Chapter 2

At about the same time, but the scenery is now the spacious office of the military attache in Vietiane, young Lieutenant Edwin Mc Cullough felt deeply concerned about the fact that Saigon had not bothered to reply to their request for instructions on the Li Xieng affair.

Li Xieng had been the first interesting thing to happen to Lieutenant Mc Cullough since he had taken his post in Laos. He remembered clearly the fat, frightened visitor he had received almost a week ago a whole week, and no reply from Saigon! a visitor who offered to give vital information about the developments of Red troops in North Vietnam as well as about infiltration of North Vietnamese units in Laos. With the bloody war going on, what could be more vital!

And Li Xieng wasn't just anybody, a faceless Oriental selling phony informations! He was a prominent official in the Laotian government and what he demanded in exchange was safety for himself and his family and that he be sent to the United States. Apparently;, his position was weakening considerably due to Communist pressure and he wanted out before it was too late.

Lieutenant Mc Cullough remembered his excitement when he had spoken of the matter to his superior, Godfrey Taylor, the American Consul in Vientane. And even calm, collected Mr. Taylor couldn't suppress the interested glint in his eyes at the thought that Li Xieng was willing to see such vital information for a one-way ticket for himself and his family to the U.S.A.

"Prepare a report for Saigon and we'll get it dispatched there by courier," he had instructed his attache.

That was a whole week ago!

Lieutenant Mc Cullough couldn't help wondering that V.I.S. Vietnamese Intelligence Service behaved in strange ways, a thought which strengthened as each morning dawned and still no news....

He knew that Li Xieng couldn't wait much longer. He had done a lot of home-work on his escape to the States, and had been as confident as the young attache that Saigon would jump at his proposition ... As he mused on the strange silence from V.I.S., Lieutenant Mc Cullough was unaware that at this precise moment, the subject of his worried thoughts was agonizing in some wood at the outskirts of the city.

Indeed, time had run short for the Laotian politician and he had been kidnapped and led to this small clearing. There was nothing he could do as he stood his arms hanging limply at his sides, facing his attackers.

"Li Xieng, you are accused of attempting to self information to the Americans. The penalty for treason is death."

The cold, final words made Li Xieng's blood freeze, but his natural dignity stopped him from going to pieces. With Oriental fatalism, he realized that his hour had come, and hoped that death would be quick and merciful....

Hands came out of the total darkness, caught hold of his arms and dragged him backwards. Rapidly, ne was securely tied to the trunk of a tree. One of the men caught hold of his coat, opening it and unbuttoning his shirt to expose his pale paunch.

Li Xieng felt cold steel touch his exposed stomach and he shivered at the thought of the atrocious death expecting him. He shuddered violently as the sharp blade sank into his quivering flesh as if it was being pushed into butter, and didn't top until nothing could be seen but the handle.

"So must all traitors die," he heard the man who had pushed the knife into him say.

And then the agony made it impossible for him to hear any more. Excruciating pain flooded all his senses, and he was no longer a man, but an animal suffering the pangs of a mortal wounds. Straining wretchedly on the ropes that held him so tight, he began to make a long drawn out howling noise, only stopping to sob some more breath into his lungs. Li Xieng had been condemned to a slow, very slow death.

He agonized for a whole hour while his judges watched impassibly the horrible spectacle of a man struggling in his death throes. But finally, the animal-like sobs and howls subsided. There was a last long moan. And then silence, nothing could be heard except the sound of the wind in the trees....

The following morning, Godfrey Taylor received a laconic message from Saigon, saying that V.I.S. had decided to drop the Li Xieng affair. The message was signed in neat hand writing by Mr. Alexander Knight....

Alexander Knight sat at his desk in the offices of the V.I S. in Saigon a slight frown marring the usual marble impassibility of his handsome face. He was to interview Lieutenant Edwin Mc Cullough in a few minutes time. Of course, he had immediately remembered the link between this Mc Cullough fellow and the Li Xieng incident some months ago. But since the Lieutenant had been recommended to join his staff by some high ranking officer, in Washington Alex knew that he would have to tread carefully.

