by Angus McLean
‘Oh yeah.’ Kenny grunted and put his broadsheet down. ‘What is it?’
‘Does it matter?’
‘Not really. When does he want it by?’
‘Priority.’ Mitchell’s grin stayed in place. ‘Like, now.’
Kenny pushed himself up with a groan and glanced at his Scouser co-pilot. ‘Come on you whinging Pommy prick, time to earn your keep.’
Chapter Twenty One
Disembarking at Koh Samui Airport took longer than Travis would have liked.
He bit his tongue but his face gave the game away. Susie smiled to herself as they shuffled their way down the aisle amongst the throng of tourist passengers.
A fat man pulled his carry-on bag down from the overhead locker and inadvertently thumped Travis in the chest with it. He didn’t seem to notice until Travis glared at him. The man gave him an innocent look.
‘Don’t mind me,’ Travis grumbled.
‘Whatever, pal,’ the fat man said, waddling ahead of him.
‘Easy, tiger,’ Susie said softly, seeing Travis’ shoulders bunch with tension. ‘Be a tourist, okay?’
He nodded reluctantly and shuffled on.
Coming through into what amounted to an Arrivals Hall, they spotted Major Dang and his team waiting outside for them by a pair of Land Cruisers. All of them wore dark shades and earpieces.
‘Cool,’ Travis grunted. ‘Low profile.’
Susie laboured behind him, wrestling with the trolley carrying their bags. ‘Mmm, nice. They look like the Secret Service.’
Travis shot them a smile and headed over.
Susie struggled with the trolley, which was determined to crab walk sideways. ‘Thanks, but I’m okay.’
‘Good.’ Travis slipped on his own shades. ‘Equal opportunities, y’know.’
As he got to the welcoming party, Travis noticed that Dang was accompanied by the same guys he’d originally clashed with in Bangkok. He hoped that all was forgiven, otherwise this could be an uncomfortable time.
Dang gave him a tight smile and stepped forward to shake hands briefly. Sergeant Mookjai glowered at Travis from behind his shades and made an aside to the two colleagues standing near him. Both of them grinned and Travis got the feeling they weren’t just being happy-go-lucky.
‘Thanks for the welcome,’ Travis said to Dang. ‘Is it not a bit overt though?’
‘Overt?’ Major Dang frowned at him.
‘You know…obvious?’ He indicated the shades and earpieces. ‘You look like a bunch of cops.’
Mookjai sneered and interrupted. ‘We are a bunch of cops.’
Travis gave him a cold look and turned to the Major, expecting some level of understanding. He didn’t get it.
‘We run this town,’ Dang told him, ‘not the criminals, and certainly not you. You are guests in our country; you do not come here and tell us how to do our job.’
Susie had joined them by now and stood listening.
‘Do I make myself clear?’ The Major’s voice was trembling with barely controlled anger.
‘Crystal,’ Travis replied evenly.
‘Good. You have caused us enough problems. You would be best to stay out of our way, I think.’ He glanced at his men. ‘It would be best all round.’
Travis held his hands up in surrender. ‘Hey, sweet as mate.’ He glanced at Susie and gave her a grin. ‘It’s been a pretty eventful trip so far, and I for one am happy to sit by the pool and kick back for a bit.’
Susie opened her mouth to object but saw his look and shrugged instead. ‘Sure, whatever.’ She gave Dang a bright smile. ‘You guys are the professionals; we’ll leave you to do your thing.’
Dang nodded, unsmiling. He clearly wasn’t buying their charade. ‘That is good. We will tell you when you are needed.’ He finally smiled but it was a thin, unpleasant smile. ‘Don’t expect a call in a hurry.’
Mookjai chuckled and the other two men smirked.
With that they were ushered into one of the Land Cruisers, and one of the sidekicks took the wheel. Dang joined him in the front and they pulled away from the kerb.
Travis noticed that their luggage was put in the other wagon, with Mookjai and the second man.
‘Any reason our bags are travelling separately, Major?’ he asked.
Dang met his eyes in the rear view mirror attached to his sun visor. ‘No reason,’ he said.
