by L. J. Hawke
Supayalat tapped the tablet with a fingernail. “It's what happened after they stole the money that was interesting. The money went to the Cayman Islands after bouncing all over the place. I managed to crack the account, but the money had already been moved. Either someone is helping them, or one or both of them took Embezzlement 101.”
Tania snorted. “You can learn anything online.”
Supayalat continued. “Sanur is not stupid. There was a small sort of petty cash account and a larger account used for running the business. That account was only at about half a million dollars. They didn't get away with the millions this family has in trusts, real estate, and currency trading. He had no access to any of those accounts, and it's doubtful he knew about them.”
Only half a million? Tania finally realized that Sanur had access to millions. Was he a billionaire? She pushed the thought aside. Her man may have money, but he didn’t act like a snob, and he certainly gave back to the worldwide community. Tania turned her thoughts to their search. “According to these notes, you got them on facial recognition through airport security a few times. But you couldn't get a bead on them, so they were spending at least some of the money covering their tracks. Probably using overland transportation to get away from their movements being recorded.”
Tania sipped her Coke, handed back the tablet. “So, they were home free, and had enough money to settle down on an island and drink pina coladas all day, if they picked a cheap island. Why the hell didn't they stay gone?”
Supayalat smiled a feral smile. “You don't screw over a royal family anywhere in the world and get away with it. There are plenty of people who will tell me whenever they pop up on facial recognition. Wherever they were spotted, I would be told, but I was too late. They hopped around like rabbits.”
Tania was smacked in the face with the word royalty. No paparazzi in sight, thank the Universe. Under-the-radar royalty. She took in a breath when she realized he may be a shifter prince. She hadn’t thought of that one. “So, they were idiots who lived the high life and moved around when they should have stayed put and ordered umbrella drinks. Why come back now? And is there a point to looting the company or destroying it?”
“I think if they cannot do one, they will do the other.” Supayalat’s eyes were flat.
“This shit is amateurish. Find someone in the organization, feed that person jealousy, get that person to fork over information, force or manipulate me to turn half the company over to her. Reads like desperation. I think that they ran low on money. They’re not experienced grifters. So they went back to the source, the one person they knew that had money. They would believe they knew how things worked, and that they would be able to loot the company again.”
“According to Sanur, this woman, Lupe, considered herself to be an introducer and influencer within the expat community. She had some successful introductions and was paid well and had a good word of mouth. However, she become greedy.” Supayalat’s hissing voice was starting to freak Tania out.
“And jealous of Sanur and me. So they hatched the idiotic plan to get information to suck the company coffers dry, stupid because Sanur has things in place, withdrawal and spending limits, all sorts of things after they stole from him. Even owning a majority share of the thing, I can't loot it because of the way it’s set up. Too many alerts.”
“I have seen the paperwork. Impressive.”
Tania grinned. “That's my man. So when it became obvious that if Lupe was going to purchase part of the company, that whole you-have-to-be-out-of-debt-first thing must have thrown them for a loop. They probably didn't have the money to pay down the debt, and Lupe had to earn that money and pay it off over time. That must have made them grind their collective teeth.”
Supayalat laughed low in her throat. “I believe it left them with clenched jaws. The jealousy was an attempt to push you into begging what Malee thought was your lover to hand over the keys to the kingdom. All three of them were probably enraged when you received over half of the business, and Lupe was told to wait.”
“Then, Lupe had her meltdown, designed to have me cave in and help my very best friend get what she wanted sooner, or to have Sanur do the caving to please her. But she let her rage and her sense of entitlement push her into doing something so unprofessional that I fired her. I believe she didn't see that coming. She thought of us as sisters, and that I would be so weak that I wouldn't smash her into the ground for that little stunt.” Tania’s eyes went stormy. “She didn't know me very well, because she thought that I wouldn't fire her ass in a hot minute.”
