Chapter 23 — Fire Behind the Line

The text message from Vo Ba Tho arrived at nine o'clock in the evening, short but full of meaning: "Old Dong Kieu cinema, eleven o'clock at night. Just the two of you. I will bring evidence."

Dong Kieu Cinema is an ancient building built in the sixties, discontinued for more than twenty years, located right in the heart of the old town, also one of the locations within the boundary of the "Dong Kieu Prosperity" project. This abandoned building has long served as a shelter for the homeless, and most recently, has hosted a few small community art exhibitions spontaneously organized by neighborhood residents to preserve the memory of this place.

"This location is too public to be a secret meeting place." Trong Khiem said, frowning and looking at the map of the cinema area. "But at the same time, at this hour, it's deserted enough that no one will pay attention to what's happening inside."

The support team is discreetly arranged around the area, disguised as ordinary people or hiding in neighboring buildings, ready to respond as soon as the signal is given. Captain Dinh, even though he was not allowed to directly participate in the official arrest campaign, still quietly had a fire truck stationed not far away, with the official reason of periodically patrolling the old town, in case of any fire-related emergencies.

"I have a bad feeling, Thien Ly." He spoke over the private walkie-talkie before she entered the cinema. "Be careful every second, you hear?"

"I heard it, Uncle Dinh." She replied, trying to keep her voice calm even though she couldn't deny the feeling of insecurity creeping in.

Thien Ly and Trong Khiem entered the cinema at exactly eleven o'clock at night, carrying sophisticatedly disguised recording and positioning devices. The large wooden door at the main entrance made a sickening creak as they pushed in, as if the building itself was warning them of what was about to happen.

Inside the theater, the space was dark, with only moonlight filtering through broken windows to shine on the dusty floor and rows of seats that had rotted over time. The smell of mold and rotten wood filled her nose, mixed with a strange smell that Thien Ly could not immediately identify.

"Mr. Tho?" Trong Khiem called out, his voice echoing in the vast space of the abandoned movie theater.

A figure appeared from the stage, stepping out into the faint moonlight. It was Vo Ba Tho, but he looked completely different from the neat, powerful image that Thien Ly often saw - wrinkled clothes, haggard face, eyes full of panic and fatigue of a person who had been on the run for many days.

"You guys are here." He said, his voice shaking. "I... I brought proof, as promised."

He held out a small USB, his hands shaking. "In here are all the financial transaction records between me and Tang Huu Phat over the past eight years, as well as emails and text messages that I secretly saved as a way to protect myself, in case he wanted to destroy me."

Trong Khiem carefully received the USB, but his eyes still did not leave Mr. Tho, the vigilance was still clearly visible on his face. "Thank you. But why did you choose to cooperate now?"

"Because I know I have no way back." Mr. Tho replied, his voice filled with despair. "Tang Huu Phat called me this morning, saying that if I couldn't make sure everything was kept quiet, he would take care of it his own way. I understood what he meant. I didn't want to be the next person to be 'dealt with' like he did to the others."

At that moment, Thien Ly smelled a strange smell that was becoming clearer — the smell of industrial solvent, the same type of catalyst that she was so familiar with from all previous fires.

"It smells like gasoline." She spoke, her voice tense, her eyes quickly scanning the dark space of the movie theater.

Just as she finished speaking, a loud noise rang out from the main door, and the fire suddenly flared up fiercely, blocking the only exit they had just entered. All three of them turned around in surprise, witnessing the sea of fire spreading at a terrifying speed, clearly sparked from many points at the same time.

"This is a trap!" Trong Khiem shouted, pulling Thien Ly back from the oncoming heat.

Mr. Tho stood dumbfounded, his face white with horror. "No... it's impossible... Tang Huu Phat knew I would meet you guys here. He followed me."

The fire spread unusually quickly, devouring rows of rotten wooden chairs, crawling up moss-covered walls, forming a giant wall of fire blocking the main exit. Black smoke began to billow, filling the large space of the cinema, causing visibility to quickly become severely limited.

"We need to find another way out!" Thien Ly shouted, her professional instincts immediately took over her mind, pushing aside all panic to focus on survival. "This theater definitely has an emergency exit behind the stage, for actors and backstage staff!"

She dragged Trong Khiem and Mr. Tho towards the stage, trying to remember the typical structure of the old cinemas that she had learned about during her professional training. The thick smoke made breathing difficult, all three had to crouch low and use their sleeves to cover their noses and mouths to limit inhaling toxic smoke.

"Here it is!" Thien Ly found a small door behind the stage, leading to a narrow hallway that she guessed would lead to the back of the building.

But when she pushed the door, a stream of thick black smoke rushed in, showing that the fire had spread to the backstage area. The fire was surrounding them from many sides, shrinking the remaining safe space at a terrifying speed.

"We're stuck." Mr. Tho said, his voice filled with despair, his legs shaking uncontrollably.

Trong Khiem quickly contacted via disguised radio. "This is an emergency situation, we are trapped in a fire at Dong Kieu cinema, need firefighting and rescue assistance immediately!"

Outside, the support team received the alarm signal and immediately deployed, and called an emergency alarm to Fire Brigade No. 3 and neighboring units. But inside the burning building, time seems to slow down terrifyingly, with each passing second bringing the risk of death closer.

"We need to find a safe space to wait for the rescue team to arrive." Thien Ly said, trying to keep her voice calm even though her heart was racing. "The cinema room on the second floor, if intact, is probably the safest place right now, away from the main fire spots."

All three people ran back up the stairs leading to the second floor, which used to be the main cinema room of the theater, hoping that the fire had not yet reached that place, and that they could hold out long enough to wait for the rescue that was on the way.

The wooden staircase leading to the second floor had begun to smoke, each step creaked ominously under their footsteps. Thien Ly took the lead, carefully checking the sturdiness of each step before allowing Trong Khiem and Mr. Tho to follow. Her many years of experience in the profession helped her recognize signs of danger that normal people could hardly notice.

"Mr. Tho, are you okay?" Trong Khiem asked when he saw the older man panting, one hand clutching his chest.

"I... I'm fine." Mr. Tho replied, although his voice was full of physical and mental pain. "It's just... I didn't expect things to end like this. I thought I came here to redeem myself, but I didn't expect to become part of a trap I helped create."

Reaching the second floor, they noticed that smoke had begun to creep through the door cracks, but the fire had not yet spread directly to this large movie theater area. The rows of red velvet seats have faded over time, and the giant projection screen covered in dust still hangs in front, like a silent witness to the generations of audiences who have sat here to enjoy the movies of a bygone era.

"How long will it take for the fire department to arrive?" Mr. Tho asked, his voice filled with worry as he heard the roar of the fire growing louder from below.

"Not much longer." Thien Ly replied, trying to keep her voice calm even though she clearly felt the danger surrounding her. "The nearest station is only about ten minutes away. We just need to hold out until then."

She looked around the theater room, looking for any other escape routes that might be left, while mentally calculating how much oxygen was left in the space that was slowly being invaded by smoke. Every passing second carries a terrible weight, as the boundary between life and death seems to be thinning with each roll of black smoke rising from the floor below.