Missing

Chapter 1

I don't really remember how I got involved, all I know is that now I
am. I was staying in a crappy little youth hostel in Bangkok, it was
hot and sweaty but I guess I was doing the travelling thing. I wasn't
really enjoying it much, I had never been the kind of person who liked
to slum it, shuffling from one horrible room to another and being
surrounded by people who had been wearing the same clothes for months.
I had finished university and spent a few months trying to find my
dream job, never happened and thought I might as well go off for awhile
and come back and give it another crack. So off I went. Started in New
Zealand, then Australia and went up through the islands to Thailand. My
best friend from university, Tim, had stayed for New Zealand and Oz but
we fell out and he went home. I carried on and found some comfort in
being alone, it was cool not having to rely on anyone else and not
having to do anything I didn't want too. I met up with the odd group
here and there and would hang around with them for awhile but I would
move on before too long.

We were all sitting around in some bar drinking cold beer and snacking
on pizzas when they came in. They caught my attention because they
looked so English, which was ridiculous because there were English
people all around me. But they were so stereotypical, he was wearing a
cardigan and dull looking slacks. His hair was slightly balding and he
peered through thick horn-rimmed glasses. She was wearing a floral
pattern dress and had straight mousy blonde hair, she carried a handbag
and stood nervously at the man's side. They were both about fifty and
looked like anybody and everybody's parents. They were Mr and Mrs
Kite.

"So what did you study at university?" She looked over the rim of her
glass and looked me in the eye. I puffed on a cigarette and took a big
gulp of my beer. The bar was right at the end of this huge beach just
up the coast from Sydney. The sun was setting over the huge flat ocean
and the only noise was the occasional lapping of waves, a Spanish
guitar band and the hushed chatter of people enjoying themselves.
"History. And you?" I answered and offered her a cigarette.
"No thanks. Latin." She smiled and sipped at her drink, "At Durham, it
was good but don't know what I am going to do with it now."
"Hmm, it's tricky." I put the cigarette pack in the pocket of my long
shorts, "How long have you been travelling?" I asked her after a
comfortable pause.
"About a month now. Another couple to go and then my friend has to get
back home to start her new job." She nodded towards a girl talking to a
group of surfers.
"Good for her."
"How long have you been away from home?" she let her hand drop below
the table and onto my knee.
"About eight months now. I've been working in New Zealand for awhile,
teaching people to waterski. Wasn't a bad way to spend a few months." I
finished my beer quickly, "Do you want another one?"
"No, shall we go?" she stood up and took my hand and we walked out onto
the beach to the waterline. She wrapped her arm under my loose shirt
and around my waist. We wandered along the by the waves until we were
away from the bar and could only just hear the band, then she slumped
down onto the warm sand and patted the space next to her.
"You're a nice guy, I think." She looked at me as I lay down next to
her.
"Appearances can be deceiving." I leaned towards her and kissed her
softly on the mouth.
"Sometimes." She kissed me harder and began to unbutton my shirt,
taking it off and putting it on the sand next to us. She then moved her
hand down towards my shorts and undid the button. I stroked my hand up
her smooth thigh and up onto her back, I quickly undid her bikini top
and took it off her shoulders, dropping it onto the pile of clothes
that was building up next to us.
"Have you got any protection?" she breathed heavily between kisses. We
were now both lying completely naked on the sand. I pulled away from
her and reached towards my shorts next to us, I got my wallet out and
searched for the condom that just HAD to be there. I found it.

"Look I'm sorry to trouble you all but we are looking for our
daughter." Mr Kite stood, sweating, by the door. His eyes were jumping
from one face to another, you could see there was slight hope in them
but only slight.
"She's been missing for a few months now." His wife spoke suddenly,
"We've been looking everywhere. We just can't find her."
"I've got a photo here, maybe you could all come and have a look." Mr
Kite reached into the rucksack on his bag and then I noticed it, they
were efficient. They had obviously done this many times before, in
hundreds of bars in god knows how many places. Mrs Kite's early
nervousness appeared to just be the wrought nerves of a worried mother.
Nobody in the bar moved.
"Please, it won't take much of your time." Mr Kite pleaded towards the
gathering. There were people of all ages and all attitudes, old and
young, mellow and aggressive, and so on and so on. People always drag
on about the different types of people you meet when you go travelling,
what a load of shit. There are nice people around but some are
dickheads and no matter where they go in the world, they will always be
dickheads. I got up from my chair and headed towards the couple, a look
of relief waved over their faces.

The sunlight crept through the tiny crack in my curtain and landed
perfectly in my eye, I squinted and rolled over. The room was tiny and
brown looking but it was okay. It had a basin and a double bed and it
was nice not to have to listen to stranger's snoring. She was asleep
next to me, I forgot and rolled over straight into her.
"What are you doing?" She murmured.
"Sorry." I looked at her. She was very pretty with long blonde hair
that was slightly knotted and a tanned face with a nice smile.
"Is it morning?" she mumbled with her eyes closed.
"Yes. The sun woke me up." I faced her but had my eyes shut as we both
tried to get more sleep.

"Maybe she doesn't want to be found." A guy who insisted his name was
Dragon stood up and headed around a table towards the couple. I stood
next to Mrs Kite.
"Maybe she does." I answered him quickly.
"Fuck off, Will. I wasn't speaking to you." Dragon looked at me. We had
never got on, he was one of the dickheads in Thailand dealing drugs to
the tourists. Mr and Mrs Kite squinted at him curiously.
"Listen, son. If you are right then we just want to hear it from her
and not from you." Mr Kite spoke with a resigned calmness, he had
obviously had to deal with this before.
"Won't you just look at the photo?" Mrs Kite held the picture out to
Dragon.
"No. We get people like you all the time." He paused for a wasted
effect and circled back around the table to get closer to Mrs Kite.
"Your darling daughter is probably shacked up with some surfer in Oz,
or some sheep sheerer in NZ or maybe even some pimp right here in
Bangkok."
"What is it with you? These people just want you to look at picture, it
will take two seconds probably." I spoke abruptly with him and he
didn't like it.
"Will, you know who I am so I am puzzled by your attitude. It is almost
as if you want trouble." Dragon reached into his pocket and pulled out
a flick-knife. It remained closed in his hand as he moved nearer to
me.
"Listen, please could you just look at the picture. You seem like the
sort of person who might know a lot of people." Mr Kite moved between
us and held the picture in front of Dragon. He had long hair and a
beard that made him look older than he was. He wore mangy shorts and a
sleeveless white shirt. He was skinny and a surprisingly pasty shade of
white.
"Never seen her." But his eyes never left mine to look at the photo. Mr
Kite sighed and flashed a look towards his wife, and then at me. He was
just about to show me the photo when Dragon opened his flick-knife and
lunged past Mr Kite towards me. I leapt to one side as he stretched
across the cheap white plastic table. I grabbed his arm and smashed it
down onto the back of a chair, the knife fell out down onto the floor.
I held Dragon in his awkward, unbalanced position across the table and
reached for the beer bottle on my table. I brought it down across his
head, knocking him out. A couple of his group stood up and moved
towards me.
"Sit down, he came at me. I got him. It's over." I looked at them, I
knew they wouldn't cause trouble. They were stoned and after all Dragon
was a twat, even his friends thought so but as long as he got them some
grass, he was popular. They all sat down again and smoked their joints
and gulped at beer. Mr and Mrs Kite were gone.

I opened the door to the room and entered. She had her eyes closed but
they flickered open as I shut the door. I put the loaf of bread down on
the tiny table by the bed and pulled out the jam and butter. I reached
down into my rucksack and pulled out my knife.
"Where are my strawberries and champagne?" she grinned from under the
sheets.
"They'd run out." I smiled at her. She sat up in the bed and held the
sheet under her chin so as to not show me her breasts. I sat down on
her side of the bed and opened the bread. She took her hand from under
the sheet and stroked my back. I turned to face her.
"Are you hungry?"
"A bit. Why don't you come back to bed?" she threw the sheet off her
and leaned forward and kissed me. I put the loaf back onto the table
whilst kissing her and reached into the carrier bag that it had come
in, I searched around.
"What are you doing?" she pulled away from me and looked at the bag. I
lifted out a four pack of condoms. She took the packet from me and
shook her head, smiling.
"Well, you were confident that in the cold light of day I'd still fancy
you." She spoke softly, unwrapping the packet.

I caught up with them as they weaved their way through the street
traders who were offering them various things. They moved surprisingly
quickly through the busy street as if they were used to dismissing the
people standing in their way with their cheap goods draped all over
them. I put my hand on Mr Kite's shoulder and he swivelled around
quickly, his face dropped his aggression immediately.
"I hope we didn't cause you any trouble." He spoke with a polite
southern accent. His wife smiled at me.
"No, it's fine." I smiled, "Would you like me to have a look at your
photo? I've been travelling around for over a year now, you never
know." Mrs Kite opened the rucksack on her husband's back and rummaged
around.
"It's very kind of you to help." Mr Kite spoke looking over his
shoulder at his wife.
"It's okay but don't get your hopes up." I replied.
"Oh, we know. We've been looking for two months now." He paused and
faced me, "She used to ring every three days or so when she was in
Australia, then she told us she was moving on to Thailand and the phone
calls just stopped. We knew something was wrong." His wife finally
pulled out the small picture.
"Here it is, this was the most recent one we could find." She handed it
to me.

She kissed me on the cheek and opened the door. I was lying on the bed
under the sheets. She looked back at me.
"I had a really good night." She said softly.
"Me too." I paused, "Where are you off to now?"
"Thailand, I think. Haven't really decided but we will go soon." She
had a final check of her pockets, "What about you?"
"Stay here for a bit and then go up through the islands." I answered
staring up at the ceiling.
"You can come with us if you like. It must be lonely being on your own
all the time." She lent on the door with her arm draped lazily down by
her side.
"I like it. But thanks for the offer." I grinned.
"I'd better be...." She nodded away from me, "Bye. Take care."
"And you. Bye." She shut the door and left. I reached over for some
bread and spread some butter across it. I smiled to myself.

CHAPTER 2

Joanne Kite and Jane Layton waited patiently by the luggage carousal.
It was so hot in the airport and the crappy little plane had barely
made it to Bangkok. They had both feared for their life for the entire
flight and now stood wearily waiting for their rucksacks.
"I vote we find a hotel and crash." Jo looked at her tired friend, who
had rested her head on her shoulder.
"Agreed. At least we are here." Jane tried to smile but failed
miserably. Two battered rucksacks burst out onto the conveyor belt and
they prepared for the grab and run that always takes place. Jane
grabbed one and stumbled backwards, Jo grabbed the other and joined her
friend as they both suddenly found themselves at the back of huge
mob.
"Let's go." They heaved the bags onto the backs and trudged off towards
the exit.

The moment they stepped out of the airport, they were surrounded by
taxi drivers. They dropped the bags onto the ground but held onto them
tightly and waited for some quiet.
"Taxi, taxi. English, english." The small man leapt around in front of
them, he was trying the hardest so they chose him and followed him to a
small battered car. He grabbed their rucksacks and chucked them into a
grubby looking boot. He opened the door for them and they shuffled
wearily in.
"Where to, where to." He spoke quickly. Jo looked at her guidebook and
picked out the name of a hostel. The driver nodded and they accelerated
off. Jo and Jane soon fell asleep as the little car bounced over the
rough roads towards the city centre. It soon became dark.

