Cockatoo Pt. 38

As I looked at the wrecked room, one name leapt straight into my mind. Whether Jandaeng had told Yut about me, or he had worked it out by himself, I didn't know, but I was sure this was his work. It was a message, not just a random break in. Nin started to edge into the room, but I pulled her back from the door. I didn't want to find out the hard way there was somebody in there waiting for us.

'Nin, let's get away from here. We need to work out what to do.'

We went to reception to tell them our room had been broken into. I asked them if they had CCTV coverage of the room. The hotel's Head of Security, a burly Scotsman, appeared and showed us what they had. There was only one camera trained on the lift up to the penthouse, and all it showed was two men in hotel uniforms entering the lift about two hours before we came back, and the same men coming out of the lift half an hour later.

'Can you identify those two?' I asked him.

'Let me check.' He spoke to an assistant who left to find out.

He and two tough looking security guards came up to the room with us, and he whistled as he saw the damage. 'What a mess. I am so sorry for this, has anything been stolen?'

Nin and I took a look around and nothing seemed to be missing. The room safe was untouched with my iPad and our laptops inside. It made me think even more that this was intended as a message. The Head of Security's phone rang and his face darkened as he listened.

He turned to us. 'They aren't hotel staff.' He shrugged his shoulders. 'We will call the police, of course, but I doubt there's anything they can do. Do you have any idea why this has happened?'

I thought I knew damn well, but it wasn't something I was going to share with him.

'OK, do you want to move to another suite or stay here if I get housekeeping to put everything back? I can post a security guard at the elevator if that is acceptable. Of course, the hotel will reimburse for any damages.'

I looked at Nin and she nodded. 'We'll stay here, but if you can post a guard, that would be great. Oh, and don't bother with the police. Nothing has been taken, so it's not worth the hassle.'

I could see he wanted to ask me more questions, but he decided that discretion was more appropriate. He left as the housekeepers arrived to clean up the room, whilst Nin and I went down for a drink in the bar. I called Kritsada, but all I got was his answerphone message and I asked him to call me back as soon as he could.

'Who do you think did this, Jamie?'

'I'm pretty sure it's Yut, Nin.'

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then made a few calls on her mobile. I was sure I heard her say Yut a few times before she finally put her phone down.

'Someone I know can tell us about Yut. We go talk to her if you want.'

'OK, should we go straight away?'

She looked at me sideways and I knew that something was coming.

'Hmm, just one thing. You cannot go like that. You have to go as girl.'

'Why?'

'My friend work in club, she mamasan there. Not possible for you to go as James. Best you go as Scarlett. Dress like for Nancy and Joe. You like that, no?'

'Nin, do I have to? Isn't there another way?'

She shook her head. 'You won't be allowed, club is for Japanese men only.'

I had heard of these places; clubs and bars exclusively for Japanese. Thais and Westerners are not forbidden, but generally not welcome. Soi Thaniya, or Little Tokyo, is the area where a lot of these bars and clubs proliferate. If I could get a lead on Yut, I thought it would be worth it. I sighed, 'OK, Nin, Scarlett it is.'

By the time we got back to the room, housekeeping had tidied everything away and replaced the furniture which had been ruined. The dress I had worn for the night with Nancy had been laundered by the hotel, so I put that on over a pair of tight panties. Nin helped me get ready although by now I was now much more confident doing my makeup. Before she helped me with my wig, Nin paused and looked at me in the mirror. 'I think your hair now long enough to style nicely.'

I hadn't had my hair cut for a long time and it was longer than I had ever worn it before, but in my eyes the wig was part of Scarlett, so it was definitely going on tonight. Without thinking I checked myself out in the mirror and Nin giggled, 'You get more like girl every day.'

I blushed, and she put her arm through mine as we walked out of the room. As we waited for the lift to arrive, what Nin had said played on my mind. I knew I was sliding deeper and deeper into something, but how deep was I prepared to go? This had all started merely as an expedient disguise to get me off Samui unnoticed by Jandaeng. Since then it had gone much much further. Somehow it seemed that I now spent as much time as Jamie and Scarlett as I did as James. How did I feel about that? I honestly didn't know. Who was I now? And who was I going to become? It seemed that James was slipping out of focus, and Jamie was coming more and more sharply into focus. And Scarlett? Well, if I felt good about being Jamie, then I felt so naughty as her. I giggled to myself about that.

