Текст книги "Jack Taggart Mysteries 7 - Book Bundle"

Автор книги: Don Easton

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Текущая страница: 132 (всего у книги 141 страниц)

“Good enough,” said Rose.

“The next operator I would like would be Tina Chan from Vancouver Drug Section.”

“The Asian Heat,” Laura said with a smile.

“That’s her. We haven’t really worked on any UCs together, but I know she has a good sense of humour, which is critical to keeping the stress level down. More importantly, her Chineese heritage will allow her to fit in better over there.”

“Sounds like a good choice,” replied Rose. “Tech support?”

“As far as the bug planter goes, the best I know in the business is a guy by the name of Jim Purney.”

“How well do you know him?” asked Rose. “Have you actually seen him work in the field? The countries you’re going to be working in will be a lot more stressful and likely more technically challenging than hooking up a simple wiretap around here.”

How well do I know him? Jack smiled. Jim and his wife, Cathy, are also a couple of our closest friends … but he really is the best at what he does.

“I’m waiting,” prodded Rose. “Do you actually know how good this guy is or not?”

Jack decided not to mention the friendship. “I’ve watched him work before and the guy is amazing. I think he could plant a bug up your nose when you’re sleeping without even waking you up. He’s quiet by nature and has an analytical mind, yet he is also a big guy and one you could count on if things got rough.”

“Sounds like another good choice then,” said Rose. “If these people are available, I’ll do my best.”

“Thank you,” replied Jack.

“What about China and Myanmar?” asked Rose. “Will the police in those countries co-operate?”

“Actually, come to think of it, Jim Purney once told me he did some work in China before. He said it was good.”

“And Myanmar?” asked Rose. “I’m sure corruption there is a big issue. They’re a poor country.”

“I’ll contact the Australian or British Embassies to see what help or advice they can give. In the Golden Triangle region, I suspect we will rely on the Thai police. I’m sure they will have contacts in Myanmar. I’m told you could hit a golf ball across the river between the two countries at that point.”

“This whole scenario really gives me the creeps,” said Rose. “Just because we don’t have a wiretap, it doesn’t prohibit you from wearing a wire. I want one on you at all times.”

Jack tried to mollify Rose’s worry and said, “I won’t risk entering a situation if I don’t feel it is safe.”

“Like hell you wouldn’t,” said Rose, “so don’t try and pacify me with that bullshit. I’ve spent too many sleepless nights worrying about you during other investigations to know that isn’t true.” She turned to Laura and added, “And you, too, for that matter.”

“Sorry, Mom,” replied Jack.

Rose glared at Jack. “Did you hear me about wearing a wire? I mean it! If I am going to support this operation, you bloody well better be wearing one!”

Jack was going to protest and say half the time the wires broke down when they were most needed, or tell her about the number of times he had been searched or patted down, but decided against it.

“Are you listening to me?” demanded Rose.

“I’m listening,” said Jack quietly. “I will take every safety precaution I can.”

“I’ve heard that before,” said Rose sarcastically.

“I mean it,” said Jack earnestly. “Things have changed for me a lot on the home front. There is no way I want my wife to be a widow or my sons to be without a father.”

Rose grimaced at the thought.

“But as far as doing the UC, do we really have a choice?”

Rose felt the stress bring tears to her eyes and she clenched her jaw to control her emotions … then nodded in agreement.

Chapter Twenty-five

Over the next week, Jack received assistance from the Australian Embassy in Myanmar. They checked out the rice-exporting company and the names that Jack had been given by Oskar.

They reported that the company appeared to be legitimate. The Australians also recommended a hotel for Jack to use that was deemed appropriate for his entertaining needs. More importantly, they said they would also assist with looking after his personal security.

Jack then contacted the rice exporters in Myanmar. They were pleased that he wished to meet them and treat them and their wives to a dinner. It was agreed that everyone would meet at the Chatrium Hotel in Yangon on the evening of June 18.

The RCMP Liaison Officer stationed in Bangkok was also notified. Although the LO was unavailable to assist personally, he did arrange for a four-person Thai police security team to assist Jack in the Golden Triangle. Coupled with the four-person team from Canada, it was thought to be enough. Another RCMP LO in Beijing would also arrange security for Jack, should he be required to enter China.

On June 14, one day before Jack and the team were to depart, Rose called him into her office. When he was comfortable, she glared across the table at him and asked, “Did you ever happen to check Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s website about travelling to certain parts of Myanmar?”

“I did. I noticed that they don’t particularly recommend some areas.”

“Don’t recommend?” said Rose, sarcastically. “Their recommendation is to avoid all travel in certain areas. Let me read it to you,” she said, turning her attention to a page she had printed out.

