat, Crane heard the whispered words, saw Nelson’s exhaustion and clenched his jaw in frustration.

~O~

The flight home was a quiet affair, the men concerned any conversation would disturb the sleeping admiral.

Feeling the sub begin to descend, Nelson woke slowly from his nap, astonished, and annoyed, he had slept the whole way home.

“Good nap, Admiral?” Jamieson asked quietly.

“Too good, Jamie,” he said in frustration.

“Rest is…”

“…what I need. I know, Jamie. Doesn’t mean I have to like how my body has betrayed me.”

“Betrayal is a strong word. You’ll be back to your old self soon.”

“I’m sure many people will be so happy to hear that,” Nelson chuckled, a slight smirk on his face, earning barks of laughter from the others.

Sharkey expertly piloted the sub to the Institute dock and cut the engines once they had arrived.

“Here we are, sir! Home!” he said with a big smile.

“Thanks, Chief. I appreciate it,” Nelson said, already unbuckling his seat belt and rising. Forgetting for a moment about the weakness in his leg, he stumbled before catching himself on the seat.

“Easy. Remember your crutches. They’re going to be your friend for the next week before I allow you to graduate to a cane,” Jamie said as he grabbed Nelson’s elbow to steady him.

“Good to know, Jamie,” he said sourly as he headed for the hatch, not seeing the look of misery on Crane’s face.

Climbing from the sub’s hatch, he glanced up, seeing a car emblazoned with the NIMR logo on it parked by the dock and Seaman Jake Kowalski lounging against it.

Seeing the admiral and the others emerging, the young seaman rushed down the dock to help.

“Welcome home, Admiral! It sure is good to see you back, sir. I have a car already waiting,” he called exuberantly as he watched his commanding officer hobble up the dock, his movements hesitant as the pier moved in the slight current.

“Thanks, Kowalski. I’m sure Sharkey or Captain Crane could have driven me to the office.”

“Office! No way, Admiral,” Jamie admonished loudly, not noticing the little smile on Nelson’s face. “You’re going home. You’re not going to be seeing the inside of your office for awhile.”

“Whatever you say, Jamie,” he said meekly, winking at Ski as he passed him.

~O~

The ride to Nelson’s cliff side home was accomplished quickly and the men climbed from the car, watching attentively as Nelson managed his crutches and made his way slowly towards the door. Ski opened the trunk where the admiral’s and captain’s bags had been placed and pulled them out.

“Here Kid, I got ‘em,” Sharkey called, taking the bags from Kowalski who said a quick good-bye to the admiral and headed back to the Institute.

Opening the door, Crane ushered Nelson inside, anxious to help.

“Harry! You’re here!” a voice from inside called.

Looking up, Nelson was surprised to see his younger sister Edith inside the entryway, a big smile on her face. Behind her with an equally big smile was his secretary, Angie Wood.

“What are you doing here, Edith? I didn’t want you told about this!”

“And why not big brother? Don’t you think I’d want to be here to help you?” she asked as she walked forward and enveloped him in a big hug. “Are you all right?” she whispered in his ear as he took both crutches in one hand and wrapped his arms about her.

“I’m…I’m fine, Edith,” he answered, holding the hug a little too long.

Pulling back, she stared into eyes that didn’t quite meet hers. “No, you’re not,” she said softly.

“Later,” he murmured.

“Angie picked me up at LAX a few hours ago. When I heard what had happened to you, I wanted to go straight to Okinawa but I thought I might miss you. I wasn’t told until a few days ago,” she said with a touch of sadness in her voice.

“We couldn’t track you down at first, Edith,” Angie replied quietly.

“Well, I have been rather inaccessible lately I suppose,” she agreed as she stared at her brother in concern, cataloging all the ways he’d changed since she’d seen him last.

“And I can tell how you two have spent those hours,” Harry said walking slowly into the kitchen, leaning heavily on his crutches, and sniffing appreciatively.

“We didn’t want you to come home to canned beef stew Admiral,” Angie laughed as she gave her boss a brief hug.

“Well, thank you both but it wasn’t necessary.”

“Admiral, I think you should…”

“If you say rest, Jamie, I swear I will fire you,” Nelson growled, turning and pointing a finger at his Chief Medical Officer in warning.

“I was going to say sit down,” he replied with a frown, causing the others in the room to laugh

“That I can do,” he said as he limped his way through the kitchen, opened the sliding door and went out onto his deck that overlooked the ocean. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and smiled in happiness. “This is the best medicine. Good food, good friends and a view to die for.”

“You sit down and Angie and I will see to the good food part,” Edith ordered, a sad, concerned smile on her face as she watched Jamie, Sharkey and Lee file out onto the deck and seat themselves at the table by her brother’s side. As she watched, she noticed something indefinably wrong between Harry and Lee and she frowned, questioning what could ever come between the two men who were as close as brothers.

Shaking her head, hoping she was mistaken in her feelings, she followed Angie back inside and set to work serving up the food they’d prepared. The rest of the night was spent in companionable camaraderie as the group ate, talked and laughed, but the niggling in Edith’s brain told her things were not at all right.

Chapter 13

Later that night, Harry sat on his deck, staring at the ocean below, her voice calling to him in the still night. How he longed to be out on her and away from the memories, the thoughts, the feelings that filled him: pain, secrets, treachery…death. The cries from the village invaded his dreams nightly and he knew they would return to him each night for a long time to come. The question of whether Tuan and An Tien were still alive consumed him when he allowed himself to dwell on their fate. Inquiries Johnson had sent out to agents in Vietnam had produced no results as of yet and he reluctantly felt hope they’d survived dwindle. They’d endured so much in their lives. The thought of them finally being reunited only to find death together was in some ways almost poetic. But in the only way he could truly see the situation was anything but poetic and the call for revenge filled him constantly.

As if he could see behind him, he sensed his sister standing at the sliding door to the deck, watching, unsure what to say or do to help him. And quite frankly he had no idea how anyone could help. The physical pain was a constant reminder of what he’d gone through and was fading slowly but the mental pain…that he knew would be with him for a long time. Especially if his two friends had been killed.

Hearing the gentle sound of the sliding door open, he tamped down his irritation as best as he could and closed his eyes, knowing Edith only wanted to help.

“Harry?” she called, her voice soft and hesitant as she came to stand by his side, a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You should be asleep.”

“So should you. It’s late,” he said turning his eyes to hers and plastering a smile on his face.

“I heard you get up,” she said simply as she seated herself in a chair by his side, wrapping a sweater about her. “It’s chilly.”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” he agreed absently, his eyes never leaving Edith as she stared out at the ocean below them. An Tien had always reminded him of his little sister for reasons he’d never quite understood. Although similar in stature, the only other similarities he had been able to see before were in their temperaments and their ages. But now, he saw more and understood. Both were loyal and would fight for what they thought was right. The difference was Edith wouldn’t die for her beliefs. Hopefully.

“I talked to Lee tonight,” she said, her voice hushed as she continued to stare out to sea.

“Oh?”

“He told me what happened. Well, I’m sure not all of it, but enough.”

Harry remained silent as he turned his gaze away from his sister and back to the sea.

“Do you blame him, Harry?”

“What? No! Why would you ask me that? What happened was an accident but I can’t get him to see that,” he complained as he struggled to his feet and limped his way to the deck railing, pounding a fist on it in frustration.

“I didn’t think you did.”

Turning back, he stared at her. “Does he think I blame him?”

“Lee blames himself. The thought of hurting you…it must be hard on him. You know he would do anything for you.”

“I…I know. I don’t know how to make him understand. It was an accident.”

“Can you see how he feels though? Have you ever hurt someone you cared about without meaning to?”

Turning away, he closed his eyes as he remembered unwillingly pointing a gun and firing it at a man he considered as close to him as a brother. “Yes,” he whispered. “I have.”

“Then maybe you can understand what he’s feeling.”

“I may understand, but I don’t know how to get him to let go of the guilt.”

“Because you haven’t?” she asked as she walked to his side, wrapped an arm about his waist and laid her head on his shoulder.

Looking down at the auburn head nestled on his shoulder, he smiled. “How did you get to be so smart?”

“It must be in the genes,” she answered, not looking away from the ocean below.

Nelson laughed heartily then hugged his sister to him. “Come on. We should at least try to get some sleep,” he said as he grabbed his crutches and ushered his sister back into the warmth of the house. “I’ll try talking to Lee again tomorrow. All right?”

A smile and a light kiss on his cheek was all the answer he got as he watched his sister climb the stairs to her room, a brief wave as she reached the top bringing a smile to his lips.

His sister gone from his sight, the smile dropped from his face as he thought over what his sister had said…Krueger…the name brought him back to a time he would rather forget. The compulsion to pick up a gun, walk the corridors to the Control Room and aim and fire at the man he’d once called brother had changed him. He knew he was capable of killing but the realization he could be forced to kill the man he thought of as his best friend was something he struggled with daily. The tang of wet clothes in the air, the mist rising eerily off the pitch-black ocean, the barest hint of a German accent and he was back there in that dark place, holding a gun, aiming it, firing it, watching as Lee…his brother…his best friend…fell, surprise and accusation on his face as he saw who had shot him.

Shivering, he hobbled to the living room, dropped into the recliner and laid his head back. The situations weren’t the same but he could see how Lee might feel. Problem was, telling him his guilt was misplaced was as useless as telling himself his guilt was misplaced: it didn’t change a thing.

~O~

A soft clink and the sound of the faucet in the kitchen roused Harry from a light sleep and he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I tried to be quiet,” Edith apologized as she came into the living room, the coffee pot in her hand. “I needed coffee.”

“It’s all right. I should be up anyway,” Harry muttered as he struggled to his feet, waving off Edith’s attempts at helping.

“I’ll have breakfast ready in a half hour if you want to shower.”

“I’m not really…” he stopped from saying he wasn’t hungry when he saw the look in his sister’s eyes. “I’ll be back in a half hour,” he amended.

Thirty minutes later, he did his best to manage the stairs with the unfamiliar crutches and to hide the accompanying pain he began to feel would always be a part of him, to see Lee and Edith out on the deck, heads together talking over plates of pancakes. He watched as Lee laughed at something Edith said but noticed the smile never reached his eyes and he frowned.