CHAPTER 3

We sat down in the small restaurant and the waiter rushed over. I
ordered a beer for myself but Mr and Mrs Kite ordered nothing and
instead stared at me as they sat closely together.
"Are you sure it was her?" Mr Kite reached for his wife's hand and
clasped it tightly.
"Yes, but we were only together for one night. I met her in a bar near
Sydney." I spoke slowly and carefully, "She said she was going to
Thailand very soon."
"Yes, that ties up with what we know. It was after Australia that we
lost touch with her." Mrs Kite paused, "How did she seem? Was she ill
or in trouble or anything?"
"No, not at all. She seemed very well as far as I could tell." I looked
at them, "What about her friend?"
"Jane. Jane Layton, they had been friends since primary school. Her
mother died several years ago and her father is quite elderly. He is
going out of his mind with worry." Mr Kite looked at me, "And that
night was the only time you saw her?" I sipped at the beer the waiter
had put in front of me and must have looked sheepish.
"It's okay, we want to know the truth." Mrs Kite let go of her
husband's hand and leaned across the table and patted mine.
"She stayed with me in my hotel and then left the next morning, at
about lunchtime." I replied.
"Did she say where she was going?"
"No, only that she was heading here soon." I looked at them, "I am
sorry but she didn't really tell me much more."
"No, thank you very much. You have been very kind, coming after us
despite the trouble we caused." Mrs Kite looked at her husband
sadly.
"What are you going to do now?" I asked quietly.
"I don't know. We are running out of money and.....well, I just don't
know where to look." Mr Kite took his glasses off and searched in a
pocket for tissue, I handed him a serviette and he wiped the
lens'.
"Why don't you go home? She maybe waiting there for you or might have
sent a letter or anything. Look at me, I haven't contacted my parents
for months. But I explained that it is difficult when you are
travelling to keep in touch. Maybe Joanne is somewhere where it is
difficult to phone?" I tried to give them hope but it didn't really
work.
"Two months, though? I understand that you are trying to help, but
something has happened. I know it has." A tear ran down Mrs Kite's
cheek, her husband reached across the table and pulled another
serviette from the pile and handed it to her.
"I am going to be in Thailand a bit longer and then I am moving on,
everywhere I go, I will ask questions. Perhaps you can give me another
picture of her to show people. Give me your address and I will let you
know if I discover anything." I looked at them and smiled, "Travellers
are a weird bunch of people, I might be able to find out more because I
am one of them."
"Thanks we really appreciate that." Mr Kite rummaged in his rucksack
and pulled out a bunch of photocopied sheets that had Jo's photo on and
an address. I took the sheet he held out for me.
"I really hope that you find her." I stood up and held out my hand that
Mr Kite shook as he stood up. Mrs Kite kissed me on the cheek and gave
me a hug.
"Thanks, so do we." Mrs Kite paused, "And if you do find her, and it is
something that we have done.....let her know we can work it out.
Whatever it is." Mrs Kite began to cry.
"I will." I looked down at my feet and then left the restaurant paying
the bemused waiter for my beer.

I arrived back at my hostel and jogged up the uneven stairs to my room.
The hallway was dark but the noise from the bar downstairs drifted up
and caused a loud hubbub that I knew would keep me awake. The Kite's
situation was playing on my mind. It was hopeless and they did not
stand much chance of finding Jo after so much time. It also hurt me
because I had really enjoyed my time with Jo, in another place at
another time...who knows. I put the key in the flimsy lock to my room
and entered. I flicked the light switch but it stayed dark. I didn't
see the punch coming but it smashed me right in the face sending me
back out into the hall. Several pairs of arms reached out of the
darkness and dragged me back into the room, slamming the door behind
me. Something came down across the back of my head and I fell to the
floor. A beam of light suddenly erupted on my face from the torch one
of them was holding. I recognised Dragon's voice immediately.
"You fucking cocky shit!" He kicked me hard in the midriff. I doubled
up in pain and held my stomach. Someone kicked me hard in the back and
I rolled up into a ball to try and protect myself but the kicking
continued furiously, occasionally Dragon would shout something abusive
at me. Eventually they stopped.

CHAPTER 3

The smog hung at street level suffocating anyone who dared breath. The
bicycles huddled together and moved in swarms down the bumpy, uneven
road ignoring street signs and traffic lights. Red taxis would
occasionally send them scattering and the odd lorry would rumble past,
deafening the bustling pedestrians as they scampered along the
pavements. A normal Beijing morning by all accounts and certainly
nothing unusual to note as Alex weaved his way between the people. He
was wearing his normal white safari suit that he thought made him look
like the Englishman abroad. Normally he would take a taxi the short
distance between his apartment and the hotel where he conducted most of
his business but today he felt like walking amongst the people of
Beijing. It always gave him a boost of confidence to feel so superior,
just the pickup he needed before important meetings. He reached the
grubby looking hotel and walked quickly over the forecourt and into the
reception. He nodded at the pretty Chinese receptionist and turned left
down the small corridor to the set of rooms at the back of the hotel.
There were six rooms in all, three on either side of the short hall.
Two men sat at a small table playing dominoes, they immediately stood
up when they saw Alex sending the small pieces scattering. He gestured
for them to sit down.
"Good...morning." One of the men spoke with a screwed up face of upmost
concentration. Alex smiled and gave him the thumbs up.
"How are our guests?" Alex pointed at the rooms one by one, they had
had this broken conversation everyday for the last month and both men
nodded.
"Have you fed them?" Alex gesticulated with his hands simulating eating
and then pointed at the doors again. Both men started to babble in
Chinese but they seemed to reply in the affirmative. Alex put his hand
in his pocket and pulled out several notes, he gave each man an equal
amount. Alex then walked to Room 14 and unlocked the door. He opened it
and walked into the dull room. The girl was curled up on the tiny bed,
there were no sheets. The window had bars and the only other thing in
the room was a small table and a hard looking chair. There was a bowl
of noodles on the table that did not look like they had been touched.
Alex dragged the chair noisily from the table and turned it round to
sit on it backwards. The girl's eyes opened and looked emptily at
him.
"Hello again. How are we today?" Alex smiled at her. She shut her
eyes.
"Fuck off." She replied and rolled over.
"That's not very nice." Alex stood up and circled the room, "Your
parents still have not replied to our letter. Don't they love
you?"
"Fuck off." She repeated. Alex moved nearer to her and sat on the edge
of the bed, he ran his fingers through her knotted hair.
"Don't you want to go home?" he spoke softly. She still lay on her side
ignoring him. Alex stood up.
"Oh well, if they don't pay up. We just end up selling you. I make
money either way." Alex sat back down on the chair, "Maybe we need to
write another letter, and perhaps a photograph this time. A photograph
of you tied down about to be fucked by some chinky businessman. Do you
think they would respond to that?" Jo turned over and looked him up and
down.
"You're fucking sick." She spoke harshly but was tired and
desperate.

When they had woken up the taxi was bounding across a bumpy road. It
was too dark to see outside but it was obvious that they had left the
city, there were no lights except for the dim headlights of the taxi.
Jo woke first and stared drowsily out the window, she nudged her
friend.
"Where are we?" Jane spoke slowly and rubbed her eyes.
"Good question." Jo felt nervous and tapped the taxi driver on the
shoulder. He ignored her. She tapped him harder and he stopped the car,
bringing it to a skidding halt by the edge of the road. He jumped out
and opened the door on Jo's side of the car. He started swinging wildly
with his fists, raining punches down on the two girls. They started
screaming and Jane desperately tried to open her door but it was jammed
shut. The man stopped and slammed the door before returning to his
driving position and driving on. Jo had been hit the worst and Jane
tried to help her. She had a bloodied nose and was cut above the eye.
They were both crying.
"Jo, what's happening?" Jane sobbed as she dabbed at her friend's cut
with a tissue.
"I don't know, I'm scared." Jo cried and soon they were both crying
intensely, holding each other and attempting to look out the window to
try and get some idea of where they were. The taxi driver fiddled with
the radio and began whistling tunelessly to the song.

Jane spotted the lights first and pointed at them.
"There is something up ahead. Maybe we can get help." Jane sat up
straighter in her seat and wiped her eyes. As they got closer, they
could see it was a street side market of some sort. The car ground to
halt and the driver jumped out. There was a stall selling drinks and
snacks with several people standing around eating. It had a blue and
white tarpaulin stretched between a metal framework. The girls started
to bang on the windows at the people. One young man looked at them but
then turned back to his drink. The driver was helping himself to a
Sprite. The girls banged harder and he looked at them angrily and
walked towards the door of the car, he noticed a large metal pipe by
the side of the stall and picked it up. Jo stopped banging the window
and tried to move across towards Jane in the back of the car as he
opened the door. He brought the pipe down hard on her shoulder. The
pain was immense and she screamed loudly. He shut the car door and
continued his conversation with the people outside. Jane held her
friend's head in her lap and stroked her hair. Jo sobbed and held her
arm. The man eventually finished his drink and got back in the car. He
turned the key in the ignition and the car spluttered into life, he
waved at the crowd by the roadside and they waved back as he drove
off.

"The only way to get out of this, is if your parents co-operate. You
can get them to do that if you put your heart into this letter. Pluck
some heart strings, fuck, you know them better than I do. Write it the
best way to appeal to them." Alex stood behind Jo as she sat at the
table writing on the scrappy bit of paper. Jo wrote slowly with the
blunt pencil.
"Why don't you get a newspaper, we can write a proper fucking ransom
note." Jo looked up at him sarcastically.
"Joanne, Joanne, when will you learn a bit of respect? I am the only
thing stopping those guys out there selling you off to some pimp. I am
your only friend here."
"No, Jane was my only friend out here. You are a fucking leech." Jo
spat at him angrily.
"Was being the operative word, darling." Alex grinned at her.

The car pulled up alongside the small aeroplane. The driver got out and
walked over to the group of men sat on the small set of steps that
unfolded down from the door of the plane. Eventually a man in a white
suit stepped out from inside the plane and the men got off the steps
and let him step down onto the rough tarmac runway. He patted the
driver on the shoulder and put his arm around his shoulder and walked
towards the taxi.
"He's white." Jane whispered to Jo as they looked out the window at the
approaching men. Jo looked at her friend.
"When they get us out, I will try and create a diversion and then you
run. Try and get help somehow. My arm is really bad and my eye is
closing up, I wouldn't get far but you might stand a chance." Jane
nodded her agreement.
"But what about you? What will they do to you?" Jane tried to summon up
some energy and Jo smiled.
"I'll be fine. You get away and get help." Jo paused, "Maybe I can slip
away in the confusion as well." Jane nodded and they both turned to
look at the men. The white guy opened the car door and held out his
hand.
"Ladies, please get out the car." He was English and spoke with an
educated accent. Jo and Jane shuffled out the car and tried to stand up
but Jo's aching legs and the rush of blood to her head sent her to the
floor. Jane tried to help her up and noticed Jo grab a handful of
gravel from the floor.
"Whoopsie daisy." Alex also helped Jo up and did not see the handful of
gravel coming until it was in his eyes. Jo pushed him over as he held
his hands to his face and then brought her knee up into the groin of
the taxi driver. Jane turned and ran, and seeing the opportunity, Jo
ran as well. Her arm hurt like hell but she set off at right angles
from Jane. She turned to see the man in the white suit on the floor
holding his eyes, the taxi driver struggled to his feet and then pulled
out a gun. Jo saw him bring it up and point it towards Jane as she
headed towards some thick woods. She was just a few feet short when the
shot rang round the area, Jane collapsed on the floor. Jo stopped
running and stared at her friend, she then began to run towards Jane.
The tears were already running down her face when she reached her. She
rolled her over but Jane's eyes were staring lifelessly into space. Jo
began to cry harder and looked back at the taxi driver who was aiming
at her, the man in the white suit pulled out a gun and held it at the
side of the driver's head. He spoke several words and then suddenly the
gun fired and the driver fell to the ground. Jo looked back down at her
friend and craddled her head in her lap. She could hear several people
approaching but just gathered Jane up into her arms and held her close.
The hand on her shoulder disturbed her and she jumped before looking up
into an unknown face that had suddenly entered her life.

CHAPTER 4

I woke up and was confronted by two men in suits. I was in a
hospital.
"Good, you're awake." The first man spoke. He was wearing a navy blue
suit and had red tie on. He was about forty years old. The man to his
side was obviously his junior and held a notebook with a pen poised to
take notes.
"Who are you guys?" I heard my own voice sound weak and pathetic. I
tried to sit up but the pain in my side stopped me. The junior man
leapt forward and pushed me back into the bed.
"Try not to move. You have been quite badly hurt." He spoke
softly.
"We are from the British Embassy, my name is Mr Jenkins and this is
Lawrie. Now, who are you?" as he spoke he moved neared to me and Lawrie
moved a chair from the side of the bed which Jenkins sat down on.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you found in a hotel room with no identification, no passport,
nothing. The maid round you and the hotel manager knew that you were
English and they rang us."
"That fucking twat, Dragon." I spoke angrily.
"Is he the guy that did this to you?" Lawrie scribbled on his
pad.
"Yes, I don't know his real name. I'm Will Thomas." I paused, "Can you
guys help me get a new passport and some more money and things?"
"We can try. Now do you have an address of someone in England we can
contact to get things moving?" Jenkins nodded at Lawrie to take notes
and I gave them my parent's address.
"But I haven't really been in contact with them much. It might be
better if I spoke to them first." I looked at the two men, "What
happens now?"
"We can give you some money which is like a loan from the British
government which you pay back when you get back to England." Jenkins
rose from his seat, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out some
notes, "As for the passport, we will get to work on that. Where will
you be staying?"
"Don't know really. Dragon might try and finish me off and I am not
really in any state to protect myself." I tried to smile but it didn't
work.
"Lawrie, is there room at the barracks for Will here?" Jenkins looked
at Lawrie and then back at me, "The embassy is an old army post, all
the interns stay there."
"Yes sir, I think so." Lawrie replied and looked at me, "It's quite
nice really."
"Then you wait here for Will to be released and take him back to the
embassy, he can stay there whilst we get the passport prepared for him
to fly home."
"Home. What do you mean? Back to England?" I rose my voice over the two
of them.
"Of course. You will be on a temporary passport and will have to return
home to get your affairs in order." Jenkins looked down at me.
"But.." Jenkins interrupted me and held his hand up to me.
"No buts, you must return home. Your adventure here is over." Jenkins
turned and nodded at Lawrie. They both disappeared behind the curtain
around my bed. Lawrie eventually returned.
"Let's see about getting you discharged." He tucked his notebook into
his pocket and went back out through the gap in the curtain.

