Authors: Claude Bouchard
“I hadn’t noticed
that but you’re right,” said Sandy. “They should build hotels this quiet.”
Cathy moved toward
the bedroom and the others fell silent as they rose and followed her.
“There,” Cathy
whispered. “Did you hear that?”
“It seemed to come
from the bathroom,” said Josée.
Cathy stepped
forward and pushed the door open. “Hello?”
“
Xin chào
,”
came the singsong response, clearly the voice of a child.
“Where are you?”
asked Cathy as the three women scanned the bathroom.
“
Xin chào
,”
the child repeated.
“Oh my God,” Sandy
gasped as she pointed to a dark opening in the wall by the shower stall. “There
he is.”
Within the duct
beyond the opened vent, they could see the young boy’s face offering a shy
smile.
“Hello, how are
you?” asked Cathy, crouching down but keeping her distance to avoid frightening
the boy.
“
Xin chào
,”
the child replied then giggled.
“I don’t think he
speaks English,” Josée murmured.
“Good point,” said
Cathy then smiled at the boy. “Do you speak English?”
“
Đến
đây
,” replied the boy, snaking an arm out though the opening and
gesturing Cathy closer before calling out, “
Mẹ
.”
Getting on her
hands and knees, Cathy crawled the short distance to the vent.
“
Mẹ
,”
the boy called his mother again as he disappeared from view, returning to his
family now that his job was done.
“Hello?” Cathy
called cautiously into the vent. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes,” a woman
replied. “I am Viet, the boy’s mother.”
“I’m so happy you
speak English,” said Cathy. “So, you are the general’s daughter.”
“That is correct,”
Viet confirmed. “My sons recognized you or your friends from their visit at the
zoo on Saturday. I am sorry for their spying on you in the bathroom. They are
an adventurous pair.”
“No need to
apologize,” Cathy replied. “Thanks to them, we’re now in contact. Your mother
is with you as well, right? You’re all okay?”
“Yes, she is and
we are fine,” said Viet, “But we are worried, frightened and angry. I hope you
and your friends are also fine. How many are you?”
“There are three
of us. My name is Cathy and I’m here with Sandy and Josée. Our husbands are
working with your father to try to catch this horrible man, Scorpion, which
explains why we are here.”
“We must find a
way to get out of here,” said Viet. “I am worried, especially for my sons. I am
afraid this mad man will harm them if he must to get what he wants.”
“Have you or your
family been mistreated in any way?” asked Cathy with concern.
“Not so far,” Viet
replied. “In fact, since we were brought to our rooms, the only time anyone
showed up was to bring us dinner yesterday and breakfast this morning. They
even knocked, waited a moment to enter and were very polite.”
“Same with us,”
said Cathy, “But you’re right that things could change. We checked the windows
and there’s no way to remove those safety grills but maybe there’s a way out
through these vents.”
“I don’t think
so,” Viet disagreed. “The duct is not big enough. Van is small so he can get
through. Xuan, my other son, managed as well but he said it was a bit tight
because he’s bigger.”
“I guess you’re
right,” Cathy admitted as she realized the duct beyond was about the same
dimensions as the vent opening before her.
“It is
unfortunate,” Viet added, “Because following some questioning, both boys
admitted to having gone exploring several times since yesterday. They made it
to the opposite end of the house and found themselves in a room housing the
ventilation system. In that room is a door leading to the outside.”
“This is so
frustrating,” Cathy muttered, “Though that door is probably locked.”
“Not from the
inside, according to my son, Xuan,” Viet replied. “He went off on one of his
little adventures while we were sleeping, climbed out of the duct in that
ventilation room and tried the door. It opened. He even went outside.”
“Are you serious?”
Cathy exclaimed. “That could have been dangerous. He might have got caught.”
“Let me assure you
I’ve explained that to him,” said Viet then chuckled, “And he told me to calm
down and stop worrying so much.”
Cathy laughed.
“You’ve got one tough boy.”
“Make that two,”
Viet corrected before joking, “Maybe I should sent them out to get some help.”
“Please tell me
you’re kidding,” Cathy replied.
“Of course I am,”
said Viet, “But there’s nothing wrong with dreaming a bit when stuck in this
kind of situation.”
“You’re right and
it could lead to some ideas,” said Cathy. “There has to be some way to get out
of here. Let me talk to the others and tell them what you’ve told me. We can
chat again in fifteen minutes to see what we’ve come up with.”
“Okay,” Viet
agreed, “And if I need to speak to you sooner, I will send one of my
messengers.”
* * * *
“Everything under
control?” asked Scorpion as he sauntered into the kitchen for his first cup of
coffee where Thao sat surfing on his laptop.
“Of course it is,”
Thao scoffed. “What kind of trouble are you expecting from a handful of
housewives and a couple of kids?”
“Never
underestimate anyone you deal with,” Scorpion shot back, “Especially if it
could result in consequences for me. Got it?”
“Sorry, boss,”
Thao replied. “That’s not what I meant. I’ve got two guys in the hallway
outside their rooms at all times. The doors are solid and they’re locked from
the outside. The only way through those grills in the windows would be with a
hacksaw or a blowtorch. Plus, nobody was looking for any trouble when we
brought them dinner and breakfast. It’s all under control.”
“Make sure it
stays that way,” Scorpion ordered. “Where are the others?”
“The guys I had on
watch overnight are sleeping,” Thao reported. “The others are hanging out by
the pool.”
“Yeah, this is a
damned vacation,” Scorpion muttered. “Can I impose and ask you to have someone
take a stroll around once in a while?”
“Already being
done, boss,” Thao replied, hoping to change the subject. “By the way, have you
contacted Quang or the others yet?”