Supayalat agreed. “I think she went too far, and then she tried to get the information she should have gotten months before. I've gone through everything, and the only thing she could have gotten was information on some clients. The company credit cards the two of you were using had limits on them, and they didn't have direct access to the main bank account.”
“After I found out about Malee and Somchair, I understood a lot better why things were so compartmentalized. I even agreed with it. Why expose yourself when you don't have to?”
“I went in the other direction, found out where and when she met our targets, traced everything back. This has been going on for at least two months. Your joining the rock band made them all think that you were stupid, easy prey.”
Tania raised her eyebrows. “Glad to prove that one wrong.”
“I've got snatches of conversation from bartenders, servers, those kinds of people. Sanur is getting a reputation as a very nice guy who pays his bills and helps poor people get a start. When I spread the word that these people were trying to harm him, the money I paid them for their information was just a bonus. They were quite willing to tell me everything.” Supayalat ordered more colas for herself and Tania. Business class had its perks.
“So, what's the plan? Bangkok is a huge, bustling city. If I were going to get lost it's exactly where I would go. How the hell are we going to find them? My guess is they have multiple IDs.”
Supayalat grinned. “They made the mistake of using multiple IDs to buy drinks, move around town. They were so busy trying to evade detection that they forgot that there are cameras. Not everywhere like the United States, but banks do use them. They also like to live a certain way, avoiding backpacker hotels where they could disappear quite easily. They are in a three-star hotel called the Royal River Barge, which is actually built out over the river. I think they see the river as an escape.”
“It certainly makes it hard for law enforcement to surround the hotel,” Tania pointed out.
“Yes, but they have never seen me, and if they did see you, it was from afar. You do have a very tiny picture on your website, but you glammed yourself up quite a bit for that one. You can look like Little Susie Tourist at any time. They think in terms of money and power. They don't think that someone like you, dating a rich man, would ever consider wandering around Bangkok with a backpack.”
Tania snorted. “Looks like I'm buying a backpack.”
“Oh, you will be given one very soon. It's going to have certain things in it. Things I think you'll enjoy.” Supayalat smiled slowly.
“If they get away this time, I'm going to hit you over the head with the backpack,” threatened Tania.
“No, they're not getting away this time.” Supayalat smelled like very sharp incense, and her smile was feral. She looked straight into Tania’s eyes, and did a weird nictitating-membrane thing with her eyes, a hint of a vertical slit showing. Then, her eyes switched to a flat, dark brown. Tania shuddered, sighed, and ordered another Coke.
Girlfight
The plane landed and they picked up backpacks from an airport locker. Tania opened her black backpack and took out a camera case. Supayalat opened the camera case and walked her through what was in it. “Sunglasses with bone-conduction sound so we can communicate, and a throat mic, which is the necklace in this pouch here. Put it on.” Tania examined the black-and-silver choker necklace with what looked like onyx in the middle. Supa
yalat had one of her own, in a tasteful silver with a blue stone in the middle. Tania flipped over the choker, saw the circuitry for a throat mic, then put hers on along with the sunglasses. Supayalat slipped a small camera into her pocket. A stun gun went into the other pocket.
A tuk tuk driver took them to the same hotel as their quarry. The river hotel was beautiful teak and mahogany, with a sloped Thai roof. The checked in separately. Tania was dropped off first at a nearby souvenir shop. She dressed in very touristy cargo pants and a pale green shirt and used makeup and a soft billed cap to turn herself touristy.
Tania checked into her prepaid room on the third floor, one floor above their quarry. She had one of the smaller middle rooms, with little more than a carved wooden bed and a closet for her things. She took her time going through the backpack and found a toiletries kit that popped open which had a sprayer inside. She slipped the spray into her pocket. She also had a tiny camera that she attached to her sunglasses.
