Mekong Dawn

  Todd felt the girl move beside him as she let fly a sob of despair. He looked down and her eyes were wide with fear and grief. She stuffed a fist into her mouth to stifle the next sob and Todd followed her wide-eyed gaze to the wreckage of the boat.

  Hunh lay face down in the water, his body unmoving, the back of his shirt a mess of bloody holes. Todd placed his arm around Soo-Li’s shoulders and pulled her tight against him. She turned her face into his side as her body heaved with wracking sobs.

  As he tried to comfort the girl he saw something move out beyond the wreckage and the bodies. Three men rose up out of the grass on a distant islet and waded towards the remains of the boat. All carried assault rifles.

  Todd lifted Soo-Li’s face and held it between both of his hands. Her eyes were glazed and unseeing and he had to shake her head before they cleared and focused on him.

  ‘The bad guys are coming. We have to get out of here.’

  She seemed not to understand so he twisted her head. The men reached the wreckage of the boat and poked at the bodies with their guns.

  Soo-Li nodded and Todd took her hand, leading her back towards the jungles of the Mountain of the Sun.

  ***

  ‘Two got away.’

  ‘A girl and the boy who escaped from the boat.’ Ky watched the two distant figures disappear into the jungle. ‘Forget them. They cannot hurt us. Search the bodies of the policemen for anything of value. Collect their weapons if you can find them.’

  ‘What about the helicopter?’

  Ky pondered the question, his eyes studying the gleaming white aircraft. The pilot’s blood still ran in sticky rivulets and dripped from the open door. They could burn the machine. That would be the best way to ensure its destruction. But the smoke plume from such a fire would alert anyone for many miles around. On the other hand it would be a simple matter to break something vital so that the machine was incapable of flying. Then again, the machine was already useless without a pilot to fly it.

  In the end, Ky’s mind settled on a more mercenary approach.

  ‘Leave it. It is very valuable. Its owners will pay well for its return.

  They dragged the bodies from the water and searched them, looking for anything of value. Wallets, watches and a few pieces of jewellery were quickly pocketed.

  Prak turned over the body of the policeman near the helicopter and patted down his pockets. The policeman’s eyes flickered open

  ‘This one is still alive. I will finish him.’ He flicked the safety catch on his weapon. The muzzle touched the man’s head where blood ran from a graze above his right temple. Prak’s finger tightened on the trigger.

  Ky waited for the sudden bark of sound as he watched the man’s head with a macabre detachment. It dawned on him that he had seen this man before, on television and in newspapers. Malko had warned him about this one, of the policeman’s tenacity in hunting him down.

  ‘Wait!’

  Prak lifted his weapon, a look of disappointment on his face.

  ‘This is Sinh.’ The pleasure was evident in Ky’s voice. ‘Take him back to the boat. The colonel will be most pleased to meet him.’

  Chapter Twenty-one

  ‘How’s the pain, Joyce?’ Nancy examined the unwrapped broken arm. A bruise the colour of a ripe plum had spread all the way from the woman’s wrist to her elbow.

  ‘Not too bad dear. The tablets you gave me are helping a lot.’

  ‘Don’t overdo it. They’re pretty strong.’ Nancy bandaged the arm and set it in the sling. ‘Take half a tablet whenever necessary.’ The powerful painkillers had been among one of the passenger’s medications. The owner of the tablets, an American named Miles Johnson, had readily offered the tablets for her to use as she saw fit.

  ‘I only use them whenever I get a bad migraine. You give them out to those who need them,’ he had told her. ‘But be careful. They’re pretty powerful. Too many will put a buffalo on its ear.’

  Nancy patted Joyce’s shoulder and stood up. She saw that Scott was now awake and sitting at a table with Fred and three other male passengers. Her husband was dealing out a hand of cards. His movements were slow, deliberate, like a novice handling the cards for the first time. Scott was no novice. The rescue crews often filled the long hours on standby by playing cards, and she had seen Scott deal out a five-card hand at a speed that would impress a Mississippi riverboat gambler.

