by Leo James
Mai walked over and bowed, 'Dinner is ready now. Can you sit at the table? You like oolong tea?'
'Oh, yes please,' Steve said.
'Mai has made my favourite dishes, Vietnamese garlic, ginger, koay teow, pak choy with soy and oyster sauce.'
'Yes, I go with my friend Tien today. We get fresh food from the market,' Mai said.
Mai served the tea and the starter, then sat with Steve and Glen.
'This is lovely Mai. You not eating?'
'I no want starter, I eat other.'
‘Glen tells me you trained as a nurse in Vietnam?'
'Yes, I train in Hanoi. I hope to work in Kuala Lumpur as a nurse. Cannot work until I get a permit.' Mai bowed.
'I hope you get one soon. We can help you get a job in Malaysia. Glen and I have contacts,’ Steve said.
‘Yes, I like to get a job in a hospital.’
‘And you are learning to use the PC.’ Steve placed his knife and fork on the plate.
Glen leaned over towards Steve's plate. 'You don't like mushrooms mate?'
'No, I've never liked the texture. Since I was a boy. I can't eat them.'
'Great. Give them here mate.' Glen moved Steve's mushrooms onto his plate and consumed them just as quick.
You tosser Glen. ’Are you enjoying the PC?’ Steve asked again.
‘Yes, I enjoy. I want to know everything,’ Mai smiled.
She retreated to the kitchen and Glen waxed on about Mai's cooking.
'Can you smell the koay teow? Mai is making this for you. It's the national dish of Malaysia.' Glen pointed at the flames leaping around the wok as Mai cooked the main course.
'Looks and smells gorgeous.'
Glen retrieved a glass jug from the fridge and poured a drink into Steve's glass. 'Try this mate. It's fresh icy soya bean juice; good for you.'
'Thanks.' I’m not your mate. Tosser.
Mai returned to the kitchen several times to serve a complete banquet of dishes.
Glen showed Steve a bottle. 'You want more chilli sauce mate?'
Steve smiled. 'No, I'm fine. You sure love your food.'
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Wednesday 29th April
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, STEVE arrived at Q7.
Farid greeted him as he entered his office. 'Welcome my friend, take a seat. How are you? I am sorry to hear the sad news. David was a fine man.' Farid inspected his fingernails.
'I'm doing well, thanks. It’s a tragedy. David was a good friend and colleague. It's been a terrible shock,' Steve said.
'I send my sympathies to his family.' Farid nodded.
'Thank you.' Steve felt his face fall slightly.
'Q7 is going well. We increased to over two million transactions per month. I trust Roger agrees with the payments.'
'Yes, thank you.' Steve nodded.
'Did you hear I won the ASEAN Business Advisory Council award?'
‘Congratulations.' Steve tried to sound as genuine as possible. 'Did you get any further with the investigations? Any further information from the police?'
'It is fine, Steve. Do not worry. We are aiming for over three million transactions next month. It is a big success.' Farid sat back.
'But David's findings. Did Boon or Rakesh take a look?'
'It is fine. Anil is taking care of that Steve. Do not worry my friend.' Farid's forced apparent nod of agreement told Steve he had failed to convince him.
'We should get more information, so the police can follow up. Do you want me to organise for Mark or another member of the Seguro team to run forensics on the system? You closed our remote access connection,' Steve said.
'Anil's team will monitor the network. We will take care of that.'
'What about access? We cannot update changes or run any of the monthly compliance reports.' Steve gave it another push.
'Anil's team will run the reports. Please send instructions over to him. The system is going well. If we need an update or find a problem, then we will give you access. It was you guys who said there were potential problems on our network. Anil has put measures in place to make our network as secure as possible. So, we must limit access to ensure its secure.'
Steve was very anxious. This makes little sense. Why would they lock us out of the system if they have nothing to hide? We're helping them. 'Our contract says we need to access for audit, compliance and support updates.'
'You tell us what you need to run for the audit and we will run the reports every month before our update call.' Farid made a steeple of his fingers.
Steve raised his voice. 'It's not in the contract.'
