The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Author:Viet Thanh Nguyen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grove Atlantic
Published: 2021-02-16T20:30:38+00:00

It was the Boss’s idea, or maybe it was the Ronin’s. They came to visit me after the New Year, toward the end of my stay in Paradise, and brought up the subject of BFD. Despite the chill, we sat outside on a green bench in the garden, the Boss on one side of me and the Ronin on the other.

I hate the fucking bastard, the Ronin said. No offense. There are bastards and then there are bastards, and in your case you had no choice in the matter. This guy’s a bastard by choice, or by upbringing, but regardless . . .

What’s he got to do with your business? I said.

Blackmail’s always good business, since there’s so much to blackmail. But besides the financial profit, let’s just say this is from the goodness of my heart. I also detest him because of his politics. And his socialist president as well. Not my president. The Soviets have taken Afghanistan and thousands of Soviet tanks are on the other side of the Fulda Gap. The communists are ready to invade Western Europe, and the French are stupid enough to elect a socialist? Somebody should have knocked him off when he was young, when it wouldn’t have mattered. Maybe I can’t touch the president now, but I can touch this bastard before he really matters. Especially as we have you so close to him.

I wouldn’t say close.

Close enough. All you have to do is get him to Heaven.

What’s in it for me?

You could buy a nice sports car with the cash. Take a trip around the world. Live in Heaven for a year or two.

I’ll give you a down payment, the Boss added. A promotion from the restaurant, to my new bar.

You have a new bar?

It’s called Opium, he said with a touch of pride. I came up with the name myself. What do you think?

It’s incredible how much you’ve accomplished in such a relatively short time, I said, kissing his ass, licking his boot, and stroking his ego in the way that I knew so well, which is to say all at the same time. You have a real genius for business, Boss.

I’ve been investing through the Ronin for years. Had all the pieces set up here well before Saigon fell. Because you have to be ready for the contingencies.

Claude would say the same, I thought.

You’ll love it. It’s in one of the fancy parts of town, the Latin Quarter, where all the tourists like to go. Leather seats. Every kind of liquor at every price. Sexy waitresses with water pipes for some serious smoking and hookahs for some exotic flavor. Private rooms modeled on opium dens. Just the hint of opium without the actual opium.

It’s great, I said. It’s . . . suggestive. But about BFD—what makes you think he’s interested? In going to Heaven?

He likes women. Well, who doesn’t? But he likes them a lot. Much more so than average. And he’s willing to pay for them. Get him there and we’ll take care of the rest.

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