The taxi dropped us off in front of the embassy. Lawrie had to help me
out the car and I walked alongside him, propped up on his shoulder. Two
soldiers checked his ID and opened the gate for us.
"And they took everything. Didn't even leave me some clothes?" I
muttered under my breath.
"Yes, don't worry we can get you some more clothes." Lawrie nodded
towards a large, grim looking brick building in front of us, "Those are
the barracks."
"And you live there?" I replied quickly, "Looks a bit like a
prison."
"You get used to it." He smiled. We reached the door and Lawrie fished
around his pocket for a card of some sort. He swiped it through a card
reader and the door unlocked. He held it open for me as I hobbled
through. A woman behind a desk stared at me from behind some knitting,
her grimace turned to a smile when she saw Lawrie come in after
me.
"Lawrie, this must be Will. Mr Jenkins told me to get a room ready."
She smiled at us both, "You look in a bit of a bad way. Is there
anything I can get you?"
"No, I am fine thank you. Maybe later." I grinned painfully.
"Will, this is Mrs Latimer. The housekeeper." Lawrie took the key that
she was holding for him.
"Nice to meet you." I replied, "Thanks very much for putting me up, I
would be a bit stuck otherwise."
"Oh, don't worry. We can't have you out on the streets, can we?" Mrs
Latimer paused, "It will be nice for Lawrie to have someone his own age
to talk to for once, instead of all those stuffy civil servants. Dinner
is served at seven, you should get some rest till then. Lawrie show him
to his room." Mrs Latimer smiled and I followed Lawrie up the dusty
corridor.

Alex took the letter from Jo and popped it into an envelope, licking it
slowly and sealing it. Jo stared up at him.
"Happy now." She asked quickly.
"Not until they pay, dear. Not until they pay." Alex turned and opened
the door and after one last look at the pretty girl, he left. The two
guards turned to face him as he stepped out. He waved them back to
their seats but they pointed down the corridor back towards reception.
Alex looked suspiciously past them and then walked carefully past them,
his hand slid inside his jacket and around the butt of the revolver. He
peeked around the corner towards the reception. A small Chinese man was
sat down in one of the chairs, nervously tapping his feet. He leapt to
his feet when he saw Alex. Alex stepped out, releasing his hold on the
gun and opened his arms.
"Mr Liu Wong. How good to see you." Alex smiled at the man, he was
wearing a tidy suit and had a neat haircut. Alex shook his manicured
hands and moved him away from the corridor back towards the door.
"Alex, I get impatient." Liu Wong held onto Alex's handshake as they
walked.
"Yes, I know. But we have to wait just a little longer before I can
give her to you." Alex smiled as they stepped outside the hotel onto
the forecourt. A sleek, black Mercedes was parked there with a large
man in a black suit leaning on it. The light of the day was beginning
to fade and the lamps in the small square illuminated the smog creating
bright patches of smoke that floated around the bulbs. Liu Wong let go
of Alex's hand.
"I will go elsewhere if you can not deliver on your promise." Liu Wong
spoke well and Alex nodded. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out
a pack of cigarettes and held them out for Liu Wong to take one. He
offered them to the chauffeur and then lit both their cigarettes. He
flicked open his lighter and the flame flicked up.
"You know I offer the best girls. You have seen the photograph, I know
you want her. It is just a matter of a little time." Alex puffed on his
cigarette, the smoke disappearing into the smog.
"I will give you more time because I want her. But only one more week
and then I will want my deposit back." Liu Wong flicked his cigarette
onto the floor and opened the door to the Mercedes. The tall driver
stooped in and started the engine. They reversed out into the busy late
afternoon traffic and merged into the rushing throng of vehicles.

I sat next to Lawrie at the long dinner table. He had woken me up about
half an hour ago carrying a bundle of clothes. The dining room was in
the main embassy building room and had pictures of English countryside
and royalty hung on the walls. The table sat about ten people and
everyone was wearing suits except for me. I had chosen a white t-shirt
and jeans from the pile of clothes that Lawrie had managed to rustle up
from somewhere. The other men around the table were quite a bit older
than Lawrie and myself. They ignored us and continued muffled
conversations amongst themselves.
"Do they normally not talk to you?" I asked Lawrie as he dipped a bread
roll into his soup.
"It's just the nature of this business. Until you have been around for
awhile, they don't talk to you." Lawrie smiled slightly, "It'll get
better."
"How did you get into this?" I sipped at my soup.
"My father was the English Ambassador in Sri Lanka, my grandfather was
in Egypt and so it was natural for me to follow, so I ended up in
Bangkok trying to get the experience that will make me a good
ambassador."
"So which one is the ambassador?" I nodded towards Jenkins, who was
laughing at his own joke.
"Jenkins? No. The ambassador is having dinner at the American embassy
tonight. He rarely dines here that is why we use the main dining room
and not the canteen in the barracks." Lawrie smiled and passed a bowl
of bread rolls for me. I took one and broke it in half before dunking
it into the bowl of soup.
"Cushy." I replied as Lawrie finished his soup and pushed the bowl away
from him. He turned to face me.
"So why did you get beaten up?" he spoke quietly. I told him the story
of the Kites, Dragon and Jo. He nodded attentively throughout.
"Mr and Mrs Kite came to see us. They spoke to Jenkins. It is a sad
story but there isn't much we can do." Lawrie reached for a bottle of
beer and poured two drinks, passing one to me.
"She can't have just disappeared. And she wasn't the type to disappear
and not call. I really want to find her, she was nice." I grabbed my
drink and downed it.
"There have been several cases of girls disappearing. We haven't found
any of them." Lawrie spoke quietly and moved slightly nearer to
me.
"How many?"
"Ten in the last month." Lawrie looked worried, "We haven't got a clue
where they have gone. We have only found one, and she was dead with no
ID or anything."
"Did you show Mr and Mrs Kite a photograph of the dead girl?" I asked
quickly.
"No, she didn't match the description of their daughter." Lawrie looked
down sadly at the plate of food Mrs Latimer put down in front of him,
"Thanks."
"What about her friend, Jane Layton?" I tucked into my food.
"They didn't mention her friend. They seemed pretty tired, I think they
had given up. They were flying home today, I believe." Lawrie put down
his fork, "Did you see her friend?"
"Yes, from across a bar. Mousy coloured hair down to about her
shoulders, about five foot six. Pretty girl." I looked at Lawrie.
"Could be her?" Lawrie pushed out his chair and stood up, "Excuse us,
gentlemen. I have to show Will where the lavatory is." Nobody noticed
us leave. We walked down the corridor.
"Why didn't you tell them where we going?" I asked him eventually. He
looked at me.
"They wouldn't do anything. They don't really care, they only want
their fancy dinners and easy lifestyle. Besides, I want to find out
what is happening to these girls." He pushed open a door into a small
office and flicked on the light. He helped me to a seat and then opened
a filing cabinet, eventually finding a flimsy-looking file. He sat down
opposite me and searched through the documents before pulling out a
black and white photograph.
"This is Jane." She was lying on a cold looking slab in some sort of
operating room, "This is definitely her. What happened to her?" Lawrie
handed me the file.
"I shouldn't really be showing you this, but you might be able to
help." Lawrie leaned towards me and watched me read the file.
"The dates match up with when they would have got here from Australia."
I paused, "She was shot in the back."
"Yes, from quite long range. Like maybe she was running away." Lawrie
stood up and walked to a map of Thailand on the wall, "She was brought
in by local police from this area up here to the north." He pointed
with his finger, "About 4 hours from Bangkok."
"Where is she now?" I struggled to my feet and stood next to him at the
map.
"We sent her back to England. Now we know who she is, we can contact
her family and give her a proper funeral." Lawrie turned to face me, he
was thinking, eventually he spoke, "What do you say we take a ride out
to where Jane was found?"
"Don't you have rules to follow about this sort of thing?" I looked at
him.
"Yes, but they don't always have to be followed. I am fed up taking
notes for these dinosaurs. We probably won't find anything anyway.
Better to waste our time than theirs, don't you think?"
"Absolutely. When shall we go?" I looked at him, he opened another
drawer in the filing cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Jack
Daniels.
"Tomorrow morning. I'll book a couple of days off, tell them we are
going to the beach for a few days whilst we wait for your passport. We
can borrow an embassy car." He paused and shook the bottle of whisky,
"Present from home."

Jo lay on her back on the hard bed and stared up to the ceiling. How
can this be happening? The thought just kept going round and round. It
was so unbelievable that it made her smile and then when she remembered
it was real, she would begin to cry. She lost count of how many nights
she had been in this room, staring at the ceiling. All she could see
when she closed her eyes was Jane stumbling to the ground and then the
look in her vacant eyes. It was always there when she tried to shut her
eyes and sleep. Her parents must be going out of their minds. But where
were they? Why weren't they answering the letters? Not a word according
to Alex, as he asked her to call him. But the sense that this nightmare
would never be over was always lingering the back of her mind. Would
Alex let her go if her parents paid the ransom? She doubted it. She
doubted it very much.

CHAPTER 5

"Mum, where have you been? It's me. It's Jo."
"Oh my god, Jo. Where are you? Are you alright?"
"Mum, listen. Have you read the letters?"
"What letters? We have just got back from Thailand. We've been looking
for you."
"Jo, Jo. It's Dad, where are you?"
"Dad, read the letters...."
"Mr and Mrs Kite, I presume. You have been very hard to get hold of.
Now listen carefully. Your daughter is safe for the time being."
"Who is this?"
"Mr Kite, please don't interrupt me again. Read the letters and do what
they say. You know your daughter is alive, you just spoke to her. Pay
me the money and she will be back home in no time."
"But...but...hello..hello.hello"

CHAPTER 6

"I can't believe you understood what he was saying?" I looked at Lawrie
as he drove us towards where the farmer had discovered Jane's body. The
police had shown us their report and pointed us in the right
direction.
"We have lessons at the embassy, no one else really bothers going." He
swerved to miss a pothole on the rough muddy track, it had taken longer
than the four hours predicted. The road was terrible and bouncy.
"I think this is it. He said it was by the runway." Lawrie stopped the
car and we jumped out.
"Why is there a runway out here?" I looked around at the thick jungle.
It was so hot and muggy and we were both covered in sweat.
"I think it was built by some drug dealers awhile ago, they used to run
drugs in and out of here all the time. They probably still do, that
might have been why the police were out here. Picking up a back hander
or something." Lawrie stepped out onto the tarmac.
"Whereabouts did he say they found her?" I asked Lawrie.
"Over by those trees, I think." He paused, "He wasn't too specific. I
think they just found her and brought her in. They didn't really record
where they found her and I am sure they didn't really have much of a
look round." Lawrie and I walked towards the thick trees, we stepped
off the tarmac into the long grass and kept walking.
"Look." I pointed at a stick with a yellow marker on it.
"Surprisingly thoughtful of the police, don't you think?" Lawrie and I
started to jog towards the marker.
"What are you expecting to find?" I asked Lawrie breathlessly.
"Don't know. Nothing, something, anything." We got to the marker and
kneeled down.
"Blood." I pointed at a tiny patch of scarlet on the ground between
some grass.
"Poor girl." Lawrie spoke softly.
"I wonder if Jo was here as well." I stood up and looked around.
"I expect so, if they were travelling together. At least if they had
killed Jo as well, I'd have thought she would be around here somewhere.
They didn't exactly spend much time hiding Jane." Lawrie stood up next
to me.
"Let's have a look round." We split up and whilst Lawrie searched the
long grass and moved towards the dense treeline.

