Redback (31 page)

'What? Oh, sorry.' Jana let go of Gideon's arm. She went back to scanning the crowd. 'The guy
with Alan is not the redhead I saw with Mila Ifran. But I did just see - there,' she pointed. 'The
guy in the front of that
songthaew
is him. I'm sure of it.'

Gideon followed the invisible line from Jana's finger to the taxi-truck that had pulled into the
traffic about 20 metres down from the Kalipot Bar, and was now pulling back into the kerb in front
of it. Jana's redhead got out of the front seat, and two unusually large Thai guys alighted from the
back. All three looked shifty, in a cool, collected planned-assault kind of way.

'Uh-oh,' Gideon said, and pinched her ear. 'Are you boys seeing what I'm seeing?'

'Oh yeah, does not look good,'
Coop replied, in her head.

'I'm on it, but get ready to back me up.' Gideon got to her feet. Jana did likewise.

Bob just looked from one hot woman to the other, knowing full well that Bryn was not asking him
for back-up, but wondering why they were both suddenly on high alert.

'Jana, sit,' Gideon said.

Never one to be talked to like a dog, Jana behaved like a bad puppy instead. She followed Gideon
across the road.

The three men from the songthaew taxi, meanwhile, had approached Alan's table. The redheaded
westerner dropped to a squat between Alan and his commando, while the Thai guys assumed prime
intimidation poses nearby. Gideon loitered with some drunken Germans, as close as she could get
without announcing her presence, and near enough to see that Alan's drinking pal was mighty pissed
off at being disturbed.

No, not disturbed - found. And the body language between the two soldiers unmistakably indicated
that the squatting one had a weapon to the other's guts; either to make him 'stay quiet' or 'come
quietly'.

Gideon could tell that Alan's commando was primed for the danger that had just joined them; but
could also see that the idiot reporter clearly had no idea that something
else
was now going
down; and that life could go pear shaped any second.

The commando and the redhead stood up together. The fact that Alan did so too was either
stupidity on his part or…

Nope, prize fuckwit at work again.
Gideon could now see the gun pushed into the commando's
back.

'Are we going somewhere now?' Alan asked Steve.

'No, Alan. In fact you just stay here and have another drink, I'll be right back.'

I kinda doubt that.
Gideon edged closer.

'Are you sure, Steve?' Alan asked. 'All we have to do is make a time for our, you
know, official chat.' He wasn't stupid. Despite the casual clothes and the lesser-build, it was
quite obvious to Alan that Steve's friend was also a soldier. That meant he and Steve probably had
commando things to do, and Alan did not want to be sitting around this bar all night waiting for
nothing. He was keen to wrap things up for now and go Sophie hunting.

'Who
is
this guy?' the redhead asked Steve.

'Alan Wagner, from Sydney, Australia,' Alan said. 'I'm…'

'Alan's an accountant,' Steve said, 'here for a big conference.'

'Oh yeah?' said the redhead, cheerily. 'Guess that makes me the taxman then doesn't it?
Steve
.'

An imposing man pushed his way into the space beside Alan and grabbed his arm.

'What the hell? Let me go,' Alan began, until he saw the look on Steve's face. It was only then
he realised that the Thai bloke hanging onto him was one of two; and that they were with Steve's
friend, who suddenly didn't seem to be very friendly.

Alan was about to yell for help, when it registered that the bloke bruising his arm in a giant
hand-vice, wasn't poking him in the ribs with his other hand. Not unless he had very sharp and
pointy fingernails.

The hard cold fact of a mean-looking knife jabbing into his ribs flipped Alan from almost defiant
to two notches above completely limp. As his blood sped freezing through the inside of his body, a
warm trickle of sweat slid down the outside. No, not sweat. He looked down again.

The b-bastard stabbed me, Alan thought, looking down at himself in astonishment. Before he even
knew it was happening, he and Steve were being escorted from the premises.

Gideon pushed through the other patrons towards the road. 'Situation uncontained,
guys. Redhead had a gun, there was nothing I could do without risking civilians.'

'What happened, Bryn?'
Coop asked.
'They obviously only wanted Wagner's contact.'

