Randomers

by Alexis Dogman

  Finally, time for his sweet revenge.

  Chin slides the metal wall aside to equip himself with nothing but a combat fixed blade and two handguns. Nothing easier than killing two civilian women.

  MEANWHILE, IN ANOTHER PLACE IN MALAYSIA

  Kaew already knows what is coming ahead of them and is one step ahead at preparing for retaliation. Abandoning both Yuna's phone and car behind, they have taken the pattern, all the documents and left by a taxi.

  Kaew instructs the taxi driver to take them to Petaling Street, a cultural tourist attraction with resemblance to Chinatown. The covered, colorful streets are lined with hawkers selling local delicacies, cultural items, knock offs and discounted goods. The taxi drops them off by the entrance, and Kaew leads the way into the street like other backpackers and walks towards a food court.

  Yuna follows closely beside Kaew and they go towards a stall selling Thai food. The four teenage Thai boys manning the stall immediately recognize Kaew. She says something to them in Thai and two of the young men leads them out to where two motorbikes are parked. The boys each mount a motorbike.

  "Yu folo him," Kaew says to Yuna as she climbs onto one of the bikes.

  Yuna climbs up onto the pillion seat of the other bike and the boys ride off, speeding through the empty early morning streets to a backyard T-shirt printing factory. Two Thai men stand guard by the entrance playing with their phones. One of the boys says something to the two men and they pull the gate open for them to enter. The boys lead Yuna and Kaew into the rear part of the closed factory where a lot of wooden frames and dyes are stored, towards the office. The office door is wide open and they can see four Thai men playing cards on the rectangular table as they sipped beer and smoked cigarettes.

  The men raise their heads to take a look at them and place the cards down. The teenage boy says something to the four of them and they nod, one of the men immediately gets up from his chair and pulls at a bookshelf attached to the corner of the wall behind the table. The bookshelf glides open to reveal a dark hidden staircase that went downwards. The man leads Kaew and Yuna down the staircase towards a metal door at the bottom and as the bookshelf closes after them, they are left in darkness. The man knocks at the metal door saying something in Thai to the other side. After a second or two, the metal door cranks open and the light from the other side of the open door illuminates the staircase once again. The man enters the metal doorway followed by the two of them.

  Yuna now sees that they are in a huge underground workshop. Brightly lit with white neon lights, women donning white work gowns, face masks and hygiene paper caps over their hair busily hover over their individual worktables. All of them are busy filling blue capsules with a white powder over a small digital weighing scale. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that these people are far more than just normal drug dealers.

  The metal door cranks shut behind them and the man leads the ladies pass the work tables towards the back office. Standing guard all over this underground facility are Thai men armed with guns. Yuna can feel her own body tremble as she walks. At the closed office door stands an obese man with his hair pulled back into a short ponytail. With his hands crossed before his chest and a gun hanging by the side of his barrel waist, he ferociously guards the door. But the moment he sees Kaew, his face turns into a polite smile before turning to knock on the door. A voice from inside the office grunts something in Thai and he opens the door for Yuna and Kaew to enter.

  The moment the door opens; Kaew and Yuna can see three men sitting in the large office. Two of them are stacking up bricks of money and loading them into carton boxes as another bald one sits on an armchair, watching them do so as he sips some kind of brown liquor from a glass while a sexy woman in a wrap around red dress and heels massages his shoulders. He must be the big boss, Yuna thinks to herself. The bald man is roughly in his fifties and is covered in tattoo. He wears a simple white shirt, dark green khakis and weathered black boots. A thick gold chain with a large golden four face Buddha amulet hangs around his neck. The moment the man lands his eyes on Kaew, a smile draws over his serious face. He places his glass onto the table, next to two grenades and waves for the sexy woman to leave the room.

  Kaew enters the room, kneels before him and with her palms together greets him in Thai. Yuna immediately drops to her knees and does the same.

