by Leo James
'Great news.'
Steve tried to find out as much information as possible from Beth about her kidnapping, injuries and incarceration. She evaded most of the questions. They talked about Adam, Mai and Mark. Steve feared the worst, and preyed that they were ok and was trying to get an update. He also hoped that Prem was either behind bars or dead.
They waited until after nine AM UK time before calling the kids and then Roger.
By this time Steve was exhausted and drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Tuesday 9th June
THE HOSPITAL HAD SET up a bed in Steve’s hospital room, so that Beth could stay the night. She was helping Steve to eat a yoghurt when the door opened. Steve looked up and saw Mark standing in the doorway. His gaunt face and thin frame shocked Steve. 'Mark!’ He tried to smile.
'They've released me. The embassy arranged a driver to bring me here.' Mark burst into tears and wiped his face with his hands.
Beth rushed over to console him. She wiped the tears from his eyes with a tissue, led him over to a seat next to Steve's hospital bed, pulled another chair up and sat beside him.
Mark explained, ’The police returned my mobile phone and laptop, and I visited the Concorde Hotel to get the rest of my things before they drove me up to Penang.’
‘I’m so glad you’re OK,’ Beth said.
'It was terrible. Don't know how much longer I could have taken it in there,' Mark said.
Steve reached out to Mark. The intravenous drip, tube and cannula restricted his movement. 'Glad you're safe now.'
'Not sure how I'll get over this. I keep getting panic attacks,' Mark said.
'We'll look after you. You and I can start again.' Steve tried to comfort him.
Beth put her hand on Mark's shoulder. 'Steve and I will help you put this in the past.'
'Thank you,’ Mark said.
‘Do you know how Adam and Mai are?’ Steve asked.
‘No, when I was released, I was only told that there had been a confrontation which had turned violent and they would leave me at the hospital where you were being treated. The embassy is sending someone over to see us apparently,’ Mark explained, ‘So, how are you?'
Steve winked. 'I'm fine. A few bumps and bruises.'
‘He got shot in the shoulder and arm; more than a few bruises. Don't let him kid you.' Beth laughed.
Steve smiled, hearing her cheery voice in real life was just so amazing, the best pain relief in the world.
Shortly after, Paul Reynolds arrived. The Vice Consul of the British Embassy had travelled up to Penang. 'Mr and Mrs Roussos and Mr Farrell.'
Steve did his best to smile and try to raise himself up on the bed with his one good arm. 'Thank you for coming, Mr Reynolds,' He gestured to Beth. 'Mr Reynolds is in-charge at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur.'
'Mr Reynolds, nice to meet you.' Beth smiled and shook hands with the Vice Consul.
'Please call me Paul, good to meet you.'
Mark and the Vice Consul shook hands. 'Thank you, Paul. I'm so happy to be out of prison.'
'Dr Laksana asked me to say how grateful he is for your help in these matters, Steve. I am very happy to confirm that due to Dr Laksana’s intervention, he has ensured Mark’s release; all charges dropped.’
Mark took a deep breath in… and out again.
Steve nodded. 'Thanks Paul. I'm glad he listened to us.'
'Yes, he is very grateful. By the way, the embassy will take care of any expenses in the hospital.'
'Thank you.'
Paul nodded.
'What happened to Adam and Mai?' Steve asked, ’We don’t know how they are - and I’ve not had the chance to talk to someone about it, until now?’.
'I am sorry to have to tell you that Adam Jothi died at the restaurant. His family have made arrangements for his funeral.'
Mark's eyes watered, and he turned towards the wall.
‘Adam was trying to protect Prem from being hurt, when he was shot himself. The brothers did love one another after all,’ Steve mused, remembering the harrowing scene.
'What about Mai?'
'Wounded in the leg, Mai Le also suffered a head injury causing a severe concussion. She is in a stable condition at the Loh Guan Lye Specialists Centre in Penang. She is pregnant. They are not sure if they can save the baby.'
Beth raised a tissue to her eyes.
