Category: Chapter 4

“Are you sure you want to do this?” asks Brock with concern as they approach the scene of the Shindan takedown. A small oil slick occupies the spot where Joanne’s car sat. “Yeah, just don’t hit me too hard,” replies Rebekah resolutely. “Make it look real, just not too real.” They walk a few more …

The crimson lights of the Royal Thai Police strobe over the nighttime scene as foot patrol, canine units, and bomb disposal personnel swarm the heavily secured train yard. At the third carriage of one train the brilliant light of a welding torch emits sharp sparks as it cuts into the thick lock of the shipping …

“You’re sure that you didn’t see a woman in a bright yellow dress walk out of the building?” asks Dominic. Rebekah and Dmitri shake their heads. “And no one like that walked by you?” Dominic asks Mirabelle and Elvis. They both shake their heads and shrug. The handwriting on the small pink sticky note in …

The opened package lies on the upright end of the rusty metal drum, the paper wrapper containing a loose pile of dark and woody grounds. The blanched red string lies coiled nearby, one end terminating at the dented metallic teapot. Through the murky window of the hut the shapes of two men in orange robes …

It’s around noon when the retrieval team returns, almost all hobbling into the courtyard under the weight of multiple bags and luggage. Only Mirabelle has a single suitcase, one on wheels that she’s dragging behind her. Opposite the group, the monk in the casually-worn orange robe is saying something quietly to Brock and Elvis. The …

They travel in pairs, winding and zigzagging through the streets of Bangkok while casting paranoid glances around them. Brock walks silently with Elvis, Rebekah is with Dmitri, and Mirabelle with Dominic. At least one person on each team knows exactly where they’re headed. As the muggy morning sets in, the last damp couple arrive in …