  Nancy walked over and placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder. He looked up at her and grinned, but his eyes seemed to focus on a point far beyond her head.

  ‘Hi, Honey. How’s the hospital rounds going?’

  ‘Scotty, can we talk for a moment?’

  ‘Sure.’ He shrugged apologetically at the other players and pushed his chair back. He had to place his hands on the table to pull himself to his feet.

  They walked over by the door into the breezeway, the only place where they could put a little distance between themselves and the other passengers. Nancy turned Scott to face her.

  ‘Scotty, how many of your tablets have you taken today?’

  His eyes flicked about, looking everywhere except directly at her. ‘Just the recommended dosage.’ His gaze settled on something beyond the top of her head.

  ‘You’re lying.’

  He tried to look hurt at the accusation, but she could tell it was an act.

  ‘Show me your box of tablets.’

  ‘You don’t need to see them.’

  Nancy stamped her foot on the deck and some of the passengers looked over at them. ‘Damn it, Scotty! Show me your box of tablets. Now!’

  He didn’t move.

  ‘If I have to get Fred and some other men to hold you down while I search your pockets, then I will damn-well do it.’

  His gaze dropped to her eyes and she held the stare, waiting.

  ‘Okay. Okay.’ He unbuttoned the flap on his shirt pocket and took out the box containing his medication. Nancy snatched it out of his hand, opened the top and shook out one silver blister sheet.

  ‘There are only three tablets left in here, Scotty.’

  ‘Yeah. I’ll be needing the other box soon, honey.’

  ‘There were fifteen tablets in here when I gave you the box. You’re only supposed to be taking one a day. There should be more left than just three.’ She was surprised at how even and clinical her own voice sounded.

  ‘But with the extra tension of being stuck in this situation — I took a few more than normal to take the edge off.’

  ‘You’ve had over ten times the recommended daily dose. You’ve done more than just take the edge off, Scotty. You can hardly function. I watched you dealing those cards as if it were happening in slow motion.’ She shook the box in front of his eyes. ‘You’re using these to escape into whatever peace they give you and you’re leaving me here, Scotty. You’re leaving me here to deal with all of this on my own.’

  She didn’t want to cry. Normally, Nancy could reason things out in a cool, calm and detached way. That was what her training had taught her. But she couldn’t stop tears from bubbling into her eyes.

  ‘Is everything all right?’

  Collette came to stand beside her, a concerned look on her face. Nancy ignored the woman and kept her gaze locked on Scott.

  ‘I’ll keep these with me and give you your tablets when you’re supposed to have them.’

  ‘I’m not a child.’ He snatched the box out of her hand and strode off between the tables to the far end of the saloon where he slumped to the floor. He looked up at her standing slack-jawed near the breezeway, popped two tablets out of the blister pack and tossed them into his mouth, swallowing with theatrical deliberation. A few moments later he rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

  Nancy didn’t bother to fight the tears anymore and they rolled down her face. Collette’s arms went around her and she buried her face into the other woman’s shoulder.

  ‘Oh, Collette. What am I going to do?’

  Collette stroked
her hair. ‘Don’t be too hard on him, dear. This is a lot for anyone to deal with.’

  ‘This is not the real Scotty, you know?’

  ‘I know dear. I watched the way he worked to get out a message on the phone. That was the real Scott. He’ll sleep it off and be better to deal with – to reason with later. Come, let us sit down.’ Collette steered her towards a couple of chairs a little apart from the other passengers and they sat side by side.

  ‘Before his accident, Scotty was so vibrant, so full of life.’ Nancy let the words gush out of her and Collette rubbed her back, encouraging her to let it all out. ‘He was the dashing army officer when I met him. He swept me off my feet and I knew he was the one for me.’

  ‘He certainly is a handsome fellow.’

  ‘We married and Scotty discharged from the army. He took a job flying rescue helicopters so that he could be home all the time. We were going to start a family but, after years of trying, we found out Scotty can’t father a child.’

  Collette stopped rubbing and took hold of a hand. ‘Did you try other options?’

