“The Prime Master is a great Warrior, but he is in unfamiliar terrain. Apart from Prime Master Johnson and Master Sedgly, none of the others had experienced freezing temperatures before,” said Taksin and fidgeted, “and we had no way to prepare them.”
“Yorkie Dave has, he lived in Sheffield and it’s bloody cold there. Besides, they have that hi-tech thermal gear.”
Taksin sighed. “I feel useless. I wish there was something I could do to help.”
“Yeah,” said Spock. “I wonder if Chuck had any more news about the attack on his Sanctuary.”
“Hmm,” said Taksin, “Perhaps I can find out more about that.”
****
“I have the information you wanted Khun Taksin,” said the officer handing Taksin an envelope.
“Thanks Major Knat,” said Taksin and took the envelope.
Knat wai-ed Taksin and left the office.
Taksin took the satellite images from the envelope and scrutinized them with a magnifying glass. He tapped instructions on his computer keypad and a Google earth map came on the screen. He enlarged a section and compared it to the images.
Taksin furrowed his brow. “Something doesn’t add up,” he said aloud and looked again at the information.
He sat back in his chair and looked bemused as he thought for a moment and pressed the button on his intercom. He asked his P.A. to find him a telephone number.
“I have that number for you Khun Taksin,” said his P.A. Jeap several minutes later.
Taksin jotted down the number and then called it.
****
“Where are they?” asked Spock looking terrified.
Stu smirked. “They’ve gone shopping with Kim, Samnan, and the girls. Don’t worry mate, you’ll be safe for a while.”
Spock went to the fridge, took out a can of Singha, sat next to Stu, and took a swig of the cold beer. “Haven’t you finished that bloody thing yet?”
“Nope,” said Stu looking deep in thought and knowing Spock would disturb his creativity. “I must have writer’s block.”
Spock looked anxious as he turned his head to one side. “Does it look cauliflowered?”
Stu looked at Spock’s ear and grinned. “No mate, just red and swollen.”
****
Sid and Lek were inconsolable for a few days after their Gopetus left. The children, still coming to terms with the loss of their parents, felt upset and afraid with their protectors gone.
Although Dave and Manhut explained they were going to find the ghosts responsible for their parents’ deaths, the kids could not understand why.
Lek and Sid cried and held each other for the first few days. Neither the girls nor Spock and Stu could console them with Spock’s hat now unrecognisable. The inside was sticky and un-wearable from the amount of sugary confectionary stuffed inside.
Sid then came up with a plan to amuse him and Lek and take their minds off their situation. He told Lek who nodded. Smirking, the pair walked into the kitchen.
Spock, picking his nose and watching TV when the kids came in, said. “Hi kids, do you want some coke?”
Sid smiled and Spock saw Lek’s lips quivering and she looked ready to burst into tears.
Spock stopped picking his nose and smiled. “Don’t worry Lek; I’m sure they won’t be long. Will they Matey?”
“No,” said Stu looking up from his laptop. “Don’t worry kids, everything will be fine.”
Lek then burst into tears.
Spock furrowed his brow looking concerned. “Please, don’t cry Lek, I do...”
“Moo!” hollered Sid. “Spock’s making Lek cry.”
Spock’s eyebrows rose, and he looked stunned. “What... no I’m not... Don’t cry Lek.”
“What are you doing stupid?” asked Moo rushing in from the lounge. She saw Lek in tears and glared at Spock.
“I didn’t do anyth… ouch, that hurt.”
“Good,” said Moo, slapping him again.
“But I didn’t do anything,” said Spock who looked at Stu. “Matey, stop laughing and tell her I di...” Moo interrupted his sentence. “Idiot... come on kids” she snapped and went to the fridge, took out two cans of coke, and led the kids out of the kitchen.
This had been happening several times a day now. Nowhere felt safe for Spock. Sid and Lek searched him out wherever he tried to hide. Even while having a peaceful dump, he heard sobbing coming from outside the bog door, and Sid shouting for Moo.
Moo realised Sid and Lek were having fun at Spock’s expense, but as it cheered them up, and gave her an excuse to beat up her dopey husband, she played along with their game.
