The Malthus Pandemic

by Terry Morgan

CHAPTER 73

  Daniel had been listening to Colin but also watching something on the other side of the road. A small hotel opposite that Daniel knew specialised in short stays for those frequenting the many bars nearby had a terrace that faced directly onto the narrow street and mostly served beer. Two men were sat at the back, both facing the hotel so only their backs were visible. But one of them, the younger one had just turned around.

  "Colin, thanks for the advice but something has just cropped up. I'll phone you later."

  Daniel only had time to hear Colin in London saying, "Daniel - think what happened to Jimmy," before he switched the phone off and turned to Anna.

  "Anna, go back to the hotel. Stay there until I call you. Any problems, call Colin. OK?"

  "But what is it, Daniel?"

  "Over there," Daniel said, pointing only with his eyes. "That's David Solomon and if I'm not mistaken the back of the head belongs to Greg O'Brian."

  "But Daniel, what are you going to do?" asked Anna.

  "Just watch them - see where they go."

  "Then what?" It was, as usual, a good question. Daniel looked at her.

  "I don't know," he admitted, "It's what I always used to do before I had you sitting beside me. I need your sensible questions, Anna. I said it before, you are good for me. But it's what I still do. It's my job. At the moment I can't get it out of my system, but I'll change. I want to change."

  "Then change now. I am afraid for you, Daniel."

  Daniel was not familiar with public demonstrations of affection and such a thing was rarely, if ever, seen on the streets of Bangkok. But Daniel suddenly wanted to reach out to Anna, pull her towards him and kiss her. Instead, he held out his hand, pulled hers towards him and held her warm fingers to his lips. It was enough. Anna smiled. "OK, I'll go back to the hotel and wait. Please don't be long."

  With that she pushed her chair back, got up and walked away.

  Daniel continued to sit and watch the two men. Unnoticed by anyone, he took a few photos on his phone. The phone flashed but was lost amongst the people, the myriad of coloured lights, motorcycles, taxis, shops, sounds and night-time mayhem that was Sukhumvit Soi 11.

  The two men were too far away for any detail so Daniel decided to get closer. He paid for Anna's and his meal, got up and walked across to the open air bar, mounted the two steps and was welcomed by a girl in tight jeans and tee shirt. She beckoned him to sit at the front overlooking the street but Daniel declined, ordered a beer and moved into the darker area at the back, two tables away from Solomon and O'Brian. It was clearly O'Brian. There was no doubt about it. The same refusal to wear anything too casual. It was the same dark suit and although the tie was now missing, the same white shirt. But Daniel needed to be careful. O'Brian had seen him twice now. Daniel may have changed his name but not his appearance.

  Solomon was wearing a white tee shirt with an apple printed on the front with some words that Daniel could not read. Two half-full bottles of beer lay on the table between them.

  GOB was talking, quietly almost inaudibly. Perhaps, Daniel thought, he could detect his deep voice, and the Irish American accent but it was still too far away and the noise from the street too loud. Solomon was nodding, gesticulating. Then he seemed to demonstrate something - he opened his mouth, put something imaginary to his lips and moved his thumb. To Daniel it could only be a demonstration of how to use an asthma inhaler. GOB looked around. Solomon sat back. Solomon then sat forward again and pointed down the street. GOB nodded and said something. Then he picked up his bottle of beer, drained it and wiped his mouth. Solomon did the same. They got up, pushing the two chairs back. Solomon beckoned the waitress in tight jeans, spoke to her and handed over some money. GOB had meanwhile sauntered out onto the street where he was waiting.

  Daniel then beckoned the waitress, paid his bill and watched, ready to move.

  Solomon and GOB started to walk up the road away from the main Sukhumvit Road. Daniel followed, one minute on the crowded pavement, then between parked motorcycles and then back into the middle of the road. At 8pm Soi 11 was, as usual, crowded, busy and noisy. At the end of the street the two men turned right and then left and the sound of Soi 11 became fainter, the street darker and the pavement rougher and narrow. But tuk tuks and motorcycles still passed by, short cutting from somewhere to somewhere else.

  As Daniel slowed to stay further back, the two men disappeared to the right. Daniel quickened his pace and found a hidden entrance to an apartment block and a concreted parking area surrounded by grass, shrubs and trees. The block was much lower in comparison to others in the area and looked older. Daniel slipped between two shrubs and watched as Solomon and O'Brian walked up to a glassed front door that opened automatically. Behind the tinted glass, Daniel could now see a hallway and a reception desk on the left. A man stood up from behind the desk and said something to Solomon. Then the door closed.

  Daniel retraced his steps to the street outside again, looked back and saw lights come on behind blinds covering two windows on the top floor.

  Beside him, half hidden by the shrubs, was a sign in English: "Apartments for Sale or Rent" with a phone number. It was an idea he'd used before if he needed to go inside somewhere and have a look around. But not now. He decided to hang around a while to see if there were any movements. There was a small gathering of tuk tuks looking for business at the end of the road if he needed to go anywhere in a hurry. And so it turned out.

