Christina touched Daeng’s arm. No words passed her lips, but the look she gave him was like one a mother might give to her adult child. When she looked back at Quinn, she said, “Have you enjoyed the countryside?”
“I have.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I can see it has already done much for you.”
“It has.”
“So, what brings you back to Bangkok?”
Quinn hesitated, then said, “I unexpectedly find myself with something I must do. Unfortunately, this means I have to leave. I plan on coming back, but I’m unsure how soon that will be. Not long, I hope.” He paused. “The reason I wanted to see you today was to thank you. The temple was exactly what I needed. You couldn’t have made a better choice.”
“It was my pleasure. I’m glad it worked out.”
“If you’re ever in need of me for anything, call,” he said.
Her smile grew as she reached over and took hold of his hands. “And I thank you for that.” When she let go, she looked at him and Nate. “Something to drink? Or to eat? They make a wonderful curry here. One of my favorites in the city.”
“Thank you, but no,” Quinn said, standing. “Some other time.”
“Of course.”
He hesitated. “There is one thing.”
“Yes?”
“I would appreciate it if someone could keep an eye on the temple renovations. I’ve made sure they have enough money to do what needs to be done, but I worry the work might slow in my absence. The monks are very forgiving, so might not always push when they need to.”
“It won’t be a problem. Daeng can keep an eye on things.”
Quinn and Daeng exchanged a look, then Daeng said, “I’ll be going with him.”
“You will?”
“Yes.”
Quinn knew that Daeng didn’t work for Christina, just occasionally with, but from the beginning Quinn had sensed Christina’s protectiveness of the former monk.
“I’ll check on the temple myself, then,” she said.
“You don’t need to do that,” Quinn told her. “One of your people could make the trip.”
“It will be my pleasure.”
As they walked back to the SkyTrain station, Nate whispered to Quinn, “Are you sure it’s a good idea to bring him with us?”
“We could use his help.”
“Sure, but how well do you know him?”
“Well enough.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
Quinn glanced at him. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“Okay. I trust Daeng. So that means you can trust him, too.”
Quinn made it clear that was the end of the conversation. It didn’t help Nate, though. Daeng was still an enigma to him. There was the Daeng who fought with him at the temple, the Daeng who showed him Quinn working in the fields, the Daeng who owned a large home in the middle of Bangkok where he played host to Burmese refugees, and finally the Daeng who was obviously connected to the mysterious powerbroker Christina.
He couldn’t make all the pieces fit. Not the best position to be in, he thought, especially if they found themselves in serious situations that required Nate to trust Daeng completely.
He also wasn’t happy with the way Quinn had shut him down. It was almost as if he was an apprentice again, and he most certainly was not anymore.
For the last six months, he had been a full-fledged cleaner, running Quinn’s business on his own. Well, with the occasional assist from Orlando, but the point was the same. He’d been operating successfully outside Quinn’s authority for half a year. So just because Quinn was reverting to old habits didn’t mean Nate had to.
He reached out and grabbed his mentor by the shoulder, turning him around. “I need more than just your word.”
Anger flared in Quinn’s eyes, but Nate didn’t back down.
“You’ve been gone since last year,” Nate said. “I’ve seen what you’ve been doing with your time, and that’s all well and good, but I’ve been working since the moment you left. My instincts and skills are sharp. Can you say the same about yours?”
Quinn stared at him for a second, then said, “Don’t ever touch me like that again.”
“And don’t treat me like a kid. I’m here. I will help you. But I’m not your damn lackey. You want me to treat you with respect? Then treat me with the same.”
“You guys coming?” Daeng called out. He had stopped a couple dozen feet down the sidewalk.
Nate held up a hand, indicating for him to wait a moment.
“So?” he said to Quinn.
The fire in Quinn’s eyes waned. He took a breath. “Daeng’s a good man who has seen a lot of other good men die and decided he wasn’t going to stand for it any longer. I’ve seen the things he’s done, the help he’s given his people-”
“Those Burmese kids? I thought he was Thai.”
“His mother was Burmese, his father Thai. For a long time he’s been involved behind the scenes in the struggle between the Burmese people and their government. You can trust him, Nate, and we could use his help. I could use his help.” He paused. “Just like I could use yours.”
Nate snorted softly and looked away for a moment. When he turned back, he said, “All right. And for the record, my help is never a question.”
As they began walking again, Nate sensed that Quinn wanted to say something more. He looked over, but his mentor shifted his gaze away and remained silent.
The call came only seconds after they’d hopped on the SkyTrain. Nate handed Quinn the phone. The display read: ORLANDO.
“Hey,” Quinn said.
“I have something for you. Well, more than one thing,” she told him. Though he’d been hoping otherwise, the tone of her voice was basically the same as on their previous call.
“The dead man in Tanzania?”
“His name was Lawrence Rosen. Does that ring a bell?”
“Rosen? Yeah, I’ve worked with him before. Military intelligence guy, right?”
“Was. Went freelance a few years back,” she said. “Is there any reason Mila would have something to do with his death?”
“None I can think of, but I guess it’s possible.” The scene in front of the Majestic Hotel flashed in his mind. “In the video. When she was looking at him, she seemed-”
“Surprised when she saw who it was?” Orlando said.
“Exactly.”
“Have you ever heard of someone named John Evans?”
“Evans?” He ran the name through his mind. “There was someone involved in the Las Vegas job named Evans, if I remember correctly. Don’t know his first name, but he was the one Mila picked up the package from before flying out, I believe. Why?”
“Twelve hours ago there was a report out of London about the murder of a man named Bernard Johnston. Mr. Johnston was the owner of Johnston’s Rare Books Finding Service. He was also a retired American agent whose real name was John Evans. Witnesses say they saw a beautiful dark-haired woman go into his offices a few hours before his body was found.”