"Now wasn't it nice to speak to the folks again?" Alex looked at Jo,
she stared back at him blankly.
"I think that little push might be enough now. All they have to do is
wire the money to me and then you can go. I will go and check at the
bank in a few hours. Twenty grand isn't that much, when you think
about, but it goes a long way out here." Alex circled round behind her.
He put his hand on her shoulder and moved it slowly across her shoulder
blades towards her neck. He stroked her hair softly. She was wearing a
grubby white vest and he slipped his finger under the strap and pulled
it down to reveal her bare, tanned shoulder.
"You really are a pretty little thing." Alex leant down and kissed her
softly on her arm. Jo kept her mouth shut but strained at the rope that
bound her hands behind her. Alex licked across her shoulder towards her
neck and then nibbled her ear. He grabbed her head and turned it
roughly towards him, kissing her hard on the lips. Jo struggled and
then bit down. Alex pulled away with blood dripping from his lip.
"You fucking whore." He slapped her hard across the face, spilling over
the chair and sending her crashing the floor. She landed with a crash
and the door flung open as the two guards rushed in.
"Get out." Alex ushered them out and then stood over Jo, "You really
are stupid." Jo just kept staring forward but a smile broke over her
face as she turned to face Alex and saw the blood dripping down his
chin. He stormed out leaving her prone on the floor.

"Lawrie, come quick." I shouted to him from just inside the treeline
and made my way towards the car buried in the forest. It was a taxi and
had obviously been there awhile as the tyre marks had been covered by
the grass and there was no visible sign of it's entry into the trees. I
had only noticed it because it's redness of colour stood out from the
greenness surrounding it. I waded into the thicket pushing the branches
out the way, I made it around to the driver's door and opened it. I
suddenly noticed the smell and nearly choked. I pulled my t-shirt up
over my mouth and nose and peeked inside the car. I jumped back when I
saw the rotting corpse of the driver and nearly threw up. Lawrie ran
up.
"What is it?" he stood next to me and then leaned inside to see, "Oh
shit."
"Been there about a month, wouldn't you say?" I looked at the green
faced Lawrie, "Let's have a look." I held my breath and looked back
inside the car, everything looked okay in the front apart from the
decaying human remains so I reached inside and unlocked the rear doors.
I opened them and searched inside.
"There's blood on the seat here." I shouted to Lawrie outside.
"Is there anything else?" Something on the floor of the car caught my
eye as the sun glinted in through the tree cover.

I looked up into Jo's face as she moved on top of me. The sea was
coming in and was getting closer and closer to us. It lapped softly,
softly around our feet and then Jo groaned loudly and grinned down at
me through her hair. I smiled and she giggled. I put my hand up to the
side of her face. I could see the moon behind her as she kissed my
hand. Her silver cross dangled down on my chest, I looked at it and she
smiled moving up my body and draping it across my face. She leant down
and kissed me softly on the lips

"This is Jo's." I got out the car and held it up for Lawrie to
see.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." I looked at it, "So she was definitely here. I am guessing
that for some reason her and Jane got this taxi out here and something
went wrong."
"If you look at the facts, it would appear that Joanne is the only
survivor making her a suspect." Lawrie said matter-of-factly.
"You don't really believe that, do you?" I looked at him.
"No, not really." He walked around the back of the car and fiddled with
the boot, "It's locked." I reached into the car and pull the keys out
of the ignition and threw them at Lawrie. He put them in the lock and
popped the boot open, I stood next to him and we looked down at the two
rucksacks.
"I think she would have taken her rucksack if she would have been able
too, don't you think?" I heaved the two bags out of the car and put
them on the floor, "What are we going to do?"
"Report this to the police, tell them about the car and the driver but
we won't mention Jo and we won't show them these bags. They'll just
stick them in some lock-up and take anything they want and it will be
months before we see them again." Lawrie heaved one bag onto his
shoulder, "Can you manage that one?" I nodded and picked it up onto my
aching shoulder.

CHAPTER 7

Mr Kite parked the car in Tesco's car park and jumped out. He looked
tired as he jogged across the pavement towards the Lloyds Bank on the
corner. The letters had been specific, he had to transfer ?20,000 to a
Beijing account in the name of Peter Kite. They had been prudent over
the years and had several pensions and insurance policies that should
just about total twenty thousand. It would clear them out but if it
meant getting Jo back, he would have paid any amount. The sun glinted
down through some patchy cloud and Mr Kite squinted at the opening
times in the Lloyd's window. It was after five o'clock and the bank
would not reopen until half past nine the next morning. He turned away
from the bank door and leant against it, sliding down onto his haunches
before finally sitting on the ground. He put his head in his hands and
began to cry.

"Hello." Mrs Kite answered the phone nervously.
"Mrs Kite, it's Will. Remember we met in Thailand?"
"Will, yes. Is everything okay?" she pinched the bridge of her nose and
grimaced, the headache had been pounding since they had opened the
letters. Her darling daughter being held for ransom in China, it was
beyond belief.
"Fine. I have been doing some investigating. It's not all good though.
Jo has been taken somewhere, probably by plane. We found the runway
just north of Bangkok." Mrs Kite slumped down into the chair in the
hall by the phone. A photograph of Jo hung on the wall, she was in her
graduation gown outside Durham Cathedral.
"Will, please keep out of it. You'll only cause trouble." Mrs Kite
spoke slowly,
"Do you know something?"
"Will, please."
"Mrs Kite, Jane is dead. She was murdered at the runway. It looks like
she was shot as she ran away."
"Oh my god." Mrs Kite began to sob, "Oh my god."
"We can try and help find Jo but you must tell me if you know
anything."
"I....we got a letter. Several letters from Jo. She is in Beijing.
Kidnapped and they are demanding that we send them twenty thousand
pounds. Then they say they will release her." She paused, "My husband
is arranging the money now."
"Beijing? How are you getting the money to them?"
"Transferring it to an account in the name of Peter Kite. We are meant
to say he is my brother-in-law or something." She reached for the box
of tissues on the telephone table and dabbed at her eyes.
"Did they say anything else?"
"No, not really. They rang as well and we spoke to Jo." Mrs Kite sucked
in her tears and spoke with more confidence.
"I am going to try and get to Beijing. If they release her, she is
going to need all the help she can get to get home."
"Will, please don't stir up trouble." Mrs Kite spoke sternly, "Our
daughter's life is at stake, the man sounded very serious."
"You spoke to him? What did he sound like? Chinese?"
"No, he was very well spoken. English." She answered, "But please,
promise me not to get involved. If you get to Beijing, ring us and we
can tell you where they are releasing her and perhaps you can help her
then."
"I promise. Good bye, Mrs Kite."
"Bye Will and thanks." She put the phone back on the receiver and
stayed in the chair staring at the phone until her husband
returned.

We sat in the small bar drinking a cold beer each. Lawrie shook his
head.
"I don't know if I can help you anymore." He paused and sipped at his
drink, "If she was still in Thailand, maybe but you have to go back
home as soon as you get your passport. They won't let you into
China."
"What about you?" I looked at him.
"I could go, I travel with diplomatic papers. But I am not sure what
you expect us to do when we get there."
"It can't be that hard to trace bank accounts and find an Englishman
out there." I flicked a beer mat of the edge of the table and caught
it.
"Do you know how big Beijing is?" he continued, "Will, I think the
adventure is over. Let the Kite's handle it, if you cause trouble and
Jo gets killed."
"Yes, I know but what are the chances of them just letting her
go?"
"What other choice is there? The chances of them letting her go are
better than our chances of finding them." Lawrie gestured to the waiter
to bring two more beers.
"Can't you get me a proper passport and a visa to get into China?" I
came out with the question that had been lingering.
"I can't. I've broken enough rules. I've gone as far as I can go."
Lawrie shook his head again. The waiter put the two bottles on the
table and Lawrie paid him, "I'm sorry."
"Can't the embassy in Beijing do anything?" I asked him.
"Maybe, I can put in some calls. But if the Kite's don't ask for help,
there isn't much we can do." Lawrie looked at me, "What are you going
to do?"
"Not sure, there is one person who might be able to help." I stood up,
"Thanks for your help, maybe we'll meet up again sometime."
"Will, don't do anything silly. This is not the sort of place you want
to get into too much trouble." Lawrie stood up and extended his hand, I
shook it and smiled at him.
"I'll be fine." I grinned and then turned away from him and walked out
into the busy afternoon huddle.

Dragon was lying on the roof of the hostel when I found him. He had a
joint in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. He had a hat
covering his face and I only recognised him because of his pale white
skin and grubby white vest. A couple of other guys sat around him but
they looked pretty spaced out.
"Hello." I stood above him and he casually lifted the hat off his face
to look up at me. The sun was directly behind me and he scrambled for
his sunglasses before he realised it was me.
"Well, well, well. It's just William." Dragon smirked at his own joke,
"Not looking too bad, Will. Could have been a lot worse."
"Hmmm, not feeling to bad either. In fact I have been thinking about
moving on." I crouched down and looked at him, "But, and this is a big
but, I seem to have mislaid my passport. Which is a bit of a bummer
really."
"How careless of you." He swigged back a large gulp of beer and grinned
a yellow smile at me. He offered me the bottle.
"No thanks." I looked at him, "So what does it take to get my passport
back?"
"Out of my hands, Willy. Been passed on already." Dragon smiled
sarcastically, "Some people will pay good prices for a passport round
here."
"Who did you sell it too?" I spoke sternly.
"I'm not fucking telling you, am I?" Dragon reached for his pocket and
I guess his knife. I moved quickly and leapt over him and hooked my arm
around his neck and squeezed tightly.
"Let go of it, Dragon. I am not kidding." I squeezed even tighter and
Dragon let out a small whine, "I don't exist here anymore, thanks to
you, so no one would know who did it. Not that anyone would care
anyway."
"Okay, okay." Dragon choked and I let my grip go slightly.
"So who has got it?"
"You'll never see it again. I exchanged it for a load of grass from my
supplier. But I wouldn't get involved with them, if I was you." Dragon
sniffed.
"Name?"
"I don't know his Thai name, he just calls himself Bruce. After Bruce
Lee." He paused, "But these are serious fucking gangsters, man. They're
involved in all sorts of heavy shit."
"Whereabouts?"
"I don't know." I tensed my arm and pulled it hard against his throat,
Dragon kicked his legs out and struggled but I was too strong for
him.
"Alright, alright." He struggled for breath as I slackened my arm,
"They all hang out at that bar next to Han's Restaurant. On the north
side." I let go off his neck and stood up behind him.
"Thank you, now I doubt we will be seeing each other again. So this
really is goodbye." I turned away from him.
"Especially if you start screwing around with these guys." Dragon
sneered and didn't see me move back towards him and bring me foot hard
up under his chin knocking him over backwards. I looked at his sleeping
friends and then back at the unconscious Dragon before walking to the
side of the building and clabbering back down into the street.

"Mr Kite, where is my fucking money?" Alex screamed down the phone and
made Jo jump. She was tied to her chair again the hole of a room that
had been her home for so long now. Alex always brought the telephone in
when they needed to make a call. She had been fed a bowl of plain,
white rice before Alex had come in with his telephone. His face was
dark and angry but he did not say a word until he dialled.
"I don't give a shit what time the banks are open in England. All I
care about is my money." He paused and looked at the ceiling rolling
his eyes.
"Mr Kite." He spoke suddenly calmer, "You get to the bank first thing
tomorrow and transfer the money or she is dead. But before I kill her,
I will fuck her and then I will let my men fuck her and then, maybe
then, I will kill her as painfully and horribly as I dare imagine.
Sleep well, Mr Kite." Alex hung up the phone and closed his eyes. Jo
was scared beyond her wits but she could not show him. His eyes opened
and looked at her.
"Your daddy is playing games with your life." He leant down close to
her face and she could smell gin on his breath, "How does that make you
feel?" His breathing splashed across a cheek and she felt
nauseous.
"He'll pay." She paused and turned her head so that she faced him, "But
you won't let me go will you?"
"What me? But I promised." Alex stood up simulating mock insult.
"Why are you doing this?" she shook her head.
"Money, darling." He paused, "Do you think you are the only one here?
There are five other girls in the other rooms, can't you hear them
crying at night?"
"Six of us." Jo hadn't realised that there were others, she didn't know
there were other rooms around her. They had put a bag over her head as
soon as the plane had landed all that time ago.
"Yes, so don't feel so lonely."
"Twenty grand each. You must be very pleased with yourself, that tiny
amount of money for all this hurt you put us through." Jo was suddenly
really angry, "You're a fucking twat."
"Don't flatter yourself, Jo. Some people can afford more than twenty
grand, some less though. It's not hard to find out how much money
people have, how do you think I knew that you daddy could afford that
much?" Alex leaned on the edge of the desk and looked at Jo. She was
fuming and straining to get at him. He stroked her cheek and she glared
at him, "But you are most definitely my favourite. All the others sit
in a pile on their bed but you, you've got a bit of fight."
"I don't want to give you the satisfaction of seeing me like that." Jo
glanced at him quickly before returning to staring forward.
"This time tomorrow, you could be free." Alex leant down close to her
again and smiled. Jo knew she would never be free.

