Summary

The Sympathizer reflects on the circumstances which led to him and Bon being hired by The Boss. Bon, a skilled fighter, was approached by The Boss with a job offer. Bon accepted with the caveat that The Boss hire The Sympathizer as well, which he did reluctantly.

The Sympathizer and Bon walk to Bon’s housing, which The Boss has paid for, a dingy barracks in the thirteenth arrondissement. Bon approves.

The Sympathizer and Bon go to Delights of Asia, a restaurant where Bon has been assigned to work as a line cook. The restaurant is greasy and unclean, and serves as a front for The Boss’s operation. It is tended by Le Cao Boi, a man The Sympathizer describes as “part poet, part playboy, and part gangster” (22). Cao Boi serves as The Boss’s field marshal, and manages the...