A few moments later a middle-aged, thin man dressed neatly in dark slacks, a short sleeved white shirt and skinny dark tie came out of the restaurant with the driver. They walked to where Culler and Mac were standing by the truck.
The man put his hands together and bowed in greeting. “Hello,” he said in good English, “my name is Sophon. I understand you want to go to Chiang Mai.” They shook hands and exchanged respectful wais.
“Yes, Khun Sophon, and we are in a bit of a hurry because we do not want to miss our flight. We need to get to Chiang Mai International Airport. Can you help us? We can pay for the ride.” Mac held out a hundred dollar bill. “But we need to leave now or we will be late.”
Sophon eyed the bill suspiciously. “That is very generous. I just arrived from Chiang Mai and am heading north, I do not know if…”
Mac pulled another one hundred dollar bill from his pocket and held out two hundred dollars. “We need to leave right away or we will miss our flight. If you can not take us we will have to ask someone else.”
Sophon smiled and took the bills. “Okay, mai pen rai, I can be a little late today. Come with me.”
Culler and Mac grabbed their bags, thanked the truck driver and followed Sophon to a sixties vintage, but well maintained, black Chevy Impala sedan. They threw their duffel bags in the back seat and Mac climbed in after them. Culler, fidgeting with his wig and false moustache which was becoming uncomfortable and unstuck in the heat, climbed in next to the driver.
Santos asked, “How fast does this thing go? I used to have one just like it. Mine was a convertible. That V-8 engine under the hood used to push it pretty fast.”
Sophon smiled knowingly and gunned the old Impala up onto the highway and then south in the direction of Chiang Mai. “Then you appreciate the old American cars as I do, my friend. American cars ruled the roads all over the world in those days, now you can not find an American automobile outside of the United States. What happened?”
Culler said, “Corporate arrogance, greedy unions, high manufacturing costs and poor quality. That’s what killed the American automobile industry. But thankfully a few of these old beauties still remain to remind us of the way things were.”
Sophon laughed. “Yes, I admire all things American. I would like to visit some day. I have relatives in San José. They have invited me to visit, but I have to sell a lot of auto parts before I can afford the trip. And, well now I have a rather large family that depends upon me. So that is another problem.”
Mac chimed in from the back seat. “Save your money, Khun Sophon, and send one of your children to school in the U.S. Then you will build your own ties and the rest of you can follow later.”
“Yes, you are right. My oldest will be ready for university in two years. He hopes to get a scholarship and attend school in California near my relatives. That is his dream, and mine.”
“Get us to the airport in one piece and without being stopped and another one of these one hundred dollar bills will be your tip – think of it as a kind of advance on your son’s education,” said Mac.
“Can do,” said Sophon, pressing his foot on the gas.
Chapter Ninety-Six
Khun Ut had tipped off the the Chiang Mai airport police and municipal police to be on the lookout for the two Americans wanted for questioning in the car bombing at the Orchid Lodge and the shooting death of two men at the Wangcome Hotel in Chiang Rai.
The alert flashed their descriptions and spelled out their names – Callaway and Humphrey. Police all over Thailand, and especially in the north, were well familiar with the descriptions of the two, by now infamous, farangs.
Instructions were given to set up check points at the two main entrances of the airport. Cars were to be stopped and the passengers visually inspected. Those vehicles with farangs aboard were to be pulled over and detained. The papers of all adult males would be inspected, and all suspects matching the descriptions of the two suspects would be detained for further questioning.
Police were warned that the two farangs were armed and extremely dangerous.
Roving patrols of municipal police and airport security were instructed to cover the departure gates, both foreign and domestic, and the parking garages as well as all entrances and exits.
Seven of Khun Ut’s men were sent to the airport to do their own independent surveillance. They were in plain clothes, armed and led by Paiboon. They were instructed to remain on the periphery and not interfere with the police, but to monitor closely the police checks at the exits and entrances.
The police were scrambling to set up checkpoints at the entrances to the airport when the old black four-door Impala carrying the two farang passengers drove past them and entered the airport unchallenged.
Chapter Ninety-Seven
Two police cars with sirens wailing and lights flashing came toward the black Chevy as it pulled into the main entrance of the airport.
“Whoa! What’s that all about?” said Santos. The two cars sped past and blocked the entrance behind them.
Sophon watched the two police cruisers in his rear view mirror while the two farangs reflexively slumped lower into their seats. “They are blocking the entrance to the airport. Setting up a checkpoint. They do that when there is a security alert of some kind.”
“Hmmm,” said Mac with a glance at Santos. “They’re probably looking for terrorists.”
He knew exactly what the commotion was all about, and said a silent prayer of thanks to God for getting them there when He did, before the roadblock was set up.
Santos responded with a wide-eyed look and a nod that conveyed he was in total agreement with his friend.
Mac said, “Take the entrance to the main garage over there, where it says long-term parking.”
Sophon pulled into the garage, stopped at the automatic gate and took a ticket. The bar raised and they entered. “Now continue driving up the ramp through the garage toward the upper levels until I tell you to stop.”