****
Spock hoped that his nemeses were out when he took refuge in the kitchen with Stu. He took another swig of beer. “Bloody monsters. Now I know why I hated kids.”
“Never mind mate, just think of it as good practice for when you and Moo have some,” said Stu smirking.
“That’ll never happen; Moo kept threatening to geld me, so I think I’ll take her up on the offer.”
Taksin then walked into the kitchen.
“Are you feeling okay mate?” asked Stu, “You look worn out.”
“Do you want a beer or something?”
Taksin smiled and sat down. “Thanks Spock, water will be fine.”
Taksin put his briefcase on the table, opened it, and after Spock placed a glass of iced water in front of him, he took out images and maps and laid them on the table.
He pointed at one satellite image. “These satellite images were taken two days ago. This showed an area in the Rocky Mountains of Montana as it said in the Puravuttanta. These domes suggested a temple of some sort here.”
Stu and Spock looked. “Bloody hell, you must have super vision,” said Stu, barely able to make out any buildings in the snowy image. “What are those minute red dots?”
Taksin shrugged. “I don’t know yet, but what concerned me was that both the CIA and NSA refused my request for the satellite images. They said the area was under investigation by the FBI, but when I called them, they wouldn’t say anything apart from it was an ongoing investigation.”
“So how did you get them?”
Taksin smirked. “From the Chinese Stu.”
“Hmm,” said Spock, “so the FBI must have found out about the attack.”
Taksin nodded. “But I don’t know how they found out, the Sanctuary was miles away from anywhere and I can’t see any evidence of satellite dishes or any communication devices around the Sanctuary.”
“It’s covered with bloody snow that’s why,” said Stu smirking.
Taksin nodded, “Perhaps.”
Spock furrowed his brow, “Both Sedgly and Chuck said there were towns nearby.”
“I know Spock, but the nearest town I found was ninety kilometres away and when I called the town’s sheriff he knew nothing about them.”
Spock and Stu furrowed their brows.
“That sounded bloody strange.”
Taksin nodded. “I know Spock, and the other thing that concerned me was how Fahed paid for all this. We know the Saudi’s seized Mohammed Del Alaz’s assets. His treasures where returned to their countries, either put in the Saudi museums or auctioned along with all his properties. I discovered that all Fahed had was his personal wealth… which was nothing.”
Spock and Stu looked confused.
“So Fahed hasn’t got a pot to piss in,” said Stu, “so how is he funding all this?”
“I found out who bought everything at auction,” said Taksin and showed them an auction listing with sold alongside each item.
The lads looked at the sheet and they both looked shocked by the amount of money. “That’s a lot of zero’s,” said Spock, “but there was only one name.”
Taksin nodded.
“So, this one man bought the lot?” asked Stu rubbing his chin.
“Yes,” said Taksin “And he paid cash, so there were no banking transactions recorded.”
“So, did you find out anything
about this…” said Stu and looked at the name, “… Samuel Langhorne.”
Taksin nodded, took a book from his briefcase, and showed it to the confused looking Brits.
Stu gasped. “Mark Twain, the author… but he’s been dead years.”
Taksin nodded. “It seemed they used a convenient alias… a story teller, but I found nothing about this man.”
Spock frowned. “Huh, so Fahed wasn’t such a devout Muslim.”
Stu looked wistful. “So you think this man gave everything back to Fahed?”
“Yes Stu, I do, along with a lot more.”
Spock and Stu looked at one another.
“Why?” asked Stu looking puzzled.
Taksin sighed, “I don’t know yet, but it sounds suspicious.”
“Too right,” said Spock, “Something sounded fishy and none of it made sense. Why would a Septic give Fahed money and then he attacked them?”
Taksin looked bemused, “What’s a Septic?”
“An American,” said Stu and furrowed his brow. “I agree with Spock, who would give Fahed loads of dosh to kill Septic’s and Buddhists?”
Taksin sighed, furrowed his brow, and sounding concerned said. “Who or what? I have my suspicions, but I can’t figure out why.”
