Chapter 17 — Summer Rescuer

Two days after the Tourism Council meeting, Bach Duong received an urgent summons call from Mr. Sinh, head of the department directly managing him at the Central Region Maritime Safety and Registry Department, asking him to return to the headquarters to "directly report the work situation". He drove for three hours in a heavy mood, with a hunch that this meeting would not be simple.

Mr. Sinh received him in his private office, his face serious, no longer the usual friendliness seen in previous phone conversations. "Bach Duong, I just received an official complaint from the Gold Coast Group, accusing you of exceeding your official authority, engaging in biased behavior, and disclosing internal information to an unauthorized third party — specifically, a local lifeguard."

"Sir, I'm just carrying out my assigned safety survey responsibility," Bach Duong replied, trying to keep his voice calm even though in his heart he could already feel the storm coming. "Sharing monitoring data with local rescue teams is necessary to ensure timely field safety, not an unauthorized disclosure of internal information."

"I understand your point of view," Mr. Sinh said, his voice softening a bit but still maintaining the tension. "But you also need to understand my position. Gold Coast Group has partnerships with many major projects in the region, including projects the Bureau is jointly overseeing. If I do not handle this complaint satisfactorily, the pressure will be on the entire Bureau, not just you."

"So how are you going to handle it?" Bach Duong asked directly, although his voice began to tremble with both anxiety and anger.

Mr. Sinh sighed and rubbed his hands together, a sign of real awkwardness. "I will temporarily withdraw you from the survey mission at Duong Xanh, transfer you to another project in a neighboring province while waiting for the complaint to be reviewed. The report you submitted will be received and re-evaluated by another inspection team from the beginning."

Bach Duong felt like the ground beneath his feet collapsed. "Does that mean my entire two months of work will be thrown aside, and another crew, with no field experience, will have to start from scratch — while the peak tourist season is still going on, and the risk is still present every day?"

"I have no other choice, Bach Duong," Mr. Sinh replied, his voice carrying a rare sincerity of helplessness. "This is a decision from my superiors, not my personal opinion."

Before leaving the office, Mr. Sinh held him back a little longer, his voice lowered as if he was afraid someone would hear even though there were only two people in the office. "Bach Duong, I'm not saying this as a superior, but as someone who has gone through the path you are walking. Fifteen years ago, when I was as young as you are now, I discovered serious wrongdoing at a large fishing port, involving several powerful officials. I fought, wrote reports, believed that the truth would prevail. But in the end, I was transferred to another job, my file was forgotten in a drawer for many years, until the port itself That company collapsed partly because of the mistakes I warned about, causing much more serious damage."

"So you're saying I should give up?" Bach Duong asked, his voice a bit bitter.

"No," Mr. Sinh shook his head, his eyes containing a rare sincerity. "What I mean is, don't just rely on the system to protect the truth. The system can be slow, it can bend under pressure. If you believe what you discover, find other channels to make sure the truth is not buried with my transfer decision. I can't openly support you right now, but I won't actively stop you either, as long as you follow the correct process and have solid evidence."

That half-hidden statement, although not full support, still gave Bach Duong a small glimmer of hope that not everyone in the system had been completely bribed.

Bach Duong left the Department headquarters in a chaotic mood, both angry and worried. He immediately called Thao Nhi, his voice unable to hide his disappointment as he recounted the whole incident.

"They can't do that," Thao Nhi said, her voice also filled with indignation over the phone. "You did everything right, had all the evidence, and yet they still found a way to rip you off."

"This is exactly what happened eight years ago," Bach Duong said, his voice heavy. "They don't need to prove us wrong. They just need to slow down the process, change the person in charge, create enough chaos that no one can come to a clear conclusion before the tourist season ends."

"So were you really transferred?" Thao Nhi asked, her voice shaking with worry.

"I have seven days before the decision officially takes effect," Bach Duong replied. "I will take advantage of every remaining day to complete the report, collect more evidence, and hand over everything to reporter Viet Ha before I am forced to leave, if that really happens."

That evening, when Bach Duong returned to Duong Xanh with a tired face, the whole rescue team gathered at the station to listen to Thao Nhi recount the situation. The atmosphere in the small meeting room became tense, but also filled with determination.

"If they intend to move you away to easily cover up this story," Anh Kiet said, his voice sharp, "then we have to be quicker. I can contact a few old journalist friends in the South and ask if they have any channels to help speed up the reporting."

Thao Nhi looked at Anh Kiet with eyes of surprise mixed with gratitude. "Do you know the reporter?"

"Old classmate, now works at a pretty big online newspaper," Anh Kiet replied, a bit embarrassed by the sudden attention. "I don't like to make a fuss about anything, but this time is different. I personally carried little Tom out of that water. I can't pretend I never saw that."

Trong Nghi nodded in agreement, his eyes filled with pride as he looked around his team. "We will do everything in our power to support Mr. Duong and Ms. Thao Nhi. This is no longer a personal matter, but a shared responsibility of the whole team, of this whole town."

Bach Duong looked around the small room, where people he had known for less than two months were unanimously standing on his side, ready to face a force much greater than them. He felt a deep emotion, different from the familiar loneliness of previous business trips, where he was always an outsider who came and went, leaving no mark other than dry report pages.

"Thank you, everyone," he said, his voice choked with emotion. "I never thought I would find a team like this in a place I only planned to stay for a few weeks."

"Then don't go," Thao Nhi said softly, holding his hand in front of the whole team, no longer hiding her feelings. "No matter where they move you, I believe you will find a way to come back. We have so much work to do together."

The whole team smiled at that moment, even though everyone understood the seriousness of what lay ahead. But in that small room, among the people who had bonded together through each challenging summer, there was a common faith growing — the faith that the truth, no matter how delayed, would eventually find its way to the light.

After the informal meeting ended, Nhat Quynh, the youngest person in the team, stayed behind to help Bach Duong rearrange the pile of documents that were gradually becoming thicker with each week of investigation. "Mr. Duong," he said, his voice a bit hesitant like that of youth but his eyes full of seriousness, "I want to ask, if you are no longer here in the future, who will continue to measure data like you do? I'm not good at calculations like you, but I can learn, if you show me how to operate those devices."

The young soldier's innocent but sincere question deeply touched Bach Duong. He spent the entire evening instructing Nhat Quynh how to read basic data from the sensors, how to recognize abnormal signs of flow through the numbers displayed on the tablet, in case the worst happened and he really had to leave Duong Xanh before everything was completely resolved. Looking at the young soldier attentively recording every detail, Bach Duong felt that, even though he personally might be transferred, the spirit of vigilance and responsibility that he had sown here would not be easily extinguished.