Shock of War - [Red Dragon Rising 03]

by Larry Bond

  There was no longer a question of survival. The worst of the typhoon had passed.

  Silas, still manning the wheel, turned to his crew. A relief team had come up; the seamen who’d been injured had been helped to sick bay.

  When? Hours ago? Minutes? He couldn’t remember or calculate.

  His hands trembled when he took them off the wheel, turning it over to petty officer Gordon.

  “Lieutenant Cradle, I’m going below to check on the ship,” he told the officer of the deck.

  “Sir.”

  It was a good, bracing response. Silas nodded.

  Lt. Commander Li met him in the CIC. Her face looked bleached white, except for the purplish welts beneath her eyes.

  “Commander, you were right,” he told Li. “I owe you and the ship’s crew an apology.”

  Her lower lip trembled. She half nodded, then struggled to respond. “Commander, the merchant ships…”

  Silas frowned, waiting for the news.

  “The ships are three miles from us,” she told him. “East.”

  “East?”

  “Yes, sir. We’re between them and the port,” she told him. “You did it.”

  “We did it,” said Silas. “Get the boarding teams ready. I’ll be on the bridge.”

  ~ * ~

  5

  Quàng Ninh Province

  Christian was dead.

  There was no way of knowing which of the several bullets that had hit him had killed him. Most had left large gouges in his body, thick angry welts.

  The hole near the middle of his forehead was small, cut by a 9 mm bullet. Probably the same one that had grazed Zeus on the cheek, though no one would ever know for sure.

  For much of the time he had known him, Zeus had despised Christian. He’d been an uptight prig at West Point, an insufferable know-it-all as Perry’s aide.

  A crazy idiot when they’d escaped through China.

  But now Zeus remembered him as a valuable soldier. He’d proven himself on the Hainan mission.

  And in China, and again blowing the last bridge. Maybe he’d been the one who fixed the charge—no one would ever know, because the sapper had died as well.

  You’re not the only nut.

  ~ * ~

  The storm and the destruction of the two bridges broke the Chinese tank brigade into three different knots. The rising water and flooded fields made it impossible for the tanks to advance. Using coordinates from the company near the second bridge, the Vietnamese began sending 120mm artillery rounds against the five tanks that had come farthest south.

  Their marksmanship left something to be desired. Out of two dozen shells, only one had struck a tank. The commander, who had precious few armor-piercing rounds to begin with, called a halt to the shelling, deciding that his men would do better once the storm subsided. But the shelling convinced the Chinese that it would be foolhardy to remain where they were, and the lead element attempted to pull back. All but one of their tanks floundered in the flooded ravine.

  The bullet that had grazed Zeus had done only superficial damage, but it was a wound nonetheless, and Major Chaū insisted that Zeus go to a hospital to get it cared for. Chaū was already spooked by Christian’s death, worried that General Trung would hold him personally responsible.

  “I’ll tell him what happened,” Zeus assured the translator. “It’s not your fault.”

  Chaū’s eyes brimmed with tears.

  “The company commander says there is a car we can use in the village about two miles back. I’ll bring it back.”

  “I’ll go with you,” said Zeus.

  They left Christian’s body in the rain. There was nothing to cover him with.

  Zeus and Major Chaū trudged down the road nearly shoulder to shoulder, silently. When they reached the village, Chaū asked Zeus if he wanted something to eat. Zeus shook his head. His stomach was wrenched tight; he’d never get anything into it.

  What he wanted was to see Anna. He wanted to see her and hug her and hold her in bed, to stay there for days and weeks.

  The car wasn’t where it was supposed to be. They went to the nearest house and pounded on the door. Zeus thought the house was empty and the village abandoned, but that wasn’t the case: the door opened and a middle-aged woman, bundled in a raincoat, appeared.

  She knew nothing about a car, but gave them directions to the police station. They weren’t of much help. It took nearly an hour before Major Chaū managed to find a vehicle. The owner gave them the keys, deciding it was safer to remain at home.

  They drove back to the company, put Christian’s body in the trunk, then reversed course.

  A few minutes later, there was a fresh crack in the storm, a loud thud. By the time the second one came, Zeus realized it wasn’t thunder—the Chinese tanks were firing their guns at the village where they’d found the car, deciding to take revenge on whatever they could. Surely they were firing blind. Even if there hadn’t been a storm, the topography and distance made it impossible to see the village from where they were. The only guidance they had were their maps.

  Major Chaū stepped on the gas.

  “They’ll kill everyone in those houses,” said Zeus.

  Chaū didn’t answer. It was too late to get the people out—the shells were falling rapidly now, and it would be just a matter of luck where they exploded.

