Read Online Double Impact: Never Say Die & No Way Back by Tess Gerritsen, Debra Webb - Free Book Online

government ruled in luxury, then on to the Museum of History, where you will learn about our struggles against the Chinese and the French imperialists. The next day, you will see our lacquer factory, where you can buy many beautiful gifts to bring home. And then—”
    â€œMr. Ainh,” Willy said with a sigh, turning at last to her guide. “It all sounds very fascinating, this tour you’ve planned. But have you looked into my other business?”
    Ainh blinked. Though his frame was chopstick thin, hehad a cherubic face made owlish by his thick glasses. “Miss Maitland,” he said in a hurt voice, “I have arranged a private car! And many wonderful meals.”
    â€œYes, I appreciate that, but—”
    â€œYou are unhappy with your itinerary?”
    â€œTo be perfectly honest, I don’t really care about a tour. I want to find out about my father.”
    â€œBut you have paid for a tour! We must provide one.”
    â€œI paid for the tour to get a visa. Now that I’m here, I need to talk to the right people. You can arrange that for me, can’t you?”
    Ainh shifted nervously. “This is a…a complication. I do not know if I can…that is, it is not what I…” He drifted into helpless silence.
    â€œSome months ago, I wrote to your foreign ministry about my father. They never wrote back. If you could arrange an appointment…”
    â€œHow many months ago did you write?”
    â€œSix, at least.”
    â€œYou are impatient. You cannot expect instant results.”
    She sighed. “Obviously not.”
    â€œBesides, you wrote the Foreign Ministry. I have nothing to do with them. I am with the Ministry of Tourism.”
    â€œAnd you folks don’t communicate with each other, is that it?”
    â€œThey are in a different building.”
    â€œThen maybe—if it’s not too much trouble—you could take me to their building?”
    He looked at her bleakly. “But then who will take the tour?”
    â€œMr. Ainh,” she said with gritted teeth, “ cancel the tour.”
    Ainh looked like a man with a terrible headache. Willy almost felt sorry for him as she watched him retreat acrossthe rooftop garden. She could imagine the bureaucratic quicksand he would have to wade through to honor her request. She’d already seen how the system operated—or, rather, how it didn’t operate. That afternoon, at Ton Son Nhut Airport, it had taken three hours in the suffocating heat just to run the gauntlet of immigration officials.
    A breeze swept the terrace, the first she’d felt all afternoon. Though she’d showered only an hour ago, her clothes were already soaked with sweat. Sinking into a chair, she gazed off at the skyline of Saigon, now painted a dusty gold in the sunset. Once, this must have been a glorious town of tree-lined boulevards and outdoor cafés where one could while away the afternoons sipping coffee.
    But after its fall to the North, Saigon slid from the dizzy impudence of wealth to the resignation of poverty. The signs of decay were everywhere, from the chipped paint on the old French colonials to the skeletons of buildings left permanently unfinished. Even the Rex Hotel, luxurious by local standards, seemed to be fraying at the edges. The terrace stones were cracked. In the fish pond, three listless carp drifted like dead leaves. The rooftop swimming pool had bloomed an unhealthy shade of green. A lone Russian tourist sat on the side and dangled his legs in the murky water, as though weighing the risks of a swim.
    It occurred to Willy that her immediate situation was every bit as murky as that water. The Vietnamese obviously believed in a proper channel for everything, and without Ainh’s help, there was no way she could navigate any channel, proper or otherwise.
    What then? she thought wearily. I can’t do this alone. I need help. I need a guide. I need—
    â€œNow