An Angel with a Gun Page 15

  “Where are my drugs, Alfie?”

  “They are on their way here. A friend of mine is bringing them here now.”

  “Who is this friend?”

  “His name is Steven West. He’s stupid, but he knows that he has to bring the car here. He doesn’t know that there are drugs or a body in the car. He’s got mental health issues. He won’t ask any questions. He just does as he is told.”

  “Why has Steven West got my drugs and not you?”

  “He doesn’t know that he has got them. He is just bringing the car here.”

  “Who is the girl?”

  “What girl?”

  “The girl with no hair. She is in the car with Steven West.”

  “I don’t know any girl.”

  “You give my drugs to a stranger and a girl you don’t know!”

  “I haven’t given the drugs to anyone. They will be here later today. I promise.”

  “Why did you do this Alfie?”

  “I was getting scared. I thought it would be OK if I arranged for somebody else to deliver the drugs as long as they didn’t know what they were doing.”

  “Do you want to leave our family Alfie?”

  “No, no! I just got a bit scared. I don’t know what came over me. It won’t happen again.”

  “I have some men following this Steven West and the mystery girl and they have just rung me to tell me that these people have just started heading north in the car. Where are they going, Alfie?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure they will be here.”

  “They are heading north. Are they taking my drugs into Laos?”

  “No. They don’t even know that they have any drugs.”

  The boss man picked up a container of cocktail sticks and shook one out. He sat on the edge of the desk and used it to pick his teeth.

  The boss man spoke to the others in Albanian and they pulled on a chain to lower Andy towards the floor. He was stopped a foot from the floor.

  “I always have cocktail sticks with me Alfie. They are versatile things. You can pick the rubbish from out of your teeth or use them to scrape the dirt from under your nails. They can also be used to help people tell the truth. Are you going to tell me the truth Alfie?”

  “Yes I am!”

  “Where are your friends taking my drugs?”

  “Nowhere! They are bringing them here.”

  The boss man picked up the hammer and one of the other men held Andy’s finger. The boss man inserted the cocktail stick under the finger nail and tapped it down into the finger with the hammer. Andy screamed as the pain shot through his body. Tears streamed from his eyes and mucus poured from his nose. Andy was no hero and his pain threshold was low. He felt the cocktail stick pulsating out pain that ran along the length of his arm with every heartbeat.

  “Where are they taking my drugs?”

  “They are bringing them here.”

  The boss man hammered another cocktail stick under one of Andy’s toe nails and the pain throbbed through his leg. Andy had never imagined such pain, let alone experienced it. The handcuffs cutting into his skin were now forgotten.

  “Where is the mobile phone we gave you?”

  “The monk has got it.”

  “Who is the monk?”

  “Steven West is the monk. The man bringing the drugs here.”

  “Why isn’t he answering my calls?”

  “I don’t know, but he will be coming. He is coming to get his girlfriend and stop her from marrying another man. He will be here. I promise.”

  “You have this girlfriend’s address?”

  “It’s on a piece of paper in my pocket.”

  The boss man nodded to one of the other men and he searched through Andy’s pockets of the clothes that were in a pile on the floor. He found the scribbled paper and handed it to the boss.

  “This girl, her name is Pom?”

  “Yes. That is her boyfriend’s address. She is going to marry him, but the stupid monk wants to marry her too.”

  Another cocktail stick was hammered into Andy’s eardrum and blood spurted.

  The boss man nodded to the other men and they hoisted Andy back up towards the ceiling.

  “I don’t like people who lie to me or cheat me. I don’t like people who are not loyal to me. I don’t like people who steal from me. Can you see the knives on the table, Alfie?”

  Andy didn’t answer and the boss man slapped him hard across the face.

  “Do you see the knives, Alfie?”

  “Yes! I fucking see them.”

  “That is what I use when cocktails sticks don’t work

  Andy was interrogated, tortured and killed after they failed to contact Steven West on Andy’s mobile. The torture was slow and brutal. It went on for hours. When Andy passed out he was slapped and had water thrown over him to bring him around again.

  The Albanians following the car tried to snatch it back in a small village near Udon Thani, but were chased off by the skin headed girl, who fought like a tiger, and a stray dog that bit like a crocodile. They waited to pick the car up again when it left the village, but it left by a back lane which was little more than a dirt track. The car, the drugs, the body, the bald girl and Steven West were lost! They found the battered old Toyota abandoned outside a Honda dealership. The boot was empty. The boss-man was informed and Andy Machin was already dead.

  Chapter 7

  Back in the present with Steven West.

  Angel looked at me with an understanding smile resting on her lips. I tried to smile back, but I was still shaking after reading all the threatening messages on Jack Sparrow’s mobile phone. I don’t know how they knew my name and it scared me, but what really frightened me were the things they said that they were going to do to me for stealing their drugs. The last message simply read ‘You’d better ring me if you want to save your friend’. I knew that it was too late for that, because I had already seen my friend dead and hanging up from meat hooks.