It advises against all travel to areas along the border with Thailand, China, and Laos due to clashes between the military and armed groups, ethnic conflict, banditry, and unmarked landmines in these areas which pose risks to the security of travellers. Sporadic fighting between military forces and non-state armed groups is occurring in Kachin, Shan, and Karen states bordering China and Thailand. Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced internally and to neighbouring countries.

Rose looked up at Jack. “And tell me, what state borders the Golden Triangle?”

“Shan State, but you already knew that.”

“I wanted to make sure you knew,” replied Rose, briefly closing her eyes while she massaged her temples with her fingertips.

“I’ll be careful,” Jack assured her. “I’ll wear a wire and have backup. Oskar thinks I have asthma and am not athletic. Between me and the calvary I have for protection, if someone tries to stage an accident with me, they are in for a big surprise.”

“I don’t like it,” said Rose. “I’m tempted to cancel the whole deal.”

“So Oskar, or whoever pulls his strings, can send some other poor sap into a place like that? Someone who has no protection?”

Rose stared hard at Jack, but didn’t speak. A moment later he got up and returned to his office.

On the night of June 15, Jack checked in at the Vancouver International Airport for a red-eye flight to Bangkok. Travelling on the same plane with him was his cover team, comprized of Randy Hundt, Willy Mineault, and Tina Chan. The electronics specialist, Jim Purney, was also on board and would be part of the cover team when the situation called for it.

After an eighteen-hour flight, including a short stopover to change planes in Hong Kong, they landed in Bangkok and took a cab to the Miracle Hotel, which was located near the airport.

With the time difference, it was noon on June 17 in Bangkok when they checked into their rooms. Jack made a quick trip to a corner store and then returned to Randy’s room where everyone met to go over the plan again.

It had been decided that Jim, who was conscious of the electronic eavesdropping equipment he was carrying, would not enter Myanmar. Jim had previously received permission to have the equipment in Thailand and China, but had not sought permission for Myanmar out of fear of corrupting the integrity of the investigation.

It was not known what potentially corrupt contacts Oskar had in Myanmar, or if not him, then that of his taskmaster. Instead it was planned that on the following day Jim and Willy would fly to Chiang Rai in Thailand. Once there, they would rent a car to drive up to the Golden Triangle. This would give them a chance to check out the area prior to Jack’s arrival. Meanwhile, Randy and Tina would go to Myanmar on the same flight as Jack.

“Everyone clear?” asked Jack.

“An all-expense-paid holiday to Myanmar? What more could we ask for?” said Tina.

“Another shot of that,” said Willy, gesturing to the bottle of Thai Sangsom rum that Jack had brought to the meeting.

“You prefer that over my martinis?” said Jack, trying to sound hurt as he passed the bottle.

“Hey, you know I’m only learning to acquire a taste for this awful liquid so I’ll blend in like the locals.” Willy grinned. “Above and beyond the call of duty, actually.”

“Willy, I appreciate your dedication,” said Randy. “Remind me to recommend you for commendation when we get back to Canada.”

“Think I can claim the rum as a necessary expense when I get back?” asked Jack.

“I don’t know,” replied Randy. “They’re still looking at me sideways for approving that jar of olives you once claimed.”

“Seems to me, you had a few of those yourself,” replied Jack.

“Marinated, I presume?” said Tina.

“Oh yeah,” replied Randy, Willy, and Jack in unison.

Tina looked at Jim and he said, “Don’t look at me. I know all about Jack’s olive soup.” He took a swig from a can of Singha beer that he had scrounged from the minibar and said, “This is plenty potent enough for me.”

“So, Willy,” said Randy, “I brought a deck of cards with me. Anyone up for a little game of one-armed anaconda?”

“What the heck is that?” asked Tina.

Jack chuckled. “Randy tends to invent his own poker games. I don’t recommend you play.”

“Yeah,” grumbled Willy. “Like if it’s Thursday, then the four of clubs is wild, otherwise it is something else.”

“Like the guy with the axe,” said Jack. “Which translates to certain face cards.”

“Just thought I would try to give you a chance to get your money back,” replied Randy, sounding offended.

“No, thanks,” chimed Jack and Willy.

One hour later, when the bottle was empty, they all went to their rooms and slept.

It was ten o’clock in the morning on June 18 when the Bangkok Airways flight touched down on the runway in Yangon, Myanmar. As Jack waited to retrieve his luggage, he received a text message from Natasha. She wished him a happy birthday and sent him Mike and Steve’s love. He had forgotten that it was his birthday and felt a twinge of sadness that he wasn’t home to share it with those he loved.

He had previously given Natasha permission to contact him up until noon of that day. After that, contact by anyone would only be made in emergency situations. Jack smiled and reread the message before deleting it.

