Episode 10: Dangerous

Phuong dreaded the thought of Bill getting involved with Mai, and what worried him most was Mai’s relationship and dealings with the all-powerful Anh Giang Trung who was rumored to be Mai’s lover. Phuong had seen them together on more than one occasion, Mai on the back of Anh white Vespa as they zipped in and out of the traffic around Hoan Kiem Lake. 

Anh was beautiful, but dangerous.  She controlled much of the Chợ Đồng Xuân from the back of her scooter and had witnessed on more than one occasion the savage beating of a vendor for not paying his weekly protection money by her enforcers.

Phuong had been non-committal earlier that morning when Bill had excitedly told him about his encounter with Mai the night before.  He also was starting to get to know Bill and knew that his journalistic instincts would find Mai sooner or later. He had decided that the best thing would be to give Bill all the details, leaving nothing out and if he still wanted to pursue Mai then be it on his own head.

Next morning Phuong got to the Star a little earlier than normal, found a seat by the window and waited for Bill.  After ordering their coffees – a hot American coffee for Bill and the traditional cold Vietnamese coffee for himself, he reached into his pocket and grasped the slip of paper, positioning it carefully in the palm of his hand so that no one could see it.   

He reached across the table and stealthily palmed the slip to Bill, old habits die hard  and you never can be too careful with who was watching he thought to himself.  

There was a look of surprise on Bill’s face as he closed his fist around his friend’s hand and felt the paper in his palm.  He slowly withdrew his hand but held Phuong’s gaze and nodding almost imperceptibly, Phuong smiled and said “for your cause”.

Episode 9: Empty

Lea felt completely empty since Bill left for his new post in Hanoi.  She played out the argument at the restaurant over and over in her mind, she'd hoped deep down that he’d see how important she was to him and choose their relationship over his posting.  She chastised herself about the way she'd handled the whole situation and had missed any opportunity to talk before he'd left for Vietnam. 

Even though they’d fought she now realized that she had loved him deeply and that in all likelihood he had been the love of her life, not that it mattered now that he was half way around the world.   

To try and take her mind off Bill she'd jumped back into the fray and tried dating, but each time she found herself measuring the men against Bill and each time they came up wanting. There were just too many memories of him that lingered and played on her mind, and definitely no one even came close to being as interesting as Bill, nor as ruggedly handsome.    

She felt so guilty and ashamed of the way she’d handled that final conversation, and now the void in her heart was deep and more than painful - she ached for his warm embrace and the way he'd whisper in her ear as they made love early in the morning.  

If only I could have that moment back she thought to herself…if only…

Episode 8: Star Cafe

Bill prided himself in being a great investigative reporter, and after his encounter with Mai at the cocktail party the prior evening he was more than a little pre-occupied with finding her and was desperate to talk to Phuong about what had happened last night.  

Bill and Phuong had developed an early morning ritual of meeting at the Star Cafe on Nguyen Thien Thuat in the Old Quarter to begin each day, once together Bill would practice his basic Vietnamese and then they'd work out what newsworthy stories they would follow over the coming days.  

It had taken Bill some time to adjust to the heat and humidity of Hanoi, although most days Phuong still wore a light jacket as he reminded Bill that it was still the cool season.  To which Bill would shake his head and laugh as the beads of sweat rolled down his temple and onto the table in front of him.  "God its hot" he'd complain

Bill always arrived at the Star early but inevitably found Phuong at his usual spot perched in the back corner chatting amiably to the Star's owner.  The conversation ended as Bill strode toward them, Bin Dong, the Star's owner smiled and moved toward the counter to begin making the coffees.  Once the coffees had arrived Bill turned to Phuong and told him of his encounter with the beautiful woman and more importantly what she'd said to him before she walked away.

“If you saw her, you'd say she was the most beautiful woman in the world” bill cooed but couldn't give Phuong much more to go on.  Phuong's face was impervious to expression and knew who the mystery woman was without being given another clue.  Hanoi Rose was the most glamorous and beautiful woman in all of Hanoi and Phuong knew much more than what he was willing to tell Bill.  

She was trouble with a capital T...

Episode 7: Torturous

The look of desire in her eyes was mesmerizing; it had been some time since he had felt like the prey in an encounter but clearly she was a master in the art of seduction.  

