Phoenix Mistress
by
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We ordered our beers at the bar and then a new girl came over to us. She was by far the most attractive, intelligent, and charming of all the girls we had seen in Saigon, distinctly different from the run-of-the-mill bar girls. When she talked she was very animated and would tilt her head with a come-on smile.
Her facial expressions were a mix of energy and naïveté, sometimes the look and giggle of a child, full of freshness and youth. Her voice was gentle and sweet.
Her jet black hair was longer than most of the girls’ and from time to time as she was speaking she would brush away a strand that was hanging over her shoulder. Her eyes sparkled.
This young woman was Thanh. She seemed to be interested in me in particular. She whispered in my ear, “You must come here tomorrow.” “Yes,” I said, “I will be here tomorrow night.”
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About the Book
It is 1969 and America is divided over the war that rages in Vietnam. The American public is unaware of a covert CIA operation called the Phoenix Program, designed to “neutralize” the Viet Cong Infrastructure.
In this historical novel, a computer scientist in the defense industry accepts a position as senior intelligence analyst for an American computer company under contract with the US Army in Saigon.
Tasked with investigating the effectiveness of Phoenix, he is shocked by the targeting and torture of innocent civilians. When his protests go unheeded, he is faced with the moral dilemma of how far to take his objections. But when he unwittingly meets the seductive Phoenix Mistress, he is drawn into a maelstrom of Vietnamese student anti-war protesters who are being arrested and tortured, complicating his life even further.
The author was a senior intelligence analyst at Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), during the years 1969-1971. He was directly involved in the Pacification program headed by William Colby who became CIA Director after the war.
About the Author
Frank Wadleigh, Ph.D. in mathematics, continues to work in the computer field. He is founder/CEO of Nova Scientia Inc., a small biotech company in Southern California, specializing in computer models of cell signaling pathways for cancer research.