Chapter 7

Saigon – Saturday night - Sunday morning - 2037

Coitus Interruptus

Heidi’s leg was draped over his, her hand resting on his cock as they lay on top of his bed. They were watching the scenes from August 1st, 2029, unfolding on their VR glasses. She was right, it was not the best video quality. Filmed from a high angle with poor lighting. The camera had done its best, turning the darkness into day, but the image was sometimes washed out. But the software allowed them to pan around and zoom in.

“You know, I hardly remember that night,” Heidi said as she let go of his cock and brought her hand up to his chest and let her fingers play in his chest hair, hair he did not have eight years ago.

“Really? Kind of hard to forget” he replied. His eyes tracked his younger self playing with Katie’s pretty mom Emily. While Brad face-fucked his sister Heidi as she lay on the couch with Danika between her legs.

He paused the VR playback; a close-up as Brad knelt over Heidi’s face frozen on the lenses.

Zack felt Heidi moving next to him as she sat up on an elbow. He pushed the glasses off his face to see her better.

“I used more stim patches than I should have that night, drank a lot of white wine, and well, just let myself go,” she said.

“You really did let go of your inhibitions, especially that first night. I think you scared yourself, going as far as you did, acting the slut. At least that is what you told Ms. Franks the next day when we got some counseling,” Zack said.

“I did say that ... I like Penelope, she gave good advice and really listened to us. I’m glad I stayed friends with her after graduation from Saint-U. Taking a job playing music at her Salons and recruiting University girls to work for her was even more of an eye-opener. Do you remember the name of that book she gave us to read?”

“You remember that? I still have our worn-out paperback in my old bedroom. The title is a mouthful, Uncle Bob’s Anthology of Incest Stories Vol II: Sibling Love (by Robert Lubrican), I think.”

“Well, don’t lose that book. It was that book of short stories that helped us see we were both making too much out of ‘incest sex’ with each other. We eventually just did it,” Heidi said, then dropped a soft kiss on his left nipple. “But you know that.”

“Yeah, funny how a book of erotica and a school counselor who also runs a couple of fancy brothels in Nashville helped us see the light,” Zack added, laughing to himself as he turned on his side and faced Heidi in the darkness; only the faint light from the streetlights below their room coming in from the open curtains lit the bedroom and her delectable body.

“Well, thanks to her and the book we did set boundaries on what was our biggest hang-up, the fear we would become like one of Uncle Bob’s weird brother-sister marriages and me becoming pregnant.” She said her head resting back on the pillow her glasses up on the top of her head.

“As I remember we decided to only have sex on holidays. My list had six, yours had 20 holidays. Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, our birthdays then you added in some of the Jewish holidays even though we’re not Jewish.” Heidi said.

She laughed at the memory, her girlish easy laugh beside him warming his heart sending blood to his cock.

“I think we missed my birthday ... and yours ... and the 4th of July...” he said.

“Okay, Okay ... you know we also have a vacation exemption...” she teased back. Her hand dropped to the space between them finding his cock again. He returned the favor running fingers through her trimmed dark bush, exploring the wetness. No, not too weird sex with his willing sister. Not really.

Zack started to roll over onto his sister, pushing her on her back, his right knee opening her legs.

Heidi put her hands on his chest. “Not so fast little brother. Close the drapes please and kick up the a/c, will you?”

“Sure,” Zack reluctantly pushed himself off the end of the bed. Heidi repositioned herself in the middle of the queen-sized mattress after fluffing the pillows behind her while he went to the French doors.

Zack saw the big bright flash and instinctively dropped to the floor before he heard the boom. The street outside and their room were now in sudden darkness. Then the window glass shook as the shock wave passed.

“What-the-fuck! Not again Zack?” Heidi said from the bed that she was already rolling off onto the floor, hands covering her head.

“Stay on the floor, we’ve been through this before, so let me take a quick look,” he said calmer than he felt. He pulled one side of the drapes closed then he crouched looking at the street and his aunt’s hotel across the now dark street. The rain was still falling but lighter than before. He listened. Then he heard it. Small arms fire, rifles, machine guns, and more booms further away in the direction of the Independence Palace complex where the President’s residence and office were moved to after fleeing Hanoi. The Independence Palace was near the reopened US Embassy compound just five long city blocks away, about a mile.

“What’s going on Zack?” Heidi said in a low calm voice from the floor.

His quick mind was thinking of all the new intelligence warnings in the last week, some based on the interrogation of the Chinese officer, which resulted in increased security at their hotel and other US military facilities. On top of that information, their Aunt Kate was chasing down sources for a big story that she said had international implications. His device chirped on his desk. He pulled the last curtain closed and grabbed the device, opening the phone and answering the waiting call then listening to Master Sargent Washington on the other end. He and Rodriguez were down the street at the Old Edenborough Pub and were checking in. They had felt the explosion and could also hear small arms fire coming from the center of the city. He also told Zack that the pub was without power for now.

