Book of JUDAS

Chapter Sixteen-1

Chapter Sixteen

Surithani, Thailand

There had only been daylight for the last hour as the wide-gauged, large-bodied silver train ran parallel to the coast down the final length of track into the small southern harbour of Surithani.

The journey was obviously a popular one as the concierge had only managed to secure second-class tickets, which translated into rotating fans on the ceiling of the carriage and hard, short beds that unfolded from the luggage rack and the seating below. Thai trains operated three classes of travel and they were at least thankful for securing some degree of comfort in the second-class coaches. Bleary-eyed from a sleepless night, they had taken it in turns to use the small washroom at the end of the carriage.

“It’s going to make life a lot harder without our phones,” moaned Simon as they discussed their plans for when they arrived at their final destination.

The previous evening they had ceremonially destroyed their SIM cards and thrown their mobile phones into a rubbish skip on a side road outside Bangkok station.

“Forget the phones − a few more changes of clothing would be nice,” replied Anna tiredly. She was still wearing jeans and her sleeveless white blouse that was cut in a V-shape revealing more than a suggestion of her youthful, tanned cleavage.

“I think you look great,” smiled Simon.

“When we’re finished down here, we’ll go back through Bangkok do some shopping on the way,” said Philip, throwing a few personal belongings back in his carrier bag.

The train slowed down as it pulled into Surithani. It was not really a station as such but there was an open-air platform on one side with a small car park full of trailers, motorbikes and the odd tourist bus. Carrying their few possessions, they climbed off the train and made their way towards the exit.

The temperature was already approaching the mid-thirties and the sun was blazing down from the perfect blue skies. For Thailand this was the start of the holiday season and the town was flooded with families heading for the islands and scruffy backpackers on the Asian leg of their intrepid expedition.

“Ok, it looks like we’ll be going this way,” Simon said indicating to what looked like the main street in the town.

They had agreed that Philip would contact the salvage vessel while Simon and Anna would visit the bank and purchase any articles that could make their disguise as National Geographic reporters more plausible.

“Ok, I’m following the signs down to the harbour − I’ll meet you down there at the jetty for Koh Samui when you’re finished.”

Anna and Simon set off towards the main shopping area. Their first port of call had to be a bank. Amidst the hustle and bustle of street traders they spotted a couple of banks and money exchange shops. None of them bore western international names but the usual Visa and American Express signs were posted to their facades.

“This one will do,” said Simon, grabbing Anna’s shoulder and steering her in the direction of an open door. There were CCTV cameras inside but apart from this the security seemed almost non-existent. The interior reminded him of those scenes from old western movies where the robbers broke in to rob the bank. There was a long counter with metal-framed glass screens behind which the tellers sat. As if to complete the setting, there was a large, sturdy-looking black safe beyond them at the back of the room.

Simon walked over towards the Chinese-looking girl behind the nearest window. Privately, he thanked Bairstow again as he produced a plastic wallet full of traveller’s cheques. Each one had a thousand-dollar denomination and there were forty of them.

The girl looked at the wallet, smiled up at them as she recognised the commission potential, and shouted something to a colleague in Thai. Not long later, after he had produced his passport and signed all the cheques, the safe door was opened and they departed into the sunshine pushing the new bills into their pockets.

“Now to do some spending − I bet you’re good at that aren’t you?” he joked.

“Not bad,” she smiled, and yanked his arm playfully as they crossed the road towards a camera shop. Inside, Simon did not waste much time, he bought a pair of binoculars and a sophisticated camera with two detachable long lenses similar to those used by goal-line photographers. The square metal case filled with cut out foam to house the lenses completed the paraphernalia of a professional photojournalist.

At a*****e a few doors further down the street, he bought a jacket to complete the outfit. Khaki-coloured and similar to a safari suit in style, it had a plethora of pockets sewn on the outside and plenty of padding. The pockets were what attracted him; they could be filled with rolls of films and camera lenses to render the look of the roving photographer even more plausible.

“Well, try it on then!” said Simon smirking.

“What me?” exclaimed Anna.

“Yes you − if anybody can assure us of a warm welcome when we arrive on the boat, I think I can safely say that a beautiful young woman carrying a camera could do the trick! Anyway, you did say you were a bit of a photographer!”

Anna cupped her hands over her face for a second and took a deep breath.

“Yes − Ok,” she responded slowly. “I guess I’d better try it on.”

By the time they’d finished she really did look the part. For added authenticity, Simon had punctured the edge of the laminated passes and attached them to lanyards so that they could be hung around the neck. Anna’s pass reached down to her navel and could be tucked inside her new jacket.

On the way back to the harbour to meet Philip they picked up some local Thai snacks and a couple of bottles of water.

They spotted him easily, leaning nonchalantly against a post.

He looks pleased with himself, thought Anna.

“How did you get on?” Philip asked as they drew closer.

“Pretty good,” said Simon. “We’ve got a present for you.” He tossed a bag towards him. It contained notebooks, pens and a pair of dark sunglasses – the kind of items no self-respecting journalist would ever be without.

“Great − what do you think Anna?” said Philip, trying on the glasses and striking a mock film star pose.

