by Easton, Don
“Easy to do,” said Pom. “Hotel here good. No tell bad guys.”
“Great. That takes care of Stew. As far as Jack goes, there will be enough of us left that we shouldn’t have a problem. Do you agree, Jack?”
“One hundred percent.”
“How long do you think it will take to check out the jade company?” asked Willy.
“I’m thinking only a day. I was told that once I did that, I could laze around for a day or two until everyone gets back.”
“Gee, he sounds like a really nice boss,” said Tina, sarcastically.
“Yes, I hear people are dying to work for him,” replied Jack. “After that, before returning to Canada, Stew and I are supposed to check out a company in southern Thailand and another one in Malaysia. The one in Malaysia is planning to build a huge tourist resort. The company in Thailand is said to be investing in green technology with biopolymers.”
“What are biopolymers?” asked Willy.
“Something made from living organisms. I don’t know much about it, other than it is better for the planet.”
“Where in Thailand?” asked Pom.
“A place near a city called Hat Yai.”
“That is on the border with Malaysia,” replied Pom. “It is not a good place.”
“Oskar said we would fly to an island in Malaysia called Langkawi, which is where the resort is being built. He said there is absolutely no danger in Langkawi, but that he and Pike would come along for a holiday. Hat Yai, back in Thailand, can apparently be done from there in a day trip. He said it had a bad rep and that Pike would go with us.”
“Sounds like we should keep our suitcases close at hand,” said Tina.
“You got it,” replied Jack.
Conversation stopped when Pom answered his phone. After a brief conversation he hung up and said, “Tomorrow, Ben Pike fly from Bangkok to Chiang Rai. He no get here before seven o’clock at night.”
“So if he is being brought to kill either Stew or I, at least our trip to the clothing factory in Tachileik tomorrow should be safe,” said Jack.
“We will still cover you to and from,” said Randy.
“For sure,” replied Jack, leaning back in his chair and stretching, “but tomorrow I think part of the team should stay and watch Oskar in case he does meet someone. I should mention that tonight, Oskar had Stew and I stand out on the restaurant patio where he took a picture of us. He acted like he was simply being friendly.”
“Think he had an ulterior motive?” asked Randy.
“The guy is a psychopath,” replied Jack. “Being friendly is only an act. I’m sure it was for a purpose.”
“Good enough,” replied Randy. “ So tomorrow, Jim and Willy, I’ll get you both to stay here and keep an eye on him, along with two from Pom’s team. Okay with you, Pom?”
“Okay me,” he replied.
“Tina, Pom, and one of his men will cover Jack and Stew,” continued Randy. He looked at Jack. “As an extra precaution, I would prefer it if you wore a wire. What do you think?”
“I agree,” replied Jack. “I hate doing it, but I figure it is more important to protect Stew in case something does happen.”
“For sure,” agreed Willy.
“Then it’s settled,” said Randy. “Tomorrow I’ll be the one to monitor the wire and will partner up with Pom in his car. Tina, you follow in your rental.”
“Got it,” replied Tina.
Randy looked at Jack. “Code word?”
“I’ll use pickle as a code word.”
“Pickle!” chuckled Randy. “Why not olive?”
“Because I was afraid you would think that was what I really wanted and run in with a jar of olives for me. No, if I think I need help, I’ll say something like, this is another fine pickle I’ve gotten into. You hear that, come in with your guns out.”
“We don’t carry guns. We’re in a foreign country, remember?” said Randy.
“I know, I meant Pom.”
“Speaking of which, Pom, can your team be armed in Tachileik?” asked Randy.
“Armed?” said Pom, looking at his arms.
“I mean carry guns. Can you go into Tachileik with your guns?”
“I no go there without one,” said Pom, looking seriously at Jack.
“I see,” said Jack. He looked at Jim and said, “Yes, I will definitely need to wear a wire tomorrow.”
“From what I hear, I don’t know if I’ll lend you one,” said Jim with a grin. “They’re expensive. I don’t want it coming back all shot up.”
“Thanks for the thought,” Jack said with a smile.
“And after tomorrow and China, then what?” asked Tina.”
Jack grimaced and shook his head. “I don’t know. Stew’s safety is top priority. We’ll have to play it one day at a time.”
“More like one second at a time,” replied Randy, sombrely. “The time it takes to snap someone’s neck.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
At ten o’clock in the morning, Jack and Stew were greeted by a Mr. Duwa in the lobby of their hotel. Mr. Duwa explained that he had a driver waiting outside to take them to his factory in Tachileik.
Jack and Stew got in the back seat of an older-model black Mercedes, while Duwa sat in the front. Jack said hello to the driver, who was a short, husky man with a face scarred with acne.
He grunted in response.
“His English no good as mine,” explained Duwa.
The one-hour drive to Tachileik was delayed briefly partway due to road construction. It was only at that point that Jack was conscious of a motor scooter that pulled up close to them, with the driver talking on a cellphone.
The scooter then roared by, dodging in and out past a grader on the road. Jack knew that it was one of the men from Pom’s team. He glanced out the back window of the Mercedes and did not see the two surveillance cars that he knew were following. It was a good sign. He knew the scooter driver had warned them. It meant the Thai were learning the art of surveillance.
