-Track Fifteen-
Charles, Elvin, and Wayne yawned and rubbed their eyes while Steve told them about Lucy’s call and the appointment she had made with Billy Numan. He wanted to break the ice on a positive note before dropping the bombshell about Ollie and his stupidity in divulging information about them.
“So, all being well we should know something after she and Cosmo see Numan,” said Steve.
“I hope you didn’t wake us up just to tell us that Lucy has an appointment in London tomorrow,” said Charles sounding annoyed.
Steve shook his head, took a deep breath, puckered his brow, and said, “Sorry lads, we have a problem, and it’s my fault.”
They stared at Steve while he told them about finding Ollie’s press card and the other lies Ollie had told them.
“So why do you think he’s here?” asked Elvin.
“It’s my guess he stumbled across us last night at Sharkys by accident, that’s why he didn’t have his camera. I bet he has been following us since then and knew we were coming here and staying at this hotel. I think he wants to get friendly with us and then make an excuse to come back to Phnom Penh as our mate and film us playing.”
“Do you think he knows you’ve seen his press card?” Charles asked, sounding curious.
Steve rubbed his chin and said. “I don’t know, so stay alert.”
“At least we found out before he got proof,” said Wayne. “So don’t beat yourself up, buddy.”
“Thanks mate, but I am the one he fooled,” said Steve, “so listen to what he has to say, but say nothing else about us. I will try to figure something out.”
The others sighed.
“Okay, we will go get a few more hours kip,” said Elvin and yawned.
Seven am. Charles, Wayne, Elvin, and Nit sat in the restaurant eating breakfast when Ollie came down and went to their table.
“Morning,” said Ollie. “I couldn’t sleep, so I want to come along to Angkor Wat with you if that’s okay?” He sat and ordered breakfast. “Have you seen Steve?” he asked.
“Was he drunk last night?” asked Elvin smirking.
“Yes, very drunk,” said Ollie.
“He won’t be awake until at least lunchtime then,” said Elvin smiling.
They took a minibus to Angkor Wat and got off at a green shack. Ollie chuckled as a Cambodian tour guide came along to collect the entrance fee.
“When I am in England, I get into things like this free,” he said, loud enough for them all to hear.
He opened his wallet, showed them his press card, and said. “You should see the other freebies I get by flashing this.” He gave them a quick look, closed his wallet, chuckled, and announced. “It's fake! My mate makes them on his computer.”
The tour guide held out his hand and they all paid the $25 fee. The guide led them along the long footpath over a glistening moat and towards the carved sandstone walls of the vast temple city.
“Wow!” Elvin exclaimed, feeling overawed as they walked through the entranceway and gazed at the magnificent temples sprawled out in front of them. “It’s massive. It looks just like the pictures we saw in books, except it's far more spectacular when you see it close up.”
They spent the morning visiting both the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom temples and they felt exhausted as they walked around the sights in the hot morning sun. Charles and Elvin marvelled at the magnificent stone Bayon heads and statues of Vishnu staring down at them. They walked along carved walls depicting various stories of the ancient dweller's lives and religious deities. The spicy scent of incense filled the warm air. Nit squealed with excitement and *wai-ed each time they passed small pagodas with Buddhist shrines for good luck. Wayne told the others that it was Nits first time at Angkor Wat, and for a Buddhist Cambodian, it was the ultimate place to visit.
Ollie felt relieved; it appeared as if they had swallowed his press card story and hoped they would convince Steve. He filmed them as much as possible, which they all noticed and grinned.
The tour finished at lunchtime to avoid the scorching afternoon sun. The minibus took them back to the hotel. Ollie, knowing that all he had now was a story told by an old man and a few pictures of other old men in temples, said. “Steve told me you are going back to Phnom Penh tomorrow. I have seen the temples and that’s what I came here for,” he said and smiled. “I will come back with you and take photographs of the band?”’
The others looked at him.
“What band?” asked Elvin, frowning.
Ollie, realising his blunder, smiled, and said, “Err, Steve told me all about you but don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
The others smiled and looked out of the minibus’s windows.
They arrived back at the hotel where Steve sat in the restaurant and they went over to him. “Hi lads,” said Steve, “and Nit,” he smiled and waved at Nit.
“Hello Steve, did you have a good day?” Ollie asked, trying to judge his reaction.
“Yeah, it’s been a great day so far. I woke up an hour ago and just relaxed and mooched around here,” said Steve, stretching.
The others looked at Steve who appeared pleased about something as he leant back in his chair and asked. “Did you enjoy the temples?”
“Yes,” said Ollie. “Fantastic!” He showed Steve his camera and some of the photographs he had taken. By the friendly way Steve appeared towards him, he thought that he hadn't seen his press card.