The ping of the lift arriving shook me out of my thoughts. We stepped into the lift and I instinctively looked in the mirror to check my hair and makeup. Nin did the same until we caught each other's eye and collapsed in giggles. We were still laughing as we left the lift and clip clopped on our heels across the hotel foyer. We took one of the tuk-tuks waiting outside and Nin gave the driver the directions. In the tuk-tuk Nin cheekily leant across and kissed me on the lips and I glimpsed the driver glancing at us in his mirror. I nodded my head towards the driver and Nin grinned as she saw what I meant. She put her hand up my dress and we kissed each other once more. The tuk-tuk veered sharply, and a horn blared as the driver got his eyes back on the road just in time to avoid a car. Eventually we pulled up somewhere in Soi Thaniya, and the driver ogled us as we linked arms and strutted away from the tuk-tuk.

'My friend is called Anong, she worked with me when I was here in Bangkok. She now mamasan at this place. She does not speak English so I will translate.'

She stopped outside a door just as two Japanese men staggered out. They were obviously drunk and holding each other up. They leered at us, and one said something to the other in Japanese making them both laugh raucously. Nin immediately said something back to them in Japanese which made them stop laughing. We stood aside as they stumbled their way up the road.

'I didn't know you spoke Japanese.'

'I know enough to tell them they are stupid, butt ugly, monkey faced, mouth breathing creeps.'

I laughed, 'What did they say about us?'

She smiled, 'No matter.' We walked hand in hand into the club to be greeted by a Thai girl who, whilst smiling, didn't appear that happy to see us. That changed the moment Nin started speaking. I assume she asked for her friend as the girl's demeanour abruptly improved. She waved us through the lobby into the bar area, which appeared to be what a Japanese thought an English gentleman's club would look like; lots of dark wood and leather chairs. There was a large bar area and a stage at one end where a man was belting out a passable karaoke version of My Way, albeit with a Japanese accent. The club was dimly lit, but I could see tables with groups of Japanese men, some with girls sat with them, some on their own. As far as I could see the girls were Thai or Japanese, but no western girls. We were getting a few glances from the men, but nobody seemed concerned.

An elegant Thai woman came out from behind the bar, embraced Nin and smiled at me. Nin turned to me and said, 'This is Anong.' I made a wai to her, and she responded before opening a door into what was obviously an office. There was a desk as well as a couple of sofas and she indicated we should sit down. She took a flask of sake from a small fridge and placed it on the table with three small cups and poured us each a cupful. I hadn't much experience of drinking Sake, but it had a pleasant nutty aroma, and a light, sweet taste.

Anong began to speak and Nin translated. 'Anong say Yut come here a few times as guest of Japanese men.' She paused as Anong began to speak again. 'They drink, and talk and sometimes girls sit with them, but not always. They send girls away and talk in private, usually in bathhouse at back of club.'

'Does she know what they discuss?'

Nin asked Anong, and she shook her head. 'No, they always stop talking if someone comes close.'

Among started speaking again, and I saw Nin's face change. 'Anong say the Japanese men Yut meets are gangsters she thinks. She calls them Gokudo, I think you call them Yakuza.'

I think my mouth must have dropped open because I knew who the Yakuza were. The Japanese organised crime gang is well known and feared, even outside Japan. They are ruthless but have links to Japanese business and even the Government. My mind was spinning with this news. What the hell was Yut doing with Yakuza? I tried to make some sense of this. Yut and Jandaeng were working together, so did that mean the Yakuza and the Triads were co-operating? Was Yut the contact for the Yakuza, and Jandaeng the point man for the Triads as they tried to take over Kritsada's operations?

Somehow, that didn't make sense. From what I knew, the Triads and the Yakuza wanted everything their own way like two vultures who wouldn't like sharing a carcass. It seemed impossible that either gang would want to split the pickings with the other. In that case, what was Yut doing? Was he trying to cover his bases with both gangs? A stunning thought hit me; was Yut playing an audacious triple cross? The more I thought about it, the more it seemed possible.

