Stealing Asia

by David Clarkson

  He pulled back the gun slightly, redirecting the nozzle to just above my head.

  ‘Go on...’

  ‘Her father is a musician,’ I paused awkwardly, because I knew how ridiculous the end of that sentence was going to sound. ‘He’s a famous musician.’

  The interrogation ended not long after I had betrayed the woman that I loved. I walked out unaided, on my own two feet. I was then taken deeper into the bowels of the ship where I was placed into a much larger cell. This time, I was not alone. There were a half dozen bunk beds and the room resembled a dormitory.

  ‘Take any bed that you want,’ said Clay. ‘You may be here a while and we want your stay to be comfortable.’

  I looked at the nearest bed. It was not built for comfort. Clay shoved me away from the door.

  ‘One more thing,’ he added. ‘You’re free to fraternise with our other guests, but if I catch you fucking any of them you’re going into solitary AND I’ll tell your girlfriend.’

  He slammed the door shut and locked it behind him. It was then that I noticed something that the other prisoners all had in common. Every one of them was female. This gave me a fleeting hope that Asia would be amongst them, but she was not. I did, however, see two faces I did recognise.

  ‘Ben!’ exclaimed Izzie, as she ran across the room and threw her arms around me. ‘We thought they were going to kill you. I’m so glad you’re alive.’

  Her eyes were bloodshot and bordered by dark rings. I could tell she had been crying, but she was genuinely pleased to see me. At least I now knew that I was not the only one to have been taken in by Clay and Barrett.

  ‘What is this place?’ I asked.

  Another girl, who had come over to check me out, provided the answer. She had been kept onboard for four months. This made her the longest serving prisoner. There were seven of them in total, including the English pair. All had fallen for the same scam. They had been travelling through Thailand when they had encountered the American pair. They were then seduced before being brought aboard the ship. Their passports and subsequently their identities were taken from them. No doubt sold on to criminals or refuges hoping for an authentic alias or just a fresh start in life. There was no hope of anyone going home. Eventually, the girls would be sold off as sex slaves or simply made to disappear forever.

  ‘Where is Asia?’ I asked Izzie.

  ‘We don’t know,’ she replied. Her bottom lip was trembling and I could tell she was not hopeful for my girlfriend’s safety. ‘She knew something was up long before Dee or myself suspected anything. Her suspicions started in the boat and had risen to panic by the time that we were brought onboard. She tried to fight them and was led away kicking and screaming.’

  I had a brief tinge of pride in knowing that Asia had put up a fight, but this was soon replaced by concern. She was certainly feisty and whilst it was an attractive quality, it could put her in more danger than she was in already. Izzie picked up on my reaction immediately.

  ‘I didn’t mean to worry you,’ she said. ‘I’m sure that wherever she is, they will not have hurt her.’

  ‘It’s okay, I understand.’

  I sat down on the bed and Izzie went back to her corner of the cell, sensing that I wanted to be left alone for a while. Whilst the girls had all been brought here for a reason, Asia had clearly been singled out. Because of me, they now knew who she was. A ransom demand would surely follow. She was now the most precious cargo for these pirates. They must have thought they had stumbled upon a treasure chest. The odds of me being allowed near such a valuable acquisition were non-existent. She was a hostage, I was just a witness.

  I thought back to the interrogation. There was only one reason why I would be kept alive. It involved the unravelling of the most pertinent puzzle of all. Stalker, criminal or spy; just who was Esteban Cruz and what was his interest in Asia?

  Part 2

  Chapter 1

  My name is Esteban Cruz. I do not consider myself to be a bad man, but I have done bad things. Terrible things. For this, I am not proud. I thought I could make amends for my past, but I was wrong. Never before had I strayed so far beyond my mission parameters and I was paying the price. I had lost not only the girl, but now Ben had been taken too.