How long would the events in Vietnam haunt them both? Shaking his head as he knew there was no answer to that, he made his way through the kitchen redolent with the scents of fresh brewed coffee, pancakes and bacon and slid the door open to the deck, stepping out into the welcoming bright morning, the tang of the ocean filling his nostrils.

“Lee! I see you’re taking advantage of Edith’s culinary abilities!” he joked as he made his way to the table and seated himself.

“I’d be a fool not to, sir. She’s a wonderful cook.”

“For that, I’ll make more pancakes. I’ll be right back with them,” she said with a smile as she disappeared inside.

“How did you sleep last night?” Lee asked. “Did your leg…did you have much pain?”

“I slept fine, Lee,” he answered softly as he poured himself a cup of steaming coffee from the carafe on the table.

“That’s not what Edith said,” Lee replied as he slowly tore the lonely pancake on his plate into thin slivers.

“If you knew, why did you ask?”

Lee shrugged. “Just making conversation I guess,” he sighed softly.

“Lee, since when do we need to ‘make conversation’?” he asked a bit too harshly then closed his eyes in frustration when Lee never looked up from his plate. “Look, Edith and I had a talk last night and she…well she made me look at our situation in a different way.”

“Situation? You mean the situation where I nearly got you killed? That situation?” he asked in a hard tone.

“Lee…listen to me. I…”

“No, Admiral. You can tell me all you want that it was ‘just an accident’, but you don’t know what I feel! I went with you against your orders to keep you from getting hurt and I was the one that ended up hurting you. I almost killed you! You can’t understand what it is I feel!”

“Can’t I?” Nelson spat out in a voice of self-loathing. “You think I don’t know what it’s like to hurt someone you care about unintentionally? Think about that for a minute and try to remember a time where I was the one that hurt you…tried to kill you in fact…not just inadvertently, accidentally, or unintentionally, but deliberately. You can’t tell me you don’t remember. I see your hand rubbing that spot on your stomach now.”

“That…that was different.”

“How? I tried to kill you. It wasn’t an accident that…”

“Admiral, how many times do we have to go over this? I had Krueger inside my mind, too. I know what it was like to try to deny him what he wanted. You had no choice.”

“Neither did you, Lee. An accident…that’s all it was.”

Lee lowered his head and tried hard to let go of the guilt, but a part of him knew it would be there for a long time to come, rather like the admiral’s guilt over Krueger he suspected. He’d thought the admiral had come to terms with what had happened but apparently the guilt still tore at him, yet he’d never let on, never let it show, never let Lee see the remorse on his face. If he could do that for him, then the least Lee could do was attempt the same.

“All right. You win. You don’t feel guilty for Krueger and I won’t feel guilty for Vietnam.”

“Deal,” Harry said with a relieved smile, doubting Lee could let it go that easily but hoping some day, he would.

“Deal? What are you two making deals about?” Edith asked as she came back out on the deck with a huge platter of pancakes which she placed on the table. Staring from one to the other, she put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows.

“Just…dealing with unfinished business, Edith. Now, let me at those pancakes,” Harry said with a slight smile.

“I want to see you eat a whole stack, Harry. Jamie said you’ve lost a lot of weight. I need to see you put on a few pounds before I go back home.”

“Well, if that’s the price for getting you out of my hair, I suppose I can force these down,” he laughed as he grabbed a stack of pancakes, poured syrup on them and with a little grin to Lee, began to eat. “Come on, Lee. Catch up.”

Shaking his head, Lee smiled, grabbed another stack and began eating; hoping things were finally going to get better between the two of them.

Chapter 14

A few weeks later, Edith long gone back to Boston, Harry was finally allowed back to work for a few hours a day, happy he had graduated from the clumsy crutches to the more manageable cane he needed to ensure he didn’t fall flat on his face when he forgot his leg was still weak. His strength was returning slowly and the wounds, the ones on the outside at least, were slowly healing. The wounds on the inside still haunted his dreams at times and he suspected they would for some time to come. They always did.

His relationship with Lee, strengthened by their ordeal, slowly returned to normal. The guilt that had constantly filled Lee eased at Nelson’s continued reassurances and as the man’s wounds had healed.

A few days after he had made his first appearance at the office, Lee and he were busy going over reports, reviews and proposals that had piled up since they’d last been home. Engrossed in their work, they almost didn’t hear the soft knock on his office door.

“Come in,” Nelson called distractedly.

“Admiral? Admiral Johnson is here to see you, sir,” Angie Wood announced quietly.

“Send him in! Bill!” he said happily as he stood, watching his old friend enter and walked forward, shaking his offered hand.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Lee said rising. “I’ll be outside.”

“Thanks, Lee,” Nelson said quietly as he watched Lee leave and turned his attention back to Johnson. “Sit down, Bill.”

“You’re looking good, Harry. Hardly a limp at all,” he assured Nelson as he sat in the chair vacated by Crane.

“The leg’s getting better. I’m feeling better…stronger,” he added as he came back to his desk and sat down, watching Johnson closely. “I don’t think you came here just to watch me walk. And you could have heard how I was just by asking Lee or Jamie. I hope you finally have good news for me about Tuan’s documents. We returned more than a month ago from Vietnam. Surely enough time to determine what Lin is.”

“Harry, I…uh…I do have news about…your last mission and the documents. I…I wanted to be the one to come tell you,” Johnson said quietly, his eyes not meeting Harry’s.

Nelson sat back in his chair and gazed at Johnson with a frown, a feeling of disquiet filling him. “Tell me what, Bill?”

“The, uh…the documents you brought back have been scrutinized. And there are more than a few that feel they’re…suspect.”

“Suspect!” Nelson yelled as he launched himself from his chair, regretting the rash action immediately as pain flared in his leg. “Damn it, what do you mean suspect?”

“Harry, you know what Phoenix was. You were against it from the beginning. You…”

“Yes, yes, yes, I know what it was. But it did produce valuable information. Such as what Tuan found out.”

“Tuan had a grudge against Lin. I interviewed a few that told me that. Can you deny he hated him?”

“Hate’s a strong word. He didn’t treat the South Vietnamese soldiers in camp with us as…equals which caused friction between us and them. Lin was rash, impulsive, and quite possibly a Chinese agent. What was in those documents…”

“Is suspect. The man being interrogated quite possibly was a Chinese agent or he could have been a simple farmer that was coerced into the confession.”

“And the fact we weren’t the only ones after the documents means nothing? What Chien Hung said and did means nothing? What Tuan heard…”

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Johnson interrupted. “I really am. If it helps, I believe what you and Tuan have said.”

Nelson was quiet for a long time as he did his best to control his anger, then slowly lowered himself to his chair. “That doesn’t really help, Bill but thanks. So does he know?”

“Lin? No. This was kept quiet. Only a few know about the documents and any questioning was done in such a way as to not raise suspicions. Fewer still know the real story about what happened to you.”

“So, Crane and I risked our lives to retrieve documents that you should have known wouldn’t be believed simply because of where the information came from. And not only that, but you caused the deaths of two people I cared a lot about and wiped out a whole village in the process!” Nelson yelled, his voice rising with each sentence.

“We didn’t know that would happen.”

“You must have had a good idea!”

“I’m sorry. I…”

“So Lin just gets away with everything he’s been doing since he was recruited,” Harry muttered in a quieter tone as he slumped back in his chair.

“No. No, he’ll be watched. The investigation will continue. Quietly.”

“Investigation,” he snorted in contempt. “Do you know how many lives he’s cost? Do you or anyone in Washington even care?”

“Yes…I know. But there isn’t anything we can do. We’ll watch him…investigate...”

“Don’t you think he already knows he’s being investigated? Watched?”

Johnson spread his hands wide. “No. How could he? It was kept quiet. As I said, only a few people knew. Your Crane was the only one out of the loop that knew.”

“Did it ever occur to you that someone in that loop of yours is with Lin?”

“I…I don’t have an answer to that. I trust the people I work with and for. I’m sorry, Harry. I really am. I didn’t know…look there’s nothing I can do,” he said as he rose. “But there is one more thing.”

“What?’ Harry asked glancing up into Johnson’s face, watching as he withdrew some pictures, holding them in his hand for a few seconds as if debating, before handing them to Harry.

“Trang Pham sent these pictures. He and a few other CIA operatives went to Tuan’s village. What’s left of it. I’m sorry, Harry.”

Taking the pictures, Nelson stared at them, his heart breaking at the images. He picked through them until he came to one particular one and he stopped, his heart being torn from him.

Unable to tear his eyes from the photograph he held in shaking hands, he never heard the door close softly behind Johnson or heard the door reopen and Lee slip inside.

“Admiral? What is it?” he asked in concern as he saw the sheen of moisture in the man’s eyes, the slight shaking of his hand.

Looking up, he saw Lee beside him, anxiety on his face and wordlessly handed him the picture, then rose and limped his way slowly across the room to stare out the window. Lee took the photograph and stared down at it, his heart aching as he saw the image of two people lying on the ground, blood covering their bodies, their hands barely touching. “Tuan…An Tien…I…I…I’m so sorry, Admiral,” he whispered.

“They died in vain, Lee.”

“What?”

“The documents have been declared “suspect”,” he murmured as he stared out at the blue Pacific beyond. “Lin wins. Sean MacDonald, Tuan, An Tien and all the others he killed directly or indirectly…he’ll never pay for their deaths.”

“No, no that can’t be. After all we went through? After this?” he demanded holding the photo up. “No.”

“He’ll be watched. Investigated. But Tuan’s documents mean nothing right now. Maybe…maybe if Tuan and I hadn’t gone on that mission to Laos...It doesn’t matter now, does it?” he asked shaking his head.

He felt Lee walk up to him and put a hand on his shoulder but hadn’t the strength to turn to him. “I…I don’t know what to say. I…”

“There’s nothing to say is there? Tuan and An Tien are dead and for nothing. Diem, the village…gone. All we went through was for nothing.”