If the Triads and Yakuza were competing to takeover in Bangkok, then Yut could be informing on Kritsada to Jandaeng, but really working for the Yakuza. Jandaeng was tied to the Triads, who wanted to move in on Kritsada. Yut would know what Jandaeng was up to and feed it all back to his Yakuza masters. They would allow Jandaeng to take Kritsada down and then move in themselves with Yut as the new head. It would get very ugly when the Triads caught on, but the Yakuza would have the advantage as they knew what was going to happen. Neither gang were strangers about using violence to get their way. It was an incredibly risky thing for Yut; if he was discovered, he would likely to meet a very sticky end indeed.

'Jamie, Jamie.'

Nin's voice cut into my train of thought. 'Anong say one of the Japanese men Yut meets is in the club.'

Without thinking I blurted out, 'Oh, can I see him?'

Nin stared at me. 'Are you sure?'

I shrugged, 'Why not? He doesn't know me. I just want to see him to remember his face.'

Nin translated for me and Anong nodded. 'Anong says we can sit at the bar and she will point him out. Jamie, are you sure?'

'Sure, Nin. I'm only going to take a quick look. What can go wrong?' Nin spluttered, but I didn't give her a chance to say any more as I stood up and walked towards the door.

Anong led us into the bar but had to attend to a new customer. Nin and I sat at the bar looking around and I spotted him immediately. Even sitting down you could tell he was a strong man from his build and an aura of power seemed to emanate from him. His head was shaven, and I thought him to be good looking for a Japanese. Another man sat close by who I guessed would be the bodyguard. He was speaking to someone on his mobile drinking sake from a flask on the table in front of him. He put his hand over the phone and said something to the bodyguard who called over one of the bargirls. I turned away and was going to tell Nin we should leave when the bargirl appeared at my elbow and whispered to me. 'Akihiko-san asks if you would do him honour of sitting with him?' She indicated the man we had been told was Yut's contact. He wasn't looking at me, but talking intently on his mobile.

Nin looked puzzled but her eyes opened wide as she saw where my gaze had gone. 'No, Jamie, you can't,' she hissed. 'You know who he is.'

'Yes, but I won't get another chance this good to learn about Yut.' She rolled her eyes as I stood up from the stool and followed the girl over to Akihiko's table. I made a wai to him and he looked up and smiled before patting the seat next to him as he continued to speak on the phone. I sat down, crossed my legs and felt his eyes watching as my dress rode up. I hastily tugged the hem down, but it was so short it really didn't hide anything. He finished the call and turned to look at me.

'Thank you for coming to sit with me.' He spoke in perfect English with only a slight accent and my surprise must have shown. 'I did an MBA at Cornell in New York. I learnt to speak English in Japan before I went.'

'Your English is excellent, Akihiko-san.'

'I don't practice enough, unfortunately. But where do you come from? We don't see many westerners in here.'

'I'm from New Zealand, Akihiko-san.' I always think nobody really knows anything about New Zealand.

'Ah, the land of the long white cloud. I hear it's a beautiful country. What is your name?'

'Scarlett, Akihiko-san.'

'So, Scarlett, will you join me in some sake? It's quite good here.'

I nodded and he snapped his fingers. One of the girls brought another cup to the table and filled it from a sake flask. Akihiko raised his cup, 'Kanpai. Good health, I think you say.'

I picked the cup in both hands, 'Kanpai, Akihiko-san' I took a sip and immediately tasted the difference between what Anong had served and this. This was drier, with a depth and finish which was much more sophisticated.

'You like?'

I nodded, 'Yes, very much.'

'Good, let's have another one.' The girl immediately poured two more measures, and I thought I need to be careful here, this stuff could go straight to my head.

'Akihiko-san, may I ask why you asked me to sit with you?'

He looked at me for a couple of seconds and in that time, I thought again how handsome he was. His face was smooth with a strong jawline, but it was his eyes which grabbed me. They seemed to peer inside me and I had a disturbing feeling he knew all about me.

'It's nice to sit with a western girl sometimes. I miss the time I spent in New York, the girls there were always good fun. I saw you and thought it might be fun.'

I wondered if he really thought I was a girl. It was dark, but I wasn't crazy enough to think I could pass close up. I thought I should get things clear. I didn't want any misunderstandings.

'Akihiko-san, thank you, but you do know I'm a special girl, don't you?'

He didn't answer for a few seconds and I braced myself for what was to come.

'Of course, Scarlett. You are very pretty and I do know what kind of girl you are.'