“Maybe one of those sneaky septic agencies are involved,” said Spock frowning.
Taksin nodded. “I agree, but my main concern was how do I contact Pon to tell him that they could be walking into a trap?”
The three sat and looked at one another. They then jumped when Taksin’s phone rang. Taksin looked at the number and smiled. “It’s Pon.”
Spock and Stu looked at one another. “Bloody spooky this Buddhist thing,” said Spock as Taksin answered.
Spock and Stu looked at each other as Taksin appeared shocked. After the call ended, Taksin furrowed his brow, looked at the pair, and sounding sullen, said. “Fahed’s dead… and so is Chuck.”
⸺ Chapter Nineteen ⸺
Running downstairs, Pon saw no sign of the American who went for coffee, so presumed he must have gone into the kitchen.
Now knowing people were there wearing Tusen, but unsure of their numbers, armaments, or if they had detected him, Pon stood at the front door and rubbed his chin. ‘I know at least one is close, so if I open the door they will know where I am,’ he thought.
He looked around the lavish room and something caught his eye at the back. ‘Where does that open door lead I wonder?’ He ran to the door passing a large kitchen. ‘Hmm, no one in there, so where did that American man go?’ he thought looking inside. He went to the open door that led into a large garage where two black SUV’s were parked. ‘They must be Fahed’s and the men I saw,’ he thought and smirked as he went to the open garage door.
Now at the rear of Fahed’s house, he saw the driveway that led to the front, and another smaller metal gate through the trees in front of him. He walked to the small gate.
‘Hmm,’ he thought as he looked up at the wall and saw the wire from a CCTV camera on the post hanging out. ‘Maybe that was why there was no one in the monitor room, this one was broken,’ he thought, and looked at the handle and latch on the small ornate wrought iron gate. He turned the latch, the lock clicked, and he opened the gate.
Pon smirked and looked at the metal plate on the outside and the locking mechanism. ‘It only opens from the inside, so if I wedge something against it I can leave it unlocked.’ Pon looked around, picked up a rock lying nearby, walked outside, pulled the gate shut, put his hand through the railing, and wedged the rock against the gate.
‘This will be perfect for us all to walk through.’ he thought. ‘Kamal should have brought us around the back, he must have known there was a gate here,’ he smirked. ‘I will give him another ear clipping.’
Pon, after getting his bearings, headed to the bus.
The American man stood at the window, took a drink of coffee, removed his thermal imaging goggles, and smirked.
Pon had a hard decision to make when he got back to the bus. He took off his Tusen hood, rounded up his team, and the men gathered around the floating head.
Pon told them Fahed was at the house. Chuck gasped and looked surprised when he told him about the American before he said. “I will take four Tinju and four Chokdet Warriors with me. We will capture Fahed and make him call off his army,” said Pon and looked at Dave, Manhut, Chuck, and Sedgly, “Once we have Fahed and secured the area, I will call you Dave, and you can get Kamal to pick us up with the bus.” He looked over at Kamal who sat eating by the food stands and told them. “I will put Fahed in my Tusen suit so Kamal and nobody else will see him and we will take him back to Thailand on the Royal jet.”
Dave, although disappointed about not going with them, nodded.
Pon spoke Thai and Cambodian to the eight Warriors he’d chosen, outlined his plan, and said. “Only bring your weapons and smoke grenades.”
Keeping on the Tusen suit, he grabbed two small grenades from his pack and his mobile phone. Putting them in his inside pocket, he said. “Okay let’s go.”
Chuck frowned and sounding furious said. “No, Master Sedgly and I will come with you.”
Pon shook his head and looked into the enraged eyes of the American Prime Master. “Sorry Chuck, we can’t risk Fahed being injured or us being caught. We are far more agile than you and neither you nor Master Sedgly are trained for stealth attacks. Besides, you won’t understand what’s going on because the orders I give will be in Thai and Khmer in case the American I saw was there.”
Chuck and Sedgly glared at the head and sighed. Sweating and looking enraged, the Americans walked away, went under the shade of another tree, and spoke to one another.