'Let's hope they are both OK.'
Steve felt weak and nauseous. Oh my God! If I had known Beth was OK, maybe Adam and Mai would be here today. Have I caused this?
’Prem Jothi and Cliff Lin?' Steve looked at Paul.
'Prem Jothi was wounded and taken to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur. He is in a stable condition. Cliff Lin sustained a head injury and a flesh wound. Also, two bodyguards, Wei Zhang and Tony Situ were shot dead.'
'Have they arrested them?’
'Once they have recovered, they will be arrested and questioned,’ the Vice Consul said.
Steve frowned. 'He deserves to pay for what he has done. Death would be the easy way out.'
As a result of a covert operation by the authorities, 'Farid Razak, Anil Krishnan and Anthony Suppiah were arrested and are being questioned. Q7’s assets have been frozen by the Malaysian government. Their business is now under the day to day control of Axiatel. They are a large company based in Kuala Lumpur.’
'What about the triad gang Kongsi?'
'It's a constant battle in Malaysia. Jothi is the head of Kongsi thirty-one who run the Kuala Lumpur central area. Information sources say Kongsi seventy-seven, who control the northern suburbs have taken over the Ampang district? It looks like Kongsi seventy-seven will try to take over Jothi's Kongsi thirty-one.'
'And the corrupt police officers?'
'Yes, they arrested Superintendent Anwar Bin Tempawan and Sergeant TetLeong, along with several other policemen based in Kuala Lumpur. They will serve long sentences.’
What about me? I killed someone. I caused the killings. Are they going to arrest me.
Steve nodded. ‘Do the police need me to give a statement?’
‘Unless Prem Jothi or Cliff Lin want to press charges, which I doubt. And I am very pleased to say you helped to bring down the government, Mr Roussos,' the Vice Consul said.
'The Malaysian government?' Steve expressed surprise.
'Yes, the Malaysian Prime Minister, Ariff Samahon, resigned and left with his wife and extended family, including his son-in-law. Rumour has it they negotiated a safe passage to the US.'
'Yes, with the money!' Steve shook his head.
'The Malaysian government named Dr Laksana as the interim Prime Minister, and they have released Dr. Sarimah Rozhan's husband; charges dropped. It all happened very quickly,’ The Vice Consul said.
‘That’s great progress, but at an awful cost,’ Mark said ruefully.
‘And also Alan Kam, Chief Executive of Axiatel has asked if he can come to see you both tomorrow? And Dr Laksana may visit you. He has arranged for a doctor and nurse to travel back with you to the UK to make sure you have a comfortable flight.'
######
After the Vice Consul left the hospital, Mark went for a coffee and some fresh air, allowing Steve and Beth a private call home. Steve and Beth called their children as soon as it was seven am in the UK. They were staying at home with Steve's brother Brian and his wife Hazel who had flown over from Mallorca. They had police protection whilst everything was settling down. Jake told his dad all about how he was beating the police officer on his FIFA game. It overjoyed Steve to hear his children's voices, and he could not wait to be with them again.
######
Mark arrived back at the hospital a short time later, ’It'll be great to soak in a bath and sleep in a bed tonight,’ Mark said.
'We will develop a successful business again, together Mark. We're a team.' Steve tried to smile despite the surging pain.
Mark smiled, ‘sure we will’ and Beth kissed him on the cheek. Mark left to book into the same hotel
as Beth.
Steve and Beth talked for a while. Exhausted, Steve was struggling to stay awake so Beth said she would go back to the hotel and come back first thing in the morning. They held each other and kissed. Even though he was in a lot of pain, he didn’t care now that he knew Beth and the kids were safe.
CHAPTER SIXTY
Wednesday 10th June
MARK AND BETH ARRIVED at the hospital. Mark seemed fresher than the previous day, but still looked pale and thin. Beth leaned over and kissed Steve before taking a seat by the bed.
Mark shook Steve's hand and sat down. 'I checked Alan Kam on LinkedIn.'
