‘Hi, Jack? Is that you? What time is it?’ asked Mina anxiously.
‘Yeah. It’s me. It’s six a.m. I don’t want to go into details over the phone. I’ve managed to rescue mum and Jen and we’re off to the airport.’
‘But…’ Mina tried to interject.
‘No buts. Get into the first taxi and meet us at the airport. Go!’ he shouted.
He turned off his mobile immediately after the call and hoped with all his heart that Wheatley’s thugs wouldn’t have had time to track Mina’s phone, which until now they didn’t know about. He thought about what to do next. There were a number of flights out to Bangkok. From there he would try to get them home on whatever flights were available. All he knew was that they had to get out of there as quick as possible.
Mina jumped out of bed and felt queasy for a moment, her legs swaying underneath her. She looked around her. What should she take? Did she even have time to pack? Jack had rescued his mother and sister! She had only just digested what Jack had said. There was nothing stopping them now from leaving as planned. Who knew what disaster would strike today. She went for the simplest solution: leave everything behind. She slipped on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a good pair of sneakers. She checked that she had her phone, passport and money and slipped out into the dark maze of bungalows and palm trees. She took a wrong turn, and after a few more, hit the main road but too far down. She had to walk at least fifteen minutes to the taxi rank. She walked along the main road, avoiding a few drunken tourists returning from a bar to their hotel rooms. A taxi passed by her. She waved at the driver who slowed down and parked a little further on. She ran towards it, but two men were closer, opened the door and by the time she got there, the car had pulled away.
‘You bastards!’ she yelled, fuming.
She walked on and saw an empty tuktuk near the entrance of their hotel. The doorman noticed her questioning look, and told her the driver would be back soon. While she waited, she noticed a local squinting at her from the other side of the street. She thought for a moment the man had mistaken her for someone else, and she was suddenly afraid. But she was wrong about him; he seemed to have lost interest and before she knew it, he was talking on his mobile phone. She sat on a low wall waiting for the driver to return or another taxi to arrive. The man across the street was gone. The tuktuk driver came out of the hotel laden with boxes and wrapped-up gifts. Before Mina had time to speak to him, he had already fitted his load on the backseat and was ready to go. Mina was frantic. Would she ever find a cab to take her to the airport? Suddenly a taxi stopped at the rank. This time she practically tore the door open.
‘Are you free?’ she asked.
‘Yes. Where you going?’ he replied.
‘The airport,’ answered Mina.
But as she looked inside, she noticed someone was already in the front passenger seat.
‘You come in?’ the taxi driver urged her.
‘Well, I was just waiting until your other customer left,’ she answered.
‘No. She my friend, going airport too,’ he replied.
‘Right,’ said Mina.
She didn’t feel as if she really had a choice in the matter.
As the car left the taxi rank, Mina took a better look at the veiled woman in front. She had a funny sensation of deja vu, or more precisely, she recognised the woman’s perfume. It was quite distinctive, both edgy and classy; a fragrance that simply didn’t seem right among the locals. Suddenly a cold sweat broke out over her entire body as she remembered when she had last smelled it. She tried opening the door, but it was centrally locked.
She screamed ‘Let me out! Now!’
The woman turned around and pointed a gun at her. She lifted her veil and sunglasses and let her blond hair loose.
Natasha Mastrani smiled cruelly at Mina. ‘Shut up and stay still,’ she ordered.
Mina lost control and tried breaking the window with her mobile phone. The driver saw Mina wasn’t wearing her seatbelt and slammed on the breaks. She was thrown violently against the front seat but she wasn’t knocked out. Natasha suddenly plunged a needle into Mina’s thigh and emptied the entire contents of the syringe. Within seconds Mina felt an immense weariness spread through her and a moment later she lost consciousness and was out cold.
‘What was that?’ asked the driver.
‘At least we won’t have to hear her moaning until tomorrow. Drive back to the yacht,’ answered Natasha.
Chapter 33
December 26th, 2004. Phuket. Airport
Jack was a nervous wreck. What was Mina doing? He should have driven back to Patong beach to pick her up. His mother was asleep and Jen was stroking her head. Her eyes seemed vacant. They were still traumatised from their recent misadventures and Jack knew he’d have to find them some help when they got back to the States. Normal people don’t get over kidnappings in a matter of moments. He was still amazed at Mina’s resilience after all her ordeals at the hands of Wheatley. Maybe it was hatred for the man that kept her from collapsing. What was she doing? They couldn’t wait that much longer, it was almost 7:30 and they had already missed one flight to Bangkok. He’d called her mobile phone many times and she’d never answered. He hoped she’d forgotten it in their room and that nothing more sinister had happened. After switching off his phone for the the tenth time to avoid being traced, he turned it on again and this time noticed he had a text message. He opened it and immediately wished he hadn’t.
I have Mina. Same deal. Meet me 9am. Patong Beach. Chiang Mai Restaurant.
Don’t forget the photograph.
Jack wanted to hurl his phone against the wall.
‘I knew it,’ Jack said out loud. ‘I should’ve gone back to the bungalow.’
He looked at his mother and sister, and made up his mind in an instant.
‘Mum, Jen, I’m putting you on the first plane to Bangkok. I’ve also organised your connecting flight back home.’
‘But Jack, what are you going to do? Where’s Mina?’ asked Jen tearfully.
‘You have a two hour gap between the arrival in Bangkok and your departure for the US. I have to stay here until Mina arrives.’
‘We’ll wait with you Jack,’ she answered.
‘No Jen. You must go. It’s all arranged. You’ll land in Phili.
Uncle Frankie will pick you up. Mina and I will see you when we get back home. We’ll be fine.’
One look at her stubborn brother left her defeated. Jen took her mother’s arm and they walked briskly, passports in hand, to the departure zone. He stood there for a few more seconds, watching them go and then rushed out of the hall. On his way out he placed a few personal belongings, including his laptop, into a locker, but kept his small rucksack and the fake photograph of the tablet, which he placed in an envelope. He jumped into a cab and offered the driver triple the fare to get to Patong beach as fast as he could. He drove like a madman through the countryside and Jack arrived on Patong beach just before 8:00 a.m.
As he paid the driver the agreed fare, Jack heard his stomach growling. He realised he hadn’t eaten since dinner the day before. He noticed a Starbucks cafe on the beach and decided to grab coffee and some food, as he still had one hour to go. As Jack pushed the door open, he suddenly felt sick, as if all his insides had been turned upside down. A powerful tremor had shaken the cafe and the people sitting inside had felt the sharp rocking motion too.
They all looked at each other in surprise. Three American kids huddled around their parents, started screaming. The parents tried reassuring them, but they seemed as apprehensive as their children. They quickly ordered a few mango smoothies to distract their children, which seemed to work momentarily.