Twenty-five meters away, Manh had set up three circular metal targets. The pie-plate targets stood atop metal stands. Two of them were chest-high, while the one in the center was head-high. Dzung took careful aim at the center target and slowly squeezed off a round. The pistol exploded and the center pie plate immediately pinged loudly, rocking on its base.

“You are very good,” said Manh. “First shot, dead center.”

“I am better than good, Manh.”

“Prove it.”

Dzung squeezed off the other six rounds, firing quickly and putting two bullets onto each of the targets. A thrill raced through him as he fired. This was the ultimate empowerment. For a second he allowed himself a wild fantasy, that every cyclo driver in Sai Gon might be armed with one of these sleek pistols, so that they might all fire at once until Manh and every one of his fellow government officials were dead. And then he laughed, this time at himself. Most of them would probably miss anyway. Weapons had been his talent, all those years ago. Most of the others, even the former soldiers, had probably never fired a pistol in their lives.

“Excellent!” Manh smiled, taking Dzung’s laughter as an expression of simple enjoyment. “Go ahead,” he said. “Fire another magazine if you like.”

Dzung ejected the spent magazine, marveling at the engineering of the pistol, and popped a fresh one into the receiver. He squeezed the grip, which automatically brought the slide forward, loading a bullet into the chamber, and fired off all seven rounds within five seconds, pinging all three targets once again.

“Perfect!” said Manh.

“Firing a pistol is as natural to me as breathing,” said Dzung.

“What are you thinking?” asked Manh.

Dzung masked his seriousness with a small grin. “I’m wondering again how we lost the war.”

“History was not with you,” laughed Manh, his smile curling up behind his drooping mustache. “So get over it, and keep shooting.”

Dzung dropped the second magazine from the pistol, reaching for another full one. “Why am I doing this, Manh? Who do you want me to kill?”

“Today, no one,” answered Manh. “And besides, you are not ready, Dzung. We have much preparation to do. This is only familiarization. Once you are completely comfortable with the pistol we will put you through a combat course.”

“A combat course? I was in combat for seven years,” said Dzung. “Seven years, Manh! What are you going to teach me about combat?”

“You won’t be using this weapon on a battlefield,” said Manh. “You must learn to shoot quickly, from only a few meters away. And then if you wish to save yourself, you must learn to get rid of the pistol and disappear without being caught.”