'Did you say eleven o’clock this morning?'
'Yes, he's the Chief Executive of Axiatel. Ran NTT, Avaya and Lucent, Asia regions.'
'So, the top man? I thought it was Kee Yeow.' Steve looked puzzled.
'He has moved on. Alan Kam is new in from NTT.'
'You never know. They might want to discuss a new contract.'
Beth glared at Steve. 'I think you both should take a long rest. This has been traumatic for all of us.'
'It will do no harm in talking to him.'
'But you shouldn’t be working.' Beth wagged her index finger at Steve.
'As soon as I can get out of this hospital, we'll be on the next plane home.'
'First class.' She smiled.
Mark received a call from Paul Reynolds. He put the mobile on speaker, so Beth and Steve could listen.
'Mr Jothi recovered enough to talk to the authorities.'
'Have they arrested him?' Steve said.
There was a short silence before Paul said, 'I'm sorry to inform you that the authorities arrested Mr Jothi and then released him due to lack of evidence. He is not pressing any charges against you, Steve and is planning to leave for the US.'
Steve was aware of his heart beating against the inside of his chest and his dry mouth. 'You're joking. He must have done a deal. Are we safe? If they release him he could come after us.’
Mark shook his head. 'That can't be. He's the reason I went to jail.'
Many thoughts came flooding back that worried Steve. Bastard. We need justice.
‘He is still is hospital. I will keep you informed of any developments,’ Paul said before he hung up.
Steve was very uncomfortable. The pain in his arm and shoulder meant he could not get into any position which enabled him to rest. Beth expressed her concern that he should rest. Eleven o'clock came with no sign of Alan Kam.
'It's midday. Where is he?' Mark walked over to the window and looked out.
‘The Malaysians have a relaxed attitude to turning up on time. ’Steve was ratty and frustrated.
Beth suggested they should leave Steve to rest. Mark gathered his things just as three men entered the room. Alan Kam introduced himself and his colleagues, Vincent Wong and Gillian Chan. There were several uncomfortable moments. They surrounded Steve's bed. Beth left to go back to the hotel. Nursing staff appeared with three chairs.
Alan's jet-black hair, black-framed glasses and a red dickey-bow made Steve smiled to himself; although he was feeling shit.
Alan started the meeting by explaining how he made Avaya and Lucent major players in Asia. Then quoted high growth numbers and described in great detail the fantastic job he did at NTT. Steve was trying to look interested but was finding it difficult to concentrate. He was in pain, bored and frustrated. Alan Kam took them through his vision for Axiatel and the improvements he had presided over during the first few months in the job. He introduced Vincent Wong who described his role as Head of Services responsible for all mobile services for Axiatel's one hundred and seventy million customers in five countries across Asia. Steve was struggling, and Mark looked bored.
Gillian Chan introduced herself as the Head of Solution and Project Management. She explained how pleased they were with the Seguro system launched in Malaysia and Indonesia targeting over sixty million customers.
Steve focused on what they were saying. He could not believe what he heard. Wow!
Gillian carried on. 'We plan to expand the service across Malaysia and Indonesia.'
Mark interrupted. 'Have you isolated the dark net?'
'Yes, the government have brought in security specialists,’ Alan Kam said.
Mark nodded.
’The government have taken over Q7 and split-up the company. Axiatel have taken over the services division of Q7 which includes the Seguro secure payments system.'
‘Beyond Malaysia and Indonesia,' Gillian said, ‘We are planning Singapore, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.'
Mark gave an immediate positive response. 'Yes, we can scale up to cover all one hundred and seventy million Axiatel subscribers and beyond.'
Vincent interrupted. 'We need your assurance that Seguro can support the solution at Axiatel?'
Steve looked towards Mark and nodded. 'Yes, we have a team who can support you. We need full remote access to the system. In addition, we would suggest local support,' Mark said.
'That's great. We can draw up a service level agreement,' Vincent smiled, looking over to Alan and nodding.