The next thing Zack heard was Hamish’s Scottish voice. “Zack, keep your head down it looks like the Generals are doing it, kicking off a coup against President Diem at the Palace and going after key government buildings ... that is the word I have...”

Zack wondered how Hamish knew all this so quickly, but he didn’t dwell on it.

“Thanks, Hamish; keep your head down yourself. I need to check in with my boss Colonel Wolf and see what he wants us to do. Message me any intel. Let me speak to one of my guys.”

Before he could give orders to the two senior sergeants, they were suggesting the plan for the short term. Sounded good to him, he knew when to listen to experience. Now he needed to take care of Heidi and check in with Aunt Kate.

His device was exploding with message traffic as he was trying to get dressed. Early reports indicated a coup d’état in progress here in Saigon, where the government had relocated to when the conflict started up north, threatening Hanoi. Time to get to work.

Since the hotel had no power, he used the flashlight function on the device. “Get dressed, comfortable clothes, and shoes, and take your device, it might be a long night.” He said, all thoughts of sex with his sister banished. Focusing on what was taking place here in Saigon now had his full focus. “It looks like we might have an attempted change of government taking place but based on what I am hearing I’m not sure yet,” he said, sharing what he knew.

“Not my first rodeo when it comes to this shit,” Heidi said, her voice calm. She didn’t argue or ask more questions just grabbed her device from the bedside table then staying low she went to her travel duffel.

Zack didn’t have any of his tactical gear at the hotel. His device was chirping as priority messages hit his inbox as he got dressed. OD green lightweight ACU top and pants, brown sweat-wicking t-shirt, no underwear or socks, and finally his well-worn jungle boots. His VR glasses were tossed on his desk with his sister’s. He grabbed his go bag, a well-used black tactical pack out of the closet that had a few extras that he might need tonight.

Dressed in lightweight hiking pants and a short-sleeved shirt, she slipped on her tennis shoes, as she watched her brother prepare for action while she put her DSLR camera into her daypack and picked up her flute case. A not-unfamiliar scene in the Steele family since 2028, responding to a sudden unexpected conflict.

Zack stuck his arms through his shoulder rig that held his big black semi-automatic pistol. Out of habit, he stuffed his field cap in a cargo pocket then unclipped an earbud from his device and stuck it in his right ear. He tapped out a couple of messages to his boss and team.

“You know Zack, going on vacation with you comes with certain risks. This is becoming a habit.” Heidi said as she tossed her pack over her shoulder and grabbed her raincoat.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to Danika’s room.”

The hallway’s emergency lighting was working, which was a plus. Uniformed men and women were moving down the hallway to the stairs. The gunfire outside the hotel continued to ebb and flow in intensity.

This time it was Danika who greeted Zack with a pistol in her fist. She was issued a sidearm when she was assigned to Naval Support Activity, now she had the pistol in hand as the two of them went into her room. She was dressed in a new green OD uniform like Zack’s but with US Navy patches. They shared what information they each had. All is quiet on the Navy side for the moment. Heidi would stay in Danika’s room for now, her 3rd-floor room was on the interior looking out over the pool instead of the street.

“Be safe,” Heidi said standing with Danika, the two women watching him as he checked his messages.

“Always and hey we still have a date for the baths...” he looked at the time on his device just after midnight, “ ... tonight and I plan to be in the water with both of you...,” he sure hoped so, they were quite a pair when the three of them were together.

He knew his guys were making their way to him from the pub. Things were happening. Dad, General Steele over in Europe. He owed him a quick word.

“Let me see your device,” he said to Heidi. He went to a Swiss-based anonymous encrypted messaging app and typed out a message to his dad’s personal, non-military device. “Piccolo arrived safe in S. Now Prairie Fire, Prairie Fire. Call Dungeon Master on secure work ASAP.” And hit send. He did not think it wise to initiate a call to his father on his military phone just yet. But soon his dad would see the news reports, he was giving him an early warning and a head start.

Danika spoke up after looking at her device, “Looks like General Abrams is making our hotel the temporary tactical command post to monitor the attack on President Diem at the Independence Palace,” she said reading the message. “I’ll head downstairs and get us the dining room to us for the command post.” Danika said, thinking of what needed to be done and taking action.

“My guys are on their way here. I want to check on Kate first.” He said looking at his messages.

He kissed Danika on her lips and gave her a quick hug. He took one last look at her in her new OD green uniform as she holstered her pistol on her green web gun belt. She looked like the proper Naval officer, marooned on land.

