Cockatoo

Cockatoo Part 35

Nikkie Silk

I was getting seriously pissed off being everyone's punch bag, but he had me backed into a corner, and I knew I would have to go along with him. But, it gave me a glimmer of hope that I could get Jandaeng off my back. With my head in my hands I said, `I have no choice, I agree.'

He pushed my phone and wallet back across the table. They had been taken from me in the van on the way here. I was thankful I hadn't brought the new burner phone with me to the Muay Thai.

`Whenever you make contact or meet Jandaeng, text me on this number. Use it any time of the day or night. Is that clear?' He pushed a piece of paper across the table.

`What if he's bugging the phone?'

`We have installed encryption software. Even if he is bugging your phone, he will not able to read anything you send to me. If you know where he wants to meet you, text me the location.'

'Does Jandaeng have any idea you are investigating him?' I asked.

`I believe not. However, he may have been watching you tonight, so we will hold you overnight and let you go in the morning. Mistaken identity, if anyone wants to know. People will have heard the comments about terrorist when we picked you up.'

`Yeah, thanks for that, by the way.' My sarcasm didn't seem to affect him.

`If possible get him to talk about the Triads, we need to catch him red-handed. Is that what you say?'

I nodded. `You haven't told me your name.'

`For your purposes, my name is Thaksin. I hope I do not need to say that you will not tell anyone about this arrangement. If you do, I will find out and you will be sorry.'

He rose from his chair and left the room. I laid my head on the table and as tired as I was I could not find sleep. All I could think about was the clusterfuck I had somehow got myself into: I was spying on Kritsada's people for him whilst spying on Kritsada for Jandaeng, a rogue cop working for the Triads, I was double crossing Jandaeng for Kritsada, as well as for the Thai anti-corruption police - all in all a triple cross with a pike and twist. Still, it couldn't get worse I thought.

I did manage to sleep for a while before they let me go at 5 in the morning. I grabbed a tuk-tuk back to the hotel, showered and bolted down some breakfast before heading off to meet Kritsada. He was waiting for me with Dao, his PA and my minder for at least a while. We came up with a plan for the next few days which would involve meeting the bosses of what he called his `entertainment' businesses. In reality that meant the bars and clubs he ran in the red-light districts of Patpong, Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza. In all about fifteen different venues, controlled for Kritsada by five bosses, one of whom Kritsada believed was selling him out.

Ostensibly my job would be building a new IT system for the back-office functions. At least that's what Dao and everybody else was told. Unbeknownst to her, I would also be trying to identify the traitor who Kritsada suspected was leaking information about his operation. I was to tell Kritsada if I thought anyone was holding back or not being straight, or if anything else come out of my digging around. Dao had set up a schedule for us to visit the bars and clubs to meet the bosses and to start on a project plan. They had already been told I was coming, and that they were to give me full co-operation. We agreed that I should brief Kritsada at the end of each day. We shook hands before Dao and I set off to the first visits. I hadn't realised how many places Kritsada owned. Little wonder the Triads were interested in taking over his operation.

The ruling Junta has said that it wants to get rid of the sex industry in Thailand. Prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand, but estimates for the number of prostitutes range up to 700,000, with most of the customers Thai. It's a multi-million-dollar industry, and until something happens, there are fortunes to be made in the business. That's what was sucking in the Triads.

The visits were straightforward; Dao would introduce me to the boss, and with her as translator I went through a process to understand their part of the business and what improvements they thought were needed. Generally, they were courteous and helpful, but I could tell they weren't altogether happy to have a Farang digging around in their businesses. Dao was invaluable, as she obviously spoke for Kritsada, and she could make them jump if she wanted to. One of the bosses, a bullet-headed Thai named Yut, seemed to resent me and Dao more than the others. He was polite but I could see he wasn't happy about taking orders from Dao. She told me Yut meant war in Thai, and he got put on my list as someone to look at more carefully.

I got to know more about Dao as we went on. We would break for lunch and inevitably we got talking. She had graduated from Bangkok with a First in Economics, and then onto an MBA at Columbia in the US. She had job offers in the US, but she felt culturally drawn back to Thailand. Her father knew Kritsada, who took her on as an intern. She rapidly proved her worth to Kritsada, and he eventually asked her to become his PA. Although it was obvious that she had far more influence than a PA; she had executive oversight of a large portion of Kritsada's businesses and effectively was running some of them for Kritsada.