'Wagner happened,' Gideon replied. If only the fool had stayed seated and quiet; but no, not when
it counted. Not until now, when he'd obviously been given a very strong message to 'shut the fuck up
or die'. She watched as Alan Wagner, a clenched smile stuck on his face, allowed himself to be
bundled into the back of the songthaew by the local muscle. 'We'll have to follow them. Triko, you
ready?'

'Yes Boss, just pulling up ahead of them.'

'Good. You guys take the lead,' Gideon said, as she watched Coop jump on the back of Triko's
motorbike and take off just ahead of the songthaew.

'I'll bring up the rear,' she added, hailing a
tuk-tuk
that had pulled into the kerb
beside her. She climbed into the little vehicle but discovered, to her mild annoyance, that she was
not alone.

Chiang Mai, Thailand
Sunday 9.45 pm

Gideon spoke to her driver in Thai, and he launched the
tuk-tuk
out into the
traffic, narrowly avoiding a fruit vendor and several tourists. She turned to the other
passenger.

'Jana. Next stop, you get out.' 'Bryn. No way.'

Gideon gave a fair dinkum growl. Jana simply raised her eyebrows and tried not to smile.

'Coop, where are you?'

'Just took a left into Sri Donchai Road. We let the songthaew overtake us, so it's not obvious
we're following. Which we weren't, but we are now. By the way, there are three bruisers in the back
with our guy and his guy. The Doc's redhead is in the front. Catch up and take the rear, so we can
switch places.'

'Will do,' Gideon said, and gave the driver new instructions. 'Why are you here?'

Jana, hanging tightly to the side of the
tuk-tuk
as it turned left on two of its three
wheels, pointed helpfully ahead when the songthaew that held Alan captive came into view. Their own
driver overtook two of the vehicles in front, leaving another two cars and a motorbike between them
and the target vehicle.

The small songthaew taxi-trucks, with bench seats that ran the length of the roofed tray, were
normally open sided. The kidnap taxi, however, had side tarps and a half back-flap that all but hid
the occupants. Jana could guess, from his motionless and sneakered feet, that Alan was pinned up
against the backrest of the left-hand bench. The boots of the other man, scuffled between two pairs
of thonged feet. Alan's drinking buddy was not going as quietly.

'Jana,' Gideon snapped. 'Why are you here?'

'Oh, sorry, didn't realise you were talking to me that time.'

Gideon flipped her hands in frustration but confused the issue again by saying, 'Triko, get ready
to pass them again as soon as they choose a direction at the T-intersection before the river.'

The songthaew turned right a moment later and, as Triko pulled out to pass it, Gideon asked their
driver to overtake one of the cars in front of them. 'Well?'

'Me again?' said Jana, verifying it was her turn to talk. 'I'm here for work.'

Gideon frowned. 'I don't care why you're in Chiang Mai, Jana. Why are you in my tuk-tuk?'

'Oh. Part of me wants to watch those guys throw Alan into the Ping River. But mostly, I want to
know what's going on.'

'Are you mad? These guys are, are,' Gideon waggled her hand.

'Serious?' Jana finished for her.

'Yes, they're bloody serious.'

'Who are they?'

'I have no idea.'

Jana laughed. 'So they're anonymously serious. Are you kidding?'

'No, I'm not. We don't know who they are. That's why we're following them. Triko, left indicator,
they're taking the bridge.'

Triko hung a quick left ahead then slowed to let the songthaew pass again. As he dropped back,
this time behind the tuk-tuk, Jana discovered just where Bryn's Redbacks were. She'd assumed they
were in the car in front, until Coop grinned at her from the back of the motorbike. She turned and
watched with amusement as he removed his beige jacket, turned it inside dark-side out, and put it
back on. As soon as he switched the beanie on Triko's head for a baseball cap, the bike sped up and
pulled alongside.

'Okay guys,' Gideon said, 'Sheraton Hotel is the next decider, when you're ready Triko.'

The songthaew continued straight on through the intersection, and into the narrower street on the
other side, so Triko throttled-up and zipped the motorbike into the gap behind it. A car, another
songthaew, two
tuk-tuks
and an elephant suddenly had to jostle for space, when all forward
motion was reduced to a crawl around a procession of monks. The latter were heading down the middle
of the street to a big and festive happening at the
wat
on the corner.

