Page 76 of Cry Havoc

“We pass it through the ministry here and also through therezidentin Bangkok.”

“Do it. Small team. Their mission is to eliminate two SOG operators at a CIA safe house in Saigon.”

“It will be done, Major.”

CHAPTER 24

Saigon, Vietnam

January 31, 1968

AT FIRST IT SOUNDEDlike fireworks. It was Tet after all, and Serrano had told them celebrations were going to get loud.

A minute later, Tom was sure it wasn’t fireworks. He threw his feet from his bed and checked his watch. It was just after midnight.

Serrano had put them up in a safe house on the west side of the Khánh H?i Bridge that connected districts one and four. It was a three-story building that blended in with the rest of the neighborhood. It was stocked with food and varying sizes of clothing for both men and women.

He put on his jeans and was pulling a black polo over his head when he heard two taps at his bedroom door.

“Tom.”

Quinn was already dressed. His new 1911 holstered at his side.

They were both set to leave the next morning to escort Amiuh to Kontum and then chopper to his village in the highlands.

Tom nodded at the .45 caliber pistol in his friend’s hand. The tomahawk was on his belt. “What do you do, sleep with those things?”

“I would, if I slept.”

Tom picked up the Mini-Browning Hi-Power from his bedside table,ensured there was a round in the chamber, and holstered it. He then sat back down on the bed and slid into his Converse high-tops before joining Quinn in the main living space.

They kept the lights off and stayed back from the windows.

“I tried to call Serrano. Phones are down,” Quinn said.

“Terrific.”

“Something big is happening.”

Tracers lit up the sky while explosions reverberated across the city.

“That’s not a Vietnamese New Year’s celebration. What do you think? A coup?” Tom speculated.

“Another one?”

“Can’t be NVA in Saigon, can it?”

“I don’t know.”

“VC?”

“Looks too big for them, but who knows?”

If the RPG had been shot from a little farther out to change the angle, or had Quinn and Tom been standing closer to the windows, they would certainly be dead. As it was, the ceiling absorbed most of the impact, showering them with debris. The overpressure of the explosion stole their hearing and replaced it with a painful ringing.

“You good?” Quinn yelled, pushing himself back to his feet.

“Yeah,” Tom shouted back, coughing to clear his lungs of the smoke that now filled the room. “RPG?”