CHAPTER 8

I took a seat in the corner of the bar and ordered a coke. It was a
typical Thai bar but had an air of aggression normally missing from the
tourist places. I played the dumb holidaymaker and smiled at the barman
when he took my order. It was quite busy but I was the only white
person in the place, the rest were Thai but they paid me little
attention. I had no idea what Bruce looked like or whether he in the
place or not. I sipped at my coke and surveyed the place with an inane
smile on my face like someone looking round Disney Land or some other
attraction. The tables were wobbly and the chairs rough, plastic
tablecloths were on each table and some form of seventies sounding
music played in the background. I noticed the barman look at the clock
above the bar and then pull down three glasses from above him. He
reached under the bar and pulled out a bottle of liquor and poured
three large shots in each glass.

At exactly eight, three men walked in and sat by the large table in the
middle of the bar. They nodded to the barman who brought them the three
drinks. Two of the men were wearing shorts and sleeveless t-shirts but
the third man was wearing a faded black suit, it barely fitted him but
he seemed very proud of it and carefully took the jacket off handing it
to the barman. He was wearing a t-shirt with a large picture of Bruce
Lee on the front underneath. I smiled to myself. They drunk their
drinks and talked in Thai to each other then after about half an hour
and another coke, two white guys walked in. I didn't recognise either
of them but Bruce ushered them to sit down. I was just about in
listening distance.
"What have you got for me?" Bruce spoke good English and the two lads
reached into their pockets and dropped several wallets, a couple of
passports and five cameras onto the table. Bruce picked up one of the
camera's.
"Hmm, not bad." He nodded to one of his men, who dropped a bag of grass
on the table.
"Is that all?" one of the lads spoke up but his mate looked at him
quickly and they both backed down. Bruce looked at them seriously for a
moment and then smiled, before nodding at his man again. He produced
another bag of grass and put it on the table next to the other
one.
"You have done well. We will see you tomorrow. Yes?" Bruce stood up and
extended his hand to each of them, which they shook. They gathered up
their drugs and left the bar. Bruce looked at his two men. They put the
five cameras in their pockets and then Bruce pulled out a pile of
passports with an elastic band around them. He put it on the edge of
the table and put the two passports into the batch and then started
going through the wallets. I knew I had to move quickly. I got up from
my seat and moved towards the door, I had to pass their table on the
way. One of the henchmen looked at me as I approached. I smiled.
"Good evening." I grabbed the pile of passports and tipped the table up
on top of them and sprinted for the door. I ran out onto the street and
then noticed the dark car parked outside with two men leaning on it. I
stopped in my tracks and they looked at me and then down at the
passports in my hand. I looked back into the bar and could see Bruce
getting up from under the table.
"GET HIM!" he shouted at the two men on the car and pointed at me. He
then jumped the table and ran towards me. I sprinted to my left and the
two men gave chase. I dodged around a group of noodle sellers and onto
the street. The two men were about thirty feet behind me but they
weren't catching, I ran into the middle of the road and sprinted down
the broken white line between the two lanes of moving traffic. The two
men had to wait for a bus to pass before they could give chase, giving
me some time to get further away. I looked over my shoulder and could
see them behind me and then I noticed the dark car weaving through the
cars towards me. It was speeding and getting closer all the time. I ran
faster and looked for a gap in the traffic to dive back onto the
pavement. The car was about to hit me as I turned suddenly to my right
across the oncoming traffic and jumped onto the pavement. The dark car
sped past me and I saw Bruce's contorted angry face, he handbraked the
car into a skid back to face me and I ran down a small alleyway. I
heard the car crash through the vegetable stalls that were blocking the
entrance to the alley. I weaved past some bins and kept running, I
could see the end of the alley up ahead and the busy road that it lead
onto, if I could reach that. The car was accelerating behind me,
sending bins crashing and flying everywhere. Just a bit further, a bit
further, a bit further. The car was at my heels now as I got to the end
of the alley and turned left. Bruce couldn't stop quick enough and
darted out into the fast moving traffic. I turned back to see the car
shot into the side of a taxi. The bonnet collapsed on collision sending
the taxi spinning into the other side of the road. A large lorry
careered into it before screeching to a halt. I looked at the dark car.
Suddenly the driver's door was flung open and it fell on the ground and
Bruce stumbled out. He had blood running down the side of his face and
he leant on the roof of the car for support before his eyes moved up
and focused on me. He pointed and then started running towards me. I
begun running backwards and then turned and sprinted down the road.
Bruce was moving fast but I had a good head start and knew where I was
going. I dodged down a couple of alleys, keeping Bruce at about the
same distance. Every now and again he would shout at me but I kept
running, eventually I saw the high walls of the embassy. I headed
around the back and hit the pile of boxes I had left there and jumped
up and grabbed the sturdy branch of the tall tree that overhung the
pavement slightly. I sprung up and pulled myself up and over the wall
into the rear garden of the embassy. I landed in a flowerbed and
listened. I heard Bruce panting on the other side of the wall and then
the quiet beeping of a mobile phone dialling, I heard him talking in
Thai frantically and then hang up. I made my way through the garden
towards the barracks, I knew Lawrie's room backed onto this garden. I
creeped towards his window but when I looked back at the wall, I saw
Bruce and his four men jumping down into the garden. They crouched down
with their backs against the wall, Bruce's white T-shirt camouflaging
him against the pale wall but his light brown skin stood out. He
pointed to men to the left and the other two to the right. I hid in a
large bush by the pond and watched them, the two men to my left
disappeared out of my sight but I could still see Bruce and the other
two. It was dark and quiet. There was no wind to rustle the leaves so I
stayed completely still and waited. When I saw Bruce move slightly
further away, I carefully moved out from behind the bush and headed on
my path towards the barracks. I remained low to the ground and was
careful not to make a noise on the gravel path, staying on the grass
verge. I was about to turn a corner by a large hedge when I heard a
slight crunch on the path I stopped and pushed myself into the hedge
slowly. The two men appeared from round the corner, they stopped at the
right angle and looked down the path towards the pond and the hedge I
had just left. I held my breath and tried to melt backwards into the
hedge. They looked and the moved off in the other direction. I took
this to be my chance and quietly jumped over the gravel path and
crouched under the windowsills of the barracks. I made my way slowly
along the wall until I reached Lawrie's window. I stayed low and
reached up with my hand, I listened and then tapped lightly on the
window. Nothing. I tapped again. Nothing. I listened again and heard
the approaching grind of feet on gravel. Then I heard the window latch
being opened and stood slowly up, keeping my back to the wall. I peeked
in and Lawrie jumped back surprised. I put my finger to my lip and
shushed him. He carefully opened the window and I clambered in, we then
slowly shut it and pulled down the blind to leave a small gap that we
peeped through.
"What's going on?" Lawrie whispered. I pointed out the window at the
three men, Bruce stood in the middle. The other two men rejoined the
group. "Who are they?"
"Not very nice people." I showed Lawrie the pile of passports and he
took them in his hand.
"You stole these off them?" he looked at me, "I told you to keep away
from trouble." I smiled at him.
"Seemed easier than having to get a new one. You should be grateful." I
took the pile back from him and started to sort through them. I
eventually found mine and tucked it into my pocket and looked back
outside. The five men were standing around puzzled with their hands on
their hips, suddenly a torch light lit them up like beacons. They stood
paralysed for a moment.
"Don't move!" We heard the soldier shout as he approached them with his
pistol pointing directly at the men. There were two soldiers on one
side and another two on the other.
"Shit!" I looked at Lawrie who was staring out the window intently. One
of the soldiers reached out towards Bruce, he had some handcuffs open
ready to shackle Bruce. Bruce suddenly grabbed his arm and twisted it,
dropping the soldier to the floor before bringing his knee up into his
face. The soldier dropped to the floor in a heap but Bruce did not see
the man behind him, the soldier brought down the butt of his rifle
across the back of his head. Bruce fell to the floor. The other four
men put their hands up and lay down on the floor as the rifles waved
them down to the ground. The soldiers slapped on the cuffs and lead
them off, except Bruce who they had to drag.
"Fucking hell." Lawrie came away from the window and flicked on the
small light by the bedside. He sat down on his bed. I noticed his
pyjamas and grinned.
"Nice PJ's, mate." I laughed.
"Fuck off. What the hell are you doing? That could have got serious."
He looked at me, "Someone could have got killed, including you."
"I know, I know. But I have got to get to Beijing, and I need my
passport." I paused, "But I also need some money. Can you get me any
more?"
"No." Lawrie stopped and then reached into the drawer by his bed, "But
I got these." He flung me the envelope, inside were two first class
tickets to Beijing leaving tomorrow morning.
"Mate, how did you get these?" I read the details of the tickets.
"Diplomatic perk. Always travel first class, first class for you and
your wife or partner...." He tailed off towards the end of his sentence
and I only just caught what he had said.
"Partner...you mean?"
"Yes, I had to pretend that you and me had started a relationship to
Jenkins. It was the only way he would have agreed to let you go home
via Beijing." Lawrie replied.
"I can't believe he agreed."
"Took a bit of a push, though. His wife is coming out to visit next
week and I told him it might be better if I wasn't here in case I
should let slip anything about his indiscretions." Lawrie paused, "Gave
me two weeks holiday and permission to travel under diplomatic
conditions...with my gay lover."
"You blackmailed him. That will make for good future relations." I took
the pillow, Lawrie held out for me and made a little bed on the floor
as Lawrie flicked out the light.
"Happens all the time in this business. Ambassadors and embassy workers
have such an easy time of it, they can pretty much do want they
want."
"Beijing, it is then." I shut my eyes, "Night, mate."
"Night."

CHAPTER 9

The bank had been slightly suspicious but he explained that Peter Kite,
his brother needed the money to start a new business in the lucrative
far eastern market and had to have the money straight away. Yes, he did
understand that this was his life savings. The bank manager sighed
reluctantly and got the transfer underway, it would take a few hours to
organise. Quick as you can, please.

The early morning traffic made his journey home longer than expected.
He caught a reflection of his tired, old face in the rear mirror. It
made him cry. They had told Joanne to be careful, they had told her
about the dangers of girls travelling out in the big, wide world but
you never actually expect anything to happen especially as Jo was
always so independent, so spirited and able to cope with anything. His
wife had told him about her conversation with Will and about Jane being
killed, they had phoned her father straight away. He had been informed
by someone from the British Embassy in Thailand that she was being
flown home immediately, but he was distraught. He had lost his wife and
now his daughter. But Mr Kite couldn't help but think about his own
daughter, at least they knew Jane was dead, her pain was over what
about Jo? What was she still going through?

He pulled the car into the driveway and trudged up the path to the
front door of their semi-detached house. He turned the key in the lock
and went in. His wife was sat on the stairs looking at him.
"Is it done?" she asked immediately.
"It's done. It will take a couple of hours to do through." He dropped
his keys on the table by the door and walked into the lounge. His wife
stood up and followed him in, he slumped down into the sofa whilst she
perched herself on the edge of the other chair.
"I guess we just wait now." She nervously twitched her fingers.
"I suppose so." He turned to face his wife and patted the space on the
sofa next to him, "Come here." Mrs Kite got up and sat down next to her
husband. He put his arms around her and held her close, she began to
sob on his shoulder and he held her tighter, "It's all over now. It's
all over now." He stroked her hair but thoughts were flying around his
brain that he still would not see his daughter again.
"Do you really believe that?" she sobbed from within his embrace.
"Yes, yes. I am sure." But he wasn't.

