“You knew she was VC?”

“She told me.”

Decker felt his heart pounding. “You knew she was VC, and you went with her anyway?”

“She was being duped by her husband….”

“You knew she was married?” Decker yelled. He let go of Abel with a shove and began to pace. “You took up with a married woman who you knew was enemy. I don’t believe…You play with Charlie, you know what I say to you, buddy? You got everything you deserved!”

“You want to rant, or you want to listen?” Abel said.

Again, Decker grabbed his shoulders, but this time he shook him. “What I want to do is break your fucking neck for what you did to Rina! You got a beef with me, you don’t go taking it out on her!”

“You’re right….”

“Friggin’ maniac!” He pushed Abel away.

“I snapped, all right!” Abel said. “Man, I just…snapped. I saw Rina and she reminded me of Song—”

“Don’t you ever mention Rina and that piece of shit in the same sentence!” Decker said.

Abel’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you ever call Song a piece of shit!” He took a deep breath. “I knew she was Charlie, I knew she had a Charlie husband. I also knew that she was being beaten by the bastard, being pimped by him in Hanoi, then he took her down south as pussybait for us GI Joes—”

“And you never said a word of this to me or anyone.”

“I loved her, Decker! And she loved me! You think she confessed to me for the hell of it? She trusted me! They would have killed her if they knew, because her husband was Cong.”

“She was Cong!”

“She was sixteen years old, for chrissakes! Orphaned! Didn’t know what the hell was going down, just did what she was told to do. Man, she never killed anyone. And she wasn’t trying to waste me. It was a setup by her old man. He’d found out about us—”

“Bullshit!” Decker interrupted. “You jerk, if li’l Song was so innocent, why wasn’t she in the Jeep with you when it blew up? Ever have the courage to ask yourself that?”

“She went back to get a necklace I gave her.”

“You just don’t see it, do you?” Decker said. “That’s what they do, Atwater. They say, ‘Let’s go out for a ride, honey, and boom-boom in the jungle.’ Then, as you get in the car, she says, ‘Oops, forgot something. I’ll be right back.’ Second later, you’re hamburger.”