Jake Fonko M.I.A. (19 page)

I spun around and lunged, hoping my attacker wasn’t armed. I rammed him hard, knocking him off his feet and sending him sprawling on his back. I fell on him in a flash, pinning him to the ground, left forearm across his throat and knifepoint at the base of his ear. “Okay, what’s the story?” I demanded, realizing at the same time that my catch might not even speak English.

“Fonko!” he gasped. “Really, we must stop meeting like this.”

Emil Grotesqcu! “What are you doing 
here
?” I said, maintaining my hold.

“I told you back in Phnom Penh, we have a mutual interest in our friend DRAGONFLY. Fonko, I’ve got to hand it to you. I’ve met many a man with a big reputation, but you’re the only one so far that’s lived up to it—how in the world did you track Driffter down and penetrate this place?”

“It’s the first thing they taught us in boot camp,” I told him. I couldn’t very well admit the truth, that plain old dumb luck brought me here. “How’d 
you
 find 
me
?”

“Unlike your side, ours still has effective operatives in Cambodia. We kept watch on you in Phnom Penh and monitored your escape in the car. We set some of our field people to follow you when you set out from Snoul. You didn’t make it easy for them, they told me—just about lost you several times. How did you manage to enlist Little Jungle Dragon in this venture?”

“Who?”

“That Chinese girl, Miss Poon. She was known among the Khmer Rouge as ‘Little Jungle Dragon,’ and they don’t confer nicknames lightly. My side would have given anything to recruit her into our network. We tried more than once.”

“The CIA never would have sent me in if they didn’t think I could do the job,” I told him.

“They picked the right man this time, for a change. So, now that we’ve got Driffter in sight, can we collaborate on this?”

“Collaborate on what?” I asked. I eased the pressure on his throat.

“Killing him, of course. Isn’t that your mission too?”

“Why does the KGB want to kill Driffter? I’d think you guys would like the idea of his turning renegade and selling U.S. arms to the Commies.”

“We loved it. In fact, we sent a couple agents to see if he might want to draw some pay from our side. He’s a superbly effective field man, and we are always on the lookout for good double agents.”

“So, what happened?”

“He killed both of them. Or at least so we assume, as we never heard from them again after they contacted him. One was a good friend of mine, a former classmate. KGB policy, as you know, is to avenge our agents. Otherwise, people might get the idea they can trifle with us. Say, mind if I sit up? These rocks you’ve got me pinned on are sharp.”

I got off his chest. Grotesqcu presented the same sort of problem I had with Driffter: now that I got him, what was I supposed to do with him? It wouldn’t have bothered me if somebody killed Driffter. I had to admit the thought had crossed my mind that the world would be a better place without him. The trouble was, he was my only ticket home. “Okay, supposing we took out Driffter, what then? How do the girl and I get out of here?”

“We Russians have helicopters too, you know. Now that the Khmer Rouge has taken over, my side can operate aircraft in this zone easily enough. One of our choppers is standing by, waiting for a radio call. They’d be here in a few minutes.”

And then the KGB would have their hands on Jake Fonko, CIA super-agent? Didn’t sound like a promising future. “What would be my part in this?” I asked.

“All I need is a clear shot at him. Look, I can’t afford to fail at this mission. You’re on the inside. Set him up for me? Ten seconds anywhere within 500 yards and he’s mine.”

“How long do I have to think about this?” No answer. I felt where he’d been. Nothing. He’d slipped away into the darkness. I rolled aside, fast.
Whonk!
Something heavy landed where I’d been. I’d caught him with no weapon, but that wouldn’t last long. I didn’t fancy fighting him in the dark—why push my luck? I sprang to my feet and hightailed it back through the ravine. At least I didn’t have to sneak silently on the return trip. Once out of the brush and onto the flat ground, I was safe. With my yellow hat on, I’d draw no fire, but Grotesqcu would be a sitting duck for those sniper scopes. And nobody could move around those jungle hillsides in the dark. Grotesqcu would bother nobody tonight. No reason to report this to Driffter right away. Soh Soon had waited up for me, and was relieved to see I’d come back okay. No reason to tell her just now either. I’d decide what to do after I saw how tomorrow shaped up. Right then a good night’s sleep was what I needed. 

