Tiger by the Tail (27 page)

The next morning, Mike was enjoying a three-cheese omelet with steak, home fries, toast, and coffee on the aft deck when Vanner strode up to his table and set a photograph in front of him.

Munching a slice of buttered sourdough, Mike leaned over to see a shot of the dissected case, with what looked like a small transmitter hidden inside the lining. “Huh. Is it still working?”

“Yup, transmitting a microburst pulse about every six hours. The funny part is it only transmits its coordinates when prompted, otherwise it’s damn near inert. It wouldn’t show up on any sort of electromagnetic scan, and of course, a lot of those would be out of the question due to the cargo in the first place.”

“It’s still able to transmit, right?” Mike asked.

“Yes, Creata made sure it was still powered during her examination.” Vanner frowned. “So, this means that we pretty much have eyes on us the whole time we’re doing this.”

“Until we get rid of it, yeah.” Mike nodded while staring at the photo. “She was right.”

“Who. Soon Yi? You’re shitting me!”

Mike leaned back in his chair. “No, we discussed it at length last night. You never came up with anything on her from the databases, right?”

The Marine intel chief almost looked insulted. “No. And we ran her every which way we could in every country in the region. Even in such backwoods places like Mongolia.”

Mike forked up some home fries. “Do they even have an intelligence service?”

“We’re still trying to figure that out. Bottom line, she’s definitely not from there. I had Greznya and the girls run everything they could think of everywhere. I swear, if they had the epicanthic fold, we checked it out. She’s got half a dozen priors in Pontianak, the capitol city of West Kalimantan province, Indonesia. For all intents and purposes, she’s a working girl who decided to leave the capitol for greener pastures. She wound up near Pemangkat, where she met Tony, and the rest we know. Bottom line, if she is a spook, she’s so deep undercover her own agency doesn’t keep a jacket on her.”

“Or you haven’t found it yet.” Mike smiled as he said this—he was sure Vanner and the girls had done everything they could, but he also liked to keep the stocky Marine on his toes.

“If we haven’t, that’s ’cause it doesn’t exist to be found.”

“Maybe so, but how in the hell did she know about that?”

“Lucky guess pulled out of her ass?” Vanner guessed.

“Nope. Besides, there’s some other things about her that don’t add up.” Mike summarized his encounters with her. “First she takes a waterboarding, but has the stones to still come on to me the next day. I don’t care if she flew all the way to Stockholm—no way is that normal. She’s been trained by someone. You searched her clothes, right?”

“Every which way before locking her up, and then again while she was sleeping. Took the damn things apart this time. Nothing but cloth.” Putting his hands on the back of a chair, Vanner leaned forward. “You think she’s shadowing the box?”

“Perhaps, or maybe she’s gone rogue or got burned by her agency, and is looking for either revenge, or to make a profit off this—and us.”

“Now that’s an interesting theory,” Vanner said

“Maybe, but I’d prefer some facts to back it up.” Mike thought about this while he sipped his coffee. “Maybe we can put out some feelers in the merc world, see if anyone knows about a female Chinese operative who got burned or double-crossed.”

Vanner frowned. “We’re good, but that will take some time. Everyone working in the shadows is always ultra-careful about who they friend and who they foe. Even with our bona fides, that doesn’t mean they’re just going to open up to us.”

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to persuade them—that, or break into some serious top-secret files.”

“Let’s try the web first, see what we can scare up.”

“Okay. Want some breakfast?”

“No thanks, I already ate.” Vanner straightened up and turned toward the stairs. “I should head back down anyway, see how Creata’s doing with putting that damn box together again. I’ll let you know if there’s any trouble.”

Mike nodded. “Works. We should make Phuket in a few hours. Make sure everything’s ready to go by then.”

“Can do.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Six hours later, Mike, Adams, Jace, and Arun were riding through the streets of the city of Phuket, in the Muang Phuket District, on the island of Phuket, Thailand.

Midway off the western coast of the Kra Isthmus, Phuket had been fiercely contested by the English, French, and Dutch for its lucrative tin resources in the seventeenth century. The victorious French established a brief monopoly until 1688, when they were expelled from the country during the Siam Revolution.

