Chapter 18

  Li Tang’s eyesight was very poor at night, and he was struggling to find a trail north. He ran into heavy vegetation that whipped his face and burned his eyes. He encountered ravines, ant mounds, large and small boulders, and exposed tree roots that he often tripped over because he couldn’t lift his damaged leg very high without excruciating pain. He was bitten by bugs and covered with dirt and sweat. He was hungry, thirsty, and very tired. All he wanted at that moment was a good meal and a soft bed, yet none were to be had. Exhausted, he stopped to rest.

  *****

  After covering the dead NVA soldiers, they moved out. Jesse took point as Shawn helped Tang to his feet while Hung kept an eye on their rear flank with the night vision goggles. After traveling for only fifteen minutes, Tang needed to stop and have his leg brace worked on. While Shawn and Hung worked on the leg brace, Jesse continued to move up the trail.

  *****

  Li was half-asleep when he heard something that instantly took him out of his slumber. He was now at full alert. Then he saw it coming through the dense foliage. It was a shadowy figure that was moving slowly and directly at him. His heart started to race out of control. He now regretted not retreating back to his lines after his patrol had been ambushed. There really wasn’t any need for further intel. The battle for Xuan Loc had already been decided. However, it was his pride and the need to avenge his friend’s death that pushed him on. The wound to his knee had taken its toll, and he had to stop and rest too often. Because he was so fatigued, his judgment had become clouded, and he had placed his rifle out of reach. It was behind him, propped up against the same tree he was leaning on. Initially, it was within reach, but not finding a comfortable spot, he moved and left his weapon behind.

  The tall, dark figure was only ten feet away when it stopped and looked back. The man was big and had his face painted, but Li knew that he was an American. He silently cursed himself for not carrying his pistol or a long knife. After his recon team had been ambushed, he searched the dead for any weapons and found none. He had no chance of getting at his rifle and knew that he would be dead before he placed his hands on it. With the soldier looking the other way, Li slowly and quietly reached for his dagger.

  Li Tang was large for his Chinese ancestry. He was a descendant of the legendary emperor Huang Di He, whose descendants were from the Tang region and who eventually adopted it as their surname. Standing almost six feet, he was nearly as tall as the dark figure in front of him. At an early age, Li was trained in the martial arts of kung fu and was an expert in hand-to-hand combat. Li would be a formidable match for Jesse.

  *****

  After looking back to check on the other man, Jesse turned and started moving forward again. As he walked up to a large tree, the hair on the back of his head picked up as the nerve ending signaled that something was wrong. Every sensory nerve ending was alert. Scanning the area, he spotted something through the long grass that didn’t belong there: a long rifle.

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  The man turned and started forward again, ten feet, six feet, and then only three. Suddenly, the figure was aware of the danger. His body tensed, and he slowly brought his gun up, turning his head very quickly back and forth, then down next to the tree. Long grass and several small palm plants partially concealed Li on the ground. When the soldier turned his head down in his direction, he sprang. Li burst from the ground, and with his grandfather’s ancient dagger in his right hand, he thrust it into the man’s heart.

  *****

  Jesse saw the man coming up from the ground with a glint of steel in his hand. He tried to bring his gun down on the man's forearm, but he wasn't fast enough. The dagger had found its mark. Jesse yelled out in pain as the knife pierced his right lung just below his heart. He grabbed the attacker's wrist just after he pulled the knife out of his chest and went for his throat. With his other hand, the attacker thrust a vicious punch into Jesse's side, intending to break his grasp. After the tactic failed, he grabbed Jesse's jacket collar and tried pulling him in closer for the kill. Blood was pouring from his chest wound, and his strength was ebbing rapidly. His attacker was very big and very strong, and for the first time since he came to Vietnam, he knew he was going to die.

  With both his hands now trying to stop the knife, he wasn’t able to get at his own knife or pistol. He was losing the struggle, and it was only a matter of time before it was over. The dagger inched closer to his throat, and he was helpless to stop it. With his last bit of strength, he pushed his attacker back, if only to give himself a few more seconds of life. But the man proved to be too strong, and the dagger finally touched his throat. As Li tried to finish off his enemy, his injured leg got caught in the exposed tree root, and he didn’t quite have the leverage to finish him off. Li fought through the pain in his knee and finally freed his foot from the tree root. Now, he would end it. He could feel the man’s grip weaken. It would be over quickly.

  *****

  Shawn had just finished helping Hung work on Dang’s leg when a bad feeling came over him. He didn’t know if it was a whisper, a premonition, or something subliminal, but something told him to move. He told Hung he was going to check on Jesse and headed down the trail. He had only gone thirty yards when he heard someone cry out in pain. Shawn was afraid of no man, but fear gripped him to his inner core. Without any conscious thought, he found himself in a dead run. His only weapon was his thumper, which he slung over his shoulder, and his Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol was on his side. He reached for the 45 automatic and pulled it out of its holster. His heart was pounding, not from fear but from anxiety. He couldn’t see anyone through the foliage, but he knew they had to be close. Then he saw them, two men locked together. Moving swiftly and silently, he pulled back the hammer. Then he saw the glint of steel in the moonlight. The two men were too close. He had no shot. Shawn dropped the 45, not wanting to waste time holstering it, and on a dead run, he flawlessly swung the thumper into his hands.

  Like a freight train at full speed, Shawn charged down the path harder than he had ever run before in his life. Closer, closer, he now could see they were in a death grip. He grabbed the thumper by the barrel and brought it back behind his head. But unlike mighty Casey, Shawn would not strike out. The sound of the hard wooden stock of the grenade launcher connecting with the side of Li’s head echoed throughout the quiet jungle.

  *****

  Li knew the man was dead on his feet; he just had to finish him and move out before his comrades arrived. As his foot came free of the tree root, the knife touched the man’s throat. Then he sensed the vibration on the ground; he turned his head and was horrified as he looked into the grotesque face and fiery eyes of Yama, the god of death who was almost on top of him. He felt the hard blow only for an instant. Then he slipped into the abyss as Yama seized him and pulled him down into the Underworld. He screamed, but no one heard him.