'Steve, do you not trust us? We are not stupid. We want to protect our network, so we are restricting access for everyone.'
'Our board rules and compliance procedures mean we should run the reports ourselves.' Steve tensed.
'We are a team Steve. A team together. We will give a copy of the report every month to Roger and Anthony.'
'Roger and the Seguro board will not accept that arrangement. I will have to raise this at our next Board meeting.'
'I'm sure Roger prefers to receive increasing payments as we grow rather than minor reports.'
Steve left, concerned and puzzled.
I know he's lying. But we need the money. They've cut us off from the system. David is out of the picture. He said it does not concern me. Fuck!
######
As he left the building, he received a call from Sergeant TetLeong, who told him to walk a block to the next corner. Steve arrived at the next block and followed TetLeong into Starbucks. They sat at a vacant table. He questioned Steve about the meeting with Farid. Steve expressed his concerns.
Steve grimaced. 'I don't trust him. He wants me to stay away from questioning their network activities. They even stopped remote access for the Seguro support staff. This means we cannot access the Q7 system for updates, audit and reports.'
'Did he talk about Prem Jothi?' TetLeong said.
'No. I couldn't draw him on what the local police have done since we last met with them. I'm not happy. They're shutting shop. It makes me even more suspicious. I'm meeting with Farid and Prem Jothi next Tuesday. I'll update you.'
'OK.' TetLeong nodded.
Steve handed over a copy of the mini hard drive to Sergeant TetLeong. 'Can your analysts investigate Q7? This mini drive has the forensics,' Steve said, 'There is a complete image of the Q7 system on here. I can text you the secure vault password. Do you have computer forensic ability in the country?'
'Yes, the Malaysian police have set-up a computer forensic agency.' TetLeong took the drive. 'It's called CyberSecurity Malaysia.'
Steve then sent a text containing the password, 'There you go. Can you get one of your analysts to deliver the forensics as soon as possible? Hopefully, we can prove Farid Razak and Prem Jothi are guilty.'
'OK, leave it with me.' TetLeong put the mini drive into his pocket.'
'I met with Cliff Lin at the Kuala Lumpur Golf course.'
'Yes, I was there.’
'Ah, sorry. OK, Cliff is a shareholder at Seguro. He's a nice guy. He said Prem Jothi could help me grow the business,’ Steve said.
'Do you think Cliff Lin has any connections with illegal dealings in Malaysia?'
'No way. He is a good man, a Christian, who goes to church.' Steve rubbed his temples.
'We have no record of Cliff Lin. He is clean.'
'Oh good. I visited Glen at his apartment on Jalan Ampang.'
'Yes,’ TetLeong said.
'Glen lives with his girlfriend Mai. She is a trained nurse from Vietnam, and a great cook. Glen is our sales guy. He's our local man although he also lives in the UK. He spends most of his time in Asia.'
'How long has he been with Mai?'
'Oh. A few months. They moved into a rental together. '
'Can you get her full name? She will have a short-term visa, so will have to fly back to Vietnam at some stage. She only needs two days out of Malaysia for renewal of her visa,’ TetLeong said.
/>
'OK. Glen said a while back he would spend a few days in Vietnam.'
'Where did he meet her?'
'At the Cuban bar. Just bumped into her one night.'
'Was she working?'
'Working? No, she was just having drinks with a friend.' Steve scrunched his nose.
'Women go to the Cuban Bar, Beach Club and other places in Kuala Lumpur to find men. They send money home and pay money to the groups who control the women in the bars and massage shops.'
'So, Mai's a prostitute.' Steve shook his head.
'She may be still paying money to the pimps. Maybe. Does she know Farid Razak and Prem Jothi?'
'Yes. Glen told me she has seen them at the Cuban Bar and Mai is in awe of Prem Jothi,' Steve said.
'Is Glen tied up in this?'
'No. Not Glen. He loves Kuala Lumpur and loves Asian women.' Steve shook his head more rapidly.
'Has he taken any bribes from Farid Razak or Prem Jothi?'
