Emerald Buddha

Chapter 50

The boat dropped them off as close to the area they recognized from their last trip as it could get, and once in Laos, after a brief consultation with the GPS, Spencer led the way inland. They each carried a Kalashnikov with four extra clips in their packs, and had Browning 9mm pistols in belt holsters — all courtesy of the boat captain’s cousin, who turned out to be one of the top police officials in Chiang Saen. Apparently the market for slightly used fully automatic weapons was thriving, and the cousin had no problem procuring guns for friends of his cousin from his store of confiscated firearms.

It had rained that morning as they’d made their way north on the Mekong, and they were soaked, the only relief provided by their wide-brim hats. Spencer was managing the trail at a good pace in spite of his shoulder, which he claimed didn’t hurt, but which Drake and Allie could see was causing him grief.

When they neared the village, a voice called out a warning to them, and after slipping their rifle slings over their shoulders, they stopped and raised their hands. One of the sentries stepped into view and lowered his weapon when he recognized them. He said something in the local dialect and offered a hint of a smile, and then signaled for them to follow him up the slope to the village.

They marched behind him to where the remains of a fire smoldered in the central pit, the drizzle intermittent as the perennial fog burned off. A few of the gunmen they passed bowed wais in greeting, which they answered with similar gestures.

They froze when they reached the huts.

Joe stepped from his dwelling in his orange pants, a camouflage T-shirt topping the ensemble, and grinned. “Whoa. Look who the cat dragged in. I thought I’d seen the last of you.”

“But… the crash…” Drake sputtered.

Joe shrugged and made a face. “Takes more than a few bullets to keep me down.”

“How did you survive?” Drake said.

“It was pretty hairy. I managed to put the plane down in a clearing. Tore the wings off, but hey. I got out just before it went kabang.” He grinned again. “Positive vibes, dude. Can’t underestimate them. Oh, and the colonel told me you made it out, so all’s well.”

“You weren’t hurt at all?”

“Stubbed my toe. Stung like a bitch.” Joe’s gaze moved to Allie. “Funny you should show up. I just made it back this morning. Like kismet or something.” Joe motioned to the log. “Pull up a chair. What can I do for you? You seen the error of your modern ways and decide to go native?” He eyed Allie appreciatively. “Or was the power of our mutual attraction too much? We’re both adults. We don’t need to play games.”

Allie laughed. “No, we need to go back to the cave.”

Joe grew serious. “Why?”

“We think we missed a false wall.”

“Bummer.” Joe frowned. “That could be a problem.”

“Why?”

“Leng told me they’re hearing rumbling about the Myanmar Army making a push into that lower area. I guess all the commotion at the factory got their attention.”

“But that’s fine! We have permits from the government.”

“Right. But you have to avoid getting shot in order to show them. You don’t want to be in the middle of a firefight between the Shan and Myanmar Armies.”

Spencer nodded. “So we can’t talk you into going with us? We were thinking you could smooth the way with your buddy Leng.”

“He’s still a little touchy that you bugged out without paying him.”

“That’s why we came back! You can explain we’re honorable, and we wanted to keep our word,” Drake said.

Joe registered Spencer’s bandaged shoulder. “What happened there?”

“Cut myself shaving.”

Joe scowled and glanced around. “Where’s Uncle Pete?”

Spencer told Joe about being ambushed, and Joe shook his head. “I could tell he wasn’t long for this world. It was his aura. The universe knows.”

Drake rolled his eyes at Allie. “Right. But back to our little project…”

Joe got a faraway look in his eyes. “You want to go back into no-man’s land, in the middle of an active military offensive, where there could still be drug traffickers roaming around, after almost being killed… too many times to count?”

Allie pursed her lips. “Put like that…”

“Then you’re not interested?” Drake asked.

Joe slapped his knee and stood. “Hell yeah, I am. When do we leave?”

“No reason we can’t go right now.”

“Let me pack some gear. Figure what, a week, tops?”

“You mentioned you knew other pilots. Anyone with a plane big enough to fly into an area close to the tomb?” Allie asked.

Joe’s eyes narrowed. “I might — it’ll be expensive.”

“There’s a shocker,” Drake said.

Allie glared at him. “In for a dollar…”

“I’ll need to look at the terrain some. And not to be a buzz kill, but there’s always the chance the Myanmar Army shoots us down. They might think we’re a Shan scouting flight or something.”

“You think that’s likely?”

“Not the way I fly!” Joe laughed, his eyes wild. “Let me check out the images. I still have the waypoint on my GPS.”

“We have a new one with a bigger screen,” Spencer offered.

“Cool. Hand it over.”

Five minutes later, Joe grinned like a crazy man. “Let me get on the radio. I know a dude up the way who has a little Piper Comanche we could squeeze into. Looks like there’s a dirt road we could land on that’s only a few hours of hard march from the cave,” he said, and strode back to his hut, mumbling to himself.

Spencer whistled softly. “He’s completely out of his mind. You do know that, right?”

“He’s going to help. So maybe having friends that are out of their minds isn’t such a bad thing,” Drake said. “I never held that against you.”

“Touché. But if what he said is right, we might be better off waiting until the Shans and the Myanmar regulars settle their differences.”

“We’re here now. We came for the tomb. Let’s get this over with. Besides, I’ve heard that some of us could use a slug of treasure…” Drake said.

“You had to remind me. As though the bullet wound doesn’t sting enough.”

Joe reappeared, carrying a different aluminum-framed backpack. “Lost the other one when the plane blew. I’ll add that to your tab. You need another sat phone?”

“I don’t think we can afford one,” Allie joked, and Drake shook his head.

“We got one in Thailand.”

“Okay, then. Plenty of ammo?”

“Yes.”

“I talked to my bud. He’s fueling up and should be here in an hour. Probably fifty-fifty that he shows. He’s usually drunk by now.”

“It’s ten in the morning,” Drake said.

Joe nodded sagely. “We all have different demons, man.”

Drake whispered to Allie, “Guess that answers any questions about whether he’s kicked his habits.”

Allie shrugged. “Whatever he’s on, I want some.”

Drake took another hard look at Joe. “Let’s just hope it burns off before he gets behind the wheel.”

“Hasn’t stopped him before.” She gave him a commiserating smile.

“Did I mention I hate small planes?”

“So far they’ve been better to you than helicopters.”

“Good point.”

Joe led them to the airstrip when the Piper appeared over the hills, and they waited as the single-engine prop plane touched down uncertainly, bounced twice as it struggled to stay on the uneven, muddy runway, and then taxied toward them. Joe gave the pilot a wave as the plane coasted to a stop, and Spencer snorted in disgust.

“What?” Allie asked him.

“The thing’s a piece of garbage,” Spencer griped. “Look at it.”

“We’re not flying to London,” Drake said.

“We’ll be lucky if we make it over the river.”

The door opened, and a thickset man with a full white beard stepped down heavily. As he approached, they got a strong whiff of alcohol. “Joe, you old bandit. Good to see you,” the pilot said.

“Graham, always a treat. These are my passengers. Is she fueled up?”

“Might want to top her off.”

Joe moved to his barrel and pumped as Graham held the nozzle, and soon they were in the plane and ready for takeoff. Graham had agreed to accept payment via wire, on Joe’s word that he’d vouch for his passengers, and they were now ten thousand dollars poorer for the transaction. Drake and Allie squeezed into the rear seat, with Spencer in the copilot position, and they were sweating bullets by the time the aircraft hurtled down the dirt strip. Allie caught the look on Drake’s face and took his hand, and for the first time that day he relaxed, all now right with the world, at least for a fleeting moment.