Emerald Buddha

Chapter 28

Drake and Uncle Pete sat on a log, drinking water like lost men at a desert oasis as their host watched, the barrel of his AK-47 making it abundantly clear that they were not to attempt anything. Drake finished with his jug and rubbed his stomach, his body slowly returning to normal after having been run into the ground.

Uncle Pete was taking in the rhythm of the village as the tribe went about its daily business, his eye following particularly attractive young females, Drake noticed with amusement. He was readying a barb when a voice called out from behind them.

“Drake! Uncle Pete! Well, I’ll be damned…”

Drake twisted at the sound of Spencer’s voice. He wondered if he was hallucinating when his friend sauntered over from down a trail, his gait easy and untroubled, and no evidence of a guard in sight.

“What are you doing here?” Drake sputtered as he leapt to his feet.

“We’re the ones who organized the search party. Glad to see it was successful. We had a bet that you were eaten by a tiger,” Spencer said.

“Where’s Allie?” Drake asked.

“Oh, she’s up in the air with our resident guru, looking for you.”

“Guru?”

“An American. He has a plane. Runs this tribe, from what I can tell. A little eccentric. Or truthfully, more like a lot.”

“She’s flying with him? When are they going to come back?”

Spencer shrugged. “Later today, I’m sure.” Spencer studied Drake’s soiled clothes and disheveled appearance. “Tough night, huh?”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

“When did they find you?”

“Probably four hours ago, maybe five. Just after dawn.” Drake stared at Spencer. “How did you lose the gunmen?”

“Led them astray and then doubled back. Crossed the river at a shallow point, and then got jumped by this bunch. Fortunately, we were able to work a deal with Joe, their shaman. He knows the area and has agreed to help us look for the temple.” Spencer filled them in on the details. When he was done, Uncle Pete grunted.

“Maybe not good, work with stranger.”

“We don’t have a lot of options,” Spencer said.

“Is the guy trustworthy?” Drake asked.

“Don’t know. It’s hard to get a read on him. You’ll see what I mean.”

The drone of a plane engine approaching echoed through the valley, and Drake and Uncle Pete looked to the sky. Their minder stood with his weapon, and Drake glanced at Spencer. “Any way we can get Mr. Trigger Happy here to stop pointing that thing at us?”

“Don’t speak the lingo. Sorry. But sounds like Joe’s on his way. He’ll take care of it.”

“What can you tell me about him?”

“He’s kind of a burnout, spouts a lot of metaphysical crap, but he claims to know all the players here and get along with them. The hill people defer to him, and he’s clearly the village leader. Beyond that, he’s got the world’s oldest plane, which he uses to run errands for a who’s who of miscreants. And he really likes his booze and dope.”

“Oh. Perfect, then. Just what the doctor ordered.”

“That, and I think he might hear voices.”

“A Joan of Arc. Great. And Allie’s in a plane with him?”

“To her credit, she wasn’t too excited about it.”

The plane appeared over a hill and waggled its wings at them before coming in low and then pulling up in a steep climb. Spencer shook his head and began walking down the trail. “Something tells me Allie’s not happy, if that’s how he’s flying.”

“She’s fine, though?”

“Looks like she was ridden hard and put away wet, but like you, she has youth on her side.”

“I can’t believe there’s an airstrip here,” Drake said as they followed Spencer.

“Not sure I’d refer to it in those glowing terms. More like a scar on the valley floor.” Spencer kicked a rock off the path. “But apparently it gets the job done.”

They neared the clearing in time to see the Cessna on a hovering approach, the wind dimpling the treetops as it almost sheared them with its landing gear, and then it was on the ground, bumping along as it slowed. The little plane roared to a stop next to the shack, where the netting was heaped on the ground, and Joe killed the engine.

Allie leapt from the plane when she spotted Drake and ran to him. Drake took her in his arms and held her as she trembled, and then crushed his lips to hers.

“You kids get a room,” Joe said from behind them, breaking the spell. Allie pulled away from Drake, and a multitude of expressions flashed across her face.

“What happened? Are you all right?” she whispered.

Drake nodded. “Rough night in the jungle, and I thought we were toast this morning when your new friend’s men found us. But overall, no permanent damage.”

Allie nodded. “You’ll have to tell me all about it. Do I ever have stories for you.”

“Mine has a big snake in it.”

Allie glanced at Uncle Pete. Drake shook his head. “No, a real snake. Big.”

She smiled and turned to Uncle Pete, who was eyeing Joe. “Drake? Uncle Pete? This is Joe.” Allie looked up at Drake’s profile. “Joe runs the place. We were searching for you, and when we didn’t see anything, we flew over the possible ruins sites. Only one seems like a decent candidate.”

“Hey, Joe. Nice to meet you,” Drake said, offering his hand.

Joe gave him a small wai instead of shaking it. “Pleasure’s all mine, dude.” Joe looked to Uncle Pete and said something in Thai after another wai to him.

Uncle Pete beamed at him and bowed, but Allie could see that his eyes were taking Joe’s measure.

For his part, Joe appeared completely unconcerned by the newcomers. “Allie here owes me big for locating you, so it was strictly business. I understand you had some trouble after your helo took a dirt dive?”

Drake nodded. “Oh, yeah. We were tracked by some gunmen. Had to lose them by building a raft and riding the rapids.” He shrugged. “No big deal.”

Concern lit Allie’s eyes, which made him happy. That, and the kiss, had demonstrated that her standoffishness had little to do with her interest in him. He wished he understood females better, but contented himself with his small win.

“Joe thinks he might have heard about Christine’s plane,” Allie announced, and Spencer’s stare drilled through her.

“You told him?”

“He’s going to put out feelers. Save us a ton of time.”

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.”