There was a knock on the door, and in walked Edwin Mc Cullough. Alex, usually quite alert, became even more so as he appreciated the newcomer's appearance. An all-American boy with close-cropped blonde hair and sharp blue eyes, the young man looked like a very determined character, and the conversation that followed strengthened Alex's first impression that the Lieutenant was only too suited for the job.

And now the interview was drawing to an end, the two men having measured each other in a brilliant duel of wits. "There just one more thing, sir," the Lieutenant said as he prepared to leave. "It is possible that you have forgotten, but I was in Vientiane a few months ago, and I was directly concerned with a certain Li Xieng matter. I never understood why Saigon, or perhaps I should say why you, as your signature was on the letter, decided to drop the thing altogether?"

Alex smiled, his most charming, lazy smile that usually disarmed the most hostile people. "Lieutenant, there are many reasons why the Li Xieng affair wasn't followed up. They are too long and too complicated to tell you right now, but I assure you they were very good reasons." With this, he stood up. and so did Lieutenant Mc Cullough.

"There's just one more thing," Alex said. "According to your records, you have already been through a course of armed and unarmed combat. But it will be necessary to put you through our own special course. It takes four weeks, and it's tough. But you will benefit by it. I will probably drop in and see how you're getting on."

And that was that. Lieutenant Mc Cullough was virtually on his staff. Alex reached for the phone and dialed the special combat school. He asked for one of the instructors....

Erwin Mc Cullough was puzzled by Alex Knight. He had heard of his famous charm before they had met, but somehow it hadn't worked on him. There was something about the man that worried him, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. As for the Li Xieng affair, it was clear that he was never going to get to the bottom of that. For some mysterious reason, Mr. Knight didn't wish him to.

The next few weeks for Edwin were hectic. The combat school lay on the outskirts of Saigon, and he was taught how to kill silently and efficiently in unarmed combat. He was also put through an intensive course in espionage, counter-espionage, sabotage, and Intelligence work generally. It was in his last week at the school that something happened.

He and about twenty other pupils had been out in the grounds of the school, going through the last phase of the course which consisted of armed combat. The instructor was demonstrating the use of a new type of miniature hand grenade, a very clever, and very lethal toy.

Edwin had been chosen by the instructor to act as a target while he demonstrated the best way of throwing the small, metal balls. Of course, dud grenades were being used or should have been. The instructor had thrown two, which virtually landed at Edwin's feet, and was getting ready to throw the third. He was standing apart from the main group, explaining that if the grenades were skimmed through the air, they traveled further.

Suddenly there was a violent explosion, and although Edwin was some distance away, the blast threw him to the ground. When he got up, Harry Martin, the instructor, was scattered about the field in small pieces, and several others, who had been standing comparatively close to the instructor, were lying on the ground badly injured.

Edwin couldn't help reflecting that it was sheer chance that the grenade had exploded before it had been thrown at him. Otherwise, his mangled remains would have been spread over the fields of the combat school. He decided that never again would he allow himself to be used as target practice.

After this incident, Edwin returned to Saigon to take up his duties, and the grenade affair faded into the recesses of his mind, although he never forgot it completely. He met several of his future colleagues, including the lovely Su Ling, and all in all, he was kept too busy to be able to dwell on the personality of his boss....

One evening, he was invited to Alex Knight's house for drinks. He was immediately impressed by the size of the house, and the luxury and spaciousness of the room into which he was ushered by a handsome Vietnamese, presumably a servant. The place was full of people standing around with glasses in their hand, and as he stood by the door, looking lost, Alex Knight emerged from a group, his smile gleaming in the soft light. Not for the first time, Edwin noticed how he walked. He moved like a jungle cat, wary of danger. It was always a surprise to hear his voice, slow, indolent, friendly, so much in contrast with the nervous energy of his movements.

Now he puts his arm around Edwin's shoulders. "Hello, come right in and make yourself at home. I'll get you a drink, but before let me introduce you to a few people."

His steel gray eyes appraised the room. "Some you know already of course, including our delightful Su Ling. But there are several here from other departments that you haven't met."