The Mercedes crossed into Myanmar without a problem and minutes later, they pulled up to a large warehouse comprised of three levels.
The lower level contained rows of cardboard boxes packed with clothes.
“Here, ready for shipping,” explained Duwa, gesturing to a truck that had backed into a cargo bay, where workers started loading the truck. He pointed to another cargo bay where a truck was unloading bales of fabric. “Cloth come in here, go out there,” Duwal explained. “We handle much. If America or Europe want to buy, we can make.”
“That sounds good,” said Stew.
“We have lots of room to make more clothes, but need orders first,” said Duwa.
Jack and Stew followed Duwa up a flight of stairs, while the driver trailed behind them. The hum from hundreds of sewing machines greeted them before they arrived. The work area was a large, wide-opened expanse of workers. Piles of fabric and clothing were everywhere. Few of the workers cast so much as a glance in their direction, as they sat on hard, wooden self-adjusting stools, hunched over their work.
Some men, presumably foremen, slowly walked around while staring at the workers.
“What do they do?” asked Jack, pointing to one of the foremen.
“Make sure everyone work hard,” said Duwa. “Workers get lazy, then no get paid for day they lazy.”
“How many hours do they work?” asked Jack.
“Sixteen hours a day, unless we are busy and they work more,” said Duwa.
“Unless you are busy?” asked Stew, sounding incredulous.
Duwal pointed to several empty workstations where stools sat empty. “You can see, maybe one out of four empty. Bad economy. Very bad. I have much room to grow big. You invest and I hire more people.”
“How much are these people paid?” asked Jack.
“I pay good money. One dollar a day, except for what I charge for food and place to sleep.”
“The workers are fed here?” asked Jack.
“Yes, I f
eed them two times a day at work. Otherwise they get too tired and slow. I also have apartment building where they stay.”
“Do they get days off?” asked Stew.
“Days off? If they get sick … maybe one or two day okay and I no pay. Many people want to work. If they no want to work, no problem. I hire new people.”
“Their ages look to be from about sixteen to seventy,” said Jack. “Do you hire younger workers?”
“No. I know Westerners no like sweaty kid shop. People here happy to work.” Duwa yelled something out in Myanmarese and numerous workers paused, looked at Stew and Jack, then smiled and gave the two men a friendly wave.
“You see?” said Duwa. “Every bodies happy to work. We do good job. Cheap. More cheap than every ones. You invest in our company, you get number-one deal. Best in Myanmar.”
“Could we go upstairs?” asked Jack.
“Upstairs is same,” said Duwa. “No need to see.”
“I would like to see,” said Jack, “so I can get a visual idea of how big your operation is and how much room you have for expansion.”
Duwa shrugged and led Jack and Stew up to the top floor. It was basically the same as the one they had seen, with the exception that an office was located at the far end with glass windows looking out over the workers.
“My office,” said Duwa, when he saw Jack looking. “You happy with what you see? You go tell your boss you are happy?”
“I see potential,” said Jack, “but there would have to be some changes.”
“Changes?”
“To start with, wages may need to be improved,” muttered Stew.
“I pay them more money, then mean you have to pay more,” explained Duwa, in a tone of voice one might use to explain something simple to a child.
“Are you familiar with a concept known as fair trade?” asked Jack.
“Fair trade?”
“Didn’t think so. Basically a lot of people in richer countries don’t mind paying a little more, if they know that the people doing the hardest work are getting fairly paid.”
“The hardest work?”
“The people at the bottom … these people,” said Jack, with a wave of his hand toward the factory floor. “Being fair is what I am talking about.”
“I pay them fair. I always fair,” said Duwa, indignantly.
“It might be fair in Myanmar, but it would not be seen as fair in the countries where you hope to sell your clothes. You would sell more clothes if it was known that you were not the cheapest, but the most generous with your workers. People would feel good when they wear the clothes, knowing that they are helping other people who are less fortunate.”
“And they pay more to feel good?” said Duwal.
“Yes, that would be a major marketing tool and could also open up the wallets of people who would be willing to invest in your company.”
“How much more they pay?”
“Stew and I are here to see if there is potential and to see what changes would have to take place. Talks with other people may come later, providing you are open, honest, and willing to make some changes.”
“You can see that I am like that. You tell your boss, I good, yes?”
“We will tell him.”
Duwa looked pleased. “Okay, I buy you lunch before I take you back to hotel.”
Duwa treated Jack and Stew to lunch on the Thai side of the border in Mae Sai at an outdoor restaurant. It was a hot and humid day and when Jack sat he was careful that his sweat-soaked light cotton shirt did not reveal a wire leading to the microphone taped to his chest.
During lunch, Jack saw Randy standing in the sun on the opposite side of the street as he pretended to browse amongst some tourist stalls. Jack slowly raised his glass of cold beer in Randy’s direction and took a couple of slow sips. He hid his smile when Randy looked at him and pretended to rub his eye with his middle finger.
After lunch, Duwa waved to his driver who had been waiting patiently under an awning and told him to go get the car.
