Stu pulled into the car park of Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. He and Spock stepped out of the Hilux, much to his relief. He had endured two hours of Spock’s wittering about the bloody sprat he had caught earlier, along with recipes he could have used to cook it. However, to top off the already shitty day Stu was having, when they arrived at the airport, Spock put on his daft hat, given to him after their Cambodian Adventure. “Lucky Adventure hat, matey. You shouldn’t leave home without one,” he said and sniggered as they walked along the walkway and into the arrivals section of the airport.
‘All we need now is the mad monk to be wearing his stupid mullet and that would round the day off,’ thought Stu as the automatic doors slid open. He groaned when he saw Pon standing at the entrance wearing his mullet.
“Thank you for coming,” said Pon sounding anxious.
Spock and Stu saw the worry on Pon’s face as Spock asked. “Have you heard any news from Kim?”
Pon sighed, shook his head, and looked concerned. “No, I have heard nothing and neither had her Father the last time we spoke. He told me had ordered road blocks put in place in case Kim had left the airport.”
Spock and Stu looked dumfounded as Pon told them. “Taksin came to help and set up a team to liaise with Vietnam and investigate. He is now coordinating search efforts with Kim’s father.”
Pon took them through the airport into the cordoned off V.I.P lounge, where a control centre had been set up. A myriad of laptop computers and uniformed officials chatted away on mobile phones, both in Thai and Vietnamese. Pon went over to Taksin.
Taksin wai-ed Spock and Stu..
“Have you heard anything yet Khun Taksin?” asked Pon sounding hopeful.
Taksin nodded and said. “We may have something Pon. Kim’s Father called me not long ago. He told me that a staff member at the Hanoi airport came forward and told him they had remembered seeing a woman fitting Kim’s description leaving the departure lounge and meeting someone outside that morning.
Pon furrowed his brow and looked surprised. “That must have been after she called me, but why would she leave the airport, and who did she meet?”
Taksin shook his head and said. “That’s what Thran is now trying to find out.” He sighed, “but with them having no CCTV at Hanoi Airport, that may prove difficult. The staff member didn’t get a good look at the man, so only gave a vague description. Although it had been a long time before the staff member came forward, Thran still felt confident of finding her. He realised she must have left the airport after doing a thorough search outside with no trace. ”
Pon puckered his brow. “I don’t understand. Who would Kim know that was important enough for her to leave the airport and miss her flight?
Taksin sighed, shrugged, and looked at his long-time friend. “I haven’t a clue Pon; hopefully Thran will find the answer to that question.”
Pon looked wistful as he racked his brains.
Taksin interrupted his thoughts. “There isn’t much you can do here Pon except worry, so why don’t you take care of Stu and Spock. If there are any developments, I will call you at the Palace.”
Pon sighed and nodded. “You’re right Khun Taksin; I will be more use at the Imperial Palace. I will see if I can find anything at home that could give us some clue about Kim’s disappearance and let you know. Please call me if you receive any more news.”
Stu drove them to the Imperial Palace and as they left the airport Pon said, “Thank you for coming to help me my brothers. Kim was insistent that she spoke to you both the last time we talked, so maybe together we can shed light on this mystery.”
“I hope so matey, this all sounds strange,” said Spock rubbing his chin and looking at Pon’s worried expression.
A few hours later, after Spock and Stu settled into their rooms in Pon’s living quarters and Pon had searched through Kim’s belongings, the three sat in Pon’s living room discussing events. Pon told them that he had found nothing to give him any clues why she had disappeared and, as they sat and pondered, the phone rang.
Pon looked at the number and sounding frantic answered. “Hello Thran, has there been any news?”
A conversation then took place in English with Pon unable to speak Vietnamese, and Kim’s father spoke no Thai.
Pon gasped, his jaw dropped, and he looked horrified as Thran said something. He looked stunned and with a quake in his voice said. “Kim has been kidnapped.”
Spock and Stu jolted back. “What?” asked Stu wide-eyed.
Pon’s head pounded and he couldn’t think straight as Thran then said something that puzzled him. He raised his eyebrows and said. “Wait a moment please Thran,” He pressed the speakerphone button so Spock and Stu could hear the conversation. “Could you repeat the last part so my English friends can listen?”
