Within the first minute of the next great motorbike chase—there had been many during this young rebellion—she witnessed a cloud of dust in front of her rolling off the back of Minh’s motorbike. It felt too easy. The young woman maxed the throttle and bounced fluidly over the pock-ridden country path until she ate his dust between her teeth. He puttered like a thirteen-year-old, she thought as she punched out to the right and pulled alongside.
“Stop,” she yelled into the wind. “Stop.”
The young fool didn’t, and he would pay. She would make sure of it. She swerved quickly to the left in front of him. He braked—the back tire locked onto the dirt and skidded sideways, knocking the bike off its tires and sprawling Minh to the side in a ball of hurt. The young woman screeched to a stop and ran over to the boy.
Minh backed away, mostly unscathed from the accident.
“I’m not going back. I’m going to prove to you everything I said is true.”
“Do you know how much trouble you’re in?”
“I’m not going back there. They don’t want to know the truth.”
“Like you know everything?”
“Yes. Yes, I do know everything.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“What a great plan.”
“I’ll think of something. I’ll get into the facility, and I’ll free Cuong. You’ll see.”
“You’ll get into the facility? You don’t even know how to get into Hanoi. The patrols will eat you alive.”
“I’ve made it this far.”
“Yeah.” She approached him. “How do you explain that? How did you get this far? A woman with large breasts?”
“What?”
“The guards said a woman with large breasts accosted them. This makes no sense. What happened back there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was it …?” She didn’t finish it.
He saw the wondering in her eyes. “You do believe me.”
“What happened back there with the guards?”
“It’s all a blur. When I got to the bottom of the hill, the guards overwhelmed me, and then suddenly this woman cracks them all upside the head with a series of kicks, and …”
“Who was it?”
“I didn’t get a good look at her.”
“Liar.”
“All right, maybe it was Lady Trieu. I don’t know.”
The young woman turned her back to him in frustration. “What’s going on?” she repeated several times to herself.
“What’s your name?”
“Nhan.” She faced him.
“What are you, twenty?”
“I’m sixteen.”
“Sixteen?”
“You thought I was older?”
“How’s a sixteen-year-old girl get to whiz in and out of rebel headquarters anytime she pleases?”
“None of your business. And how’s a thirteen-year-old barely in puberty able to escape from the facility. Nobody does that.”
“Maybe I know the right people. And I’m not in puberty. I’m a man.”
“You’re a childish boy.”
“I could whip you any day.”
“Oh, I wish you’d try.”
Minh lunged and tackled her into the tall weeds. She twirled her right elbow around and smacked the boy in the side of the face. He grunted once and escalated the issue with another assault which landed his body on top of hers. She flung him to the side and kneed him in the gut. He coughed for air and flailed his arms back and forth until he panicked and yelled “stop” repeatedly.
“What is it? You afraid a girl will beat you up?”
“Stop, stop. The marble tablet. Careful. I can’t break it.”
Nhan stood up immediately and looked around. “Where is it? Did you lose it?”
Minh scrambled for it in the grass for a moment before clasping it high as a trophy over his head. “Here. It’s here. It looks okay. Wait. Why do you care so much about it?”
“Cause I’m familiar with it.”
“Why didn’t you tell the commander about it?”
“He doesn’t believe in those things. My mother told me about Ong Tho and his tablets. I even went to his house once when I was very little.”
“Then you were right across from my house. I’m his neighbor. Why did you mother visit him?” She didn’t respond. Minh pressed. “What did she find out?”
“Nothing. Only that … it doesn’t matter. She died.”
Minh remained silent. He slid the marble tablet back into this pocket. “How did you get into the rebellion?”
She hesitated. “The rebel commander is my father.”
“Commander Lieu? He’s your father?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She walked towards Minh with aggressive resolve. “Look, tell me the truth. Did you really see Lady Trieu?”
“I swear, it’s true. Everything. I could never make all this up.”
“Okay.”
“So you believe me?”
“It doesn’t matter what I believe. It matters what I see. Take me to her.”
“I can’t take you to her.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know where she is.”
“I thought she was in the lake.”
“She was, but who knows where she is now. I mean she was just …” He pointed back in the direction they had come from.
“Then what do you want to do?”
“I want to go back to the facility. I want to get Cuong out. I want to find my mother and Tho. Maybe Lady Trieu will meet us there, and we can confront Sun Quan.”
“Boy, are you naive. How are we going to get into the facility?”
“I got out, didn’t I? Isn’t escaping prison more difficult than entering?”
She shook her head. “What a foolish boy.”
“I’m not a boy. I’m almost the same age as you.”
“I’m three years older.”
“Two and a half.”