'And the commercial contract. Will you honour our contract with Q7?' Steve looked over towards Mark who was grimacing.
Alan opened a folder and looked at the paperwork. 'Procurement will draw up the agreement based on our standard contract.'
'And the terms we agreed with Q7?'
'Yes, we can duplicate the terms.' Alan nodded.
Mark smiled.
Although Steve felt dizzy, in pain and disorientated, he was determined to be business like. 'Perfect.’
'I'm sure you will be pleased to know,' Alan said, ‘Although Q7’s assets have been frozen by the Malaysian government our new leader, Dr Laksana has issued a directive to the government administrators. They will honour the contract with Q7 to date. It is difficult to apportion the number of legal transactions at Q7, so he suggested a one-off payment of two million US dollars. Dr Laksana asked me to convey the gratitude of the government for your service to Malaysia.'
Two million dollars! Steve gulped, mouth dry, the words stuck inside him, as he tried to pull himself up on the bed, dizzy and disorientated. He couldn't believe what he had heard. He fell back onto the pillow and passed out.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Thursday 11th June
THE FOLLOWING DAY STEVE woke up and the room was spinning. A sudden pain shot through his arm, along his shoulder and deep into the crevices of his brain. Beth helped by offering him a glass of water. He tried to pull his head forward and vomited. It was bile. She cupped tissues below his chin. The nurse came in to attend to him.
'I'm sorry. Shooting pain and dizzy.'
The nurse adjusted the drip. 'I have increased the morphine level Mr Roussos. I'll get you something to stop the sickness.'
Steve forced a smile as Beth kissed his forehead.
'Where's Mark?'
'He's at to the hotel phoning Roger.'
'Oh good. Did he tell you about Axiatel?'
'Yes. It's wonderful. Mark is over the moon.'
'I thought I might be dreaming.'
'You deserve this Steve.'
'We can sort the mortgage and go on holiday.'
'When you are better! You need to rest now.’ She smiled.
A buoyant Mark arrived at the hospital, frailty had diminished. 'I've talked to Roger. He's onto it.'
'Ah great. What about the contract?'
'Axiatel have already sent across the commercial and support framework agreement. Roger will respond. The support team are getting organised.'
'Great. Can you apologise to Alan Kam?'
'Sure, he was fine. Concerned for you but fine.'
'OK great. What about the two million dollars?' Steve said.
'They will transfer it this week to go into the Seguro account. It's already cleared with HSBC Bank. Roger is still in shock.' Mark looked as though he was about to burst with excitement.
'Wow, that's fantastic. If only David
and Glen were here to witness this,' Steve said, ‘not forgetting Trish and Adam.’
'Yes, nothing can ever make up for the terrible things that happened to them.'
'Can you print out a copy of the framework agreement?'
Beth overheard and stepped into the conversation. 'Steve. You're not in a fit state to do anything.'
'It's all in hand,' Mark said, 'We need you back, but only when you are fit.'
'Thank you,' she said.
'I have more great news,’ Mark said.
'Not sure I can take any more good news.' Steve smiled.
‘I visited Mai in hospital. She will be fine.'
'Ah, that's great.'
'And. The baby is OK. Mai had a few problems. But mother and baby are fine.'
Tears swelled in Beth's eyes. 'Oh my God. That's great. Thank God.'
'She sends her love.'
'Little Glen.' Steve smiled. 'What about her hospital bills?'
'The administration are taking care of the bills?'
'Good. And her family?'
'She has talked to them. They are safe.'
'Ask Roger to arrange return flights for Mai's mother, sister and son. They should be with Mai.'
'Brilliant.'
'We owe it to Glen to look after Mai, his child and her family. So, we will support her as much as we can.’
Tears welled up in Mark's eyes.
Beth sobbed and hugged Steve.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Monday 15th June
FOUR DAYS LATER THE hospital discharged Steve. They visited Mai on the way to the airport, met Mai's family and discussed plans to visit Hanoi. It moved Steve when Mai thanked him for all they were doing and will do for her and her family.