Kritsada had told her some of my history although some of it he had discreetly left out. She was interested in what I thought about Areeya, in particular what her plans were for the future. I assumed that Dao was concerned about Areeya coming back to the business. I told her honestly that I did not know what Areeya was planning. She seemed content with what she was doing on Samui and had not shared anything with me. Dao seemed happy enough with that, but I guessed she would still be wary of Areeya.

Privately, I felt that Areeya would tire of life on Samui at some point and she might come back to the family business as Kritsada had originally wanted, but I kept that to myself. I assumed that family ties would win out in that case. Dao probably felt the same way and was trying to see whether Areeya would be a threat to her in the near future.

We met Kritsada each evening and gave him a debriefing. He would ask Dao to step out at the end of the meeting and he would ask if there was anything that I had observed. I mentioned Yut, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He told me that Yut had been a hot head way back. His temper had got the better of him a few times, but he had calmed down, proved himself efficient and his businesses made good profits. I told Kritsada that this was purely first impressions and that as I dug deeper, I would get to know more. Nin was arriving back in Bangkok in the next few days which would allow Dao to go back to her regular work.

By Friday I had made all my first visits and would take the weekend to pull together my notes and ideas for a review with him on Monday. I would then go back for some meetings with the bosses and dig a little deeper. Nin would be my translator and her IT skills would come in useful as well. We met in his office and he broke the seal on a new bottle of GlenDronach. He took a sip of the whisky before clapping me on the shoulder.

`I am sorry, James, but I cannot be with you this weekend. I am flying to Chiang Mai to visit a factory I am interested in buying.'

`That's no problem sir, Nin will be back and I'm sure we can entertain ourselves. I'm having lunch with Doctor Wichasak on Sunday, she wanted me to contact her while I was here in Bangkok. You and her were very good to me after the pirate attack and after Pao had been stabbed.'

Kritsada waved his hand, `You are very welcome, James. It was the least I could do for you. Send her my regards, please. We should all get together when I'm back from Chiang Mai. By the way, what do you think of Dao?'

`I think she's extremely capable. She's efficient and has dealt with the bosses we've met so far extremely well. I sense some of them like Yut don't like dealing with a woman, especially one so young, but she isn't intimidated by them. I like her.'

He nodded and smiled. `I have high hopes for her. She impresses me also. Don't forget our little party next week for my friends. I'm sure Jandaeng would like to hear about it.'

I shivered at the mention of Jandaeng. We finished the whisky, and I headed back to the hotel. I called Alex and Areeya as I had every night. I was missing them so much. I hated keeping secrets from them, but I thought I had to keep this new angle from them for the time being. I trusted them implicitly, but I couldn't bring myself to tell them even over the burner phone. The less they knew, the better I thought. I smiled to myself as Areeya wanted to know all about Dao, and I felt there was some resentment at how close Dao was to her father. If ever they got together, I thought, there would be fireworks. They confirmed Nin was coming to Bangkok the following day and would be bringing some gifts for me from them.

Pao was out of hospital and recovering well. She was staying at the apartment for a few days until she was back on her feet. I told them to send her my love. Alex laughed and said she thought Pao would rather have my cock. I could hear Areeya in the background telling Pao what Alex had said and then Pao's giggle came through loud and clear.

That brought the call to an end, and I promised I would make it back to Samui in a few days. I was about to go for some food when my phone rang. My stomach dropped as I heard Jandaeng's voice.

`It's time for us to meet. I trust you've recovered from your narrow escape. I will text you where to meet me. Be there in 30 minutes. Do not be late.'

I had almost convinced myself that Jandaeng had given up on me. He hadn't contacted me since I arrived, and a little hope had grown that he didn't need me anymore. The call put an end to that. However, now I knew he was rogue I was no longer running so scared of him. Sure, he was as slippery and dangerous as a snake, and I was under no illusion that his threats were real, but I felt the tables were beginning to turn

My iPhone pinged with the address. After texting it to Thaksin, and praying that his encryption worked, I shot downstairs, jumped into a tuk-tuk and sent a text to Alex on the burner phone that I was meeting Jandaeng. She texted back `Be careful'. As the tuk-tuk dropped me off, I recognised this was the bar where I, as Scarlett, had my run in with Jandaeng. Was this coincidence or was there a message in this? Had he worked out that I was Scarlett? There was no time to worry about it and I walked into the bar. The mamasan looked up, and I saw a flash of recognition followed by fear in her eyes. She glanced towards the back of the bar where I saw Jandaeng sitting at a table, with what looked like a couple of his men close by. They stood up as I approached the table and frisked me, presumably to check if I was carrying a gun. They found my iPhone and turned it off, to stop me recording anything.

