The Travel Mate

by Mark Green

  Barry glanced around the minibus at any remaining mildly intrigued faces. Jody had already plugged her headphones in and stared out of the window. Maddie appeared to be reading her book. Charlie exaggerated a bored yawn.

  Barry dropped his eyes to fiddle with his camera, harmony restored.

  • • •

  Rupert stood by the same smoked glass observation window looking down at the dance floor, now flooded with bright lighting and even brighter clothed Thai men and women, aged from sixteen to north of eighty years old. They stood on rubber mats, arranged in perpendicular lines, all replicating – to varying degrees of success – the yoga postures being demonstrated by a highly flexible and sprightly sixty year old woman.

  ‘You interrupt my karma, Yogi Bear.’

  Rupert turned towards Joe-Ho’s voice, emanating from behind the office’s side door.

  ‘She not be happy.’

  ‘Who?’ asked Rupert, frowning at the sight of a bright green, walking, talking, pot-bellied figure of Joe-Ho’s height, dressed in an alien-design morph suit. The green alien strolled over to join him beside the glass.

  ‘The queen Swami. She punish me for missing class, if she know who I am …’

  ‘You do yoga, dressed like that?’

  ‘I have fearsome reputation, Rupert Sullivan, outside of here.’

  ‘But not dressed as a little green man.’

  ‘No.’ Joe-Ho shook his head, his black alien eyes and thin black line of a mouth remaining expressionless. ‘Polyester and spandex make me any normal person, down there.’

  ‘Err, yeah … I suppose so.’

  ‘You unconvinced.’

  ‘I’m sleep deprived.’

  ‘And deprived of a wife. Also, property of others. London, not happy.’

  ‘No … have you spoken to them?’

  ‘Only now,’ said the alien, motioning with a green thumb over his shoulder, prompting the speaker-phone to crackle into life.

  ‘Mister Sullivan, we are extremely disappointed.’

  Rupert glanced at Joe-Ho, who remained facing the glass, now flexing his green limbs, replicating the postures of the yoga class.

  ‘I’m sorry, I—’

  ‘This disruption is unfortunate, but not irretrievable. You are to go back to your hotel. You will contact your employer and explain that you’ve been unavoidably detained in Thailand due to a medical issue. You will then wait for the arrival of our associate, Mr Fender. Together you will locate your wayward fiancée and return together to the United Kingdom, bringing with you what is ours. If you fail to wait for Fender, he will track Madeline down on his own, and recover your debt. He will then focus on finding you. He will not rest until he’s repatriated both of you, one body part at a time. Do you understand the severity of your failure to comply?’

  Rupert glanced across at the lunging, downward dog posturing green alien beside him, then turned towards the speaker-phone. ‘I understand,’ he squeaked, his body trembling.

  • • •

  The minibus driver slid the side door open, smiling as he surveyed the weary travellers. He motioned for them to step out.

  ‘Chanthaburi,’ said Victoria in answer to Maddie’s enquiring expression, ‘one stop away from the border town of Ban Pakard, where we’ll cross into Pailin. After that is Battambang.’

  ‘In Cambodia?’

  ‘You betcha.’

  Maddie shuffled across the seat and eased herself upright as she stepped out, stretching and yawning. The other travellers followed, tired aching muscles almost tumbling them out of the door into the fading sunlight, their colourful mixtures of Western and Thai tourist clothing brightening the dusty grey path. The driver opened the rear doors and began passing backpacks to waiting hands.

  Maddie shrugged Liz’s rucksack onto her back and wriggled to adjust to its weight. That’s odd.

  ‘Oh shit!’ Maddie shrugged off the straps, lowered the pack and unclipped the main section, slipping her hands inside. Her shoulders slumped.

  Virtually empty.

  ‘You okay?’ asked Charlie, stepping up to her side.

  ‘The clothes … I’ve left them with the laundry lady, outside the hotel.’

  ‘Hey, I won’t wear any either if that makes you feel better,’ said Barry, puffing his rollie into life. ‘Or we could trade. Your Victoria’s Secrets for my board shorts and vest. What d’ya reckon?’

