Stealing Asia

by David Clarkson

  Esteban and Manu were both in Penang? Whatever was going on, I sensed that I was in way over my head. I hoped to ride out the conversation without getting involved, but somehow, I knew that would not be possible. One of them had already interrogated me and it would not be long before the other did the same.

  ‘That was no random street mugging, I take it?’ said Esteban.

  Manu nodded and then glanced to check my reaction. I was dumbfounded and had nothing to say.

  ‘The suspect did not hold out for long under interrogation. It was not a straight hit. Somebody paid him only to scare the girl, but he was under the impression that her surviving the ordeal was not absolutely necessary. Sadly, he was unable to name who had hired him. He had been recruited via some unknown intermediary in a bar. Probably the same man who recruited Clay and Barrett.’

  Esteban seemed to have no trouble understanding what he was being told, but I was still struggling to come to terms with what was being implied. Spies, hit men; just what exactly was I involved in here and how did Asia fit into it all?

  ‘I suppose you were behind Ben’s little detour when entering Thailand,’ said Esteban.

  When Manu nodded, I was unable to contain my rage.

  ‘What the fuck,’ I began, moving toward the Frenchman, temporarily oblivious to the fact that he had a gun.

  ‘Cool down,’ said Esteban, who restrained me from getting too close to the other man. ‘Anger will get us nowhere. Our friend here has it all under control.’

  ‘You should listen to him,’ added Manu. ‘We tried to keep you out of all of this for your own safety. Of course, Esteban here decided to take the opposite approach.’

  Manu’s sarcasm suggested that tensions were beginning to ease. I thought it was time that I finally got some answers of my own.

  ‘Who are you people?’ I asked. ‘Are you spies?’

  The question seemed to border on the absurd and I could hardly believe that I had given it a voice, but I had already encountered kidnappers and pirates on this trip, so why not spies? Esteban was the first to give me a straight answer.

  ‘After leaving the military, I decided to take up a career providing freelance security to anybody that could afford my services. I was hired by a US senator named George Cole to watch over his daughter; Katherine Cole. My brief was simply to ensure that she came to no harm. Unfortunately, I failed.’

  ‘Who’s Katherine?’ I asked, but the answer was already within me, all I needed was clarification.

  The silence that followed from both men gave me that clarification.

  ‘Why did she lie to me?’ I asked. ‘Have I been played for a fool the whole time?’

  ‘She lied because she cares for you,’ said Esteban. ‘Trust me; this girl’s feelings for you are genuine.’

  ‘What about him?’ I asked, pointing to Manu. ‘What has he got to do with all of this?’

  ‘Him,’ replied Esteban, as if the Frenchman was of no consequence. ‘He’s with the CIA.’

  Manu smiled.

  ‘Top marks go to Señor Cruz. I wondered when you were going to get there. Tell me, when did you finally figure it out?’

  ‘Not as soon as I should have,’ replied Esteban. ‘It was your cover story that gave you away. Greenpeace would never be so careless as to let ex-French military into their organisation. Only the CIA would make such an oversight; don’t you people remember the Rainbow Warrior?’

  Manu’s smile vanished.

  ‘That would mean that you already knew who I was when...’

  ‘...I gave you the gun,’ finished Esteban.

  The Argentine leapt from his seat and with lightning speed he grabbed Manu by the arm, twisting it around until he had him pinned against the wall. The other man struggled, but Esteban’s hold was too strong.

  ‘Enough of these games,’ he said. ‘What is Clay going to do now that you’ve sent him back to the boat?’

  ‘I already told you,’ replied Manu. ‘He is going to bring us the senator. Those idiots had no idea what they have been holding on to. We are sure that it was Senator Cole who hired them. The whole thing is a pathetic effort to try and improve his approval rating. Until now, we have not been able to get any evidence against him. Even we cannot tap a senator’s phone. The last thing anybody wants is another Watergate.’

