Joe nodded. “Already in the works, Spencer. But if it’s where I think it is, your troubles are just starting. It’s in an area controlled by the Shan Army, which is occasionally challenged by the Myanmar military in pretty gnarly gun battles.”
“So our permits mean nothing,” Allie finished.
“Then how do we get to it?”
Joe smiled. “That’s where I come in. I know the leader of the Shan Army. It’ll cost you some, but I can arrange for safe passage.”
Drake gave Allie a sidelong glance. “I’m sure you’ll be more than fair.”
“It’ll be a bargain. But that’s not your biggest problem.”
“What is?” Spencer asked.
“That area is also being contested by a splinter group that wants a piece of the meth trade — the Red Moon gang. And they’re meaner than a wet mongoose,” Joe said. “Spencer, help me put the netting back after I fuel up, would you?”
Spencer tilted his chin at the shack. “I was going to ask you about gas.”
“Got a couple of barrels out back. Won’t take more than a few minutes to top her off.”
Spencer followed Joe to the shack, and soon they were filling the tank with a hand-powered pump. When they were done, they unfurled the camo and pulled it into place.
Uncle Pete cleared his throat as Spencer and Joe approached. “Need call home,” he said.
Spencer took his meaning. “Joe, I don’t suppose you have a sat phone here, do you?”
“Funny you should mention it. I do.”
“Can I use it?”
Joe grinned. “Hell, boy, you can have it.” His face grew serious. “For five grand.”
“What? They only cost a thousand bucks new!”
“Maybe back home. But I own and operate the only telecommunications franchise hereabouts. And sat phones cost five grand today.”
“That’s robbery,” Spencer complained.
“Well, I do have another one that I would part with for twenty-five hundred. Older model. Special today only.”
“But it works?” Drake asked.
“Of course. What would be the point of selling you a phone that doesn’t work?” Joe asked, pretending offense.
Drake sighed. “Fine. Sold. Where is it?”
“Over in the village. I keep the batteries charged with a solar system.”
“In case someone comes along and wants to pay a fortune for a sat phone in the middle of nowhere,” Spencer added.
Joe laughed good-naturedly. “You’d be surprised.”
Allie gave him a cynical smirk. “Not me.”
Joe began walking back to the village, and Drake called after him. “Can you tell your goon to stop holding his AK on us, Joe?”
Joe turned and spoke a few words. The gunman nodded and lowered his weapon. Drake could have sworn he looked disappointed.
When they made it back to the village, the phone turned out to be a scratched model that was at least a decade old. “Put it on our tab,” Allie said.
Joe paused. “That reminds me. We need to work out how you’re going to pay me.”
“Once we’re back in civilization, I can have a wire sent wherever you want. Or I can give you cash, if the bank has enough.”
“Oh, wire’s preferred. Wouldn’t be cool to have a bag of hundreds lying around — might give the villagers the wrong idea. Just use your nice new sat phone to call it in. Twenty for finding these two, and half the sixty for the escort into Shan country. I’ll get you the account details later.”
Allie smirked. “Why does none of this surprise me? I should have asked if you take credit cards.”
“Nah. Too much fraud.” He snapped the battery into place, turned the phone on, shook it, and then removed the battery. “Gotta charge it again. Been a while. Give me a few hours, and it’ll be good as new.”
“You sure it works?”
“Or your money back.”
Chapter 29
Allie, Drake, and Spencer were sitting in the shade when Joe reappeared, obviously excited. Allie stood as he approached with a handheld radio in one hand.
“Looks like you’re going to owe me that plane bonus sooner than we thought,” he said. “Which reminds me. We never discussed the amount.”
“Surprise us,” Drake said, his tone dry.
“I’m thinking… if a temple’s worth sixty, a plane’s got to be worth… forty?”
Allie couldn’t help but smile. “Seems like the lucky one today was you all around, huh?”
Joe gave a small shrug. “I keep telling you to open your heart to the universe, but I can only do so much.”
“More like open your wallet,” Drake said to Spencer.
Joe chuckled. “Or you can take your chances looking for it on your own. Let me know when you want to go in search of these ruins.”
“You really think you know where the plane is?” Spencer asked.
“Within a kilometer or so. One of the Shan men was on night patrol in the jungle when he heard it crash. Said it started raining right after, but he’s sure it was a plane. If so, we know where he was, so it’s just a matter of calculating the flight pattern. Where was the plane coming from?”
“The north,” Spencer said.
“Flying to?”
“Chiang Rai.”
Joe’s brow furrowed. “That’s weird. Wonder why they were on that side of the border? Kind of out of their way.”
“We heard there was heavy weather over Laos, so they probably detoured to avoid the worst of it.”
Joe’s eyes sparkled with understanding. “Oh, that was the night! Yeah, it was pretty messed up, even for around here. No wonder they veered west.” He paused and gave Drake a hard stare. “Take your time thinking my proposal over. If I don’t have to fly anymore today, I’m going to take a nap.”
Drake checked his wristwatch. “We still have, what, four hours of light?”
Joe nodded. “’Bout that.”
Drake made a summary decision. “Fine. You’re now a hundred grand richer, if you can help us find the plane and the temple.”
Joe held up a finger. “Hundred and twenty-two five. Remember the finder’s fee for rescuing you, and your new-to-you phone.”
Drake appraised him. For a hippy recluse, there was nothing lax about his math skills.
Joe grinned in victory. “Let’s get into the air. Is it going to be you and me again, little lady? Only room for one passenger in the plane.”
She shrugged. “Might as well.”
“I’ll go,” Drake volunteered.
They returned to the airstrip, and Joe gazed at a line of angry clouds moving from the south. He sniffed at the air, held up a wet finger, and then gave a small wai to the sun. Drake and Allie said nothing. Spencer and Uncle Pete hung back as Joe walked to the dirt runway and knelt, touching the ground and massaging some of the grit with his fingers before standing and nodding. “Spencer? Little help for the old man?”
Five minutes later they were soaring above the jungle in a northerly direction. Joe filled Drake in on the details as they droned toward their destination.
“The Shan scout was near a waterfall on the western side of the Mekong just after an area he describes as a dogleg. I know the spot. From there, we can skim the tops of the trees. If there’s a crashed plane there, we’ll find it.”
“Wouldn’t it be visible from satellite if we can see it from a plane?”
“Don’t know anything about that. Sorry. Why? You know someone with a satellite?”
Drake backpedalled, realizing he’d come close to revealing too much. “Not unless you’re selling one. Which wouldn’t be a shock.”
“Nope. Just the phones. There’s a thriving market in them lately.”
“Supply and demand,” Drake said.
He reminded himself not to let down his guard with Joe. He appeared harmless, but there was definitely an edge to him, and Drake wouldn’t have bet his life that Joe wouldn’t sell them out if the opportunity came up — like the right buyers. Something had driven him into the Laotian jungle, living a life with killers and drug smugglers, his village fortified like a military base in a war zone.