While Edwin waited for Alex to pour him a scotch two men came over. "Is this our recruit?" one of them asked, smiling. Alex introduced the two men. The one who had spoken had pale blonde hair, and although very good looking, there was a certain decadence about his features that left Edwin thinking. Alex had introduced him as Brian Stlattery from V.I.4. a subordinate branch of V.I.S. and the other one was Michael Shelby.

"I'm glad I've met you at last," Brian Slattery continued. "I've heard about you from Alex, and I gather we will soon be working together."

A look of annoyance crossed Alex knight's face, then disappeared almost at once. "Brian, I'm afraid you're drinking too much again," he said. "I haven't briefed Edwin yet...."

Edwin found himself introduced to more and more people. Some faces were familiar, having seen them hurrying in and out of the V.I.S. offices. One man, standing with a group of three lovely Vietnamese women, looked at Edwin sourly as he was introduced.

"So, you've joined the Knight's train, have you?" he asked. Without waiting for a reply, he continued.

"Well, you look bright enough. But we'll see V.I.S. has a habit of changing people."

Major Frank Carter watched as Edwin was led off to another group. A short, thick-set man, with bushy gray eyebrows, his weather beaten face looked tough and bitter. A veteran of two world wars and of Korea, he had spent most of his time in Southeast Asia and dealt mainly with Intelligence. He was head of V.I.4 and one of the few people who disliked Alexander Knight. He could never decide whether it was Knight as a man he disliked, or the fact that as head of V.I.S. Knight was senior in rank to himself. Whatever it was, Mayor Frank Carter watched V.I.S. with a jaundiced eye, waiting for them to make some horrible mistake, but they never did. On the contrary, Knight's department seemed to work like a charm.

Slightly shaken by the dour Major Carter, Edwin was glad to see Su Ling in the next group of people. She was wearing a very becoming flame colored dress, and her beautiful face lit up when she saw him.

"Hello, Lieutenant," she said, her dark eyes glinting mischievously. "Fancy seeing you here. Blond, blue-eyed and as cute as ever."

Edwin blushed slightly. He was never completely sure what this lovely creature was going to say or do next, but he knew that he liked her a great deal.

The evening passed pleasantly enough, and by the time 11:00 o'clock came around. Edwin was feeling mellow and relaxed under the benefic influence of the drinks he had consumed. People were beginning to leave when Alex Knight came up to him.

"Don't go just yet, Edwin," he said. "I've asked Su Ling, Brian and Michael to hang on too. I want to talk about the matter mentioned prematurely by Slattery." He smiled. "Have you been enjoying yourself, Edwin, my boy?"

Edwin smiled back. "Yes, I have. Lot of interesting people here. But I'm not sure if I made much of a hit Major Carter."

"Don't worry about the Major, he's been alive too long and got a bit sour. Now excuse me, I'll just see these people off then we can get together over a drink."

Eventually, he found himself alone with Alex Knight and the other three. By the way Su Ling fell back into a chair and put her feet up, he gathered she was at home in this comfortable house. Brian Slattery and Michael Shelby also gave the impression of being very much at home, Brian sprawled on the floor in front of the chair in which he was sitting.

Alex Knight came over and replenished everyone's glass, then he too sprawled on the floor besides Brian. "Here's to Hong Kong," he said, lifting his glass. Everyone drank, then he turned to Edwin.

"You're the only one not in the picture, so briefly I'll outline the details. London is aware that there is a network of Communist spies in the area. They already have the names of two of them, but they don't want to pounce yet because they are afraid of losing the top people who are running the ring. We have reason to believe that some information vital for this area is being filtered through there to Red China. Already, three of our men have been liquidated for getting too close .Their demise was arranged to look like an accident...."

He paused and lit a cigarette. Edwin noticed that Brian's hand was on Alex Knight's shoulder, and that he was gently ruffing the hair on the back of Alex's neck. It was a very intimate gesture, almost sexual, but either Alex hadn't noticed it, or he was used to it.

"So you, Edwin, and Su Ling, are going to Hong Kong ... Su Ling, you already know what to do, my dear," The lovely girl smiled. "Brian will follow on a different flight, and will take up residence at the same hotel. You will pretend not to know him, but he will be there in case of difficulties."