Minutes later, Laura also sent him a short text: H.B. Wish I could give you a present by telling you I double-tapped our friend, but no reason to … yet.

Jack might normally have sent back a humorous response, but Virgil was too evil and too dangerous to joke about. Besides … Laura isn’t joking …

Two hours later, Jack checked into the Chatrium Hotel and promptly received a knock on an adjoining door to his room. He answered and a young man stuck out his hand and said, “G’day, mate. ’Ow ya goin’?”

Jack saw that Randy and Tina were already in the room with his Australian contacts.

After the introductions were made, Randy held up a transmitter for Jack to wear and said, “This is a present for you from Jim Purney.”

“Forget it,” replied Jack, brushing Randy’s arm aside. “I’m going to be in a restaurant all night. If you see someone trying to stab me with a desert fork, shoot ’em.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought you would say,” replied Randy, putting the transmitter down. “I didn’t think you would use it here, either, but wanted to give you the option. In the future, I’ll leave it up to your discretion. You’re best to know when you need it, or when you might be patted down.”

As it turned out, security was not needed. Jack’s dinner went as planned and he met his guests in a high-end restaurant in the hotel called The Emporia.

There were thirteen dinner guests. Six were couples and the one on her own was a beautiful young woman who was elegantly dressed. She introduced herself to Jack as Chit and sat beside him.

Everyone was friendly and most spoke a little English. Chit was too friendly, thought Jack, when she explained to him that in Myanmar her name meant love.

“Interesting,” said Jack.

“Yes,” said Chit, smiling, while reaching her hand under the table and patting his leg.

Jack realized she had been brought along for his pleasure and was glad he wasn’t wearing a wire. Chit used every opportunity she could think of to affectionately hug or pat him on his back or thigh during the course of the evening.

As the evening drew to a close, Jack received assurances from the exporters that they would welcome foreign capital in their company. Jack was assured that he would be the first to know once the opportunity presented itself.

The only look of disappointment was on Chit’s face when Jack turned down her suggestion that she should stay and have a drink with him after the rest had gone.

When he got back to his room he sent a text message to Oskar, saying all had gone well. He received a text back: Good. Meet you at the Imperial Golden Triangle around suppertime on the 20th.

The next day, Jack arrived back in Bangkok during the noon hour. Randy and Tina both scrambled to get their luggage and board a Thai Airways flight to Chiang Rai, departing at one-forty in the afternoon.

Randy and Tina would each rent cars in Chiang Rai to make the one-hour drive to the resort. They wanted it to appear like they were not together for surveillance duties later on.

Jack knew he was safe in the airport and was booked on a flight leaving Bangkok at suppertime. He had made arrangements with the hotel to pick him up at the airport in Chiang Rai.

Jack had previously been given the option by Oskar to stay in Bangkok overnight, as he was not required up at the Golden Triangle until the day after. Jack, however, wanted to get a layout of the hotel in the Golden Triangle, as well as whatever sites were around it. One such site, he figured, might be where someone planned to murder him.

All went as planned and Jack arrived in Chiang Rai on schedule. He was met in front of the airport by a man standing beside a silver van with IMPERIAL GOLDEN TRIANGLE RESORT emblazoned on the door.

The driver was friendly and was not the type to look around as he met Jack and loaded his luggage into the van.

This was something Jack was relieved about, because he noticed two men gesture to two other men parked on motor scooters, before getting into a nearby car. Jack periodically caught sight of the scooters and the car on their way to the resort.

The Thai police are on the job …

Jack checked into the hotel an hour later. It was located near the end of the main road which ran alongside a river in a small town called Chiang Saen. The hotel was beautiful with a huge lobby and was directly across the road from where the two rivers intersected to form the famed Golden Triangle.

An open walkway leading to the rooms ran along the back of the hotel. As Jack approached his room on the third level, a voice called out and said, “Excuse me, buddy, do you speak English?”

Jack looked past an open door to a room and saw Willy, with Jim in the background.

“I do speak English,” replied Jack. “What can I do for you?”

“Do you know where I could buy some olives?” Willy grinned as Jack approached.

“I’m not sure, I’ve just arrived,” said Jack. “But if you have the gin and vermouth, I’ll be sure to find some.”

“The hotel is practically deserted,” whispered Willy. “There is hardly anybody around except for hotel staff. The five of us and four Thai policemen make up most of guests.”

“So we stand out.” Jack frowned.

“I think it will be okay. It’s quiet at the moment, but it has been busy off and on.”

“Let me drop my bag off in my room and I’ll be right back.”

When Jack returned, Jim said, “Yesterday this place was packed with tourists, but they left on a couple of buses this morning.”

“Thai tourists?” asked Jack.

“No, mostly European and Chinese. Enough that we don’t stand out.”

“Good.”

“The Thai police followed you tonight from the airport,” said Willy.

