Demetria and Waldo was getting on okay. I don't mean nothing romantic mind. They was both in love with dead people. But they'd been sharing a room for forty-eight hours and you get to know someone pretty good when you're stuck in a little space together. There certainly was some electricity.
"Waldo. Do you think we should consider escaping?"
Well, of course he didn't think that. He was in cahoots with the kidnappers. The last thing he wanted was for the hostage to get away. He tried to convince her they wouldn't be in no danger as long as they didn't do nothing stupid. But she was a feisty broad who'd married into the army. She'd watched a lot of training movies.
"Demetria. Just relax, girl. Think of this as a couple of days paid vacation."
"Right. I always put myself through stress if I need to relax. I always take my vacations in rooms without windows in the middle of God knows where."
"So I guess you're used to it then, Demetria?"
See? That was another reason there hadn't been no romance. Demetria was as deep as Lake Michigan. Waldo … well, Waldo wasn't.
-o-
Sisamon, the secret service guy was going nuts. It was his first big assignment. They'd sent him to the northeast to rescue a kidnap victim. That victim was horribly murdered. His only ever idea led to him also losing a high ranking US embassy official. She would likely get chopped up like the first guy.
The story was all over the local papers. Thai journalists was crawling all over the place. And foreign war correspondents sick of being fed bullshit in Bangkok, had come up for this juicy little piece too. It was a sneaky way to write about the secret war without writing about the secret war, if you know what I mean. 'US Embassy Official Kidnapped by Thai Communists.' What could they possibly be protesting against?
Sisamon's career was on the line. He had to find Waldo's remains and Demetria before the press did. He started hanging out with 'em in the hotel bar at night, scrounging for tid bits. He got the lead he wanted from a very well known reporter whose grasp on secrets got looser the more drinks he had inside him.
"Have another bottle, Athit."
"Well, just the one more I suppose. Got to hang on to the little money they give me in Bangkok. Now, if I had a Washington Post budget, I'd have kidnapper's banging on my hotel door at three AM too."
"The Post talked to the kidnappers?"
"They sure did. But this is just between you and me young …what's your name again?"
"Kwun."
"Right. They got a world exclusive for a mere four thousand bucks. Can you believe it?"
"I didn't see that in the Post."
"Ah. They're hanging on to it. The reporter wants to skip town before it's published. He doesn't wanna be tortured by them Thai secret service pigs. You wouldn't believe what those animals do to you to get information."
"You'll have to tell me sometime - when we're alone. What makes this reporter think the kidnapper's genuine?"
"He had a note signed by the first victim, and the embassy broad's ID."
"So, what's stopping the reporter from leaving? He's got his story."
"Not all of it. He sent a bunch of questions back to the gang. He'll meet his contact for the answers tomorrow."
"Is that so?"
-o-
He went to see the Post guy for a friendly chat at 3AM. They'd have to fix the lock later. He took his press liaison officer, Mr. Kritijak with him. His job was to hold the knife at the Post guy's throat while they discussed sources. Press freedom didn't ever make it to Mukdahan.
So when one of the student kidnap guys went to meet the Post guy for a follow up, he got jumped by half a dozen military guys.