‘Yes my Captain,’ Jana nodded and promptly did what she was told.
‘She’s funny,’ Triko said.
‘She’s a bloody nuisance,’ Gideon snapped and waved her crack team into position.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Sunday 10.15 pm
Gideon waited until Coop and Triko were in place before strolling towards the building that was most likely Camp Dragon Blue’s admin office. The walls, doors, shaded windows and TV satellite dish on the roof implied it was a nerve-centre of some kind, or the manager’s living quarters.
The lights were on inside, and the occupants cast their shadows onto the cane blinds and out to the world. Secure from being spotted by the opposition, unless they left the building, Gideon stepped up onto the wide dark veranda and took an eavesdropping position between the door and the open window beside it.
‘Confirm five,’ Coop’s whispered voice was heard by Gideon and Triko through their implants. ‘Redhead’s gun with suppressor, in reach on table, Wanker is foetal in south-west armchair.’
‘Confirm T-dart line on locals, both on east wall couch,’ Triko added.
Gideon gave a soft double-click with her tongue to indicate ‘silence until further notice’ so she could tune in to the conversation inside the room.
‘Why should we? This kind of shit gets denied every day. It gets swept away, covered up, ignored. Black ops are black, man. So what if some nosey backwoods Senator asks questions because he heard a rumour on CNN. Just do what you and your old buddies normally do, pull some schmuck out of prison and let him wear the public consequences - if there are any. Personally I don’t see why anyone has to know that we were even there.’
‘Which explains why you were spilling your guts to a reporter,’ the redhead said, pointing at the Australian who actually drew his knees closer to his chest in a bid to become one with the chair.
Unlike Alan Wagner, who’d simply been discarded in the corner, his commando contact had been slammed into a kitchen chair with his hands tied behind his back.
‘Oh man,’ Steve said, ‘how many times do I have to tell you, Kelman? He already knew. He was there.’
‘And he saw you, there, did he?’ The redheaded ‘Kelman’ stepped towards Alan. ‘Did you see Rawley on Laui Island?’
‘Me? No, I swear.’ Alan said. ‘We heard explosions and gunfire and shit like that, but we didn’t, I didn’t see anything.’
‘Well shit, Alan,’ the captive Rawley said, kicking the table leg in front of him. Only he seemed to notice Kelman’s gun slide a couple of inches across the table top towards him. ‘Why were you asking for information?’
‘Now that’s a good question Rawley, although probably one you should’ve asked before now,’ Kelman said. He loomed over Alan again, like a vulture waiting for something to be dead enough to eat.
‘Seriously guys, um, I didn’t see you on that island,’ Alan insisted. ‘All we knew was that the people who took us off Laui were not the ones firing the guns. And afterwards, well, a rumour just went around the submarine.’
‘The submarine?’ Kelman echoed.
‘The sub that took them to New Zealand,’ Rawley explained. ‘What was the rumour?’
Alan looked apologetic. ‘Um, that US Navy SEALs had screwed up their mission to rescue us, so they blew up the island instead.’
‘And you think that was Rawley’s team?’ Kelman said.
Alan frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘What’s not to understand, you cockroach?’ Kelman said. ‘Do you think we’re Navy SEALs?’
‘I’ve no idea what you are,’ Alan said, honestly. ‘That was the rumour. That’s what I put out, you know on the internet and places, in order to get a response.’ He pointed at Rawley. ‘First came Steve, then came you, and now, here we all are.’
Kelman turned to face Rawley. ‘What the hell were you thinking? If he thought you were SEALs why did you contact him?’
‘Because you - and which ever arsehole you work for at the moment - were going to hang me and mine out to dry. I wanted to find out who had taken the goddamn hostages off that speck of sand. I also wanted to know why this journalist hadn’t done a story on his own rescuers but wanted to know about us - and who we were.’
‘And how much of our business were you going to tell him, in order to find all that out?’
Rawley gave Kelman a look of disgust. ‘Fuck you Nick, and the whore you rode in on.’
‘But you and yours already did that, Rawley. You messed up big time, and there are always consequences. We were just going to take your team off the books for a while, that’s all. But now, this misguided solo mission of yours has put the kybosh on that. We don’t screw with the press. Not ever. Can you even guess how many people know about you now?’