Her hand lingered on his ass before she slowly ran her index finger up to his belt and deliberately traced her index finger toward the buckle, their eyes locked, the sounds of the room silent around them.  He watched transfixed as she seductively brought the cigarette to her lips and slowly drew on it as they continued to gaze into each other’s eyes.  She tilted her head slightly and blew the smoke away from him.

"Ah, so what’s your name?" he asked clumsily.  She smiled the most gorgeous smile of perfectly white, straight teeth and in impeccable English said I’m Mai, and you are…other than handsome?

He blushed as he held out his hand, she took it and felt his strong grip embrace her beautifully manicured hand.  Bill’s pulse quickened as she leaned into him and whispered into his ear — “find me”.

With that she withdrew her hand, smiled and took him in with one long seductive look, before turning and floating back into the sea of people that surrounded them.  

Bill stood there, not believing what had just happened.  He quickly scanned the room into which she had disappeared but couldn’t see her anywhere.

"Jesus" he muttered to himself as he downed the scotch in one large gulp.  

Slowly regaining his composure he leaned back against the bar and shook his head, "find me huh" and he knew just the guy that could help him...

Episode 6: Adrift

Lea had been feeling more than uneasy over dinner, the restaurant had been one of their favourite Asian fusion places but the conversation had been stilted from the start and she could tell that Bill had something on his mind.  She also knew him well enough to know that he didn’t quite know how to bring it up.

However, when Bill finally admitted to her that he had demanded the Hanoi posting from John earlier that day and that he had begrudgingly agreed she felt numb.  She knew about Hanoi as he’d been going on and on about it, but thought there was no way that John would give one of his junior reporters the desk in Hanoi, even if he was one of the best.

“So what does that mean?”   Well, Bill went on somewhat reluctantly, it means that I’m headed to Hanoi in three weeks once the visa and internal papers have been finalized he said smiling.  Clearly Bill had missed the subtly of the question, as it wasn’t about him or the posting but about them.

I meant, what does that mean about us? Lea said with tears starting to well in her eyes.  Well, I don’t know Bill stammered awkwardly, I never really thought past getting the job in Hanoi.  "Well, I suppose you could come with me" he said brightly.

“Fuck you!” she spat, and the look of hurt evident on her face.  She pushed her chair back threw down her napkin and said “I never want to see you again — got that?” and grabbing her handbag stormed out of the restaurant.  Bill sat there momentarily dumbfounded…wow, that hadn’t gone as expected he bemoaned to himself.

Lea wasn't at work the next morning, nor the morning after that.  In fact over the next couple of days Bill had left countless phone messages for her both at work and home, he’d even tried going around to her flat and ringing the doorbell expectantly but with no response.

Even Lea hadn’t realized it at the time but the fight with Bill and his subsequent posting to Hanoi had shattered her emotionally.  

She felt adrift…

Episode 5: The Look

Bill knew the one thing that could take the edge off and get him back on an even keel.  Her name was Mai, or "Hanoi Rose" as she was more commonly referred to by his newly acquired expat acquaintances.  

He smiled to himself as his mind drifted back to the cocktail party at the French embassy soon after he’d arrived.  He remembered how awkward he felt the first time he attended one of these rather formal functions and recalled how he’d been stuck in another mindless conversation with the wife of a Belgian diplomate when distractedly glancing around the room noticed the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen float through the arches into the grand ballroom.  All he could do was to drink in her image as she smiled and chatted amiably with the entourage of men that followed her into the room, there was something very special about her aura.   What a strange thing to think about someone he'd never even met.  

He couldn't take his eyes from her, she was bedecked in a magnificent long turquoise gown with high collar and was the epitome of the beauty and grace as she immediately drew in all those around her.  He was smitten from the moment he laid eyes on her.  Having to tear his gaze from her he now excused himself and went in search of another scotch and perhaps some fresh air.  

Holy shit he said to himself under his breath as he strode toward the bar

Minutes later finding himself leaning against the bar he felt a hand slide along his thigh and rest on the cheek of his ass.  He flung around only to find her standing there with a smile that could melt an iceberg.

Bill was dumbstruck, and for the first time in his life words failed him...