“Sorry, I didn’t recognize your maturity.”
“If you want to see Lady Trieu, our best bet is heading to the facility.”
“All right.” Nhan walked over to her motorbike and sat on the front edge of the seat. “Leave yours here and get on the back of mine.”
Minh balked. “No, I’m not riding with you anymore.”
She jumped off and punched him in the arm. “This is not a negotiation. I’ll get us into Hanoi, you dumb boy. You get us to Lady Trieu. Now get on.”
She was pretty. That’s the moment he noticed, with her hand wagging in his face and the insults rolling off her lips. The youngness of her countenance shown through, and for a still moment in time, Minh felt like the boy going through puberty.
“All right.” He gulped and obeyed, thinking only about whether he would be able to put his arms around her—not that he liked her, she obviously annoyed him—but putting his arms around her to hold on would certainly be better than holding the hand grips off the back end of the motorbike’s seat. And safer, he thought. Because suddenly safety was something to be treasured as they embarked on their impossible and foolhardy journey back to the facility.
“Well?” Her impatience fluttered like a flag in the wind.
“All right.”
He climbed on behind her. The hands? Where to put them? And he remembered that he had already hung his arms around her midsection on the previous ride, when her being a girl had meant nothing to him, so he tested it, slowly grabbing both sides of her torso, and she didn’t yell. He would enjoy this ride into the belly of hell, for the last ride of one’s life should be cherished, should it not?
Nhan guided them through a maze of serene rice paddies which tempered the death and war hanging over Hanoi. One could plant himself knee-deep in a paddy beside a gray-haired water buffalo and believe nothing mattered more than the growth of those young shoots of grain. But then a military helicopter would zoom overhead to remind all of the present realities. The two on the motorbike zipped through tiny villages, crossed streams on dangerous one-way suspension bridges, and eventually had to navigate the suburbs north of the Red River. She came to a stop along the edge of the river with the backdrop of Hanoi proper spilling over the bank on the other side. They hid behind a row of newly built, unoccupied houses.
“Quick, open the back gate of that house.”
“Why?”
“Just do it, Minh.” He reached through the gate and unlatched a swing-open walking door. “Now go inside the front room, and sit on the floor away from the window.”
“Why? What is this place?”
“Do it! I’ll be back within an hour. It should be dark by then.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just stay out of sight.”
Minh walked into the vacant house. It had no furniture, but looked newly painted. He obeyed her last command and sat against the wall away from the window. He waited two minutes. His stomach growled. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten or drunk anything. He stood up and walked out of the back room and into the kitchen. There was no refrigerator. He turned on the faucet, but water had yet to be hooked up. He sat on the kitchen counter and swung his feet back and forth, hitting the underneath cabinet in a steady cadence.
“I’m so hungry,” he spoke out loud. He wondered if there were any shops nearby. He didn’t remember seeing one as they streaked to the edge of the river. She told me to stay out of sight, he thought. Wait. She’s not my boss. I know more about the rebellion than she does. He stood up and peeked into the front room. I’m hungry. He walked into room and unlocked the wooden door. She’s not the boss of me. I have to keep up my strength. He opened the door to a vacant street of empty houses. He turned right down the street. I’ll just peek around the corner. I won’t go far. He walked down one alley and finally heard some traffic, or at least some semblance of life. He turned onto a side street and ran directly into a bread seller with a small glass display stand on the side of the road.
“Ma’am, could I please have a loaf of bread.”
“You see the price.”
“I don’t have any money.”
“Nobody does these days. That’s why I’m selling bread.”
“Please, just one.”
“I can’t feed all of Hanoi. Now run along.”
Minh came closer to the woman. He paused as he glanced down at his pocket, then he pulled out the marble tablet like a Brooklyn street watch seller. “Look, ma’am. I have the marble tablet.” He reached into his pocket and displayed the strange item to the woman looking at him queerly.
“What do I want with a marble tablet?”
“You don’t understand. I’m that one you probably heard about. I have it.”
“What are you babbling about?”
“The tablet. It’s magic.”
“Then why don’t you make some money appear, so you can buy your bread.”
Minh slid the tablet back into his pocket. “Please, ma’am. You don’t understand.”
“I understand your likes very well.”
“I’m with the rebellion.”
“Don’t be bringing politics into it. I just need a little money. And I don’t mean that Chinese money. I only use the real stuff with Uncle Ho’s picture on it.”
“But ma’am …”
“Run along. I get enough harassment with that blasted patrol. I don’t need a whining boy—”
“Patrols come through here?”
“What are you, stupid? All these houses behind here were built by the Hans. They’re swarming this place like the mosquitoes at my ankles.” She glanced at him with a harsh look. “Don’t think about grabbing one and running, either. I’m watching you.”
