Missing in Action Part 2 by Eric Meyer

Author:Eric Meyer [Meyer, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Swordworks
Published: 2023-12-02T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

He arrived at the airstrip when they were still trying to put out the fires. Commissar General Tran Khiem had been on a visit to the prison camp, where he’d come to inspect the new arrival, Nguyen Huy Quan. The President’s nephew, no less. Although the attack on the Palace hadn’t yielded the result they’d wanted, this was still an enormous propaganda coup.

He looked through the barred window of his cell to confirm the identity of the prisoner. There was no question, it was Quan. The Russians may want him for enhanced interrogation, although it was unlikely Hanoi would agree to hand him over. In the meantime, he was anxious to speak with him and extract every last bit of information about future South Vietnamese strategy. Especially since a prisoner exchange was possible, despite their initial refusal to consider it. If it happened, the price would be high. Monstrously high.

He looked at the guard, about to order him to open the cell door, when he heard a commotion. A man rushed toward him. “General Khiem, General Khiem, they’ve attacked the airfield.”

He paused and gave him an icy glance. “Which airfield?”

“The nearby airfield, our airfield, where we fly the Antonov on urgent missions.”

His guts churned. This couldn’t be happening. “Tell me everything you know.”

The fire in the camouflage netting was bad. The loss of two MiG jet fighters was a disaster. The escape of the attackers in the Antonov was a catastrophe.

“Prepare my vehicle, I shall go there now.”

His driver sped along the narrow track, the Gaz jeep bouncing and swaying over the rutted surface. He arrived at a scene beyond his worst nightmares. Everything burning, and soldiers running around like ants after the nest had been kicked over. The remains of two MiG 15s were still burning, and the Antonov missing. He strode toward the huts from where men were running to meet him. The man in the lead saluted.

“Major Tu, Sir. We’re doing everything we can to deal with this, but the attack came all of a sudden, and…”

“You’re in charge, Major? Are you responsible for this?”

“Uh, yessir, I command here.”

“Not anymore you don’t. Consider yourself under arrest. Who is your deputy?”

“Lieutenant Lam, Sir.” He pointed to an officer standing nearby.

“Good. Lieutenant, place Major Tu in custody. You’re in command, so I want to know what happened, and what you’re doing about it. Everything.”

He gave him a brief account of everything he knew, none of it of any use. The damage was done, and the attackers had gone.

“Is there any good news, Lieutenant?” Khiem was thinking fast, working out how to save his skin, “Do you know which direction they went?”

For the first time, Lam smiled. “Yessir, I do. Northeast, but they didn’t get far. We noticed the aircraft losing fuel after it left the ground, so we believe we hit the fuel tank with at least one bullet. It didn’t stay in the air for long. One of our patrols reported the Antonov losing height before it disappeared.

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