62

Mann was showering when his phone rang. It was Riley.

‘Alak will send some of his men to help us. They will meet us at a village a half a day’s walk from the Burmese banks.’

‘What do you mean, us?’

‘Sue and I will be coming along. People know me, they trust me. We don’t know what state the kids will be in if we find them. We may need Sue to help with any medical emergencies. She can handle it better than we can and she knows that part of the jungle very well. And I have found us a guide—an expert tracker. We will be picking you up first thing tomorrow, five a.m. We’ll wait for you on the road around the corner from the hostel.’

‘There is another person coming. His name is Gee.’

‘Gee? From Chiang Mai?’

‘You know him?’

‘Everyone knows Gee. He does nothing unless there is a profit in it. Why is he coming?’

‘He needs to get back to his village. He wants protection and he can offer us money, porters and a boat. I figured it wouldn’t hurt.’

‘Okay. So long as he understands that once we start we are committed. What goes on is dealt with on the spot. He needs to understand that.’

‘He will.’

Mann hung up and called Ng. Hong Kong was one hour ahead of Thai time.

‘We start the search tomorrow, Ng.’

‘Do you know where to go?’

‘I know where to start. That’s as good as it gets. The only help I can expect here is at ground level. I get more questions here than I get answers, and dealing with the politics is an added problem. What’s the latest?’

‘It’s not so good. It seems that the Thai government are headed for a military coup and they are making deals with the Burmese. They are handing over responsibility to Burma to find the kids. They say the Burmese will be intensifying their efforts to track down the KNLA rebels who have abducted them. Will you be able to keep in touch?’

‘I am taking my satellite phone but the battery doesn’t last forever. Don’t suppose there are many places to charge it in the jungle…Whatever happens, Ng, I’m out there till this ends. I suspect, one way or another, it will be over fast. Oh, and Ng, did you get anywhere with that other matter?’

‘I have started. Deming had stakes in several com panies that no longer exist today or have changed names. It will take time.’

‘Thanks, Ng.’ There was a knock at the door. ‘Got to go…’

‘Good luck, Genghis.’

Hillary stood at the door in a cotton sarong, very loosely tied. She had a bottle of vodka in her hand.

‘Can I help?’ asked Mann.

‘I think I might have appeared rude earlier on.’ Hillary looked very awake for someone about to go to bed.

‘Don’t worry about it. I don’t take offence easily.’ Hillary giggled as her sarong slipped down and she clutched at it half heartedly.

‘It’s just that NAP have been really supportive. They paid for us to finish our projects here and everyone is really shocked about what happened.’

‘Just tell me one thing, Hillary: did you give the five volunteers a ride into Mae Klaw that day?’

‘Yes. Riley was ill.’

‘But you didn’t bring them back later on?’

‘No, that’s the thing. We were sent home early that day. We were doing the run of all the camps in the area. We were on our way back to pick them up when we got a call to say we didn’t need to.’

‘From whom?’

Hillary looked around a little nervously. ‘Look, can I come in? I feel a bit exposed out here. We need to talk in private.’

Mann got up and checked the corridor before closing the door behind her. The young backpacker who had narrowly missed a death trip in King’s bar was grinning at him from down the corridor.

63

Mann waited until Hillary had disappeared back into her own room before he began making his pre parations to leave. He stripped to his waist and strapped his shuriken belt around his chest and another to his arm, which held his throwing spikes. The weapon holders were like a second skin to him. The largest one he owned was the Death Star, a four-pointed throwing star measuring six inches in diameter. It was custom made from steel. Each of its four blades was razor sharp and reinforced with steel rivets to give precision, balance and performance. It was not just a beautiful thing to hold but also capable of decapitating a man in one shot. He slipped it neatly into a leather pouch nestled beneath his ribs.

He picked up his bag and crept out of the door and went down the stairs. The air had the heavy weight of pre-dawn to it and there was the smell of a new day coming. The darkness was permeated only by the sound of the kitchen staff chatting as they prepared the food for the day. Mann dropped his key behind the empty reception desk, and walked silently across the stone tiles, past the caretaker asleep on a bench by the door, and out the front entrance. As he stepped out onto the pavement, a lorry rattled past on its way back from Friendship Bridge. Frightened eyes stared out at him from the back. A dog crossed the road, its sand-coloured eyes gleaming in the headlights as it stopped and turned to glare at the lorry with contempt, before sauntering to the side.

Gee was waiting for him across the road. Beside him were two large canvas bags. He was talking to someone; Mann couldn’t make out whether it was a man or a woman. As soon as Gee caught sight of him, the other person scurried off and he came across the road to Mann, lumbering under the weight of the bags.

‘What’s in there?’

‘My contribution.’

‘Couldn’t you have given something lighter?’ Mann took one from him. ‘This weighs more than you.’

‘Believe me, my friend, I have brought along the perfect present,’ he said, struggling with his remaining bag as they walked down the road together. ‘All night I have listened to the stories of a group of men who are devils, and the worst kind of Shwit—they slice through the necks of men, women and children, just to hear the sound it makes. These men are not human. They are wild animals. Now, where is our lift?’

‘Over there.’

Mann gestured with his head. They had just turned a corner in the road; ahead, a VW van winked its headlights at them. Riley was in the driver’s seat. Mann and Gee walked over, slid back the side door, and heaved their bags up onto the van floor. Run Run and Sue were sitting in the back with Louis.

‘Ah—the expert guide.’ Mann nodded at Louis.

‘I got an offer I couldn’t refuse. Anyway, I thought you might need me.’

‘Whatever your reasons, it’s good to have you on board. Everyone here know Gee?’

There were mutters in the affirmative as Gee got into the back. Mann sat in the front beside Riley. As they drove away from the hostel, Mann turned around to look at Run Run. Her hair swept across her face and knotted at the nape of her neck. She was dressed in trousers and a dark T-shirt, with a simple scarf knotted around her head. From a distance she could have passed for a pubescent boy, but up close her beautiful face with its delicate features gave her away. He knew that she was putting her place in the camp at jeopardy; if caught, she risked being kicked out of the camp and being deported back to Burma. Mann turned back to Riley.

‘How’s it going to work for Run Run? Were you able to sign her out?’

He shook his head. ‘Too risky, mate. Too many people would start asking questions. They would want to know why all three of us were going away for a few days. And, who knows, it could be longer. We discussed it but we decided we couldn’t afford to jeopardise the mission. Run Run was the one who had the final say. She knows the risks.’

But, as Mann looked at her in the gloom and the silence, he could see that her eyes were bright and shining, alight with life. She was out of the camp and she was doing what every Karen should do—fighting for the cause.