  ‘And you seriously think that Clay can get you that evidence. He did not even know who he was working for until you told him. He answers to an intermediary; this trail is dead.’

  ‘Not necessarily,’ said Manu. ‘Since you contacted the senator, you have him spooked. He is going to want to end this swiftly. I told Clay to request to speak to the man at the top and we think that the senator may just be desperate enough to take the bait.’

  ‘And what then? Clay is no negotiator.’

  ‘He does not need to be. All he has to do is record the conversation. Voice recognition software will do the rest.’

  Esteban seemed satisfied with what he had heard, but I thought that they were both missing a far greater issue.

  ‘What about Asia?’ I asked.

  ‘A team is waiting to move in as we speak,’ replied Manu. ‘Once Clay gives the signal they will secure the vessel. We do not anticipate any collateral damage.’

  Collateral damage; even I knew that the term was simply political spiel for civilian casualties. The bastards did not care about Asia or any of the other hostages at all.

  Esteban released his grip and allowed Manu to take a seat next to me. Despite their actions pointing to the contrary, I did not think that either man bore the other any bad blood. To them, this was all just a game. A game, I sensed that they had both played many times before. I followed Esteban as he went out onto the deck. It was still dark and I wondered if a distant speck of light on the horizon was where Asia was.

  ‘So what now?’ I asked.

  When Esteban did not reply, I pressed him again.

  ‘Are you still going to go after them? I mean, you’ve come all this way, you cannot just let the CIA come in and take over.’

  ‘It’s not my fight,’ he replied.

  ‘Not your fight!’ I could not believe what I was hearing. ‘How is this not your fight? I thought that you were some sort of professional. You were hired to take care of Asia, so I do not see how you can just sit back and let a gung ho group of macho idiots swoop in and probably end up killing everyone.’

  He turned his back to me, but in the still night air, I could clearly hear what he had to say.

  ‘The man who hired me is nothing more than a criminal. This whole thing was a set-up from the beginning. It was never really intended for me to protect Asia. I was nothing more than a scapegoat. My mission ended long ago.’

  ‘That is bullshit and you know it. What about the time we all spent together on the beach? Aren’t we your friends?’

  He knew I was not going to back down, so he gestured for me to take a seat. I preferred to remain standing and ignored his offer.

  ‘In 1985 the flagship of the Green Peace fleet was blown up and sunk in Auckland harbour. The attack was in retaliation to the organisation’s opposition to nuclear testing being carried out by the French in the South Pacific. Two innocent lives were lost when the ship went down. A pair of French agents were tried for the crime and sent to prison. After serving just part of their sentences they were released home to France where they received a hero’s welcome.’

  ‘Why are you telling me this?’ I asked.

  ‘The name of the ship that was sunk was the Rainbow Warrior. Manu may not know his history, but I do. France and New Zealand are political allies, but that still does not stop their Governments from acting against one another if it is in their interest to do so. In politics, there is no right or wrong and morality has no part in it. I do what I do out of necessity, not valour. You should not put your hopes in a man like me. When judged in relation to my enemies, I may seem righteous, but if judged by my deeds, I am no better than anybody else who lives by the gun.’
/>
  ‘So that is it then?’

  He turned and walked away. I did not go after him. All that was left for me was to wait and hope that the CIA knew what they were doing. I wondered if Asia may not be better off staying with the pirates.

  ***

  The rest of the night passed without incident. It was assumed Clay would make it safely back to his vessel, but we had no way of knowing for sure. Manu had cut the deal quickly and under pressure. After laying down the terms, he set Clay loose on a raft powered by an outboard motor, and gave him a GPS to find his way back to the ship. Even if he made it, we were relying on Barrett buying a bogus cover story for how his partner was rescued and came about the raft.

  The following morning, the captured Thai was interrogated separately by both Esteban and agent French, as Manu now called himself. I assumed the name was his idea of a joke. He had at least dropped the clumsy Gallic accent and was now speaking in what I could only describe as a west coast drawl. He sounded so much like Clay that I wondered if the two of them were actually in collusion and playing us all for fools.

