The mercenaries pushed them into Grimes’s office where he sat behind a large desk.
They saw several plasma screens positioned on the walls, with some showing information from CCTV cameras, placed in several locations in and around the Control Centre.
Others showed satellite images and live feeds to and from Mohammed and a 52” screen behind Grimes showed the footage of Kim and Ca. Pon gasped.
The prisoners stood in front of Grimes’s desk, with three mercenaries taking up positions behind them, aiming rifles at their heads. Akhim went behind the desk and stood next to Grimes, while Mophi stood behind the three growling.
Along with some small machines and petri dishes, the contents of Pons bag lay out in front of Grimes. His jeans, T-shirt and small bottles and powders, along with the opened parcel Taksin gave him in Bangkok, with the Holy Relic placed on top of the wrapping.
Grimes grinned when he saw Pon’s shocked expression as he watched the recording of his wife kissing and canoodling with Ca on the large screen behind him.
“Don’t they make a lovely couple?” said Grimes sounding smarmy.
Grimes saw the blood on Spock’s forehead and Mophi nursing his bloody nose and, realising what had happened, looked at Spock and sniggered.
Grimes glanced over to the table in the corner laid out with beers, wines, spirits, and a single bottle of a certain brand of beer, containing a lethal dose of poison. This was for a celebration later.
Spock and Stu looked at Pon glaring at the screen and frowned.
“Good afternoon gentleman. I have been expecting you,” said Grimes smirking.
Spock glared at the smug looking Grimes. “So, who are you numb nuts? And what do you want?”
“Yeah, why are you doing this? We’ve done nothing to you,” said Stu sounding abrupt.
Grimes smirked. “My good fellow, it’s not me, it’s my employer. I would never hurt my fellow Englishmen, not even northerners.”
The three stared at this unassuming man without a fat white cat, while he told them about Mohammed and the video footage at the Dolphin Hotel. He then told them what they had been accused, sentenced, and about to be punished for.
Stu looked at Akhim and Grimes smirking and said. “Yeah, well you got it wrong buster. None of us had anything to do with stealing the bloody box or giving the Ab dab a bad haircut. We have never been to the Dolphin Hotel.”
Grimes shrugged. “My dear fellow. If my benefactor said they are the facts, then that is all I am interested in.”
Grimes got great pleasure from this because the longer they denied it the more time it gave Pon to watch his wife.
Now incensed, Pon glared at Grimes and with a tremor in his voice said. “We have done as instructed. Now stop talking bollocks and let me see my wife.”
Akhim looked at Pon, this was the only time he had heard him speak since they arrived, and his voice sounded different from the one he had heard over the phone in the last few days. However, he ignored this as Grimes, although taken aback by Pon’s statement, said, “All in good time. Let’s first check that what you’ve brought us is authentic.”
He picked up an explosive detector wand off his desk, waved it over the box, and smirked when it read negative. He looked at Pon who glared at him and said. “I knew you were bluffing when you told Akhim you would destroy the box. You could never destroy such an important symbol of your faith and you aren’t a convincing liar, Prime Master.”
Grimes then inspected the box and compared it against the photographs and diagrams on his desk. He then pressed a ruby on the front.
Spock and Stu looked horrified, expecting Nick’s crowns to spill out, followed by their guts in a hail of bullets.
They looked at one another and then closed their eyes tight. Silence fell upon the room as the lid of the box popped open.
“Okay Akhim, take a small sample and test it. We don’t want the box open for too long in case the contents get damaged,” said Grimes.
Bewildered, Spock and Stu slowly squinted and then fully opened their eyes and saw Grimes spooning a tiny amount of the black ash in the box.
Spock and Stu looked befuddled at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and looked at Pon who looked back at them as Akhim opened the top of a gelatine-coated petri dish and Grimes placed the sample inside.
Akhim put the petri dish inside a small machine while Grimes put a spectrometer against the gemstones of the golden box.
“This will only take a few minutes gentlemen,” he said and looked at Pon. “Let’s check on your wife shall we?”