At 0547 hours
a rapping at our door aroused us. I opened it to find Driffter standing there in the gray dawn light. A light drizzle dampened the steps. “Hey, up and at ‘em,” he said amiably. “You folks sleep all right? Guards told me you were out prowling around for a while. Everything okay?” Just fine, we told him. “We’ll be taking off in a few minutes,” he informed us.

“Leaving so soon?” I asked. “I thought you said a couple days.”

“Change of plans. Anyhow, a thunderstorm’s moving in. I want to be out of here before it gets heavy. We’ll cut south of it, then go north up the coast to Bangkok. That okay with you?”

“Fine by me, but that’s a long way for a Huey. You have a refueling point?”

“We’ll take the Sea Sprite. Plenty of range. No problem.”

“What do you want us to do?”

“Be packed and ready when I come for you. I’ll get her warmed up first. Then I’ll come by, and we’ll leave straightaway. Don’t put your stuff out on the porch until I get here. And don’t mention about this, to anybody, okay? Come on over, Peggy Sue’s put some breakfast out. Get a bite to eat while you’re waiting.”

Peggy Sue seemed a shade wistful through her smile that morning; she sensed something was up. Notwithstanding, she served a sumptuous breakfast. Driffter drove toward the helicopters in the Continental. A couple minutes later I could hear faintly through the trees a motor turn over and catch, then churn raggedly. We finished our tea and returned to our place to wait. The village seemed agitated—the sound of that motor had awakened concerns.

Presently the Continental pulled up by our steps, and Driffter got out and came up. “Time to go,” he said quietly. “Make it real casual looking, don’t be in any hurry.” He took one of Soh Soon’s duffels and held it low. “Keep your bags out of sight. Slow and easy now.”

He slipped the bags in the back seat, rather than opening the trunk. He gave a couple toots on the horn and waved to Peggy Sue. She waved back. “Just another day at the office,” he mused as he put it in drive. “Nothing to be excited about.” But the people we passed looked apprehensive.

“They act upset,” I remarked. “Some problem?”

“There’s been some loose talk that I’m butting out soon, that’s all. That would make a lot of people here real unhappy. The sound of that chopper warming up this morning has set some of these folks to worrying, I imagine.”

“Any truth to those rumors?”

“You bet, buddy. I’ve been stowing stuff into that chopper for a week now. With the Commies in power all over Indochina, I’m out of business. Back to civilization, and high time. Today’s the goddamned day!”

“Who all’s coming along?” I asked.

“We’re it, Fonko, just us three. No room in a chopper for a crowd. It ain’t no 707.”

“We may have a little problem getting out of here. A KGB agent parachuted onto the apron out by the cliff last night. He wants to kill you.”

“Haw, tell the bastard to get in line,” Driffter guffawed. “He ain’t the only one. How do you know that?”

“I saw him drop while we were out talking. That’s why I went prowling around, to check it out. I know him from Phnom Penh.”

“Where is he now? Any idea?”

“Laying for us out in the ravine, is my guess.” Of course. Cover enough to hide a brigade, and I had to assume Grotesqcu dropped in adequately armed. We’d be a nice, slow clay pigeon for a shoulder-launched rocket as we lifted out of the valley at takeoff speed. We’d arrived at the chopper now. The blades rotated slowly, the motor running smoothly, all ready to take flight. A grinning guard stood by at attention. “A squad of your munchkins could root him out of there,” I suggested.

“Mebbe so,” said Driffter, “but that would take time, and the last thing I want is a bunch of those guys with guns down at this end of the valley. If they thought I was leaving, they’d blow us right out of the sky.”

“How come?” I asked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Sure it does,” Driffter replied. “They all hate my guts, but they need me. I promised them guards a ride home to Laos. Them two Americans expect to go out with me. The hill folks ain’t exactly satisfied customers, either. If they all thought I was deserting them for good, they’d have nothing to lose by shooting me down. That’s sure what I’d do, if I was them.”

Okay, if that’s the way it was. Then an idea struck me. We might not be able to find Groteqcu, but if we distracted him for just a little while, we could lift out of there. I saw a way to do it. “You’ve got a lot of ordnance up here. Any chance you might have some hand grenades?”

“Frags, or flash-bangs? I’ve got both.”