The others looked at Steve and frowned. He did not appear the same worried man that woke them up in a state of panic.
As they sat and chatted, a receptionist came over.
“Mr Smith, there's a phone call for you.”
Ollie looked bemused.
“For me... Are you sure?” He asked.
“Yes sir,” said the woman. “The caller spoke English and asked to speak to Mr Oliver Smith room 110.”
Confused, Ollie stood up, furrowed his brow, and said. “That’s strange; nobody knows I'm here.”
Ollie went over to the reception desk adjoining the restaurant and the others looked at Steve smirking.
Ollie, feeling happy with his plan back on track, picked up the phone, and said, “Hello, this is Ollie Smith.”
“Hello, Mr Oliver Smith,” said a familiar voice that sent shivers down his spine.
Ollie stammered, farted, and replied. “H... How did you find me?”
“You are a wanted fugitive on the run from the Philippines... You were easy to find because you were stupid enough to stay in Southeast Asia and the Asian branch of Interpol has been tracking you in Cambodia,” Captain Navarro told him.
Afraid, Ollie blurted out everything, including giving the police officer's 50,000 Pesos. He whimpered for several minutes until Captain Navarro told him to shut up and listen.
“The officers you tried to bribe claimed you ran away from them. You now face a lengthy prison sentence in the Philippines for fleeing from justice and attempted bribery.” The Captain allowed the information to sink in before he continued. “I don't want Cambodian law enforcement involved because they will detain you indefinitely. They will extort money from you until you are broke, and only then would they deport you to face trial in the Philippines.”
Ollie’s mind raced and with his thoughts in turmoil, he couldn’t think straight. His only thought was to delay the Filipino until he could escape back to England.
“Okay, I will come back to the Philippines. Please, can you give me a few days to get there?” Ollie pleaded.
“No,” said the Captain. “My officers are on their way to Siem Reap and will be there in a few hours to arrest you. So stay where you are and wait for them and don’t run away, I can find you anywhere in Southeast Asia.”
Captain Navarro, unable to keep a straight face, hung up and he and Gus burst out laughing.
“What happens if he waits there?” Gus asked through the laughter.
“He won’t” chuckled Navarro. “He will run to the airport unless he’s dumber than I thought. But if he's stupid enough not to run, we can have more fun with him.”
Ollie trembled, his mouth felt dry, and his heart raced.
The five sitting at the table watched Ollie on the phone looking shocked.
“He looks even paler than usual,” said Steve and chuckled and the others looked at him.
“What have you done Steve?” asked Elvin and smirked as Ollie hurried from reception and returned several minutes later with his belongings, paid his bill, and rushed to a waiting taxi.
“Boo hoo, not even a kiss goodbye?” said Steve, rubbing his eyes sarcastically and smirking.
The others looked amazed as these rapid events unfolded. Once Ollie had gone, they looked at Steve tittering.
“Wot 'appened?” Elvin asked, looking confused.
“Don’t fuck with Fossils,” said Steve and told them about his eventful morning.
Steve had seen them leave earlier from his window while wracking his brains what to do about Ollie. He became depressed, thinking they might have to move somewhere else and needing advice, he called Gus, who was talking to a friend when he called.
Gus told him that the search for them had heated up in Angeles City and he and his friend were trying to come up with more ways to make extra cash.
“What’s the matter buddy, you don’t sound happy?” asked Gus.
“We’ve been rumbled,” said Steve. “I got suckered in by a journalist and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“How did he find you?” asked Gus.
“Dunno,” said Steve, “he fed me a pack of lies about travelling around Cambodia.”
“So, how did he know to look for you in Cambodia? He must have been here first,” said Gus. “What’s his name?”
“Oliver Smith. I read it on his press card.”
“Oliver Smith,” said Gus. “The name doesn’t sound familiar, buddy.”
Steve heard someone in the background mumbling and Gus said. “Hang on buddy, somebody wants to speak with you.”
Gus handed the phone over to their mutual friend.
“Hi Steven,” said Captain Navarro, “I hear you have a problem, my old friend?”
“Hello Miguel, yes we do.”
“With Mr Oliver Smith I believe,” said the Captain.
“Yes,” said Steve frowning, and sounding curious asked, “Why, do you know him, Miguel?”
Captain Navarro sniggered and told Steve how they had dealt with the arrogant journalist a few days ago.
Steve felt relieved and they came up with a strategy to should ensure Ollie Smith would leave Southeast Asia immediately, and permanently. Steve gave the Captain the hotel’s details and Ollie’s room number.
Steve then told the others. “After my conversation with Miguel, I hung around the hotel lobby waiting for you to come back and when I saw your minibus pull up, I called Miguel,” said Steve, and smiling, told them. “So that’s the end of that. Hopefully, the git will fuck off back to England, although I am still worried about what I told him.”
