OK, maybe one more chapter. Got a problem I need to overcome first.
OM for APR
ChuckParis
Chapter 25
Four miles outside Korat, Thailand
Chai Vathanakul pulled his boss' body through the drainage ditch and into a culvert under the road. Their convoy had been ambushed and their vehicle hit in the engine compartment by an RPG and he'd just managed to grab his boss and drag him out of the Land Rover and into the ditch it was in before the Rover caught fire and exploded.
He'd been momentarily stunned by the RPG explosion but he had snapped out of his shock and pulled them both out in the nick of time.
He crawled out into the ditch again and pulled himself up the side of the ditch to get a status on the escorts. Both escort vehicles had met with the same fate and he could see several bodies lying on the road that led to the civilian airport.
Casey and the team had left an hour earlier but Chuck had stayed behind to finalize the arrangements for the new structure and to take a conference call from the US. Chai had offered to take him to the airport. He wanted to talk about Su-Fi and to get his blessing on his marriage proposal.
'She'll never marry me now. She'll spend the rest of her life hunting down the vermin who did this. I'll be lucky if she doesn't kill me because it's my fault he's dead. I should have delayed the Colonel and Panzer. A larger convoy might have been able to overcome the attackers and reach safety. Yeah, his little Su-Fi will kill me for sure.'
He crawled back down into the drainage ditch and into the culvert. They needed to stay hidden until well after dark. Then he would leave and find a phone and contact his people and have them pick him up. Him and his friend, the dead Director General of the CIS and the Ring.
He stopped and thought that through. No. He couldn't contact his people. There was a traitor in his organization. Someone had tipped off the hardliners in the Consortium about the rapprochement between the Far East and CIS-Central. That was the only explanation he could come up with. They'd have to extract themselves on their own.
He debated leaving the body behind and making his way to safety and then returning with a trusted force to recover it and return it home but given the temperature and the location, the body would be in horrible shape and he didn't want Su-Fi to have that image to carry around with her.
Sighing deeply, he tucked his broken arm into his shirt and crawled over to the body. The head was a mass of blood and the insects in the ditch had already discovered it. He tore off the sleeve of Chuck's shirt and used it to wipe the blood from his friend's face and head as best he could.
"Han-nah? 'zat you?" Chai almost dropped his friend's head when he spoke.
"No, Director, it is Chai. You've been hurt and we're currently on the run. We can hole up here until full dark but then we must leave and seek shelter. The Consortium thinks we're dead in the ambush. The Land Rover is toast and all my men…" He stopped. All his men were dead. His most trusted team.
"Casey dead? No! He – "
"No, Director. The Colonel and Panzer went on ahead. They are safe."
"Goo…" He either passed out or died. Chai wasn't sure which. He could hear a truck coming slowly down the road. It stopped at the ambush site. Perhaps it was the police? He fumbled for his weapon but couldn't reach it with his broken arm. He reached behind Chuck and took his.
"Windsor? Chai? Anyone?" Casey had taken in the ambush with a single professional glance and then went to the Land Rover that was still burning in the drainage ditch. Hugo and his men had established a loose perimeter and were checking for survivors.
Chai crawled out into the ditch and called for the Colonel. "Over here. The Director is – is dying. Hurry!"
Chateau Almandine
15km southwest of Paris
Eleanor Panzer was used to getting calls at all hours of the night. She was the only doctor within miles and the small villages surrounding the Chateau and grounds had been encouraged to call with problems.
"Dr. Panzer."
"Eleanor, it's Hugo. There was an ambush on the way to the airport. The Director is in bad shape, in and out of consciousness. I think you and Hannah and Su-Fi had better plan on coming to Bangkok. We're going to head there from Korat as soon as the locals have him stabilized."
"Hugo, are you alright? And John? And Chai? I can't fly, my love. I'm too far gone and I can deliver anytime now. I'll have Hannah call with arrival times. Please take care, all of you."
She hung up and levered herself out of bed, cursing her swollen belly and general ungainliness but stopped and caressed her huge belly. "I didn't mean it, baby. Honest. Mommy's just worried about your uncle Chuck."
Royal Thai Regional Hospital
Korat, Thailand
"Tell me you didn't call them and get them all riled up, Hugo? Jesus – Ellie's due any second and you laid that line of crap on her? Lemme outta this bed and I'm gonna kick your ass up around your neck."