Turning his eyes from the view before him, he glanced into Lee’s concerned face, grasped his arm briefly and headed back to his desk, not even trying to hide the limp he still had and seated himself in his chair. “We should finish up these reports. We have a few to get through before we knock off for the weekend,” Nelson said quietly.

Lee watched as Nelson went through the motions of working, his heart breaking not only for his friend but for the lives wasted, the village destroyed by a traitor.

~O~

Later that night, a lone figure sat on a bench above the dark Pacific Ocean; waves lapping so gently it was almost as if to not disturb the musings of the man whose thoughts were far from the cliff he sat on. The light from a full moon illuminated the area making it almost as bright as day. Normally, the soothing sounds of the surf on the beach were enough to calm the man’s worries, the fears that filled him, the thoughts that plagued him, but tonight their gentle sounds went unheard as the cries in the man’s soul drowned them out. He searched inside himself for an answer, a cure, for the hopelessness, the anger, that filled him and found none. He knew he wouldn’t find it. Not here…not now…but he still tried, and cursed himself for the inability.

“Admiral?”

He heard the hesitant call, knew without a doubt who stood behind him and felt guilt flood through him as he knew he was about to hurt the man who stood there, his own soul aching from things that were not in his control.

“Are you all right?”

Without turning, he answered in a soft voice, almost too soft for the man to hear, “Yes, Lee. Just…thinking.”

“Normally, I’d think that was a good thing. Wonderful plans for the future being born or solutions to the world’s problems. But not tonight,” he said as he seated himself by the man who had become more in his life than he had ever thought possible. “What are you thinking?”

With an inelegant shrug, Nelson turned his eyes to his hands clasped in front of him. “Just…things. Tuan, An Tien, Lin…duty…honor.”

“Is that all?” Lee joked, his heart breaking for the man before him.

Silence met Crane’s words and the two sat for a bit, letting the stillness of the warm night wash over them.

Finally, as if Nelson had made a decision, he leaned back against the bench and without looking at his companion said softly, “I…I’m going to go away for a few days, Lee. To the cabin. I just need to get away.”

“Alone?” Crane asked in a tone that told Nelson he wasn’t happy. But then he knew he wouldn’t be overjoyed with his announcement. He just didn’t have the strength to care right now.

“Yes. Alone. I just want to be alone for a bit. To think.”

“You mean brood, don’t you?” Crane asked harshly, cringing when he felt the man beside him flinch as if he had been struck. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

“No…no you’re right. I am brooding. But right now…I just don’t care. I’ve spent the vast majority of my life caring, doing what I thought was right, what was asked of me and right now all I can see …all I can see is that picture. I can’t get it…them…out of my mind. I can’t see anything except them…and the knowledge that Lin was behind it…that he was behind so many deaths…is killing me, knowing he may never pay for what he did.”

“Those feelings…they’re not unreasonable. What happened….if I could change it…any of it,” he said looking pointedly at the cane lying by Nelson’s side, “I would.”

“I know. Believe me, I do know that,” he assured turning his eyes to the man beside him. “But, you can’t. And this, brooding, isn’t about this,” he said knocking the cane away from him and to the ground. “Or you. What happened…this…was an accident. You do understand that, don’t you?” His eyes pleaded for Crane to say he understood and to not take his leaving personally, but he saw the shimmer of sadness, of guilt, in their depths and knew he didn’t.

“Do you really think you should be alone right now?”

“Maybe not. But it’s what I need. I need to be some place where…where I can be Harry Nelson for a bit. Some place where I can sort through what happened; accept that justice may never be served. Please…try to understand.”

He stared hard at his young friend whose eyes wouldn’t meet his and saw him finally nod. “I do understand,” he answered with a slight smile as he turned his eyes to Nelson. “But I don’t have to like it.”

Nelson slapped Crane on the leg and squeezed it tightly for just a second. “Thank you.”

“When will you leave?”

“First thing tomorrow. I have things ready at the office. We got caught up on the paperwork tonight so we…you…won’t have to worry about any of that until I get back. I left a note for Angie but you can fill her in on Monday if you feel you need to.”

“A note? She’s not going to be happy you left without talking to her. She’s been pretty worried about you.”

“Why do you think I left a note instead of telling her in person?” he joked, ignoring the snort from Crane.

“The cabin?”

“I called Jacob a few hours ago. He’ll have the place open and aired out before I get there tomorrow,” he said naming the man he had hired as caretaker of his cabin when he was away.

“You’ve been busy.”

“Yeah…busy.”

“If…if you want company, call me. I can be there in a few hours,” Crane said softly.

Nelson was silent for a time, mulling the fact the man beside him had chosen to give him the gift of his friendship. Knowing he would do anything for him, even let him walk away for a time when his own heart was breaking. “Thank you, Lee. I just may do that.”

“Just be careful.”

“Aren’t I always?” Nelson asked, smiling at the incredulous look on Crane’s face.

Chapter 15

Harry Nelson sat on the spacious deck of his cabin tucked away in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, his wounded leg stretched out before him, grimacing as the injury throbbed in beat to his heart. Perhaps he had over done the walking today. Jamie had said the thigh needed exercising to strengthen it, but had it been too much?

He had come here to find the peace and solace he hadn’t been able to find since Vietnam and the loss of his friends. Weeks of recovery in Okinawa and then at home had almost driven him mad, leaving him in a foul mood. The guilty looks Lee threw him and the worried looks Angie gave him coupled with his sister’s calls once she had returned to Boston were almost more than he could bear. But the pronouncement by Johnson of the decision regarding the documents was the last straw and he knew he needed to get away. Feeling himself to be a coward, he’d left his secretary a note telling her where he’d gone and fled here, hopefully to a sanctuary or a place of healing. He’d take either right now.

Leaning his head back against the chair he sat in on his wide deck overlooking his lake, he smiled as he heard the call of some water bird making its way home. Tendrils of mist rose from the surface of the lake as the early morning sun warmed the water. Peace. Could he find it here? Sometimes he wondered why he had spent the vast majority of his life in service to his country and to others. And the last mission? Few would ever know what he had gone through, what he had seen and experienced in the name of national security. Did it matter in the long run? Sometimes he didn’t know. He shook himself as doubt and self pity, things that were usually alien to him, welled up in him. Why couldn’t he let it go? Move on? His wounds were healing. At least the physical ones were. The ones deep inside reared their ugly heads constantly. The vision of Tuan and An Tien in death invaded his dreams at night as did the cries he’d heard come from the village.

That was what brought him here to the only place he thought he might be able to find peace--his lake. As much as he loved the sea, sometimes he needed to be away from it. Sometimes he just couldn’t find the solace he usually got from it or feel the healing it gave to his wounded spirit. This was one of those times. He’d had enough. For now, he just wanted to be left alone…no urgent calls, no problems, no worries.

He’d just about decided a nap was a good idea when he heard the sound of a vehicle traveling slowly down the long gravel drive that led to his retreat. He tensed as he worried that Lee had come after him despite his plea to stay away, but relaxed when he heard the loud “Haloo!” of his closest neighbor, Jacob Dunleavy.

Turning in his chair, he smiled as he saw the tall, spare man, his uncharacteristically longish brown hair blowing in the slight breeze that wafted up from the lake, round the side of his deck.

“Jacob! How are you?” Nelson asked with a huge smile as he held out his hand to the man who grasped it tightly in his.

“I’m good my friend. I heard you had pried yourself away from your beloved sea,” he answered with an equally big smile as he stared down at him with his hands on his hips.

“It happens, you know.”

“Not often enough,” Jacob said, glancing to the leg stretched out in front of him and propped on pillows. “That have anything to do with your being here?”

“Maybe. I just needed time away,” he added as he turned away from Jacob who pulled up a chair and sat down, his eyes never leaving Nelson’s.

“For how long?”

“Not sure,” Nelson replied as he glanced at Jacob then looked away uneasily.

“Uh, huh,” he said as he leaned back in his chair. He knew Nelson was an important man and seemed to have the world on his shoulders when he took the time to come to his hideout. Today he looked far worse than at any time he could remember.

Silence stretched between the two men as their eyes studied the lake before them until Jacob leaned forward and spoke softy. “You know, I served in World War II and Korea, little bit in Vietnam, a few other places, and I saw a lot. More than I care to remember. I also saw men that had the same look in their eyes you have right now.”

“What kind of look?” Nelson asked, his eyebrows raised in question.

“One that says you’ve seen too much of man’s inhumanity to man or done too much for a country that will never acknowledge your service.”

Nelson turned his eyes away from Jacob and back to his lake again. “You see too much, Jacob.”

“Perhaps. Want to talk about it?”

“I can’t,” he said softly.

“Would you if you could?”

“Probably not.”

“Thought so,” Jacob sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I’ll listen. Any time you want to vent or just rail at whomever or whatever put that look in your eyes, I’ll listen. No judgment. No condemnation. Don’t need specifics.”

Nelson pursed his lips as he pondered what Jacob had said and why he’d said it. “So what did Lee ask you to do? Check up on me? See that I’m taking care of myself? Make sure I’m eating?” he asked turning to him with a slight smile.

“Don’t know you’re talking about.”

Nelson fixed him with a stare that made men under his command stand straight and answer crisply. It had almost the same effect on Jacob. “All right,” he sighed. “He told me you were coming up here and were in a bad way. Said you were hurting. Said he wanted to come with you but you said no. He’s worried, Harry.”

“I know he is, Jacob. And he feels guilty. I can’t handle that right now. I can barely handle me.”

“Why would he be guilty? He do that?” he said gesturing to the leg.

Nelson was silent for a time then, “This, was an accident,” he answered, patting his leg gently. “Lee doesn’t see it that way.”

“So he thinks otherwise.”

“You know Lee. You’ve been around him when he’s come up here. You see how he takes too much responsibility for things that aren’t his to be responsible for.”

“Sounds familiar.”

“No, it doesn’t,” he said harshly. “We’re not alike.”

“If you say so. What I do know is he would do anything for you, yet you’re pushing him away.”

“He can’t help me,” Nelson grumped, a touch of annoyance in his voice.

“Can I?”

“No.”

“Who can?”

“Only me, Jacob. And I don’t have any idea how,” he said sadly. “No idea.”