Travis turned to Susie, beside him in the back seat. ‘Obviously Sergeant Mookjai wants to try your knickers on.’
Dang scowled but Travis heard a titter from the driver. Dang scowled at the man and he shut up.
The rest of the drive was in silence.
The resort they had booked was south of the airport in the Lamai area, looking out to the Gulf of Siam.
The Special Branch cops dropped them at the Reception and while Susie checked them in, their bags were unloaded and Dang took Travis aside.
‘I have your guns and passports,’ he said, eyeballing Travis coolly. ‘You will not be needing either of those items here. When it is time for you to leave, you will get your passports back. Besides, it is illegal for you have firearms here.’
Travis opened his mouth to object but thought better of it. This was how it was going to be, and he knew that to push the issue would just cause them more problems. Dang had made it pretty clear they weren’t wanted; whether that was because of their earlier run-in, the subsequent gun battle, or something else, he didn’t know. Their uncertainty over the Major’s trustworthiness had led to them not reporting the attempt on their lives at Watkins’ apartment block to the local authorities. Ingoe was aware and had agreed it was better to roll with it and see what shook out.
Travis simply nodded and put out his hand. Dang waited before shaking it reluctantly.
‘I will be in touch,’ the Major said briefly.
‘Well, you know where we’ll be.’ Travis gave him a grin. ‘A few cocktails by the pool won’t hurt.’
Major Dang did not smile. ‘Do not take me for a fool, Sergeant-Major Travis.’ He gave a slow nod and now his lips twitched in a thin smile. ‘Yes, I know who you are.’
Travis shrugged. He wasn’t surprised.
‘Koh Samui is a beautiful island with many wonderful sights to see and things to do. I suggest you make the most of being a tourist for a short time.’ He held Travis’ gaze evenly. ‘Like any tourist destination, it is not always safe here. In my experience, Sergeant-Major Travis, it is usually the foolhardy and curious who get themselves in trouble.’ His thin smile now took on a cruel veneer. ‘Sometimes they even get hurt.’
Travis took a slow breath in through his nose, feeling the anger pushing up inside.
‘Do I make myself clear…Mr Travis?’
Travis gave a curt nod. Dang turned to go, but Travis caught his elbow. The Major turned back and they were eye to eye.
‘I get your point, Major Dang,’ Travis rasped quietly. ‘But don’t ever threaten me or my partner again.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘That would be a mistake.’
He saw Dang’s eyes flick over his shoulder at the same time as he felt a gun barrel dig into his kidney. Sergeant Mookjai’s voice sounded in his ear.
‘Take your hand off Major Dang,’ the man said coldly, ‘or I will kill you right here.’
Travis removed his hand and straightened up. The gun barrel dug harder into his back and Mookjai breathed in his ear. His breath smelled of fish. The man gave a low chuckle.
There was a blur of motion and a second later Travis was face to face with Mookjai. The Sergeant’s gun hand was bent back on itself and his Colt Commander was facing towards his own gut. Both men were trembling with the strain of their silent battle. Mookjai’s face bore a grimace of pain.
‘Say the word, shit head,’ Travis growled. ‘And I’ll drop you with your own gun.’
‘That’s enough.’ Major Dang’s tone was sharp. ‘Stand down. Both of you.’
Travis slowly released his opponent but twisted the Colt from his grasp and retained it.
Mookjai stepped back and gave him a murderous look. ‘That was a mistake.’
Travis dropped the magazine and racked the slide, popping out the chambered round. ‘Then you should have thought first,’ he said calmly. He palmed the gun and mag to Major Dang, who tucked them under his shirt unobtrusively.
Travis cocked his finger and thumb like a pistol and pointed it at Sergeant Mookjai. ‘Catch ya ‘round, hotshot.’
He turned his back and walked over to where Susie waited by the bags. She gave him quizzical.
‘A pissing contest at the Reception desk? Really?’
He gave her grumpy. ‘He started it.’
She shook her head sadly. ‘They don’t play nicely, do they?’
Travis gave her a slight smirk. ‘I think I might be off Major Dang’s Christmas card list.’
Susie sighed. ‘Everywhere you go,’ she said, grabbing her bag.