They nodded to Jandaeng, who impatiently motioned for me to come to the table. I sat down and waited for him to start.

`You were lucky to escape the bomb.' There wasn't an ounce of sympathy in his voice.

`I didn't escape completely. I dislocated my shoulder, but I guess you know that.'

He was wearing the sunglasses, so I couldn't tell anything from his eyes.

`Why is Kritsada going to Chiang Mai?' Jandaeng was not one for small talk.

I shrugged, `he told me it was to see a factory he wants to invest in.'

Jandaeng lit a cigarette and blew the smoke out of the corner of his mouth. Like the sunglasses, it seemed the action of a villain in a B Movie.

`I don't believe you. Why is he really going?'

`That's what he told me. Why don't you ask him yourself if you don't believe me?' I was determined to make Jandaeng drag the information from me. I was aiming for truculent co-operation, thinking that giving him too much too easily would seem suspicious

He took another drag from his cigarette before replying. `You would be wise not to cross me. I have told you what I can do.'

`And I've told you what I know. He is going to Chiang Mai to see a factory. That's all I know.'

The mamasan brought across two beers and we stopped talking. I looked up at her and she gave an almost imperceptible nod as she placed the bottles on the table. As she put the bottles on the table I saw a young Thai man enter the bar and sit down. He ordered a beer and waved off the attentions of one of the bar girls. He was talking on his phone in fast Thai, seemingly engrossed in his conversation. I could have sworn it was one of Thaksin's men who had kidnapped me outside the hotel.

`What else do you know? You have not been very useful so far. My patience will not last forever.'

I shrugged my shoulders. `What can I say? He is entertaining some contacts next week. I'm invited.'

`Who are they?'

`He said they were from the diplomatic community. He didn't mention any more names.'

`Find out who they are.'

`If I can, before the evening, I will, but if not I can tell you afterwards. I can tell you one thing. He is worried about the Triads. I overheard him talking to one of his bosses. They seemed really concerned.'

He was about to light another cigarette but he laid his lighter back down on the table. He had tensed ever so slightly, but I could see that I had hit home.

`Why is he concerned about the Triads?'

`He thinks they are trying to take over his business, the bars and clubs. He even thought the bomb was aimed at him.'

Jandaeng finally it the cigarette and leant back. `The bomb was terrorist action. Stupid fool, Triads are much cleverer than that.'

I shrugged. `You wanted to know what was going on. I just pass it on. Are they trying to muscle in on him?'

For the first time Jandaeng got agitated. `Do not ask such fuckin' stupid question. How do I know? I not fuckin' know. You go now. Remember, I want to know who Kritsada meeting next week.'

I didn't need a second invitation to leave. I walked out past the guy I thought I recognised. He was still on his phone, but his eyes followed me as I went past. I knew I had rattled Jandaeng with the mention of the Triads. I just hoped I hadn't tweaked the tail of a tiger. I called Thaksin from the tuk-tuk on the way back to the hotel and told him what had happened. He grunted when I mentioned Jandaeng's reaction to the Triads.

`Good, my friend. I think we can work together well. Call me when he contact you again.'

I called Alex from the burner phone when I got back to the hotel. She was glad to hear I was safely back, but I admit I gave her an edited version of what had gone on. She seemed happy enough, and I promised to call her again the next day. I toyed with the idea of calling Kritsada, but decided his phone wouldn't be secure enough to talk openly. I would bring him up to date on Monday.

I woke late the next day, feeling alone and miserable, carrying too many secrets that I couldn't share with anyone. A long swim in the hotel pool and a late breakfast helped shake me out of my depression, and I had just got back to my room when Nin arrived pulling two large suitcases. She wasn't Alex or Areeya, but was a link back to Samui and I was delighted to see her. The gash in her leg had recovered well, and she wasn't even limping any more.

I bring gifts for you from Miss Alex and Miss Areeya.' She wheeled one of the suitcases into my room. Please stay out of room until I finished.'

I opened up my Mac and began to work on the report for Kritsada until Nin appeared and told me I could go back into my room. She was grinning all over her face as I followed her into the room. I couldn't see anything different to begin with, but she pulled open the wardrobe doors to reveal a rack of female clothes; dresses, skirts and tops, all arranged on hangers. As I was looking through the wardrobe Nin opened the drawers to reveal a selection of panties and bras. I started to laugh and Nin was looking a bit worried.