CHAPTER 10

Alex kicked open the door to Jo's room and strolled in. He was beaming
happily and was wearing his perfectly white suit. He held his arms wide
open and looked at Jo as she lay on the bed.
"Joanne, they paid. Your folks came through for you. The money was
transferred into my account." Jo got her feet.
"So I can go now?" she looked at him. Alex grimaced.
"Well, not quite yet. In awhile." Jo stood in front of him.
"What do you mean? You got what you wanted. Let me go home." She
squared up to him and Alex sheepishly covered his groin.
"I can't let you go till the other parents pay up and then we let you
all go in one go. Some of them are being a little less co-operative
than your delightful parents." He smiled at her but she almost growled
back, "It won't be long, I promise. Maybe another few days."
"You're full of shit. You have no intention of letting any of us go."
She turned away from him and then swung back round smacking her fist
into the side of his face. He staggered back against the wall and Jo
jumped around him and out into the corridor. The two men playing cards
leapt to their feet and faced her, she looked back the other way but
there was only a wall. She began to run towards the two men but they
caught and stopped her easily. One of the men picked her up and held
her under his arm and carried her back to the room. She struggled
furiously but he was too strong, she could hear banging on the doors of
the other rooms. The man dropped her back onto his bed and she quickly
sat upright and glared at him. He then helped Alex back to his feet, he
was holding his cheek.
"You shouldn't have done that." He moved towards her and reached into
his pocket for his gun. He pulled it out and pointed it at Jo. Jo
glared strongly back at him and didn't move. Alex cocked the hammer of
the gun.
"I've got my money now, I don't need you anymore." A telephone rang in
the corridor, one of the guards answered. Alex held the gun at Jo's
face.
"Put it in your mouth." He spoke quietly and then shouted, "Do it!" Jo
looked at him, she was frozen with fear. He pushed the gun against her
lips, she parted them slightly and he shoved the gun in roughly. Tears
welled in her eyes but she closed them quickly. She could hear Alex's
heavy breathing as he moved the gun around in her mouth, holding the
cold barrel against her tongue.
"Good bye, Joanne." His finger tightened around the trigger.
"Boss!" one of the guard's shouted, "Liu Wong." Alex looked towards the
door and then back at Jo. He let the hammer click back into place and
then pulled the gun out of her mouth, Jo opened her eyes and tears
tumbled down as she watched Alex walk out the room and slam the door.
She fell back onto the bed and cried.

"Mr Liu Wong. How are you?" Alex wiped the receiver before putting it
to his ear.
"I am in Hong-Kong, I shall return in three days time and I expect to
be able to pick up the girl. I grow impatient." Liu Wong spoke sternly
down at Alex.
"Fine. I am finished with her. She is all yours...if you have the
money." Alex grinned at the two guards, who grinned back. Idiots, if
only they knew how much money he was making whilst paying them a
pittance.
"Of course I have the money. That is good news. Three days then." Liu
Wong hung up before Alex had chance to reply. Alex replaced the
receiver in the cradle and lit a cigarette. He turned and walked
through the reception back into the street.

CHAPTER 11

We jumped in a little red taxi and using a phrase book managed to
direct the driver towards the centre of Beijing and a hotel Lawrie had
picked out from the guidebook. It was so dusty and smoggy that my lungs
already felt tight and congested and we had only just stepped off the
plane.
"What's the plan then?" I looked out the window at Beijing. There were
cranes everywhere building up the skeletons of high rise blocks and
offices. Workers clambered over them like spiders in a web.
"Book into the hotel and then go and visit the embassy." I spoke to
some chap there yesterday who said he might know someone who can
help.
"Did you tell them about me?" I checked the taxi driver's meter, it was
ticking up slowly as we ground to a halt in the hectic traffic. Every
single driver beeped their horn constantly despite the fact that the
traffic wasn't moving.
"No, I thought it was better to leave you out of it." Lawrie replied,
"Do you think we've got changed enough money?"
"Yes, plenty. I'm sorry I couldn't help but I was more interested in
getting my passport from Bruce than my wallet." I paused, "Where the
fuck could Jo be?"
"Now we are here, it feels more real. We know she is here somewhere, in
Thailand it was different."
"I know what you mean. I hope we can find her." I looked out the window
at a crowd of people, through a gap in the mass I could see a body on
the road with a broken bicycle beside it. A lone policeman tried to
hold back the crowd from getting too close to the body. A pool of blood
seeped out from under the head slowly trickling towards the feet of the
people gathered around. I turned back to face Lawrie, who was leaning
across me to have a look.
"Fucking hell." I said softly. The taxi driver was looking as well as
we drove along, I pointed to the road ahead but he babbled something in
Chinese and continued staring at the bustling throng before eventually
returning to the road.

Lawrie showed his badge to the two guards outside the British Embassy
and they opened the gate and let him in. The embassy was a grand affair
and Lawrie walked slowly up the driveway to the front door and creaked
it open. A pretty receptionist looked at him as he eased the door
shut.
"Hello, can I help you?" she sat on a swivel chair behind a grand
wooden desk.
"I hope so, I think it might have been you I spoke to yesterday. My
name is Lawrie Johnson from the British Embassy in Thailand." Lawrie
held out his hand for her to shake, "It was Rachel, wasn't it?"
"That's right. You wanted to speak to someone about missing persons. Is
that right?" Rachel smiled at Lawrie, got up from her chair and walked
round to the other side of the desk.
"That's right." Lawrie paused, "Have we met before?"
"I think we have. Did you attend the conference in Paris last year?"
She looked at him and the remembered.
"Oh, yes. We danced, didn't we?" Lawrie looked at her and grinned. She
smiled at him and they stared at each other for a moment before
snapping back.
"Anyway, Mr Henry is out for lunch but I am sure he won't mind you
waiting in his office." She led Lawrie down the corridor before
stopping at a door, she opened it for him and ushered him inside.
"How long will you be in Beijing for? Maybe we could have dinner one
night." She looked at him shyly.
"That would be great but I don't know how long I will be around. I will
call you here." Lawrie smiled his appreciation and went into the
office, Rachel shut the door behind him. It was very similar to
Jenkins' office back in Bangkok. A large map of China hung on the wall
behind the desk. There were several large filing cabinets and an empty
in and out tray, just like Jenkins, no work done or to do. Lawrie
circled the desk to look at the large map. He studied it carefully, he
had done some work in his training about China. It was a complicated
country, so very different to the western world. A posting here might
be a very agreeable assignment. He looked at the filing cabinet to his
right. There was a dead looking plant on it's dust covered top. The
cabinet had a label simply reading 'REPORTS'. Lawrie pulled open the
drawer and looked inside.

"Good afternoon, Mr Henry. Did you have a good lunch?" Rachel spoke to
Alex as he entered the building.
"Fine, thank you." He hurried past.
"Mr Henry. There is a Mr Johnson in your office, he wants to speak to
you about missing persons." Rachel shouted after him as he disappeared
down the corridor, he stopped in his tracks, turned and walked back
towards her.
"Who?"
"Mr Johnson, Lawrie Johnson. He is from the embassy in Thailand." Alex
looked at her thoughtfully.
"Thanks, thank you very much." Alex turned and walked quickly down the
corridor towards his office.

Alex looked through a couple of files. It looked like normal embassy
business, then he noticed a file marked 'K'. K for Kite, he thought,
you never know. He pulled the file out and placed it on the top of the
others and opened it. He searched through the file finding nothing
until the last page. It looked like a financial statement of some sort,
a bit like a credit rating. He scanned the page and read the name at
the top.

Alex reached his door and put his ear to the wood, it was quiet. He
quietly reached for the door handle and turned it. He eased the door
open.

Lawrie re-read the report, it detailed Mr and Mrs Kite's accounts and
finances exactly and clearly showed the twenty thousand pounds sitting
in pension funds and insurance policies.
"Oh shit." He said quietly to himself.
"Oh shit, exactly." Alex spoke loudly behind him. Lawrie jumped out of
his skin and swivelled around quickly. Alex closed the door behind him.
He was wearing his white suit. Lawrie's mouth dropped open.
"What is the meaning of this?" Lawrie held up the page and walked
towards Alex. Alex quickly pulled out his gun and pointed it directly
at Lawrie.
"Don't come any nearer. Sit down." Lawrie stopped in mid-stride and
stared at the gun. He moved slowly towards the chair behind the desk
and sat down, he was still clutching the page.
"Well, Mr Johnson. I think you should tell me how much you know." Alex
sat down in the chair opposite and put his brown leather shoe up onto
the desk keeping the gun pointing exactly at Lawrie.

I leaned on the wall just outside the embassy, there was a small market
I had walked around several times and was becoming quite good at
dismissing the traders with a simple wave of the hand. I think they
realised I wasn't going to buy anything by the fourth time I walked
past them. Beijing was huge and I realised that finding Jo was going to
be like finding a needle in a haystack. Lawrie had been in the embassy
a long time, which was probably a good sign. I thought I had better
ring the Kites. I found a telephone box and using my phonecard, I
dialled their number off the scrumpled photograph they had given
me.
"Jo?" Mrs Kite answered the phone.
"No, it's Will." I felt the disappointment down the line, "What's been
happening?"
"We have paid the money. We are expecting to hear from Jo very soon."
Mrs Kite sounded hopeful. I heard Mr Kite in the background and he came
on the phone.
"Will, are you in Beijing?" he asked quickly.
"Yes, I am outside the embassy. My friend is in there trying to find
out if they know anything." I replied. I heard him ask his wife to make
him a cup of tea and then he came back on the line.
"We have paid the money, but I am not convinced he will let Joanne go.
Why should he?" he paused, "Will, you have to try and find her. I think
you might be her last hope."

"Well, thanks very much Mr Jenkins. We'll try and track him down and
invite him to the dinner." Alex paused, "Yes, and you. Good bye." Alex
hung up the phone and looked at Lawrie. He grinned, "He seems to think
you have just gone on holiday and doesn't seem to know anything about
any missing people. Well, he certainly didn't mention it."
"He wouldn't mention it to you though, it's you we're investigating."
Lawrie sat up straight in his chair and glared at Alex.
"You must be quite an accomplished card player, Mr Johnson. A poker
face like that must get you a long way." Alex chuckled and picked up
the telephone, he spoke to Lawrie as he dialled, "Rich parents, Lawrie?
I do hope so. Hi, yeah. It's me." Alex paused, "Lawrie Johnson.
J-O-H-N-S-O-N. Got it, good get back to me at the hotel." Alex put the
phone down and stood up.
"Where are we going?" Lawrie looked at him.
"Just a quick trip." Alex snatched the report out of Lawrie's hand,
"Kite. Joanne. I might have known it would be her that would cause all
the trouble. Let's go."

"It's a big place, Mr Kite. God knows where she is." I paused.
"Just try your best, Will. If you find her....we will be forever in
your debt." Mr Kite sounded strong, "And if you find her and something
has happened to her, just get the bastard who did it."
"I'll do my best to find her. I promise. Now I had better go. I will
call as soon as I have some news." I breathed in and waited for Mr Kite
to speak.
"Good luck, son. Bring my daughter home for me." The phone line went
dead and I stepped back out into the busy market and headed back
towards the embassy.

Alex put his left arm around Lawrie's shoulder and held the gun under
his jacket with his right, keeping it jabbed into Lawrie's side. They
approached Rachel's desk and she stood up when she saw them.
"Rachel, we are going out. I am going to show young Lawrie some of the
sights of Beijing. Could you take any calls for me?" Alex smiled
smoothly at the receptionist.
"No problem, sir." She looked at Lawrie, he looked very uncomfortable,
"Maybe I will hear from you later?"
"Maybe." He spoke quietly and Alex dug the gun deeper into his ribs,
"Definitely." Lawrie tried to smile and they both squeezed out the door
into the musty sunlight. Rachel watched the door shut and then returned
to her typing.

"CD, CD, CD." They jumped out from a side alley and blocked my
way.
"No, no CD." I tried to push through them but they would not move. I
pulled the phrase book from my bag, "Ta-g-way-la." Which I think means
'too expensive'. This seemed to excite them more and they began shoving
fingers in my face which I guess related to the price.

Alex hailed the taxi and opened the door for Lawrie. They both slid in
and Alex said something to the driver and they lurched off down the
road. Lawrie looked over his shoulder quickly but could not see Will.
He looked at Alex's smiling face and felt a wave of nerves tingle in
his stomach, which wasn't helped by the pressure a gun barrel in the
ribs.

CHAPTER 12

It got dark early and the setting sun caught alight the fumes of the
city for a few moments before disappearing and descending the street
into a murky dullness. I had been leaning on the wall for four hours
and was worried, surely he would have come out at some point to tell me
what was going on. I had eaten my way through several packets of
cardboard crisps and two sweet potatoes that had been cooked on a
flaming barrel by a small toothless lady in the market. It had gone six
and I had run out of the small amount of money that Lawrie had given
me. I had no idea where the hotel was and was in a bit of a mess. I
decided that I should go and see what was happening. I wandered up to
the guards. They eyed me suspiciously as most guards do.
"Hello, I wonder if you can help. I have lost my passport and I was
hoping that someone might be able to help me." I smiled innocently at
the two pubescent guards.
"Opening hours are nine till five. You will have to come back
tomorrow." One of the recited perfectly. He was a little taller than me
and was looking about an inch over my head as he spoke.
"Come on, guys. I am desperate. There must be someone here who can help
me." I looked at the both with my best "help me, I'm useless"
expression. They looked at each other and then one of them went into
their little hut and picked up a telephone.
"What's he doing?" I asked the other one.
"Seeing if we can help you, sir."
"Oh...good." I replied and strained to listen to his conversation. He
came out and opened the gate. He pointed towards the building.
"Go in that door and speak to the young lady. She can give you the
forms to fill in." He nodded to me as I walked past him.
"Thanks, guys." I saluted them and walked up the drive towards the
silhouetted house.