The villa they had was near one of the six pools and had a small private garden. A path led down to the stunning white sand beach. The resort had outdoor areas for dining and drinking, and some guests were already doing both. Their porter opened up the villa and placed their bags for them, took his tip and left, all with a gracious smile and a happy air.
‘People are all so relaxed and happy here,’ Susie remarked, admiring the view from the seaside window.
‘Huh.’ Travis grunted as he rummaged through his bag. ‘I can’t believe I’m getting paid to come to a place like this.’
Susie turned to speak and he held a finger to his lips. She waited while he finished with his bag and moved on to hers.
When the search was complete, he showed her several tiny electronic items on the bedspread. He had found two listening devices and four GPS tracking units. They were the latest kit but with limited range, indicating that whoever Dang had monitoring them was close by, and they had been expertly concealed in their luggage. The tracking devices had been slipped into the lining of Susie’s hand bag and their footwear, and the bugs were hidden in the outer lining of each of their suitcases.
He silently pointed them out to Susie. She raised an eyebrow in surprise.
‘Bastards,’ Travis said aloud, ‘they have taken our passports and guns.’
‘Is that what your, ahh, conversation was about?’ Susie enquired, clicking on.
‘Yeah, Dang told me they had done that and he’ll give them back when we leave. He also warned us off doing anything aside from touristy stuff, basically said if we poke around we’ll end up getting hurt.’
‘The cheeky prick!’ Susie sounded outraged. ‘Wait till that gets reported back; he’ll be on traffic patrol before the week is out.’
‘Probably with that lady-boy Mookjai swinging on his pole.’ Travis couldn’t help himself. Susie shook her head reproachfully, as if he was a naughty schoolboy, but he caught the whisper of a smile in her eyes.
‘Well,’ she said. ‘We’re a bit screwed then, aren’t we?’
‘I don’t know about you,’ Travis said, ‘but I could do with a swim.’
Chapter Twenty Two
Brad was extremely grateful for the efficiency of the embassy staff at Bangkok when he landed.
After making his way through Customs he was met on the other side by a driver holding up a sign with B. Taylor printed on it. He was a compact Asian, possibly Singaporean, with spiked hair and a hatchet face.
Brad made himself known to him and together they carried Brad’s bags outside to an air conditioned BMW. The driver spoke with a Kiwi accent and introduced himself as Joe.
‘I’ll take you to your hotel,’ he said, peeling away from the kerb to a blast of horns. Brad grabbed the armrest for support and reached for his seatbelt. ‘Someone else has delivered the diplomatic pouch for you.’ He gave Brad a knowing look.
Brad said nothing. Fortunately for him, considering the amount of gear he’d brought over, the diplomatic pouch he’d sent to Jack was anything but a pouch.
The service in the poolside restaurant was excellent and the food was outstanding.
Naked flames flickered from stands beside the pool, glinting orange and red on the rippling surface of the water. Travis and Susie watched the other diners and beyond them, the sun setting on the ocean.
Travis finished his lobster and sat back, wiping his mouth with a satisfied smile. ‘That was fantastic.’
Susie took a sip of Riesling, condensation trickling down the sides of the glass. She still had half of her own lobster to go. She saw Travis eyeing it hungrily.
‘Hands off,’ she warned.
He gave her his best innocent look. ‘I’m just concerned about the high calories in that,’ he told her. ‘I’m thinking of your health. If I can reduce that risk for you, I think it’s the right thing to do.’
She squinted at him. ‘Are you calling me fat?’
‘Whoa!’ He raised his hands defensively. ‘Hell no. I ain’t no stupid.’
‘Good,’ Susie forked another piece of perfectly cooked, soft tail flesh into her mouth. She smiled at him as she chewed. ‘Because I have been feeling a bit…out of shape lately.’
‘Are you serious?’
Travis had a vivid image in his head from earlier that day. After unpacking the diplomatic so-called-pouch, which he was pleased to see contained all the gear he had requested, they had swum in the pool and she had insisted he go ahead of her, leaving her to get changed alone in the villa. He had taken it as a hint that the sex in Bangkok had been a mistake and she was deliberately removing the intimacy of being naked in front of him. He’d been disappointed, and had brooded over it until she appeared at the poolside.
