Restless Soul - Alex Archer [97]
“Anything else?”
He gave her a blank look.
“Is there anything else you can tell me about the city?”
“I attended school there. It was the capital of the Nguyen lords.”
She had no idea what that was, nor was she particularly interested. But she wanted to keep him talking. “Go on, Nang.”
“Hue was the national capital until near the end of the Second World War. That was when Bao Dai abdicated as emperor and a new government was established.”
“That would be the communist one.”
“Saigon in the south became the new capital. And Hanoi in the north. Saigon is called Ho Chi Minh City now.”
“Hue looks like it sits on the border between North and South Vietnam.” Annja had noticed that from craning her neck and looking at the map when he had it opened.
“The Battle of Hue was in 1968, the year my older brother was born. The city was hurt very bad by American bombs. Only in recent times are some of the buildings being restored. But some will never be fixed.”
She came to a wider road and took it, snaking around a rice field and passing an impressive-looking temple. Her stomach had finally settled down, and she wished she had bought some candy bars or nuts at the gas station. At least she’d picked up a few cans of Cheerwine cherry cola and a six-pack of Red Bull. They’d cost her four or five times what she would have paid for them in New York. She reached behind Nang’s seat.
“Want one?” She gave him a cola and pulled out two Red Bulls for herself.
It was hot, even after the sun set, and despite their speed clouds of gnats stayed with the Jeep, sticking to her skin. She liked the smell of the country, though mostly what she picked up was damp earth. It was preferable to the smog of Chiang Mai and the ugly odors of the antiques shop and the alley.
She let herself breathe deep.
“You are not going to let me go, are you? You are going to kill me and leave my flesh to rot,” Nang said.
Annja stayed silent. Let him remain in fear of her to keep him cooperative. She didn’t like herself very much at this moment. Several moments later, she said, “We’ll see, Nang. We’ll see.”
29
To avoid a checkpoint along the road, Annja cut across a field, nearly miring the Jeep in mud. Her passport might have sufficed to get her across the border without too many questions, but she couldn’t risk Nang causing problems.
She took him into the restroom with her when they stopped at a gas station a few miles over the Vietnam border. It was a small town, and the station had been ready to close. The owner accepted her Thailand baht, but charged her extra because he would lose some money in converting it to dong. She’d needed Nang to translate for her, and she hoped he hadn’t said anything foolish like, “Help, I’ve been kidnapped by a mad woman.”
She loaded up on candy bars and chips, which was all the fare for sale, and ushered Nang back into the Jeep, watching him while she filled the tank. If her calculations were correct, she wouldn’t have to stop for gas again until they were headed back out of the country. Correction, she thought, until she was headed back. She’d leave Nang in Hue and hope against hope that he would find a different calling than smuggling. Maybe he would have to if she could catch Lanh Vuong and return him to prison.
“Are you married, Nang?”
“No.”
“Is there someone you—”
“No.”
She wondered how Luartaro was doing and if he’d been able to return to the treasure cave with the authorities. She wished she could have called him from the antiques store to tell him what was going on and where she was going. Maybe if there was a consulate in Hue she would stop and try to reach him.
When Nang fell asleep, she coasted to the side of the road and extricated the map from his hands. She found a small flashlight in the glove box and used it to check her route. Annja was proficient at reading maps, but the inset map for Hue was tiny and listed only major roads. She would wake Nang when they reached the city.
Hue sat