Silence filled the air for a time before Jacob leaned forward in his chair again and said, “Harry, you, me…and I strongly suspect Lee…are what’s known as wounded souls. We’ve been through, seen and done too much.”

“You, Jacob? A wounded soul?” Harry asked, one eyebrow cocked.

“I may not seem to be to you but, I didn’t just do desk duty in the wars I fought in and there are days when I remember. A word, an action, a sound, a scent can bring it all back. A mission gone bad…a misplaced step that takes out a whole squad of men…a traitor that willingly turns on those near him…a…” Jacob sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, willing the images away, knowing Harry’s eyes were on him. “But there’s nothing to be done about the past. It needs to stay in the past. As hard as it is, that’s where it needs to stay.”

“How, Jacob? How?”

“I don’t have all the answers my friend. Me? I found a good woman that overlooks the days when the memories take hold, when they hurt, when I hurt. She leaves me to them and is there when I’m done brooding with a cup of tea or a shot of Scotch, and a gentle hand.”

“Do they get easier to deal with?” Harry asked softly, his eyes boring into Jacob’s with an almost pleading look.

“Yes. Yes, I think they do. For me at least the times are fewer and fewer, the pain less and less. It’s…a work in progress,” he said with a smile. “The trick I think is to allow yourself the time to brood, rail at the Fates, throw something through a wall but don’t stay in that dark place or you will find it harder and harder to function and find there are fewer and fewer people by your side.”

With a thoughtful look on his face, Harry turned his eyes away from Jacob’s who stared off at the lake watching the mist rise into the sky, leaving a glass-like surface behind. On the far shore, a fish broke the surface as if welcoming the mist’s departure.

“Gonna be a good day for fishing,” Jacob assured softly after a few minutes of silence.

“Yep.”

“You going out?”

“I was thinking of taking the canoe out later today. Haven’t been to the far side of the lake in a while.”

“Same as it was last time I suspect,” Jacob said. “Storm come through here last spring though and took out some trees. I split them and stacked the wood over there for you,” he said gesturing to the stack of wood piled neatly by the sliding door behind him.

“I wondered where that came from. That wasn’t necessary.”

“Sure it was. You pay me quite well to watch over this place when you aren’t here. Besides, it’s therapeutic.”

“Thank you, Jacob.”

“No problem my friend. Well, I best get back to my Janie,” Jacob said as he rose slowly from his seat and stretched. “She worries about me when I don’t come back in the time frame she seems reasonable for me to be out.”

“You old fraud…you can’t stand to be away from her for long and you know it.”

“Yes, well, don’t let her know that. She might get a swelled head.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Nelson promised with a slight smile.

“Come to dinner tonight,” Jacob said, laying a hand gently on Harry’s shoulder. “No questions. Just some good aged Scotch, thick steaks and good friends.”

“I’d like that.”

“Say 1800 hours?”

“Yes, sir,” Nelson laughed. “I’ll bring the Scotch.”

“I was hoping you would say that.”

“Oh and tell Lee when you call him that I’m fine and to stop worrying,” he added with a frown.

“And who said I’m calling the boy?”

“Tell him,” Nelson said with a quirk of his lips.

“All right. I’ll tell him,” he sighed, turning away.

“And Jacob?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“Not sure what I did but you’re welcome,” he said with a sympathetic smile.

With a wave the man disappeared around the side of the deck. Nelson finally relaxed when he heard him drive off down the long gravel drive. Solitude was once more his. But what was it going to get him? The peace he desperately sought was still elusive. The questioning of his choices, of everything he’d always been sure of, was still there.

With Jacob’s words still ringing in his ears, he laid his head back against the chair, closed his eyes and gave in to the part of him that urged sleep, drifting off with the sun warming his face.

~O~

Two hours later, Nelson jerked awake out of a deep sleep with a strangled cry and yelped as the movement pulled on his injured leg.

“Damn it. Even here I can’t get away from it!” he growled angrily to himself. He lowered his leg gently to the deck and leaned forward, his head in his hands as he saw again and again the picture of his friends, as he heard the cries come from the doomed village, as he felt Hung’s fist connecting with his face, his ribs and the pain in his back as the strap landed repeatedly, as he heard again the questions he couldn’t answer asked over and over.

He’d desperately wanted to go back; to help the village, his friends, fight off Chien Hung’s attack but Lee’s insistence had prevented that. And it had been the right decision. But if he knew then what he knew now, if he knew the documents were going to be dismissed, would he have stayed? Would he have lived? Would they? A small voice inside him scoffed at the thought that one man…two men…would have prevented what had happened.

The headlong escape, the pain of his wounds, the memory of what Hung had done to him, still filled his thoughts even though he’d tried to keep the memories inside where no one could see the hurt. Diem had died during the interrogation and he’d felt certain he wasn’t far behind. If Lee and the others hadn’t gotten there when they did, he’d be dead. He knew it as well as he knew anything. An Tien and Tuan had been killed, the village, wiped off the earth in one man’s vengeful attack.

Why had he survived when the others hadn’t? What made him so special? Time after time, from the first job he’d ever done for ONI in the Philippines shortly after his brief stint in WW II to the last mission for his government, he’d survived. Some would say he was simply lucky. Some would say that he was well trained and intelligent, able to outwit his enemies. He’d always questioned his survival, but not to the extent he was now and he didn’t know why. Nor did he know why he’d felt it necessary to flee his home, his work and his friends to find solitude.

Raising his eyes from his deck to the lake, he smiled briefly as he saw a gaggle of geese land, their honking echoing off the nearby mountains and he envied them their carefree life. He leaned back in his chair and gazed about him at the beauty of the place he had chosen to build his retreat. Set well away from the road, his cabin, some would call it much more than a simple cabin, sat up on a gentle rise from the lake that had no real name. One story high, its front was a wall of glass windows that offered a view of the lake and surrounding hillsides from most any room. A lone spruce-wrapped island in almost the exact center of the lake offered a refuge for various birds to call home. On the far side of the lake, a huge fir, box elder, and birch forest surrounded the lake with various berry plants, sedges and willows competing for space along the shore.

He sighed heavily as he perused his domain, usually in contentment, now in frustration as the peace he so desperately sought eluded him. Standing he made his way to the rail of the deck and leaned on it with one hip, staring at the far side of the lake in speculation. He hadn’t been there in some time and was curious what the trails that ran through that side of his property were like after the hard winter and spring storms had torn through. Maybe tomorrow he would find out. Or the day after. Or the day after that. It was an interesting thing to have no plans, no lists, no proposals to peruse, no work to occupy his every waking moment.

Just about to give up on his scrutiny of his land, he was about to turn back to the house when he thought he spotted a flash of bright color on the far shore but, hard as he stared at the area, it did not reappear and he assumed he had been mistaken.

“Getting punchy, Nelson. You really are,” he said to himself as he turned away, went through the sliding door that stood open to the mountain breeze and entered his kitchen off the deck, closing the sliding door behind him. Looking about his spacious lakefront cabin, he didn’t feel the same joy he usually did at what he had built here. Slowly, over a span of a few years, he had added on to the original one room cabin until he had acquired a lodge with three bedrooms, a huge kitchen and a far wall that was constructed of river rock enclosing a huge fireplace where long evenings were spent, either with friends or alone. He should be happy. But he frowned as it remained elusive.

Turning back to the kitchen, he set about preparing a lunch he would take with him out in his canoe where he hoped he could catch a meal of whatever fish landed on his lure first. Grabbing a loaf of bread, he set about making two sandwiches, wrapped them, put them inside a canvas bag nearby and added some fruit to complete his meal. Satisfied, he grabbed the bag, a container of water and his ever present cane and headed down the stairs slowly to the dock that stretched out from the foot of the deck. His canoe rested upside down on the shore near the dock and Nelson smiled as he saw Jacob had readied the boat for his use. All it took was one quick call and he’d had the place opened, aired out and readied before Nelson had even left Santa Barbara in all likelihood. He’d been lucky to find this piece of property but even luckier to have found such a good friend and caretaker in Jacob and his wife.

Turning the canoe over, he was distressed to find the mere action of righting the canoe, moving it to the side of the dock and climbing aboard with all his gear and his lunch exhausted him. Sometimes he thought he would never recover from what had happened. Not physically and not emotionally and it galled him to be so weak.

Pushing away from the dock, he paddled to a spot about halfway between the shore and the island and stopped, enjoying the gentle rocking and the sweet lap of water on the side of his canoe. Breathing deeply, he felt a measure of peace come over him and he smiled. Maybe today was the day he would return to the Nelson he knew. Maybe today was the day the dreams stopped.

Grabbing his gear, he readied his rod and dropped a line into the water, leaned back against a cushion he had placed at his back, and allowed his eyes to sink closed as the gentle rock lulled him to sleep.

He hadn’t been asleep long when the slight tug on the line he held between his fingers woke him and he sat up, expertly landing a large fish. “Well, that’ll make a nice meal or two,” he said to himself as he dropped his line in again and wiped his hands quickly. Reaching for his lunch, he easily consumed both sandwiches and the fruit hastily. Jamie would be pleased with the amount of food he was consuming today. He’d been unhappy with the amount of weight Nelson had lost since Vietnam and he’d been after him to eat more. Maybe it was the fresh air or the fact no one was watching him constantly that had spurred his appetite.

Another tug on his line and he landed another slightly smaller fish.

Glancing up, he watched as the once bright blue sky began to darken and clouds began scudding over. Frowning, he briefly thought about returning to shore but didn’t want the afternoon to end just yet, feeling sure he had more time before whatever storm was brewing hit. Throwing the line in again, he leaned back, resting against the cushion once more and was just about to sink into another nap when he felt another tug on his line and landed another even larger fish, smiling as if he could almost smell the fish in his frying pan and taste it.

Another quick glance to the sky to assess the storm’s progress and he dropped another line in hoping for more fish. He was just about to lean back against the cushion when he spotted a flash of bright color again on the far shore. Sitting up, he stared hard at the edge of the shore where he thought he had seen movement but nothing moved. Deciding he needed to investigate, he hauled his line in and paddled slowly to the other shore. Whoever was there, if anyone, was trespassing as he owned the land surrounding the lake for a few miles.

