“You’ll wear a wire?” confirmed Jim.

“For sure. If someone does try to kill me, I want everything recorded. If we get that evidence, we should be able to flip them and also get a wiretap order from a judge.”

“And if someone does kill you, I guess the plan wouldn’t change,” said Jim, wryly.

“Somebodies kill you, they die,” said Pom, matter-of-factly.

Jack was going to ask Pom if he was referring to the capital punishment that was occasionally handed out by the courts in Thailand, but decided against it. Either way, it wouldn’t help me …

Jack’s luncheon with Duwa was uneventful. Duwa was well aware that Jack and Stew had returned to his clothing factory and had seen the children. He apologized profusely for trying to deceive them and hoped it wouldn’t jeopardize any future investments.

Jack told Duwa that with his co-operation, the future could be better for everyone concerned and bade him goodbye before continuing on to the jade factory.

The jade factory was being run by a standard that would be accepted in most Westernized countries. Jack had a tour of the entire operation, from where large chunks of jade arrived from China, to where they were carved down to make sculptures or small pieces of jewellery for worldwide shipment.

The factory itself was filled to capacity and Jack noticed that all the workstations were active … with adults. With proper marketing to promote further business, the factory would likely be a good investment.

Jack purchased a small green pendant for Natasha that was carved to look like a leaf and returned to the Imperial Golden Triangle Hotel. It was suppertime, but he still emailed a brief report to Oskar about the jade factory and reported the conversation he had with Duwa over lunch.

Instead of having dinner at the hotel, Jack strolled through the town in search of a different restaurant. In the centre of town was a large golden Buddha that stood a couple of stories high. It was a drawing point for numerous tourists.

Jack spoke to a few tourists and discovered that most were from a variety of countries in Europe. People were generally friendly and in a festive mood. Thailand was not adverse to people drinking in public as was evidenced by some of the tourists who walked about with open liquor.

Farther along, Jack found a small, dilapidated restaurant that overlooked the river facing Laos. It was an open-air establishment with no walls and only a roof. Despite the sad condition of the restaurant, the smell of the food being cooked barbecue-style in the restaurant appealed to him. It was also crowded with many of the locals, which Jack took as a sign that the food would be good.

He took a seat overlooking the river. To his left, he could see where the two rivers joined each other. It was getting dark, but he could still make out Myanmar on the far side of the second river.

The Golden Triangle was aptly named. Many gangs of thugs had made a lot of money from heroin shipments being funnelled through where the rivers met. With the numerous reward posters slapped on telephone poles by the American Drug Enforcement Agency, it was obvious that drug smuggling was still a problem.

Jack enjoyed a delicious meal of pork cooked in a sauce with fresh green pepper that was still on the stem. He also enjoyed some Singha beer with his meal. There were a few tourists in the restaurant, allowing Jim and Pom to come in and order a meal without drawing attention.

“What, no food for you, Randy?” whispered Jack into the microphone taped to his chest. “Too bad. The Singha beer is delicious. With all this heat and humidity, I think I’m going to order another one.” Somewhere, in the darkness outside, Jack envisioned Randy grinning while silently cursing him at the same time.

After dinner, Jack wandered amongst some tourist shops, but most were closed for the night.

“Hey, buddy,” yelled Randy, “Can you tell me how to get to the casino over there in Laos?” he said, pointing to the large casino on the opposite side of the river.

“I think you go to a little customs hut down the street where you can catch a boat,” said Jack, as he approached Randy. “I could walk you over to it if you like?”

“You’ve got a tail,” whispered Randy, as soon as they were close. “Someone has been with you since you left the restaurant. Big guy, wearing a black hoodie. He was outside watching you when you were eating.”

Jack felt the rush of adrenalin. “Where is Hoodie now?” He spoke quickly while pointing in the direction of the customs hut.

“In the shadows half a block behind you. Jim, Pom, and his crew have him covered. It’s your call, what do you want to do?”

“Have to get him to try and make an attempt on me,” said Jack. “Keep your earpiece in and listen.”

“How the hell will you do it without him actually succeeding?” asked Randy, while making a pretext of looking in the direction Jack had pointed. “These guys are mercenaries. Trained killers. You and I together couldn’t handle him.”

“If he thinks I’m drunk, he might get a little careless. He won’t be expecting me to know what he is about to do, let alone defend myself. I’ll block his first blow and run like hell. Just make sure you guys are close.”

“Maybe you should be drunk. It might not hurt so much when he kills you.”

“Thanks for the confidence,” replied Jack.

“So where do you want to do it?” asked Randy, looking at his watch as if wondering if the customs hut was still open.

“Across from our hotel is an abandoned building built over a cliff. Think it used to be a restaurant and is open on three sides. It would be an ideal place for him to attack.”

“Yeah, I know the place. I checked it out when I first arrived.”

“I’ve seen a few tourists go in there because the entrance is at street level, but the back of it is about three stories high and overlooks the river. It’s a good viewpoint. He shouldn’t suspect anything if I wander in there and it would be an ideal place for him to attack.”

“And if he does?” asked Randy.

“I might be able to get him to say something incriminating. Then if he comes at me, I’ll dodge and run. I might even jump over the railing to get away.”

“Three stories … and it’s rocky along the river’s edge. You’d probably break a leg or something. ”

“That’s only off the back,” replied Jack. “It’s less than that going down the side and the front is at street level. Besides, better a broken leg than a broken neck. Make sure you guys are close enough to get in there quick, but not close enough to tip him off as to what is going on.”

“I might be there quick, then again, I might stop to enjoy a cold beer. I hear the Singha tastes really good.”

“Damn it, karma strikes again,” Jack said, grinning.

“I better go. We’ve been chatting together long enough. Good luck, buddy.”

After Randy walked in the direction of the custom’s hut, Jack went to a convenience store and purchased a mickey of Sangsom rum. When he left the store, he opened the bottle and pretended to guzzle it as he walked.

As Jack strolled down the street, he took his time, pausing in more crowded areas to look at various tourist spots. At one point he found a grassy location and pretended to adjust his sandal, while discreetly pouring most of the rum into the grass.

Jack’s walk became more of a stagger as he slowly made his way back up the street. The Imperial Golden Triangle Hotel was across the street on his left. Leading up to the hotel and on the same side of the street, were a row of closed booths that were shrouded in darkness.

Jack saw that Hoodie had passed him on the opposite side of the street and was hiding in the shadows. There were no other hotels past this point and it was anticipated that Jack would cross the street to go to the hotel.