  As Daniel watched the windows on the top floor, the lights behind one of them suddenly went out. A minute later, Solomon and O'Brian appeared at the doorway. Solomon was carrying a large, heavy-looking cardboard box. The two men then walked to a Honda car parked under the trees in the corner and Solomon put the box in the boot. O'Brian stood, watched and lit a cigarette. Solomon then returned to the apartment and, after a minute or so, the second light went out and he returned with a an identical box, which he carried to the car and put in the boot. O'Brian just watched.

  Assuming they were about to drive off somewhere, Daniel glanced in the direction of the tuk tuks to see if he might need to use one. But instead, the two men stood alongside the car as if waiting. Solomon was using his phone. The call lasted just a few seconds. O'Brian was now on his second cigarette.

  Less than five minutes later, another car drove along the road past the tuk tuks, and past where Daniel was standing in the shadows. It drove into the apartment car park and stopped right next to Solomon and O'Brian.

  In poor light or complete darkness, the one colour that shows up, as Jimmy had once reminded him, was white. The man that got out of the second car was an Arab, dressed in a long white gallabiya. In Thailand, the sight of Arabs and Africans in traditional clothing had once been rare. But in Sukhumvit Road between Soi 1 and 11 it was now a common occurrence. One or two streets now resembled Cairo with shoe shops, clothing, crafts, money changers and Lebanese and Egyptian restaurants. But could this be the Arab connection that had been missing?

  Little or nothing was spoken between the three men. Solomon raised the car boot lid, lifted out the boxes he had only just put there and, as the Arab held the rear passenger door of his car open, the boxes were transferred. Then there was a brief hand shake, the Arab got into the car and drove off past Daniel. Daniel walked quickly towards a tuk tuk and asked the driver to follow the car.

  But the distance it travelled was short and quick. It took less than ten minutes for the car to find its way into another congested and busy street running parallel with Soi 11. They were now in the heart of the Arab quarter, a street Daniel knew well and one which had blossomed into something resembling Casablanca or Cairo.

  The car stopped right outside a fully lit Arab pharmacy. Daniel paid off his tuk tuk driver and watched as the Arab abandoned his car where it was, got out, went around to the passenger door, opened it and then beckoned to someone sitting just inside the pharmacy doorway. A teenaged Arab boy came out and, one by one, carried the two boxes inside as the m
an watched. Job done, the Arab got back in his car.

  But it was the boxes themselves that now caught Daniel's eye. Standing, less than ten metres away, he could see they were specially designed boxes marked with the words "Clinical Samples - Refrigerated - Do not open until final destination," printed in red.

  Daniel was no novice in the business of transporting cargoes of every conceivable type whether by sea or air. His business often depended on understanding international shipping regulations. By understanding them he could then recognise attempts to bypass them. And he also knew it was easy to mark boxes so that they scared the living daylights out of handlers, whether they were customs and excise officials or your local postman. But the survival of good, legitimate businesses sending hazardous materials by air or sea was always at stake. They were often overly cautious.

  Not so rogue companies. And this was a rogue organisation with everything to lose by compliance with regulations. They would break every rule in the book to ensure their illicit goods got through. So Daniel did not believe that the contents of the two boxes were simple, clinical samples. But by labelling them "do not open until final destination" it virtually guaranteed security until the goods arrived at their destination. Paperwork, however false, that accompanied the boxes would see to the rest.

  So what sort of biological materials needed constant refrigeration? Vaccines? Live viruses? And where had the boxes just come from? An apartment block.

  Daniel, unsure whether to follow the Arab or watch the pharmacy, decided, for the moment, to follow the Arab. And by the time the car had been turned around in the narrow street to face the way it had just come, Daniel had already re-booked the same tuk tuk driver.

  "You want to follow that crazy Arab again?"

  "Yes," said Daniel. "Don't lose him."

  "This a crazy road, Mister," the tuk tuk driver said as he revved his engine. "Many things go on here. But good business. Lot of money here."

  They followed the car out onto Sukhumvit Road where it had to turn left. It went past Soi 11 and, according to Daniel's estimate, turned up Soi 17 or 19 and almost immediately disappeared into the underground car park of a hotel.

  Daniel paid off his driver for the second time, walked into the hotel, picked up a copy of the Bangkok Post and sat down. And he didn't have to wait long for the door to the hotel's underground car park to open. The Arab walked in, his car keys in one hand, beads in the other. He went to reception, took a key and then headed for the lift. The lift stopped on Floor 6.

  It may have been pure luck or professional instinct, but Daniel put his newspaper down went to the reception and said. "I think I just saw Mr Mohamed Kader arrive. I was reading my paper and didn't notice. He is on the 6th Floor. Can you just tell me if that was him?"

  "Yes sir, room 604."

  Daniel thanked him and returned to his seat to ponder on his next move.