They passed the A, B, C, and D elevator banks on the lower level and then circled up to the second level where they repeated the process, passing the A, B, and C elevator banks.
They passed the Land Cruiser just beyond the C elevator bank. When they reached the end of the ramp near the D elevator bank they spotted two vacant spaces.
“Pull in there. In that space,” ordered Mac, pointing in the direction of the nearest space. Sophon did as he was told. Thus far they had not seen any security in the garage. “Now lock the car and come with us.” Mac pulled another one hundred dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to Sophon. “There is one more thing I need you to do for us.”
Culler looked quizzically at Mac, eyebrows raised, but said nothing. Mac gave him a reassuring glance with a slight nod in return.
They unloaded the car and walked together back toward the Land Cruiser. When they reached it Mac unlocked the doors with the remote and they threw their duffle bags in the back. Then he turned and handed Sophon the keys.
Mac said, “I want you to drive us out of here, Sophon. I don’t know who the police are looking for, but I have a hunch they are looking for a couple of farang drug dealers. Not us, but I heard something about it on the radio earlier today and I don’t want us to be stopped and questioned. Will you help us?”
“Of course,” said Sophon, clearly worried. “But I thought you were taking a flight out of here.”
“We’re too late.” Mac glanced at his watch. “Our flight leaves in ten minutes. We will have to come back tomorrow. We tried, but didn’t make it here on time.”
Sophon’s face showed disbelief, but all he said was: “Okay, but how will I get back to my car?”
“We’ll drop you at a taxi stand in town and you can take a cab back, Okay?”
Culler and Mac crawled into the back seat of the Land Cruiser. Mac slid his H&K pistol from the holster at the small of his back and indicated to Culler to do the same. The gesture was unnecessary, as Culler already had his pistol out and by his leg.
They kept the weapons low and out of sight but at the ready.
“We’re going to slouch down on the floor so no one sees us,” said Mac. “The parking ticket is in the ashtray in front of you. Just get us out of here safely.”
Mac pulled a one thousand baht note out of his pocket and held it out over Sophon’s shoulder in the front seat. “Here, this should cover the parking charges. Keep the change.”
Sophon nervously stuffed the ticket and the one thousand baht note into his shirt pocket, backed out of the parking space and headed down toward the garage exit. When they reached the first floor of the garage they passed two airport police officers walking up on either side of the ramp. Sophon slowed and waved at them and they stepped aside and waved the Land Cruiser past after noting only a lone Thai driver in the car.
When they reached the garage exit one of the two toll booths was closed and the remaining one had two cars backed up in front of them waiting to pay. Sophon spoke softly over his shoulder to the men in the back. “There is only one attendant on duty. Only one booth open. Two police officers are inspecting the car that is paying at the booth.”
Culler and Mac were down low on the floor, pistols at the ready. Mac, who was directly behind the driver whispered to Sophon. “Keep all of the windows up until you reach the booth. The Land Cruiser is high, so they won’t be able to see us unless they get very close and look directly inside and down. Act natural and friendly and let us know if they decide to look into the back seat.”
All Santos could think of at the moment was that he wished he had taken the suppressors for the .45 caliber pistols out of the bags before they got into the backseat. If they had to shoot their way out of this mess they were going to make a hell of a lot of noise, and that wouldn’t help matters at all.
The first car finished paying and pulled away and the car immediately in front of the Land Cruiser pulled up to the booth.
Chapter Ninety-Eight
Paiboon was stationed at the side of the road about forty feet from the exit of the garage. Another one of his men was stationed directly across the street from him. Both were dressed casually in dark slacks and light, untucked short sleeved shirts. Their weapons were concealed under the shirts. They intently monitored the police checking the cars exiting the garage.
Paiboon felt a rush as the big white Land Cruiser pulled up to the booth. There appeared to be only one person in the vehicle – a Thai driver – but something spooked him. Something was not right.
He watched the driver pay the attendant through the open window and wait for his change while the two police officers casually walked the length of the Land Cruiser on either side from front to back, looking disinterestedly through the windows.
What is it? His mind raced back in time. What is it about that vehicle?
The driver collected his change, rolled up the window and pulled out onto the airport exit road.
Then it dawned on him. The two farangs had used a large white SUV in their escape. This was the type of vehicle that the villagers in San Sai said had picked them up behind the abandoned charcoal factory on the outskirts of Chiang Mai.
Paiboon stepped off the curb out onto the street and started jogging toward the slowly moving vehicle, waving his hand and shouting for it to stop. His eyes locked on the driver’s and he saw pure, unadulterated wide-eyed fear.
Paiboon reached the side of the SUV just at the moment the driver swerved and gunned the engine, almost knocking Paiboon off of his feet.
The SUV sped down the exit ramp and headed out onto the highway.
Paiboon screamed at the two police officers. “That is their car. They are in that Land Cruiser. You did not check the inside. Alert the police to go after them.”
The nearest police officer glanced at his partner in disbelief and then turned toward Paiboon. “We did check. There was only one person in the vehicle. And if you continue shouting at us I will personally arrest you right here. Now shut up and let us do our job.”