Then to his sister, “Not quite the welcome I had planned for you...” she grinned as he kissed his exceptional sister on the mouth, her hand slapping his ass as he turned to head out the door.

“It’s not every girl who gets a coup d’état on their first night in a new town,” she said to his back.

His mind was working on the problem when he noticed some of the hotel’s hallway lights coming on, the backup generator finally kicking in. First Aunt Kate, then meet up with Washington and Rodriguez and go from there.

The Caravelle Hotel was an old historic hotel that opened its doors in 1959 and became home to war correspondents and Embassy staff during the turbulent 1960s. That Aunt Kate chose this hotel was not lost on him both for its proximity to his hotel but also its history. The rain was easing up as Lieutenant Steele made it to the Caravelle.

He found Kate on the Caravelle’s 10th-floor rooftop bar standing out in the light rain shooting a standup spot while talking to her camera. Red and green tracer rounds could be seen bouncing into the sky behind her along with the distant sounds of city combat. Her dark blonde mane was tucked up under a blue baseball cap, her dark blue body armor sported PRESS on the front plate which she wore over a tan short-sleeve shirt. Van, her new young-looking Vietnamese translator / local producer held a hotel umbrella over the small professional-looking camera on a lightweight tripod.

Zack stood behind Van, but underneath the awning out of the rain, as he looked out over the rooftop to the west trying to understand the fighting going on just blocks away in the center of Saigon. Based on the gunfire and explosions he was seeing; the Independence Palace complex was indeed where all this was going down. Standing behind the young woman, he noticed she was dressed in tight black American brand jeans and an even tighter black t-shirt, her long purple highlighted black hair was tucked under a camouflage pattern baseball cap. Van was focused on Kate and had a small pair of earbuds in her ears monitoring the camera’s sound level as Kate spoke. Van probably weighed 90 pounds if that, but in the two days she had been with Kate she had never let up in her energy and ability to get Kate where she needed to be. Van’s family was extremely well connected both politically and in business.

“Hey, Zack!” Katalin said, finished with her piece, as Van picked up the equipment moved the video camera out of the rain, and took a seat at the bar. At Van’s feet sat a matching set of body armor, child-size by the look of it, like Kate’s sported PRESS on its plate cover. There were still a few hardy Westerners and their local girlfriends sitting at the bar drinking and watching the deadly light show, undisturbed by the fighting a few blocks away. The hotel itself had its lights on, probably running on a backup generator.

“Kate, I see you’re in the right place, again. You know what’s happening?” This wasn’t the time for a lot of small talk. He was not surprised she was already on the roof with a great view reporting on breaking news.

She started to answer then held up her hand, motioning him to hold the thought as she took a call on her device while turning away from him.

From his go-bag, Zack took out his German digital 7x50 binoculars and went to the edge of the roof. Parts of the city were still dark. He assumed the bright flash and explosion from earlier was as much a signal as part of a larger plan but one the organizers knew would only be temporary. His scan of central Saigon told him as much as he could expect from over a kilometer away.

His phone rang in his ear, and he answered. “Zack, COL Wolf, where are you?”

Zack gave his boss, who could have passed for John Wayne in the classic Vietnam War movie The Green Berets, the facts as he had them while he stood in the light rain looking out at the city. He was up high where he could see to the west and observe the fighting. Wolf affirmed the Army-Navy hotel was the new tactical command post. He was on his way with a couple of gun trucks and more gear and people from the office. Wolf would be in touch. Zack was not to get committed and to keep his head down. Report any updates.

Zack went back under cover of the awning joining his aunt who was busy on her device. Van was talking to the bartender who was making drinks as they talked.

He heard the doors behind him open, he turned at the sound of the loud voices entering the bar.

Washington and Rodriguez moved into the bar, they smelt like whisky but looked steady. Dressed in their ugly Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts they both had big shit-eating grins. Action junkies now switched on. They also carried Israeli Galil automatic rifles, the current infantry weapon of the Vietnamese Army, and the cargo pockets of their shorts were stuffed with rifle magazines. Hamish came in behind them pulling a rolling Pelican case dressed in jeans and a casual untucked shirt like he usually wore when working at the bar. He stuck out his hand, which Zack shook.

“We came as fast as we could, and I brought a few toys.” Just like Zack’s two NCOs, the retired Royal Marine Officer was grinning, happy to be in the action. “I also found someone you know wandering around the lobby.”

Behind Hamish stood Heidi, her daypack over her shoulder, carrying her flute case, her eyes already looking out over the city then walking toward her aunt, ignoring Zack for the moment as she pulled a Nikon DSLR camera with a medium-sized telephoto lens out of her day pack. Kate stopped her work and opened her arms for a hug from her niece then walked to the edge of the roof together.