Grimes sniggered as he looked at the screen behind him and pressed a button. The video feed stopped and the screen now showed the live images from the CCTV camera in Kim’s room.
****
Kim had heard the commotion when the amphibious vehicle arrived. She and Ca listened against the door of the room. She then heard a familiar voice.
‘Spock!’ she gasped, feeling sure that she had heard Spock before Mophi started yelling.
‘Damn,’ she thought. ‘If Spock’s here, that means Stu and Pon are also here. Why have they risked their lives? That bastard Englishman said they weren’t coming.’
She looked at Ca and with her voice trembling said. “My husband’s here and we must help him.”
Ca shrugged. “How?”
“They will be occupied with my husband and his friends. We need to get out of here and get word to my father,” said Kim and looked around the room. “See if you can find some other way out or something we can use to open the door.”
Ca looked up at the air conditioning vent on the wall and pointed. “Maybe if we can take that grill off we can squeeze through the shaft.”
Kim and Ca lifted a small table underneath the vent and Ca stood on the table and peered through the mesh cover. He furrowed his brow and looked closer.
“What is it?” asked Kim seeing the look of surprise on Ca’s face.
Ca looked down at Kim and with a tremble in his voice said. “There’s a camera in there.” He then looked angry. “The bastard has been spying on us.”
Ca took off his T-shirt, slipped it between the mesh, covered the grill, and jumped off the table looking angry.
Kim looked worried and knew Grimes would use this to upset her husband; she pursed her lips and furrowed her brow.
Grimes’s look of happy expectation turned to disappointment as the screen that he had expected to show more steamy action between Kim and Ca, showed red cotton.
He ordered one mercenary to go to check it out as the spectrometer flashed.
‘The odds are coming down,’ thought Pon as the mercenary left the room.
The box’s gemstones flashed positive nine on the spectrometer, which meant the unfaceted stones were genuine rubies and sapphires.
Grimes and Akhim waited for the data from the other machine and the screen flashed up: ‘Sample contaminated — Re supply.’
Grimes and Akhim looked at each other and knew Mohammed’s instructions were specific on the amount of material he would allow to be removed, with that small quota having already been used.
They considered their options and because the spectrometer came back positive, Grimes looked at Akhim and whispered. “We can accept this.”
Akhim nodded and said. “Let’s get it over with and go home.”
Grimes and Akhim looked at Mophi still nursing his nose and eyeing up the table full of spirits and bottled beers.
Mophi smiled when he saw the single bottle that Grimes had brought with him from Hanoi, which was his favourite beer and a hard brand to find in Vietnam.
Grimes and Akhim nodded to each other and Grimes turned off the carbon dating machine.
Knowing Mophi could not comprehend the technical details, Grimes said. “Everything reads positive Mophi. The tests are confirmed.”
Mophi smiled and staring at the back of Spock’s head replied. “Good, soon the killing can begin.”
“So much for being honourable and letting
us go as promised,” said Stu and glared at Grimes.
Mophi laughed and stood closer behind Spock who now felt his breath on his neck. Akhim stood next to the seated Grimes, who swivelled his chair around to face the large screen behind him. The red cotton image went off, and the screen went blue with the words, ‘Awaiting satellite link.’
After a few seconds, the screen showed a blurred image that focused to the face of Mohammed with his head resting on a pillow.
“Good morning Sheik Mohammed,” said Grimes, knowing the local time was 4 hours behind Saudi time.
Akhim and Mophi greeted Mohammed in Arabic and praised Allah.
Grimes had the cameras in his office positioned at specific locations so Mohammed could see everything through split screens.
They waited a few seconds while a pallid gaunt Mohammed stared at the screen and then he gave instructions to zoom in at the relic on the desk.
“Is it genuine Akhim?” he asked, his voice sounding weak.
Akhim glanced at Grimes before smiling and looking at the screen. “Yes Sheik Mohammed, the box is genuine.”
Mohammed smiled and took a breath from an oxygen mask.
He looked at the section on his screen at Pon, Stu, and Spock, with Mophi stood behind them and two mercenaries with their guns lowered at the side.