  I tried to smile back at Angel through the fear that was causing my body to shake.

  “What are we going to do now, Angel?”

  “Well, I don’t think you should contact these people. They have already murdered your friend and I’m sure that they will kill you too.”

  “But they know who I am!”

  “They only know your name. They don’t know who you are or where you are. I suggest that we sell the drugs and split the money. Then you can go and see your girlfriend and try to stop her from marrying her boyfriend.”

  “I think we should just go and get Pom. I don’t care about the drug money. You can keep it all. I just want to live a quiet life with Pom.”

  “I understand, tee rak.”

  Angel’s eyes looked down. It was a sad look. She looked sad. I didn’t realize how much she wanted to share the drugs money with me. It obviously meant a lot to her, but I just wanted to get my life back. We sat in silence in Som’s room.

  “That’s sorted then” said Som. “We take him to see his girlfriend and then me and you sell the drugs and split the money.”

  Finally we had agreed a ‘plan B’.

  I searched through my ancient leather suitcase and found the address that Porn had scribbled down for me - the address of Pom’s boyfriend and his family in Bangkok. I felt a sort of sense of relief now that the end was in sight. I thought that I’d go and see Pom and talk her out of marrying her boyfriend. Then me and Pom would run away and live happily ever after. I didn’t mind if we went back to live in Khanchanaburi or anywhere else in Thailand, really. As long as I would be with Pom I would be happy. Well, half happy really. In my own way I loved Angel too and I know that she loved me. I was going to miss her and that was for sure. She was so different from Pom in so many ways, but the
thing they had in common was that they both filled my heart with love and made me feel happy. They made me feel good about myself and that wasn’t a feeling that I was used to.

  Som seemed to know everywhere in Bangkok and she knew where Pom’s boyfriend lived. It turned out to be a huge house on the outskirts, just north of the city. I had been excited all the way on the journey, but when we stopped outside the huge gated house I was suddenly nervous. We sat there for a few moments in silence.

  “Do you want us to just drop you off here or do you want me to come in with you, tee rak?”

  It was times like that that made me realize just how wonderful Angel was. I knew that she was going to be sad to see me go, but she was still thinking about me. I thought that she should meet Pom. I thought that I owed her that much.

  “Will you come with me, please Angel?”

  “Yes, tee rak. I would do anything for you. Are you OK?”

  “Yes. I think so. I’m just a bit nervous. I don’t know why.”

  We left Som in the car and Angel and I went to the gate. Angel pressed the intercom. It buzzed and crackled and then she introduced herself and told them that I was with her. The gate slid open and we walked to the house. Pom’s boyfriend, his mother and father waited in the open doorway for us. They all looked very afraid and not at all surprised to see me. After the usual Thai greetings we went inside and sat in a lounge that was very expensively decorated. A maid was summoned to make us all tea. Then we all sat down on cream coloured leather sofas to discuss me taking Pom away. I suddenly realized that Pom wasn’t there. The family wasn’t just rich. They were well educated and they all spoke perfect English. They seemed like really nice people.

  “So you are Steven West - the monk from England who did so much for the people in Khanchanaburi. Pom has told us about the miracles that you made happen. She always spoke about you with love in her heart.” The father’s voice sounded sad, but I couldn’t help but smile. So Pom always spoke about me with love in her heart. I hoped that her boyfriend had heard that, but somehow I didn’t think that he did. He and his mother both seemed miles away. They probably had already realized that the wedding was off.

  “So imagine my surprise when Albanian Mafia break into my house and tell me that the same Steven West has stolen their drugs. They kidnap my daughter in law and tell me that if I ring the police they will kill her and come back and kill my family. They told me that you would come and they told me to tell you that only you can save my daughter in law. They will kill Pom unless you contact them and return their drugs.”

  “OK. First of all, Pom is not your daughter in law because she has not married your son yet. Secondly, Pom loves me and will marry me and not your son when I tell her that I love her. Thirdly, I didn’t steal any drugs. Somebody gave me a lift and the drugs were in the car, which he asked me to drive back to Bangkok for him. I would never let anything happen to Pom. I will contact these people and get Pom back safe. Did they say anything else when they took Pom?”

  “They said that you were some kind of half- wit” said Pom’s boyfriend, who I just couldn’t be bothered to find out his name.

  “That was probably just gangster talk. They like to talk tough to scare people. Did they say anything else?”

  “No. They just said that you would arrive here to see Pom and that, when you did, I was to tell you to contact them on their mobile phone and arrange a meeting. They took her two days ago, so please act quickly.”

  There didn’t seem to be much point in carrying on any further conversation. I looked at Angel and she nodded. We stood up and ended the meeting with the usual Thai formalities. Angel and I walked back to the car and Angel told Som all about what had been said. Suddenly Plan B was out of the window.