  Maddie ignored him and followed the slow procession around the side of the building to a tiled veranda beneath a road bridge, fifteen feet above them.

  ‘Don’t worry, we’re in Thailand. Everything is cheap, cheap, cheap. You won’t have any problems finding something,’ said Jody, waltzing past. Maddie glared at her. Directly ahead, a muddy, lazy flowing river meandered past a wood picket fence lined with pot plants bordering the veranda, which contained a random collection of tables and chairs.

  ‘Welcome to our house,’ said a woman to their right, stepping out from a set of patio doors onto the terrace. ‘I am Huey. Please come, for refreshments …’

  Barry held back on the far side of the veranda beneath the bridge, smoking, watching some of the travellers head inside. Others mingled by the fence overlooking the river. Barry squinted upstream into the setting sun, then rotated to look behind him, his gaze following the arch of the bridge across the water. Its elongated arch span mirrored above the road, where bunches of cables sagged between concrete columns in an opposing curve. He reached for his camera.

  ‘You pay now?’ the driver asked Maddie, his eyes beaming, matching his happy smile. Maddie glanced at Victoria, shooting her a how much? expression.

  ‘We all paid ten dollars to get to the border. We’ll split the cost of taxis on the Cambodian side, tomorrow.’

  Maddie nodded her thanks and paid the driver, nodding to acknowledge his palms pressed together and bowed-head gesture.

  ‘Local buses are cheaper, but it’s much more comfortable this way – one seat each is a real luxury.’ Victoria stepped up to the reception desk and handed her passport to Huey, who glanced up at Maddie.

  ‘You are one more, in group?’

  ‘Oh, yes. Late addition. Do you have another single room? Or perhaps a twin, we can share,’ Victoria turned to Maddie, ‘if you’re okay with that? We could split the cost – it’s normal practice,’ she added.

  ‘Of course. That would be great, thank you.’

  Huey searched through her bookings diary. ‘One night?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘No more single. Double, share, okay?’

  Victoria glanced at Maddie who nodded. ‘Yes, that’s fine.’ She watched Maddie hand over her passport. ‘Saves having to fend off your shadow …’

  Maddie turned to follow Victoria’s gaze to Charlie, leaning against the fence outside, surveying the sun setting over the river. ‘Ah … yes, he’s—’

  ‘Fit, gorgeous – melt in the mouth delicious?’

  ‘I was going to say, attentive.’

  Victoria picked up the room key from the desk. ‘We’ll see. Got your stuff?’

  ‘Yup, all set.’ Maddie followed Victoria up the concrete stairs. She stole a look back at the veranda just before the view disappeared. Charlie half-turned, caught her eye and held her gaze. Maddie looked away quickly and scurried upwards, hot on Victoria’s heels.

  Shh-clitch.

  Memory Card 3. Pic 018

  ‘Jousting to feast at dusk, no doubt will commence soon, he stands beneath the setting sun, hopeful that she’ll see him and swoon. Presenting himself in the best available light, missing only his mighty charger, is this whiter than white, phony knight. A new day dawns in twelve hours’ time, how long will it take her to work out that he’s a piece of slime? His dream of a nocturnal conquest rests with her emotional state of mind, dream on fella, dream on … do you really think she’s that naïve and blind?’

  ‘Something amuses you …?’ Charlie folded his arms and shot Barry a quizzical look.

  Barry lowered his came
ra and chuckled. ‘Buddy, you always amuse me.’

  Jody slipped her arm around Barry’s waist, cuddled in and steered him towards the guest house entrance. Barry shrugged the camera strap over his shoulder and pulled Jody closer as he sauntered away. ‘Don’t leave me out here with the phony testosterone,’ he whispered huskily, causing her to snigger. Barry waggled his little finger at Charlie, who shook his head and turned away to face the river, visibly bristling as he heard Jody screech with laughter behind him.