“Are those the three infidels?” asked Mohammed looking agitated.
“Yes Sheik Mohammed,” said Mophi smirking.
Mohammed grinned, “You know what to do,” he said.
Mophi grinned as Mohammed croaked.
“I want to whatc...” Mohammed never finished his sentence as his head lolled sideways.
Surgically gloved hands and white-coated Doctors came rushing into view and scrambled around as beeps and sirens wailed from the machines in Mohammed’s room.
Grimes gasped, and looking surprised shouted at the screen. “What’s happening?”
The screen showed pandemonium as Doctors worked frantically trying to revive the motionless Mohammed.
“Looks like your boss is about to pop his clogs,” said Spock smirking.
Mohammed’s eyes opened and the Doctors stood back. Everything became surreal as Mohammed's eyes glazed over and he looked at peace.
Grimes, Akhim, and Mophi stared at the screen.
Pon nudged Spock and Stu who snapped their partially cut plastic bonds.
They could not believe their luck with this unexpected diversion, so now they would try their next stupid plan and Spock let rip a thunderous fart.
Mophi and the two mercenaries glared at Spock and grimaced. Looking disgusted, they then glared back at the screen.
None of them heard the light thud on the floor between Pons legs, nor saw his stealthy footwork as he recovered his Juglave with his bare foot.
Pon took hold of the Juglave, holding it in the folds of his monk’s robe.
On screen, Mohammed stared into space for a few seconds and then, with eyes wide open, let out a death ruttle.
“No, No!” Grimes yelled and stared at the screen as Doctors walked around the Sheik’s body preparing it as per instruction. Holy men came into view and a hand filled the screen before it went blank.
“Now!” shouted Pon and leapt at a mercenary while springing the blades out of his Juglave mid-air. He sliced through his throat with such force he almost beheaded him. As the man gurgled with blood spurting from his vein, Pon swung around and threw his Juglave at the other mercenary who had raised his rifle, but he dropped the weapon when the razor sharp Juglaves blade pierced his eye, went through his socket, and lodged in his brain, killing him instantly.
Pon ran over, pulled out his weapon from the dead mercenary’s eye socket, shook off the eye, and looked around the room.
He saw Akhim slumped against a wall unconscious with blood streaming down his head and face. He then saw Stu knocking Grimes off his chair.
Pon then looked at the back wall where Spock was being held off the ground with Mophi’s powerful hands around his throat and he could see his friend losing consciousness. Enraged, he glowered before he sprang into action.
Akhim had turned around when he heard the fracas behind him and drew his pistol. Stu saw this and dived across the desk, landing head first into Akhim’s chest.
Akhim gasped as Stu knocked the wind out of him. Stu then grabbed his shirt and gave him a hard Glaswegian kiss, head butt, to the bridge of his nose. Akhim stunned, groaned, and dropped the gun.
Then, with all the pent up crap he had been through in the last few days, and like a man on fire, Stu pummelled the Arab to the floor and continued the beating. He stopped to catch his breath, picked up Akhim’s gun, and pistol-whipped him unconscious.
Still angry, Stu saw Grimes gawping at him with his mouth agape and looking terrified as he saw Stu stood holding the barrel of Akhim’s pistol with blood dripping off the handle. Stu growled and rushed at Grimes, knocking him off his chair.
As soon as Pon gave the order, Spock had back-fisted Mophi on his already painful nose. He leant his shoulder into Mophi’s chest and, knocking him off balance, shoved him backwards into the back wall. Spock spun around and punched Mophi hard on the jaw.
Mophi shook off the effects from the punch and glared at Spock, who looked shocked as his punch seemed to have had no effect. Mophi smirked, lunged at Spock, grabbed his throat, spun him around like a rag doll, and slammed him hard against the back wall. Spock, having never been manhandled like this before, realised that he had underestimated Mophi’s strength. Spock flayed out, trying to catch him with a punch as Mophi tightened his grip and lifted him off his feet. Spock grabbed the Arab’s wrists trying to prise his hands off his throat.
Mophi glared at him, smirked, and with a growl in his voice said. “I knew you would be easy.”