Heidi spotted her brother, “Sorry Zack. With everything going on, I couldn’t sit in the room by myself and not do something. I decided to go across the street and look for Kate and lucky for me I found your friends downstairs. Here I am.” Heidi said her expression was not apologetic, her eyes already looking out at the city listening to the familiar sounds of combat.

“Well, you’re here, keep your head down and listen to Kate.” He said to her back.

Heidi had been through worse situations and done fine. For the moment he would trust that Kate would help keep an eye on her. Zack had a quick conference with the three men. Yes, a coup was in progress. Right now, the main point of conflict appeared in the Independence Palace complex where the President was. The President had become very unpopular in the last few months so that this was happening now was not a huge surprise, said Hamish. He had reports of Army units taking over other key government buildings and cordoning off streets downtown, meeting limited resistance. For a ‘bar owner,’ he knew a lot and had easy access to advanced weapons.

Van brought around a tray with cups of black coffee which was appreciated by all. MSG Rodriguez had posted himself by the door. MSG Washington had Zack’s binoculars and was scanning the city, rifle slung across his back as he spoke to someone via his device. Hamish pulled a set of military-grade binoculars from the case and went to join Washington.

“L-T come take a look,” Washington said. As he spoke, they could hear a helicopter overhead, it was running without any lights.

Kate grabbed the video camera and moved to the edge of the roof, followed by Heidi and Van. Heidi taking her DSLR camera with her.

Zack took the binoculars and using the low light settings tried to find the bird. All he saw was a massive amount of ground fire from the direction of the Presidential Place directed into the sky, reflectively squatting lower below the edge of the roof’s cement railing. Over the noise, they could hear the helicopter changing direction. Suddenly the helicopter, an older model Russian cargo helicopter passed low over the hotel’s rooftop trailing sparks and smoke, its mission suddenly aborted.

Kate filmed it all with Heidi on her shoulder firing away with her own DSLR camera a grin on her face.

His phone rang in his ear, the Caller ID voice said General Steele. He answered.

“What’s going on Zack? We are in Gdansk this weekend away from my office,” his father said.

The ground fire had ebbed as the helicopter flew overhead but the intensity of the fighting on the ground suddenly picked up now adding in the heavy sounds of cannon fire.

Over the sound of the gunfire, he gave his dad a quick update. The General thanked him for the heads up and paused listening to the noise behind Zack on the call that emphasized the seriousness of the moment. Brock would start making calls trying to get ahead information-wise. Zack knew this geopolitical event had the potential to affect their family’s business interests. His dad asked about Heidi and Zack told him the truth. Brock laughed and said he would call his sister Kate soon. Then he ended the call.

For the rest of the night, they stayed on the rooftop watching the deadly light show. The US Military had been directed to stay put and stay out of what the national command authority considered a local matter. Kate continued to film updates while speaking live to newsrooms around the world. Heidi wandered around the rooftop bar taking pictures while watching her aunt work. After the helicopter flew over, Hamish went to a dark corner of the roof with Zack and launched a very high-tech stealth drone out over the city which he then monitored with a small control pad. Where the video and signals intelligence were ultimately sent, he did not share with Zack.

As dawn broke over the city Kate took a call and was asked to head to Independence Palace for the first interview with the interim leader of the new government. Heidi went with her and Van. Zack watched his sister, she seemed more alive than he had seen her in ages; excited, curious, awake. She was drawn to the sound of the guns, the action, just like every other Steele.

Heidi and Kate came to him before they left, “Will I see you both at the baths tonight?” he asked.

Kate answered, “Absolutely you will, then the two of you are coming back to my suite afterward, maybe I’ll invite Van too.” She smiled having noticed where Zack’s eyes had lingered throughout the morning, on her assistant’s cute body.

“See you later little brother and thanks for a great first night in Saigon,” she kissed him on the cheek then laughed as she followed Van after Kate to the elevator.

Smoke rose from the city center, but the sounds of fighting had been over for hours when COL Wolf ordered them off the roof and back to his hotel for an after-action debrief. Washington and Rodriguez returned the automatic rifles to Hamish and helped him get the gear back to his SUV while Zack went to meet COL Wolf.

Washington paused before heading downstairs, “Sir if you don’t mind me saying you have a hell of a family, that Kate is something else. Your sister looks like she might have caught the bug tonight ... good luck.” He chuckled to himself as he snagged a couple of long necks off the bar.

Lot of truth in the Sergeant’s words, he could see that himself.

Heading downstairs, Zack sent a short situation update to Danika; ending with that he was heading back to the hotel for a debrief with his team.

Later that morning he knocked on Danika’s door. Hearing her voice, he used his device to unlock the door. His timing was good, she was just exiting the shower in all her naked glory when he walked in.