“Certainly,” said Thran, his voice trembling. “I received a phone call from a man saying that Kim had been abducted and although safe for now, the man insisted that I call off any search in Vietnam or she would be harmed.”
Thran then repeated the part of the conversation that Pon wanted Stu and Spock to hear and said. “Although the voice was synthesized, it sounded like an Englishman.” Thran paused before telling them. “It’s suspicious because I recently had dealings with an Englishman who came to my house before my wife Nga got sick.”
Pon furrowed his brow and stammered. “What does he want?”
“He didn’t say, only that he would contact me again tomorrow unless he saw any police searching or suspected that they were investigating. In that case, I would have to accept the consequences.” Thran then sounded frustrated as he said. “I called off the search because I didn’t know where he was and couldn’t risk him seeing my forces.”
“That was a wise decision Thran,” said Pon. “Did you manage to trace the call?”
“No, it was made from a state of the art scrambled satellite phone, which we have never come across before. My security team are checking with the US military to see if it is something that they developed. I will also have the Vietnamese government undercover security forces investigate.”
“Is that wise?” asked Pon, sounding concerned.
“Don’t worry Pon; they are the best and very discreet. They will inform me of every step before they take it.” Thran then sounded enraged. “She is my only daughter. They will pay for this with their lives.”
Pon looked concerned and reminded him. “She is also my wife and Samnan’s mother.”
There was a pause before Thran said softly, “I know Pon, sorry Son. I am a little edgy and angry. Good night, I will call you when they contact me again. Please give my grandson a hug.”
Thran hung up and looked at his phone. He understood Pons concerns but there were two men he trusted implicitly; one was his brother Lee and the other was his and Lees old army colleague, Brigadier Nhat, and the three had saved each other’s life many times. Thran knew his friend was a skilled tactician, an excellent Battalion Commander, and discreet. He knew this would probably be his last chance to ask for help so he made the phone calls.
Pon, Spock, and Stu sat looking at one another. “I wonder who this Englishman is?” said Pon and shrugged. He looked at the bemused faces of Spock and Stu. “You two are the only English people we know, my brothers.”
Stu rubbed the side of his face. “Perhaps that’s why Kim needed to speak with us.”
Pon and Spock nodded and Pon sighed. With many thoughts and emotions running through his head he felt a menace in the air, which he couldn’t understand. But for now, all they could do was wait. The situation felt grim, leaving Pon feeling helpless.
Spock, seeing the anguish on Pon’s face, leaned over to him, put his large arm around his shoulder, and said, “I caught a whopper of a fish today, matey.”
****
Dao and Moo chatted after the lads departed, wondering what could have happened to Kim. She was like a sister to them, so they felt concerned.
Stu had called Dao earlier and told her that they had arrived at the airport and that he would call them later when he had more news.
The girls had heard nothing for a few hours and watched TV.
Moo and her smelly feet stayed in Dao’s spare room in case they received any news.
As they watched the end of a Thai soap opera, Dao’s mobile phone rang. She looked at the caller’s number and then looked nervously at Moo, who glared back at her before she answered the call.
“Oh, err, Hello, John.”
Dao looked guilty, as she covered the phone with her hand and mumbled, hoping Moo couldn’t hear her conversation.
Moo couldn’t, except for the end part when she heard her say. “No problem. I will see you tomorrow. Call me when you get here.”
Dao hung up and looked sheepish as Moo glared at her.
“Come on,” said Dao, trying to justify her action. “We are Thai girls, and we did it when we were working girls. I love Stu, so I will finish with John this time, I promise.”
Moo scowled at Dao and firmly reminded her. “We are now wives, and if Stu ever found out that you’d betrayed him, you would suffer. You have been lucky so far, but if you spoil things for Spock and me, our friendship will be over. Do you understand, Dao?”
Dao nodded and although feeling chastised, she spent the next few minutes persuading Moo that it was over and she would tell John when she saw him the following day. Moo knew she was lying.
****
After Spock and Stu’s first visit to Thailand many years earlier, Dao and Moo returned to Pattaya after seeing the lads off at Bangkok International Airport, and went back to work in the Happy World Bar.