Spock felt his world going dark and his hands dropped to his side as he began to lose consciousness. He then saw a flash of orange before Mophi’s grip eased and he let go of his throat.
Spock, back on the ground, spluttered and rubbed his neck as he stared at the giant Arab standing in front of him looking shocked. Mophi’s face then scrunched up in agony before he crumpled to his knees wailing and clutching onto where his testicles had hung moments earlier.
Coughing and gagging, Spock looked down at the lump of flesh covered in blood- soaked camouflage cloth, and grimaced. ‘Nasty,’ he thought as he saw blood flowing through Mophi’s clasped hands.
Mophi, now whimpering with pain, looked up at Spock who looked enraged and thumped him several times on his jaw and temple until Mophi stopped wailing and his eyes glazed over. He let out a groan before falling forward into slumber land.
Spock shook his sore hands and smirked. He then saw Pon standing at Grimes’s desk with blood and small chunks of Mophi’s gonads dripping off the blade of his Juglave. He then saw the two dead mercenaries covered in blood and Akhim sitting against the wall near the desk bloodied and unconscious.
Spock looked concerned. ‘Where’s Stu?’ he thought, ‘I can hear him but I can’t see him.’
Spock walked over to Pon standing in front of Grimes’s desk smirking and pointing. He looked over the large desk to where Stu was pummelling on Grimes’s now swollen face and calling him a twat.
Spock and Pon smiled as Stu, thinking Grimes had had enough of a beating, stood up, looked at the carnage around the room, and said. “We won then.”
He looked at Pons blood-soaked Juglave, smiled, and said, “See, we told you your tail would come in useful one day.”
Pon had concealed his Juglave under his tail, so if any of you thought it came out of his arse; you should be ashamed of yourself.
With Mophi, Akhim, Grimes, and two mercenaries taken care of, their next problem was how to escape with Kim.
“We still have the armed mercenaries outside to deal with,” said Pon looking concerned, “but we have the element of surprise, so we may have time to devise a plan. They don’t know what’s happened in here yet.”
That luc
ky break quickly disappeared as the door opened and the armed mercenary that Grimes sent to check on Kim and Ca returned. Pon heard him approaching a split second earlier and rushed to the door.
The man pushed open the door with his rifle and came face to face with Pon, who grabbed him and pulled him into the room. The mercenary, taken aback, jerked the trigger, spraying a hail of bullets into the air. Pon slashed his Juglave across the man’s throat, kicked him outside, and closed the door.
They had lost their element of surprise as the gurgling mercenary stumbled outside holding his throat with blood spurting through his fingers, which alerted the others.
A volley of bullets smashed through the wall as mercenaries opened fire. Spock, Stu, and Pon, pushed Grimes’s large desk over and sheltered behind it as the rounds pierced the thin walls and lodged into the table.
From Grimes’s office, they heard shouting and weapons firing outside as the other mercenaries joined the affray. There was then silence after one of them shouted to ceasefire. He then shouted for Mophi but got no reply as the smell of cordite lingered in the room.
The mercenaries shouted to one another while some Vietnamese technicians fled through the Cu Chi tunnels small exit hatch. They triggered alarms that sent the Control Centre’s sirens wailing.
A mercenary dragged several of the technicians back at gunpoint and silenced the alarms.
Stu and Spock peered over the upturned desk and saw that most of the monitors in the office were bullet ridden or smashed, apart from the one showing the helicopter area outside.
Stu saw the two dead mercenaries’ rifles, so he rushed over and brought them behind the desk.
Spock noticed something else that might come in useful, so he moved along the desk and out towards his target.
Pon looked at the bullet holes in the thin gypsum walls into the Control Centre. He saw mercenaries moving about getting into better positions. Pon crawled to the sidewall adjacent to Kim’s room, pushed against the wall, and smiled.
Spock returned behind Grimes desk after grabbing what he was after. He and Stu tied Grimes and Akhim with straps taken off the rifles. The pair then looked over the desk and through the bullet holes.
Bimat--A Vietnamese Adventure Page 19