You like them?' She asked nervously. Miss Alex said you lost your Scarlett clothes, so she replaced them for you.'

`I love them, Nin. It's just what Alex would do.'

`There are shoes too, and makeup. Miss Alex also sent this.' Nin turned her back to me and pulled something out of a bag. She turned to face me and in her hands was a wig, not quite the same as Alex's old one I had lost in the bombing, but it was close to it. She put it into my hands and I looked at it for a moment before sitting down on the bed. All the tension and stress of the past few days overwhelmed me and I started to well up. I blinked away the tears and wiped my eyes. Nin put her arms around me.

`What is the matter, James?'

`It's nothing, Nin. I'm just so glad to see you. It's been tough this week.'

She hugged me tight. `Miss Alex and Miss Areeya both miss you. They sent their love for you.'

I hugged her back and then called Alex on the burner phone. She picked up straight away. `Did you like our gifts?'

`I love them, the wig is beautiful. It cheered me up so much. I think I might just give Scarlett a trial run tonight.' I looked over at Nin who gave me a big grin and a thumbs up.

Areeya chipped in, `Make sure you behave yourself. We don't want any more trouble.'

I laughed, `Don't worry, I intend to keep myself out of trouble tonight.' After promising to call them the next day, I hung up and turned to Nin. She was bouncing up and down with excitement.

`James, where do you want to go tonight? Back to the bar?'

For a lot of reasons, not all of which I could share with Nin, I didn't want to go back there.

`No, not tonight. Let's try somewhere different. Any suggestions? Remember, I want to keep out of trouble.'

`You want me to call Shane? See if he free?' The idea of dressing as Scarlett with Shane made me shiver, and I felt my cock stir as I thought about what that might involve.

Yes, give him a call and see.' I felt giddy as Nin made the call; half hoping that he could and half that he wouldn't be able to make it. She came back and said, He say he not sure, he will see if he can join us later. We should tell him where we are.'

I wasn't sure if I was disappointed or relieved that he couldn't make it. I needed something to take my mind off what was going to happen over the next few days. With everything else going on I had let the idea of a Ladyboy show in Samui slip to the back of my mind. I would have to get back onto that as I had money tied up in it.

`Nin, why don't we go see a Kathoey cabaret? We need to plan for the one on Samui. I've been to Calypso, is there another good one?'

`OKaaaaay, I think Playhouse Cabaret good too. We go there and then for some food in Yaorawat. I tell Shane.'

That was settled, and I started to think about what to wear. Nin and I looked through the wardrobe and I pulled out some things I thought looked nice. I stripped off my shirt and jeans and pulled a pair of lace panties up my legs. How would I ever get over that sublime feeling as I pulled them tight and they settled around my balls. I had lost any embarrassment about dressing and undressing in front of Nin, so we spent the afternoon laughing and trying on different looks, taking them off and coming back to them. Nin told me my legs were nice and I should wear something short, but I was still unsure about showing them. In the end, I decided on a long, floaty yellow chiffon skirt that flared out when I twirled around. Nin suggested I team it with a loose white lace top with capped sleeves.

She helped me with my makeup, very light, with subtle eyeshadow and a dark red lipstick. I managed the wig myself and even I thought I looked pretty good when we had finished. Nin lent me a pair of her dangly clip-on earrings and a bracelet. She told me we would get my ears pierced the next day and get me some real earrings. I put on a pair of low wedges and put my phones and purse into a small shoulder bag and we were ready to go.

Nin had let her hair down, it fell almost to her bum at the back, and wore a pair of bright red shorts and a dangerously short pink top. I told her she looked beautiful, and she kissed me on the lips and said I did too. We jumped in a tuk-tuk and headed out to get to the early show. We were early, so we killed some time with a drink before we went in. I was now much more confident about being dressed and I know I got some looks, but I didn't care too much what other people thought any more.

The show was great. The dancing, the lip syncing, the outfits and the sets were all so well done. The girls were beautiful as were the boys who were also in the show. I could only hope we would be able to get somewhere near as good as this in Samui. It gave me some many ideas for what we could do when we were able to get our show going. More importantly, it was exactly what I needed to get my mind off what was going on. I lost myself completely in the music and the excitement of becoming involved in something like this. As we left, the girls lined up either side for the guests to take photos for a few baht. Nin took a few of me with some of the girls although I was a lot taller than most of them. They read me, of course, and were giggling between themselves, but not in a nasty way. As I was about to leave, one of them took my hands, kissed me and said, `You very nice, look lovely.' I thanked her and tipped her a few more baht. Well, who wouldn't?