Over the next few weeks, Moo went with a few foreign men for short time sex to support her family. Dao stayed in the bar with the other girls learning English and waiting for Stu. However, the Mamasan, the bar owner Charlie’s wife, told Dao that Stu would not come back. She said they rarely did, and insisted that Dao went with other foreigner men to make money to support the bar and her family.
“Besides,” she told her, “Stu wasn’t sending you any money, so he couldn’t have cared that much.”
Although Mamasan tried to convince her otherwise, Dao felt certain that Stu would return. However, to keep Mamasan and Charlie happy, she acted more outgoing and stayed close to Moo to learn the tricks.
She’d had men spend the evening chatting to her and buying her drinks, but when they offered to pay her bar fine, she always said that she had, ‘Men,’ a period. Mamasan and Charlie didn’t mind as the men bought her lots of drinks and came back over the next few nights to see her and buy more drinks. However, they soon got fed up waiting for her and found new ladies, so there was never any problem.
Stu had called her several times from England and said that he would get back there as soon as possible. Dao felt happy when he called, as she could hear from the tone of his voice how much he missed her, and although at times she felt lonely, she couldn’t wait to be with him again.
Several weeks later, two foreign men came into the bar. One was a quiet unassuming, middle-aged man, the other, a brash gobshite, who went straight over to Dao and Moo who were sitting behind the bar.
Moo shrilled. “Hello, sexy men. What would you like to drink?”
The brash man smiled and looking smug said. “You’re nice. If I buy you a Bacardi Breezer, will you ride me like Sea Biscuit?”
He then burst out roaring with laughter at his own wit, knowing that the Thai girls would not understand.
Dao went to the fridge, took out two Pai Yen cold towels, and went to the other side of the bar. Moo took the men two beers and two Bacardi Breezers for her and Dao.
Moo wiped a cold towel over the brash gits face and neck and he introduced himself as Taff from Wales, and he said his shy friend was called John, also from Wales. Taff said that he had been to Pattaya many times, but it was John’s first time and told the girls they were staying for a week.
John looked shy and blushed when Dao wiped the cold towel over his sunburnt shoulders. “Ahh, that feels good,” said John who smiled at her. “You are very pretty, what’s your name?”
Taff and John stayed in the bar for a few hours talking to the girls and then Taff went to speak to Charlie and handed him 400 Thai Baht. Dao and Moo looked puzzled when they saw Charlie smiling as he handed the money to his wife.
“Right,” said Taff coming back over to the three. “Get your bags girls, I’ve paid your bar fines.” Moo chuckled and went to get her hooker bag, with essentials; a change of clothes, condoms, toothpaste etc.
Taff looked at Dao and said. “And don’t give me any bullshit about having ‘Men.’ I know that old scam.”
Dao felt uneasy and looked at Mamasan who scowled at her and nodded. She sighed and wondered what to do. John looked at her and smiled. Seeing Dao trembling and looking nervous, he leant forward and whispered in her ear. “It’s okay, we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”
Dao felt tense around John at first as she did not want to be with him. It was only because of the pressure exerted by Moo and Mamasan reminding her that this was her job, and for the first two nights, they only slept together.
She relaxed after a few days of fun with the Welsh men. She now enjoyed being with John, who was a patient man and helped her with her English language. The men paid a thousand Baht a day to the girls, plus the 200 Baht bar fine. They drank in the Happy World Bar every night, so everyone was pleased. Dao never felt the same excitement or affection for John as she did with Stu, but she needed the money.
Taff and John went home a week later. Dao and Moo returned to the bar to work. John told Dao that he would stay in contact. Taff told Moo that he wouldn’t be seeing her again because she was too wild, which suited Moo as she liked the non-committal short timers and liked Spock.
However, the thunderbolt had struck John who was besotted with Dao.
Stu and Spock returned to Pattaya several weeks after the Welsh lads had gone home and rekindled their romances with the girls over the next fortnight.
Over the next few years, Stu and Spock made frequent visits to Pattaya, as did John, although usually at different times.
If Stu and John came out at the same time, Dao would stay with Stu, but sneak out to see John, lying to him about her baby being sick and having to go home to her village.
