Harry and the Pirates, Chapter 70
Redheads in Roanapur
by Technomad
Ministry of Magic, Bangkok, Thailand
"All your papers seem to be in order, sirs, lady," the Thai wizard said, after passing his wand over the identification that Percy Weasley held out. "Your visas are correct. Welcome to Thailand. Sawadi."
"Sawadi," Percy responded, bowing correctly in the local way. The Thai smiled broadly, and waved them off the platform that served as the international Apparition point. Percy led his two siblings along toward the front door. "Harry and Dudley said they'd meet us here…" he said, looking around uncertainly. Outside, they found themselves in what looked to be a Thai version of Diagon Alley. Unlike the British Ministry of Magic, the Thai Ministry had its offices on Soi Mayaki, the main street of the hidden magical district of Bangkok.
Around them, street life swirled confusingly. Wizards and witches, some of them in Muggle street clothes, others in gaudy traditional Thai clothing, walked along on various errands, and shops selling exciting-looking, mysterious goods enticed customers with fascinating displays in their main windows. Percy put one hand on Ron's shoulder, and the other on Ginny's, hoping to keep them from wandering off and getting lost. He knew that some of the shops on Diagon Alley were incredibly attractive to his sibs, and didn't fancy having to explain to their mother just how it had happened that he had lost his two youngest family members practically the second they hit Bangkok.
"Hey! Over here!" came a familiar voice. Sure enough, it was Harry, with Dudley right behind him, threading their way through the crowds with the ease of a lifetime of practice. "Welcome to Thailand! How was your trip?" The boys all shook hands, and Ginny hugged Dudley for a second before giving Harry a much longer hug. Percy bent a suspicious glance toward Harry. Harry caught it, and gave him a wink. Percy decided to let things slide.
"We've got a car laid on to take us to Roanapur!" Grabbing the Weasleys' bags, Harry and Dudley led the way through a magically-disguised entryway out onto a Bangkok street, which was even more chaotic than Soi Mayaki had been. Unobtrusively, Percy guided his siblings along toward a large Muggle-style automobile that was sitting at a nearby curb. They all put their bags into the back and climbed on into the passenger compartment. At the wheel, there was a large, rather stolid-looking man with a long scar down his face. He gave them all a long, appraising look, then nodded, before returning his attention to their surroundings.
"Percy, Ginny, Ron, this is Sergeant Boris. He's Balalaika's right-hand man, and does a lot of her driving for her. When we told Balalaika that you were coming, she instantly detailed him to help us pick you up. We're not old enough to drive ourselves, yet, and driving here's crazy anyway." Percy could confirm that last tidbit for himself; one look out the car windows told him that the local drivers were fearless maniacs who held death in utter contempt. Sergeant Boris took it all in stride, guiding the car out of the parking spot and into the street. Soon, they were out of Bangkok, and Percy was looking around at the exotic tropical scenery. It was all so different from Britain!
Several hours later, they were passing over a bridge. Ahead, they could see Roanapur. To Percy's eye it didn't look terribly different from the other Thai coastal towns they had passed through on the way there. Then Harry poked him and pointed out the back window of the car. He looked up, and his eyes went wide to see a noose hanging from the bridge's framework. Beside him, Ginny and Ron both gasped. They had seen it too.
"See that?" Harry's voice was serious. "That's a warning. A lot of people who think they can handle Roanapur find out, the hard way, that they can't! Let Dudley and me be your guides here, and for Merlin's sake don't annoy the locals! Quite a few of them, including some of the most unlikely-looking people you can probably imagine, are lethal when crossed!"
"I'll keep that in mind, Harry," Percy said seriously. Inwardly, he was glad that their mother had not wanted to let Ron and Ginny travel so far from home without him along to chaperon them. Ron and Ginny both could be impulsive, but his more measured approach to life tended to balance things out. And since they'd been invited by the people who had made it possible for all three Weasley siblings to make good money, their mother hadn't been able to figure out a good way to refuse them permission to go.