About ten years ago a developer had wanted to buy the land to develop it into a resort. Knowing the area well, Nelson had been saddened to think of the area becoming another tourist spot and had bought the land outright from the owner for a nice price. He harbored no thoughts of prosecution to those that found they had unknowingly crossed onto private land but he was concerned about the state of the trails on the far side and for their well being.

Reaching the far shore after a good hard paddle across which almost exhausted him, he stared intently into the copse of trees that fronted the area but could see nothing through the thick vegetation.

“Hello!” he yelled into the trees, listening as his voice echoed off the rocks and trees. “Anyone there?”

No answer came back and he briefly thought about beaching the canoe and walking into the woods but the pain in his leg and the gathering clouds halted that thought. A stiff breeze began to blow from the west and the lake began to grow choppy with white caps dancing over the surface. Hoping whoever, if anyone, was in there had the sense to find shelter, he pushed away from the bank and paddled back to his cabin, barely reaching the dock before fat raindrops burst from the sky accompanied by a flash of lightning and crack of thunder.

Hauling his canoe up on shore, he gathered his bounty of fish and his tackle from the canoe and placed it on the dock. Upending the canoe was a bit of a struggle in the freshening wind but he finally managed to turn it upside down. Grabbing his tackle and the fish, he did his best to run up the dock to the deck and shelter but not before he was completely drenched. He glanced back across the lake but the far shore was shrouded in a deep mist, obscuring it from view. Shrugging, he slid the sliding door open and quickly entered, pausing to grab a dish towel which he ran through his soaked hair.

Placing his catch on the counter by the door, he headed for his bedroom in search of dry clothes, intending to clean, gut and fillet the fish once he was warm and dry.

A quick hot shower and a pair of sweat pants and sweatshirt served to warm him up quickly. Running a towel over his auburn curls, he threw the towel down and stared out at the lake that was enveloped by low hanging mist. How quickly the weather had changed! As he watched the sky lit by brilliant displays of lightning, he let his thoughts take him back to Vietnam and the storm he and Lee had weathered in the damp, musty cave. He lost himself in his thoughts of the mission for a time until a tremendous crack of thunder brought him back to the present.

Frowning, he watched the lake water churn in agitation and found himself profoundly glad he had made it back across before the full brunt of the storm had hit. He sure didn’t want to be out on that lake now as the wind whipped the water into whitecaps.

Smiling ruefully, he set about cleaning and filleting his catch. The trout he’d caught were fairly large and he managed to get a few meals from them. Wrapping the fillets in paper and putting them into a plastic bag, he was about to put all of them in his freezer when he thought better of it, remembering he was going to Jacob and Janie’s tonight for dinner. Perhaps along with the bottle of aged Scotch he always brought when he came to the cabin, he would take the fish to them as a thank you.

Finished with his kitchen chores, he washed his hands and stared about him in consternation. What to do now? He still had a few hours until he was to be at Jacob’s. He stared hard at the phone on the table by the couch. Perhaps he should call Lee or Jamie, just to let them know he was all right. But the thought filled him with guilt. He shouldn’t have left the way he had. He knew it would only compound Lee’s feelings of guilt but felt sure he wouldn’t be able to make him understand. He needed to be away right now and it had nothing to do with the look in Lee’s eyes every time he looked at him. Lee’s guilt was misplaced. He’d told him that. But if he had been in Lee’s place, he would have felt the exact same way and he didn’t know what to do about it. For right now, he needed to concentrate on getting better, physically as well as mentally. When the nightmares ended, or eased or he became used to them, then maybe he would go back. For now he’d stay here. For now, he’d wrap himself in self-pity and questioning.

Choosing a book from the large bookcase that encompassed one entire wall of his living room, he smiled and seated himself in a large recliner and began to relax as the story, one well known to him, began to weave its magic as he lost himself in another time and place.

Time passed quickly as Nelson enjoyed his book and before he knew it, it was time for him to be at Jacob’s. Sighing, he put the tome down, smiling as he realized the book had calmed him somewhat and helped pass the long, lonely hours.

Changing quickly into jeans and a pullover polo shirt, he grabbed the fish from the refrigerator and the Scotch, and headed to his car and to Jacob’s.

The ride was a short one and Harry found himself on the spacious deck of Jacob and Janie Dunleavy in a few minutes. Knocking on the ornate heavy door, he smiled in appreciation of all the work Jacob had done on his place since he had been there last.

Hearing the door open quickly, he smiled as he saw Jacob wearing a “Kiss the Cook” apron grin at him.

“Harry! Come in! Janie has dinner almost ready. All I need to do is put the steaks on and soon we’ll be eating like kings!”

“Sounds great, Jacob. Just as long as I don’t really have to kiss the cook,” he joked.

“That is not intended for you my friend,” he said gesturing to the words. “Come on in.”

“I caught a few big ones this afternoon. I can’t eat it all so I thought you and Janie might make a meal out of this,” Harry said holding up the paper-wrapped fish.

“What’s this? Harry Nelson is bringing us a fish?” a soft feminine voice behind Jacob asked.

Harry smiled as he watched Janie, a petite woman of about 60 with graying hair braided into one long plait, walk into the room and immediately envelop him in a big, warm hug. “How are you, Harry?” she asked when she had pulled away enough to look into his warm blue eyes.

“I’m fine, Janie. I’ll be even better when I get a bite of these thick, juicy steaks your man here promised me,” he joked, smiling as she walked to her husband’s side, wrapped an arm about him and stared up at him with a smile.

“You heard the man. Feed us!” she said with a smile.

Jacob turned dancing eyes from his wife to Harry and with a nod beckoned him to the deck. “Come on. Help me with these steaks. Oh and pour us a glass of that Scotch you have there,” he said pointing to the bottle.

Harry smiled as he knew Jacob needed no help, but went anyway. Handing Janie the fish, he paused to kiss her lightly on the cheek and grabbed two glasses from the counter before walking to the porch.

“So, seems you had a good afternoon,” Jacob said as he proceeded to put the thick steaks on the hot grill.

“It wasn’t bad. You know what they say…a bad day spent fishing is better than a good day spent in the office. Or something like that,” Harry replied with a frown as he poured two glasses of the aged Scotch and handed one to Jacob who took it and stared at him with a knowing look.

“I doubt you’ve ever really said that before. Have you?”

Harry shrugged noncommittally as he took a healthy swallow of the alcohol, smiling as it went down smoothly. “Depends on what I’m fishing for I suppose. But most days out of the office are better than in.”

“You don’t like paperwork, eh?”

“Who does? That’s why I hire good people to do that for me,” he said softly, a pang hitting him as he remembered the work he’d left for others to do as he ran away to lick his wounds.

“So how long will you be gracing us with your presence?” Jacob asked quietly when the silence had gone on for a bit.

“I…I don’t know. A few more days I suppose,” he answered as he walked to the edge of the deck and gazed out at the same lake his cabin sat on, its surface bathed in twilight’s shadows as the sun fell behind the mountains, the lake’s colors turning a dusky hue.

“Or until the nightmares stop?”

Nelson turned quickly and stared at Jacob who didn’t return his gaze as he fiddled with the steaks sizzling on the grill. “What…what nightmares?”

Jacob glanced up and Harry saw a look of understanding on his face. “You know, I understand, Harry. I know what duty can cost a man. I know what it’s like to come back from some place, some mission, and have it come back with you. Mostly at night,” he added as he picked up his glass and took a swallow, smiling at the aged perfection in the glass.

Harry said nothing and turned back to the view, hoping Jacob was done prying. Although he knew Jacob had been involved in covert operations in his time, he didn’t want to play a “who had it worse” game.

“Look, Jacob…I know you were…involved in certain missions…certain things…but…”

“…but you think I can’t understand what you’re going through so keep my mouth shut?” he interrupted as he walked to Nelson’s side, no hurt evident in his tone.

“No…no I don’t mean that. I…”

“You’re hurting. I can see that. And from what I’ve heard, and seen,” he said pointing to the bandage that peeked out from under his polo shirt from his chest wound, “You have a reason to feel that way.”

“What have you heard?” he asked with a deep frown.

“From Lee? Nothing. The boy’s as loyal as they come. From your doctor…? Some. Enough to know you have more going on than a bum leg. Both you and Lee are hurting and this Jamie doesn’t know how to help either of you.”

“I can’t help Lee,” Harry said as he took another swallow of his drink, hoping it took away the pain.

“Why not?”

“I can’t make him understand that what happened was an accident. Besides…he shouldn’t have been there. Shouldn’t have seen what he did, do what he did. It wasn’t his fight,” he finished softly.

“Was it yours?” he asked, deciding to ignore what he’d said about an accident for the time being.

After a moment, Harry nodded briefly and lowered his head. “I was asked to go some place and retrieve something,” he said quietly, knowing he didn’t need to be specific with Jacob. “Just me.”

“And let me guess, Lee had other ideas?”

Harry laughed shortly and nodded, looking up when he felt Jacob pouring a splash more of the Scotch in his glass.

“He followed me. Not too well as I heard him, hid and launched myself at him.”

“That must have surprised him.”

“You could say that,” he laughed smiling as he remembered the shock on Lee’s face. “At that point there wasn’t much I could do so, he came along. Things went downhill shortly after that. We took fire. I saw Lee hit in the head and drop. I…I thought he was dead.”

“And?” Jacob prodded when Harry stared out at the now darkened lake as if he could see the scene play out on the lake’s surface.

“And he wasn’t dead. But I didn’t know that. I was dragged off to some megalomaniac’s village and questioned why I was in his backyard.”

“Which you didn’t tell him,” Jacob said softly, knowing or having a good idea what the “questioning” involved.

Harry shook his head slowly. “Somehow, Lee and the people I was to meet rescued me. I retrieved what I came for and we headed back to Seaview.”

“I know there’s more to it than that, my friend.”

Harry closed his eyes as he heard the cries again, saw the picture Johnson had given him and felt the anger that a traitor was going to go free wash over him.

