Later that afternoon, both men sacked out in preparation for the long night ahead. Jesse woke after an hour of sleep and prepared his gear for the final detail. He threw his pack into his Jeep, started it up, and struck out to pick up Shawn at his bunkhouse. On the way, Jesse passed the CIA field headquarters. The traffic was slow due to the mass exodus, and he spotted Dave Sanders sitting behind the wheel of his Jeep on the side of the road. Jesse personally liked Sanders and pulled over to shoot the shit with him for a while. He pulled up behind Sanders’s Jeep and jumped out. He walked over to the passenger’s side and noticed that Sanders had his head lowered and was apparently reading something. Probably some secret spy shit, Jesse thought. He slipped in seemingly unnoticed by Sanders and looked at the handwritten letter in the big man’s hands.

  “Hey buddy, how was that breakfast of yours this morning?” Jesse asked.

  Sanders didn’t appear to hear him; he just stared blankly ahead with his head slightly lowered. Then, Jesse noticed that Sanders looked extremely sad and troubled by something.

  Jesse placed his hand on his shoulder and asked, “Dave…are you alright?”

  Sanders flinched as Jesse touched him, and it seemed to bring him out of his trance.

  “Jesse,” Sanders said, seemingly startled.

  “Is something wrong, Dave? Jesse pointed at the letter and asked, “Did something happen at home?”

  Sanders looked at Jesse as if he was shell-shocked. Besides the single page in his hand, he noticed a manila envelope on his lap with its flap open and another piece of paper partially sticking out. What caught his eye first was the letter that Sanders was holding in his hand. It appeared that above each word were small random numbers and letters. The second thing that caught his eye was the paper sticking out of the envelope. It also contained random numbers and letters together with commas in between. At that point, he knew it wasn’t a letter from home and waited for Dave to reply.

  Sanders finally composed himself and quickly folded up the letter and placed it into his top pocket. He then shoved the numbered page back into the envelope and tied the red string around the envelope flap securing button.

  “No…nothing from home.”

  Jesse waited for him to clarify, but Sanders remained silent.

  A long moment passed, and Jesse decided to leave the man alone with his troubles.

  “Well, I’ve got to pick up Shawn. I’ll catch you later, Dave.”

  Jesse was climbing out of the Jeep when Sanders asked, “Do you remember Peter Jensen, the CIA analyst who was killed about a month or so ago?”

  Jesse leaned back down and thought momentarily, “Yeah, I met him in Phuoc Long early last December. He was a very quiet guy. Shawn and I came here about a week after he was found dead. Why do you ask? Does that letter have something to do with him?”

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  Dave nodded but didn’t elaborate.

  Jesse could see that Dave was clearly troubled.

  “While I was cleaning out my desk a short while ago, I found this envelope hidden under my desk drawer. Stapled to it was that handwritten letter you saw in my hands.”

  Jesse looked at the manila envelope on his lap and noticed a little corner of the page was torn off where it had been stapled to the front.

  Jesse nodded and said, “Okay.” Waiting for Sanders to continue.

  “Although it was not signed, I’m positive that it was written by Jensen simply because of its content and the fact that he did occupy the room before me.”

  “Do you mind if I read it?”

  Sanders shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, Jesse. I’m sure that you heard that, according to the CIA’s investigation team, Jensen was supposedly killed by an NVA infiltrator who was working with Jensen, and Jensen discovered his true identity. Well, this letter shoots that theory down. The letter implicates Jensen’s killer, and it wasn’t the NVA infiltrator that the investigation report claims it was. But you’re a smart guy, and I think you could figure it out after reading it. Jensen was involved in something that got him killed because he was about to inform on someone. The letter states that he was into something way over his head, and his conscience got the better of him. He was writing the letter as an act of contrition, as a way to explain his actions.”

  Does the letter say what that was?” Jesse asked.

  Sanders shook his head, “No, it doesn’t, and I’m not going to speculate. I’ll let others sort that out. All I can tell you is that Jensen was paid to keep his mouth shut about something, and he began to have second thoughts; thus the letter, and I believe he was killed before he could finish it.”

  “Do you know who killed him?”

  When he didn’t answer immediately, and from the look he gave Jesse, he suspected he did.

  After what seemed like an eternity, he finally answered.

  “Yes… the letter does implicate someone, but I can’t tell you who that is because the letter has not been verified.” When I return to Saigon, I plan on turning the letter over to Tom Polgar. Then the whole matter will be out of my hands.”

  “Was the letter addressed to him?”

  “No, the letter wasn’t intended for him.”

  “Who was it intended for?”

  “I don’t believe it was anyone in the government. I believe it was-.”

  Just then, a Jeep pulled up in front of them, and Jesse could see that Jeffery was driving and Sydney was in the passenger’s seat. Even before the Jeep came to a stop, Jesse saw Sanders pivot in his seat, open the cargo hold, and place the manila envelope alongside an olive green tarp or tent. After Sanders closed the lid, he quickly turned back to face Sydney, who had gotten out of the Jeep and was moving toward them.

  “What are you two big boys discussing?”

  Before Jesse could answer, Sanders poked Jesse in the side with his elbow. Jesse shot a quick look over at Sanders, and to his surprise, the man looked like he had an irritated look, indicating that he didn’t want Jesse to share their discussion.

  Jesse nodded at Sanders, let it pass, then said to Sydney, “Oh, not much, just trying to solve all the world’s problems.”

  He turned to look at Sanders, who appeared to have a forced smile.

  “Well, that’s certainly a noble cause,” Sydney said; “But I think maybe we should start with this country’s problems first.”

  “We’ve already given up on that. I think it’s a lost cause, Sydney,” Jesse said with a slight chuckle.

  “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Sydney answered.

  “Well, you two, I better get going and pick up that wise-cracking partner of mine. We have to meet up with the Tigers pretty soon. Take care, you two.”

  Jesse got out of the Jeep and gave Sydney a little wink. As he passed her, he leaned in and whispered, “I’ll see you later, princess.” He climbed into his Jeep and was soon heading down the road. A lot of thoughts were spinning in his head, but the biggest two were: who in the hell killed Jensen? And why did Sanders immediately hide the manila envelope when he saw Sydney and Jeffery?