  The man immediately gets up from his chair and helps Kaew to her feet. He nods an okay to Yuna and she too stands up onto her feet. Yuna silently watches as Kaew speaks to the man in Thai. The man listens attentively, before fiercely summoning his two men off.

  As fierce as he seems, this man somehow seems to be extra gentle when he speaks to Kaew. Why would he give her so much respect?

  "We are safe. He will give us weapon and help us find good place to hide," Kaew finally says to Yuna.

  "Weapons?" Yuna asks as the two men return with two black canvas duffel bags. They drop the bags before them and one of the men kneels down to unzip the bags for the bald man to check the contents. Yuna can see that the goody bags are filled with all sorts of guns, grenades and knives.

  The bald man then instructs something else in Thai and they are both led out of the office and back up the staircase. The two teenage boys have gone by the time they are back in the upstairs office. The man who led them up the stairs continues to take them out of the factory where a black European sedan is waiting to ferry Yuna and Kaew to their safe house.

  Inside the car, Yuna finally whispers her first question, "Why do we need all those guns?" The truth is, Yuna is terrified by the sight of all the artillery given to her and the people they are dealing with. There must be a catch for them to just give away the artillery like that.

  "Someone is coming to kill us. Tomolo we go back to stop pat-ten. Hope these can keep us alive," Kaew answers her.

  "Who are these people? Why are they helping us? What do they want in return??" Yuna whispers.

  "The boss name is A-wut. His sista come Malaysia find him but kenot find. We wok together. She like gamble and owe too much money. The ah-loong (illegal money lenders) want kill her. I help pay money. After one 'yea, she find A-wut. He very rich, sell drug and gun. He pay me and ah-loong. His sista now in Thailand, married. Happy. I save his sista so he treat me like sista too," Kaew tells her story.

  "If you have them, why do you still prostitute at Shark Palace?" Yuna whispers, her curiosity getting over her.

  "Who say I hooker?? I no hooker since my broda pay me freedom. I study English. Level four! I am English speakin' professional dancer!" Kaew bursts out all of a sudden, shocking even the driver.

  "That my hiding place. No one find me there and now yu put me in den-ger," Kaew continues to say, lowering her voice as she glares at Yuna angrily.

  "I - I'm sorry. But now that you have these people, they can protect us right? Why are we still afraid of those people who created the pattern?" Yuna continues to whisper.

  "Yu no understand. The pat-ten people bigger. Stronger. Everywhere. My frens very small compare them. I dun want A-wut die for me," Kaew explains.

  "Tomolo, we will haf new face, new name, new life. I will teach yu survive and we must stop pat-ten," Kaew says with sheer determination.

  Yuna slips back into her leather back seat and nervously stares out the window. Her world just got hit by a tsunami of darkness and it is never going to recover.

  Chapter 16

  India: Sunday, 16th November 7:25 a.m.

  Approximately eight hours later, Ada wakes up from her sleep.

  She looks at the digital clock on her bedside table and sees that it is already 7:25 a.m. She is going to be late for breakfast with Zero.

  "Day," Ada croaks.

  Her room, detecting her vocal instructions, starts to brighten up from an angle, like how a natural sunrise should shine through a window. The room gradually lights up with the artificially simulated sunlight as Ada lazily stretches herself on her bed. When her room is fully lit, she hops out of bed. Gathering her p
ile of clothes from the night before and together with her bathrobe and towel, she throws them into a canvas bag with her crib ID printed on it, tightens the ropes and leaves it beside the bathroom door.

  After washing up, Ada comes out of the bathroom naked and puts on a fresh pair of white lacy bra and matching panty before slipping into a fresh pair of uniform and finally styling her hair into a neat bun before the dresser. She sweeps some make up onto her face before finally slipping into her boots. Waving her palm at the door's sensor, she takes the canvas bag of laundry and leaves her crib. Just next to the pods, is a square metal door the size of a microwave. Ada waves her hand and the metal door slides open, to which Ada dumps her laundry bag in. The metal door slides close and she enters a pod.