’No. He wouldn't get involved with drugs, money laundering or any other illegal stuff. He's a salesman, so he tries to influence the decision makers to buy from him. That's all.'
'OK,' TetLeong said.
'Oh, wait a minute,' Steve paused for a moment. 'Farid gave Glen a Maybank prepaid card. Glen is spending it on local expenses. I warned him. I forgot to mention Farid also gave David and me a prepaid card each. David suspected problems in the Q7 system, so we didn't use them. We sent emails to each other, confirming our suspicions. I have the emails if you need them.'
'OK,' TetLeong repeated.
TetLeong received a call and left. Steve headed back to the hotel.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Friday 1st May
INCENSE MASTER ARRIVED AT a small office on the second floor of an old shophouse near Chinatown. The huge man opened the door and another foot soldier stood next to him. Mountain Master was sitting on a leather chesterfield chair. Incense Master sat opposite.
'I have the pictures?' Incense Master spread them across the coffee table and they examined each one. Mountain Master looked up and smiled, 'Good photos. Clear pictures of Mark Farrell and no pictures of the other man's face.'
Mountain Master beckoned the huge man. 'Take these over to Straw Sandal. Tell him Mark Farrell is staying at the Concorde, floor twenty-one, room 2184. Arrest him as soon as possible.'
'OK.' The huge man bowed and left the room.
Incense Master nodded. 'I met with Steve Roussos.'
'What did he say?'
‘He did not talk about Q7. He wanted information on you and Farid. He said you will get him more business for his company.'
'Did he tell you about his arrest at the border?'
'No.'
'He visited the UK police. They contacted the Kuala Lumpur police. Straw Sandal controlled it.'
'Good,' Incense Master said.
'So, he didn’t mention Red Pole?' enquired Mountain Master.
'No, why?'
'Because Red Pole has threatened to arrest him, if he does not keep him informed. Roussos will let him know what is going on in case we need to sort any issues with Q7. However, I have taken steps to put Steve Roussos out of action. Out of action for a long time.'
‘Excellent.’ Incense Master nodded.
There was a knock on the door and a foot soldier escorted Tien into the room. She bowed and stood at the side of the coffee table in between the two men. They ignored her until Mountain Master said, 'Did you talk to Mai?'
She bowed. 'Yes, Mountain Master.'
'What information did you get?'
'Mai said she could not listen. She was cooking in the kitchen. She talked to Glen after Steve had gone back to the hotel.'
He glared at her. 'What did she find out?’
'Glen says should not use money card Farid gave Glen for spending money. Also, Glen says he will find out more about you.'
'And Q7?'
'Steve is asking questions about Q7.'
'Did Steve Roussos eat any Cendawan?'
'No. Mai say he not eat it. She say Steve not like so Glen eats all Cendawan. Glen is sick today. She ask me for medicine for him for sickness.’
Mountain Master banged his fist on the table and jumped to his feet. 'Tell Mai she works for me. I look after her family and I make them safe. Tell her I own you both. Do you hear me?'
'Yes, Mountain Master.' Tien bowed her head forward, and stayed motionless, eyes fixed on the floor.
‘Make sure you bring any information from Mai.'
'Yes, Mountain Master. I will do that. Thank you.'
The foot soldier marched Tien out of the building, into the busy marketplace.
Mountain Master walked over to the window. 'Steve Roussos is a threat which we will address. Straw Sandal will take care of Mark Farrell. He can rot for a long time waiting for his trial.'
Incense Master nodded. 'Yes, we need to complete on the real estate.'
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Saturday 2nd May
STEVE WOKE, HAVING HAD little sleep. He had spent the whole night trying to figure out what to do next. Thoughts continuously circled around his mind.
He showered, took his daily Valium and dressed before listening to a voice message from a sick sounding Glen. His message told Steve how ill he felt, so he called him.
Mai answered. 'Hello.'
'Oh hi. It's Steve. How are you? How is Glen?'
'I OK. Glen ill. I try to get him to eat remedies and food, but not work.'