  Zeus dropped his head on his chest, rubbing the rain from his hair.

  ~ * ~

  Calling Perry to tell him about Christian’s death was the most difficult thing Zeus had ever done. He punched the numbers on the sat phone tentatively, then put it to his ear. He hoped the general wouldn’t answer.

  Perry picked up on the first ring.

  “General, it’s Zeus.”

  “Major?”

  “We stopped the tanks. They’re definitely stopped.”

  “Good.”

  “The advance is definitely slowed. For now at least. It’ll take them some time to regroup. They may be able to find a place to get across the fields once the storm stops and the water goes down. But they won’t get to Hai Phong tonight. Or probably not tomorrow.”

  “Excellent. Good work, Major. How’s Christian holding up?”

  Zeus couldn’t speak for a moment. When he did, his voice trembled.

  “Major Christian, sir, didn’t make it.”

  Perry said nothing. The silence grew until Zeus couldn’t stand it anymore.

  “He . . . the Vietnamese put demolitions on one of the bridges and something went wrong. He went back and fixed them,” said Zeus. “We went back. And then, uh, he went into the field. There was fighting there, and then, he was trying to make his way back.”

  “Where’s his body?” said Perry.

  “I have it.”

  The silence lasted for only a few seconds, but they were painful to Zeus. Finally, he had to speak.

  “Should I bring him to the embassy?”

  “Take him to the hospital where you were treated. Someone will meet you there. What shape are you in?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Report to me at Trung’s headquarters.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ~ * ~

  Chaū suggested that they put Christian in the backseat and make it look as if he were injured rather than dead. Once inside the hospital, they could take the body directly to the morgue.

  “I would guess that the general does not want people to know it is an American officer,” said Chaū. “That is why he would be taken to the hospital.”

  Zeus closed his eyes as they opened the trunk. A wild thought sprang into his head: it had all been a dream, it hadn’t happened, at least not the way he remembered it.

  But Christian’s body, drained of blood, sopping wet, was curled in the small space before him. In the darkness, Zeus couldn’t see his face. He was thankful for that.

  ~ * ~

  By now, the hospital seemed familiar, as if it were a place Zeus where belonged. A gurney and two nurses met them in the long
hall. Zeus stepped back, pushing against the wall as the medical people took over. Water dripped from him to the floor, puddling around his feet.

  He watched the stretcher disappear. He kept thinking Christian would rise and hop off.

  A hand folded gently around his arm.

  Anna!

  It was only a nurse. She tugged him lightly.

  “Your cheek,” said Major Chaū. “She wants to see to clean it.”

  “I want to be seen by Dr. Anway,” said Zeus, going with her. “Dr. Anway. Tell her.”

  Chaū told the nurse. She shook her head as they spoke in Vietnamese.

  “You have to go with her,” said Chaū. “She’ll treat you.”

  “I want Dr. Anway.”

  “She says she’s not here,” said Chaū.

  “She works the night shift. Did she leave?”

  Chaū spoke to the nurse again. This time she said very little, instead prodding Zeus toward the wards.

  “She doesn’t know. You better go with her and get treated,” said Chaū.

  “Where are you going?” Zeus asked as Chaū started to turn away.

  “I will look after the arrangements. Then I must go to General Trung. I will have a car for you, to wait. I will meet you back at the bunker.”

  Zeus let himself be led downstairs. The nurse sat him in a small, nearly empty room right off the stairwell. A polished steel stool sat in the middle of the room. There was no other furniture, no med cart, no instruments or monitors.

  She told him something in Vietnamese, then left.

  The wet, muddy clothes weighed Zeus down. As he stared at the floor, a haze seemed to fall over him. He sat and stared, unable to think.

  A short time later, the door opened. Two nurses, neither of whom he’d ever seen before, entered. One had a tray with a basin and cloth; the other carried what looked like a tackle box.

  “Is Dr. Anway here?” he asked them. “Dr. Anway?”

  The nurses glanced at each other.

  “Do you speak English?” he asked. “I know I’m probably messing up the pronunciation. I’m sorry.”

  The nurse with the tackle box told him something in Vietnamese and put her hand gently on his arm.

  “I’m not nervous or anything,” said Zeus. He pointed at his face. “This probably looks like hell, but I’m okay. It doesn’t even hurt, really.”

  It stung when they cleaned it, spraying it with a liquid that the nurse had in the box. Zeus tried not to flinch.

  The women discussed something in Vietnamese, then motioned that he should take off his clothes. They wanted to see if there were more wounds.

  “I’m all right, really,” said Zeus.

  They insisted. The one who had brought in the basin to wash him put her hands on his shirt to unbutton it.

