“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!”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Later that night, Jack bade good night to Oskar and Stew. He was glad they were staying two floors above him, but was still careful when he tapped on the door to Tina’s room.

She opened the door and said, “Yes?” as if she did not know him.

“Noticed you were travelling alone and wondered if you would like some company,” said Jack.

Tina stuck her head out in the hall and saw that it was empty. She smiled and let Jack in her room. “Come on in, but if I sexually harass you, it’s your fault.”

Also in the room were Randy, Willy, Jim, and Pom.

“Everyone see the arrival?” asked Jack.

“Christ, I couldn’t believe it,” said Willy. “I thought that guy lost out to you when you were hired.”

“So did I,” replied Jack, shaking his head. “He goes by the nickname of Stew Pot. He’s a really nice guy.”

“I told you I should have broken his leg,” muttered Willy. “What the hell do we do? He looked pretty chummy when he was having dinner with Oskar tonight. Seeing as he just arrived, it will look really suspicious if we tell him and he suddenly up and quits.”

“It gets worse,” said Jack. “Ben Pike was also supposed to be arriving tonight, but apparently his flight was delayed in Los Angeles due to mechanical problems. Oskar said it looks like he won’t arrive until tomorrow night now.”

“If he’s coming to do a hit,” said Randy, “who on? You or Stew Pot?”

“Or maybe the both of you together,” commented Tina.

“Anything is possible,” replied Jack. “Their plans may have been skewed a little by the flight being delayed, as well.” He looked at Pom and asked, “Is there some way you could verify Ben Pike’s flight?”

“I call office at Bangkok,” said Pom, dialling his cellphone. Pom spoke rapidly in Thai and after hanging up, he said, “No problem. I get call back soon.”

Jack nodded. “Tomorrow Oskar wants Stew and I to go into Myanmar and check out a clothing factory in a city called Tachileik.”

“Tachileik is one-hour drive from here,” said Pom.

“That’s what Oskar figured,” replied Jack. “Originally Pike was suppose to come with us. According to Oskar, it’s a rough area.”

“It is dangerous,” agreed Pom. “It is busy for gangs to deliver heroin and speed out of Myanmar. Many people there are poor and desperate.”

“Maybe that’s the real reason Oskar had planned for Pike to be there,” said Jack, “although I had a sense that having a bodyguard was to impress the people we are dealing with.”

“A matter of image,” said Willy.

“Possible, but now that we have Stew Pot to protect, I convinced Oskar that it would be okay for Stew and I to do it alone, without Pike.”

“And he agreed to it?” asked Tina.

“Yes, I think he was going to suggest it, regardless. He arranged for a representative from the company to pick Stew and I up at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. Oskar said he wasn’t going because he wanted to stay in his room with his laptop and do a bunch of paperwork.”

Jack looked at Pom. “Is there any problem with you and your team going Tachileik? Do you have contacts you can trust?”

“The contacts are maybe trust … maybe not. Better we go and if trouble, then I ask help for contacts,” replied Pom.

“I see,” said Jack, feeling uneasy. “The next day, on the twenty-second, I am supposed to check out a company in a place called Mai Sai.”

“Mai Sai is across river from Tachileik,” said Pom. “They are connected by bridge. Mae Sai has many tourists. Much shopping and is good. For why you go to Mae Sai?”

“To check out a company that exports jade jewellery,” replied Jack.

“Jade is popular in Mae Sai,” Pom said, nodding. “They bring stone from China and make jewellery. It then go to all places in world.”

“At least it sounds legit,” said Willy.

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” said Jack. “I haven’t told you about another problem. While I’m checking out the jade company, Oskar, Stew, and Pike are to fly to Kunming, China, to look at a copper-smelting company. Mr. Yu is to meet them there. Oskar, Pike, and Stew are then to return on the twenty-fourth.”

“We have everything arranged for security there,” said Tina. “You already knew that China was on the list.”

“But I didn’t know that it would be Stew Pot and not me who would be going. We need a game plan. If there is even a remote chance that we can’t protect him in China, we may have to risk telling him and getting him to quit.”

“When he just got here?” grumbled Willy. “That would blow us out of the water.”

“I do know something about the Chinese,” said Jim. “I’ve worked there before. I also spoke to our LO in Beijing. It would be normal for the Chinese to keep an eye on a businessman coming to China. Most people know that.”

“Actually Oskar mentioned that tonight. He joked that if you wanted to order some chop suey at night, speak into your pillow.”

“He may have a point,” said Jim. “What I was going to say was that they do not need an order like we do to get a wiretap. The idea of even a remote chance of a foreign businessman being murdered in their country does not sit well with them. Personally, I think security on Stew Pot would be tighter than what the U.S. president gets.”