A century later, the Burmese attacked the island in 1785. They were repelled by the heroic actions of two women, Than Phu Ying Chan, the wife of the deceased governor, and her sister, Mook, both of whom achieved their victory by dressing as male soldiers, and dressing other women as male soldiers to swell the numbers of their army. Afterward, the local heroines were awarded the honorific titles Thao Thep Kasattri and Thao Si Sunthon, respectively.

When the tin market collapsed in the twentieth century, Phuket and the rest of Thailand turned to other exports and imports to survive, mainly, exporting rubber and importing tourists. After the tsunami of 2004, which killed tens of thousands, many of the island’s resorts and buildings had to be repaired or rebuilt, all of which was swiftly done.

Now, as the party drove through the streets, they found no evidence of the terrible disaster. The streets were clean and well-lit, the buildings were modern, and even the palm trees were thick and lush. Tourists mingled with locals everywhere, and the city looked, and even more importantly,
felt
prosperous and thriving. The island had also escaped the massive flooding that had inundated most of the mainland, including the capitol city of Bangkok, and was definitely open for business.

The four men were all dressed in tourist casual, with loose-fitting, short-sleeved shirts and linen sport coats that could hide much underneath them. Adams had left his coat behind, preferring a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt covered with palm trees and bright parrots that Mike had said looked like Thailand had thrown up on him.

“Man, you guys sure are into economy—naming the city, province, and island the same thing.” Adams said. “How does anyone tell where they’re going?”

“Oh, we get around well enough. People’s names around here are hard enough to say, so we try to make it easy on the foreigners,” Than replied with a smile.

“Maybe so, however, your name is a model of brevity,” Jace said. “I assume that it’s a nickname, like most Thais?”

“More like a professional alias, if you must.” The black marketer shrugged. “My true name is not as—renowned in certain circles. Therefore, I conduct most of my business under my nickname, as is common in our country. But, I am sure you would find the local women to be more than enough variety for you, Mr. Adams,” Than said from the SUV’s front seat.

“I definitely agree with you there.” The master chief said as he turned to ogle a pair of bikini-clad women walking down the street.

“Eyes front, Ass-Boy. You’re staying within sight of me at all times on the ground,” Mike said without looking back.

“Even after what I got done in Hong Kong?” Adams asked.

“We shouldn’t be here long enough even for you to get into trouble. Than’s set up the meeting to convert our gems, and then we’re back on the water to Myanmar. The sooner we get these boards out of our lives, the faster we can go back to busting pirate heads.”

“That should not be a problem—I have been doing business with Khun Chal for years. Everything should be in order, and we will complete your transaction swiftly and be on our way.”

“Yeah, I just keep remembering the saying about best-laid plans,” Mike said, staring out at the nightlife around them.

“We should be fine. Just remember those pointers I told you about,” Jace said.

“I’ve got them,” Mike said.

“Hell, at least here we can go around strapped,” Adams said. “That should make you feel better.” Besides pistols, the three men all had their earpieces that linked them with Vanner and his girls on the boat.

“That it does,” Mike said. “Let’s just get in, sell the gems, and get out.”

Jace followed Than’s directions to a street a block off the main thoroughfare. They drove past a bar undergoing obvious remodeling, with soaped over windows and scaffolding covering the outside. Jace parked the SUV on the next block, and the three men scoped the area before they all got out and headed to a side door leading into the club.

With Jace and Adams casually sweep-and-clearing the way forward, Mike and Arun walked up to the metal fire door that looked bolted shut. Arun hit a button on his phone, said a quick phrase in Thai, and the door clicked open a few seconds later.

The inside was in the midst of being transformed from a dingy tropical dive into something decidedly more upscale. The walls had been patched and primed, the bare wooden floor had been sanded and was ready to varnish, and the old, rattan furniture was stacked along one wall, probably awaiting the junkman to cart them away. A marble-topped table and five chairs sat in the middle of the otherwise bare room.

“Come on.” Than strode toward the table and pulled out a chair, with Mike, Adams, and Jace following suit. They were all just about to sit down when a door behind the bar opened, and a small, wizened old man with a fringe of white hair came out. He was simply dressed in a loose, white linen shirt and matching trousers, with sandals on his feet.