Tania was kind of pissed off about not having a gun. She'd known how to shoot since she was six. Unfortunately, her father had kept his guns at the shooting range, making it impossible for her to take him out that way. He planned it that way, thought Tania to herself. Deep in the backpack, Tania found a little stick that turned itself into a blackjack with a snap of her wrist. She amused herself learning how to move with it, how to snap it back into its smaller version. She also had a hotel map, and Tania set about memorizing it.
The problem was watching their quarry in such a small space. This was a three-story teak boat, not the huge white confection across the river. Tania looked out her porthole at the river traffic going by, and knew they'd have to nail the two before either one of them got picked up by another boat.
Tania went down to the lobby with its bar and restaurant and ordered herself some iced honey lemon ginger tea. She nearly groaned at the joy of drinking something so cold and refreshing after the short trip. She had to keep from jumping when she heard “on your six” hissed into her ear.
Tania use the bar’s mirror to see Supayalat sipping some fruity drink three tables back and to the right. Directly behind her Malee and Somchair sat at a small table. Tania wanted to have their asses arrested then and there, but there was a bartender, a cocktail server, and a beautiful woman in a golden Thai silk dress serving appetizers. There were also guests at each table, two more checking out at the lobby, and three more people behind them waiting to check in. These were felons who might become violent in a crowd in order to slip away.
Tania watched the couple’s argument. She could only hear snippets from where she was. They were busy blaming each other for how badly everything had gone. They were appalled that Lupe had ended up getting caught and were trying to figure out a grift to get enough money to get out of the country.
Stupid, thought Tania, looking at their tight faces. Everyone else is relaxed, checking in, checking out, having a drink. The couple behind her and to the left were figuring out what they wanted from the spa. Behind her and to the right, a Western couple was eating a fresh fruit salad and drinking umbrella drinks. Supayalat was reading the wine list as if it held the secrets of the universe. The only people with any tension in their shoulders, tapping their feet, are the two of them. Supayalat had a hand under the table. I bet she's not playing with her napkin, but taking pictures of those two, thought Tania.
Tania ordered some chicken satay, because the couple finally ordered. She relaxed, ate slowly, ordered another tea. The grifter couple shared a fruit salad and some umbrella drinks, ones with actual alcohol in them. Damn, I hope they get drunk, thought Tania. The two gestured at each other, obviously arguing in very low voices. Tania grinned, feeling like a secret agent.
Tania finished and took her time paying the bill. The arguing grifters signed their own bill, putting it on the room tab. Bet they thought they were skipping out on that tab, thought Tania. To her surprise, the couple went up the curving stairs to the second floor. Tania followed, taking the stairs on the other side of the room when Supayalat sent Tania a subtle signal with her eyes. Supayalat’s tuk tuk driver showed up, along with two other men. They positioned themselves at the base of the stairs, and the driver followed Supayalat up. Either they're hired muscle or cops, thought Tania.
Tania made it to the second floor, stopped on the end, looked over the railing, and pretended to take pictures of a passing boat with her phone. Supayalat nodded approvingly as she and the large taxi driver knocked on the door. Supayalat spoke in a simpering voice in Thai, something about a hotel gift. The door opened a crack, and Supayalat kicked her way in.
There was a scream, meaty slaps, and a loud groan. A guest poked his head out, and Tania waved him back inside. His blond streaked hair and pale skin marked him as a tourist, so Tania mouthed “police raid.” The man's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened. He nodded and went back into his cabin. Tania slid her phone back in her pocket.
Supayalat pushed Malee in front of her as she came out of the room, and the taxi driver/cop/hired muscle had Somchair. Somchair favored his right side, and his lower lip was bleeding. They were both wearing flexible cuffs and were scowling.
Malee was keeping up a steady stream in Thai about being innocent. Somchair looked absolutely furious. Head low, he look like a bull about to charge. He lunged toward the railing, and Tania stepped forward, struck out with a flat hand, and hit the man in the solar plexus. Muay Thai boxing and years of the Society for Creative Anachronism fighting against males with swords in chain mail came in handy. Somchair gasped for air, and Tania prepared to follow it up with a kick in the balls. The taxi driver minutely shook his head, and Tania stepped back to let them pass.