It was very late before they broke up. Even so, Edwin was the first to leave. The others showed no signs of leaving, but he was feeling tired, mentally and physically.

When he had left, Alex looked at Su Ling.

"What do you think of him?"

Su Ling smiled slowly. "He's cute as I've said before. He doesn't miss much."

Brian broke in. "I think he's cute as well!" he said in a dreamy, peculiar voice.

"I'm not interested in his cuteness at the moment," Alex said sharply. "And agree with Su Ling. He doesn't miss much. That's why I'm sending him with you on this Hong Kong mission."

"I hope you're right," Su Ling said. "I've been a little restless of late. Honk Kong might prove exciting."

"Exciting perhaps, but also dangerous," Alex replied. "You are not being sent there on holiday you know."

The door opened and the Vietnamese servant walked in and started collecting glasses.

"Houei, come over here and have a drink," Brian called from the floor.

Houei Phong looked at his master, who winked. Then the Oriental poured himself a drink and came over and sat on the floor besides Brian, looking amused.

Su Ling called across the room. "Brain, stop it. You really are hopeless when you've been drinking." She was referring to the fact that Brian's hand had wandered down to the servant's legs.

In truth, Brian's actions were arousing Su Ling against her will. She knew he had a fixation for

Houei Phong, but so far Brian had not made any overt passes in Houei's direction while she had been around. But she couldn't take her eyes off Brian's hand as it moved over the young man's tight fitting black trousers and up towards his crotch. From where she was sitting, she could see a distinct bulge appearing underneath Houei's trousers, and she felt a tickling sensation between her own legs, warning her that she was being titivated.

She swallowed, her throat feeling dry, and watched, fascinated, as Brian deliberately .stroked the bulging prick. Houei was leaning back, resting his hands on the floor, the white wide-sleeved shirt he was wearing contrasting with his sallow complexion. There was a dreamy smile on his face, and he made no effort to stop this deliberate seduction.

Su Ling looked across at Alex and Michael appealingly, but they too were watching what was going on. She gave up trying to flight the rising sense of excitement welling up in her, and turned her eyes back to the two men on the floor in front of her. Then Alex came over to her and sat on the carpet at the foot of her chair. His hand reached up between her legs, and without taking his eyes away from Brian and Houei, very slowly began to massage her itching cunt, his hand flat down on her slit, rubbing against the quivering lips of her cunt with deliberate exciting insistence.

Michael remained seated in his chair, but she could see that his eyes constantly flickered from herself and Alex, then back again to the couple on the floor. He was licking his lips with a nervous gesture, and she wondered what he was thinking.

For Su Ling was aware that Shelby enjoyed the more kinky side of sex.

However, apart from the occasion some months before when he had watched Alex, Brian, and herself, in this same room, they had never all been actively involved together. But the way he was watching Brian's manipulation of the Oriental's rod made her wonder. Not that it mattered. Sex was sex in Su Ling's uninhibited mind, and she knew from experience there were many ways of enjoying it....

She lay back on her favorite chair sighing voluptuously as Alex's index finger gently pushed its way between her opening vagina lips and entered inside, causing her clitty to quiver in anticipation. As the probing finger brushed against it, she stiffened, and soon Alex's finger was wet with her flowing juices. Expertly, he speeded up the frigging he was giving her clitty, his other hand moving down to fondle the ominously swelling bulge between his legs.

Houei was now lying on the floor, his legs wide apart Brian had unzipped his pants and Su Ling squirmed helplessly in her chair as she watched the Oriental's large, thickly-veined cock being pulled out of the open fly of his trousers. It stood up rigid and straight in Brian's hand, the thick crimson knob throbbing excitingly. Quickly, she caught hold of Alex's wrist and tried to slow down his rhythmic frigging. She was always quick to have an orgasm and she didn't want to let go just yet. She wanted to watch the scene in front of her, keeping on the exciting borderline of climax.

Brian bent over the exposed penis, his red tongue flicking out like a cat's drinking milk. With maddening slowness, he laboriously licked the swelling arrowhead, causing Houei to groan and push his narrow hips upwards. As he did so, Brian's mouth opened, the thick cock sliding smoothly into his mouth.

