I tread carefully, trying to minimize the noise of my footsteps. I’m always glancing left and right ahead of me, alert for any sign of a threat. Bottom line is, The Order sent me here to kill someone, and no matter how far off course I was blown, I can’t be too far away from where they intended me to land.
With a bit of luck, I’ve not been walking in the opposite direction to my target for the last hour…
CRACK.
What was that?
I drop to a crouch, placing a hand on the ground for balance as I hold my breath.
I heard rustling over to my right.
I wait patiently.
CRACK.
There it is again.
Might be an animal… No idea what, as I don’t know where I am. Could be anything from a squirrel to a grizzly.
Too quiet for anything bigger than me, though, which is a small comfort.
I take a step and shuffle toward the nearest tree trunk, rest against it, and peer around. The sound of water is more prominent now. There might be—
There!
Through the gaps in the trees I can see a figure moving confidently across my line of sight. It’s hard to see, but… yeah, it’s a woman. Small. Can’t see her features.
Where are you going, lady?
I stand, staying low, and make my way quietly toward her, pausing behind each trunk that’s big enough to cover me.
I don’t want to scare her, and definitely don’t want to hurt her — she’s no threat to me — but she’s the first sign of life I’ve seen since I was pushed out of the airplane, so I have to take this opportunity to find out where I am.
I slowly circle away from her to my left. I need to see if she’s alone, and I need to be able to approach her openly so she can see I mean her no harm.
She stops, crouching on the spot, looking at something. I make my way farther round, drawing level, directly ahead of her — maybe a hundred feet. I’m low, hidden behind another tree. I have a better view of her now. She’s carrying a basket and it looks as if she’s picking fruit or something. She’s wearing a long dress fitted tight to her legs. She turns her head as she puts something in the basket, which she then places beside her on the ground. Her skin is tanned, a light brown. I can see from her eyes she’s Asian, Oriental. She has a headscarf around her and a garment covering her top half, like a poncho.
I let out a short breath. I have to play this right…
I wait until she’s picking fruit again and stand. I hold my arms out to the sides and walk slowly toward her. I smile and try to appear as friendly as I can.
She looks up at me. Our eyes meet for a brief moment. I stop no more than thirty feet from her. She frowns for a second, and then her eyes go wide. Her mouth opens and I see her body tense. She takes a deep breath.
She’s going to scream, isn’t she…?
Shit.
I don’t think, I just run, lunging as I stretch out to her. I reach her at the exact moment the sound passes her lips. I clasp my hand over her mouth as I dive forward, and we both hit the ground, landing awkwardly next to one another. My shoulder takes the brunt of my weight, but I ignore the pain. She’s on her back and doesn’t try to fight me off. She’s probably paralyzed with fear, the poor thing.
I feel really bad about this.
I kneel next to her and look down. Her dark, unblinking eyes are accentuated by her tanned skin. Despite her ethnicity, I still have no clue where I am, besides somewhere East of India.
I take a deep breath. “It’s okay, it’s okay… I’m not going to hurt you.”
She screams into my hand, her breath hot on my palm.
“I’m sorry about this, but I really need your help, okay?”
I try to keep my tone calm and mellow. I’m not sure if she can even understand me, but communication isn’t always about words. If the sound of your voice isn’t threatening, it doesn’t matter what you’re saying, people will be less inclined to perceive you as a danger.
Her breathing slows and her face relaxes.
I nod. “That’s it — it’s okay, I promise. I’m not going to hurt you. I just need your help. Can you understand me?”
She’s still for a moment, her eyes darting around in all directions, still panicking, but finally, she nods.
Phew!
“Good. Now, I’m going to move my hand. Please don’t scream. I’m lost and I need your help, that’s all. You have my word I won’t hurt you.”
She nods again.
“Promise you won’t scream?”
Another nod.
“Okay, here goes…”
I gradually lift my hand from her mouth. She takes some quick, shallow breaths, and for a moment it looks as if she’s going to shout out, but she doesn’t. She uses her hands to scramble backward and put a little distance between us. I don’t make a move to follow her, as I want her to feel safe. She pushes herself up, bringing her knees to her chest and hugging them.
I sit down in front of her and do the same. “I’m sorry about that. I’m just not sure where I am, and I didn’t want you to make any noise in case there was anyone around who might be dangerous. I hope I haven’t hurt you?”
She shakes her head.
“Good. What’s your name?”
She goes to speak, but stops herself. As if something inside her caught the words before they could escape.
“It’s okay, I’m a friend. My name’s Adrian.”
I extend my hand, not thinking for a moment that she would accept it. But, much to my surprise, she does. She shakes it gently. “I… am… H-Hong Yun.”
I smile. “That’s a lovely name. It’s nice to meet you.”
She nods, but says nothing.
“Tell me, Hong Yun, where are we?”
She frowns. “You not know?”
I shake my head. “Not a clue.”
“This is Vietnam.”
Huh…
I raise my eyebrows, unable to hide the surprise. A forest in Vietnam, eh?
“Where do you live? Is it nearby?”
She nods and points to her right. “Not far.”
“Can you take me there?”
She shakes her head. It’s a rapid movement this time, and I see the look in her eyes change. I see fear. “No! You no come with me!”
I hold my hands up. “Okay, okay — I’m sorry. I won’t come with you.” I slowly reach inside my pocket and take out the picture I was given on the plane. “I’m looking for somebody. Maybe you’ve seen him?”
I open it up and hand it to her. She takes it and looks down. I see that same fear in her eyes again. She says nothing, but desperately claws her way to her feet and sets off running away from me.
Shit!
I jump up and run after her, quickly catching her up, and place my hand over her mouth again, just in time to muffle the scream she lets out. I stand behind her, holding her close to me with my arm, allowing her to calm down. “Please, I’m not going to hurt you. I need your help.” I let her go and spin her round to face me. “Do you know the man in that picture?”
She nods.
“Who is he?”
“H-he is… Mr. Way.”
“Mr. Way? Okay. And what does Mr. Way do, exactly?”
She looks away from me and stares at the ground. Her eyes well with tears and she begins to shake as the unrestrained emotion spills out of her.
Oh, for fuck’s sake… As if I don’t have enough on my plate, I now have a crying woman to deal with! I’m not trained for this shit.
I rub my eyes and forehead before putting an arm tentatively around her. “It’s okay… you don’t have to say anything.”
And I mean it — she doesn’t need to. Her tears say it all. A young woman, not unattractive, in the middle of nowhere, in Vietnam, near where a man I’ve been sent to kill is supposedly based. Whatever it is he does, I suspect it’s not good, and she’s clearly not happy about being a part of it.