Just the Messenger Boy
AT NOON ON THE dot, a four-door pickup truck pulled up at the guesthouse. The Cockney got out and looked all around before he moved ahead. He asked the ageless owner if she would be so kind as to call his guests.
He chose a seat with his back to the wall. Another habit of trained special forces people. Pat came downstairs, closely followed by a very nervous Mike.
Pat greeted the Londoner.
He politely replied, 'And I wish you a perfect day, young lady. Well, after your long trip, I trust?'
The Cockney was being overly polite.
Mike's fears were coming to the surface.
'Have you brought cash? You must wait for it to clear if it's a cheque.'
Mike was jumping the gun. He knew he had to cool down, and it wasn't easy.
'Hello Mike, I donʼt think you understand. I am just a messenger boy. My boss wants the bar. I'm here to give you and your delightful woman a lift to his place.'
'I see. Sorry for being snappy. Where is his place? Is it nearby?'
'It's a fair distance, a place called Chiang Saen. But, not to worry, the truck is comfortable.'
'Do we need our stuff?' asked Pat.
'Oh no, you wonʼt need anything.'
They had no chance to leave a message. Mike was suspicious and felt the guesthouse owner might have been in the Cockney's pay.
Luckily, Kev had filled up with petrol before they set off that morning. Little did they know that the distance was too far on a small bike like theirs - but that was all they had.
The morning had not started well. Kev could not get through to Black. After all the hours he had been working. So, it was not surprising he had hit the wall. When he got home, he slumped onto his favourite chair - sleeping for eighteen hours. Even his wife could not move him. He had not come in for work. His secretary had called his wife at her school, only to be told to leave him alone. He needed some sleep, or he would be ill.
Kev asked her to pass on a message. Also, please keep Skip up to date. The secretary knew Skip was in Hua Hin, playing cricket on the new pitch at the front of the Dust Hotel.
Kev and Skylab waited in the same restaurant they used the previous day. The orange pickup passed them one way. Fifteen minutes later, it passed in the opposite direction. The bike started the first kick, and they were off. This time, Kev thought of applying suncream as if skin cancer was the most dangerous thing they would face today.
It would be impossible to keep up with the truck. As they reached Highway 1, the car was out of sight. This was the main road, the one and only route to Chiang Saen. They hoped for a bit of luck or some good thinking by either Mike or Pat to slow the truck down.
'You can call me Joe, it's not my name, but everybody calls me that.'
Joe was trying his best to be friendly, but he was very evasive when either of his passengers asked him a direct question, making it pointless to talk to him.
At the turning for Highway 1016, Pat, thinking as ever, told the driver she needed to visit the "ladies". The driver agreed as he needed fuel and a "Jimmy".
They pulled off the road into a petrol filling station. The tank was full; the Cockney went into the small but well-stocked shop for some gum. Still no sign of Pat. She must have a bladder like the inside of a wartime football.
'What was she up to in the loo,' thought the driver, 'or what did the couple following think they were doing?'
Mike held his head as the Honda Dream passed at top speed. Thinking Joe was sure to spot them.
The small bike arrived at a junction.
'It has to be that way,' said a hopeful Skylab. Sure enough, they spotted the truck.
'Keep going, donʼt slow or give any sign you saw them.'
Kev did as he was told. There was less and less traffic as the road gradually became more challenging to keep at top speed. The conditions worsened. Oxen and the local people seemed unused to vehicles on their street. Kev worried they would run out of petrol, and he needed to stop and top up with fuel at the station they had just passed. However, there was a small shop selling bottles of petrol.
'Thank God for that.'
'Put your cap back on quickly. Look the other way. Here comes the truck,' Skylab screamed at him.
They couldn't be sure if anyone in the truck saw them. The vehicle kept going.
'Hold on a sec,' said Joe, 'must get some fruit for the cook. He and the staff love Dragon Fruit, and I always buy some for them.'
Joe was enjoying himself, and he was playing with the nerves of his passengers. And, of those following.
They had been travelling for about two hours since they left their guesthouse. Joe had said almost nothing about himself except the obvious. He was born within the sound of the Bow Bells. Also, it's pretty clear he had been in the Army as a boy soldier. He had worked for "his boss" for ten years. Although Pat and Mike were fed up talking to him, Joe had many questions for them.
'What do your parents think of Mike?'
He seemed interested in the fact that Pat's parents knew nothing about their relationship.
Visiting Chiang Saen, it's tough to believe that once this town was the capital of the Lanna Kingdom. Now, it sleeps on the banks of the Mae Klong River, the gateway to The Golden Triangle.
They passed what looked like ancient walls - much like Mike had seen in Chiang Mai, an old military fortress protecting the city. Unlike in Chiang Mai, the walls surrounded the old fort on only three sides. The fourth side had natural protection. They came to a vast and beautiful lake. It was an incredible sight; the water seemed covered by herons and other waterfowl. The birds appeared to have somewhere exciting to be, as they all took off as the truck approached.
'We have arrived at Wiang Hiran,' said their driver proudly. 'My boss's home.'
They could see a wooden house in the distance, which looked like it was floating on the lake. They continued skirting the water until they reached a small finger of land. It pushed out onto the lake, looking very much like an American giving a signal to somebody he was not happy with.
As they approached, a solid wooden gate swung back. A fierce-looking Thai with a badly marked face came to the driver's window.
'Behind us, there is a couple on a small bike. You know what to do.'
Mike and Pat looked at each other, dreading what would happen next.
Their driver said, 'Did you think I failed to notice them? Give over.'