Charles puckered his brow and, sounding concerned, said. “We still may not be out of the woods yet. But don’t worry about what you told him Steven; without proof, it's just the ramblings of an old man, which the media would put down to senility and ignore.” They looked at Charles with curiosity as he continued. “However, to uncover us as Fossils would make him too much money to ignore, so I can’t see him letting that slip away so easily. He seemed tenacious and you said that he fled the Philippines and came here instead of going back to England. He does not appear to be afraid of the law. It’s my guess he will lie low in Phnom Penh and film us performing at Sharkys, despite the Captain's warning.”
The others considered Charles’s theory, which seemed logical.
“So, all we have to do is not perform for a few days,” suggested Wayne.
“Perhaps,” said Charles.
Steve, thinking about Charles’s warning, then called Captain Navarro to tell him what happened and thanked him. He then called Jerry.
They stayed in the hotel throughout the evening and Steve’s phone rang at 10:30 pm.
“Good evening Lucy, how did it go with Billy Bullshit?” asked Steve and put his phone on speaker.
“Its afternoon here dad, it’s only 4:30,” she said and chuckled. Lucy then told them about the meeting with Billy Numan and she and Cosmo where at the Hilton until tomorrow morning when he would let them know what he intended to do to resolve the problem. Lucy reassured them that both she and Cosmo felt confident they would have good news in the next few days.
“The Hilton. That’s where Kipper was staying,” said Elvin.
“Yes, but we haven’t seen him since we met with Billy Numan earlier. He went to his room when we came to the hotel,”
“Sod him,” said Steve. “He got us into this mess.”
Lucy sighed. “I know he isn't blameless, but that Numan character manipulated him, he was just naive and gullible… easy prey for the shyster,” said Lucy, “he isn’t a bad lad.”
Steve empathised with Kipper after what he had just been through with Ollie Smith and said, “Thanks Love, hung up, and looked at the time on the phone. “We better have an early night and catch the morning bus.”
The Siem Reap bus arrived in Phnom Penh at 3:00 p.m. and although weary from the journey, the old men and Nit went to Sharkys to see Jerry.
Steve told him that his daughter said their dilemma could be over in England, but he would know more later. He then gave him details about their encounter with Ollie Smith.
Jerry knew from their worried expressions that they took the matter seriously.
“So, you aren’t sure that this journalist has gone?” asked Jerry.
“No,” said Charles. “We think he could hide in Phnom Penh and come here and film us playing.”
“Okay,” said Jerry. “I will book another band for a few nights.”
“Thanks mate,” said Steve, wishing they had the protection of Gus and Captain Navarro there.
Jerry looked at the tired old men and said. “Why don’t you go to the hotel and unpack. I will try to figure something out real quick.”
“We can’t go back to Amari. We suspect Ollie knew we were there and followed us to the travel agent when we booked for Siem Reap,” said Wayne.
Steve looked at his watch. “It’s 4:00 pm here, so I’ll call Lucy.”
Cosmo and Lucy had just finished their second meeting with Billy Numan and were waiting in the Broadcasting House reception when Steve called.
Lucy told him about the next day’s press conference and how Billy Numan planned to blame everything on Kipper. Steve thought Lucy sounded sad when she mentioned Kipper.
“So, if all goes to plan tomorrow Dad, you can all come home in the next few days and our secret will stay hidden,” Lucy chuckled. “I know Mrs Chew misses you.”
“Yeah,” said Steve, “that’s great news.”
“You don’t sound too happy,” said Lucy.
Steve sighed and told her about Ollie Smith.
The others looked at Steve as Lucy warned him. “Dad, it’s imperative that nothing gets out until after the announcement at tomorrow’s press conference. After the media release their stories to the public, any story after that would be considered a hoax and ignored, so just lie low until then. ”
“Don’t worry Lucy, your old Dad has a plan. Call me when it’s over, thanks for everything Love.”
“What’s the plan then?” asked Elvin after Steve hung up.
Steve shrugged and said. “I haven’t got one.”
“It sounded like we only need to keep away from Ollie for a few more days at the most, and as we aren’t playing, that should be easy,” said Charles, sounding wistful.
“But we don’t know what he already has. Perhaps he took footage on his phone before, but wants to get better footage with his camera,” said Steve and sighed. “If we don’t play, he might go to the press now with what he’s already got, so we need to stop him doing that until after the release of the news.”
“We can always change ‘otels,” said Elvin.
“Yes,” said Charles, “We could, but he knows where we stayed: we don’t know where he does, so we don’t know where to avoid and could run into him. We aren’t exactly inconspicuous.”
The four mumbled and looked at one another.