Suddenly, Houei pushed Brian's mouth away from his rigid prick, his head pressed back on the floor. For a moment, Su Ling thought that he was going to shoot his load into the air, but he managed to control himself.

Brian looked in her direction, his eyes glazed as they always were when he had been drinking. "Su Ling, you lovely bitch, come over here and try one of your kind for a change."

She didn't move, but Alex took his finger out of her wet quim and standing up caught hold of her hand.

"Come on, Su Ling, you know you want to. Don't pretend you're shy! Not with Houei!"

She allowed herself to be pulled up from the chair, and with Alex's help too off the flame dress, and quickly got out of her panties. She wasn't wearing bra or stockings as usual. Then Alex led her Over to the sprawled Oriental, his long thick rod gleaming with pre-orgasm juices, and Brian's saliva lying stiffly along his stomach.

When he saw Su Ling standing over him, Houei sat up, and with swift movements, he removed his tight trousers, underpants and shoes. It was the first time Su Ling had seen him naked, and his slim but muscular body looked terribly appealing to her lust-incensed senses.

"Come on, Su Ling, take him as he is," Brian said in a thick voice. He had caught hold of Houei's tool again, and was holding it vertical away from the man's body. She could see it jerking forcibly in the hand that held it, and she shivered excitedly as Alex, who was standing by her side, slipped his hand over her pliant buttocks and up between her legs, fondling her pussy. His other hand was caressing her perfectly shaped titties, occasionally tweaking a small nipple, making them stand up more than ever.

Su Ling felt her body was on fire with passionate lust as she stepped astride the recumbent Houei, and sank down to her knees in a kneeling position, the twin globes of her breasts swinging gently forward above the Oriental.

Brian squeezed the huge rod in his hand, making it swell and strain against the pressure, then very gently he pushed the wide knob against Su Ling's cunt lips, making her gasp as the thick wedge of swollen prick forced her quim wide apart. She was just beginning to get the feel of the large head, when Alex put his hand on the small of her back and brutally pushed her downwards.

She cried out as the rigid cock rammed itself inside her, filling her vagina to the brim. Fortunately Alex's frigging had already released some of her juices, and after the initial shock, she was soon enjoying the feel of Houei's magnificent cock jammed into her sex passage. He started to push his hips upwards, at the same time reaching up to fondle her temptingly hanging titties. Her breath began to come in gasps as she rode up and down on the throbbing rod, her downward movement meeting Houei's upward thrusts.

She had forgotten about Alex until she felt a tingling pain on her butt cheeks. Looking up, she saw an incredible sight. He was standing over her, whip in hand, his gray eyes alive with excitement. Brian was on his knees in front of him. He had taken Alex's massive penis out of his trousers, and had crammed the swollen knob in his mouth and was sucking on it for all he was worth. Su Ling just had time to see Michaele, sitting as still as a statue in his chair, his eyes hypnotized by the scene in front of him, before the whip Alex was wielding came down again on her exposed buttocks.

Quickly, she began to slide up and down on Houei's near-bursting prick, realizing that if one slowed up, Alex would lash out even harder. Her ass cheeks were beginning to smart, but the pain seemed to excite her even further. She was on the brink of an orgasm, and knew that Houei wasn't far away either. His head rolling from side to side, he was pushing himself up into Su Ling at an ever increasing speed, groaning as his spunk started to rise.

Alex's whip was coming down on her quivering buttocks faster now, causing the skin to turn a fiery red. Brian's sucking of his prick was having the desired effect, and he could sense the rising sperm in his rigid fleshy rod. He swung the whip once more with terrific force, and at the same time pushed himself forward, ramming his spewing sex stick deep into the back of Brian's throat, filling it with creamy sperm.

As the cruel whip lashed onto her already well whipped butt, Su Ling gave a cry of pain and ecstasy, releasing her abundant cream in one long, helpless, spunking orgasm. At the same ,time Houei's hips strained frantically upwards, discharging his own wave of spunk into Su Ling's well fucked vagina, his fingers digging cruelly into her soft breasts.

At last, they came to an end, and nothing was heard in the large room except their heavy, panting respiration.