Kamal, seeing eight leave, rubbed his eyes when he saw Pons floating head at the front, but when he looked again, they had all gone. He looked at Chuck and Sedgly stood under a tree, who smirked at him, nodded, and walked away. Seeing Dave, Manhut, and the other South East Asian monks under the shade of another tree speaking, he grinned and made a phone call.
Pon removed the rock from behind the gate and the nine crept in and hid behind trees as Pon pointed at the garage and said, “We go in through there. Wait for my signal.”
He put on his Tusen hood, went inside the garage and seeing no one, took off a glove, and beckoned the others. They grouped together in the garage as Pon took off his hood and told them to be alert. “Fahed is upstairs but we will check downstairs first and make sure it’s clear. I will stay here and watch.”
Pon stayed at the doorway while the Warriors walked around the periphery of the lavish downstairs room, returning several minutes later.
“There’s no one here Prime Master. The kitchen had food, and the water jug is hot, but nobody’s there. Perhaps they went upstairs,” said Master Sutchet furrowing his brow. “I saw or heard no one and I can’t smell anything apart from flowers.”
The head nodded. “Okay, let’s go upst…” A sound behind him interrupted Pon, and he nodded at the Warriors.
Like ghosts, they faded into hiding positions. Pon put on his hood and took out his Juglave. He hid it behind his back, fingers on the catch ready to spring out the blade as two men came through the door.
“Chuck!” exclaimed Pon as Chuck came through the door followed by Sedgly.
Pon removed his hood and looked furious. He glared at the pair. “Why are you here? Did you not listen to what I said?”
Chuck nodded and glaring at the head said. “Yes, we heard you buddy, but if Americans were involved, we want to know why.”
“You could have been killed,” said Pon and sounding like a gecko chirped, “Ge cko, Ge koo.”
Chokdet and Tinju Warriors, with their weapons at the ready, came from their hiding positions.
Chuck and Sedgly looked surprised and understood what Pon meant about stealth, these Warriors had been invisible.
Pon sighed. “Okay, but keep quiet and stay alert.”
Pon, putting the hood back on, led them upst
airs.
Leaving the others at the top of the stairs, he walked along the corridor slashing his Juglave.
He removed a glove and beckoned them along the corridor. Taking off the hood, Pon stood outside the room and listened against the door. He heard faint mumbling coming from the same man as before.
When the others joined Pon, he whispered. “I can only hear Fahed, but there were three others with him before.” He pointed to the nearest room and said, “I’ll get on the balcony through there and then climb over and look through the window. Stay alert.”
Pon repeated in English for Chuck and Sedgly and went toward the next room but stopped when he heard the door handle behind him clicking. He looked shocked when he looked back at his troop and saw Chuck opening the door before he and Sedgly went in.
“No,” shouted Pon, surprised by Chuck’s haste, and he rushed back to the open door.
“Fahed!” yelled Chuck, as Fahed Del Alaz leapt off a large gold chair over on the far wall and stood with a pistol in his hand. Fahed looked shocked and rushed toward them, shouting, “Krot tel tum wa al abhri,” and fired the pistol at Chuck.
Blood exploded from Chuck’s chest and he stumbled to the floor.
Sedgly looked horrified watching Prime Master Chuck falling forward.
“No!” he screamed and rushed toward the oncoming Arab who again shouted “Krot tel tum wa al abhri! You killed my father!” and fired at Sedgly.
Pon rushed into the room springing out the blades of his Juglave. He saw Fahed shoot Sedgly and then stood with his mouth agape looking stunned before Sedgly slid out his dagger, grabbed Fahed’s shirt, and stabbed him in the heart.
“Master Sedgly, we needed him alive!” said Pon looking at the furious American monk as he stood over Fahed’s twitching corpse trembling with rage, the dagger, dripping blood, clenched tightly in his hand. He turned and faced the others who saw his face and the front of his clothes drenched in blood.
‘Damn,’ thought Pon, ‘I feared this would happen.’
“Were you hit Master Sedgly?” he asked, seeing Fahed firing two shots at Sedgly before he stabbed him.
Sedgly shook his head and looked down at Chuck.
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