Saturday, September 24, 1945. Two nights after the French riot, Takeshi and Tuyet were safely back in Phan Thiet. As he had predicted, violence broke out in Saigon as Vietnamese groups retaliated. Under cover of darkness, well-armed bands rumored to be Binh Xuyen mafia, Cao Dai religious sectarians, as well as other rogue elements “eluded” the Japanese guards and invaded the Cité Héraud district of Saigon, also known as the Eurasian Quarter, inhabited by twenty thousand French, Europeans, and métis—mixed-race people. The gangs were reportedly loosely associated, united for the purpose of
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