  With all three main characters currently in Bangkok it was looking almost certain that Thailand was the centre of operations. And it was looking more and more certain that Solomon had some sort of facility in Thailand that he was using for his work. But where was it? It was very unlikely that KAVRO was the place although he may well have access to certain of its facilities, especially if he was regarded as an expert welcomed to the unit from time to time to lecture or teach its technicians. And it was also unlikely to be a University or the Science Park although, again, there was a possibility he had access to some facilities there. Perhaps this was his reason for keeping the innocent girlfriend, Pim.

  And the apartment? Was this Solomon's Bangkok home that also served as a storage facility? Or even a laboratory?

  And Kader? This was what made Daniel smile behind his newspaper. At last, he had found him. Questions still remained about the other Arab names but at present, Daniel wasn't sure how to solve that one.

  And O'Brian? Where was he staying tonight? Daniel felt he needed to be in three places at the same time. And what was in those boxes? Despite Mohamed Kader being upstairs, there was no point in sitting there. He decided to return to the pharmacy and maybe ask a few questions. He'd walk. The walk would do him good and Anna was only two blocks away. He wouldn't be long.

  It was nearly 10pm but the Arab Pharmacy with its illuminated Arabic sign above was still open. From outside, Daniel saw the teenage boy still sitting on a stool talking to an older, Egyptian-looking man behind the counter. Daniel wandered in and went up to the counter. The teenage boy got off his stool and nodded politely.

  "Is this Mohamed Kader's Pharmacy?" he asked.

  "Yes," said the older man behind the counter. "Mr Kader owns it but it is called Shah Pharmacy."

  "Ah, yes," said Daniel "I was not able to read the Arab sign outside and I have not been here before."

  "Can I help you sir?"

  "Yes, I was looking for a man called Mohamed El Badry."

  "Mr El Badry is in Egypt."

  "Doctor Al Khoury? Is he here?"

  "He is also in Egypt. Can I help you sir?"

  "No, never mind," said Daniel. "Thank you for your help." He turned to go but then turned back. My friend David Solomon told me Mohamed Kader was in Bangkok."

  "Yes, sir. He is here. And Mr Solomon was here earlier. Are you in the business as well?"

  "Yes," Daniel said wondering if he could now engage the man in a longer conversation with a string of plausible lies - lies that he had been inventing during his short walk along Sukhumvit Road. "My name is Ian McCann. I arrived here this morning from Singapore. I am with Shah Medical - Mr Kader's Singapore company."

  "Oh yes, sir. Mr Kader is going to Singapore tomorrow afternoon."

  "Yes," said Daniel, as if he was well aware of this. "Do you know if he delivered the two boxes here this evening?"

  "Yes, sir. We will be sending them to Shah Medical Singapore tomorrow morning."

  "Thank you," said Daniel. "That will save me asking Mr Solomon." Then, as if as an afterthought he added, "And Mr O'Brian, from America, is he here?"

  The older man looked confused. "Mr O'Brian? No sir, we have no-one of that name."

  That proved another suspicion, that GOB operated under different names. "Bloody nerve," said Daniel to himself.

  "Thank you very much," said Daniel aloud and walked away smiling and wondering whether any Thai policeman or any other policeman on an Interpol investigation could have got away with what he just had.

  But, while he waited for the Interpol process to catch up Daniel wanted to stay ahead and if that meant going to Singapore, then that is where he intended to go. But, times had changed recently. In the past, if he decided to do something, then he just went ahead and did it. Now? Well, just telling Anna what he was going to do would probably not be enough. Anna would need another explanation.

  And so, too, would Colin. Colin had already advised him to back off and let the process of international policing take its course. But he already had another bit of work for Colin. Tracking and intercepting a small cargo of refrigerated biological specimens that might well be live Malthus A virus ready to distribute around the world was going to be an interesting challenge and especially so if Interpol Singapore or Thailand still hadn't received their red, blue or orange notices.

  Daniel rejoined Anna in their hotel room and told her what he'd just found out and what his plan was.

  "But Daniel, what are you going to do when you get to Singapore?"

  It was the second time she had asked the question that evening. The first time, Daniel had eventually admitted he didn't know but he had since thought about it and now knew why. "It's the way I am, Anna. I always finish a job. I cannot leave a job unfinished."

  "But you promised you'd change, Daniel For me. You said it. "

  "Yes," Daniel said, "I will change. But I'm still in the middle of a job that started before.....before I said we'd....... I need to finish it, Anna. Then we'll go back to London and start a different life."

  "But I am still very afraid, Daniel.
"

  "Yes, I know, Anna. But you can help by staying here. I'll phone you and you can always talk to Colin. And there's a job you can do to help if you are willing."

  "What is that?"

  "Go and check out the apartment that Solomon uses. It's got a sign outside saying Apartments for Sale or Rent. Go and have a look. See if you can find out anything."

  Anna gave a small smile. "OK." She said, "But don't be long. What time are you going to Singapore?"

  "First thing. I need to be there before Solomon, Kader and GOB arrive."