Roanapur's streets were quieter than Bangkok's had been, and they were soon pulling up in front of the building that Harry, Dudley and Petunia Dursley lived in. Petunia was waiting on the front step for them, and she smiled broadly as the car pulled up and the passengers disembarked.
"Welcome to Roanapur, all of you!" She held out her hand for a shake. "I'm Petunia Dursley, Dudley's mum and Harry's aunt! You," she told Percy as she shook his hand, "must be Percy!" Percy nodded, as she turned her attention to Ron and Ginny. "You're Ron, and you're Ginny, aren't you? My boys have written such good things about you, I can hardly wait to get to know you!" She gestured to the suitcases they had piled on the sidewalk. "Come, let's get these traps put away, and then I've a reservation at the Golden Dragon to welcome you here for your stay!"
Shortly thereafter, the Weasleys and their hosts were seated in an elegant restaurant. Harry said quietly: "This restaurant belongs to Boss Chang, the head of the local Triads. He's a business competitor of our employer, but he takes pride in his restaurant. Since we're working for Hotel Moscow, we get a discount; he does that to keep our employer happy. Order what you like!" The restaurant offered Western, Chinese, and Thai specialties. Noticing the Weasleys' puzzlement at the exotic offerings, Harry said "I'd say you should stick with Western food for now. We'll get you up to speed on local cuisine, but some kinds of Chinese food, and Thai food, are very spicy. We're used to it; you're not."
When their food came, all of them tucked in with good appetite. Percy noticed that Ron wasn't wolfing his food quite as much as he did at home or at Hogwarts, and smiled to himself to see that much improvement. He also noticed that Harry and Dudley, who were eating Chinese food, were wielding chopsticks with utter aplomb, and made a mental note to get them to teach him how.
As they ate, a well-dressed Chinese man wearing sunglasses came into the dining area, with an entourage of hard-looking Chinese men in suits behind him. When he stopped by their table, Percy noticed that Harry, Dudley and Petunia tensed up, although subtly. He wondered who this man was.
"Ah, I see you're out on the town. And are these guests of yours newcomers to our quaint little city?" The man's English was flawless, with what sounded like a slight foreign accent.
Petunia Dursley answered: "Yes, sir. You've met Harry and Dudley, but these are friends of theirs from the school they go to in Britain. Ginny Weasley, and her brothers, Percy and Ron Weasley. Percy's the eldest. They're here in town on a visit during the school holidays."
"Excellent!" He gave them all a friendly smile, but Percy could sense a cold, calculating mind behind his bonhomie. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Roanapur, and that it proves profitable." His voice took on a very, very slight edge. "And that it does not involve conflict."
"Believe me, sir, none of us want any trouble with anybody. We're peaceful and friendly, and would prefer to be friends with the whole world." Percy shivered slightly as the man looked him over, and he thought for a second that this might be what it felt like to be a mouse being eyed up by a snake who was wondering if he felt peckish.
"Wonderful! Then I shall leave you to your meal." As he left, he tossed over his shoulder: "Do give my greetings to Miss Balalaika." Followed by his bodyguards, he swept out of the room.
Percy was curious about this man, and could see that Ron and Ginny were bursting with questions. Petunia made a suppressing motion with one hand. "We'll discuss it later, dears. In the meantime, do enjoy your food." Since the food was wonderful and abundant, Percy had no trouble doing so.
Once they were ensconced in the Dursleys' apartment, sitting around the living room, Petunia explained what had been going on at the restaurant. "That, children, was Boss Chang, the Triad boss. Along with our employer, Miss Balalaika, he is one of the two most powerful people in Roanapur. He could easily start a war that could tear this town apart, but like Miss Balalaika, and the other gang leaders in town, he much prefers to keep things quiet. Quiet means greater profit."
"I see," Percy said. "So that was why you were being so deferential to him."
"It's always good to be deferential to someone who has dozens, if not hundreds, of street-fighters at his beck and call, Percy," Harry pointed out. "In a straight fight, Balalaika would likely win, since most of her men are trained soldiers, not street thugs, but it would ruin Roanapur. Right now, the Thai authorities turn a blind eye to this town, since it's useful to them in a lot of ways they don't like to discuss, but an open civil war here would be something they'd have to deal with."
