It was after dark and the crew had become restless when Chariya returned with a policeman in full uniform. The mercenaries piled into the van after briefly having to search for Rene Levancon and finding him yet again on the phone. Bob's conversation with his employer had allayed his suspicions somewhat, but nobody in the crew seemed to be talking to Levancon. Had the Frenchman discovered a way to mask his calls?
Jao was waiting in the back room of the fitness center. A map of Bangkok had been shoddily taped over the map of Thailand. The agent was bent over this map, muttering in Thai. He looked up when the door opened. "Ah, welcome. I am trying to find where the terrorists will go."
"Maybe temple." The policeman's English was particularly bad. "Damn foreign communists."
Chariya sighed. "Those guys have been out there for years, decades maybe. They're doing whatever they're doing now for a reason. Jao!" Her cousin sprang to attention. "Try to find out if anything important happened involving the Khmer Rouge or the Khmer and us around this time of the year."
"All right. I'll search." He abandoned the table and began typing at Chariya's computer.
"Rene, you're sure the old man didn't know what they're doing?" Chariya turned to the Frenchman. "Anything could help."
Levancon stretched his arms. "Nothing. He knows that 'something terrible' will happen soon and the chief, who's really the leader of the Khmer Rouge gang, is behind it."
"Maybe the government." The policeman was sweating in his uniform. Despite the clouds and the late hour, the Bangkok air was muggy as ever.
Chariya turned her attention back to the map. "Hard target for them, right in the center of the city. Easy for us to get to, though." She scratched her ear. "Are there any monuments to victories over the old Khmer kingdom in this city? I'd expect them to be up the river, but they might go after one of those."
<Maybe Wat Phra Kaew?> The policeman had switched back to his native language- English was too difficult for him to maintain. <They'd have to be crazy to actually go after it, but that's probably the best place in the entire city to do damage. The guard is fairly light- even when we have protests no Thai would desecrate it.>
The agent clapped one hand to her forehead. <There's a model of Angkor Wat, the great Khmer temple, in that complex. The whole place is a national symbol. Suphayok, I think you're right.>
"What's going on?" Zachary murmured to Rene. The Frenchman could give no reply- he had understood only two or three words.
"We think we've found the target." Chariya announced. "Jao!" She wheeled to face her scrawny cousin. "Any dates yet?"
"I think so. Today is the fifteenth of April, right?" Receiving a nod of assent from the policeman, he continued. "On April 17th, the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia. It is probably most significant day for Khmer Rouge."
"Then that's that!" The policeman beamed with pride at his use of English. "I get us backup." He excitedly bade the agents farewell in Thai, bowed to the mercenaries, and rushed out the back entrance.
Bob glanced at the map. A large temple symbol in the central district of Bangkok was what Chariya had been pointing at. The temple was no more than thirty minutes' walk from the boat. "So, are we still on the job?" He made sure to make eye contact with Chariya, putting his fearsome gaze to work- many situations of this type had taught him that a nervous employer would be more likely to keep his crew on the clock.
"Yes. We're bait." Chariya pushed Jao away from the computer and began typing.
Sadeski didn't like the expression. "Bait? How so? You don't think they'll go after it if we're out in front guarding this place, do you? They'll just hide and wait until we leave or go home. Or shoot us. We're outnumbered, in all likelihood." Bob had seen the size of the village. He estimated no less than fifty Khmer Rouge would be attacking.
"No. We hide in the complex, and shoot at them. Slows them down, makes them look for us. Lets the police get them." Jao grinned.
"Gunfights cost extra." Gordon's placid voice was tinged with displeasure. Years of mercenary work had taught him that the defender typically suffered heavy casualties in this scenario.
"We know, we know. You're getting a big pay day. We're bait too." Chariya leaned over the back of the chair. "We don't even get much extra. Anyway, you are all free until about ten P.M. tomorrow. We're going to have to hide in a temple for all of the night and possibly the next night. Call me if you need anything." She returned to typing.
Bob took that as the signal to leave. Signaling to his men, he led them out the door. The three younger mercenaries almost immediately took their leave, but Bob and Gordon began walking back to the boat. An uneasy feeling hung over both men.
Bob broke the silence after a few minutes. "I've got a bad feeling about this one, man."
"I've got a worse one." Gordon rubbed the mustache he had begun growing. "We can't handle fifty fanatics with AK-47s in an open shootout, and they probably don't want us even revealing our position. We'll be fighting on sacred ground." He chuckled. "Zeke calls me 'immortal' because I'm a geezer. Ever seen Highlander? Don't fight on sacred ground."
"That's a movie, Gordon." Bob kept his face stern, but his voice had a hint of uncertainty to it. "We just need to be smart and hope the police here are remotely competent. Maybe we won't even have to fight."
Weston laughed. "Normally, I'd say that's about as likely as Rene being a decent guy. But that actually happened. Wonder what's come over him?" He didn't notice Bob's agitation at the subject. "Anyway, my leave involves Marvin Gaye, alcohol, and no boats. See you in the morning. You should take some time off yourself, Bob."
"Heh. Maybe I will." Sadeski's thoughts were flowing into one another, attempting to sort the mission from everything else and failing miserably. "Bye, Gordon." Bob watched Gordon's dark skin fade into the night until a floating T-shirt was what constituted his right-hand man. He turned and began ambling back to the boat.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
