Fishing in Troubled Waters
Chapter 30
“Okay Albert, what do you have ready for us to consider? You’ve had several days to come up with a plan of action so tell me what it is, otherwise you’ll be in violation of our agreement and you know what will happen to you then. It won’t be pleasant my friend. How will you get Kris Amar to come to us?”
Dick and his team were sitting in Albert’s abattoir or mortuary as he preferred to call it and discussing the ways and means of luring Kris into Nong Khai. The tools of Albert’s gruesome trade were on full display around where they sat and the stench of formaldehyde and other noxious odors filled the room. He didn’t want to speculate on their origins. It appeared to Dick that Albert wasn’t the best of housekeepers given the number of blood stains on the linoleum floor. He was glad that he didn’t know what was in the black, plastic garbage bags stacked in the corner: TMI as far as he was concerned. Dick couldn’t wait to get out of there and suspected his teammates felt the same way too. All-in-all, it was a disgusting, depressing scene. The fetid smells wafting throughout the room made the experience even worse.
“I’ve given a lot of consideration to the task and believe only one or two things might sufficiently motivate Kris to come across the river, Khun Avery. The first thing is money and a lot of it. If Kris thinks there’s money on the table, he just might jump at the bait.”
“The second might be your presence here. Perhaps I could tell him you found me out, that I was working with him in the drug business and you turned me around to suck him into Thailand. That’s the more plausible one, I believe.”
“Interesting, because that’s true, but how could you make that happen in a convincing way? The bastard is a wary, cunning one. He might well smell a trap.”
“I’ll tell him the truth. I have immunity from prosecution if I cooperate with the authorities and a promise of two million U.S. dollars for his capture. If nothing else, Kris understands money.”
Albert Wu just confirmed he’d already gotten wind of the reward and it smelled sweet to his crooked nose.
“Won’t you be putting your own life at risk?”
“Yes, that’s the idea. He’ll despise me for what I’ve done to him and seek revenge. He’ll come because of you as well—a twofer in his twisted mind. I think killing both of us is a very strong incentive, one he can’t pass up, if I know my partner. Besides, I know you and your team will protect me from any harm.”
“How will you communicate with him?”
“That’s the easy part. A couple of years ago I set up an untraceable, bogus IP address. We each go to that address to exchange emails. We certainly don’t include anything incriminating in our back and forth messages, but the meanings are clear to both of us. That’s how I’ll do it.”
Dick liked the idea. Revenge was a powerful motivator, perhaps much more than money for some people. He could envision Kris Amar being livid over the turn of events and come after both of them. He was arrogant enough to believe he could kill two birds or infidels with one stone.
“Okay Albert, I like your idea and can’t come up with a better one. So let’s go with it. Remember, I want to see your message before it’s sent. Don’t double cross me because you won’t live to regret it!”
Sometimes those who served and protected enjoyed using the tough, rough language of macho, TV detectives to drive home a point.
Of course, it was all preposterous posturing and little more to intimidate someone who needed to be intimidated, just a friendly reminder and nothing more. It usually worked well on his guilty perps, so Dick gave it the old school try.
However, he didn’t bother telling Albert not to leave town. That was much too campy of an admonishment, even for Dick.