'It's probably just a virus. Best let him rest and I'm sure he will be better tomorrow.'
'Glen no well. I do not think it a virus. I am worried.' Mai sounded concerned.
'Is he having Chinese medicine?'
'He not eat.'
'What do you mean Mai? Can he eat, or can’t he?’
'Every day he only drinks water and two spoons of porridge or two bites of bread,’ Mai said.
'If he is eating porridge and bread, and keeping it down, he should be fine,’ Steve said, ‘Give him plenty of water. Sounds like what Roger and Derek also had in the UK. Did he go to the doctor?'
'I trained as a nurse, and he is ill. Need a doctor. Too weak to walk.'
'Can the doctor visit your apartment?'
'I can only bring him to hospital but he still not moving, so cannot get him there. He is boiling. Head on fire.'
'In the UK, you can get the doctor to visit if he cannot get to the doctors. I'll contact Cliff Lin and ask him to organise a doctor to visit Glen. Thanks for looking after him.'
'I want to look after Glen. He is a good man.'
After Steve ended the call with Mai, he immediately called Cliff Chan and left him a message regarding Glen.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Sunday 3rd May
CLIFF CALLED STEVE BACK first thing and apologised for the delay in responding. He told Steve that he had heard about a sickness bug that was very common at that time of year. Although it was Sunday he was confident he could arrange for a doctor to visit Glen at home at some stage during the day. Steve was relieved and very grateful that Cliff was on hand to help. Steve immediately informed Mai, who was getting very concerned.
A short time later he called Cliff again, but was greeted by Cliff’s voice mail message. Steve was hoping to find out when a doctor would be visiting. He then went over to the apartment to help Mai to look after Glen.
By early afternoon, the doctor had not arrived so he called Cliff again and left another message.
Steve left several more messages for Cliff during the afternoon.
He stayed until early evening before Glen fell asleep, and as he looked relatively peaceful, Steve left him to rest, hoping that a good nights sleep would fend off the bug or whatever he had contracted.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Monday 4th May
STEVE AND MARK WERE sitting in the hotel lobby after breakfast.
Mark worked on his MacBook.
Steve received a call from Glen’s phone, it was Mai.
'Hello Steve, Glen in hospital. They bring here by ambulance.' He could hear the concern in her voice.
'Oh no Mai. They will take good care of him. He is in the best place,’ Steve said.
'Am waiting to admit him to ICU. He no breathe. Too much water on his lungs.’
'Intensive care unit? Which hospital?' Steve cushioned the phone between his ear and shoulder, covering his other ear with the palm of his hand.
'Gleneagles in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.' Her voice was shallow.
'I'll come over right away. Does he want me to speak to anyone in the UK? Can you ask him? Or if I can do anything?'
'He not speak. Terrible. The doctor says he could die, I not know how to reach his family. I love Glen.'
'I'll ask Roger to contact his family. He will have the details. I'll come over now. The doctors will help. He's in the right place.'
Mai choked out. 'Please. Very urgent. Admitting now. Hope Glen OK.'
'They will help him breathe. I'll contact Roger.' He tried to reassure her.
'He is going into ICU now. I use Glen’s phone. You call me on Glen’s phone. OK?’
'OK, I'll contact Roger and meet you there.' His voice quickened.
He ended the call.
'Glen is ill. They've taken him into ICU at the Gleneagles Hospital. It sounds bad.' Steve gave a long exhale.
Mark closed the lid of his MacBook. 'Let's go.'
'I'll go. You crack on with the documentation.'
'Are you sure? Sounds serious. Poor Glen. If you need anything, let me know?' He opened his laptop.
Steve was just about to stand up and get ready to leave when three policemen approached them and stopped just over a metre away.
One officer stepped forward. 'Mr Mark Farrell.'
Mark pointed towards his chest. 'Yes, that's me. Is everything OK?'
'Please stand up, sir,’ the officer said.
Mark stood up. Silence accompanied the onlookers seated in the lobby.
Steve stood up too. 'What's going on?'
'Turn to face the wall, sir.' The officer kept his eyes fixed on Mark.