"I see." Percy could see the sense in that attitude. He knew that Balalaika and Chang, while they could eventually come into conflict, were basically colleagues who were in the same general line of work. Keeping the scene serene made very good sense.
"We'll introduce you to Balalaika day after tomorrow, but since tomorrow's Sunday, we'll take you down the Yellowflag. That's the main hangout here, and there'll probably be people there you can meet. Sunday's a day off here, just like home." Dudley said.
Ginny yawned hugely. "Oh, dear, you are more tired than we had thought! Let's get to bed, everybody, so we can be up bright and early tomorrow!" They separated, with Ron and Percy bunking in with Harry and Dudley, and Ginny sharing quarters with Petunia.
Next day, after a real English breakfast, the Weasleys, along with Harry and Dudley, headed out to see the sights. Petunia had some paperwork she was catching up on for Balalaika, so she couldn't come. The sun was shining, and the air, while redolent of exhaust fumes and cooking smells, was less smelly than Bangkok had been. Percy figured that that was because Roanapur was a smaller town, and it looked like it was in a breezier place than Bangkok was.
"We're afraid that there isn't a lot for tourists to see here," Harry explained, as they went down the street. "There are a lot of interesting things to see here in Thailand, and we'll want to make sure you get a chance to see them, but Roanapur's mostly recent construction and pretty utilitarian, overall."
"So I see," Percy replied. He was looking at what had to be a line of bullet scars down the side of one building. He remembered what Harry had said…that Roanapur could be very dangerous. Unconsciously, he fingered his wand. Unaware of his unease, Ron and Ginny were chattering with Harry and Dudley about expanding the range of products that PD Enterprises offered. Percy was interested in all of the odd things he could see for sale. Some of them, he was sure, were quite illegal back in Britain, and he wasn't too sure about Thailand. But he had been told that Roanapur was a different sort of place, and that a lot of the rules didn't really apply there.
Up ahead, he could see a yellow sign, reading "Yellowflag." Harry pointed to it. "That sign's designed to look like the old Republic of Vietnam flag. Bao, the owner, is a Vietnam War veteran, and got out of Vietnam just as the other side was winning. He settled here and opened his bar. It's sort of neutral ground, and generally quite safe. There are reasons why people don't want to start trouble there, usually."
Harry and Dudley led their guests in. Inside, the Yellowflag was quiet, with only a few people sitting around drinking desultorily. The barkeep, an older Asian man, looked at them rather suspiciously as Harry led them up to the bar. "We'll be wanting five Cokes, Bao," Harry said. "Put them on our usual tab, please." Bao scowled, but reached into a cooler and brought out five wasp-waisted bottles of a familiar design, putting them on a tray with glasses and ice. "Thanks, Bao!" Harry bowed slightly as he took the tray, and led them over to a table.
As they opened their Cokes and poured, Harry explained in a low voice: "The Yellowflag's a great place to meet people. We want you to get to know who's who around here, so you don't make mistakes. We know you can get out of a lot of trouble with your wands, but there's no reason to do that if you don't have to." Percy thought that made excellent sense, and leaned back and sipped his Coke for all the world like he was a Yellowflag regular.
A little while later, while they were caught up in a discussion of the various Houses' Quidditch teams, and who had the best chance at the Cup next year based on who was leaving and who'd likely be on the teams, an oddly-assorted group of people came in. Harry looked up and smiled. "Oh, that's the Black Lagoon crew! They run a courier service here, with a war-surplus PT boat. Hi, Dutch, Rock, Benny, and Revy!" He waved to them. "Come on over and meet our friends!"
"Don't mind if we do!" The newcomers pulled up chairs and sat down. "Dutch, this is Percy Weasley, and his siblings, Ginny and Ron Weasley. They go to school with us. Ginny, Percy, Ron, these are Dutch, the captain of the Black Lagoon PT boat, his electronics expert, Benny, Rock, who handles negotiations for them, and Rebecca Lee, whom everybody calls Revy. She's in charge of security." Greetings were exchanged, and Bao came over to take orders for drinks. Unlike the Weasleys and their hosts, the Black Lagoon crew all wanted booze.