  Shortly after lunch the radio burst into life and we listened intently as events played out in real time. From what I could gather, the signal had been given and a CIA led team was intercepting the pirate boat. There was heavy static on the reception, but I could still make out the sound of gunfire and what Manu pointed out were flash grenades. Listening to the assault on the pirates was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, but to the other two men it seemed no different to if they were simply listening to the commentary on a football match.

  The fighting lasted for just a couple of minutes, but each second of it made itself felt, creating the impression that it had gone on for much longer. It was not the sound of gunfire that affected me the most or even the intermittent cries for help. It was the gaps in between. When it comes to human suffering there is nothing more harrowing than silence.

  Esteban, was like me, now merely an observer. Once the battle was over, we both had to wait for Manu to give the all clear for us to intercept the now defeated pirate vessel.

  When we caught up with it, Clay’s boat was being flanked by a much larger military vessel. Smoke lingered in the air from gas canisters launched by the Americans to shield their assault. A row of Thai guards knelt at the aft of the boat with their hands on their heads, whilst two marines watched over them at gunpoint. I could not see any body bags and hoped that it would stay that way. The two ringleaders and the hostages were also nowhere to be seen.

  Manu threw a rope to a nearby agent (the CIA could be distinguished from the marines by their dark glasses) who then secured us to the larger vessel.

  ‘The threat has been neutralised, but this boat is now a crime scene,’ said Manu. ‘Stay behind me at all times and do exactly as I say.’

  Esteban and I followed him down below deck. It was strange returning to the place where I had been kept hostage. Everything seemed smaller and far less daunting. The biggest change was in how the place smelled. Before, the air had been filled with sweat and fear. Now it just smelled industrial and metallic. If I closed my eyes, I could have been standing in the middle of a steelworks. There was even the lingering scent of battle amid some parts of the boat. This reminded me of Guy Fawkes’ night back home. It is strange how sometimes the things that are most alien to us, evoke the greatest sense of familiarity.

  A mixed gathering of agents and marines were crowding around the cell where the girls and I had been kept. Each one was lapping up the attention of the grateful former hostages. This was the room that I was most nervous about seeing again. Not because of the memories that it brought back, but because I thought that this time, Asia may be there. She was not. Izzie and Dee were both safe, but I decided to delay any reunion until I was sure that Asia was okay. Manu led us deeper into the vessel.

  We turned a corner to where a second corridor led on to the ships control room. I expected this to be the scene of the most intense fighting as the marines seized the heart of the ship. I looked up and down the corridor, but I could see no evidence to corroborate my assumption. The entrance to the room was intact and did not look to have been forced in any way. I was no sooner through the door when Asia ran into my arms and embraced me tightly.

  ‘Oh, Ben, I am so glad you’re alive,’ she said.

  She rested her head on my chest and started to cry. As I comforted her, I took a look around the room. Clay was stood in one corner wearing handcuffs, but relaxed as he answered the questions of an agent. Two medics were crouched down in another corner attending to a man on the ground. It did not take long for me to identify who the injured party was. He was surrounded by a lot of blood, but it looked like his main injury had been to his hand. I was unable to see past the medics to see if he was suffering from anything more serious.

  ‘What happened?’ I asked Asia.

  I now knew that was not her true name, but it did not seem right to call her anything else.

  ‘He wants to kill me,’ she replied. ‘I cannot believe that he actually wants me dead. Please don’t send me back to him.’

  I had never seen her so vulnerable and afraid. Even in the aftermath of the mugging she had not shown this level of distress. I hated myself for leaving her alone with those thugs. If only I could have been with her to the end.

  ‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘It’s over. Barrett cannot hurt you anymore.’

  She looked up at me, but the fear remained in her eyes.