‘No idea. Why don’t you ask him, goddamn it.’ Rawley kicked the table again as he nodded towards Alan. He knew full well that Nick Kelman was lying about the simple consequences, because this blame-game had never been about anyone laying low for a while. Kelman’s masters wanted a fall guy regardless; but now Rawley had quite possibly signed his own death warrant instead. And put the lives of his team and this useless Australian reporter at risk. Unless he could get his hands on that gun.
Kelman stood with his arms akimbo in front of Alan. ‘Who knows about us?’
Oh crap, Alan thought. ‘Depends what you mean by ‘know’. And, actually, what you mean by us - I mean you.’
Kelman shifted his weight from one leg to the other. ‘Let me see, do I care enough to find out? Or do I just wipe your face off with my fists?’
As Alan flung his hands up in front of his head, one of the Thai guys said something.
‘Now that would be fun,’ Kelman smiled. ‘My friend Tano suggests we should see how many rounds you can last against him, in the ring outside.’
‘Okay, I’m sorry,’ Alan said, glancing at the nothing-but-muscle Tano, who was now posing in some kind of scary Karate Kid stance. ‘Nobody knows who you dudes are,’ he continued, trying to sound cool. ‘Not even me. Only two people know I was meeting Steve - that is, an unknown person - here in Chiang Mai. One of them is in Sydney, the other is back at my hotel and has no idea what Steve looks like, or that his name is Steve, which it probably isn’t. And really, I swear on my life, I didn’t see anything on Laui, so I can’t identify any of you.’
Kelman blinked. No one could be this stupid. Waving his hand between himself and Rawley, he asked, ‘And now? Can you identify us now?’
‘Well, I assume you’re both Americans, but beyond that, you could be Mouseketeers or Marines for all I bloody know.’
Kelman glanced back at Rawley who, despite his predicament, shared the moment of disbelief.
And then something did dawn on Alan. He was totally alone in this foreign bloody city. No one knew where he was, and he’d pretty much just admitted that. ‘Mind you,’ he said quickly, ‘lots of people know about the rumour which led me to Steve. For a start, all the other hostages and the submarine crew were talking about it. And of course the soldiers who rescued us may even have, you know, eyeballed you.’
‘Eyeballed?’ Kelman said. ‘And who were they exactly?’
‘What? Oh, I can’t say - exactly. I signed a thing, you see. I’m not allowed to talk about them. On top of which, technically, I actually have no idea who they were.’
‘Why didn’t you try to find out?’ Kelman asked. ‘I thought you were a journalist.’
Alan shrugged. Hadn’t he just explained that? ‘I am. But I’m a journo who signed a thing. That’s why I was doing my story on you guys.’
‘Do you have any kids?’
‘Um, no. Why?’
‘I’m thinking that preventing you from procreating would be good for evolution,’ Kelman said, ignoring the sound of a breaking bottle and laughter close-by outside. He continued to loom large in Alan’s life instead.
‘Did the soldiers who rescued you, actuall
y see Rawley’s team? Did they engage with them?’ he asked.
Alan squinted. ‘I can’t be sure, but I don’t think so. Oh but hey, I’ve just remembered something.’ He pointed at Kelman for a hesitant second. ‘I think someone there did see you.’
‘Me?’
‘Yeah, the crazy woman I was locked up with…’
Kelman slapped across his hand over Alan’s mouth to shut him up. He couldn’t ignore the giggling and scuffling outside now that it seemed to be up close to the veranda. An instant later, an urgent banging placed someone right at their door.
Kelman signalled Tano to check it out, but before the man could even react, the door swung wide open. A couple of half-dressed, drunken tourists stumbled over each other in the doorway, until the guy fell laughing at the woman’s feet.
Kelman stepped between the intruders and the table to hide his gun and the fact that Rawley was tied up. Tano was standing about six feet to his left, and the other Thai was perched and ready on the edge of the couch behind them.
The woman meanwhile was hanging on to the doorframe flashing her cleavage and giggling stupidly at the man who was too hammered to get up off the floor.
‘Oh excellent, a not-Thai person,’ the woman slurred. ‘Tell me you speak English.’
