Gina Takes Bangkok (The Femme Vendettas)
Page 16
Kittyjack disconnected the line and speed-dialed Kannon.
“This is Kittyjack,” she said, making a point of slowing her voice. “Where are you?”
“Outside the doors, by the billboard.”
Her fingers caressed her mouse, the image on her screen elevating and magnifying its perspective till she could make him out. “I see you.”
“He’s coming out now,” Kannon relayed. “I’ll get directly behind him so you can pick him out.”
Kittyjack leaned in closer, her cat eyes following Kannon as he joined the crowd then positioned himself behind a man. “I got him. You break away. I’ll follow.”
Kannon hung back, allowing the target to slip away from him. “Don’t lose him. We’re not going to get another chance at this.”
“What’s your IQ, Kannon?” she asked, adjusting the position of her mouse as she worked to keep the man in the center of her screen.
“Never had it tested.”
“Mine’s one-seventy-nine,” she replied. “You know what genius level is?”
“I bet I’m about to learn that.”
“One-forty. Shut up and let me work.”
Kannon frowned down at his phone, then up at the sky. High above, he could make out the dot that was the military reconnaissance drone, any noise its whisper-quiet rotors were making lost amidst the ambient noise of Bangkok. With eyes in the sky, he could trail his quarry from blocks away, the position of the drone flashing on his phone.
At a casual pace he made his way after the signal as Ryota jogged up to him.
“She got him?”
“Yes,” Kannon replied, “because she’s the smartest person in Bangkok.”
“Fourteen million people in this city,” came the hacker’s voice from the speaker phone. “Odds are there’s at least three people smarter than me.”
Ryota shrugged. “And what’s her emotional intelligence?”
Kannon stared at his junior. “Emotional intelligence. What’s that?”
Kittyjack snorted. “What people trying to compensate came up with. You might like to know our friend’s headed for one of the canals. I’m guessing he’s getting on a water taxi.”
“Catch up with him if you can,” Kannon instructed Ryota. “I’ll follow. We’ll take turns tailing him to make it look to Jarun that we don’t know he’s already on to us.”
Ryota hurried off. Kannon headed down the street parallel to the canal, weaving through the throngs of pedestrians as he followed Kittyjack’s drones.
“Jarun’s just gotten off the boat. Where are you, Kannon?”
“About three blocks behind.”
“Pick up the pace. He’s heading into some built-up areas and I can’t get a clear view from the air.”
Kannon broke into a sprint down the narrow streets. Two minutes later, and he was directly under the drone, and a scan of the road pinpointed both Ryota and the man they were following.
Master and apprentice traded places, Ryota now hanging back as Kannon took over the tail, the drone above them circling silently. Jarun turned down an unlit alley, and Kannon paused at the corner. “What do you see, Kittyjack?”
“There’s a door at the very end...and he’s gone inside. We have his destination.”
“A map of the area would be useful,” Kannon said. “And so would any floor plans you could get of the place.”
“What part of one-seventy-nine don’t you understand?” He could hear the click of keys. “Already way ahead of you. Should have some specs in ten minutes, tops.”
Ek scowled as Jarun closed the door to the darkened warehouse. “Kannon follow you?”
“I’m pretty sure I spotted him and his partner at the arena.”
“You better not have made yourself too hard to follow.”
“I did exactly as Mr. Wakai instructed,” Jarun replied evenly. “If Kannon’s half the man-hunter he’s said to be, he should be here any minute.”
And then there’d be payback for his arm, Ek swore. He turned to the dozen-odd rakshasas he’d brought with him. “Front door’s the only way in here,” he said, pulling a powerful handgun from his belt. “Let him get a good way inside before you start shooting. I don’t want him escaping again.”
Jarun stepped up. “What about me?”
“Shut your mouth and stay out of the way,” snarled Ek.
Falling back to the surrounding piles of crates and boxes, Ek and his people positioned themselves in a wide semi-circle, readying their ambush. Now all he had to do was wait.
And wait.
Twenty minutes later, everything was still silent as the dead.