  Nancy shook her head. ‘Scott had his accident the same week we found out. He was the only survivor of that crash. Two men died and I sometimes think Scotty wishes he had died with them. The crash didn’t kill him, but he’s using other ways to slowly kill himself.’

  ‘Was the crash his fault in any way?’

  ‘No. That’s the hard part to understand. He blames himself even though the investigation revealed sub-standard parts in the tail rotor assembly. Scotty feels he could’ve done more to save his crew.’

  Collette gave her hand a squeeze and Nancy returned the gesture. She wiped the tears from her face and forced a smile. ‘Thanks. You’re a good listener.’

  ‘You’re welcome, sweetie. Don’t give up on him. We’ll all get through this.’ She swept her arm at the guards in the breezeway. ‘And Scott will beat his demons. I haven’t known him for that long, but I just know he is the sort of man who can overcome anything.’

  ‘I hope you’re right. I just —’

  The guards on the gangway began yabbering and pointing back along the shoreline. Nancy craned her neck to see what had them so excited. Near the edge of the jungle Ky led his little procession back towards the ship. There was another man with them, wearing what looked like a military or police uniform. He limped along ahead of the gunmen, goaded forward by jabs in the back with gun barrels. A few paces short of the gangway the man fell to the ground. Ky took hold of the man’s hair and dragged him to his feet, up the gangway and shoved him through the doorway. The man managed to keep his feet but swayed as if drunk.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Nancy went to the man and led him to a chair. He went willingly and sat down. The passengers crowded around her and blurted out questions, yelling to be heard over one another. They could see the newcomer wore the uniform of authority and they all wanted answers.

  ‘Quiet, please, people.’ Nancy held up a hand and the yelling died away. She turned back to the man. ‘Your head is bleeding.’

  He looked at Nancy. ‘Shot in the leg, too. Just a graze I think.’

  ‘I’m a nurse. Will you let me take a look at it for you?’

  The man nodded and stood up. He undid his belt and lowered his trousers just enough to show a long groove below his left hip.

  Nancy pulled on a pair of latex gloves from the first-aid kit and gently probed the wound with her fingers. ‘You’re right. Just a graze. I’ll swab it with antiseptic and put a dressing on.’

  She cleaned and dressed the graze then turned her attention to the bleeding scalp. ‘What happened? Were you in that helicopter we heard earlier today?’ The voices behind her were starting to grow again and Nancy worked quickly to head them off.

  ‘Yes. My name is Sinh Ang. I am a major with the Cambodian National Police. We were looking for this vessel. A survivor, a young man, signalled us. We landed and went to him but were ambushed on the way back to the helicopter.’

  Collette grabbed the man’s arm. ‘A survivor?’

  Ang nodded. ‘He said he escaped not long after the boat was seized. We found him with a Vietnamese wood gatherer and his daughter.’

  Fred punched the air with a fist. ‘The other kid made it? Good on him!’

  Ang looked down at the deck. ‘He was killed in the ambush when I was wounded.’

  Fred let his hand drop to his side.

  ‘But the authorities are looking for us?’ Miles Johnson pushed his way forward. ‘Did you manage to radio our position?’

  Ang looked up at him and shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, sir. We only landed because the young man managed to signal us. We had no idea the Mekong Dawn was in this area. When Malko made the ransom demands he swore he would start killing passengers if any military helicopters even came close. We were using a small civilian aircraft to try and locate you without getting anyone killed.’ He looked about the saloon and Nancy could see his lips moving as he counted heads.

  ‘There are thirty-six passengers and nine crewmembers left. Malko murdered anyone capable of sailing the vessel. Only the catering and housekeeping staff are left.’

  ‘I see.’ Ang lowered his eyes and looked at his hands resting in his lap.

  Fred asked the question everyone wanted answered. ‘So what happens now?’

  ‘Your governments have refused to pay any ransom. Malko will be left with two options; He can try and negotiate a ransom with your families – a process that will take months to—’

  ‘I’m not bloody-well staying here for months.’ The yell came from the back of the knot of passengers and crew. Others joined in the protest.

