“I told you, I don’t like the Russians either,” replied Manh. “Anyway, you will love shooting this pistol. If you are like I am, Dzung, and from your files we do seem to have this in common, shooting this weapon will make your heart sing.” And then he smiled, raising his eyebrows as if he were letting Dzung in on a secret. “Besides, if you were ever caught with a pistol, it would not be good for the revolution if it was traceable to the government, would it?”

“Manh, let’s be practical. You would never turn me loose on my cyclo with a pistol.”

“Of course I would.” Manh grinned widely now, enjoying the surprised look on Dzung’s face. “I know you perfectly, Dzung. I have carefully studied every page of your file. I have talked with the political officers who supervised you during your reeducation. I have had you watched, on the street and even at your home. You are obsessed with the love of your family. It is your great strength and it is your tragic weakness. You will do nothing to hurt your family. And if your family is at risk, you will do anything to save them. So if I gave you this pistol and told you to show it to no one and to use it only when you were ordered to do so, you would obey me. Because if you did not obey me, your family would suffer. How many people could you shoot with seven bullets? Not enough to destroy the revolution. Only enough to destroy yourself and your family.”

Dzung searched Manh’s face, accepting the truth of what the Interior Ministry agent had just said. “What do you want me to do?”

“For now, learn to shoot the weapon. Enjoy yourself.”

Manh became officious, standing next to Dzung and pointing out the characteristics of the pistol. “This is a nine-millimeter pistol. The magazine holds eight bullets, but we always load only seven, to preserve the tension in its spring. You are probably remembering the American forty-five-caliber pistol, which was very complicated and very unsafe, even though it had several different safeties. Remember? The grip safety, the thumb safety, the slide lock, and still the forty-five killed people accidentally all the time. There is only one safety on this pistol, the squeeze safety, but it is completely effective. That means that you must squeeze the grip when you want to shoot a bullet, or the pistol will not fire. Very simple. Very German.”