was to follow them, and report back.
Logan had no idea who was going to be doing the actual diversion. Daeng dealt with them on the phone, checking in every few minutes as he and Logan worked their way through the neighborhood, and around to the back corner of the target lot.
When they got there, they found enough junk lying around to create a step that would make getting over the wall a little bit easier.
“Let me know when you’re ready,” Daeng said. His diversion team was standing by on the other end of the line.
Staying in a crouch so that his head would remain below the top of the wall, Logan climbed up on the step. “I’m ready.”
“Okay,” Daeng said into the phone.
At first it seemed like nothing happened. Logan gave it a few seconds, then looked back at Daeng. “Anytime now.”
“Patience,” Daeng said.
There was another minute of nothing, then just before Logan was going to ask if something was wrong, he heard a loud voice coming from the direction of the front gate. It was soon joined by others. None of them sounded angry, though. In fact, their tones were just the opposite. Logan thought he even heard laughter.
This time when he looked at Daeng, he raised an eyebrow.
Daeng smiled. “Diversion. Burmese style.”
“Burmese?”
“Refugees. They sneak out of the camps to find work here in Chiang Mai. When I’m able, I send whatever I can their way. So they’re happy to help.”
Logan raised his head above the wall just high enough so he could peek over. Standing just beyond the gate was a crowd of maybe a dozen people. They were smiling and laughing. A few were even carrying musical instruments of some kind. There were a several children, too, running around the adults, and sometimes ducking under the gate for a moment before returning to the other side.
A Caucasian man stood just inside the gate, facing them. His hands were empty, but Logan had no doubt he had a weapon hidden somewhere. Two others, the two who’d been on the train, Logan realized, were walking toward the gate from the main building. Suddenly, the refugee group broke into song.
“How long can they keep it up?” Logan asked.
“They can go all day if we want,” Daeng said. “It’s not like the
Logan nodded. “I’m going over.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
Logan took a quick look around. There was no one in the back area. In fact the only thing he could see that probably hadn’t been there for a long time was a large, gray cargo van parked by the side of the building.
“I’ll know soon enough.”
If he had it figured correctly, and Bell had limited his group to the men he’d come to Thailand with, then there should have only been two people left in the building, not counting the possibility of Elyse.
As soon as Logan pulled himself over the wall, Daeng followed. Logan almost told him to stay where he was, but he knew Daeng wouldn’t listen. So together they made their way across the junk-strewn lot to the back of the central building.
Like the rest of the property, it was rundown, with several windows broken out and many of its bricks missing. Logan quickly figured out that they could use this to their advantage.
He whispered his idea to Daeng, then started up the side of the building, using the holes where bricks had been as a makeshift ladder. Soon he came up beside one of the broken second-floor windows, and peeked in. The room beyond looked like it hadn’t been used in years.
He slipped his hand through the break, and undid the latch. A few seconds later, he was standing inside.
Except for several chairs piled up against one wall, the room was empty. The only exit was a closed door directly across from the window.
Stepping lightly, he made his way over to it, and inched it open. As he did, Daeng enter the room, and came up behind him. Logan took a peek through the slit in the doorway. On the other side was a wide room that took up much of the rest of the floor. It, too, appeared empty.
The others had probably contained their activity to the ground floor, having no use for anything more. Logan led the way in, intending to find a staircase that could take them down.
“Wait,” Daeng whispered. “What are those?”
Logan wasn’t sure what he meant at first, but then he saw the holes. There were dozens of them, each about the size of a soda can, cut into the floor about every six feet. He guessed that the place had once been used for manufacturing of some kind, and the holes, though empty now, had served as conduits for cables and wires.
He knelt next to one, hoping he would be able to see down into the first floor. Unfortunately, the only thing he saw was darkness. He moved to the next one. Black again. He checked three more, all the same.
Standing up, he decided the stairs were still their best bet, but before he could start looking for them, Daeng motioned for him to come over.
Logan crouched beside him, next to another one of the holes.
“What is it?” he asked.