“No, I’m still
waiting for some information to determine where we’ll go from here,” Scorpion
replied. “Anyhow, keeping Quang and his buddies waiting for a bit will simply
give them time to realize I’m running this show, not them.”
With a cup in
hand, he headed out of the kitchen, saying over his shoulder as he went, “Now,
do me a favour and go tell some of those idiots you hired to get off their
butts and do a bit of patrolling for a change.”
* * * *
“Are you serious?”
asked Cathy.
“Yes, absolutely,”
Viet confirmed through the ventilation duct. “The more I think about it, the
more it makes sense and my mother agrees with me.”
“But you could be
putting your sons in danger,” Cathy argued. “What if they get caught?”
“They already are
in danger,” Viet replied, “And they are currently being held captive. If they
get caught, nothing will have changed but if they don’t, they will be free and
out of danger.”
“I can’t argue
with that,” Cathy admitted after a moment. “How do your sons feel about this?”
Viet sighed with
worry. “They’re excited like it’s an adventure. It’s actually Xuan, my older
one, who suggested it. When I repeated our earlier conversation to my mother,
he jumped up when I mentioned sending them to get help and pleaded to go and
Van quickly joined in.”
“But, where will
they go once they get outside?” asked Cathy, still unconvinced this was a good
idea.
“I asked Xuan the
same thing,” Viet replied. “He told me there is a door in the wall enclosing
the property and, if it’s locked there are several trees near the wall they can
climb to get over it. He also said there are bushes and rocks where they can
hide as they move to the wall.”
“Wow, he’s got it
all planned out,” said Cathy, impressed.
“He has always
been very observant,” Viet explained, “Which is proving rather helpful right
now.”
“What’s the plan
once they get past the wall?” asked Cathy, putting a positive spin on her
question.
“My mother is
writing a note for the boys to take with them,” Viet replied. “Our hosts were
kind enough to let Van keep his crayons and drawing paper. We hope my sons will
find someone who can call my father and tell him where we are. How many men
were involved when you were kidnapped?”
“Six,” Cathy
replied.
“There were six
with us as well,” said Viet. “I don’t know if they are all still here or if
some have left. I would like my father to know how many men he may be dealing
against.”
“You can only tell
him what you know,” said Cathy. “Once he knows where we are, he, our husbands
and the others will figure out the rest.”
“You’re right,”
Viet agreed. “I only hope they figure it out soon and end this nightmare.”
“I know they
will,” said Cathy. “So, when are your sons leaving?”
“As soon as my
mother has finished the note and we have a last talk with them,” Viet replied.
“In five minutes or so. I am scared now.”
“It will be fine,
Viet,” Cathy promised. “You’ve convinced me of that.”
* * * *
Vũng Tàu,
Vietnam, late morning
“Are they really
in there?” asked Dave, getting a brief glimpse within the walls of the Cao
property in Vũng Tàu as they drove past the gated entrance.
“We’re going to do
our damnedest to find out, buddy,” Chris replied from behind the wheel.
“Didn’t get to see
much,” Dave muttered as he stared at the brick wall now blocking his view.
“Relax, Dave,”
said Jonathan. “We’re going to gather as much information as we can from all
sides. Leslie and Steve will have a better chance to look in on foot up here
and Jerry should be getting a bird’s eye view any minute. Regardless, it’s not
like they’re going to keep any hostages out in the garden or by the pool out
back.”
“I know,” Dave
replied, “But I wish we were doing more than driving by on our way to look at a
brick wall from the park. I want to get in there, get the girls and Quang’s
family out and take these bastards down.”
“Which is what
we’ll do once we have a better idea of what we’re dealing with,” said Jonathan.
“We’re better off taking our time and succeeding than rushing in half-assed and
screwing up what might be our only chance at taking them by surprise.”
Dave sighed. “I’m
not disagreeing with you but I don’t see how we’re actually going to find
anything useful so we’re probably just wasting precious time.”
“Any little bit
which can help will be worth it, Dave,” said Chris as they came to a stop in
the lot at the park. “We’ll find something.”
* * * *
“Stay here until I
come back to get you,” Xuan whispered, “And don’t make any noise. Okay?”
Van nodded,
looking solemn. “Yes,
Bà
told me to listen to you or I would be in
trouble.”
“I’ll be back
soon,” said Xuan. “If you hear me scream, go back to
Bà
and
Me
as
fast as you can.”
Van nodded again
but remained silent this time as he watched his brother push the grill open and
stick his head out, peering cautiously from side to side before crawling out
onto the concrete floor of the room beyond and closing the grill behind him.
After ensuring
nobody lurked amidst the ventilation equipment which hummed to keep the large
house cool, the seven year old crept to the door which he knew from his
previous snooping opened onto the hallway leading to the rooms he and Van had
escaped from. It had been dark on his earlier mission and, once into the
ventilation room, he had noticed a slit of light coming in from under the door.
Dropping to his
hands and knees and then lying flat on his stomach, he peeked through the gap
and noted the two men sprawled on armchairs halfway down the hallway, much the
same as he had seen on his earlier visit. Hopeful that the guards would remain
where they were, he rose to his feet and made his way to the short staircase
leading up to the door through which he had exited the house earlier.
Ducking low as he
reached the top of the stairs, he then slowly raised his head enough to peer
outside through the door’s window. Seeing no one in the immediate vicinity, he
turned the knob and pulled, inching the door open until he had sufficient room
to slip out. Flowered shrubs he had noticed on his first venture offered cover
on either side of the doorway but as he scanned the landscaped side yard, there
was nobody in sight to see him anyhow.