Malee lunged and started screaming in English. “You stupid whore! You are just some idiot American. You are nothing. He was mine!”
Tania just grinned and stood aside. She wiggled her fingers at Malee. “You ran out of money, and now you're going to a Thai prison. Good luck with that shit.” Tania kept her voice low, menacing.
Malee lunged again, literally snapping at Tania with her teeth. Tania stepped back. “Bitch, please. What do you think you are, a snapping turtle? I had one when I was seven.”
The woman screamed and launched herself at Tania again, but Supayalat was having none of that. She pushed the woman to the edge of the stairs, and said, “Either walk, or fall on your face. Pick one. If you're still pretty, someone in the prison may help you.” Malee realized that Supayalat was deadly serious and walked down the stairs rather than trying to get away.
Tania waved goodbye, went down to the landing, and watched two cop cars pull up to the end of the pier. Tania did a little happy dance and went to get her things. Tania mourned a bit as she slipped the expanding weapon far back into the case, then shrugged and put it back in her pocket.
“Going to be gone for a while,” hissed Supayalat into her ear. Tania was surprised she could make out the words with the wailing of the sirens and the sound of the motorbikes flowing by. “I have informed our king of our success. Stay there, and I will be by to pick you up for the airport. Don't leave the premises, because I can't get my man back to you. The police want him as a witness to some rather insane behavior.”
Tania slipped the little weapon out of her pocket and back into her luggage. “I will stay put. It is beautiful here.” Her ear went silent, and she stepped outside to the railing. Tania took the camera out, went out to the railing, and then took real pictures of the river. It was, in fact, quite beautiful.
Tania finished taking pictures and sent them to Corinne and Kandace. She looked at her nails and found them ragged. So she booked a massage, then a manicure and pedicure, and had her hair washed, trimmed, and put in a long ponytail in the back of her head. Tania checked out, had a leisurely dinner and paid for it, checked out of the hotel, and walked out to the end of the pier. Minutes later, a hot and exhausted Supayalat got out of a cab, then stood quietly.
“Give me your room key. I will gladly get your luggage for you. Do
we have time to be sure you're fed and watered?”
Supayalat laughed. “I'm not a plant, but I'll order before I take a very fast shower and get my own luggage.” Tania walked in and sat back down at a table while Supayalat went upstairs, came back down and checked out, then devoured samosas and a hearty Thai soup. Supayalat went through half a carafe of water and paid the food bill.
They took another taxi to the airport. “I'm keeping the luggage. Do we have to go to a mailing place so I can mail a little tool to myself?” Tania slipped the small weapon out of her pocket.
Supayalat took it from her and slipped it back in Tania's backpack. “It will be fine. They'll just think it's a dildo.” Tania burst out laughing.
Supayalat handed her back the tablet. “Time to study. Property One is one of our most ancient palaces.”
Tania looked at the screen at the triple spires, the golden roof, wings, the gorgeous stone carvings. “It’s amazing.”
“It’s on a fifty-year lease. Monks on the right, teaching martial arts. Monks on the left, different sect, teaching yoga. They will jointly maintain the grounds, carvings, inlaid floors, and the like. They have several courtyards for practice and seven buildings in total.”
Tania stared at the pictures, each one more beautiful than that last. “Amazing.”
Supayalat took the tablet back, swiped, then handed it back. “Building Two, low-income housing for the blind in Bangkok.” Tania gasped. She had a lot to study.
Ceremony
Sanur was delighted that Somchair and Malee had been caught. He did a little dance behind his chair and smiled thinking of dancing with Tania. He sat down, pulled up a spreadsheet. His phone beeped, and he picked up the line. “I’m Nim, man. I’m the guitarist? For Josie’s band? You gave me your card once.”
“Of course. How may I help you?”