  The dinghy was still within targeting range, but the way it bounced and buffered against the waves made it impossible to achieve any kind of accuracy in my shots. The last thing I wanted was to end up killing a hostage; especially when that hostage had become a friend. I could only watch on as the small craft drifted out of sight. After it disappeared over the horizon, I holstered my gun and walked up the beach to where one of the kidnappers lay injured in the sand.

  I had been careful to place the blade in a way that would not be fatal. Until I knew who I was dealing with, it was necessary to exercise the utmost caution. Before I could take action, I needed information. Whether he liked it or not, this scumbag was going to tell me everything I wanted to know.

  He lay still with his face buried in the sand. I kicked his side and the resulting groan told me that he had not yet lost consciousness. Sadly for him, he would be denied that luxury for a little while longer. He was strong, but I would have expected more of a fight from a man of his size. If he was a professional, then I would think that he operated at the lower end of the market. What I needed to establish was whether he had been hired to go after Asia or if he had just gotten lucky.

  The rucksack he had carried was lying just a few feet away, where it had been dropped during the scuffle. I opened it up and searched for anything that could be of use. It contained a map of the island, a water bottle and basic food rations in the form of energy bars. The only incriminating item was the shark magnet, which I had earlier found attached to the air tank that I had retrieved with Manu’s help the night before. Maybe that would tell me something when I got a chance to inspect it more closely. At the very bottom of the bag was a taser gun with one replacement cartridge. I removed the cartridge that was already in place and gently pressed the trigger to check the charge. Two slivers of electricity lit up the tip confirming that it was in working order.

  A taser is primarily a stun weapon. A small propulsion charge releases two darts, which enter the targets body whilst remaining connected to the handheld unit via a conductive wire. An electrical charge is then fired into the targets body, which causes neuromuscular incapacitation. It induces uncontrollable and powerful spasms that take all muscular control away from the victim. I have used them many times and can vouch for their effectiveness. If needs be, they can also be adapted for a more sinister use. When the cartridge is removed and the exposed charge is pressed against a targets body, the attack on the central nervous system is replaced with an intense localized pain. This makes them an effective torture device.

  I crouched over where the one calling himself Barrett, lay belly down on the sand. The blade rose out from his back like a flag placed in the ground of a newly discovered country. I pulled it out causing the body beneath me to flinch. After wiping the blood onto the cloth of the Americans shirt, I put the blade into the rucksack. Then with the full weight of my kneeling body, I pressed down on his back to keep him from moving. Grabbing hold of his hair, I pulled his head back to show him what I was holding in my other hand, before placing the tip of the taser to his torso just below the ribcage.

  ‘Who are you working with?’ I asked.

  ‘Back pocket,’ he replied.

  I reached into his back pocket and found a wallet, which I flipped open. The badge read CIA, but it may as well have had printed in Thailand embossed underneath. It was nothing but a piece of worthless tat from the Kao San Road.

  ‘You have to be kidding me,’ I told him. ‘I’ve seen teenagers use more convincing ID than this to score liquor.’

  The forgery was perhaps not as obvious as I pretended, but its major mistake was that the eagle was facing to the East rather than the West. It had its back turned to America instead of watching over it. At least I now knew how
they had been able to turn Ben against me. These creeps probably had the poor kid convinced that I was some sort of international terrorist.

  ‘Who are you working with?’ I again asked.

  He answered only with silence. If he thought he could ride this out until his friends arrived, he was sorely mistaken.

  ‘I know that a dinghy is on its way to this beach as I speak and you are going to tell me who will be on it. Marines, terrorists, mercenaries; who is it?’

  This time when he did not respond, I squeezed the trigger. His muscles tightened in response to the pain, causing his veins to rise up like the connections on a circuit board. He struggled to free himself of my hold, but it was a futile effort. I was fully in control of the situation.

  ‘Do you want another?’ I asked.

  ‘They’re just pirates,’ he quickly replied. ‘We supply them with girls and they give us half the dough they get from selling them on. No one else is involved.’

  ‘That is bullshit,’ I told him. ‘Someone is calling the shots. Who is it?’