“Where the hell is he?” Ek cursed under his breath, fingering the trigger of his gun, his eagerness for revenge melting into dark frustration.
“Maybe seeing if there’s another way in?” a rakshasa offered up. “If he thinks Montri’s here, he might be looking for another way in.”
“You’re sure all the other doors are blocked?”
His servant nodded. “Either barricaded with heavy crates or have their bolts welded shut. All the windows are high above the ground. Sooner or later, he’s going to have to come through this way.”
“It may be later than sooner,” Jarun said. “If Kannon suspects his boss is in here, he won’t make a move until he’s ready. He might even call in back-up.”
Minutes stretched into hours, the hours into a whole night, and as the first rays of dawn penetrated the warehouse’s high windows, Ek let out an angry curse. Turning on Jarun, he ground his sharpened teeth. “How long does it take this fucker?”
“This is the sixth time, you’ve asked me that. My answer’s the same. I don’t know. I did as I was told. If you’re unhappy, talk to Wakai.”
Ek strode over and glared down at Jarun. “You and Wakai snuck Montri away. And now you fail to lead Kannon here. I should be cutting your heart out right now.”
Wakai’s little buddy looked up at him, craning his neck back to do so, but his expression remained passive.
“Well?” Ek demanded, the man’s silence only enraging him more.
“The Buddha says the ignorant man is like an ox. He grows in size but not in wisdom.”
The fucker was insulting him. “And what will your Buddha say when I peel the face off your skull and show it to you?”
Jarun’s eye twitched, though Ek couldn’t tell if it was from anger or fear. “The message doesn’t change no matter how much you whip the messenger.”
Ek’s phone went off. Wakai. “We’ve been here all night and nothing. He didn’t show. Your trap failed!”
“Did it?” came the reply. “Or is he waiting for you to come out? Why don’t you send one of your inbred followers to look around?”
“I’ve got a better idea.” Ek pointed at the door. “Jarun, go outside and have a smoke. Let’s see if our friend’s been waiting as long as we have.”
Ek heard Wakai’s hiss of protest and smiled, and the smile broadened at Jarun’s sudden unhappy expression. There, that fixed him. Ek and his men watched Jarun head for the door. There was a burst of sunlight as he stepped outside, then the door swung shut and all was quiet.
“Hide again,” Ek ordered. “Let’s see what fish our bait brings us.”
The sunlight was blinding, so the second Jarun emerged, Kannon knew he had the edge. Pressed to the wall beside the entrance, he waited for the door to close of its own accord, then stepped forward and snapped the fighter into a vicious chokehold. Pressing his windpipe and jugular, he stifled the voice, and in a matter of seconds had his victim unconscious.
Hauling the limp man over his shoulder, he hustled down the alley to where Gina was waiting with the van, engine running. She opened the back doors, and as soon as Jarun was safely tied and gagged, he pulled out his cell and dialed Ryota.
“Everything ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then, let’s give our friends some excitement.”
Once he was off the phone, Gina asked, “You sure you don’t want me to wait?
”
“No. Meet us back at the Golden Geisha,” he answered, swinging out a large jerry can of gasoline. “We’ll be right behind.” He slammed shut the back doors.
Gina didn’t move, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. He did not need this.
“Go!”
She jerked, and did what she was told. First time for everything.
As she pulled away, Kannon carried the container to the front door of the warehouse. Thanks to Kittyjack’s drone they’d been able to determine exactly who and what was inside it, the machine being able to peer through the windows with its lowlight cameras. They’d had all night to prepare, and now the rakshasas were going to learn just how good a trap their warehouse really was.
Emptying the fuel around the entrance, he set the liquid ablaze. The front of the building was suddenly set upon by a sheet of flame, and Kannon backed away, drawing his gun. Ryota had simultaneously torched the other exits, and within minutes, the old timber warehouse would be an inferno.
Kannon allowed himself a small grim smile. “Let’s see you get yourself out of this one, Ek.”
