Bob wasn't looking forward to explaining the situation to his boss. Takeshi Sato would be in the hospital for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and was effectively tying down half of the Polar Star company with him. The Northern Cross could not travel far from Bangkok, or leave for any extended period of time.
The events after the actual gunfight had been a blur. Sadeski had awoken at ten A.M., sprawled in the corner of the kitchen of the boat. Chariya and Gordon had been discussing the enemy casualties at the metal table. Bob later learned that the "Kting Voar" himself had, in fact, been killed, and the death toll was fifty-six Khmer Rouge and three policemen. About thirty of the terrorists had escaped, and the rest were in custody. The morning news was full of nationalist propaganda, and the Cambodian government had quickly condemned the attempted bombing. The three dead policemen were being made into martyrs.
"Well, well, well. Sleeping Beauty decided he's not getting any prettier sleeping against an oven." Gordon chuckled. Chariya forced a smile. Her face was drawn, pale, and tired, making a stark contrast with the lively woman who had been effectively leading the operation. She was still wearing her black mission clothes. Bob looked down and noticed that in his barely-awake state he had managed to change his own.
He took a seat at the far side of the table from the other two, bleary eyes adjusting to the world of the living- if a mercenaries' boat can be called that. "All right, Gordon. Now what?"
"Now, we're going to see Badminton." Weston chuckled.
Chariya punched him lightly in the arm. "Badinton. Not Badminton. And you call him Mr. Chao, or very bad things will happen for all of us."
"Relax, I know. I'm only joking. It's how I deal with this." Gordon turned back to Sadeski. "He's in the government."
"Chao Badinton is the head of the committee for national security. I expect he'll have much to talk with us about." Chariya stared down at a mug in front of her. Her voice matched how she looked. Her cousin's injury appeared to have taken its toll on her.
"Is Jao all right?" Bob tried to use a soft tone. Gordon gave him a sharp look, but Bob paid him no heed.
Chariya took a deep breath, trembling slightly as she did so. "He'll live. The bullet hit a bone, though- I can't explain in English. He may not be able to use his arm again." She looked up from the mug. "Your Takeshi has only a small wound. He will be fine."
"He was the fastest of us." Bob sighed in exasperation. "I guess Rene is now." He turned to Weston. "Where are Zach and Rene, anyway?"
"Zach passed out in the control room. Rene slept and then went out again. He doesn't seem to be spending much time on the boat lately. So!" Gordon turned to Chariya. "Are we leaving?"
Chariya nodded solemnly. "Yes." The mercenaries followed her out of the boat. Despite Taylor's presence in the cabin, Bob locked the boat's outside door. Stepping out into the sunlight, he noticed Anuman and the dockworker Rene had been talking to standing in a patch of shade across the dock. The two men stared back at him briefly, then walked off in opposite directions. Bob and Gordon squeezed into a black sedan waiting at the end of the dock.
The agent drove them through two makeshift checkpoints which had been set up ahead of the entrance to the central district. A handful of Red Shirt protesters could be seen outside the first checkpoint, but a much larger pro-government protest was coagulating around them, and the Red Shirts were visibly fearful. Near the government buildings, an army unit appeared to have been deployed; patrols trooped through the parking lots and between buildings.
Bob and Gordon were led to a large stone structure adjacent to the Parliament building. Apparently the Thais were more open about their use of mercenaries than the British- Daniel Morchester would not have allowed his "hired soldiers" anywhere near his public office. Morchester's Thai counterpart, however, was not all that different.
A paunchy Thai in a business suit stood behind a huge, elaborate desk in an office decorated with various cultural symbols and artifacts. In the far corner, a man-bird hybrid on a pedestal leered at the mercenaries. In another corner, a stone elephant stood on its hind legs, eternally pawing the air. The man shook their hands with a strong grip, then indicated three chairs of polished wood. When his guests were seated, Chao Badinton took his own seat in a high-backed leather chair. Bob suddenly wondered if there was a correlation between desk size and power for government officials. Was there some standard, or was it just a form of compensation? He contemplated what the Prime Minister of Russia's desk looked like.
"Well then." Chao had a booming voice which pushed Bob's thoughts of desks to the back of his mind. "I'll talk to you two in a minute." His English was nearly perfect. The chair swiveled, pointing him toward Chariya. <My condolences regarding your cousin.>
<Thank you, sir.> Chariya tried to keep her face composed, but the corner of her eye twitched sporadically. Bob could see she was exhausted.
<We're treating this as a military operation. He's going to be receiving a nice pension regardless of how well he heals.> Chao clasped his hands in front of him. <And you, personally, have performed an immeasurable service for this country. This won't be forgotten.> He winked, then turned slightly so he was facing all three. "Now. This has proven to be a windfall for us. The Red Shirt protesters have all but disappeared. For all intents and purposes, the government has just defeated a serious attack against our nation's heritage. With your substantial help. This will strengthen Thailand and buy us time to develop before the Red Shirts start complaining again. Excellent work."
"Thank you. Do you need us for anything further?" Bob had detected something in the man's voice.
Chao shifted in his chair slightly. "As a matter of fact, I do. We may have repelled the Khmer Rouge, but they'll be back. One of their leaders is dead. If you take out the other one, that village chief, we may be able to get rid of them once and for all."
"I see. Same payment deal as the rest of the job?" Gordon took over the role of negotiator.
The lawmaker smiled. "Yes, of course. I am very satisfied with your company's performance. I will remember you when I am looking for... 'help' again." He stood and extended his hand again. Once he had bid his visitors good-bye, he walked them to the door of his office, closing it behind them.
Bob waited until he was back in the car to speak. "Well, at least we won't be wasting time waiting for Takeshi."
"We're not leaving today." Chariya slowed the car as she approached a checkpoint. "We'll go tomorrow morning. I need to go with you, and I can't yet." She showed a card to the soldier guarding the checkpoint, who saluted and raised a makeshift gate.
"That's fine." Bob sighed. "I don't even know where Rene is."
Chariya dropped the mercenaries off at the boat. Rene Levancon was once again speaking to a dockworker in what sounded like Thai. He waved to Bob and Gordon as they approached. The dockworker, who Bob recognized as the second man who had been observing the boat earlier in the day, waved along with the Frenchman. He told Rene something in Thai and headed for the management building.
"Dammit, Rene." Sadeski greeted his crewman in this manner more out of habit than from actual exasperation. "Why do you disappear so much?"
"Shore leave!" Levancon grinned. "I see you've been having some fun shore leave, too. The dock guys say they see you go to their boss' office all the time. Good to see you're over my sister." He winked.
"I've been over your sister for years and you know it." Bob growled. He followed the younger man aboard the boat. When the door opened, Zachary Taylor sprang to life. He fell off his chair from the surprise of being awoken. Bob shook his head. "Dammit, Zach..."
While Rene wandered off to his room and Gordon helped Taylor up, Bob took the opportunity to slip out the door once again. He watched the room-sized glass window on the third floor all the way to the management building.
ns 15.158.61.17da2