“I know,” replied Jack. “They were a little obvious. Fortunately my driver wasn’t paying much attention.”

“I’ll speak to them,” said Willy. “They are eager and seem anxious to please. This is my room. Tina has the room next door. Randy and Jim are up on the fourth level and our four Thai friends are in two rooms on the fifth floor.”

“What’s the area like around the hotel?”

“Small town with lots of tourist shops,” said Willy. “Stretches down the road for about ten blocks. A bunch of massage parlours line one side of the street. You can walk across the road out front and get a boat across the river to Laos. There is a big casino there. You can see it easily from this side of the river.”

“Gambling isn’t my thing,” said Jack. “Anything else?”

“You can also go across the river to Myanmar. Other than that, there is not a lot to see. There is a big golden Buddha down the street that a few tourist buses pull up to once in a while. Most people stop for an hour or so and leave, except for the ones who decide to overnight.”

“Many other hotels around?”

“Not as nice as this,” said Willy. “The town itself is a little grungy farther on down. A guy might want to keep his wits together if he is out there drinking. Last night Jim and I went out and ate at a small place beside the river. I’m sure the owner was an ex-hooker. Friendly, but you could tell she had been around the block a few times.”

“I bet this was quite the place in its day, when boatloads of heroin were going through,” said Jim.

“That hasn’t entirely stopped, from what I know,” said Jack.

“The U.S. doesn’t think so, either,” said Jim. “There are benches all over town donated by the DEA, along with posters offering rewards for smugglers. It’s a bit like the Wild West out there.”

“Yeah, Asian-style,” said Jack. “So where’s the Sangsom?”

“Upstairs in Randy’s room,” Jim said, grinning, “if the rest of the team hasn’t finished it off. If you don’t feel like rum, I also have beer.”

“You guys go and I’ll sneak up in a few minutes. I received a text from Oskar confirming that he is arriving tomorrow, so everybody keep their distance then. If we need an emergency meeting, I’ll slip into Tina’s room.”

“At least you’re only on the third floor,” noted Willy. “Not high enough to get killed if you go over the balcony.”

“It’s being killed before I go over the balcony that concerns me,” replied Jack.

Later that night in Randy’s room, Jack was introduced to a Thai policeman by the name of Pom. Jack recognized him from being at the airport when he arrived. Pom looked to be about thirty years old and was physically fit. He was from Bangkok and was in charge of the team of Thai policemen that had accompanied him.

“You were the passenger in the car that followed me from the airport in Chiang Rai,” noted Jack.

“You know me from airport?” said Pom, in surprise.

Jack nodded.

Pom looked embarrassed. “Sorry if I watch too closely. Next time I more careful.”

“It takes practice. Some of the criminals we work on spend a lot of time looking to see if they are being followed.”

“And you remember me, so …” Pom smiled, “maybe we all not look same after all.”

Jack smiled back. He was glad that Pom had a sense of humour. He sensed that everyone would work well together.

The following day was uneventful for Jack as he did a little exploring on his own. There was a Thai temple on a hill near the hotel, along with dozens of tourist shops. He bought a silk scarf for Natasha and wooden hollow frogs for each of the boys. The frogs came with a stick held in their mouths. If you pulled the stick out and stroked it across bumps on the frogs’ backs, they would make a sound like they were croaking.

Randy sidled up to him after he paid for the items and whispered, “You cheap bastard, is that all you bought for Natasha? A scarf?”

“What did you get Donna?”

“A gold pendant of an elephant.”

“You asshole. I’m not making sergeant’s wages. I’m going to tell the girls that your conscience must be troubling you.”

Randy chuckled and moved away.

Jack continued to explore the town. He decided that Willy was right on his assessment that parts of the town were grungy and falling into disrepair. Across the street from the hotel, near the river’s edge, was an abandoned building that Jack figured had been a posh restaurant in its day. Now it was a decaying structure with an open wooden patio on the ground floor.

Jack went in and saw that the patio was built over a cliff. The rear of the patio was on stilts, three stories above the riverbank. He imagined that it would have been a popular location at one time for heroin dealers to sit and enjoy a cold beer while watching the boats arrive from Myanmar and Laos.

He was glad to see other tourists roaming around and obliged a few by taking their pictures overlooking the famed rivers. Most were European, but spoke good English. Jack smiled when he saw his cover team following nearby and snapping pictures like carefree tourists themselves.

That evening, Jack was in the hotel restaurant having dinner when Oskar arrived and walked over to join him.

As Jack stood up to greet him, another voice called out, “Hey, Jack! How you doing?”

Jack’s body tensed and his brain felt numb. “Stew Pot! What are you doing here?”

“Oskar hired me, too,” said Stew. “Isn’t this great!”