  Twelve

  Immaculately polished black brogues strolled into the departure terminal without pausing beneath any of the numerous flight information screens. The shiny leather shoes threaded their way across the busy concourse, sidestepping anxious and excited holiday-makers, walking past rows of check-in desks, heading straight for baggage security and passport control.

  Rachel Brown, the duty security officer, watched the suited figure avoid the segmented queuing system, approaching her from the roped-off side of the metal detector. She straightened, taking a moment to assess him. Tall and lean, yet solidly built. Probably six-two and thirteen stone. Sandy coloured hair, wire-framed glasses, clean shaven with piercing blue-grey eyes. Early fifties? Yet he carried himself with the poise of a younger man – springy on his feet, almost as if in constant state of readiness.

  The man slowed his cadence, lifted a hand and snared his security pass in a thumb and finger from where it dangled on a web cord hanging between the vee of his jacket. He held up the photo card ID in clear sight and waited patiently while Rachel examined every detail, comparing it to her morning briefing sheet. Satisfied, she scanned the security pass barcode with her company-issue smartphone and confirmed his clearance grade on the screen. ‘Thank you sir, please proceed.’

  He nodded once and coasted around the side of the metal detector, walking briskly yet seemingly unhurried. Rachel shifted on her feet to sneak a glance at his profile as he exited the area.

  ‘He a spook?’

  Rachel glanced over at Gareth, her male colleague. ‘Got to be, with that clearance level.’

  ‘They throw some cash at these guys, don’t they. His suit’s got to be more than my monthly salary.’

  ‘More, probably, given your expanding waistline,’ she smirked, refocusing to peer over Gareth’s shoulder at the luggage X-ray images on the screen in front of him.

  • • •

  Victoria sat back in the wicker chair and flicked her wet hair over its high back. She nodded at Jody as she raised a bottle of cold Chang to her lips and savoured the cooling sensation as she swallowed. ‘You can’t beat this after a long day on the road.’

  ‘Sure can’t.’ Jody leant forward to chink her bottle of beer against Victoria’s.

  ‘What route are you guys planning?’

  ‘The usual. After Battambang – Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, then Phnom Penh. That’s when things could get a bit … lonely.’

  ‘Oh. You heading off in different directions?’

  Jody nodded. ‘I’m heading down to Ho Chi Minh City after Phnom Penh, then up the Vietnamese coast to Halong Bay. I’ll fly home from Hanoi. But Barry’s already done that route, only he crossed the border into northern Laos, travelled down through Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng.’

  ‘Ah. Tricky.’

  ‘Yup.’

  ‘What’s his plans, after Phnom Penh?’

  ‘Says he’s flying out to Peru, ending up in Argentina. Flying back to Australia from Buenos Aires.’

  ‘South America? That’s a disjointed trip, via Asia. That’s literally halfway around the world.’

  ‘I know, I keep telling him. But he’s going to a wedding in Argentina. Figures while he’s out that way he’ll check out Machu Picchu. He’s already got his ticket.’

  ‘Must be a close friend getting married.’

  ‘His brother. Barry’s the best man.’

  ‘You don’t fancy going with him …?’

  Jody fiddled with her mobile phone. She shrugged, without looking up.

  ‘Oh. He’s not—’

  ‘No, not yet. But I’m pretty set on my route, I wouldn’t change it anyway,’ she said quietly.

  Victoria nodded slowly, watching Jody’s eyes glisten. ‘C’est la vie.’

  Jody attempted a smile and looked up at Victoria. ‘Maybe, maybe not,’ she murmured, her gaze tracking up over Victoria’s shoulder, her expression brightening at the sound of flip-flops clacking across the marble floor.

  ‘Started already, I see. Want another?’ Barry called out from across the lobby, pointing at the beer bottle clasped in Jody’s hand.

  ‘Sure.’ Jody drained the remaining beer. She leaned forwards, whispering to Victoria. ‘Where’s miss-prissy-pouty-mouth?’

  ‘Maddie? In the shower. She volunteered to let me go first.’

  ‘Naïve of her.’

  Victoria shrugged. She opened her bag, pulled out a packet of cigarettes. ‘She’s okay, just unaccustomed to budget travelling.’