THROUGH HIS LIVING room window, Wakai observed a plume of black smoke rise from a distant neighborhood, his fingers drumming on the arm of his wheelchair. “Guess Kannon’s smarter than I thought.”
Behind him, Victoria was pacing back and forth. “I don’t see how you can be so calm about this. Ek could be hurt. Even dead!”
And wouldn’t that be a shame, though he knew better than to say so to his distraught sister. Truth be told, it was worrying. Surely the clues he’d planted in the video of Montri had been subtle enough. And a hunter like Kannon wouldn’t have too much trouble tracking Jarun across the city. So what had gone wrong?
And where was Jarun?
Most likely it was some slip-up on the part of Ek, which is exactly why he’d advised the behemoth not to go. There was no point dwelling on that now. Without him, what would the other rakshasas in the city do? Go home? Follow Victoria? Appoint some new psychopath as their chief?
A metallic tone chimed from the tablet on his knee, and an image from the elevator camera appeared. “You can stop your pacing. The wizard has returned.”
The elevator disgorged Ek, his hair and eyebrows almost singed away, his clothing scorched and reeking of smoke. None of that seemed to matter to Victoria. She hugged Ek, smiling up at him in relief. “Oh, I’m so happy you’re all right.”
Ek set her aside, and shot a murderous look at Wakai. “My men aren’t.”
“How many did you lose?” asked Wakai hopefully.
“All but one,” he spat. “The warehouse was full of smoke in minutes. We had to run through the fire to get away.”
Wakai raised his eyebrows. “Lucky Kannon wasn’t waiting for you.”
“He was!” Ek exploded. “Shot the first man out the door between the eyes. Kept us pinned inside till the firefighters arrived.”
Wakai carefully released his breath. “What happened to Jarun?”
“I sent him out to find Kannon. He didn’t come back. What do you think happened to him?” Wakai fought for calmness. “Guess we both underestimated him.”
He was yanked clear out of his chair, dangling in the air from Ek’s one good hand. “You set us up!”
“Ek, no!” cried Victoria, pulling at his arm. “John would never do that!”
“And I can prove it,” Wakai managed to choke out, the collar of his shirt tight as a noose.
Ek’s grip tightened even more. “How?”
“Because I need you to get Tasanee for me. I know who has her.”
Even though Ek clearly wanted nothing more than to smash Wakai like an insect, the news gave him pause.
“You’ve got a lot to pay Kannon back for,” Wakai gasped, taking Ek’s wrist in a bid to keep from being strangled. “With Tasanee in our hands, he’s done.”
Ek let go, and Wakai dropped into his chair with a bone-shuddering thud. Leaning over, the rakshasa pointed an ash-darkened finger straight at his face. “You had better be right. Because this is your very last chance.”
Hate for Ek surged through Wakai for his callous treatment of Jarun—and himself. “And you’d better not fuck this up. Because this is your last chance, too.”
Gina was looking out the window of the Golden Geisha when Kannon arrived in a three-wheeled tuk-tuk. He paid the taxi driver, who looked pointedly at the sign and Gina, and gave him a thumbs-up. What? Was that a general sign of approval between two men or did he know Gina?
He never learned Thai formally because he planned to leave as soon as he could. Ever since teaming up with Gina, he’d changed his mind. He’d changed his mind on a lot of things.
He stepped inside. “Ryota here?”
“Got here about ten minutes ago and dragged Jarun upstairs.” Gina moved from the window to him. “This evening’s appointments have been shifted to the Magic Mango, so all the girls have cleared out. The place is all ours.”
“Jarun wake up?”
She nodded. “Just after I arrived here. Question is, what are we going to do with him?”
He flexed his hands and made for the stairs. “I have a pretty good idea.”
“Kannon, I….”
His foot rested on the bottom step. He knew what was coming. “Yes, boss?”
She set her hands on her hips. “That’s uncalled for, Kannon. I’ve never lorded over you, and you know that. I—let’s not turn this into another bloodbath, okay?”
“How rough I get is up to Jarun. I’m not a psycho, Gina. I hurt people because it’s my job. Back there at 70 Rai was personal, and you backed me up on that, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s done and gone. Now, if you want to take a stab at Jarun, be my guest, except that didn’t turn out so well last time.”