“We…ran into trouble. A whole village was…wiped out,” he said with raw pain in his voice. “We saw it and ran. Had no choice really. We were chased. I was hit in the leg with an arrow. Lee wouldn’t leave me. I ordered him to leave me but…”

“You couldn’t have actually thought the boy would leave you, Harry. You know how he feels about you. You do know how he feels about you, don’t you?” he asked quietly.

Nelson lowered his head and sighed. “I have a pretty good idea, Jacob. Anyway, he practically carried me to our rendezvous site but…our friend from the village was there, waiting. We fought. Lee and I were both shot,” he said his tone going quieter as he rubbed a hand lightly over the bandage on his chest. “I woke up in a naval hospital with Lee staring at me in guilt.”

“I’m sure that’s the short version. But why does Lee think he’s guilty? From what you said, he saved your life.”

Harry was silent for a long time then said, “He did. More than once. Do you know what…what an arrow trap is?”

“Yeah. I unfortunately have a working knowledge of them. Saw them a lot in Vietnam. And other places. Why?”

“Lee triggered one when we were running. It hit me.”

“Ah, now I see the reason for the guilt.”

“It was an accident. I told him that. He insists on…on blaming himself.”

“Surely you understand that. Put yourself in his place.”

Harry closed his eyes to the pictures that flowed through his mind. “I have been in his place,” he whispered in a pain-filled voice. “Only I was guilty.”

Jacob stared at Harry in concern. “I won’t ask what that means.”

Harry snorted inelegantly. “Good. That’s one story I won’t tell you,” he said with a frown. Glancing to the side, he saw Jacob’s eyes on him and he smiled slightly. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” he asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Get me to talk?”

“I didn’t do anything. You, my friend, were ready to talk. You needed to talk. And to someone that wasn’t going to judge what you said or give you unwanted advice. I just…helped you along. Well, me and this lovely Scotch,” he laughed pointing to the half-empty bottle. “Look, I know there’s more to what you went through and I’m not going to ask but sometimes things happen and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Nothing we can do to fix them. You just have to find a way to deal with it or you’ll end up…living on some unnamed lake talking to yourself.”

“I know,” Harry said softly, the image of Tuan and An Tien filling his head, bracing himself for the pain he knew would come. Knowing it would always come.

“Well, are those steaks done yet? I’m starving!”

Harry and Jacob turned to see Janie standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips and understanding in her eye.

“Woman! I’ll tell you when they’re ready,” Jacob boomed, turning back to his grill and poking the overdone steaks. “Yes, they’re done. Perhaps a bit too done, but done. Fetch a plate, woman!” he said winking at Harry and smiling broadly.

“You’ve got a good woman there, Jacob.”

“I know. She’d have to be good to put up with me. Just…don’t let her know that I know.”

Harry laughed, feeling the knot inside himself unravel a bit.

~O~

The three spent the rest of the night eating, drinking and talking on the wide deck, the reason for Harry’s visit left alone.

“Well, I had a good time tonight, but I should get back,” Harry said around midnight, as he rose unsteadily from his seat, cursing when he remembered he’d left the cane at his cabin.

“What are you going to do tomorrow, Harry?” Janie asked as she came to his side and wrapped an arm about his waist to unobtrusively steady him for a moment until his leg loosened.

“I don’t know. Maybe canoe to the far side of the lake and do some exploring. You know, that reminds me…I thought I saw someone over there today. I paddled over and called but no one showed up.”

“That’s strange,” Jacob said. “There aren’t many trails to that side of the lake. Whoever it was would have had to bushwhack through a lot of brush and vines.”

“That’s what I thought. Maybe I was imagining things. Might have been a deer for all I know.”

“I’ll go over there with you tomorrow if you want.”

“No, Jacob. I’m sure it’s nothing. Thank you for the steaks and the conversation,” he said starting to turn away.

“Any time. And I really mean that,” Jacob said laying a hand on Harry’s arm. “Any time.”

Harry stared at Jacob and knew the man was telling him he understood. A distant rumble of thunder had all three looking up at the lightning-tinged sky.

“Sounds like another storm’s rolling through. This one might be a humdinger if the weather reports are right,” Jacob said, his eyes on the sky. “Might take out our phone lines or electricity.”

“Neither of which I really need. I’d best get moving if I don’t want caught out in this. I already got soaked earlier today,” Harry chuckled. Hugging Janie tightly, he shook Jacob’s hand and headed for his car.

~O~

The drive home was quick and Harry soon found himself standing on his deck staring off over the lake as he listened to the rumble of distant thunder. The skies were devoid of clouds for the time being and a full moon cast a yellow, gold streak on the lake, the surrounding landscape lit by the same light. Harry listened to the gentle lap of the water against his dock and smiled as he felt a measure of peace fill him. Maybe he had been right in coming here. Maybe time away from the Institute and people that only wanted to help but couldn’t was what he’d needed. Thunder echoed off the mountains and Harry knew the storm was almost on him. He looked up at the sky that was filling with dark clouds, the moon now obscured behind them, and turned to go inside, stopping when he heard a branch snap, its sound echoing across the lake. He stood still, his eyes trying to pierce the darkness but failed. Waiting for a flash of lightning, he stared hard in the direction of the sound but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Shaking his head in amusement, knowing it was probably only some night creature looking for shelter, he went inside, closed the door and turned off the lights. Before heading to bed, he stood still and stared out at the landscape, watching. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up but he could find no reason for the apprehension that flowed through him. Muttering to himself about active imaginations, he trundled off to his bed, stopping to grab the book he had started earlier as the storm began to savagely beat down on the snug cabin.

Chapter 16

Morning brought the insistent call of numerous birds that called this area of the mountains, and Harry’s lake, home pulling him awake slowly. Glancing to his watch, he was surprised to find it was already 0900.

“Getting soft. Getting soft and punchy,” he said to himself before he rose, showered and headed to his kitchen to make a quick breakfast. The mere fact he still had power, and thereby coffee, was a surprise to him as the storm had been a hellacious one, raging throughout most of the night.

Carrying a plate of toast and a large cup of coffee to the deck, he seated himself in a patch of sunshine and sighed. He’d had a relatively good night despite the storm that had raged. For the first time since he’d come back from Vietnam, the dreams had only appeared once instead of multiple times through night. He figured that was progress. At least he was taking it as progress. He stared at the far shore wondering what it was that screamed there was something over there he needed to see. Shaking his head, he ate slowly his eyes never leaving the far shore.

Finished with his meager breakfast, he set about getting his tackle and a light lunch ready to go out on the lake, deciding to examine the far shore some while he tried for more fish to stock his freezer.

Launching the canoe was easier than it had been yesterday and Harry smiled to himself at the accomplishment. Perhaps he was getting stronger. Paddling easily through the now calm lake, he found himself on the far shore within a fairly short period of time. Beaching his canoe, he tied it to a sturdy log and started walking unsteadily through the brush to a row of trees he was certain was where he had seen the flash of something moving. Looking down, he tried to find some evidence of tracks but the violent storm the night before had wiped away all traces of who, or what, might have been there. He continued to walk along the shore but found nothing to indicate anyone had been there and decided to return to the canoe and try his hand at fishing again. Maybe he could catch enough for him to take back to his friends.

It took a bit longer for him to reach his beached canoe as his leg began to throb. “Shouldn’t have gone so far, I guess,” he grumped as he limped his way to the canoe and paused to regain his breath, upset once more at how weak he still was.

He launched the canoe and jumped in, seating himself in the stern and paddled to the spot he had fished from yesterday, threw his line in and settled back to wait. His eyes scrutinized the far shore but again saw nothing to tell him anyone was there and after a few minutes felt his eyes flicker closed.

The next few hours were spent napping and catching fish before Harry decided he had more than enough fish to clean and headed back to his dock.

As the day before, he cleaned his catch, divided it into packages and placed them in the freezer, happy he at least had gifts to bring back from his exile. Sniffing the air, then himself, he wrinkled his nose and headed for the shower, luxuriating in the feel of the hot water that eased the ache from his body and wounds.

Walking into the kitchen, he headed to the sliding glass door and stared out, a strong feeling of being watched filling him. Shrugging it off, he set to work making a huge sandwich which he took out on the deck, eating ravenously then leaned back. If he kept eating as much as he had been since coming to the cabin, he was going to have to go on a diet to lose weight. With a chuckle, he rose and walked to the railing, leaning on it as he perused the far shore again. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it but what? The constant sense of being watched persisted and his skin began to crawl as if danger was nearby.

“You can stare over there all you want, Nelson. But I’m not there any longer,” a voice behind him said.

Turning slowly, he saw a gun pointed at his head and his face flushed in anger when he saw the face behind it. “Lin,” he said in disgust. “What do you want?”

“What do I want? Let’s see…what do I want? Besides you dead you mean?”

Harry spread his hands wide. “Why do you want me dead?”

“Can it, Nelson! I know! All right? You and your little mission to Vietnam…Tuan Nguygen…I know. I know it all!”

Harry stared at Lin in speculation for a bit. “How? Ah…Hung. Tuan was right. Despite what he said before he died…he was working for you.”

“Hung was one of many that “worked” for me during the war. Unfortunately, he did not tell me of his…meeting with you and Nguygen in Vietnam.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“Greed? I suspect he wanted the documents for himself to sell to the highest bidder or perhaps to blackmail me. Who knows the mind of someone such as him?” he said as he moved closer to Nelson.

“And yet, somehow you heard about the confession being found.”

“Yes, I found out from one of my contacts in ONI that the documents I’d hoped had disappeared had surfaced. The information unfortunately came after you had been rescued, the documents were already being scrutinized and the investigation was concluded,” he said shaking his head in disgust.

At Nelson’s startled look, he laughed. “Oh, you’re surprised about my contact in ONI? You think I am the only one? You think I am the only agent planted in the United States? You think there aren’t more men like me placed in the US government?”

You mean traitors?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Traitors to whom? The United States?”

“Yes, that would be who I mean. You were West Point!” Nelson shouted angrily moving a bit away from the railing and toward Lin. “You had it all! Smart, dedicated, respected. You rose quickly through the ranks in the Army and then in government!”