  ‘Not him,’ she said. ‘The senator - he wants to kill me.’

  I understood her no more than I had done Esteban and Manu earlier. Who was this senator that they all talked of? There were so many questions I wanted to know the answers to. It was too soon to ask Asia and I expected the CIA to remain tight lipped. I was left having to figure it out by myself, but had no idea where to begin.

  ‘I will take it from here,’ said Manu, stepping between us.

  He placed a coat over Asia and led her out of the room. An overturned chair was lying on the floor, so I picked it up and sat down. After a few moments, Esteban ended a conversation with one of the medics and came over to me. On the way, he offered a friendly word to Clay and the two of them actually exchanged a brief laugh. After everything we had been through, it really was just a game to him.

  ‘The plan worked,’ he said. ‘The CIA has all of the evidence it needs to put their man away and not one hostage was lost. None of this would have been possible without you.’

  He placed his hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it away.

  ‘How can you be so cold?’ I said. ‘And what about him; he tries to kill you one minute and you are laughing and joking with him the next.’

  ‘Clay has made right for what he did, although it is likely that he will still get jail time. It is thanks to him that no lives were lost during the assault. Why do you think Barrett is lying on the floor with a hole in his hand?’

  ‘That was Clay who did that?’ I asked, not quite believing it. ‘I assumed that a marine had shot him. Why the hell would his best buddy turn on him like that?’

  Esteban told me that he learned Barrett had lunged at Asia with a knife and the intent of taking her life. Clay had then turned a gun on his friend to save Asia. This was a world where the good guys lied and cheated and the villains were capable of heroism as much as cruelty. I could not wait to get as far away from it as possible and return home.

  We followed the medics out of the room as they carried Barrett away on a stretcher. The American was in a daze and weak from loss of blood, so they placed him in one of the cabins to recover a little before transferring him over to the navy vessel. Asia was leaning against a railing staring out to sea. I wanted to join her, but was stopped from doing so by Manu.

  ‘She needs a little space to herself,’ he said. ‘That girl has been through a lot. It would be best not to crowd her until she is ready to open up.’

  What did this jerk know about Asia? I tried again to get past him, but
he was insistent.

  ‘You can’t stop me from talking to her,’ I said.

  ‘Actually, I can,’ he replied.

  He led me to one side of the boat where Asia would not be able to hear us talking.

  ‘Miss Cole has been through a lot,’ he said. ‘We have been watching her for some time now. She is very confused at the moment and we do not want anyone making this any harder for her than it already is.’

  As far as I knew; Manu was not a King, so he could not have been using the royal “we”. Once more, it all came back to politics.

  ‘At least tell me what this is all about,’ I said. ‘You owe me that.’

  He finally gave me the answers I needed. I learned that “Katherine” had run away from her overbearing father, who was a U.S. senator rather than a rock star. I always suspected she had been pulling my leg with that whole story anyway. By travelling overseas, she was considered a potential target for terrorists and the CIA were routinely monitoring her in case of a possible attack. Through watching the girl, they inadvertently discovered that her father was not the loving parent he pretended to be in public. They believed he had hired that thug to assault her in Penang and now they had him on tape admitting to her kidnap and even ordering her death. Hell, that’s enough to screw anybody up.

  ‘What about the kidnappers?’ I asked. ‘They will still go to prison, right?’

  ‘It all depends on what deals can be made. Clay has already co-operated, but we are yet to hear from his partner.’

  ‘I want to see him,’ I said.

  ‘That’s not possible.’

  ‘Make it possible. Surely you need my co-operation too? If I am going to tell you anything about what happened on that boat, then first I want to see the man who put me through that ordeal.’

  ‘Okay,’ he agreed, ‘but only because you have information that may be of use to us too.’

  He led me to the cabin where Barrett had been left to recuperate. I was amused to hear that it had been Clay who shot him, but I still despised the pair of them. It would take a long time for the scars they had given me to fade.