Alex opened the door and shoved Lawrie into the room.
"Seeing as you are so interested in her, you can stay in here together.
Behave though, children." Alex slammed the door shut behind him. Lawrie
picked himself up off the floor and brushed himself down. The room was
pitch black, the tiny window was so dirty that it gave no light. He
listened carefully. He could hear the men outside muttering and
talking, the traffic outside but that was about it.
"Who are you?" he heard the soft female voice.
"Lawrie." He replied, "Where are you?"
"I am over here on the bed." She replied sadly, "I'm Jo."
"Joanne Kite?"
"Yes?" she paused in the blackness, "How did you know that? Who are
you?"
"I work for the British Embassy in Thailand. We've been trying to find
you." Lawrie replied excitedly.
"Well, you found me. Now what?" she breathed loudly, "Are a dozen
policemen about to break the door down and rescue me?"
"Err, no. Not quite. No one really knows I am here." Lawrie waited for
a moment, "We couldn't really get the authorities involved, your
parents didn't want to risk anything."
"You spoke to my parents? They must be out of their minds with
worry."
"I saw them when they came into the embassy in Bangkok. Will has spoken
to them since."
"Will?"
"Will Thomas. He is the main reason I am here." Lawrie sat down on the
bed after fumbling around for it, "After you and him in Australia,
well...somehow your parents bumped into him and showed him your picture
and since then he has been trying to find you."
"This is unbelievable." She replied quietly, "And he knows where we are
now?"
"Err, no. I don't think he does. He was waiting outside the embassy for
me and must have gone to get some food or something, when this Alex
Henry dick held me at gunpoint and took me out the embassy and into a
taxi." Lawrie looked towards where he imagined Jo to be sitting, "He
wasn't there when I came out. He won't have a clue where we are. But he
might be able to find out about Alex."
"Embassy. You mean this guy works for the government?" Jo was almost
breathless with anger.
"It would appear so." Lawrie replied, "But Alex doesn't know about
Will." A quiet fell over the small room.
"You can lie next to me, if you like." Jo stretched her legs out on the
bed and Lawrie lay down next to her, "It has been a long time since I
have been near a friend."
"I can't imagine how bad it has been." Lawrie paused, "I am sorry about
your friend, Jane. She was found out by the runway along with the taxi
driver. I arranged for her to be flown back home to have a proper
burial."
"Good. It was horrible. She just collapsed and was gone." Jo began to
cry, Lawrie put his arm around her and she rested her head on his
shoulder and wept until she fell asleep.

"Hello sir. I believe you have lost your passport, is that right?"
Rachel looked at me as I opened the door. I glanced around the grand
entrance hall quickly and then back at her.
"No, not really. I am looking for my friend but I knew the guards
wouldn't let me in." I must have looked a mess. I was wearing a grubby
old T-shirt and a bedraggled pair of shorts, my blond hair was messy
and sun bleached.
"Sir, it is after closing time. If this isn't an emergency then I must
ask you to leave." Rachel grimaced at me and stood up. I looked at the
name plate on the desk and grabbed her shoulders before she could reach
the door.
"Rachel, please. A guy called Lawrie Johnson came in here earlier, has
he left?" the name clicked with her and she eyed me sceptically.
"I am afraid that is embassy business and I couldn't possibly tell
you." She replied.
"Please, has he gone? That is all I need to know. It is really
important." I waited for effect, "It is really very important." She
stared at me strongly and then her expression softened.
"Are you a friend of his?" she asked thoughtfully.
"Yes, we are on holiday here and I have been waiting outside of five
hours or so for him."
"He left ages ago with Mr Henry." She paused, "I wonder why they didn't
get you. Mr Henry was going to show him the sights."
"Was everything okay when they left?" I ushered Rachel back to her
chair and sat down opposite her and leaned forward on the desk.
"Yes, they seemed to be getting on fine. Though, Lawrie seemed a little
tense." She looked me up and down, "I met him before, in Paris."
"Oh right. Do you know where they went specifically?"
"No, they didn't say. I can give Mr Henry a phone at home, if you
like." She smiled helpfully.
"No, no. Don't do that. I believe that Lawrie was going to ask him
about some missing people, do you know anything about that?" I asked
hopefully.
"I am sorry. I can't really talk about that, even if I did know
anything, which I don't." she apologised sincerely, "I am sure they
just got caught up looking around Beijing. It is an amazing city, full
of beautiful things." She leaned towards me and smiled, "Now let me buy
you a drink and you can tell me all about Lawrie and how I can persuade
him to take me out for dinner whilst you are in town."
"Okay." I replied. She was my only hope in finding this Alex Henry and
Lawrie.
"I'll just get my bag." She got up and walked to a cupboard behind her.
I noticed the roller-deck on her desk and flicked it open quickly. I
searched 'H' and found 'HENRY' and grabbed the card out, stuffing it
into my pocket. I shut it just as she turned round.
"Ready?" she asked.
"I am now." I held open the door for her and we walked out into the
still muggy air of the Beijing night.

CHAPTER 13

"You're joking. Fucking hell." Alex was almost in hysterics and he
spoke down the phone, "Thanks very much. I will transfer the fee into
the normal account." Alex hung up the phone and wandered along the
corridor towards their room. He unlocked the door and turned the torch
on. Lawrie and Jo were huddled on the bed.
"Ah, if only I had a camera. This is a real Kodak moment." He shouted
at them and they both stirred, Lawrie jumped to his feet.
"Listen, you prick. You won't get away with this. Someone from the
embassy will notice that I am missing and they will come after
me."
"Not for a couple of weeks, they won't." Alex paused and pulled out his
gun, "You're a bit too healthy for my liking, and we've never had to
deal with boys before." Alex pointed the gun at Lawrie's right leg and
aimed.
"What...no, don't." Lawrie began to back away but the nozzle of the gun
spat fire and the noise echoed around the room. Jo screamed and Lawrie
dropped to the floor with a groan.
"That's better. You were never going to play for England anyway." He
grinned, "Well, Lawrie. I have just had a very interesting phone call,
turns out that you are from some pretty good stock. Two generations of
ambassadors have built quite a family fortune by the sounds of it. I
wonder how much they would be willing to pay to get their precious boy
back."
"They won't give you a penny." Lawrie groaned through gritted teeth,
"Not a fucking penny." Jo stood up and faced Alex.
"You are sick. At least get me some bandages and pain killers so I can
help him." Jo looked at him.
"Okay, okay. I'll get some for you." He flashed the torch in her face,
"I would have thought you were more worried about getting out
yourself."
"Just get the fucking bandages." Jo turned away from him and squatted
down next to Lawrie. Alex shut the door and left, Jo heard him trying
to tell the guards to get some bandages. She brushed Lawrie's hair
across his forehead.

I managed to sneak away from Rachel when she went to the toilet. I paid
the waiter and legged it out into the street. I pulled out the
guidebook from my bag and looked at the map and searched for the street
on which Alex Henry lived. Eventually I found it and began what I
thought would be a short walk across town. It was gone midnight before
I arrived outside the plushest block of flats I had seen so far in
Beijing. I jogged down a creepy looking alley by the side of the
building round to the back. There was a flimsy looking fire exit that I
managed to open. The corridor was really warm and I guessed that the
heating must be around here somewhere, I wandered along to the door at
the end and eased it open. I could see a reception area but there was
no one around so I squeezed out the gap and hid down behind a large pot
plant. The reception area was dimly lit and skirted around behind the
plants to where the lift doors were situated. I reached out and pressed
the button, which made a pinging noise. I heard someone rustling around
in the reception area and a small Chinese man appeared. He was wearing
a red suit with gold piping and looked curiously around the room. I
ducked back into the plants. The lift doors opened with another ping
but when nobody came out, he turned and went back into the back room. I
quickly jumped out of my hiding place and slipped between the closing
lift doors. I pushed the button for the eighth floor. I tucked the
address card back into my pocket and watched the floor counter tick up
slowly.

The doors opened smoothly and I peeked out. The corridor was empty and
I stepped out. It was decorated with red carpet and had plush red
wallpaper with gold trimming that matched the uniform of the
receptionist. I was looking for 814 and followed the sign for rooms
810-820. It was quiet, really quiet and I could hear my trainers softly
treading down the thick carpet. I found 814 it was the last flat at the
end of the corridor. I put my ear to the door. There was no noise in
the apartment. I noticed the fire exit and tiptoed up to see through
the window outside. It led out onto a wrought iron staircase that
looked like it went down into the alley. I opened the door carefully
and stepped out, shutting it behind me. Now that I was up higher it was
a windier and I felt a chill go throughout my body. I looked over
towards the city dotted with orange and white lights. I lent over the
edge of the stairs and saw that a small ledge ran round the building, I
heaved myself over the rail onto the ledge and got my balance before
leaning into the wall and shuffling along towards the corner. I clung
to the wall desperately as a gust of wind would unbalance me
occasionally, I willed myself to stay on the ledge and eventually made
the corner. I stopped and gathered my breath, daring a look down. Below
me was the alley full of metal bins and rubbish, it was a long way
down. I put my arm around and the corner and felt blindly for something
to grip onto, I managed to find something that felt like a drainpipe, I
then shuffled my foot around the corner to make sure the ledge
continued. Then I slowly manoeuvred myself around the corner gripping
onto the drainpipe for dear life. Eventually I was round and saw that
there was a balcony outside the apartment, I moved quickly along and
pulled myself over the railing onto the balcony and hid down behind the
cover of the curtain inside. Light streamed out the room onto the
balcony and I could hear the faint sound of a television. I peeped
around the curtain and saw a man sat in a dressing gown watching the
television. He was about forty years old and quite dark looking, he was
grinning inanely at the flickering box. I watched him. He was smoking a
cigarette and eating noodles. I couldn't see anyone else in the lounge
so I clambered over the railings and carried along the ledge towards
the other rooms in the house. I reached the next window and could see a
big bedroom, I leant on the window and stared in. Suddenly the light
came on and Alex Henry walked in, I was leaning on the window in full
view of him but somehow he didn't see me, I struggled sideways away
from the glass and back towards the balcony. The light in the lounge
was off now and I quickly jumped over the balcony and made my way back
round the corner towards the fire escape. No one was in the flat. I
would have to follow him tomorrow morning. It was going to be a long
night, I couldn't risk losing him and would have to stay somewhere I
could watch his building all night until the morning.

CHAPTER 14

Alex woke at seven and rolled out of bed. His apartment was lovely, the
wage of an embassy worker was good one but nothing compared to money he
was about to make when the six families paid up and especially nothing
compared to the money he was sure to make out of the Johnson's. He
pulled back the silk sheets of his bed and walked to the bathroom. He
turned the taps on the bath and put in the plug, the bath slowly filled
up and the steam filled the room. Alex padded back out into the
bedroom, the thick carpet wrapping around his feet as he walked. The
phone jingled in its cradle.
"Alex, its Liu Wong." Alex heard the familiar voice of his buyer and
felt a flicker of anger.
"I said not to ring me here." Alex spoke sternly.
"Change of plan. I am back early. I will see you today." The phone line
went dead and Alex hung up with a slam. At least he could get rid of
Joanne and concentrate on Lawrie. Alex walked back to the bath and
turned the taps off before slipping into the boiling water.

"Thank you for wearing that lovely white suit, you prick." I grinned to
myself as I followed a careful distance behind him through the busy
street. He was moving quickly and didn't look particularly happy when
he burst through the glass doors from his building. I was slumped up
against the side of the building where I had been propped most of the
night. My back was aching, my eyes were aching, in fact everything
ached. We walked for awhile and then he disappeared up a small drive
into a courtyard. The sign said something in Chinese but in English it
said, HOTEL. I leaned on the lamppost outside and eyed the place
suspiciously. Henry had disappeared inside. I felt inside my pocket for
my phonecard and crossed the street for the phone box.

"Wakey-wakey." Alex flung open the door aggressively making Jo jump.
Lawrie was laying on the bed with his leg heavily strapped, his eyes
opened and looked at Alex.
"Big day for you today, Joanne. You get to leave here. Your parents
paid and so I don't need you anymore." Alex looked at her and
grinned.
"I don't believe you," she replied.
"It's true, you will leave here today."
"What about Lawrie?" she faced Lawrie on the bed.
"Afraid he will have to stay a bit longer. I need him to write a few
letters and make some phone calls, you know the procedure." Alex smiled
at him, "How's the leg today, sport?"
"Fuck you." Alex tutted at Lawrie.
"It really is better if we get on. Isn't that right, Jo?" Alex turned
to Jo, "I am going to get you some new clothes today and some perfume
and things, make yourself look nice and pretty for the journey home. Is
there anything particular you want?"
"Fuck off, just let us go. You got your money." Jo spat angrily at him.
Alex shook his head and turned to leave. He shut the door behind
him.
"What do you make of that?" Jo asked Lawrie as she sat down next to
him.
"I don't trust him." Lawrie paused, "I wonder where Will is?"