“Could be worse,” she giggled, holding up her new khaki tunic. “You could have to wear my jacket.”

Her laugh was infectious and, smiling broadly, Philip led them along the jetty to a rundown outside café with white plastic tables and chairs littered around.

“So far so good,” said Philip, settling into one of the chairs. “We have an appointment with Hans Friedel, leader of the salvage team at any time after three this afternoon – they’re going to be anchored two kilometres off the Chaweng beach on the east coast of Koh Samui.”

“How did you find him?” Simon quizzed.

“Apparently, he calls into Surithani to pick up provisions now and then − the harbour master put me straight through on the radio when he knew who I was looking for. I told him we were from the National Geographic and that we’d like to do a lead article on his team’s exploits.”

“How did he react?” asked Anna.

“He was delighted − I think he can see that a bit of international fame and celebrity status might boost his ability to raise sponsors for the rest of his project! The harbour master was helpful as well, if we’re going to get there for three this afternoon he advised us to get the ferry to Koh Samui and a taxi to Chaweng beach – apparently there are plenty of opportunities to charter a boat from there. The ferry should be pulling up there in twenty minutes,” Philip pointed back down the jetty.

They had something to eat and embarked on the small, motorised ferry. It was crowded with just one small room below deck so Anna did not need to try too hard to persuade them to sit outside. The cool breeze was pleasant but the noise of the engines, and the occasional splash that hit them as the boat bisected another rising wave, made it difficult to hold a conversation.

Once on dry land, they commandeered the first available taxi and sped off towards Chaweng. The island was idyllic, the winding narrow roads almost overgrown by the tree-high, tropical vegetation and they occasionally passed local islanders making their wobbling way along on rickety old bicycles. The road followed the coastline and not long later they paid the driver and walked past an arcade of shops towards the beach. The harbour master had been right; it was easy to hire a boat and Simon negotiated a good one, a twenty-foot speedboat with two powerful outboard motors that could propel them along at a fair rate of knots if required.

“I guess this is where you acknowledge my glory days as a water skiing champion,” Simon goaded as he started to unravel the mooring rope from the capstan on the wooden jetty.

“Aaah yes, that’s right, I can’t quite remember whether you made the Olympics or not!” he smiled, and gestured to Anna to get in.

“Right, here we go,” said Simon and, turning in an arc from the beach, he opened up the engines and the boat’s prow lifted up as it roared out to sea. As the beach faded in the background, Philip and Anna put themselves in their journalist attire. Anna conscious of the part she had to play, started getting herself in the right frame of mind by taking some shots of the wooden squid-fishing boats whose crews waved to them as they sped past.

The salvage ship was easy to recognise; it was huge compared with other craft in the area. At the front was a large crane; the sides were painted a dingy orange and a craft like a bathyscaphe hung from two thick steel cables. Pinned along the side of the vessel were old rubber tyres to protect it against minor collisions. It must be over sixty feet long, thought Philip as he stared at some of the crew beginning to appear on the deck. The side of the hull itself was a good ten feet above sea level.

The reality of what they were doing suddenly came home to Anna. It no longer felt like a children’s adventure where everything always worked out in the end – they were about to lie and impersonate people they were not. She looked up at Philip who showed no such signs of nerves and was busily trying to make an assessment of the ship and the number of crew members on board. Spotting Anna’s worried face he leant down.

“We’ll be fine, trust me,” he said and squeezed her hand tightly.

“There’s someone shouting over there,” yelled Simon above the engines.

Leaning over the railing running along the deck, they could see a man waving them towards the metal ladder that was attached to the side of the hull.

Simon altered course and headed for the ladder. The sea was perfectly calm; the only noticeable waves were the wash kicked up by the outboard motors.

Peering down over the side, the water was crystal clear. Anna could see for about ten feet or so before the water became murky and dark.

When they were within fifty feet of the ship, Simon turned the engines down and the boat crested towards the ladder at idling speed. Pulling alongside, he reached out and grabbed the metal rungs, holding them steady while Philip and Anna began to pull themselves up. Anna went first with her camera swinging at the front and her leather-strapped lens case slung over her shoulder.

“Welcome,” beamed the ship’s captain, stretching out his hand to help them over the side. “It’s a pleasure to have you on board.”

Their arrival had certainly generated interest and any crew members not at their post had come on deck to greet them as the captain helped Philip aboard and shook his hand. Down below they heard the engines roar again as Simon pulled his little craft away to rest a safe distance from the ship.

“Welcome on board, I’m Hans Friedel.” A tall man stepped past the captain to introduce himself. He stood out immediately in the heat of the midday sun; he was wearing long beige trousers and sporting a navy blue blazer. The rest of the crew were in shorts and T-shirts.

Apart from the newly introduced Hans Friedel and the captain there were four other men of European descent. Going by the prominent creases on their weathered faces they had obviously spent a lot of time in the sun – Philip guessed that these were the salvage team’s divers. A couple of local Thai members had joined the party but the captain barked a few orders and they trudged back reluctantly towards their new assignments. It was not every day that such a beautiful woman stepped on board this ship and the news travelled fast.