Episode 4: Promises

John had initially resisted his sisters request to hire Lea right out to University, nothing good comes from hiring family he’d thought at the time, but felt obligated to his big sister and so acquiesced.  She had always been there for him during his childhood, but as always felt a sense of guilt that was pervasive in their relationship.

Now he was kicking himself because he knew that Lea was in love with Bill, even if she didn’t know it yet.  He was completely conflicted with the situation, but yet again, stuck in the middle of it.  Too many times of late he'd felt like the meat in the sandwich and vowed to keep out of family politics from now on.  

As John reflected on Bills request he knew that if you wanted to make a name for yourself in the newspaper game you had to take risks, and to be honest John admired Bill for his ballsiness in demanding the post in Hanoi, he would have done exactly the same when he was younger.  Yes, there was something to be admired in Bill - no question!

But where was he going to stand with Lea and his sister Glenda he now thought…god only knows.  

He had a deep sense of foreboding as he considered his options around Bills proposal...

Episode 3: Best option

John reluctantly waved him into his office; he smiled but knew something was up by the look on Bill’s face.  Although he’d only been with the paper four years he was one of his best and his reputation was growing as a sound journalist.  

John’s apprehension grew, as Bill got straight to the point, after all it's not often a journalist drops by the Editor of the International desk for a cursory visit.  “Look, ah…I know about what happened in Hanoi and I want the posting.”

He was stunned…and frankly speechless, which was a first for John.  It had been three weeks since the police had found the body in the dingy alley near the Chợ Đồng Xuân in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.  So far they hadn’t been able to ascertain what had happened and John was fearing that they’d pretty much closed the case and put it down to just another foreigner being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time…poor bastard he thought to himself.

Clearly Bill had caught him a little off guard with his sudden proposal and now tried to elaborate further, but John held up his hand and motioned him to stop.  

"What makes you think that I would give you the posting to Hanoi", he said almost a little too loudly.  "Because I’m your best bet that’s why" Bill shot back, his gaze not wavering from John’s...

Episode 2: Obsessed

Now it was Lea’s turn to be pissed off.  Her day had gone from bad to worse after the awful row they’d earlier that morning before work.  She had always known deep down that she didn’t want an overseas post, but he seemed obsessed by it, constantly prattling on about “I just want to take it to the next level”.

Well, clearly taking it the next level was going to be without her!  She had finally found her groove and although her city beat and the mostly local stories were relatively mundane she enjoyed the freedom and felt that her writing was getting better.  Hell, even last week her editor commented on the human interest story she’d written about the family of the high speed accident victims from the recent crash on Pentonville Road in London's inner north.

Instead of looking forward to their anniversary dinner, she was engulfed by a sense of foreboding and dread...

Just breath she thought to herself...

Episode 1: Hanoi Dawn

It was very early and except for the ubiquitous scooters that still prowled these pre-dawn streets he was alone.  He stood on the step momentarily and as he surveyed the deserted street but all he could see was the reflection of streetlights in the gathering dawn and thick air that hung over the city like a wet blanket.  

Within seconds his shirt had begun to stick to the skin on his back, perspiration beads forming on his brow and tiny droplets of sweat appearing on the wrists, even at this hour it was stiflingly hot.  The humidity and pungent smells of Hanoi’s Cát Linh Đốg Đ assailed him as soon as he had stepped from the air-conditioned sanctuary that he now called home. 

The life of a foreign correspondent wasn't all what it was cracked up to be he thought to himself as his mind wandered back to that fateful day in John’s office, when he had begged to be posted to Hanoi.  Memories of that conversation still haunted him, but that was another lifetime ago and so disconnected with his current reality. 

It wasn't that he was a bad correspondent, no far from it.  He'd been a dogged overachiever in his work with the Sydney Morning Herald and later the Times in London and had always yearned for a posting like this.  However, soon after arriving in Hanoi he realized that it was far from the exotic location he'd expected or hoped for and that he’d literally thrust himself into a journalistic backwater with little hope of salvation. 

He closed his eyes momentarily and sighed deeply to himself, the lack of sleep and overall exhaustion weighing heavily on him. 

God, how could I have been so naïve he chided himself as he groggily made his way along the street toward the Old Quarter.  He felt the pre-dawn gloom wrap itself around him like the comfortable companion that it had become over these past six months.

If only I had that moment over again, he thought…