“Ah, but you didn’t think I should, did you? Every time I turned around when you were in Vietnam on your little mission, I felt your censure, your hatred.”

“I never hated you,” Nelson said slowly shaking his head and watching Lin closely. “I suspected you. I knew the results of some of the missions you sent our men out on. Missions that went badly.”

“Suspected. Yes, you did suspect, didn’t you? I saw that quite well. You knew and all without the help of Nguygen’s little documents to verify your beliefs. Too bad your little trip to Laos didn’t produce what I’d hoped it would.”

“I thought you were behind that but had no way of proving anything. What was it you wanted to happen exactly?”

“What I wanted to happen was your death! Yours and that little Vietnamese lapdog of yours! I knew he was the one that took the documents but couldn’t prove it. Minh told me he’d seen someone coming out of my tent but didn’t see a face but suspected Nguygen. He searched his tent but found nothing. But I knew with you gone for a few days, there was no other that would have suspected a thing. It had to be him.”

“And yet, you couldn’t find the documents, could you? Perhaps you underestimated him.”

“Ah, but he’s dead now, isn’t he? I was informed of their deaths and saw the pictures. Do you remember the pictures? Such love, eh? Dying together. How poetic. Only thing missing from that picture was you there by their sides. But I’ll rectify that now,” he boasted aiming his pistol at Harry.

“Tell me why? Why are you risking everything now? Tuan’s documents are…”

“Suspect, yes I know. I did not hear about their reemergence until too late or they would not have made it home. Or you. If Hung weren’t already dead, I would kill him myself for his…disloyalty.”

“Then why risk being found out? Killing me…”

“Killing you will be the ultimate pleasure. However, what you don’t know is I was just about to be picked up, arrested and charged with treason thanks to one of my associates who spilled everything he knew when one lousy agent knocked on his door and questioned him about me. He told everything he knew about my activities as well as others that were involved and named more names than even I knew were in the network. Luckily, I was given a heads up and got away well before anyone showed up on my doorstep.”

“And instead of getting out of the country you just came here? For what? Vengeance?”

“Yes! You cost me everything! All those years wasted. All those years cultivating agents, obtaining secrets, feeding information to other agents and then on to China all while I played the loyal American.”

“Well, I’m so sorry your plan was ruined. All that time and effort…and lives…wasted,” Nelson said sarcastically.

“You may joke now, but you will not soon,” he said aiming again at Nelson.

“Explain to me how a bright, ambitious boy from a well-respected immigrant family became a spy for China.”

“Let’s say it was the family business,” he smirked. “My father had come to this country seemingly as a poor lost immigrant and rose through the ranks of various technological firms to a place of prominence.”

“And during that rise, he stole secrets and sent them back to China?”

“That was what he was here for.”

“And your mother…what was her involvement?”

“My mother knew nothing. She was a simple housewife.”

“So when the time was right, your father recruited you.”

“One of his associates, yes. Perhaps you’ve heard of him…Senator Peter Kwong?” he said, smiling at the brief look of shock on Nelson’s face at the name. “I was nominated for West Point by him and was an exemplary student, much as you were at the Naval Academy.”

“Except I meant the words to my oath on my commissioning. You apparently took a different oath.”

“I did what I was asked and played a part at the request of my true country.”

“Your father must have been so proud of the number of lives your…work…cost. Innocent lives during the war that...”

“There are no innocents in war! You, as a military man, know that!”

“I don’t know that. There are always those that have no involvement who will suffer! Those at home! Those caught in…”

“Bah! Such a pathetic belief! But then what could I expect from someone such as yourself.”

“You mean someone loyal to their country? Not a spy? What was the final plan for you and your cohorts?”

“Ultimately? To see China take its rightful place as a superpower. Military might coupled with technological advances would ensure that end result. Our agents infiltrated not only the military, academic and corporate sectors but also high levels in the government. When the time was right, we would have acted, bringing America to its knees.”

“It would never have worked,” Nelson said, his hand inching closer to the table he’d eaten his lunch at mere minutes ago. “By your own admission your network of spies and traitors was large. Eventually, there would be that one weak link that would talk or an overheard conversation or even...a careless handling of a written confession by another agent. Surely, you’re smart enough to see that. You must see it would have happened with or without…"

“What I see is a man wasting my time in talk,” he growled as he raised the gun again.

But before he could fire, Nelson grabbed the edge of the table and flipped it up into Lin’s face, the gunshot going wide. Launching himself at him before he had a chance to recover, he knocked the gun out of Lin’s hand, smiling as it skittered away from them. Grabbing him by the shirt Harry backhanded him across the face and punched him in the stomach knocking him back against the deck railing behind him. Falling to the ground Lin swore and threw himself at Harry’s legs as he came towards him. Before he could react, Lin punched him soundly on his wounded leg. Nelson’s vision blurred as the pain exploded in his leg and he stumbled, falling backwards to the ground. Lin, his arms about Harry’s legs pulled him towards him and brought his fist down on the almost healed wound on his chest. Crying out in agony, Harry rolled into a ball and tried hard not to moan at the pain that filled him. Standing, Lin reached down, grabbed Harry by the shirt, pulling him to his feet and landed two blistering punches to Nelson’s face, smiling as his head snapped back, blood pouring from his nose and mouth.

“This is too easy,” he crowed, hitting Nelson again and opening a cut above one eye. “But so much more satisfying than having someone else do it for me.”

A flurry of punches to Harry’s ribs took his breath away and he struggled to hold on to consciousness. “I would have loved to have been the one that put a bullet in little An Tien. I really would.”

He was just about to hit him again when Harry, enraged at the use of An Tien’s name and the memory of what Hung’s men had done to his two friends, blocked the punch with his right arm. With a bellow of rage, he hit him in the jaw with his left and followed up with a roundhouse with his right. Staggering backwards, Lin roared with fury and came at Harry again. Feinting to his right, Harry caught Lin unawares and landed an upper cut to his jaw sending him backwards into the railing and to the deck.

Limping to Lin who was trying to crawl away, Harry reached down, grabbed his foot and yanked him backwards. Swinging his other leg around, Lin kicked with everything he had into Nelson’s injured leg causing him to bellow in agony and fall to the ground.

Spying the gun within reach, Lin crawled to it, grabbed it and stood up, blood pouring down his face. Swaying unsteadily for a moment, he smiled as he watched Nelson try to get up, his injured leg refusing to cooperate.

“Now you will die,” he said quietly as he aimed at Nelson who sat back almost in defeat, knowing he had no strength left to fight with. A loud explosion rent the air and Nelson flinched, startled to see a red blotch form on Lin’s chest and begin spreading. With a snarl he raised the gun at Nelson again. Two more shots rang out and the man’s eyes rolled up in his head and he fell to the ground.

Nelson stared in shock at the body lying unmoving on his deck then turned to see Lee Crane, a look of hatred on his face staring down at the same body. Chip Morton, the same expression on his face, by his side.

“Admiral? Are you all right?” Lee asked as he ran to Nelson’s side, his arm going around behind him in support.

“I…I’m all right. How…how did you two know?” he asked in confusion as Morton checked Lin’s body then came to kneel by Nelson’s side.

“Sometime earlier today the shit hit the fan. Someone in Lin’s ring panicked and started naming names, dates, plans. Turns out Lin was only one part of a huge spy ring operating not only in the US but four other countries. Admiral Johnson called us at the Institute and told us Lin was about to be arrested but that he’d disappeared,” Lee said as he tightened his hold on Nelson.

“We were afraid he was coming here,” Chip added as he examined Nelson, mentally cataloguing the man’s injuries.

“You could have called,” Nelson admonished, wiping blood from his split lip with the back of his hand.

“We tried. Your lines are down. We tried Jacob and the local police but their lines are down too I guess.”

Nelson sank back against Lee for a moment, grateful for the support and took a deep breath, trying to deal with the pain that filled him after the actions of the past few minutes. “We…had a pretty nasty storm last night. Must have taken the lines down.”

“You’d have known that if you bothered to call home once in awhile,” Lee said softly, squeezing Nelson’s shoulder in affection for a moment and smiling as he helped Nelson to his feet, his arms staying around him in support as he swayed slightly.

“Yes, Mother. I’m sorry I didn’t call,” he muttered with a smile as he wrapped his left arm across his body to support the wound in his chest and his bruised ribs.

“Let’s get you into the house and take care of those cuts and make sure those wounds aren’t bleeding again,” Chip said smiling at the exchange between the two officers.

Easing Nelson’s right arm over his shoulder; Lee wrapped his other around Nelson’s back and helped him limp unsteadily to the cabin. Chip, his hand grasping Nelson’s left elbow on the other side, ready to catch him if he fell.

Hobbling inside, Nelson made his way to his couch and sank into it, laying his head back against the soft cushion with a slight moan.

“I’ll get some first-aid supplies,” Chip said quietly as Lee knelt by Nelson’s side.

“How much damage did he do?” Lee asked in concern as he stared into Nelson’s bleeding face.

“I don’t think it’s bad,” Nelson whispered, wincing as he felt the cuts and bruises on his face begin to throb and his ribs ache fiercely.

“Well, let us be the judge of that, sir,” Chip instructed when he came back with a first-aid kit he didn’t know he had. “You’ve been known to underestimate your injuries.”

“Chip, I’m…”

“If you say you’re all right, Admiral I swear I’ll scream,” Lee all but barked, his tone almost menacing.

Turning his eyes to Lee who was surreptitiously examining him, he sighed and laid his head back.

“Actually, I feel like crap,” he said closing his eyes in exhaustion.

Surprised, Chip’s eyes rose to Lee’s at the admission,

“Where other than your face do you hurt, sir?” Chip asked as he dabbed at the cuts over his eye and mouth with antiseptic, ignoring Nelson’s attempts to swat him away.

“Let’s just say Lin doesn’t fight fair. He knew where my wounds were and used them,” he replied, wincing when Chip dabbed a little too hard on the cut over his right eye.

“Your leg?’ Lee asked, his eyes going to the jean-clad leg.

“And my chest,” he whispered as he tried to will the pain he was in away.

“And your ribs?” Lee asked his hands pulling Nelson’s shirt up.

