“But their boat — the Avatar, I think you said? — surely must be easy to identify,” Bulatt said.
“Yes, all of the boats and planes have her description,” Preithat nodded. “But based on their response to our arrival, we’re assuming these men are perfectly capable of commandeering another vessel, should the opportunity occur. All things considered,” Preithat smiled as he patted Bulatt sympathetically on the shoulder, “I think the seas south of Ko Tanga are not the best place for a few Wildlife Rangers and an American Special Agent in a small patrol boat to be right now; even though I certainly share your desire to be present when these men are intercepted.”
“I see the logic of your words, Khun Sat.” Bulatt nodded. “I will try to be patient and wait for your soldiers and sailors to do their job; but, in the meantime, do you mind if I stay here?”
“On the Sawaeke Pinsinchai?”
“No, on Tanga Island.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“There’s a crime scene out there that needs to be searched as soon as possible — ideally at first light — and a rifle that I saw one of our suspects drop into the water when I shot at him with Colonel Kulawnit’s pistol,” Bulatt explained. “I know I promised not to intrude on your investigation; but with the Colonel and many of your investigative team injured, you have many tasks to perform, and very few people to do the work. Searching the island for evidence is, perhaps, something I could do to help without getting in the way.”
“Are you saying you intend to go into the water after that rifle, after your encounter with that shark?” Preithat cocked his head curiously.
“Actually, I was thinking of using a rope and hook to drag the area,” Bulatt said. “I know roughly where — ”
“Pardon me a moment, Kuhn Ged,” Preithat said, and then disappeared into the Cutter’s main cabin.
A few minutes later, as the medivac helicopter bearing Colonel Kulawnit and the three seriously wounded Rangers rose up and hovered above the Cutter for a moment before disappearing into the dark sky, Preithat reappeared with two men. One was wearing a set of gold Royal Thai Navy Commander’s stripes on the shoulder tabs of his crisply clean uniform — clearly the commander of the Sawaeke Pinsinchai.
The second man wore a chief petty officer’s insignia on the sleeves of his much less crisp and clean dungarees that almost exactly matched the oil-stained duffel bag he held in his muscular left hand. In his right, he carried a medium-sized black waterproof case.
After introducing Bulatt and the two men to each other, Preithat turned to Bulatt.
“I’ve explained your request to the Commander. He is aware of your actions in saving Colonel Kulawnit’s life, and he has offered to leave one of his rescue boats and three of his men to assist you in your search for evidence; one of whom is Chief Petty Officer Narusan who, among his many other skills and ratings, is the ship’s senior diver.”
“He’s willing to go diving in those waters, by himself?” Bulatt asked, incredulous, as he stared at the smiling sailor.
Preithat translated Bulatt’s comment to the two Navy men, both of whom chuckled in amusement. Then, after listening to the chief petty officer’s grinning response, Preithat turned back to Bulatt.
“Apparently the chief grew up on Ko Tarutao, and has dived in these waters all his life; as do many tourists during daylight hours. And, as it turns out, he was also in the assault helicopter observing when you defended yourself against that shark. He knows you’re an Interpol wildlife officer; but he hopes that since you killed a protected species only doing what it does naturally, you won’t mind if he dives down and collects whatever fins might be left along with the rifle. And he’ll be happy to take you with him on the dive. He assures me the fins of a tiger shark make a delicious soup which he will be happy to share with you and his men, once you’re finished with your crime scene work.”
“I, uh, would be honored, I think,” Bulatt replied uneasily.
“In that case, I’ll send someone to pick you up as soon as you’ve completed your work,” Preithat said. “Now, there’s one more thing.” He nodded to the chief petty officer who stepped forward and handed the waterproof case and the duffel bag to Bulatt.
“What’s all this?” Bulatt asked, juggling the case and the deceptively heavy bag in his hands.
“The case holds a camera and some basic investigative equipment. It belongs to this ship. The Commander is happy to loan it to you, but wants it back; ideally in good condition. The bag contains Colonel Kulawnit’s vest, his radio, and his pistol,” Preithat said.
“But I’m not — ” Bulatt started to say, but Preithat shook his head firmly.
“Your call-sign is CSI-One, and the radio is adjusted to the proper frequency. Use it to notify our dispatcher when you and the chief are ready to be picked up.”
“Ah, American CSI — very good!” The chief petty officer grinned widely, holding his thumb high up in the air, and then said something to Preithat in Thai.
“Chief Petty Officer Narusan says he enjoys watching your American CSI show on Thai television, and hopes you’ll show him how to do this work so he can be the ship’s CSI officer also,” Preithat translated.
“Not a problem.” Bulatt nodded agreeably, and returned the thumbs-up gesture, which caused the chief to grin even more widely.
“The chief also assures me,” Preithat went on, “that he is perfectly capable of protecting you from the unlikely approach of any shark that might appear in these waters during daylight hours. But he’s not so confident about dealing with all of the friends and relatives of the pirate Kai, or the mysterious men on the Avatar, should any of them show up unannounced; and I would not want to be the one to tell Colonel Kulawnit, when he regains consciousness, that the friend who saved his life had come to harm.”
“I think I understand, Khun Sat,” Bulatt replied seriously. “Please assure the Commander that I’ll take good care of his equipment, and that I’ll try very hard to avoid any conflicts.”
“Yes, it is best for everyone if you concentrate on your search for evidence, and leave the hunting of these criminals to the Royal Navy, Agent Bulatt,” the Commander of the Sawaeke Pinsinchai added in halting English. “But if, in the process, you find it necessary to protect yourself — against sharks or any other such creatures who might try to harm you or any of my sailors — please do so with my blessing, and my authority.”
In the cabin of a Grumman Seaplane — somewhere over the Malacca Strait
The Grumman pilot was maintaining a steady low altitude in spite of stormy wind gusts that intermittently toss the old plane around like a toy. Wallis sat in the copilot seat searching the water below with a powerful N/V scope.
“Should have spotted them by now,” the pilot muttered into his headset mike. “You sure about that heading?
“No, I’m not… but I’m certain they wouldn’t have sailed south into a naval blockade.”
“Speaking of which,” the Grumman pilot responded, “we’re rapidly approaching Thai waters.”
“Is that going to be a problem?”
“Only if we pop up on their radar screens, or they triangulate our location when you make that call.”
Wallis stared down at the satellite phone in his hand.
“I’ll make it brief.”
South of Tanga Island, in the Malacca Strait — within two nautical miles of Malaysian territory
It had taken Gavin nearly fifteen minutes and two hacksaw blades to cut away the Avatar’s flying bridge, giving the stricken yacht a much lower silhouette. He was in the process of tossing the last of the tubular structure overboard when he spotted the first patrol boat, and then the second — in the far distance, their running lights flickering intermittently through the fog — with his night-vision-goggles.
“We’ve got a lot of company out there,” Gavin said as he scrambled down to the bridge. “Couple of patrol boats — maybe three, I couldn’t tell for sure — off the bow and the port beam; definitely between us and Langkawi Island, and probably running the territorial line.”
“What about off the starboard beam?” Lanyard asked.
“Couldn’t see anything, but that doesn’t mean much. They could be a hundred yards out in this bloody fog, and we wouldn’t see the bastards coming until they ran us down.”