  We drove aimlessly around the city. I think that none of us really wanted to go back to Som’s house. I knew that we were all thinking about what we had to do next, but nobody wanted to say anything and so the silence just seemed to go on and on. I felt the pressure building inside me until I thought I was going to burst.

  “We’ll have to ring these gangsters and I’ll take their drugs back to them so they will let Pom go unharmed. It’s the only thing that we can do.”

  “Tee rak, as soon as you give them their drugs they will kill you and kill the girl. This is stupid idea.”

  I didn’t really have any further argument, so we drove around in silence for a bit longer.

  “OK. We go for coffee. I have an idea.”

  Angel sounded confident and, maybe it was just that she did sound confident, that I suddenly found hope in my heart again. She was an amazing woman. I was looking forward to having a coffee. Oh! And hearing her idea of course. We drove onto a PTT garage and parked in front of the Amazon Coffee Shop. We sat at one of the small tables outside and ordered three iced coffees. We waited in silence until Angel started speaking.

  “We know that we are dealing with very bad people. They kill people and they will kill us and the girl as soon as they have their drugs back. I think we have two choices. One, we can leave them with the girl and run away with the drugs. Two, we can make contact, arrange to meet and try and rescue the girl. But this might not be easy.”

  “I think that we need to save Pom. We cannot just leave her to be murdered by these people.”

  “That is what I thought you’d say. So we make the call and then we make a plan.”

  “OK. Good idea” I said. Som just nodded, but from the look on her face I could see that she didn’t think that it was such a good idea.

  Angel took the gangster’s mobile phone from her bag. She put it on loudspeaker and rang the only number on the phone. It was answered after three rings, but nobody spoke and the silence lasted a long time before a man with an east European accent eventually spoke. His voice sounded very sinister. He sounded like a man who had power and wasn’t afraid to use it.

  “Hello Steven West.”

  I waved my hands at Angel. I didn’t want to speak and I didn’t want Angel to tell him that I was there.

  “He’s listening” she said, trying to sound as menacing as the man on the other end of the phone.

  “We have your girlfriend as I am sure you already know. I have a deal for you. You bring me my drugs and I will give you your girlfriend back. Nice and easy, nice and simple.”

  “We will come to your warehouse.”

  “No. This is not acceptable. We will meet at a neutral location.”

  “We already know the warehouse. We found one of your murder victims there. We will come back to your warehouse.”

  “You must be the girl with no hair. Why are you involving yourself in my business? Little girls can get hurt when they involve themselves in men’s business.”

  “It is my business too. I have carried your drugs across Thailand and I want to be paid. We will come to your warehouse?”

  “OK. A small payment for your efforts is understandable and would be acceptable to my company. No! I do not want to do business at my warehouse. We will come to you. What is your address?”

  “No! This is not acceptable to our company.”

  Angel closed the phone and turned it off.

  “We will let them sweat a little bit. Come on, drink your coffees in case they have some kind of tracker on this mobile.”

  We all drank our coffee as quickly as we could and we continued to drive around the city.

  “How long are we going to let them sweat for?” I asked.

  “Maybe I’ll ring them tomorrow. I need to think how and where we are going to meet them.”

  “What are they going to be sweating over, exactly?”

  “Probably nothing. I am just trying to buy us some time while I think of a plan.”

  “Why are you trying to make them so angry about meeting at their warehouse?”

  “T
ee rak, we need to meet at the warehouse because we already know its location and its layout. We can check the place out before we commit ourselves. If we meet somewhere else then they have all the power. It just makes it more of a level playing field.”

  We drove along the Soi where Som’s little town house was and we didn’t notice anything untoward, but none of us fancied staying there. We decided to stay away from Som’s house, so we drove back towards the river and found a nice little hotel with some cheap rooms. Som had her own room and Angel and I shared a room. We decided to have sex again. Well actually, Angel decided it. I just didn’t do anything to stop her. It is true what they say - ‘Practice really does make perfect’.

  ***

  We fell asleep in each other’s arms. It was a nice way to fall asleep and I was sort of getting used to it. Now, what I’m about to tell you really happened. You might not believe it, but it’s true. I know a lot of people don’t believe in ghosts, but they are real. I’ve met one and I spent a lot of time with her. Her name was Pin. I met her a year after she had died and she was one of the most beautiful people who I have ever met. I’ve told other people what I’m about to tell you and they try to explain it away.

  ‘You were dreaming’ or ‘You were anxious and stressed.”

  Well, to be honest, I was anxious and stressed and I was sleeping, but I wasn’t dreaming. Pin came to see me in my sleep. She knew that I was worried and scared and she wanted to help me. I know Pin and I understand her. I have no doubt that she was always sort of looking after me and I have no doubt that I kept her very busy, because I usually managed to get into trouble very easily. I would feel sorry for anyone who had to look after me. Anyway, I had fallen asleep in Angel’s arms.