“Yes,” he gasped as Lee’s fingers pressed gently on an area that was already beginning to bruise. “My ribs. Don’t poke so hard!”

“I’m not poking too hard. Your ribs are just tender.”

“Tender? Tender is how you describe a juicy steak, not my ribs! My ribs are painful.”

“If you say so, sir,” Lee agreed with a twitch of his lips.

“I think you’re enjoying this, Lee.”

“Me? Enjoy seeing you in pain? Not a chance.”

Chip shook his head in amusement as he listened to his commanding officers. “Well, your face will heal, sir. You’ll have a nice shiner, maybe two, by tomorrow morning though. Did you lose consciousness at all?”

“No, Chip. If I had, I wouldn’t be talking to you both now.”

“I don’t think your ribs are broken, Admiral,” Lee said as he stopped poking. “And the chest wound is beginning to sport a bruise over it but it didn’t reopen.”

“Thanks, Lee, Chip. I…I owe you both my life. Again.”

“I think you’re still a few lives up on us, sir,” Chip returned with a laugh.

“More than a few,” Lee added.

“We’d better do something with the good senator out there,” Chip said.

“It would be nice if the phones were working,” Lee replied. “We could call Johnson or…”

At that moment the shrill ring of the phone had all three men glancing in shock to the phone.

“I guess the phones are back up,” Chip said unnecessarily.

“I wonder who that could be,” Nelson said, watching as Lee rose and walked to the phone.

“Hello? Yes, yes…he’s all right. Relatively,” Lee said into the phone with a slightly amused expression on his face as he turned back to Nelson. “We got to him in time.”

Chip and Nelson watched as Lee rolled his eyes and looked to the admiral, his lips twitching. “I’m telling you, Angie he’s all right. A bit bruised and…why would I lie to you? All right, I’ll prove it to you.” Walking back, he handed the phone to Nelson. “She doesn’t believe me that you’re not dead.”

Shaking his head in amusement, he took the phone. “Angie? I’m not dead. Bruised but not dead. They got here in time…I…yes I’m sure I’m fine. I…no I don’t need Jamie to come up here. I already have two nursemaids to take care of me,” he grumbled as he glared at his two friends who were trying hard not to laugh. “I…I don’t know when I’ll be back. Just…yes I know, Angie,” he murmured, closing his eyes. “Yes I know leaving you a note was a cowardly thing to do and I should have…yes I do know that, Angie, but….you wouldn’t dare quit on me! After all we’ve been through you…that’s not funny, Angie. No, I don’t think…Yes, Angie. All right. Angie? Lee has something he needs you to do I think. And Angie? Thanks. Here, Lee.”

“Angie? Call Admiral Johnson and give him this number. Tell him to call now. It’s urgent. Yes…we’ll take care of him. I…I’ll do my best but you know how he is. No, I’m sure he wouldn’t. I…”

“Will you two stop talking as if I’m not in the room?”

“You heard that? Yes, he is touchy when he’s in pain.”

“Lee…”

“He says he’s fine. I know. Just contact Johnson. I’ll call back in a little while,” he said then hung up and turned to look at Nelson with innocent eyes. “She’s just worried.”

“Uh huh.” Nelson sighed deeply and lay back against the couch. “She sounded angry to me.”

“You should have been there when she got your note,” Chip muttered quietly.

“I’m glad I wasn’t,” Nelson laughed, then moaned as the pain in his ribs flared.

“So Lin and his spy ring were taken down by whatever happened to you two in Vietnam?” Chip asked.

Nelson nodded. “No harm in telling you everything now. Besides your clearance is high enough and you’ve seen the results of what happened for the most part.”

“Why don’t you fill Chip in on the parts he doesn’t know about while I go get some ice for your face,” Lee said, patting Nelson gently on the leg.

He walked to the sliding glass door that led to the deck and stared in hatred at the man lying there, his empty, soulless eyes open to the sky. So close. One more second and it would be the admiral out there. One more second and we would have been too late, he thought as he listened to Nelson’s voice in the other room tell Chip about the last mission, parts of it in hushed tones.

Closing his eyes to the image of the admiral lying there, he went to the freezer, yanked it open, and grabbed a handful of ice from it. Putting it in a towel he found by the sink, he walked back; glad the two had stopped their talking.

“Here,” he said. “Put that on your face.”

“Thanks, Lee,” Nelson said quietly as he put the towel over his eye, and looked into Lee’s, flinching at the misery he saw there.

The insistent ringing of the phone had Nelson rising slowly, Chip and Lee both reaching hands out to help him up, groaning as he rose. “That’ll be Bill. I’ll take it in the bedroom,” he said limping slowly and a bit unsteadily to the other room where the two officers heard Nelson speaking in soft tones.

Lee sat down and laid his head back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling. “That was too close, Chip. We almost lost him.”

“Yeah. But we weren’t too late. We got here. He’s all right.”

“Barely.”

“Uh, from what he told me, Vietnam was pretty rough.”

“Yeah, it was. That maniac hurt him pretty badly. I…”

“I mean for you.”

“Me? Me! It was nothing for me. I was the one that shot him. I…”

“Stop it, Lee. He’s told you it was an accident. You need to let it go.”

“I can’t, Chip. I almost killed him.”

“Try putting yourself in the admiral’s shoes, Lee. What if he were the one that had triggered the trap? What if you were the one that got hit with the arrow?”

“I wish to God I had been the one.”

“Would you blame him? Or would you do your best to make sure he knew it was an accident as he’s been telling you? You need to stop looking at him and his leg with sad puppy dog eyes filled with guilt. You both have gone through a lot in the past few years, even to the point of attempting to hurt - hell kill - each other and come through on the other side stronger, closer.

Lee stared at his hands. “Those times…we weren’t ourselves,” he said quietly.

“No, but the guilt is the same. Let it go.”

“The man has valid point, Lee.”

Crane turned to see Harry leaning on the wall, a smile on his battered face.

“Easier said than done, Admiral.”

“I know, Lee,” he agreed as he pushed away from the wall and moved towards the two men. Swaying slightly, he reached out for the wall to steady himself. Both men jumped from the couch and hurried to his side.

“Here,” Lee said quietly as he wrapped an arm about Nelson’s shoulders, Chip on the other side. “Sit down before you fall down.

Nelson frowned but allowed himself to be guided back to the couch by his friends, sinking with a grunt into the welcoming softness and sighed.

“Look, Lee Vietnam is in the past. What happened…all of it,” he said softly, his voice breaking slightly, “It’s behind us. And to tell you the truth, despite everything we went through, I’m glad you were there with me. I wouldn’t be alive right now. I’m sure of it. And if I had died in Hung’s camp or in the village or wherever, Tuan’s documents wouldn’t have been retrieved and Lin and his cronies would have put into play whatever maniacal scheme they had planned. It all…mostly all…worked out,” he said, his thoughts slipping to his two friends for a moment.

“All right!” Lee said throwing his hands in the air. “I saved you, the documents and the United States as we know it.”

“Well, I was there, too you know,” Harry said with a twitch of his lips.

“True. Then we’re both heroes,” Lee agreed with a small smile.

“And no one will ever know it,” Chip remarked.

“No one needs to know. We know,” Harry said quietly.

“So what happened with Johnson?” Chip asked.

“Johnson knows what happened and he’ll have someone here shortly to take care of the body. You two might as well stay the night unless you want to drive back in the dark. I can handle Johnson’s men.”

“You’re not coming back?” Lee asked with a touch of annoyance in his voice.

Nelson was silent for a time staring at the floor. “Tomorrow. I…I’ll leave tomorrow,” he said quietly glancing up into Lee’s approving face. “Just want to close the place up. Call Jacob.”

“Good. Then we’ll stay tonight and go back together. Make sure you’re really all right. You shouldn’t be driving anyway,” Chip said in a satisfied tone as he rose from the couch. “What do you have to eat?”

“Eat? After all that’s happened, how can you be hungry?” Nelson asked incredulously.

Chip shrugged. “I missed lunch.”

Nelson laughed softly then moaned as his ribs and split lip protested. “There’s more than enough fish in the freezer for a nice dinner. I can have a nice trout dinner ready in an hour,” he said, starting to rise from the couch, groaning when he felt his injuries protest.

“Or we will have dinner ready in an hour,” Lee said as he pushed Nelson back into the couch, reached down and gently grabbed his legs, putting them up on the coffee table. “Sit there and be quiet. And put the ice back on your face. It’s swelling.”

As Lee rose to go help his executive officer with dinner, Nelson laid his head back against the couch, put the ice over his bruised face and closed his eyes, thinking over the last few weeks. Tuan and An Tien were gone and nothing would ever bring them back, but what they had tried to do had ultimately worked. Lin was dead and his spy ring hopefully broken up. He suspected it would be a long time until they knew how far reaching and how damaging the espionage ring had actually been. He fervently hoped all who had been involved would pay for their sins…pay for killing Tuan and An Tien. At that thought, their faces came to him and he remembered them as he had last seen them, running towards a fight he had run from...a fight they knew they would lose. Although deep inside he knew it had been the right choice, it hurt to know that they were dead, that he hadn’t been able to help and he wondered again how long it would be until the pain, the guilt for their deaths went away.

Sighing, he heard again the words Jacob had spoken to him, telling him he knew what duty sometimes cost, how the past needed to stay in the past and his counsel to find a way out of the dark places where wounded souls hid.

Taking the ice from his bruised face, he let his eyes wander to the kitchen where Lee and Chip worked together to make dinner, and remembered Jacob’s words: “The trick I think is to allow yourself the time to brood, rail at the Fates, throw something through a wall but don’t stay in that dark place or you will find it harder and harder to function and find there are fewer and fewer people by your side.”

As he watched his two young friends work side by side, their easy laughter over some private joke began to ease the knot inside his chest a bit as he realized once again the two officers…friends…brothers…in his kitchen would always be by his side, waiting, helping, protecting.

With a smile, he put the ice back over his eyes, sighed and lay back, knowing he’d always have a way out of the dark places as long as the two in his kitchen were around. And he knew without a doubt, they would be.

The End