  I pressed the tip of the taser more firmly against his side, but refrained from pulling the trigger. Anticipation of pain can sometimes be worse than the sensation itself.

  ‘I’m telling the truth. Clay and me call the shots. It’s a fifty-fifty partnership. If you stop trying to kill me for a minute, we could cut you a deal.’

  ‘If I wish to kill you; I will. What I am doing now is merely listening. You would be wise to talk whilst I am feeling so receptive. You will not get a second chance. Now tell me who put you onto the girl.’

  ‘The redhead?’ he replied, trying his best to sound surprised.

  I electrocuted him a second time, causing him to scream out and kick his feet.

  ‘Okay, okay,’ he said. ‘There is somebody else, but you have to believe me when I tell you that I don’t know anything about them.’

  ‘Go on,’ I urged.

  He took a deep breath through clenched teeth.

  ‘It all started back in Bangkok. We have a contact in a guest house that tips us off to girls we may be interested in. Tens of thousands of travellers pass through this way every year and hundreds go missing. We figured that just a few more every so often is not going to cause too big a stir. We usually find a couple of cute girls and work on them in the bars. If they bite, we invite them to the island. You can probably figure out the rest.’

  I thought of Izzie and Dee and it made me feel sick with disgust. How many more innocents had these animals taken?

  ‘And Asia?’ I asked. ‘You already had two girls, so why take a third?’

  ‘Why do you think; money. At first we thought we’d been busted when we found some other guy waiting for us at the guesthouse. It soon became clear, however, that what he really had in mind was a business proposition.’

  ‘He wanted you to take the girl?’

  ‘That’s right. He offered $500,000 with ten percent up front. We were prepared to ditch the limeys for the bigger score, but he insisted we keep hold of them as cover. He said that our usual routine would not work on this new girl.’

  ‘And...’

  ‘And what? I already told you everything. For that kind of money, the guy was entitled to keep as many secrets as he wanted as far as we were concerned.’

  I reapplied the pressure of the taser more firmly into his side to remind him of who was calling the shots.

  ‘Keep talking,’ I urged. ‘What did this guy look like? Did he have an accent?’

  ‘I don’t know. It all happened so quickly. He was American, I guess.’

  ‘What about the money?’

  ‘He paid cash, on the spot.’

  ‘And how do you contact him? You must have a system in place; a number, hotel room, safety deposit box; anything?’

  ‘You’re talking to the wrong guy. Clay took care of that side of things. He has a satellite phone. We were told to wait for further instructions. The communication only works one way.’

  I glanced across to the ocean. Lights were appearing on the horizon. No doubt this was his back-up on its way. I could not afford to waste much more time on this fool.

  ‘Where are you taking her?’ I asked.

  He did not answer. I guessed that he must have seen the lights too. I pulled the trigger again and this time I could actually smell the burning flesh.

  ‘YOU FUCK!’ he screamed, trying once more to break free.

  Despite the pain I had inflicted, his strength had started to return. I stepped off of him and threw the taser down by the rucksack, replacing it with my gun.

  ‘Times up,’ I said. ‘I have just one more question and if I don’t get the right response, I will kill you.’

  He pushed himself up onto one knee and looked up to face me. I could see in his eyes that he was not ready to die.

  ‘Why did you try to feed me to the sharks?’ I asked.

  ‘Like I said; we normally only go for girls with no baggage. We had to check you guys out to see how well you all really knew each other. The boyfriend proved harmless, but we sensed that you were a threat from the start. In this business, it does not pay to take too many chances. We couldn’t have known that you would switch equipment at the last minute.’

  This was good. They did not know who I was or why I was interested in the girl. So long as my identity and that of my employer was protected, I was still in the game.

  ‘You and I are in the same business,’ I lied. ‘My clients have specific tastes, but they will have to wait a little while longer to get what they want. You can keep the girl, but do not think of coming after me. If I ever see you again, I will kill you without hesitation.’

