Chapter 20 — The Journey of the Missing Bronze Drum

The emergency meeting room at the provincial police headquarters near Vinh Sa port was filled with people at seven o'clock in the evening: representatives of the economic police, the special reconnaissance team, port customs, and, via an online video connection, even Elena Marchetti from Rome, even though it was almost midnight in her local time.

Hai stood in front of an enlarged map of the industrial park, using a laser pen to point to each location while presenting the plan. "The target is the cold storage area under the name of Toan Hai Phat's subsidiary, with two entrances - the main gate with a guard on duty, the side gate leading to a dirt road with few people. We are divided into three shots: the first shot blocks the main gate, preventing any vehicles from leaving; the second shot approaches the side gate, where there is a high possibility that goods will be transported out if there is a change; the third shot, in charge of me and Ms. Diem, directly approaches the inside of the warehouse as soon as the two outer shots are locked tightly. escape routes."

A special reconnaissance officer, with a sturdy figure, sitting in the front row, raised his hand to interrupt. "Old cold storages often have thick soundproof structures and heavy steel doors. If movement is detected inside before we can get close, they can barricade themselves or try to destroy evidence. We need a plan to break down the door quickly, and at the same time have someone approach the area where artifacts are likely to be stored first, separate from areas where there may be armed personnel, if any."

"According to the reconnaissance report," Hai replied, "the cold storage area was originally designed with a main cold room in the center, with good soundproofing due to the characteristics of preserving seafood in the past, and surrounding auxiliary rooms. There is a high possibility that the artifacts are stored in the main cold room, where the low temperature is also unintentionally beneficial for preserving a metal artifact, avoiding attention if there is a cursory inspection from the outside."

"Time to act?" another reconnaissance officer asked.

"Four o'clock in the morning," Hai replied. "The time when people are least alert is at the same time dark enough for our team to approach without being detected from afar, but also early enough to not have to completely rely on night vision equipment for all operations."

Diem stood up and added the part related to the artifact. "Special note should be taken: if the bronze drum is actually present in the warehouse, the seizure must comply with strict antiquities preservation procedures. Do not drag, do not impact strongly, there must be at least two people with archaeological expertise directly involved in moving the artifact from the scene, avoiding any risk of further damage to an artifact that was fortunate enough to remain intact after being stolen."

Elena, through the screen, added her voice. "From our side, I have contacted Singapore customs, asking them to increase monitoring of all suspicious shipments in the next forty-eight hours, in case tonight's operation is not completely successful and the ring tries to disperse the artifacts through another route. I have also prepared documents to be able to immediately issue an international arrest warrant if Vu Bach Long, or anyone in the ring, tries to escape abroad after the operation is exposed."

A higher-ranking officer, in charge of final approval for the operation, asked the question that everyone was secretly worried about. "Do we have enough legal basis to raid this cold storage area? This is legal private property on paper, we need a search warrant approved by the right authority, we cannot just rely on the testimony of a loading worker and professional reasoning."

Hai nodded and handed over a thick file. "We completed the procedure for an emergency warrant this afternoon, based on the entire chain of evidence: the call recording between Ta Bach Son and the subject alias Van, the container balance results showing a suspicious weight difference, the log of unusual internal movements last night, and the testimony of a direct witness about the delivery of a package to this exact location. The search warrant was approved by the court at five o'clock in the afternoon, effective for the next seventy-two hours."

The room breathed a sigh of relief. The senior officer nodded and signed the final plan. "Approved. Operation begins at four o'clock tomorrow morning, as proposed."

He paused, looked around the meeting room before speaking further, his voice serious. "I want to remind everyone of one thing: this is not just an ordinary antiquities recovery operation. This could be a breakthrough for a twelve-year long case, related to the death of a researcher. We need to work carefully, according to the correct procedure, so that all evidence obtained tonight has solid legal value, without allowing any procedural errors to create an opportunity for the defense lawyer to overturn the situation later."

Diem nodded, feeling the weight of that reminder on her shoulders, not like a negative pressure, but like a shared commitment that the whole room had just made together.

The meeting gradually dispersed, everyone dispersed to prepare equipment and assign specific positions. Diem lingered in the empty meeting room, looking at the map one last time, feeling an indescribable feeling of nervousness and anxiety - not the fear of physical danger, but the fear of someone who has waited too long for a moment, now that moment is near, afraid that it will not happen as she expected.

Hai stepped next to her and gave her a compact bulletproof armor. "You need to wear this, although we don't expect shots to be fired, safety procedures require it for anyone participating in a direct approach."

Diem took the shirt, feeling its weight in her hand, a weight completely different from the weight of the ancient artifacts she was used to holding every day in her appraisal work.

"I never thought I would wear this one day," she said, her voice trembling in a rare way.

"I never thought that one day I would work with a museum expert on a large-scale raid campaign like this," Hai replied, the corner of his mouth curled up in a slight smile, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. "But I believe you will be fine. You have proven yourself to be brave enough over the past two weeks, more than many colleagues I have worked with."

Diem put on the armor, feeling heavy but also strangely more secure. "Seven more hours to go," she said, looking at the clock on the wall. "Seven hours to wait for the decisive moment after twelve years."

Before leaving the meeting room, Diem called Mr. Khoat and briefly informed him about the plan, although he did not give specific details over the phone in accordance with agreed confidentiality principles. His voice trembled when he heard the news, not because of fear, but because of an emotion that he tried to hide behind his usual short sentences.

"You won't be able to sleep tonight," he said. "Call me as soon as the results come back, no matter the time."

"I promise," Diem replied, then hung up and stood silently for a moment in the empty hallway of the provincial police headquarters, where fluorescent lights bounced off the cold tile floor.

She also called Ta Bach Son at his safe place, briefly informed him that the operation was about to take place, and reminded him to continue to stay where he was, absolutely not contacting anyone outside until further notice. He only responded with a short sentence, his voice filled with both hope and fear: "I will pray for everything to go well, Miss Diem."

"So we should use those seven hours to rest, even if it's only for a few hours," Hai said. "A tired body is not a good ally in a campaign that requires absolute alertness."

"Can you sleep, before important campaigns?" Diem asked, truly curious.

Hai laughed softly, a short laugh that somewhat relieved the tense atmosphere. "It's never been perfect. But I've learned to lie still and close my eyes, letting my body rest even though my mind is still awake. Sometimes that's enough."

Diem nodded, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, not tonight. She looked out the conference room window, where the night sky had begun to be dotted with sparse stars through the thin layer of clouds, and somewhere out there, fifteen kilometers from where she stood, a bronze drum with a nine-winged stray bird pattern was still lying silently in the darkness, waiting, just like she had waited, for a journey longer than anyone could have imagined when it had just disappeared from a small shack in the middle of the night rain.

Seven hours, she thought, tightening the flap of her armor across her chest. The last seven hours of a journey that had taken too long, and she wasn't about to let it end in any other way than in the fullest truth she could find, whatever shape that truth took when it finally revealed itself under the cold storage lights at four in the morning.