  Gunners is the good old American breakfast restaurant where they serve the best bacon and eggs. The restaurant's interior cement walls are matched with glass fixtures and tables. Together with cozy, striped orangy red chairs and sofas, the place emits an aura of chic comfort for a relaxed morning. It is always one of Ada's favorite places to start the day and Zero knows best.

  Ada reaches the entrance and immediately she sees Zero waving to her from a small round glass table at a secluded corner deep inside the restaurant. She enters proudly as the other patrons eye her like a harmful insect, wishing she will be squashed to death one fine day, leaving the Hive less of one deadly competitor.

  Ada takes a seat onto the comfortable armchair and before she can even address Zero, the waitress, a tall and fair blonde Caucasian in a simple white mini-T and figure hugging jeans under a black apron brings over a her favorite breakfast - a seared hot dog, two slices of grilled bacon, one sunny side up, butter fried Portobello mushrooms over a slice of toast and a brewing hot cup of dark civet coffee.

  "Impressive!" Ada comments to Zero, with a pleasant smile across her rosy pink lips.

  "As always," Zero praises himself as the waitress comes back with another plate of grilled cheese over toast, baked tomato and scrambled eggs with a tall glass of fresh milk.

  "What's this about?" Ada asks, waving her fork and knife over her plate.

  "Nothing. Just thought that we should celebrate our success over breakfast," Zero smiles at her smugly.

  "OUR success?" Ada smirks.

  "Yeah, OUR success," Zero nods proudly.

  "Okay, you do deserve some credit this time. To our success," she makes a toast to Zero with her mug of coffee to which Zero raises his glass of milk cheerily.

  "So what ‘bout the lurker now?" Zero suddenly whispers over his plate, with a hand beside his mouth, his eyes scanning around skeptically.

  Ada places her palm over the side of her throat pretentiously and thinks, "It's no longer under my charge. The Architins have taken over."

  Zero puts his head lazily over his palm as he scoops some eggs into his mouth, acting like a professional as he listens to her message.

  "It's so unfair. When there's trouble, I'm the one at fault. When I find a solution, the Architins take all the credit," she complains in her thoughts to Zero.

  "But I guess it's for the better, at least I won't get blood on my hands," she continues to think.

  "There's something weird though, once I mentioned the name Saowaluk they all freaked out," Ada thinks.

  Zero is quietly sipping his milk, when the name Saowaluk rings into his ear and immediately he chokes, coughing the milk all over their breakfasts. Luckily Ada reacts fast enough in leaning back into her chair to avoid being sprayed.

  "Jesus, what's wrong with you?" Ada squirms with embarrassment as the waitress makes a beeline to clean up the chaos.

  "I'll change these for you?" the waitress asks.

  "No thanks, I've got no more appetite," Ada comments as the waitress waits for Zero to respond.

  "It's okay, we're leaving," he coughs as he gets up and pulls Ada along by her wrist, within the warm grasp of his large hand.

  Zero drags her out of Gunner's and out of the dining section. With all the eyes on them, Ada's face turns red with embarrassment as her heart feels a weird flutter. Once Zero slows down his pace, Ada flings his hand off her wrist.

  "What's wrong with you?? Everyone's looking!" Ada snaps, glancing at zero both angry and annoyed.

  "There's something you need to know," Zero whispers as he pushes Ada by the back of her shoulders towards the little forest enclosure.

  "What it is??" Ada turns around, glaring ferociously at Zero.

  Zero looks around, scanning his surroundings like a cobra on guard before lowering his lips to her ear, whispering, "Chaisai Saowaluk is the urban legend of the Hive."

  "What urban legend?" Ada asks, moving slightly away from Zero.

  "Story has it that he was a top ghost but he wanted out of the Hive. They denied his request. He escaped with the Hive's secret and the best lurker was sent after him. They say he's dead but his body was never found," Zero whispers with an expression of the best storyteller.