  I motioned with my free hand for him to stand up and turn around. For a split second, I was tempted to just shoot him in the head there and then. If anything, it would at least strengthen the gene pool. As it was, I needed him to deliver my message, so I simply hit him around the back of the head with the handle of my gun, knocking him out cold. I was now on my own and faced with a boatload of heavily armed pirates. My only logical choice was to run. I did not, however, intend to run far.

  I left the thug unconscious on the beach and hurried back through the jungle towards the resort. Along the way, I checked my smartphone to see where the signal had settled. The boat was just over three kilometres from shore. I could have tried to use the American to negotiate a hostage swap, but this would have been a suicidal move given the odds against me. Instead, I would have to let them go and hope to get back on their trail as soon as possible. My transmitter had a range of two hundred miles so I was confident that I would not lose them.

  The first thing that I had to do was to go back to my cabin to remove anything that could be traced back to me. Falling for the drugged beer had been an amateur mistake. Fortunately, I had managed to purge my system of the chemicals before they took full effect, but it had cost me valuable time. I had been forced to act without taking the requisite precautions to cover my tracks and risked exposing not only myself, but the man who hired me.

  The bay was quiet when I made it to the edge of the forest. I kept myself hidden by the tree line until I was directly behind my cabin. The wood that formed the structure was old and worn thin by the regular battering of tropical storms. I used the dagger to pull apart the bottom slats and then crawled inside. It was still padlocked and from the exterior it would appear that I had not yet returned. If anybody attempted to get inside, I would have the advantage.

  I dimmed my flashlight and pointed it to the ground. Time was conspiring against me, so I filled my rucksack with spare ammo and other essentials as quickly as I could. If I left just one of my many ID’s behind, I could be implicated in any manner of crimes. By the time I had finished, I could hear men approaching from the beach. There were two of them. Seeing the fastened padlock, they obviously did not expect me to be inside and they made no attempt to be quiet as they tried to pick the lock. I crouched down low and waited with the taser in my hands

  When the d
oor opened, the first guy to enter had his guard down and I tasered him in the chest. He instantly dropped his gun and fell to the ground in a fit of convulsions. The second gunman stepped away from the doorway and ran around to the side of the cabin where he began to fire into the side wall. His weapon was fitted with a silencer and the only evidence of the ejected bullets was the splintering of the wooden panels to my right as the flimsy framework gave way to the barrage of fire.

  I quickly rolled back under the makeshift rear entrance, which I had carved out just minutes earlier. As I unfurled myself on the other side, I already had the replacement cartridge loaded into the taser and the gunman in my sights. I shot him in the armpit. The current surged through his body and as he fell to the ground the smell of human excrement filled the air.

  I ditched the taser as I was out of cartridges and did not think I would need it as a torture device again. There would be more of the pirates coming for me and as much as it sickened me; I knew that I may have to shoot to kill if I was to make it out alive. I strapped on the rucksack and peered around the edge of the cabin to see how many more were coming.

  There were two thugs waiting on the edge of the forest. They had obviously seen what fate befell their comrades and as such they were reluctant to expose themselves. It would take them a few minutes to make it to my position under cover of the forest canopy, so I left them to it and ran in the direction of the reception block.

  The bar was busy with a party in full swing. The bright oil lamps that lined the decking had blocked out the brief burst of violence, which had occurred further down the bay. As far as I could tell, nobody was watching the back of the building. The quad bikes, which I had earlier taken out with Ben and Asia, were parked by the edge of a dirt trail leading into the forest. Unless I was prepared to swim for it, these were my only means of escape.

  I started up one of the quads, but kept my hand pressed firmly on the brake as I tied down the accelerator switch. When I sensed that the gunmen were closing in, I released the brake and let the quad propel itself into the forest. I then crouched down behind the side of the building and moments later the gunmen emerged and they took the bait. One of them signalled to his comrade that they should each take one of the remaining quads.