Chai caught him in an easy scoop and set him on his hip.
“Skeet, meet my son, Bee. Bee, this is my old friend from America.”
The boy studied Skeet with the serious expression children reserved for adults they hadn’t categorized yet. “Hello, Mr. Skeet,” he said in English.
“Hello, Bee. Your papa’s teaching you to garden?”
“I help grow eggplant and chilies for Mama.” Pride rang in his voice.
Chai set his son down. “Go find Mama, little man. Tell her we have company for dinner.”
The boy scampered toward the house.
“He speaks good English.”
“May insists on English in the house. Thinks that someday he might want to visit his grandparents in America.”
Skeet nodded.
“Okay, give. What’s the favor?”
Skeet sighed.
Chai shook his head. “Great.” He got up and returned to his peppers. “There’s increased activity across the border. Military checkpoints. Detention camps expanding.”
“How bad?”
“Bad enough that professional smugglers are refusing runs. Tatmadaw’s cracking down hard on ethnic armed organizations. Anyone caught in the wrong place gets classified as an insurgent supporter.” He shot him a look. “You can’t go back there.”
Skeet folded his arms. “There’s an American journalist missing inside Myanmar. Been gone two days with no contact.”
“Official mission?”
“No. Personal.”
“The woman who’s been asking questions about the sick children?”
Skeet stilled. “You know about her?”
Chai picked an eggplant, tossed it to Skeet. “My wife works at a number of free clinics. Word on the street is that she crossed with Free Burma Rangers two days ago. And not for the first time.”
“They haven’t reported back, and I need to go in.”
“No.” He met Skeet’s eyes. “Don’t ask me.”
Right.Skeet looked away.
“I have a family. A son who needs his father. A wife who’s already lost too much to other people’s wars.”
“I get that. But apparently, she’s investigating a systematic illness targeting civilian populations. Children dying in remote villages.”
“Then call it in to the proper authorities.”
“And wait how long for diplomatic channels to sort themselves out?” He didn’t mean to raise his voice, but?—
Chai raised a hand. “I’m not without caring, but I’m not the man I used to be. I am done with war, and fighting.”
Movement from the house caught Skeet’s attention. May appeared in the kitchen window, her dark hair pulled back, preparing dinner for her family.