She occasionally told the same story to Stu if John booked an excursion away from Pattaya.
John kept to his word and called Dao frequently. He sent her 20,000 Baht a month along with gifts from England and told her several times he wanted to marry her, but she always made excuses why she could not marry him yet.
This arrangement suited Dao for a while until things got serious with Stu and she stopped all contact with John.
Dao didn’t tell John she was marrying Stu. She knew how he felt about her and didn’t want to hurt him. Besides, Stu had been her first long-time foreign boyfriend and the only man she loved.
Now happily married, Dao had forgotten about John. That was until a few months ago
Dao and Moo were setting up their shop on Threpasit market when Dao heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Hello Dao.”
She turned around and saw John smiling at her.
Dao, feeling embarrassed, blushed, smiled, and said, “Oh, err, hello John. How are you?”
John gazed at her and replied. “I’m fine, somebody in Pattaya told me you worked here, so I had to come and find out if it was true.” He then smiled. “It’s been a long time; how have you been?”
Moo looked at Dao as she stammered and told John how sorry she felt about losing contact and having to change her phone number. She told him she was happy and doing well with her business, but never mentioned that she was married, and although John noticed her wedding ring, he didn’t mention it.
John told her how he had spent the last few years trying to trace her and said he’d thought about her all the time. He told her that he still loved her and felt happy now he had seen her again.
Moo had known about John for many years, but could say nothing to Spock, as this was the Thai bar girl edict. Besides, it was at her and Mamasan’s insistence that Dao went with John in the first place.
Dao and John chatted for several minutes, and then John asked. “Can I see you later?”
Dao saw the hopeful look in John’s eyes, so she agreed to meet him. She knew that Stu and Spock would be out until late, and she and Moo usually closed the shop around 10:00 pm and then went home, so she agreed to meet John at 8:00 pm.
Moo felt angry, because not only did it mean her packing the shop stock away alone, but she would have to make excuses if Dao didn’t get home before Spock and Stu.
John left the market with a spring in his step and Moo looked at Dao and said. “Why didn’t you tell him you are married?”
Dao shook her head, sighed, and said. “I was surprised to see him. I thought he would have found a new lady and had forgotten about me by now. But I will tell him tonight.”
“Well, you had better tell him,” said Moo, puckering her brow.
“Yes, I will,” said Dao frowning.
That evening, Dao met John in The Green Onion, a small restaurant on Second Road. She knew it would be a safe meeting place. It was where she and John had eaten together many times before, and a place Stu never went.
Dao told John about now being married to Stu. She thought he would be angry with her as he had sent her a lot of money over the years.
Instead, he looked forlorn and told her that he knew because he had seen her wedding ring, but he didn’t care. He told her that he still loved her and wanted to be with her and take care of her no matter what.
Dao felt guilty and tears welled up in her eyes.
Dao wasn’t westernised as quickly as Moo and she was gullible. To have two or more boyfriends was normal. Mamasan had told her that until a commitment was made by the Ferang, foreigner, she should have as many men as possible sending her money. Dao knew Mamasan was right after speaking with other long time bar girls who’d had many men sending money, with several being engaged two or three times.
Moo only went short times for business, and once she’d committed to Spock, that stopped.
Dao however, had only been with two; she loved one and was fond of the other.
Dao became confused. Although Stu was now her husband, and she loved him, she was flattered that John still wanted her.
They finished eating, and John, not wanting to lose her again, and not wanting the night to end asked. “Will you come to my room so we can talk more?”
Dao felt sorry for John when he’d told her he slept alone every time he came to Pattaya. He assured her that he would never take another girl now he had found her again.
Dao looked into his sad pleading eyes and nodded. “Okay John, but only for an hour, I have to go home.” They left the restaurant and went to John’s hotel room.
Over the next few months, unbeknownst to Stu, Dao had liaisons with John when he came to Pattaya on a two-week holiday. She did not know how to say no to John, and realising that she had broken his heart before, felt guilty.
Dao spent the odd day and occasionally a few hours at night with John, which John felt happy about, knowing Dao would never leave Stu as she constantly spoke about him. This wasn’t a problem in Dao’s mind because it was only sex and she pitied John. She felt madly in love with Stu, her husband.