‘Yes. And I’ll be using it to ask you to turn around and leave, now.’
‘Oh no, wait. Please tell me there’s a toilet in here. I am busting,’ Gideon said, pretending to reach for Coop but then smacking his hand away with a teasing laugh.
‘Sorry folks, this is a private party,’ Kelman said.
‘A party?’ Coop drawled from the floor. ‘Cool bananas.’
‘I don’t want a party doofus, I need a toilet,’ Gideon said to Coop, crossing her legs for effect.
‘Look, there is no toilet here,’ Kelman enunciated, moving forward to try and crowd them out of the room. ‘So get lost, okay?’
Gideon swayed loosely in the doorway as she squinted at Jana’s redheaded commando. ‘Okay, fine, but there’s no need to get snippy, Skippy.’
‘Skippy indeed,’ Triko acknowledged.
‘Oh my God, it’s you again,’ Alan proclaimed.
Kelman’s attention was still swivelling back to Gideon from Alan and his pointing finger, when Tano fell heavily to his knees and backwards on his haunches - for no apparent reason. Kelman frowned down at him then shot a backwards glance, in time to watch the other Thai smack face-first into the floor, before he grasped the situation.
‘Oh shit, no,’ Kelman swore as he turned back…straight into a fist.
Rawley, who’d seen the T-dart strike Tano in the neck, kicked the table again; hard this time. He leapt up and turned his back to grab the weapon that pure physics was sending his way.
Gideon snapped out a second jab. She caught Kelman square in the nose this time, forcing him back a step and straight into Coop’s slamming leg kick, which shoved him flailing onto the still moving table.
Gideon advanced as Kelman, Rawley and the loose weapon crashed to the floor amidst broken bits of table and a couple of chairs. As Coop flipped to his feet, Gideon dropped her knees onto Kelman’s chest, knocked the breath clean out of him and pinned him to the floor.
When Triko entered the room, a mere 15 seconds after firing his second T-dart, Rawley was still scrabbling around in the debris trying to get his bound hands in front of his body, and wondering what the hell had just happened.
Triko surveyed the mess and calmly shut the door to keep the party private. Gideon and Coop literally had Kelman well in hand, as they hauled the redhead up by his shirtfront; so Triko set about securing the temporarily incapacitated Thais with disposable nylon cuffs.
‘When you’re done with them Triko, can you go get the Doc please,’ Gideon requested. ‘I don’t want her out there alone too long.’ She looked for somewhere to put Kelman. The guy wasn’t putting up any kind of a struggle, but she knew that wouldn’t last.
Meanwhile, ‘Man oh man, oh man, someone up there must like me,’ Alan was saying inanely. ‘This is amazing. I don’t believe you’ve come to rescue me again.’
‘Hey dickhead,’ Coop said to him. ‘Move your arse. We want to put the bad guy there.’
Alan barely managed to scramble out of the way before Coop and Gideon dumped Kelman into the armchair.
‘Righto,’ Gideon said. ‘Talk fast because we want to go watch the kickboxing. Who are you?’
‘Was about to ask you the same thing, bitch.’
‘Oh dear, we’re not going to have a gender glitch in our communication are we?’ Gideon asked. ‘You’re not really miffed you got decked by a girl, are you?’
Kelman lifted his shirt to wipe the blood from his nose while he glared at the Amazon freak in front of him. The guy who’d helped manhandle him tapped his knee and pointed to the older dude who was on his way out of the room.
‘Take my advice sunshine,’ Triko said to him from the doorway, ‘do not for one minute assume that she took you by surprise.’
Kelman snorted, or he would have if his nose wasn’t broken. Instead, his effort merely sprayed blood over his chest and made his eyes water. ‘I’m not telling you anything,’ he said.
‘Of course you’re not, Kelman,’ Gideon smiled. ‘But your buddy there, the one who knew he wasn’t getting out of here alive tonight, might have other ideas.’
Kelman flashed Rawley a warning look. ‘We are not that stupid, when it’s unlikely you’ll let either of us go.’
Gideon frowned. ‘Why wouldn’t we?’
