Emerald Buddha

Chapter 29

Allie, Drake, and Spencer were sitting in the shade when Joe reappeared, obviously excited. Allie stood as he approached with a handheld radio in one hand.

“Looks like you’re going to owe me that plane bonus sooner than we thought,” he said. “Which reminds me. We never discussed the amount.”

“Surprise us,” Drake said, his tone dry.

“I’m thinking… if a temple’s worth sixty, a plane’s got to be worth… forty?”

Allie couldn’t help but smile. “Seems like the lucky one today was you all around, huh?”

Joe gave a small shrug. “I keep telling you to open your heart to the universe, but I can only do so much.”

“More like open your wallet,” Drake said to Spencer.

Joe chuckled. “Or you can take your chances looking for it on your own. Let me know when you want to go in search of these ruins.”

“You really think you know where the plane is?” Spencer asked.

“Within a kilometer or so. One of the Shan men was on night patrol in the jungle when he heard it crash. Said it started raining right after, but he’s sure it was a plane. If so, we know where he was, so it’s just a matter of calculating the flight pattern. Where was the plane coming from?”

“The north,” Spencer said.

“Flying to?”

“Chiang Rai.”

Joe’s brow furrowed. “That’s weird. Wonder why they were on that side of the border? Kind of out of their way.”

“We heard there was heavy weather over Laos, so they probably detoured to avoid the worst of it.”

Joe’s eyes sparkled with understanding. “Oh, that was the night! Yeah, it was pretty messed up, even for around here. No wonder they veered west.” He paused and gave Drake a hard stare. “Take your time thinking my proposal over. If I don’t have to fly anymore today, I’m going to take a nap.”

Drake checked his wristwatch. “We still have, what, four hours of light?”

Joe nodded. “’Bout that.”

Drake made a summary decision. “Fine. You’re now a hundred grand richer, if you can help us find the plane and the temple.”

Joe held up a finger. “Hundred and twenty-two five. Remember the finder’s fee for rescuing you, and your new-to-you phone.”

Drake appraised him. For a hippy recluse, there was nothing lax about his math skills.

Joe grinned in victory. “Let’s get into the air. Is it going to be you and me again, little lady? Only room for one passenger in the plane.”

She shrugged. “Might as well.”

“I’ll go,” Drake volunteered.

They returned to the airstrip, and Joe gazed at a line of angry clouds moving from the south. He sniffed at the air, held up a wet finger, and then gave a small wai to the sun. Drake and Allie said nothing. Spencer and Uncle Pete hung back as Joe walked to the dirt runway and knelt, touching the ground and massaging some of the grit with his fingers before standing and nodding. “Spencer? Little help for the old man?”

Five minutes later they were soaring above the jungle in a northerly direction. Joe filled Drake in on the details as they droned toward their destination.

“The Shan scout was near a waterfall on the western side of the Mekong just after an area he describes as a dogleg. I know the spot. From there, we can skim the tops of the trees. If there’s a crashed plane there, we’ll find it.”

“Wouldn’t it be visible from satellite if we can see it from a plane?”

“Don’t know anything about that. Sorry. Why? You know someone with a satellite?”

Drake backpedalled, realizing he’d come close to revealing too much. “Not unless you’re selling one. Which wouldn’t be a shock.”

“Nope. Just the phones. There’s a thriving market in them lately.”

“Supply and demand,” Drake said.

He reminded himself not to let down his guard with Joe. He appeared harmless, but there was definitely an edge to him, and Drake wouldn’t have bet his life that Joe wouldn’t sell them out if the opportunity came up — like the right buyers. Something had driven him into the Laotian jungle, living a life with killers and drug smugglers, his village fortified like a military base in a war zone.

When they reached the dogleg in the river, Joe corrected west and dropped to a thousand feet over the canopy. They cruised for fifteen minutes, and then he called out to Drake over the motor. “Off to your right. About two o’clock. See it? That’s the waterfall.”

Drake focused the binoculars, trying to steady them so he wouldn’t feel sick, and spied the white water coursing over rocks. “Does it have a name?”

Joe shook his head. “Not much around here does.” He pointed ahead and dropped closer to the treetops. “We should be coming up on the flight path in a short while.” He switched on the GPS and thumbed through the images, zooming in and setting a waypoint where the falls were. “Okay. It could be anywhere around here. Keep your eyes peeled.”

Drake concentrated on the areas of the mountainous terrain he could make out through the trees, which weren’t many. Minutes went by as Joe circled and retraced their course, and before he knew it, they’d been in the area for two hours. Joe looked over to Laos as he made another graceful bank, and his lips tightened into a thin line. “That front’s getting too close for comfort. We need to head back.”

Drake nodded, suddenly exhausted by the adrenaline leaving his system after sustained anticipation. “Maybe we’ll spot it tomorrow.” He looked off into the near distance and pointed to a pair of karst peaks. “Is that our valley?”

“Yep.”

Two holes suddenly appeared in the left wing, and Joe cursed as he twisted the plane right. Drake stared at the holes as the turn’s g-force pressed him back into the seat, Joe urging the plane higher as fast as it would climb. “Are those… did somebody just shoot at us?”

Joe nodded grimly. “Looks that way to me.”

“I thought you said everybody knows you.”

“They do. But not everyone likes me. Hang on,” he said, and jerked the plane to the left as he continued to ascend. “Don’t want to be an easy target.”

Drake closed his eyes. The easy flight was now a nightmare as Joe twisted and turned the plane for all he was worth. When the plane steadied, he opened them and checked the altimeter — they were at six thousand feet.

“That should take care of that. They won’t want to waste any ammo now.”

“They actually hit us.”

“Probably had to empty a full magazine to do it.”

Drake took another fearful look at the bullet holes, and then his gaze drifted down to the canopy, obviously dangerous even from the air. His mind wandered to the memory of the helicopter plunge as his eyes traced a line, following the natural curve of the stream ahead. He was turning to speak to Joe again when something winked in the fading sunlight. His words caught in his throat and he sat up straighter in the uncomfortable seat. There it was again. It wasn’t his imagination.

Drake stiffened and grabbed Joe’s arm. Joe turned in surprise as Drake’s grip tightened. Drake raised the glasses again as Joe pulled free of his hand.

“What is it?” Joe demanded.

Drake stared through the binoculars for a long beat and then lowered them, his eyes glued to the stream.

“I see something.”