  Jody smirked.

  ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two girls were bitchin’ around the bushy-tailed newbie.’ Barry handed Jody a fresh bottle of Chang and stood over them, preparing a roll-up.

  ‘You’re not drinking?’ said Jody, glancing up at him.

  ‘Gonna enjoy a smoke first.’ Barry shot her a dimpled-cheek grin as he placed the roll-up between his lips.

  ‘Happy baccy?’ said Victoria.

  ‘I’m always happy with a bit of baccy … see ya in a tick. I’m gonna watch the river.’

  Jody watched him pad across the tiles and step outside onto the terrace.

  ‘How long you guys been together?’ asked Victoria, lighting her cigarette.

  ‘Eight or nine days …’

  ‘Really? You seemed way more familiar than that.’

  ‘Yeah … he’s an easy guy to get along with. Got some quirks though.’

  ‘Haven’t they all. Doesn’t he drink?’

  ‘Not all the time, depends on his mood. Sometimes he likes a smoke instead. Says it balances him out.’

  Victoria’s eyes narrowed as she took a drag on her cigarette, surveying Jody as she exhaled.

  ‘What about you and Charlie? I noticed your … appreciation of him.’

  Victoria flicked her eyes away from Jody, her features tightening into a puckered frown. She shrugged. ‘He is a dish …’

  ‘I think he likes you.’

  ‘Maybe. Don’t think I’m the only one.’

  ‘She’s no competition. For you, I mean.’

  ‘We’ll see …’

  • • •

  Barry turned away from the river and puffed the joint into life, blowing smoke luxuriously from his nose as he refocused past the glowing tip onto Jody and Victoria’s table, beyond the sliding doors inside the open-plan lobby. He watched their silent reaction as a pair of tanned legs belonging to Charlie appeared at the top of the stairs and the rest of him descended into view. Both girls turned to greet him. Jody motioned with her spare hand, offering Charlie a spare seat at their table, while Victoria tossed her head to one side, running her fingers through her hair, teasing several strands into a loop.

  Barry grinned and raised his camera.

  Memory Card 3. Pic 027

  ‘The pretty boy struts in, posturing and preening, this peacock ruffles feathers, enjoys teasing. The spoken-for-magpie checks him out, with her carefully timed pout. His interest however lies elsewhere, with the newbie, but he doesn’t stand a prayer. He demonstrates all the charisma of an oil slick, in his clandestine pursuit of this particular posh chick. Little do his gaggle of admirers know he has a target in sight, but is the girl in question aware, will she put up a fight? His pursuit of her is bound to end in tears, best accept failure, chuck, line up those consolation beers.’

  Barry eased back from the viewfinder and took another drag on the joint, his gaze once again drawn in close to its glowing embers.

  • • •

  The suited gentleman removed h
is jacket, folded it neatly and laid it carefully in the overhead locker. He settled into his business class seat and removed a set of expensive wireless headphones from his bag, then tabbed through a set of menus on his smartphone. The text to speech conversion software commenced its narration:

  ‘Subject: Rupert Sullivan, civilian. Born, March second, 1985, in Surrey, United Kingdom …’

  He shut his eyes and relaxed back into the seat, listening intently, barely noticing the jet engine hum building in intensity as the plane powered down the runway.

  Thirteen

  Maddie stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her and pressed her ear to the bathroom door.

  Silence.

  She eased the door open and peered into the empty room. Victoria’s clothes and possessions lay scattered over the bed.

  Not the tidiest of roommates.

  Maddie swept a corner clear of co-traveller debris and perched on the bed. She hunched over, elbows resting on her knees, fingers fiddling with her engagement ring. ‘The question is, little one … do I take you off for a while?’

  She studied the way the light danced in the angular contours, how the intricate rainbow patterns glinted in the polished prism. With a sigh she stopped her examination and sat up straight, twisting her back to ease out muscular tension, rewarded with a burst of cracking deep in her spine. She groaned and rotated the other way, repeating the sound effects. ‘Should have kept up with my yoga.’