I stared at him as that wasn't the answer I had expected. He smiled, 'I like all kinds of girls.' I smiled back and something made me reach out and lay my fingers on his leg. He didn't flinch and kept the smile on his face. I took another drink of the sake and this time it was refilled automatically by the girl.

'Are you here on business, Akihiko-san?'

'Please, no more Akihiko-san. Call me Aki, it's what everyone calls me. Yes, you might say I'm here on business.'

He reached out to pick up his cup of sake and I stared as I saw that the top digit of his little finger was missing. He noticed me looking. 'I did something foolish once and had to pay a penalty. It is the custom of my people.'

I remembered something an ex-colleague of mine who worked for a Japanese company in Kyoto had told me. His company had been targeted by Yakuza for extortion and he learnt quite a lot about them. If a Yakuza makes a serious mistake, he may be forced to cut off the top joint of his finger. It marks a man out as Yakuza for certain. Maybe the sake was kicking in now, but I touched his hand and stroked his little finger.

'Does it hurt, Aki?'

He laughed, 'Not any more. Do you sing Scarlett?'

'A bit, why?' I should have guessed what was coming, but the sake was definitely getting to me.

'I feel like singing, would you come up and be with me?'

'Oh, karaoke. Yes, I will, of course.' Shit, did I really just say yes?

He picked up his sake and downed it in one, and he indicated I should do the same.

'Kanpai, Aki.'

He laughed and gently pulled me to my feet and we walked across to the stage. When we got up on the stage I wasn't sure this was such a great idea. The lights were quite bright, and I felt horribly vulnerable up there. Aki grabbed the microphone and flicked through the song choices on the karaoke machine in front of us. 'Do you know this one?' he asked, pointing to Happy by Pharrell Williams on the screen. I nodded, everyone knows that one.

The music started and everyone started to clap. When Aki began to sing, I was astounded to find he had a very good voice. I smiled at him and he gestured me to join in. To be honest, I have a decent voice courtesy of the school choir and I found it easy enough to join in. I caught sight of Nin sitting at the bar and she was staring wide eyed at me. Aki grinned at me as we sang and I even did a few little dance moves. The song ended to a good round of applause.

We returned to our table where our sake cups had been refilled once more. I was now definitely getting a buzz, whether from the sake, or being close to Aki, I didn't know. I was fascinated by him. The Yakuza have such a fearsome reputation, yet he seemed almost gentle in the way he was treating me. A gangster who sings Happy wasn't what I had expected. He knew I wasn't a real girl, but that didn't seem to worry him. I stroked my fingers up and down his leg, not entirely sure what I was doing or where this was going. He looked down and then back at me.

'You should be careful what you're getting into, Scarlett.'

The hairs on the back of my neck rose. Did he know who I was?

'Oh, what would I be getting into, Aki?' I hoped my voice didn't give away the fear I was feeling.

He looked coolly at me, placed his hand over mine and leant close. 'You have a choice to make, Scarlett. You can either walk away now or you can follow me to the bath house at the back of the club. If you do, I am sure we could have some more fun together. I will go there anyway. It is your choice whether or not to follow me.'

Oh my God, he was only inviting me to have sex, not to have me killed. Somehow, I found myself getting aroused, my heart was pumping faster, my face felt warm and my cock began to swell. Another cup of sake appeared and this time my head began to swim. I thought I had to get out of this or it would be too late. He picked up my hand and kissed my fingers, sending a tremor through me. God, what was wrong with me? He rose and his bodyguard followed him through a door to the back of the club. As I sat there trying to gather my thoughts, Nin arrived.

'Come on let's go, Jamie.'

I knew I should do as she said, but something inside me was holding me back from leaving with her. I tried to convince myself it was about what I could find out about Yut, but I knew there was another reason too. I looked up at Nin, 'I have to do something.'

'Jamie, noooo.' She tried to grab my hand, but I stood up and walked over to the bathhouse door. As I pushed open the door, I turned to see Nin calling someone on her phone.

Aki's bodyguard was standing in front of the door but he stood aside to allow me through. I walked into the changing room and slipped off my dress and panties and managed to wrap my hair in a turban. Something I had seen Alex do. Japanese bathing ritual dictates that you wash your body first before bathing. They think the western habit of washing in your bathwater is barbaric. I washed and rinsed myself with water from the shower before wrapping a towel around me. There was a glass door leading to the hot bath, and I stood for a few moments trying to control my nerves. I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.