I sat across from the hotel and watched, I didn't notice the black
Mercedes until it pulled into the hotel. It was so out of place in the
traffic of rundown cars and bicycles that I was surprised I didn't
notice it immediately. I decided it was time to move and jogged across
the road. I ducked down behind a fence that ran along the length of the
courtyard to the hotel. I peeked through a note in the wood at the
Mercedes car that was parked outside the hotel. A huge Chinese man got
out the driver's side and opened the rear door with its blackened
windows, a smaller older man clambered out and straightened his jacket.
The two men disappeared into the hotel. I looked down at my feet and
saw a solid looking metal pipe. I reached down and picked it up.

"Mr Wong. Good to see you." Alex extended his hand, "You're early. I
was just about to go and buy some things to make our girl look prettier
for you."
"Don't patronise me, Mr Henry." Liu Wong clicked his figures at his
bodyguard, who reached inside his pocket and pulled out an envelope,
"This is your money. Where is the girl?" Alex smiled at the men.
"She's right here. Just down the corridor." Alex turned and they walked
down towards the room.

I could hear the screaming from inside but it suddenly went quite. I
leapt over the fence and crept along the edge of the hotel towards the
door behind some hedges, hiding just behind the door. I didn't have to
wait long before the door swung open. The blonde head of Jo walked out
first, she had tape across her mouth and a large hand on her shoulder.
I smacked the pipe down hard across the back of the head of the huge
bodyguard, he slumped to the floor.
"Run, Jo, run." I shouted and she turned too see me and began to sprint
towards the road. The small Chinese man jumped out from behind the
door.
"What are you doing?" he screamed at me and looked down at his man on
the floor. The doors to the Mercedes swung open and several men hidden
inside leapt out. I immediately recognised Jenkins and he grabbed Jo as
she ran past and threw her into the back of the Mercedes and slammed
the door. I dropped the pipe and then heard the gun shot. The small
Chinese man fell to the floor beside his bodyguard. Another shot
chinked into the Mercedes and Jenkins and the other two men dived
behind the car and hid. Another shot hit the car and then it fell
silent. I leaned forward to sneak a look inside the hotel from my
hiding place. A bullet burrowed itself into the door by head and I
dived backwards.

Lawrie and Jo head Alex's keys jingle in the lock and both sat up next
to each other as he entered. He was beaming widely. A small Chinese man
in an expensive suit walked into the room and looked at them
both.
"Who is he?" he pointed at Lawrie.
"Just another deal. Nothing to worry about." Alex smiled, "Well, there
she is. All yours." The small man handed Alex an envelope, which Alex
opened and checked carefully. The small man then moved aside and a
larger man appeared at his side, he pulled some black tape out of his
pocket and peeled some off. Jo began to scream and ran at the man but
he caught her easily and put the tape across her mouth. Lawrie tried to
push himself to his feet but Alex pushed him back down to the
bed.
"Well, Mr Wong. Good to do business with you, maybe we can do it again
sometime." Alex extended his hand, which Mr Wong shook. Mr Wong took a
final look at Lawrie and turned to leave. Alex smiled at Lawrie and
slammed the door shut.

Jo walked up the corridor ahead of the big man. Her mind was racing,
what was happening? Who were these people? She walked through the
reception of the hotel and shot the pretty receptionist a frantic
glance but was totally ignored. Her eyes squinted in the sunlight from
outside. She could feel his powerful hand on his shoulder, holding her
tightly. It was bad before but at least she knew what Alex was after,
these new people were an unknown quantity. She stepped outside and felt
the grip loosen before she heard the crack of the pipe. She looked up
into the face of Will, he shouted something at her and she ran. She
didn't look back. She headed down the side of the Mercedes but didn't
react when the door opened. She was whisked off her feet and flung into
the back of the car onto the leather upholstery. The man that had
grabbed her stepped outside and slammed the door, suddenly all the
doors were shut she was left shocked and stunned in the quiet of the
car. A woman was sat next to her. The woman was looking out the window
and not at Jo. After a few slow seconds, the window splintered and
cracked as a bullet passed between the two women and out the back of
the car.
"Get your fucking head down." Rachel pushed Jo to the floor.

Alex walked behind the two Chinese men. He was smiling and happy, he
was rich and with Lawrie tucked away in the room, the next pay out was
only a few weeks away. He patted his pocket with the envelope in, Mr
Wong had come through though he had to admit, he thought Jo was a
bargain at the money. There was something alluring about her. His
thoughts were disturbed when he saw the big guy collapse on the floor
and Jo started to run. He reached into his jacket for his gun and
pulled it out quickly. He saw Liu Wong start screaming at someone
standing behind the door, then he saw some white guy grab the girl and
throw her into the back of the car. It was a set up. It aimed at Liu
Wong and pulled the trigger. The bullet blasted into his side as he
shouted at the person behind the door and he fell to the floor. Liu
Wong was only the second person he had killed after the taxi driver and
it felt easier. He squeezed the trigger again, this time aiming at the
car. The men dived for cover so he shot again and started backing off
towards the corridor. His two guards sprinted past him and disappeared
up the stairs into the hotel. He couldn't blame them, he didn't exactly
pay them danger money. A blond head appeared from behind the door and
he carefully took aim but the bullet missed and went into the woodwork.
He ducked back behind the reception desk and moved backward down the
corridor of rooms towards Lawrie's room. He smiled at the receptionist
who was cowering behind the desk and waved the gun towards the stairs.
She got up and ran after the two guards.

I looked towards the Mercedes and saw Jenkins pop his head up. He
screwed his face up at me and waved his arm for me to get away but I
ignored him and dropped down low, poked my head around the door and saw
that the Henry had gone. I ducked inside the hotel and sprinted down
into heart of the hotel.

The door flung open and Alex steamed in, he was sweating and was waving
the gun around.
"Get up." Alex grabbed Lawrie by the shoulder and heaved him to his
feet.
"I could if you hadn't shot my fucking leg." Alex slapped Lawrie hard
across the face.
"Now is not the time to get on my nerves." Alex pulled him towards the
door and stuck his head into the corridor.
"What's going on?" Lawrie tried to hop on his good leg as Alex dragged
him by the scruff of the neck.
"You'll see." Alex pulled him down the corridor to the end and then
peered round the corner into the reception area. It was empty. He
pushed Lawrie in front of him and held the gun to the side of his head.
They moved out into the reception area and the door. Lawrie could see
the black Mercedes parked on the forecourt outside, he could also see
Jenkins bobbing around it. He saw the surprise break across his face
behind some binoculars. Lawrie then saw the two Chinese men lying on
the ground.
"Back off or he is dead." Alex shouted out into the forecourt, "Back
off onto the street, leave the keys in the Merc. Get Jo out the car and
whoever else is in there and back right off."
"Henry, you won't get away with this." Jenkins shouted back.
"I will. This is a big country and I've got a lot of money, especially
when I cash in this boy. Son of an ambassador, don't you know." Alex
laughed evilly and watched as Jenkins opened the door to the Mercedes
and helped Jo out, followed by another girl. Lawrie saw it was
Rachel.
"Keep going, right out onto the street."

I saw him step out of the door, he pointed the gun quickly round the
corner where I had been hiding and smiled. I followed him step for
step, slowly, slowly. My hand was gripped around the heavy pipe. I
could see Jenkins looking at me, he winked at me. Eventually Alex
reached the Mercedes. He took the gun away from the side of Lawrie's
head and pointed it towards the group, which froze in it's
tracks.
"Oh, Jo. I think I owe you this." He pointed the gun towards Jo, I
bounded forward and brought the pipe down on the back of his head. The
gun fired but the bullet went into the ground. He fell forward onto the
bonnet of the Mercedes and turned onto his back to face me. Lawrie
collapsed onto the floor holding his leg, looking almost as surprised
to see me as Henry. I stood in front of Alex as he raised the gun
almost unconsciously towards me.
"Who the fuck are you?" he managed to blurt out as a trickle of blood
trickled down his chin. He squeezed the trigger but I could not move. I
closed my eyes but all I heard was the click of an empty barrel. I
opened my eyes and watched Alex slide down the bonnet of the car onto
the floor, the gun still clenched in his hand. A man came running up
behind me and round to Alex, he had his gun drawn and pointed it at the
unconscious heap on the floor. Lawrie looked up at me.
"Took your time, didn't you? You could have got here before he shot my
fucking leg." Lawrie smiled at me and I helped him to his feet. Jo came
running up and flung her arms around me.
"Thank you, thank you. I can't believe you found us." She kissed me
hard on the mouth and then kissed Lawrie, "Thank you both."
"Lawrie, what the fuck are you doing here? I thought you were on
holiday." Jenkins walked up to us, "How did you know about this
operation? And what the hell is he doing here?" He nodded towards
me.
"What operation? What are you doing here?" Lawrie turned to face
Jenkins but leant his weight on me. Jo had her arm around my
waist.
"We were working with the Chinese police trying to trace missing girls
out of Thailand. We thought it might be someone from the embassy so Mr
Chang there on the ground." Jenkins pointed to the small Chinese man on
the floor, "Went undercover. Today was the day we were going to bust
him until you guys turned up. We were getting ready at the embassy when
Rachel burst in telling us that some guy had just rang up with a story
about missing girls and was outside the very hotel we were about to
bust."
"Why didn't I know about this? We could have worked together." Lawrie
looked at his boss.
"You're just a fucking intern, Lawrie." Jenkins walked past him towards
the two men on the ground, Lawrie hobbled after him.
"What do you mean? Just a fucking intern. I got here first remember?"
they walked off bickering.
"Yeah and you got yourself shot." An ambulance pulled into the
forecourt and Jo and I moved out the way to let it through.
"How are you doing?" I looked at her.
"I think I am in shock. But it feels like it is over, at last." She
grinned at me, "And you, I can't believe you saved me. A proper knight
in shining armour." She put her arms around my shoulders and kissed me
hard on the lips, I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. She
stopped kissing me and rested her head on my chest. Jenkins and Lawrie
turned to look at me.
"I thought, you two were...you know?" Jenkins looked at Lawrie
suspiciously. Rachel came up and grabbed him.
"How about that drink?" she led him off towards the street and Jo and I
followed them. The busy morning traffic still rushed by sending dust
swirling up around us. The honking cars buzzed past and the bicycle
bells added to the bustling hubbub as we walked slowly up the street. I
turned and saw Jenkins leading the other five girls out of the hotel,
they blinked in the sunlight and looked up towards the sky.

CHAPTER 15

The rain pitterpatted down onto our umbrella slowly and the grass was
slippery and wet under foot. We all stood in a small huddle around the
grave. The vicar spoke quietly with carefully chosen words. Jo rested
her head on my shoulder and I could feel her holding back the tears.
The green plushness of the countryside and small stone church
surrounded us intimately and we all stood in absolute silence. Mr and
Mrs Kite looked at the dark wooden coffin but their eyes always
returned to Joanne, eyes full of relief and tears. Lawrie stood next to
me balanced precariously on his crutch, I lifted his arm up onto my
shoulder to give him support and we waited and listened.

"What now then, buddy?" We found a seat in the small pub and sat down
with our drinks. It was country pub with low ceiling and a busy
atmosphere. Jo snuggled up next to me on the seat and Lawrie sat
opposite me.
"Got a couple of months of sick leave, after that, don't know." He
sipped at his pint of bitter, "Actually it's nice to be back in
England."
"I couldn't agree more." Jo smiled, she was dressed all in black and
had her hair tied back. She looked amazing and sad at the same
time.
"Yeah, I think I have had my fill of being abroad for awhile." Lawrie
paused, "What about you, Will? You're being very quiet. Are you
planning another trip?"
"Yes, Will. Are you planning another trip?" Jo sat up in her seat and
turned to face me.
"Well, I was thinking about America. They all speak English. Should be
a lot easier." I looked at them both and grinned, "Go on, it might be
fun."
"No, no way. I am never going anywhere every again." Jo took a gulp of
drink and laughed. Lawrie held his drink up.
"I'll drink to that." Jo and Lawrie clinked glasses and waited for
me.
"Okay, okay, for now." I smiled at them and kissed Jo on the cheek. She
leaned towards me and whispered in my ear.
"I don't believe you." I looked at her and smiled and kissed her on the
lips.
"We'll see, maybe I'll want to stay around."