Minh couldn’t take his eyes off the bread, but he backed away, hoping that the marble tablet would indeed turn into a crisp bill. That’s when he realized two soldiers on foot patrol stared at him from a short distance. They had turned the corner and conversed with each other, pointing over at the boy negotiating his meal. Minh’s eyes froze when his glance squared with theirs. He backed up slowly not moving his gaze, wondering which of his limited options would most likely keep him from being captured or killed.
I’m just a boy to them, he said to himself as he continued a slow-motion backpedal.
“See, they’re here already,” said the woman. “They’re looking at you. Whatever you do, don’t run.”
Minh bolted. He heard a yell behind him, followed by a bullet that ricocheted over a house above his shoulder. He sprinted down the side street with his loose sandals flopping methodically on the pavement. He didn’t look back but kept patting his pocket to make sure the marble tablet continued the journey with him. He heard yelling as he ducked down the corner alley off the back end of the row of houses.
“Lady Trieu, please.”
He made it to the house and flipped up the metal latch on the walk-in door. He dashed inside and slid against the wall.
I left the gate open, he remembered. He glanced out the window and the two soldiers entered holding their rifles at alert. Think, think. Lady Trieu. Can you hear my thoughts? All he could think of was that flawless face from the water, stern and calm, confident and fierce. He heard talking.
“We found it,” said one in Chinese into his device. Minh didn’t understand them. “The boy went in there. The one that escaped. Yes. We’ll bring him.”
Minh had his ear to the wall, listening to the shuffling and muffled voices on the other side. They tried the handle of the door. He had locked it. A thud against the door rattled him, but they couldn’t break through. A rifle butt crashed through the glass of the window, and Minh screamed and jolted backwards. The window had bars preventing the soldiers’ entrance. One poked a rifle barrel in and fired two rounds. The other soldier yelled at him and a second thud banged against the door. Then another shot exploded through the lock mechanism and they kicked open the door. Minh screamed and ran across the room but froze solid against the far wall after another shot pierced the wall behind him. He turned around, shaking, arms at his side. He slipped his hand into his right pocket to touch the marble tablet, hoping to ignite a little magic.
“No,” he said, as the soldiers inched towards him without a word. They could have killed him already, so he figured they wanted him alive. Run was the word he heard in his mind, but his feet felt attached to the floor with concrete. Run, he told himself again. His cement-block feet broke free and he skirted around the corner of the door and into the kitchen. He heard the soldiers yelling as they came toward him. He called for the lady of the lake once more as he huddled in a ball, arms over his face, and pretended he hid in an impenetrable cocoon. They would be upon him in seconds and only fate could save him now. A vision of his mother slipped into his mind and tears formed their overt deeds in the corners of his eyes. He had no escape. He could only welcome whatever fate had willed. As his muddled mind ground out his final thoughts, he jerked violently and lifted his head as two gunshots reverberated in the other room, followed by tandem thuds to the floor. Minh didn’t move. Not an inch. He heard footsteps. Then a voice.
“What happened? I told you to stay in the house.”
Nhan stood to his left.
“It’s clear,” said a voice behind her. “But this location is blown. We’ve gotta go, now!”
She looked back at the hidden voice before turning towards Minh.
“Well?”
He still had not moved.
“I was trying to buy bread.”
“You stupid, stupid boy. This was our safe house. Now it’s blown. Come on. Now.”
His feet obeyed but his being wished it could remain behind. He walked into the back room and both Chinese soldiers lay face down in a pool of blood. A rebel soldier stood behind them with a pistol.
“You know where to go?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “What about the bodies?”
“I’ll drag them down the bank and toss them in river after dark.”
“And this place?”
The man looked at Minh with tense lips but didn’t say anything. They all knew what it meant.
“Minh, let’s go.”
“They’ll be on your trail,” said the man.
“I know. Don’t worry. I got the boy with me.” She emphasized “boy” using her best sardonic expression. “What could go wrong? Minh. Let’s go.”
They exited the house, into the courtyard, across the narrow path on the bank’s edge, and slipped over it down to the edge of the river.
“Where are we going?”
“We have to get to another crossing. We got about thirty minutes till it’s dark. Keep your head down and stay hidden as much as possible. You think you can do that?”
“Stop treating me like a baby.”
“You are a baby. You had to go get food?”
“I was hungry.”
“Sorry that this rebellion has gotten in the way of your dinner, you baby!”
“Shut up.”
“You shut up!”
“You shut up!”
She turned around with a flailing fist and shoved it next to his mouth. “How about we both shut up before we each get a bullet to the head?”
Minh agreed to such a common sense compromise.