Singapore Sling Shot - Andrew Grant [80]
One of the great things about saving the life of a beautiful, bountiful woman is the fact that gratitude can know no bounds. Unfortunately, in my case, that gratitude was tempered with tears, fear and recriminations.
The beautiful Simone DeLue thanked me and then asked me to get out of her life forever. She had two children to raise. She had almost left them motherless. She had been terrified. She was involved in things that were horrific and dangerous and illegal. She had witnessed brutal killings. She no longer had a job. She didn’t know me. She … and so the list went on.
Was I surprised by her reaction? No, not at all! Normal people don’t get involved in situations that Sami and I do. Normal people don’t look at everyone in a room and calculate who is dangerous and plan how to take them out if the need arises. Normal people don’t have multiple identities and live in the shadows. Normal people don’t … Oh, what the fuck!
It was 14:30, two days on, and I was half way through my second bottle of JD. Simone had delivered her speech on day one. Sami, Jo and the others had vanished, and only Sami knew where the truck and container and Lu were. I knew Lu had been stabbed but I had no idea how badly, and while I could guess what Sami was doing to the guy, I didn’t actually care. Whatever, Lu deserved it.
I booked a flight back to Hong Kong for the following morning. There was no point in me staying now. The meeting at which Thomas Lu was to have been exposed and Sami revealed had been cancelled. There was no need. Sami had been outed as Stanley’s brother in several areas of the media following the fire at the office. He’d sent a copy of the digital recording to Intella’s consortium members along with a letter of introduction. The tape would no doubt be played, if for no other reason than to leave the soon-to-be-dearly-departed man in a most negative light.
As to the imminent arrival of the Colombians, Sami had his army in place. If the Mendez brothers didn’t believe that Lu was the villain of the piece, few Colombians would be flying home again. That much was a promise.
I switched on the television and poured myself a bourbon. The good folks at News Corp and CNN were now in full speculative mode following the latest bloodbaths. Mainland Chinese gang members were being blamed. There was speculation which triad groups the various dead belonged to. The police had recovered many weapons from both crime sites. Crime scene forensic specialists were still analysing the Sentosa hotel and the East Coast lay-by for evidence while the coroner’s department got on with their grim task. Just this morning it was reported that several more bodies had been discovered in an abandoned, stolen truck in Simpang. The authorities would bring those involved to justice. Had Singapore suddenly become a haven for Asia’s bad guys? There were more security measures in the wind, blah, blah. I turned the television off and at the precise moment my cellphone went.
“Yeah?”
“It’s Sami.”
“The long-lost Sami Somsak?” I replied sarcastically in my drunken state.
“I’m sorry, old friend. There were a great many things that needed doing and I didn’t want you seen or involved. Once again, Daniel, I want to thank you.”
“It’s what we do, Sami.”
“Yes. I suppose that’s what we do,” he said with a faint chuckle. “The Colombians will be landing tomorrow afternoon. Private jet. I will be meeting them in person. I’d like you there with me. I know you were going to fly out in the morning.”
“How did you know that?”
“Contacts, Daniel. But there are some things we need to discuss before you go anyway. Recompense for one.”
“Sami, I don’t …”
“Hear me out, Daniel,” Sami said, cutting me off at the pass. He knew that I was going to object. “You know I’ve put Simone and the others on generous allowances. Simone can afford a better apartment and have money to educate her children and travel. She’s set for life, so are the others.”
“Bribery?” I