Chapter 21 — Forest Keeper

The whole night before, Khue, Nguyen and Ma Van Loc carefully discussed plans for the next night. They decided that they could not rely solely on Pao's report, but needed someone to directly observe and record the delivery as irrefutable evidence, and at the same time determine the exact time to notify the authorities to catch them red-handed.

"I will contact the district police and ask them to send a coordinated reconnaissance team to wait in the nearby area," Loc said, his voice had now regained some of the decisiveness of a station chief, as if being able to actually take action, instead of just silently suffering, had helped him rediscover a part of himself before. "But I'm also worried that if information is leaked from within the district, the plan could fall apart."

"I contacted Mr. Duong," Khue said. "He said his unit will send people to coordinate directly with the provincial police, without going through the district channel, to ensure confidentiality. But they need at least a day to move and deploy, not in time for tonight."

"So tonight, I can only observe and record evidence, I can't make an arrest right away," Nguyen concluded, his voice serious. "It's a risky choice, but if you miss it, there may not be another chance."

When hearing the plan, May, without hesitation, asked to participate directly instead of just staying at the station. "I can't sit still while you two go out to face danger," she said, her voice unshakable. "Three people will be safer than two, they can be divided and observed from many angles."

Khue looked at her friend and wanted to object because she was worried about May's safety, but she also understood this colleague's personality - once she made a decision, May would not easily change her mind. "Okay, but you must follow all my instructions and not act on your own."

"Yes, I promise," May replied, her eyes shining with determination mixed with a bit of fear that she tried to hide.

Finally, the plan was agreed upon: Khue, Nguyen and May would approach the secret gathering area that Pao had revealed, keep a safe distance, observe and record from afar, while Loc stayed at the station, ready to mobilize support forces if an emergency situation occurred.

That night, the three quietly left the station after dark, following the shortcut Khue had memorized, staying away from the main trail to minimize the risk of being discovered. The light of the waning moon was only dim enough to illuminate, forcing them to use flashlights covered with red cloth to limit the light from reaching far.

After nearly two hours of careful movement, they approached the staging area, hearing the sound of truck engines and people talking in the distance. Khue signaled the group to stop and find a safe hiding place on a high promontory, with a panoramic view of the empty land below.

Through binoculars, Khue observed a scene larger than what she imagined - not just one, but three trucks loaded with sawn wood, along with a number of small iron cages, inside of which flickered the shapes of animals stirring, perhaps rare species captured for trade. About ten men were working quickly, and standing in the middle of the yard directing, the familiar imposing figure that Khue recognized immediately from the photo in the newspaper was Ta Quoc Bao.

"It's him," she whispered to Nguyen, her hands shaking slightly as she adjusted the camera with a telephoto lens to capture the clearest image possible in low light conditions.

Just as Nguyen started recording the video, a strange noise rang out behind them — the sound of footsteps stepping on dry branches. The three turned around, but it was too late. From the darkness, three figures appeared, high-powered flashlights shining directly in their faces, blinding the group and making them unable to react.

"Stationary!" a man's voice shouted loudly, at the same time the sound of a hunting rifle being loaded rang out clearly in the quiet night.

Khue's heart froze with fear, but the survival instinct quickly took over. "Run!" she shouted, pulling the hand of May who was standing closest, rushing into the darkness in the opposite direction of the attackers.

The sound of gunfire rang out from behind, the bullet grazed a nearby tree, sending pieces of tree bark flying. The three rushed away in the dark, no time to consider the direction, they could only run, run as far as possible from their pursuers with weapons in hand.

"Detached!" Nguyen shouted loudly between gasps for breath, "It's easy to get caught if we go together!"

"No, we have to stay close to each other!" Khue shouted back, but in the chaos of darkness and running footsteps, she felt that May had separated from her and Nguyen Tu's direction, perhaps because the rough terrain forced her to turn another way.

"Cloud!" Khue shouted, but there was no response, only the sound of pursuing footsteps continued to follow closely behind.

Nguyen held Khue's hand tightly, pulling her into a narrow ravine he had just discovered, where he could temporarily hide from the pursuers' sight. The two leaned close to the cliff, panting, trying to suppress each breath so as not to make a sound.

"Where are the clouds?" Khue whispered, her voice shaking with extreme worry.

"I don't know, we have to trust her to know how to protect herself," Nguyen replied, his voice was also filled with anxiety but trying to stay calm to reassure her. "Now, we need to find a way to get out of here safely first, then we can go back to find her."

The sound of pursuing footsteps gradually grew farther, it seemed that the attackers had split up in different directions to search. Khue and Nguyen held their breath, standing motionless in the dark ravine for nearly fifteen minutes, until all sounds of pursuit were completely silent, leaving only the sound of night insects and the sound of wind blowing through the rocks.

"We need to contact Mr. Loc immediately," Khue said, his hands trembling as he took out the phone, but the screen only showed the words "no signal" - this deep mountain area is outside the normal coverage area.

"There's no signal," she said, her voice starting to sound truly panicked. "We have to find our own way back, or find a place with signal to report the news."

Nguyen grabbed her shoulder and looked straight into her eyes in the dim darkness. "We'll be fine. You know this forest better than anyone. You lead the way, I'll follow you closely. We'll find our way back, and we'll find May."

Khue nodded, trying to suppress her rising fear to focus on her instincts and many years of experience in the jungle. She looked up at the sky, looking for familiar stars to orient herself, then began to lead Nguyen carefully through the dangerous terrain, each step carrying fear for May's safety, and a high level of vigilance against the risk that pursuers could appear at any time from the surrounding darkness.

They followed a mountainside covered with thorny bushes, sometimes having to crawl over steep terrain to avoid making loud noises. Nguyen, although not as familiar with the terrain as Khue, tried to follow her every step, occasionally reaching out to help her through slippery rocks, and conversely, when he almost slipped down a small crevice, it was Khue who promptly pulled him back.

"I heard the sound of water," Nguyen whispered after about forty minutes of continuous movement, when both were tired and sweaty even though the night was quite cold.

Khue listened carefully and realized that it was the sound of a flowing stream coming from the front. "If it's the stream I think it is, we can follow it to find our way toward the station, and perhaps get closer to the area with phone signal."

They continued to move in the direction of the sound of the water, and after about fifteen minutes, they reached the bank of a small stream that Khue immediately recognized - a side branch of Nam Dam stream, not too far from the station as the crow flies, although the actual terrain was still difficult ahead.

At that moment, Khue's phone suddenly vibrated slightly, signaling that a weak signal had been detected. She quickly called Loc, her hands shaking because she was both tired and worried.

"Mr. Loc, we were ambushed and got separated from May while running away," she said quickly, her voice still panting. "We are near the side stream west of the staging area, need urgent support, and need to find May."

"I received it, don't turn it off if there's still a signal, I'll mobilize someone to find it right away," Loc's voice filled with worry through the phone, the sound of him calling for someone else to prepare rang out in the background. "You two try to find a safe hiding place, don't move any further if not necessary, so I can easily locate you." His voice choked a bit before hanging up. "Just wait, I'll be there soon."