“I have an idea, guys,” said Jerry smiling. “The Thai border isn’t far from here, and we get customers coming from Pattaya which was only a few hours’ drive from the border. People always tell me fantastic stories about the place. It is a large city, so easy to go unnoticed.”
“That's sorted out one problem I suppose, but what would happen if Ollie Smith already filmed us with his phone?” asked Steve.
Jerry smiled and said. “I will advertise you as playing here tonight and keep the SHB posters displayed showing you as performing. That should lure him here and stop him releasing what little he has now because he will think he can get better proof. Do you have any photos of him?”
Steve pulled the A4 print of him and Ollie with the sandstone carving of Elvin’s gargoyle face from his pocket, showed Jerry, and said,” he’s the one to the left of Elvin,
Jerry looked, smirked at Elvin, and then said. “Okay, I will show this to the staff and when they see him, they will tell him that SHB are in Siem Reap, but would be back playing the following evening.”
“A few days are all we need,” said Steve. “ Thanks Jerry.”
The others smiled and thanked Jerry, who then said. “I will tell the staff about Ollie and then drive you to the Thai border. You have your baggage with you, and your equipment will be safe in the storeroom. If we set off real quick, we could be at the border before it closes at 8 o’clock.”
The four looked at one another and, although feeling tired, they thought another few hours wouldn't make much difference.
“Great,” said Steve. “We wanted to visit Thailand anyway and it will only be for a few days,”
The drive to the Thai/Cambodian border took three hours. Skirting alongside the Cardamom mountains and jungle they crossed four bridges over scenic, large, lazy flowing rivers. They drove through several small sleepy Cambodian villages along the way and when night fell, the road became precarious with little or no roadside lighting. Jerry drove slowly when navigating the narrow winding tracks around mountains.
They arrived at the border crossing just after 7:00 p.m. They got out of the car and collected their bags from Jerry’s boot. They said goodbye to Jerry, thanked him, and told him that they would stay in touch and see him again soon. Jerry got back into his car laughing. “Be careful of the lady-boys,” he said before pulling away.
The old men walked to the dimly lit departure building at the Cambodian border.
“Wot did he mean about the lady-boys?” Elvin asked several minutes later.
Steve laughed and told him. “Pattaya's full of them. They’re called katoeys; it was where they have international beauty shows for transgenders. We can go see a show,” said Steve smirking.
“Not bloody likely,” said Elvin frowning
“Why not? People reckon some lady-boys look better than the women and you can’t tell the difference once they’ve had their tackle chopped off,” said Steve, and chuckled.
“They'd never fool me,” Charles said, with his nose in the air.
“Nor me,” said Elvin, quivering at the thought.
“What?” Wayne asked after turning off his hearing aid.
“If in doubt whether they’re male or female; check their Adam's apple, foot size, and listen to how they order a pint of Guinness,” said Steve. He chuckled as they handed their passports to the Cambodian border officials.
They walked across the short piece of no-man's-land and entered Thailand.
Once across the border, they looked around for transport to take them to Pattaya. Jerry had told them they should head for Trat town by scheduled minibus. From there, they needed to catch another minibus to Pattaya.
They wandered around a small market and a Thai man approached them. Steve explained that they were looking for the bus stop for Trat and Pattaya. The Thai laughed. “Too late, minibus finished. The only way to Pattaya now is by taxi,” said the Thai and led them to his taxi. They agreed on his fare of 4800 THB (£130), and he ushered them into his Toyota Camry before any other drivers heard him ripping off the gullible old foreigners, as the usual price from the Thai, Had Lek border, to Pattaya by taxi was 2500 Baht.
The differences between Cambodia and Thailand soon became apparent as they travelled along a major highway and saw modern and pristine roads, unlike the potholed, small shabby roads of Cambodia. The taxi sped along a well-lit motorway toward Pattaya, stopping several times for a toilet and coffee break at modern roadside services.
Confident with Jerry’s plan working, the four felt pleased about their decision to move to Thailand, although Wayne looked glum.
“Don’t worry mate,” said Steve “It’s only for a few days, to keep that Ollie Smith fucker off our trail.”
Ollie knocked back a large whisky and asked for another. He smiled, now feeling safe after his harrowing ordeal.
Believing the police would be looking for him in Siem Reap airport; he had scarpered to Phnom Penh cowering in the back of the taxi.
With his nerves frayed, he hid in Phnom Penh International Airport awaiting his departure. He had booked the first available flight to anywhere outside of Southeast Asia. Ollie, although still determined to continue the pursuit of a Fossils exclusive, knew that his investigations would centre in the United Kingdom and far away from Southeast Asia.
“Here’s your drink, sir,” said the flight attendant, handing him another miniature bottle of whisky.
“Thanks,” said Ollie. “What time do we land in Kazakhstan?”