Moo, knowing about the affair tried to talk Dao into ending it with John many times. She told her that Westerners didn’t accept infidelity as easy as Thais and Dao told her every time John came to Thailand that she would end it, but she didn’t.
****
Pon and Stu stayed awake all night talking. Pon felt worried and restless, and Stu couldn’t sleep through Spock’s snoring in an armchair.
The telephone rang at 6:30 am, which woke Spock.
Pon put the call on speakerphone so they could all hear.
“Good morning,” said Thran, sounding frantic. “I just received another call from the kidnapper. Again, the voice was synthesised but it was the same man. The conversation was brief, with instructions for you, Pon.”
Pon looked bewildered as Thran told them.
“On Kim’s flight there should be two unclaimed pieces of luggage; Kim’s, and one other. A green holdall with North Territory decals belonging to Mr Lang Duc. He said that you would find further instructions in there.” Thran sighed. “That was all he said.”
“Okay, thanks Thran,” said Pon, “I will tell Taksin and call you when we find the bag and check the contents. Hopefully, we can then figure out a plan.”
“I hope so, son,” said Thran and hung up.
Pon called Taksin who contacted his team at the airport and told them to retrieve the luggage and try to find the whereabouts of a Vietnamese man called Mr Lang Duc.
Pon, Stu, and Spock arrived at the airport an hour later and were met by Taksin, who hustled them through to the operations centre in the VIP lounge. An empty holdall with old clothes piled up next to it and a large envelope addressed to Prime Master, Pon Meesilli, lay on a desk.
Taksin picked up the envelope, handed it to Pon, and told them. “That was on top of that pile of clothes in the bag.”
“What about Lang Duc?” asked Pon.
Taksin picked up the flight manifest laid on the table, showed it to Pon and said. “Lang Duc was booked on Kim’s flight. He checked in at Hanoi airport, but never boarded.”
Pon looked at the manifest. He remembered the woman at Hanoi airport telling him about another person not boarding but had paid little attention because he was worried about Kim.
Taksin furrowed his brow, looked at Pon, and said. “This has been carefully planned Pon. I called Thran and told him and he said he will check on their database, but he assumed that Mr Lang Duc would be a phoney name and he’d used a forged passport when he checked in. ”
Pon’s hands trembled as he ripped open the sealed envelope, took out a sheet of A4 typed paper, and read it. He looked bemused and then took out the rest of the contents, which were several aged photographs, newspaper clippings and a DVD disc.
Pon then read the letter aloud and held up the DVD. “If you want to see Kim Meesilli / Hern Tangh alive, follow the instructions on the DVD. What we want, along with the three people involved, are marked on the information.”
Pon and Taksin had seen the clippings and one photocopied picture before, they had been used for an investigation that they had closed many years ago. When they saw the other picture they looked at Stu and Spock, and Pon showed them.
Spock and Stu looked at the newspaper clippings, and although they couldn’t understand the Thai writing, they saw the picture of Pon stood outside the Temple of the Sacred light, with his head circled with red marker pen.
They then looked at the other photocopied image of an old photograph and gasped. “That’s us years ago at the Siam Sawasdee Hotel,” said Spock as he saw the picture of them and Pon leaving the hotel, with all their heads circled in red marker pen.
Spock looked closer and spluttered, “but how? Who could have taken that? it must have been ages ago because we haven’t stayed at the Siam Sawasdee for years, and look, I am wearing my old Adventure Hat ”
The four looked baffled at one another and then Pon handed Stu an enlarged photograph, and said, “They want this in exchange for Kim.”
Stu and Spock looked at the picture and then frowned.
They looked up at Pon and Taksin who now spoke to one another in Thai.
Taksin then ordered a DVD player brought in and Stu whispered to Spock. “That fucking box will be the death of us.”
Spock smiled, raised his eyebrows up and down, and said. “Another adventure matey; maybe we’ll catch some fish.”
Stu groaned as Taksin’s staff brought in a DVD player and TV and set them up.
Pon placed the disc into the slot and pressed play. There was silence in the room as the disc loaded, and then a digitally distorted face appeared on the screen.