“Flash-bangs. Where are they?” I told him my idea, and he agreed. What else could we do? He led me over to the caves in the side of the hill, three of them. Behind heavy barred gates were stacked weapons galore. He unlocked one and we went in. I loaded all the pockets in my safari shirt with grenades, wondering how he’d gotten his hands on German DM-51s. “I need something to cut those elephants’ tethers. What have you got?” He rustled up a machete with a gleaming edge. Now I had everything I needed.

He was to cover me as I went across the valley in the Continental. He called the guard over, took his sniper rifle from him, and moved out away from the choppers to a protected position from which he could hit the mouth of the ravine, about 200 yards distant. I started across, lurching the car so as to present a difficult target. If Grotesqcu was laying for us, he’d have a hard time hitting me at that range. But I doubted he’d try to stop me. Driffter was his objective, and shooting at me would give away his position.

Saronged natives were readying the elephants for the morning’s work. They, and the elephants, regarded me with curiosity as I pulled up and parked the Continental. I got out, dashed over and chopped tether ropes until all the animals stood freed. Then I ran back by the car, stopped and lobbed a grenade in their direction. Concussion grenades don’t throw fragments very far. They make a hell of a noise but wouldn’t hurt anybody out in the open like that. After the first one went off I tossed another.

The first grenade got the elephants’ attention. The second got them moving. Workers jumped off beasts, flung their gear aside and made fast tracks toward the fields. I hopped into the Continental and followed the trundling elephants a ways, then stopped and tossed another grenade behind them, and then another. Those two explosions inspired them, accelerating their stampede toward the ravine. I chased them with the car further down the funneling valley, pausing after I crossed one of the plank bridges across the stream to get out and peg a final grenade at their big, lumbering butts. The panicky herd added more speed. The lead elephants charged into the ravine, the rest crowding their heels.

I hopped back into the Continental and gunned it across the remaining ground. I slammed it to a halt, rammed it into “park,” piled out and sprinted for the chopper. Driffter was at the controls, hitting the throttle. The munchkin guard lay sprawled nearby. The Sea Sprite heaved up off the ground. Soh Soon leaned out the cabin door, frantically motioning for me to hurry. Looking up, I could see the overhead camouflage canopy straining dangerously downward, the suction of the churning rotor trying to drag it out of the treetops. I burst through the downdraft and clambered aboard as the Sea Sprite tilted forward and started tentatively to draw away toward the open sky.

I looked behind us. My fireworks had drawn an audience. The whole village came storming out of the trees, the two Americans and some munchkin guards in the lead. “Up, up and away!” Driffter roared. The crowd was closing on us. We lurched higher, gaining speed as we cleared the canopy, and headed toward the overcast hanging above the valley mouth. I heard some shots, and then some more. Driffter had left the sniper rifle lying on the cabin floor. I picked it up and braced myself in the open doorway to cover our escape. The silencer did me no good now, noise was what I needed—I wanted to discourage groundfire, not kill people. I wrestled it off the muzzle, tossed it aside and fired a few rounds here and there, sending the pursuing mob scrambling for cover. As I’d figured, Driffter’s munchkins were a bunch of bullies, not soldiers.

As far as I could tell, we didn’t take any hits. We passed above the ravine and out into the clear. The lead elephants had by now reached the apron and stopped at the edge of the cliff. The followers still crashed after them, shoulder to shoulder through the grass and brush, trampling the ravine from one side to the other. The ground fell away below us, and we lofted out over the lowlands, gaining altitude as we chopped our way through a thickening mist.

I scanned the ravine for signs of Emil Grotesqcu, but could make out no trace of him in the chaos and confusion. I thought I saw what possibly could have been a pack and rolled-up parachute, stowed next to a rockpile at the apron’s edge, right about where I must have encountered him in the dark. But we passed over it quickly, and with those elephants stomping around, I couldn’t be sure—might have been my imagination, might have been something left there long ago. Had he been waiting down there to ambush us? I’d never know now.

I felt a little sorry about that elephant stampede—old Mickey Mouse wasn’t really such a bad guy. Damned competent, actually—too bad he worked for the other side. And to make that night jump, all alone, onto that postage stamp apron by the cliff like he did…didn’t 
that
 just take a few guts!

Oh well. What difference did it make? The important thing was, the war was over, we’d come through it alive, and we were headed for home sweet home.