  Zeus jerked to stop her, grabbing her hand. She shrank back. He let go.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’ll do it.”

  Zeus peeled off his sodden shirt. They were on their guard now, afraid of him.

  There was nowhere to put the shirt. He let it drop to the floor. It made a loud ker-plunk, almost a splash. He peeled off his undershirt.

  His arms and his chest were crisscrossed with bruises and scrapes and cuts. They were a map of his war.

  Their war. He was just a bystander, an adviser. Or at least was supposed to be.

  As was Christian.

  You’re not the only nut.

  The nurses cleaned him up gingerly. None of his cuts was fresh enough to sting as they sprayed and daubed. After his chest, they wanted to work on his legs.

  Zeus, reluctant, got off the stool and pulled down his pants, leaving his sodden underwear in place. They were nurses, but he felt embarrassed before them.

  “Dr. Anway?” Zeus asked as they inspected the bruises on his shins. “Is she working tonight? I’m pretty sure she is.”

  Neither responded. Zeus resigned himself to finding Anna on his own.

  A male attendant entered as the room with a small tape measure, and used it to take the roughest of measurements of Zeus’s body—across the shoulders, legs, torso.

  “I could use some underwear, too,” said Zeus as the boy started to leave.

  He nodded, then went out the door. A few minutes later, he returned with a pair of surgical scrubs, handing them directly to Zeus. They were stiff and scratchy, but dry. There was no underwear. The boy said something in Vietnamese that Zeus took to be an apology.

  “That’s okay,” Zeus told him. “Thank you. Thanks.”

  He stood up. The nurses, who were trying to bandage his right knee, backed away quickly.

  “I’m going to get dressed now,” he told them. He repeated the words slowly and motioned with his hand. “I want to get dressed.”

  One of the nurses said something sternly. Zeus pulled on the shirt, hoping they would get the hint and leave. When they didn’t, he turned away and faced the wall.

  Taking off his underpants felt as if he were pulling off a bandage. But the cool air on his skin was a relief. He balanced on one foot, then the other, pulling on the scrubs.

  They were too short by about an inch. Barefoot, he turned around.

  The nurses were gathering their things, facing the other way.

  “Do you have any shoes?” Zeus asked. “Something for my feet? Shoes?”

  As he pointed, the door opened. The boy had returned with a pair of sandals.

  “It’s like magic,” said Zeus. He smiled and sat on the stool. To his surprise, the sandals fit perfectly.

  He took his sat phone and put it in the pocket of his shirt; it hung out precariously. He bent down to the pile of sodden clothes on the floor and folded them into a bundle as best he could.

  The nurse who had wheeled in the cart began talking to him, pointing to his arms and legs, giving him directions on how he should care for his injuries. Zeus nodded solemnly; in truth, he probably paid as much attention to these incomprehensible instructions as to any medical instructions he had ever received.

  “Dr. Anway?” he asked when she finished. “I want to see her.”

  The nurse held out her hands, indicating she didn’t know what he was saying.

  Zeus trailed the women out of the room, his legs stiff and a little wobbly from sitting. The hospital was quieter than he remembered, almost serene.

  He went to the ward where he had first seen Anna, then stopped. What if she had changed her mind about him?

  She wouldn’t.

  He stepped into the room, sidestepping along the wall so he wouldn’t be in the way.

  The ward looked bigger than it had the other day. Zeus saw a woman’s back at the far end of the room. His heart jumped.

  He was about halfway there when she turned and he realized it wasn’t Anna. She gave him a quizzical glance.

  “Dr. Anway?” he asked. “Is she here?”

  “Who?”

  “You speak English?” Zeus asked. “I’m looking for Dr. Anway. I’m, uh, Zeus Murphy. Major Murphy? She worked on me ... I was her patient. I am her patient.” He looked down at his scrubs. “I was just patched up. I wanted to make sure ... I thought, you know, she was a doctor so I wanted her to check me out.”

  The nurse shook her head, her mastery of English overwhelmed by the sheer amount of words that had flooded from Zeus’s mouth. She pointed to the floor: a small puddle had dripped there from his wet clothes.

  “I’m sorry,” he told her.

  “You are a patient?”

  “Yes. Dr. Anway’s.”

  She came over and put her hand on his arm. He let her guide him out of the ward. When she turned in the direction of the stairs, he stopped.

  “I wanted to see Dr. Anway before I left.”

  She frowned at him, then turned and walked in the other direction. Zeus decided his best bet would be to follow.

  The room where the shooting had occurred was on his right. He glanced in as he passed, only to make sure Anna wasn’t there. It was empty.

>   A middle-aged man in a lab coat came out into the hallway. “You are Major Murphy,” he said.