The black and white zebra striped bikini had barely held things in place and she had turned heads when she dropped her towel. Tossing her hair and pulling it back into a bun, she had stared at him from behind oversized dark glasses, saying nothing. That was okay by Travis though; he wasn’t sure he could have spoken anyway.
She had seemed to enjoy his reaction but after the swim, had again insisted on privacy while she dressed. It had been bugging Travis all afternoon. She was a seriously beautiful woman and he felt a strong attraction to her.
Susie snapped him out of his flashback.
‘I can think of one thing that’s good for working off the calories.’ Her hazel eyes twinkled mischievously in the light.
‘What? Showering alone?’ He knew he sounded petulant as soon as he said it.
‘Not quite what I was thinking.’ She gave a slight shrug. ‘But if you prefer that…’
‘Hmmm…’ Travis tried to recover from his childish response. ‘Another swim then? Or a set of press-ups?’
‘If by press-ups,’ Susie said, finishing her lobster and picking up her wine glass again, ‘you mean going back to our room and doing naked press-ups on top of me, then yes, press-ups.’
Travis cocked an eyebrow and tried to hide a grin. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m okay without dessert. Let’s go.’
He started to get up and she playfully sipped her wine.
‘I kinda fancy a coconut mousse parfait, myself.’
He leaned over her chair and put his mouth close to her ear. Her hair tickled his face as he whispered.
‘I’ll make it worth your while.’
‘Is that a promise?’ She bent her head to look at him, their noses brushing gently, their faces so close together that his eyes seemed huge.
Travis nodded slowly. ‘Oh yeah. It’s gunna be a long, slow agony.’ His lips twitched. ‘And you’ll love every second of it.’
Susie gave an involuntary shiver. ‘Big talk, soldier. I hope you can deliver.’
An hour later, Susie had to admit it was worth skipping dessert.
They had made love with a passion she had not known before, taking their time and exploring each other with a desire that made her tingle all over. They ended in a sweaty tangle on the floor near the bed, their pulses thumping and a sleepy, satisfied glow descending on them.
She rolled on top of Tra
vis, propping her chin with a fist on his chest. She could feel his heart banging in his ribcage but already dropping to a normal rate faster than her own. His eyes were half closed, a happy smile on his face.
‘Like the cat that got the cream,’ she smiled, reaching up to run a finger down his cheek.
‘I hope you’re not expecting too much from me right now,’ he replied. ‘I’m shattered.’
‘Oh.’ Susie shifted her hips against him. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Well…’
‘You don’t seem so sure…’ She continued moving, then suddenly felt his torso tense up beneath her. She looked down, still moving her hips, and saw him staring sideways at something beneath the bed.
‘Stop.’ His voice was quiet but forceful. ‘Susie, stop now.’
She froze, unsure what was wrong but recognising the urgency in his voice. ‘What is it?’
He slowly put his hands up to her arms and started to lift her. ‘Get up very slowly,’ he said quietly, his eyes still locked on the floor under the bed. ‘Keep away from the bed and stand on a chair.’
She started to raise herself up but couldn’t resist a peek under the bed. She saw something moving slowly in the near-complete darkness. It moved into a tiny sliver of light from the window shutter, slithering towards them across the wooden floor. It was a snake, silver with black shapes, and as her eyes grew accustomed to the gloom she could see it was over a metre long.
Susie’s heart leaped into her mouth and she felt her hands begin to tremble. She was terrified of snakes. She pushed herself up and in two steps was standing on a chair, feeling ridiculous. She self-consciously covered her crotch and crossed her other arm across her breasts.
She watched as Travis slowly got to his feet and moved away from the bed, moving decisively but without panic, not wanting to alarm the snake. He hit the lights and looked round for a weapon. He quickly moved to the bathroom and grabbed the small rubbish bin there, then took a broom from the wardrobe.
‘It’s coming out,’ Susie told him, watching the reptile slither out into the open. Its tongue flickered and it seemed to be coming towards her. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton wool.