  "How did you know?" Ada asks, finding it hard to believe that even Zero knows about the Saowaluks.

  "I've got 'friends'," Zero shrugs as he rolls his eyes along the word friends.

  "I thought I was your only friend?" Ada taunts with narrowed eyes.

  "You are. But unlike you I'm a people's person. I can't stop them from telling me stuff," Zero replies.

  "Oh! So you're a peo-" Ada starts to bark, feeling insulted by Zero's comment.

  "That's not important. Listen, now that you've found a Saowaluk, it shows that the legend is true. Do you know what that means?" Zero cuts her off excitedly.

  "Okay, so what if it's true?" Ada asks still feeling insulted.

  "It means there is no wanting out or the Hive will... you know... 'Saowaluk' you," Zero whispers even softer in a sinister tone.

  "Well, maybe he betrayed the Hive and tried to sell the secrets. And that's why they... got rid of him," Ada rubbishes Zero's theory, her glance darting around to make sure no one is nearby as they discussed the legend turned conspiracy.

  "That's not what I heard. There is some kind of conspiracy towards people who wanna leave. It means that WE will never leave this place alive. You get it?" Zero tries to get his message through to the stubborn Ada.

  Ada can only gape as she fixates her gaze at Zero's eyes. She doesn't want to believe what he is telling her because she lives on the hope of healing her brother and leaving the Hive one day. If that hope gets crushed, part of her life will also die with it and that makes her heart flutter with uncertainty and exasperation. However hard she tries to defend the Hive and rubs away Zero's claims, a tiny voice inside her head tells her it is true and she is afraid that it might just be the truth.

  "Stop it! You don't know if it's true!" Ada blurts out, shoving Zero away in a burst of temper, something that has never once occurred in the six years Zero has known her. Zero is shocked for a second, not knowing how to react as he watches Ada walk off to the pods.

  Ada goes back to her workstation, feeling battered in spirits. She sits down in her chair and opens the lifegrid to assess its progress, trying to force Zero's words out of her mind.

  The lines on the screen slowly inches away with the timeline. Everything is working accordingly to schedule by far. She can have the most relaxing time and yet now her nerves are taut and she feels restless. There is only one thing she can do to ease her mind - find out what really happened to Chaisai Saowaluk and all the other ex-members of the Hive. She stares blankly into the monitor as her mind starts to work on how she can bypass the intrinsic network of firewalls that guard the archives to the Hive's secrets in order to do her own investigation. All she can think of right now is how to safeguard her return to her brother in the future.

  Chapter 17

  Canada: Sunday, 16th November 11:00 a.m.

  Samantha stares out the window of the limo solemnly as it closes up to the airport's departure zone. Her sexy and black smoldering smoky eye makeup covers her black eye rings more than effectively, almost like magic. The limo s
tops smoothly before the drop off zone and the driver promptly exits to open the door for Samantha to alight. She gracefully exits the silver limo in a pair of black jeans, cowboy boots, white floral silk top under a light green fitting jeans jacket and no luggage but her brown leather handbag. She does not intend to stay in Malaysia. It is going to be the soonest flight back for her. With large silver loop earrings and her wavy orange hair loosely plaid to rest above her right shoulder, she looks amazingly good for a damsel in distress. Commanding attention is natural and effortless for Samantha and where ever she goes, eyes will follow.

  Little does Samantha knows, exiting hurriedly from a budget taxi parked just behind her limo are Zach and Nikki, her target couple. This being their first time flying, both Zach and Nikki are anxious and excited at the same time. Nikki is wearing a pair of dark blue jeans with her favorite yellow sneakers and a white loose fitting cropped tee over brown spaghetti straps. Zach dons a gray T-shirt, light blue jeans, a pair of white sneakers and a black baseball cap with the yellow word 'Beetle' over the front. With a large backpack on each of their backs and one huge yellow hard sell gliding after Zach, they excitedly cut pass Samantha, the yellow hard shell grazing against Samantha's boots.