“I did fine! It was that berserker who messed things up.”
“Well, then,” Kannon said, sweeping his hand up the stairs, “be my guest.”
She stalked past him. “Thank you, don’t mind if I do.”
She was halfway up the stairs when she stopped and turned. “Well, come on then.”
He didn’t like this. He didn’t like being at her beck-and-call and then her daring to tell him that wasn’t the way it was between them. He didn’t like her ass swing up and away from him, while he had to, once again, trudge behind. “Why do I have to be there? Ryota can back you up.”
That made her blink, which was good, because he was feeling a bit testy right now. She retraced her steps down until they were eye to eye. She straightened his tie. “You’ve pulled an all-nighter, haven’t you? And you’ve had to deal with a gang of baddies and after all that, you get grief from me. It’s not fair.”
What was the little chit up to now?
“You’re right. How about you wait here? Have a snooze, while Ryota and I deal with Jarun.” As she turned away, he caught her arm.
“I get you, Gina. You know that I’d not let you in there without me, no matter how good Ryota is. But that wasn’t my question, and you know it.”
“What was it, then?”
“The question is: why do you want me with you when you don’t need me?”
Her teeth set to gnawing her lips and the inside of her cheek. Good. She could chew herself up as bad as he was getting chewed up inside, too. “I guess I was confused,” she finally said.
That was it? That was all she was going to give him, the woman who had answers and hugs for everyone else in the world? “Yeah, I guess you were,” he said. He pushed past her to take the lead. “C’mon. You’ve got another interrogation to conduct.”
The round sex bed was looking a little different than yesterday morning. For one thing, Jarun was on it. Gagged, blindfolded, and his arms and legs bound. Kannon yanked away the gag and the blindfold.
Jarun looked around the room, at Gina, Kannon, and Ryota, his gaze coming to rest on the anatomically correct teddy bear. “Hell of a place to torture a man.”
Kannon turned to Gina. “You’re up.”
Jarun was snaking around on the bed, trying to pull himself upright on the slippery sheets. He looked like a landed fish. Gina felt a twinge of sympathy. She knew what it was like to be on that bed and not able to move. He managed to flop his head onto a pillow. “Your man? He was Alak Montri’s. You and The Pink Stilettos act outraged while you steal his people.”
She didn’t dare look at Kannon. Not that she needed to. She could feel his stiff neutrality like a stone wall. “A temporary arrangement. But you haven’t answered my question.”
“You didn’t ask one.” Jarun looked ridiculous lying there, yet he had the upper hand. Kannon would’ve had him blubbering for his life by now, willing to confess to killing Jesus. She forced herself to sound like someone to be reckoned with. “Why were you dealing with Ek’s people?”
“Wakai asked me to. Thought if he could get his hands on your man he could find out where Montri’s daughter was. To be honest, I was looking forward to paying him back for the beating he gave me. Looks like I’m up for round two.”
“There won’t be any violence here,” Gina said.
Kannon shifted on his feet. A quiet move that communicated deep impatience. She kept talking. “I’m not sure what to make of you, Jarun. You led us to that snuff brothel in 70 Rai, so I have reason to think you’re sincere. On the other hand, you seem happy enough to help the Cambodians. Perhaps you could clarify that for me.”
He didn’t. He didn’t say a word. And nobody did anything because they were all waiting on her, and she hadn’t a freaking clue. Jarun gave a cool, knowing smile.
“This the best you’ve got? Thought the Pink Stilettos were supposed to be more than a dying man and his airhead daughter.” He twisted to face Kannon. “And some washed-up Yakuza thug.”
It was a deliberate goad. And she fully expected Kannon to pistol-whip Jarun. A beat went by, and another. After several more, she realized that Kannon was not going to do anything. That he was willing to let their prisoner demean him in order to give her the chance to prove herself. And from how he stared straight ahead at the garishly painted wall, she knew what this was costing him. She had to find a way to break through.