lingering doubts that might remain buried in the depths of his subconscious mind.
Troung arranged to have a meeting set up with one of his more effective agents in the Kontum area. He would go himself to see that the job was properly done. This operation had taken on a personal aspect. He owed the American for both the loss of his hand and much of his self-respect. He was grateful that Comrade Ho had shown such understanding in the matter. It would not have been unusual for Ho to have ordered him executed for a failure of such magnitude. He would not fail his master again.
Captain Gomez and Casey sat in the transient barracks talking over their options. Casey told Gomez how to get in touch with Phang through a Chinese merchant that the old bastard dealt with on a regular basis. All he had to do was give the Chinese Casey's name and where he could be contacted and Phang would do the rest. As for Van, all that was necessary was for someone to call LLDB Headquarters in Saigon on Rue Le Van Diet and they'd be able to get in touch with him. Casey warned Gomez not to divulge the reason they wished Van assigned to them. Even the Vietnamese Special Forces were known to have their full share of enemy agents in their midst, though they were a bit more secure than the ARVIN forces. Gomez agreed. He arranged through the commander of the 5th Special Forces Group Vietnam to have Van come to them by way of personal request from one commander to another. This wouldn't be very difficult, as they and the SF men now had much in common. The Phoenix Operation had many of the Green Bereted jungle experts in their ranks.
Gomez avoided the temptation to question his new associate about his past, instinctively knowing the man would give him nothing. He had read Casey's 201 himself and, while the man's past had many gaps in it, what they had been able to find out from friends in the Deuxieme Bureau about his service with the French forces gave them no reason to doubt his hatred for the communists. It had been proven by his many decorations while in the service of the French in Indochina and Algeria. In a strange manner he didn't feel superior in rank to the sergeant and knew that he'd do well to listen, more than talk. He didn't know where Romain had come from and, at this point, didn't really care. He didn't think he was German, though his file said he was born there and he spoke it fluently. He also spoke French, English and even Vietnamese to some degree. The more holes he found in Romain's history, the more fascinating the subject became. As to their future association, he would wait and see. If Romain decided to tell him more, then he would listen. He knew there was nothing he could do to threaten a man like this. Threats of a court-martial or bad assignments would mean less than nothing to him. Romain had something in back of his eyes that went beyond the more mundane penalties of a contemporary military existence. Whatever was going to come down now, Gomez would readily have given odds, it was going to be entertaining and deadly.
CHAPTER SEVEN
It took the better part of a week before Gomez could relay to Casey that Tomlin had sent for the Kamserai chieftain, Phang. He would be brought to them in a couple of days. Right now the arrangements were being made for a chopper pickup. As for his Vietnamese friend, even though he applied all the pressure he could, Van was not available. He was on an operation and couldn't be released at this time. However LLDB Headquarters in Saigon had promised him that as soon as he finished his mission they would assign him to Colonel Tomlin and the Phoenix Project.
Colonel Ho van Tuyen was not waiting for anyone. He gave the orders for the Ke’ sat Nhan to go into an operational mode immediately. Borrowing a card from the British, when they'd used the BBC to broadcast orders to French resistance in World War Two, Ho used the government radio station in Saigon to spread his orders to kill over the
Troung arranged to have a meeting set up with one of his more effective agents in the Kontum area. He would go himself to see that the job was properly done. This operation had taken on a personal aspect. He owed the American for both the loss of his hand and much of his self-respect. He was grateful that Comrade Ho had shown such understanding in the matter. It would not have been unusual for Ho to have ordered him executed for a failure of such magnitude. He would not fail his master again.
Captain Gomez and Casey sat in the transient barracks talking over their options. Casey told Gomez how to get in touch with Phang through a Chinese merchant that the old bastard dealt with on a regular basis. All he had to do was give the Chinese Casey's name and where he could be contacted and Phang would do the rest. As for Van, all that was necessary was for someone to call LLDB Headquarters in Saigon on Rue Le Van Diet and they'd be able to get in touch with him. Casey warned Gomez not to divulge the reason they wished Van assigned to them. Even the Vietnamese Special Forces were known to have their full share of enemy agents in their midst, though they were a bit more secure than the ARVIN forces. Gomez agreed. He arranged through the commander of the 5th Special Forces Group Vietnam to have Van come to them by way of personal request from one commander to another. This wouldn't be very difficult, as they and the SF men now had much in common. The Phoenix Operation had many of the Green Bereted jungle experts in their ranks.
Gomez avoided the temptation to question his new associate about his past, instinctively knowing the man would give him nothing. He had read Casey's 201 himself and, while the man's past had many gaps in it, what they had been able to find out from friends in the Deuxieme Bureau about his service with the French forces gave them no reason to doubt his hatred for the communists. It had been proven by his many decorations while in the service of the French in Indochina and Algeria. In a strange manner he didn't feel superior in rank to the sergeant and knew that he'd do well to listen, more than talk. He didn't know where Romain had come from and, at this point, didn't really care. He didn't think he was German, though his file said he was born there and he spoke it fluently. He also spoke French, English and even Vietnamese to some degree. The more holes he found in Romain's history, the more fascinating the subject became. As to their future association, he would wait and see. If Romain decided to tell him more, then he would listen. He knew there was nothing he could do to threaten a man like this. Threats of a court-martial or bad assignments would mean less than nothing to him. Romain had something in back of his eyes that went beyond the more mundane penalties of a contemporary military existence. Whatever was going to come down now, Gomez would readily have given odds, it was going to be entertaining and deadly.
CHAPTER SEVEN
It took the better part of a week before Gomez could relay to Casey that Tomlin had sent for the Kamserai chieftain, Phang. He would be brought to them in a couple of days. Right now the arrangements were being made for a chopper pickup. As for his Vietnamese friend, even though he applied all the pressure he could, Van was not available. He was on an operation and couldn't be released at this time. However LLDB Headquarters in Saigon had promised him that as soon as he finished his mission they would assign him to Colonel Tomlin and the Phoenix Project.
Colonel Ho van Tuyen was not waiting for anyone. He gave the orders for the Ke’ sat Nhan to go into an operational mode immediately. Borrowing a card from the British, when they'd used the BBC to broadcast orders to French resistance in World War Two, Ho used the government radio station in Saigon to spread his orders to kill over the
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