“Stew and I were saying earlier that we wanted to do a little shopping in Mae Sai before heading back,” said Jack, hoping that Duwa did not see the surprised look on Stew’s face.
“I can have my driver pick you up after and take you back,” offered Duwa.
“No, that is not a problem,” replied Jack. “I’m not sure how long we will be, but I don’t want to feel rushed, so we’ll take a taxi back to the hotel.”
Duwa nodded and they said their goodbyes moments later.
As soon as Duwa and his driver left, Stew said, “You want to go shopping?”
“No,” said Jack. “We’re going back to Duwa’s factory for a surprise visit.”
“What on earth for? What do you think we’ll see that we haven’t already?”
“Didn’t you notice all the empty stools in the place?” asked Jack.
“Yes, because of the economy. Twenty-five percent were empty.”
“Did you happen to notice that most of the stools where nobody sat were adjusted much higher than the others?”
“What do you mean? I don’t get what … children! You think —”
“Yes. I don’t think Mr. Duwa was being entirely honest with us.”
“That sneaky —”
“Let’s wait an hour and go back. In the event someone is watching us, we’ll shop for half an hour, then take a taxi out of town toward our hotel in Chiang Saen. Then we’ll double back to the border to get another taxi to take us to the factory.”
“If you are right, they might not appreciate us finding out,” Stew said apprehensively. “Maybe we should wait until tonight when the guy from corporate security arrives and come back with him.”
I’d rather take my chances with the Myanmarese, than corporate security …
“Some of the people in there looked like pretty rough individuals,” continued Stew.
The people I saw in the factory looked to be hard-working blue-collar types. I can handle them. The real murderers are wearing white collars …
“Well? Do you agree?” asked Stew.
Jack shrugged. “With flights these days, Pike could easily be delayed. Tomorrow you’re booked to go to China.
Stew didn’t reply, but bit his lower lip as he thought.
“It is getting late though,” noted Jack. “I also have to come back tomorrow to check out a jade factory. There’ll probably be time for me to slip across the border and do a surprise visit then.”
Stew’s mouth dropped open. “By yourself?” He shook his head. “Not a chance, buddy. We’ll do it together.” He gave Jack a friendly punch on the arm and added, “Don’t worry. I’ve been in some tough places in the world. I can handle these guys.”
“Been in a few scraps, have you?”
“Well … nothing physical … but I’ve travelled through some pretty poor countries. Places where you wouldn’t dare take your eyes off your luggage for fear someone would steal it. ”
“I see.”
Stew gave a reassuring nod. “Stick with me and you’ll be okay.”
“Thanks, Stew Pot. You’re a good guy.”
During the next half-hour, Jack and Stew browsed through some tourist shops. When Stew was at the far end of one store, Jack used the opportunity to stand near Tina and tell her what was going on.
“You sure it’s a good idea?” she asked. “Maybe you should just ignore it.”
“I thought of that, but Oskar does do some legitimate work. You didn’t see these people in the factory. They’re like slaves, working sixteen hours a day, probably more.”
“They may be upset at you catching them.”
“Naw, I’m not worried about them. They’re not gangsters or dope dealers. This could be a chance to improve their lives. I feel pretty comfortable with it. If my hunch is right, we’ll probably end up in Duwa’s office talking to him for a while.”
“Where’s his office?”
“Top floor at the back.”
“How many workers
in the place?”
“I’d guess about a dozen on the lower level and about two hundred on each of the two levels above.”
“So let me do the math,” said Tina. “Randy and I, plus Pom and one of his guys makes four. So if everyone in there decides they don’t appreciate your return visit and you end up in trouble, it will take us about twenty seconds to get to the building, then all we have to do is fight our way past four hundred people while we climb up a set of stairs to the third level and across a factory floor.”
“Sounds about right, except it’s not one set of stairs. The ceilings are really high. Each level has two long flights of stairs separated by a small landing. So you’re looking at four sets.”
“Having small landings makes me feel better. It will give us a place to rest on our way. Of course, they might immediately cut you both to pieces and toss you out the window to feed all the stray dogs I’ve seen running around.”
“Do you know how to sew?”
“Yeah, why?”
Jack smiled. “Well, if we’re in pieces, you can put us back together.”
“Yeah, I think they tried that with Humpty Dumpty,” replied Tina, sarcastically. “It didn’t turn out so well.”
“I once heard from a good informant that Humpty Dumpty was pushed. I should probably mention that to Major Crimes.”
Upon returning to the factory, Jack and Stew had the taxi stop about a block away and told him to wait. Once they were out of the taxi, Jack said, “My idea is to head in and waste no time going up to Duwa’s office. If kids are working, we’ll see them on the way. Once we reach Duwa, I am sure we can calm the situation if things turn ugly. He’s a businessman and we’ll be able to reason with him.”
“Hope so,” replied Stew.
The bottom of the factory erupted into a lot of yelling as Jack and Stew went in and headed straight for the stairwell. More yelling and a couple of workers appeared on the stairway at the second level, but Jack and Stew pushed past them to look. There were many children, some as young as eight or nine years old, gawking at them from where they sat at sewing machines, while other children were scurrying around and trying to hide behind piles of clothing.