Thura looked at Amrita and then back at Nash. He reached into his pocket and took out two pieces of paper. “Your tickets.” He looked at Amrita. “Let’s go!”
They trudged off, but Amrita looked back and smiled.
Nash and Temple cleaned up at a hotel that neither man would have looked twice at back in the States. But after their ordeal in the mountains, they welcomed its meager comforts like it was the Ritz.
After changing into a fresh set of clothes, Nash and Temple met downstairs in the lobby in a private nook to discuss their next steps.
“Amrita could also be lying about Thura so you’ll help her get out of the country,” Temple pointed out.
“I considered that,” said Nash, who did not trust anyone anymore, including the man sitting across from him. “But did you notice how Thura is behaving? He’s worried. And to tell the truth, I always thought it ridiculous that after having us grind through the mountains on dirt bikes, horses, and finally on foot that Steers would think it perfectly fine to get on a government plane. It just doesn’t add up.”
Temple shot Nash a glance. “You really think she’s setting us up then? But why not just kill us in Hong Kong, or turn us over to the Chinese as murderers with all the proof necessary?”
“Because I think she’s actually setting us up to take the blame somehow when Masuyo is freed from that prison. I mean, what does she really need us for? She said it was because her people are known here. How does that make sense? Her people are cominghereto help us free Masuyo. They could easily do it without us and then fly back to Hong Kong with her.”
“You’re right, Dillon. So we’re the American patsies in Myanmar?” added Temple bitterly. “But Steers probably doesn’t know about the soldier dying.”
“And maybe we can use that to our advantage.”
“How?” asked Temple quickly.
“Let me think on it.” Nash checked his watch. “You have your first meeting in five minutes.” He glanced toward the front doors of the hotel where three men in khaki suits had just entered, sweat lining their faces in the morning heat and humidity. Two of them carried briefcases. “And I think your potential partners just showed up.”
Temple rose, adjusted his cuffs, and buttoned his jacket. “At leastthisshit I know how to do,” he said firmly. He walked off with a confident swagger while Nash followed.
CHAPTER
16
OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYSTemple met with a number of Myanmar businessmen who had traveled far, and with some risk, to meet with him. They had been told that he had a large international import-export business that would enable them to market products such as rare earth minerals, gemstones, and rice on favorable terms to new markets around the world. They were prepared, informed, and enthusiastic. Nash, who knew the men would be ultimately disappointed, felt more than a tinge of remorse when he looked into their hopeful faces.
His former boss at Sybaritic had handled each of the meetings with skill and tact. Nash, an accomplished businessman himself, had nodded approvingly at the strategies Temple had used with each group. The men had all gone away excited by the future prospects.
When the last meeting on the second day had been concluded, only Nash and Temple were left in the small, private room they had used for the meetings. Temple said, “Let’s go get a drink. God knows I need one.”
They sat at a table in the hotel bar.
“It’s a pretty town,” said Nash, who between meetings had walked around Myitkyina and gone down to the river where the ferries came and went. “Obviously lots of history, but it has a modern edge to it, too.”
Temple leaned forward over the small, knee-height table. “So talk to me about Amrita and how we get out of this place by ferry. You’ve had enough time to come up with something.”
“I’ve seen the ferries heading out of here. I also met up with Amrita in between your meetings and we’ve talked to the ferry people, with her translating for me. Amrita has confirmed that the three of us can get on a slow ferry early tomorrow morning and it will get us to Bhamo tomorrow night.”
“But Steers’s people will expect us to be on that plane, Dillon. They’re to meet us there and take us on the next phase of the trip. If we’re not on that plane, Steers will know that we’ve screwed her over.”
Nash scrutinized his companion. “This is where the rubber meets the road, Rhett.”
Temple drained his drink. “Meaning what exactly?”
“Meaning we need to start taking control of this situation. If I’m right about this being a setup, the closer we get to the prison phase the closer we get to her double-cross. I think we’re meant to be where that ambulance is going to be with Masuyo inside. And I think a rescue attempt will be made. Only we won’t survive it, or else they’ll leave us behind to be arrested and punished for everything that happened, like I talked about before.”
“So they free Masuyo and get her out of there and we take all the heat? Patsies, like I said? But how do we get out of the country then?”
Nash had given this a great deal of thought and he had come up with a plan that was as ambitious as it was perilous. However, he had not come all this way to avoid risk. His mission, unlike Temple’s goal to survive, was far broader and deeper. He was here to bring Steers and company down. And this situation had presented him with potentially powerful leverage to do just that.
“We get out of MyanmarwithoutSteers’s rescue team, and with the biggest bargaining chip possible: Masuyo.”
CHAPTER