'Bryn, do you have any idea how unbelievably coincidental it is that Alan and his contact, and
you and your Redbacks are all here in Chiang Mai at the same time as me and the mystery
soldier?'

Gideon shrugged. 'I don't believe in coincidences, Jana.'

'Well what on earth would you call this?'

'Bad luck?'

'We're on the move, Boss.'

Jana opened her mouth again, so Gideon pointed to her ear, and asked, 'Which way, Triko?'

'Left at the Buddhist temple…and now third right, down a laneway.'

Gideon repeated the directions to their driver who grinned and nodded and drew a circle with his
finger to indicate he'd go around the other way.

'They've stopped at a gate,'
Triko said.
'They're going inside, songthaew and
all.'

'Be there in a mo.' Four minutes later Gideon paid their driver, gave him a bonus 300
baht
and watched him drive away - alone. She then pinned her stalker up against the wall. 'If you get in
the way, Jana Rossi, I will throw
you
in the Ping River. Okay?'

Jana nodded vigorously, thought of saluting, then thought better of it. She couldn't, however,
resist a Vulcan gesture.

Gideon narrowed her eyes. 'That's of course, if I don't shoot you first.' She strode away down
the alley, to where her Redbacks had propped the motorbike.

Triko was nowhere to be seen, but Coop said, 'Hey Doc.'

'Hi Coop,' Jana said, half-covering her mouth.

'Why are you whispering?' he asked.

'Because Bryn told me to shut up or else.'

'Ooh, and her 'or-else' is so scary,' Coop said. 'I mean it's not like we can be heard.' He waved
his hands to draw their attention to the racket filling the night. The usual cacophony of traffic,
car horns, barking dogs and deep-tolling bells was competing for airtime with a hell of a lot of
shouting, cheering and a doof-doof beat.

Coop slapped the wall he was leaning on. 'Night club. And,' he cupped his right ear, 'wait for
it.'

An itchy-shiver scarpered up Jana's back and into her brain as a truly frightful noise, like 20
wailing cats on heat, came over the opposite wall.

'Is that where they went?' Gideon returned Coop's grin.

'Yep, and Triko's already in. There's a pedestrian entrance further down,' Coop pointed; and then
re-pointed, 'but the
songthaew
went in those gates. It is the same place, we climbed on the
bike to scope the joint.'

'What's in there?' Jana queried.

'Blood and biffo,' Coop said excitedly.

'Muay Thai,' Gideon added.'

Jana threw up her hands - none the wiser.

'Thai kickboxing,' Gideon explained.

Coop made things clearer for Jana with a jab-jab, right cross, spinning back-kick. 'It's our idea
of a perfect night out in Thailand, though maybe not tonight.'

'But what the hell is that noise?'

'The four-man orchestra,' Coop explained. 'There's the Ching, which is a little pair of cymbals,
a pipe that looks like a clarinet but sounds like a strung-out snake charmer, and two drums.'

'Triko?' said Gideon.

'Come in and play, kids. I've got my eye on where the bad guys have taken our boy.'

'Is it a neighbourhood ring?'

'Yep, it's a training camp but it's packed. Patrons are mostly Thais, but there are enough
westerners for cover.'

It cost the tourist rate of 250
baht
each to get in to the monthly competition of the
Dragon Blue Muay Thai Training Camp. Gideon savoured the buzz of a couple of hundred spectators -
men, women, Thais and
farang
, of all ages - cheering the barefoot boxers in the full size
fight ring. It was often said that Thai culture was defined by the double of religion and monarchy,
but it was the martial art of Muay Thai that formed the national trifecta. And it wasn't just a
spectator sport, because it was so much more than mere kickboxing. Originally a style of close
combat, using the entire body as a weapon, it had literally saved the kingdom from conquest more
than once over the centuries. The fighting skills gradually moved beyond the military, first
becoming a required art form for royalty and the upper classes, and eventually a popular style of
self-defence for some, and a way of life for many.

Gideon looked around. Dragon Blue was a very large training compound. Out around the edges,
amongst the trees, were a number of bungalows, dorm buildings and a mess hall. Closer in, the
waiting contenders were warming up in the open-air gyms by punching bags or slamming their shins
into kick pads over and over again. Regular training, which obviously didn't stop for the show,
tonight involved about 20 kids and teenagers working out on pads, weights and each other.