At first, Percy was a little leery of these new people, but they were friendly and seemed open, and they were all curious about Hogwarts and the magical world. "So what can and can't you do? Mr. Black is doing good business here, but he's awfully close-mouthed about the limits of what he can do. He'll just say 'I can't do that,' and that's that!" said Revy.
"My godfather's out of town, or we'd've taken you on by his office to say 'hullo,'" Harry explained. "Once he hit Roanapur, and showed the local bosses what he could do, he was in business before he could unpack his clothes." To Revy, he said: "Well, wizards do have rules, and my godfather's from a family that didn't have much truck with Muggles…that's what we call non-magical people. He probably doesn't know enough yet to explain why he can't or won't do something."
"He's nice, but kind of strange," Dutch commented. "He acts like he's got PTSD. That's 'post-traumatic stress disorder,' for those not familiar with the term. It's like he went through something very bad, and never worked the kinks out of his brain."
"That's not surprising, sir," Percy answered. "He spent twelve years in Azkaban. That's the wizards' prison in Britain. It's guarded by Dementors." He shuddered, remembering his own experience with the foul things, on the train to Hogwarts. "Those are like spirits of unhappiness. They feed on happy memories, and will suck your soul out of your body if allowed to."
All of the Black Lagoon crew were staring at the Hogwarts contingent in horror. "What could he have done to deserve that?" Rock asked in a small voice.
"He was thought to have betrayed my parents to the evil wizard who killed them. It takes some explaining, but he had been thought to be the only person who knew where they were, so when the evil wizard showed up, he was Suspect Number One."
"Didn't the truth come out at his trial?" Benny took a deep gulp of his whiskey, shuddering.
"What trial?" Ron leaned forward, his eyes intense. "We found out that Millicent Bagnold, the then Minister of Magic, had him…and some other people, as well…thrown into Azkaban without any trial at all!"
That revelation brought silence to the whole table. Revy finally broke the quiet. "I once envied you magic people all the things you can do," she said, her voice low and intense, "but having to put up with this would more than make up for it! That makes Chief Watsup look like a reasonable, honest cop!" At the Weasleys' puzzled expressions, she explained: "Chief Watsup's the chief of the local police here in Roanapur. He's more-or-less a flunky for Miss Balalaika, Boss Chang, and the other major gang bosses. They pay him off, and in return, he keeps the peace and turns his head when the big outfits get up to things."
"But even Chief Watsup wouldn't throw someone in prison without even the pretense of a trial!" Benny exclaimed. The other Lagoon members all nodded. "He has to follow some rules!"
"Well, you've got to remember, this was at the end of a long nasty reign of terror. A lot of our laws had gone by-the-boards, at least when dealing with Death Eaters…that's what the followers of that evil wizard were called." Percy's explanation sounded weak, even to him. He noticed that the Lagoon people were pretty clearly not buying that explanation. "Hey, I was a little kid myself at the time! Ron was only a year or so old, and Ginny was just-born! Don't blame us!"
"Oh, we don't blame you," Rock reassured him. "But the magical government sure sounds like a corrupt bunch! Did anybody get off scot-free with bribes?"
"Oh, did they ever!" All the Weasleys, and Harry and Dudley, shook their heads ruefully. "Basically, quite a few wealthy or connected people pled that they'd been under a mind-control spell and were let off. By an amazing coincidence, large sums of money changed hands at right about that time!"
Everybody at the table chuckled knowingly. "Now, that sounds very familiar!" Dutch said, and knocked back his drink.
Harry glanced at his watch. "Listen, people, we'd love to stay and chat, but we've got places to go. I need to get our guests down to the Mapurao Market, to get them wand sheaths like the ones we wear. And then we're expected back home. Bright and early tomorrow morning, the work week starts back up for us."
"Well, see you around, Harry, Dudley, Percy, Ron and Ginny," Dutch said. "Who knows? We might even work together again this summer!"