  ‘And option two?’ Nancy already felt despair in the pit of her stomach. The voices quieted down as everyone waited for an answer.

  Ang couldn’t meet her eyes. He didn’t look up as he spoke. ‘Malko will make good his threats and cut his losses. He will kill everyone here and then run and hide. In a month or a year he will surface again with another murderous plan to get rich.’

  A few gasps went up, but nobody screamed or wailed. Nancy looked to where Scott leant against the wall at the far end of the saloon. He had his head tilted back and his eyes shut, peaceful in the embrace of his medication. She felt tears welling into her eyes again and moved out of the crowd. Sitting by her comatose husband, she took his hand.

  ‘Please come back to me, Scotty. I really need you, darling. Don’t let me go through this alone.’

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Soo-Li set a fast pace as they traversed a patch of jungle-shrouded boulders high on the mountainside. She longed to return to the camp, to the meagre possessions and their memories, but Todd had said they should stay away from the shore where they might be discovered by her father’s killers.

  There was only one place she knew of that wasn’t near the water. Reaching the ancient temple complex meant a steep climb through thick jungle. There wasn’t much there, but at least they would have a place to hide amongst the weathered, overgrown, tumbledown stones. But then what? They had no boat to escape the swamps.

  Her mind had created a sort of blank wall, behind which all her grief and sorrow was stockpiled. Sometimes the wall cracked and she could feel the emotions seeping through, coming to overwhelm her. But, with a great deal of mental effort, she managed to patch the cracks and move on.

  So far.

  She knew the time would come when she would break down into tears. The same thing had happened when her mother died. She had built her wall and stayed strong for her father, comforting him and caring for him until the wall came crashing down and she was unable to leave her bed for two days, crying constantly and eating nothing.

  ‘Please slow down.’

  She paused by a boulder and looked back down the slope. Todd’s breath came in short gasps and sweat had darkened the front of his shirt. He reached her and leant against the boulder.

  ‘How much farther?’

  ‘Not too far.’ She pointed diagonally up the
slope.

  ‘That’s what you said half an hour ago.’

  ‘Ten, maybe fifteen minutes.’ Soo-Li turned away to continue up the mountain, but Todd’s voice stopped her.

  ‘What’s that down there?’

  She turned back to find him pointing downhill, at a mass of vegetation floating in the water far below.

  ‘There’s something strange about that patch of jungle,’ he said.

  Soo-Li nodded. That particular area of vegetation seemed to be made up of flat, angular planes. The leaves carried a dull, lifeless hue, like plastic flowers. The strange prominence was attached to the island mountain and she couldn’t ever remember seeing something like that before on her trips to this area. But even in its strangeness there was something familiar to the lines of this clump of vegetation; the nearer end appeared to be blunt, while the far end tapered to a point in almost perfect symmetry.

  ‘It looks like a boat.’ Soo-Li dismissed the sight and turned away to continue up the mountain.

  Todd grabbed her arm so tight she cried out in alarm.

  ‘It is a boat! Look at it. They’ve covered it in some sort of netting. I’ll bet it’s the Mekong Dawn. This is where they’ve hidden her.’

  Soo-Li studied the floating shape and realised Todd was right. The hijackers had rigged some sort of camouflage over the vessel to make it look like part of the island. Without using a little imagination it would be impossible to pick out the boat against the real vegetation. It gave her chills to think her father’s murderers were only a few hundred metres down the mountainside.

  ‘We should go,’ she said.

  Todd held back and examined the vessel with a thoughtful expression.

  ‘What are we going to do when we reach this hiding place of yours?’

  Soo-Li shrugged. ‘Hide. Wait until the men are gone or someone passes this way.’

  ‘But, how long will we have to wait?’

  She shrugged again. ‘I don’t know.’

  Todd pointed down at the Mekong Dawn. ‘If I can slip aboard I may find a radio or mobile phone. I can get help.’

  Soo-Li shook her head vigorously. ‘But the men with guns…’