Than immediately rose and clasped his hands together in front of his chest, fingers pointing up, and bowed until his face touched his fingertips.
“Sawasdee khrap
, Khun Chal.”

The older man mirrored the gesture, bowing not quite as deeply as Than had. “
Sawasdee khrap
, Khun Arun.”

“These are my associates that I had told you about.” Than indicated each person as he introduced them. “Michael Jenkins, Charles Adams, and Jace Morgan.”

The old man gave each American a slighter bow, nodding as he saw all three men return the gesture before sitting. Jace had instructed Mike and Adams about the greeting, saying it would be polite to return it if someone used it to greet them. It was especially important to do so for an older person, as Thai culture particularly venerated its elders.

“Welcome, gentlemen, to what will soon be the most popular bar on Phuket,” he said in Thai as he took his seat. Chal was at twelve o’clock, with Than sitting across from him. Mike and Adams sat to the right of Chal, with Jace on the left.

“Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, Khun Chal,” Than said, with Jace translating for Mike and Adams.

The old man waved off his thanks with a stubby brown hand. “For you, it is no problem, Khun Arun. Do any of you require anything. Drinks? Smoke? Something stronger?”

The three Americans demurred, and Arun asked for mineral water. A henchman brought a bottle of Perrier, as well as a hookah for Chal, who prepared the water pipe, lit it, and puffed contentedly. After a few puffs, he offered the pipe around the table. Than took it first, then Mike, Adams, and Jace. The smoke was smooth, sweet, and minty. As the last one to use the hookah, Jace passed the pipe back to Chal, who nodded with satisfaction.

“Very good, Khun Arun, very good indeed. Shall we get down to business?”

“As you wish.” Than nodded again to the old man, and handed him the same small pouch Soon had given him. Chal brought out his own loupe and examined several of the gems under a small lamp that was brought to him. Then the two Thais began a rapid negotiation that Jace could barely follow. He tried letting Mike know the numbers being bandied back and forth, but they changed too fast for him to keep up with. There was much arm-waving and head shaking and Chal even waggled a wrinkled finger in Than’s face at one point while saying several derogatory things about Than’s ancestry, appearance, and the terrible deal he was being forced to make. Than, however, stuck to his guns throughout the entire tirade, citing the quality of the gems and Chal’s expertise in selling them for an even higher price elsewhere.

After several minutes of this, Than turned to Mike and mopped his lightly sweating brow with a linen handkerchief. “It has cost me a favor, however, Chal says he will pay two million, nine hundred and fifty thousand U.S. dollars for the gems in international negotiable bearer bonds, not one penny more.”

Mike did the rapid calculation in his head and nodded—they were at least a half-million to the good on the deal thanks to Than. Besides, the gem sale was technically all profit anyway. “Tell him that it is a pleasure doing business with him.”

“For you, maybe.” Than fired off more rapid Thai, and the old man smiled, making his seamed face break out in wrinkles. He addressed Than again. “It will take a day or so to get the bonds in order. We should meet again in thirty-six hours to complete the transaction.”

Adams’ face broke into a shit-eating grin. “Hell, yeah—looks like we’ll get that chance to sample the nightlife after all.”

“Not so fast. We all need to stay on our toes here, so shore leave is going to be severely curtailed—” Mike was about to issue marching orders to his second when the main doors flew open.

Before anyone could move, six armed men burst in through the front doors. Each one was waving a pistol, while their leader shouted angrily in Thai.

* * *

“Hands on the table! Everyone stay where you are! I kill the first one who moves!”

Although the drawn pistols were dead giveaways to the threats the men were shouting, Jace was also watching the Chal’s reaction to the armed intruders. Despite Than’s reassurance, he had been concerned about a double-cross from the start. The old Thai had a well-known and deserved reputation for ruthlessness, although he’d never heard of the man double-dealing with any customer before.

He’d discussed the possibility with Mike, hoping his answer wouldn’t be to bring an entire squad of Keldara with them, as that would sink the entire deal. Mike had agreed with his assessment, and said that they should all simply stay alert. “Unless Chal brings a small army, Adams, you, and I should be plenty to handle whatever these guys might try,” the Kildar had said.