‘Well, you are clearly the same fuckers, no gender indicated, who screwed up our gig on Laui. And you’re obviously prepared to do whatever it takes,’ he pointed at Alan and waved around at the room, ‘to find out who we are, while remaining anonymous.’
‘Wow. That’s quite a misunderstanding you’ve got going on there,’ Gideon said. ‘First of all, Nick, we don’t actually give a damn who you are.’
Kelman looked doubtful. ‘Good, in that case let’s all just call it a night shall we? Rawley and I can just walk away. Or you can take your reporter friend and leave first. Your call.’
Gideon raised her eyebrows as if she was giving her call some thought, but then bent over to remove the knife from her ankle holster. She took a moment to dust off her jeans before flicking the blade out and turning her back on Kelman.
‘You wanna go with him?’ she asked the other American, who was sitting on the floor with his bound hands now resting on his knees. ‘Not particularly,’ Rawley smiled.
‘Didn’t think so.’ Gideon cut the rope on his wrists and helped him up. She then righted an upended chair and sat on it in front of Kelman, whose gaze remained fixed, dead centre of her chest.
‘Let me guess, Nick,’ she said, pulling her shirt out from where she’d tucked it in her bra to make the most of not much cleavage, ‘you’re still trying to figure out whether I punched you fair and square, or you were stupid enough to be distracted by my tits?’
‘They’re not that good,’ he said, lifting his gaze to her face.
‘Ah, but they did the trick. Now, just so you are clear on where we stand, our only reason for being here was to save him,’ she pointed at Alan, ‘from himself.’
Kelman looked surprised.
Alan, sensing an insult, demanded, ‘Me? Why?’
‘Because you’re a prize moron,’ said Jana Rossi from the doorway.
Alan’s mouth fell open as his world span nauseatingly out on a crazy adventure ride; taking him in a manner of seconds from heroic correspondent to terrified abductee to rescued hostage to man struck in recurring nightmare.
‘Alan,’ Gideon snapped her fingers at him. ‘Say one single word and we’ll leave you here with Kelman, tied to his unconscious Thai boxer. Now go stand with the Doc.’
Coop cuffed Kelman’s wrists to the wooden arms of the chair and smiled. ‘If you don’t manage to get out of these yourself, your mates will come to in about ten minutes.’
‘Wh
at, you really are just leaving?’ Kelman asked.
‘Yes,’ Gideon said, as if stating the obvious. ‘We have what we came for,’ she added, implying Alan but meaning Rawley.
Kelman looked relieved but unconvinced. ‘Do not tell these fuckers anything, Rawley. You do not know what’s at stake. I wouldn’t want to have to come after you again; or your new friends.’
‘Oh shut up, Kelman,’ said Gideon, as she got to her feet.
‘Yeah, what she said,’ Rawley added, stepping in beside Gideon. ‘You’re a prick, Nick.’
It looked like he was going to smack Kelman in the mouth - just because he could - so no one stopped him. But Rawley had other ideas. He jammed the business end of the silencer of Kelman’s own Barak SP-21 into his thigh and pulled the trigger.
Kelman screamed until Coop hit him hard enough to banish the pain by knocking him out. Rawley simply dropped the weapon and stepped back again.
‘Sorry about that,’ Rawley shrugged. ‘But he can’t come after us if he can’t walk.’
‘I guess not,’ Gideon agreed. ‘He might be really pissed off with you now though.’
‘Oh well. Thanks, by the way,’ Rawley smiled, ‘but I’ve gotta go now.’ He bolted for the open door, strong-arming Triko out of the way.
‘Oh shit, I’ll get him,’ Gideon said, already on the run. ‘Take care of Kelman’s leg.’
Rawley made the mistake of running a beeline from the door, so Gideon simply launched herself from the edge of the veranda and caught him in a low tackle. She hung on to his knees as he squirmed around in the dirt for a moment before giving up and just lying there.
Apart from not being able to dislodge the woman, Rawley realised her back-up had arrived and were standing either side of his head. On top of that, a dozen or so people were gathering a few yards away to watch. Rawley started laughing.
Triko told the Thai onlookers that everything was okay, they would take the stupid westerner away. The small crowd broke up, disappointed they weren’t going to see an unscheduled fight - especially a mixed sex one between a couple of farang.
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