Paiboon stood in the middle of the road, speechless, and watched the white Land Cruiser disappear from sight.
Chapter Ninety-Nine
Sophon pulled out onto the highway with his eyes fixed on the rear view mirror. He was relieved not to see anyone following him. He was still shaken by the crazy man who ran at him at the airport exit. “Phom sia jai, khrap. I am sorry. I almost run over that guy.”
Culler and Mac straightened up from their cramped positions on the floor and sat up in the back seat. “You did great,” said Mac. “Now continue heading into Chiang Mai until you spot a taxi stand and we’ll drop you off.”
Sophon wanted nothing more than to end this odyssey, collect his money and get as far away from those crazy farangs as he could. “Amarin Hotel is up on left. I could get taxi there. Is that okay?”
Mac said, “That would be perfect, Sophon. Pull in and we’ll drop you off at the entrance. Maybe you could grab a nice, leisurely lunch inside the hotel before heading back for your car as well. That would put even more distance between us.” Mac pulled the remaining three one hundred dollar bills out of his pocket and passed them up to Sophon. “Take this for your extra time and trouble – and please don’t say a word about this to anyone.”
Sophon stuffed the bills into his shirt pocket. “Please do not worry about me. I go back and collect my car and be on my way. I will not say nothing. You very generous and I thank Buddha you are safe.”
They pulled into the drive leading to the hotel and Santos said, “Don’t go all the way to the entrance. Pull over here where we can turn around and avoid the congestion at the front door.”
Sophon did as he was told and jumped down out of the vehicle, leaving the keys in the ignition and the motor running. He exchanged a deep, respectful wei with Mac as they exchanged places and Mac climbed behind the wheel.
“Khawp khoon ma khrap,” he said, “I wish you both good luck and good fortune. May Buddha smile on you.” And then he was gone, hurrying toward the front entrance of the hotel, glad to be out of there.
“Do you think he’ll really keep quiet about this?” asked Culler, heaving himself into the front passenger seat.
Mac pulled the Land Cruiser around and headed back onto the highway toward the center of Chiang Mai. “I think so, for awhile anyway. By the time he has to explain where he got all of his newfound wealth and figures out who we are we’ll be long gone.”
Culler pushed back in his seat and took a deep, cleansing breath. “Okay, we made it safely this far, but before we can declare mission accomplished we going to have to get out of this God forsaken country. How are we going to do that with every cop in Thailand on our trail?”
“I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. I think we should first go back to the safehouse to get cleaned up and rest a bit and get rid of all these alias docs, guns and military crap we’ve been lugging around. We can leave the excess gear behind and Charly can get the stuff out of the safehouse after we’re gone. Then, with our civilian gear and true-name passports, we’ll drive across the country to Nong Khai like a couple of tourists. Nong Khai is on the border with Laos. There’s a new bridge there, the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. We can cross the Mekong over to Vientiane, and fly back home without having to go through Thai customs.”
Culler frowned skeptically. “Won’t we have to go through Thai customs in Nong Khai? It’s a border crossing point, right? Same as an airport?”
“Same, but not same-same, as the bar girls often say. They certainly do chop people in and out, but it’s a border town and not as sophisticated as say, Bangkok or Chiang Mai. They don’t have the on-line computer hook-ups like those major cities. And then…well, I have some good contacts there. They will be able to help us get across the river safely. Once we’re in Laos we’ll be home free.”
A police car sped toward them with lights flashing and siren wailing, causing them to stiffen, but it passed and disappeared in their rear view mirror, and they relaxed once again.
“Is that where you w
ere posted way back when? Nong Khai?”
“No, but close. I was in Udorn, about fifty kilometers south of there. That was back in the late nineties. The base is in Udorn.”
Mac slowed the Land Cruiser and turned onto the tree lined street leading to the safehouse apartment.
Chapter One Hundred
Working silently, they unloaded the Land Cruiser in the garage and carried the duffel bags up to the apartment. There they sorted out their gear, showered, cleaned out the refrigerator of all of the leftovers, and took a long nap.
Mac made two brief calls on his throwaway cell phone. The first was to Charly Blackburn to tell her of their plan to leave the country via Nong Khai and to alert her that their gear and alias documents would be left behind in the safehouse; the second was to Maggie in Fort Lauderdale to tell her they had accomplished their mission and were on their way back home.
Maggie in turn informed Edwin Rothmann of their plans and mission success.
They waited until dark before leaving the apartment. They were refreshed, rested, cleaned up and well fed. They dressed casually in jeans and light, short sleeved shirts. They carried their true name passports and wallets and several hundred dollars in cash. The rest of the remaining cash, approximately twenty thousand dollars, was concealed in the lining of MacMurphy’s travel bag.
They discussed leaving their side-arms behind as well, but agreed that they would be better off with them during their approximate ten hour drive across the mostly deserted Thai countryside to Nong Khai.
MacMurphy suggested they could give the H&K pistols to his police contact in Nong Khai as a gift for helping them across the border. The police contact could also make secure arrangements for the return of the Land Cruiser.
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