"Chuck, the doctors here thought you were dying. They said you had a skull fracture. Would you rather Hannah not find out until after you're dead?"
He stopped and thought about it. "Yeah, because I'm not dying, you dickhead, and you got those women thinking I'm getting old and can't handle things anymore. Hannah's always going on about how my hands are worse than ever and the only saving grace is that I always put her on my deaf side. So, yeah, I wish you'd waited."
"Well then, I guess I'll cancel the flight out tonight for Paris since you want to 'get better' before facing Hannah and Eleanor."
"Definitely!" Then more softly than before, "How's Chai? I owe him big-time. Casey says he pulled me out of the fire. Where is he? I wanted to ask him to come back to Paris with me and see Su-Fi."
"He's running a purge of his operation, top to bottom. He's convinced that someone leaked the route and passengers. You know these people. Honor is everything. He's lost a lot of face because of this."
"It's probably not the best time to be out of town anyway. Damn! Tell you what. Call Su-Fi and tell her I need 'oversight' since we don't know who we can trust anymore and I'm going to stay here for a week or so and support Chai. Ask her – no – tell her I need her. And then get Hannah on the phone and leave me alone to handle her, okay?"
Somewhere over India
"This is Su-Fi Windsor. Who calls?" She found that speaking 'stilted' English disarmed people and made it easier for her to deal with them.
"Sophie, it's Uncle Hugo. I need you to pack a bag and come to Korat. You father needs you, Sophie. He needs someone he can trust absolutely since Chai is busy with his own internal security problems. Will you come?" He laid it on thick but it proved unnecessary.
"Yes. Have someone trustworthy meet the CIS plane in four hours. My mother, Yve, Jeb Stuart and I are en route already. Is – is Jzhuck dying, Uncle Hugo?"
"No, Sophie, but he might wish to be after your mother is done with him."
"Let me worry about that. I will see you in 4 hours or so. Uncle Hugo, what of Director Vathanakul?"
"Broken arm but he saved the boss' life. Don't be too hard on him, Sophie. He did the best he could. There is a traitor in his ranks and he's lost a lot of face over this."
"Nonsense! He saved Jzhuck's life. There is no dishonor in that. Tell him, no, I will tell him myself. Have him at the airport if possible. Hannah will want to know exactly what happened and to thank him for his bravery."
"And you, little Sophie? Will you want to thank him."
"Uncle, do not be a butthead. We will be landing in four hours."
Su-Fi went forward and advised the pilots of their change in flight times and told them to make the necessary security arrangements for the aircraft in Korat. She was definitely her father's daughter.
Korat Airfield
Korat, Thailand
The big Gulfstream taxied up to the private terminal and powered down. The stairs were lowered and the three Windsor women followed by Jeb Stuart stepped out into the humid afternoon sun. John Casey met them and took them through Customs and then into the terminal lounge for refreshments and a briefing on the situation.
Chai was sitting in the lounge nursing a soft drink and cursing his fate. Hannah would flay him alive and then Su-Fi would finish the job with her knives.
He was looking down at his shoes and wishing he'd never met Chuck Windsor. Life had been so simple back then.
His thoughts were disturbed by a warm body that plopped down in his lap and threw its arms around him and buried its face in his neck and started to cry, squeezing his neck and mumbling words he couldn't make out.
He recognized the scent immediately; her body wash and perfume made a very distinctive scent that always reminded him of Bougainvillea in bright sunlight.
"Su-Fi? He's alive, Su-Fi. Don't cry. You never cry, Su-Fi, never."
"I've never almost lost my lover before so shut up and let me be. I was so frightened, you Thai pig, that I would never see you again. You need constant watching, Chai, and I've decided that I will be your wife. Make the arrangements so that my family can attend while they are here."
"But Su-Fi, I haven't spoken to your father yet or…"
"Chai, don't you want to marry me? You said – "
"Oh, yes, Su-Fi, but there are traditions and conventions to be followed, you know that."
"Fuck tradition. I've decided to be a modern woman. Come, talk with Hannah and tell her the truth. She is iron under velvet and can handle the truth and will want to thank you. After we see to my Jzhuck, I will want to go to your apartment for a 'proper' thank you, my Thai pig. Your arm is the only thing broken, right?"