Yaorawat is Bangkok's Chinatown and is one of the most authentic and unchanged parts of a city which is changing rapidly everywhere else. At night Yaorawat Road is teeming with food stalls and restaurants which overspill the pavements and onto the road itself. Nin and I walked hand in hand down the road, stopping to watch the cooks preparing the food right in front of us. The smells, the noise and the smoke flickering around the light bulbs of the food carts is intoxicating. Nin had a text from Shane saying he could get away in an hour, so to tell him where we would be around then. We sat and ate at one of the pavement restaurants where the food was ridiculously cheap and eye wateringly spicy.

Nin wanted to see one of the old bars she used to work in before she came to Samui and she texted Shane to meet us there. It wasn't far from Yaorawat and Nin said she knew a shortcut, so we decided to walk. Hand in hand we wandered slowly along the streets. The crowds began to thin out and Nin began to look nervous, casting anxious glances over her shoulder. I asked her what was wrong.

`I think I make wrong turn. I am not sure, but I think we are also being followed.'

I looked round, but couldn't see anything behind us. I gripped her hand, `Come on, keep walking. Never look like a victim.' We walked on trying to appear as we knew exactly where we were going. Thailand may be the land of smiles, but there is also a snarl not far away if you're unlucky. Nin had found her way again, but just as she said the bar was around the next corner, a group of men stepped out of a side alley in front of us and blocked our path. There were three of them, and they looked like trouble. One of them said something in Thai and Nin snapped something back, which seemed to anger them.

`What did you say, Nin?'

`He tell us to give them our money and I told him I would rather piss on his mother's grave.'

`OK, maybe not what I would have said, but it's too late now.'

I tried to step in front of Nin to shield her, but she shoved me out of the way. The three of them seemed uncertain what to do, not expecting a show of defiance from a couple of girls. One of them drew a knife and waved it around. Even I could tell by the way he was acting he was nervous. He said something again in Thai and Nin just spat on the ground. I looked around and all I could see was a short metal pole lying on the pavement by my feet. As I bent down to pick it up, the man with the knife yelled something and ran straight at Nin. I shouted at her to run, but it looked as if she had frozen as she didn't move at all. I got my hand on the pole just as he reached her and I thought he was going to kill her right in front of me. Memories of what happened to Pao flashed into my mind and red-hot rage enveloped me as fight overcame flight. Adrenaline was pumping into my bloodstream, and I was ready to die before I would let anything happen to Nin.

Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion. As the man reached her and thrust his knife towards her, Nin took a step backwards and sideways, grabbing his wrist at the same time and turning her whole body, somehow throwing him straight over her shoulder onto the ground. Standing over him with his wrist now in both of her hands, she twisted sharply, and I heard the crack as bones in his wrist splintered. His screams echoed down the alley as he lay on the ground writhing in pain. The other two ran towards us and I could see knives glitter in the light.

`Take the one on right,' said Nin as she turned to face the other one. I was concentrating on the guy heading for me as he thrust his knife towards my stomach, but I managed to parry it with the pole. He took a step backwards and came at me again. By sheer luck I managed to block this thrust, but the knife flashed very close to my face. He came at me once more, but this time I was expecting it and smacked the pole straight down on his arm. I hit him hard enough that the knife fell out of his hand, and as he bent down to pick it up, I hit him on the side of his head with the pole. The impact jarred my arm so badly I almost dropped the pole. He grunted and fell to the floor. I hadn't seen what happened to the other guy, but as I turned around I heard him scream and saw Nin stand over him then stamp on his wrist with her foot. Some people were watching from the end of the road, drawn presumably by the screams. One of them would surely call the police, and I didn't want to be here when they arrived.

I turned back to Nin and said, `I think we should get out of here quickly.'

She nodded, but walked across to the first guy who lay whimpering on the ground like a wounded animal as he held his wrist with the other hand. She bent down and said something to him before standing up and reaching for my hand.

Well,' said a deep Australian voice, I wouldn't want to run into you two sheilas in a dark alley.'

My gratitude to the lovely Abigale for editing this story. Kisses.

To be continued

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