Chapter 11

The following new characters appear in this chapter and others:

Mr. Nai

Chief civilian driver, the Boss, 5’-6’’ tall, a bit heavier than most local people, 36 years, black hair, brown eyes

Mr. Kam

civilian driver, 5’-6’’ tall, thinner than Nai, 30 years old, black hair, brown eyes

Sum

Older military driver, 5’-5’’ tall, thin like many people here, about 23 or 24 years old, short black hair, brown eyes

Jai

Other military driver, 5’-5’’ tall, thin like many people here, about 22 or 23 years old, short black hair, brown eyes

Mike still has the Narrative

Thao and I had no more than reached the house when Chanthra had news for us.

“Do not worry, my Mike. The Amulets have already told me where you can meet tomorrow and other times also. There is a house behind Wat Chiang Lae. No one has lived there for a long time. Those here in Sing have forgotten all about its existence. Additionally, the Amulets have restored the house to nearly new condition. It will be ready for your meeting in the morning. The men can appear to be visiting several of the Wats tomorrow on the holy day,” she told me with a smile.

This was good news, as I had no idea where we could meet that would be secure. Bounmy had gone off to locate his friend after the meeting and to return his motorcycle. His was still parked beside our house. Thao helped me by cleaning my rifles while I worked on my pistols before dinner was served.

Following dinner, I went over what Bounmy and I had observed yesterday on our reconnaissance for Chanthra. She in turn went over the schedule for tomorrow morning and what clothes we would be wearing for the trip to the Wat. Bounmy had also come by to get his motorcycle.

Since Thao was staying with us over night, I had laid out the same sleeping mat and sleeping bag that Bounmy had used that day for him to use. As Chanthra and I entered our room that evening, I noticed that Yuang was beckoning Thao to follow her into her room.

“It’s none of our business,” Chanthra told me once the door was closed. “She finds him very interesting,” she told me. There was love and sex before we went to sleep that night.

In the morning, we were all up reasonably early. Yuang made breakfast for us. She seemed very happy this morning. Chanthra sat crossleged on the floor with a far away look in her eyes. I was sure that the Amulets were talking to her, or she was talking to them, one or the other. She had finished by the time breakfast was ready. During breakfast Chanthra again mentioned dressing for the visit to the Wat.

“We must all wear our best and cleanest clothes to the Wat,” she reminded us.

“All I have is the clothes that I have been wearing,” Thao told her in a somewhat depressed voice.

“You will find clean clothes in Yuang’s room where you spent the night. They are a gift from the Amulets. Yuang will wash your other clothes when we return from the Wat,” she told a very surprised young sergeant and house-girl.

“Thank you, Pee. That is very generous of the Amulets,” Thao told her, while Yuang just blushed.

We were all dressed and prepared to leave for the Wat well before eight o’clock. I thought it was too early, but Chanthra was insistent. On leaving our house, I could see a group of people just up the street. Some of them began following us, while others ran off in a couple of directions. As we proceeded toward the Wat, there were more people waiting at each intersection, and they joined us also.

It was something like 700 meters (770 yards) or so from our house to Wat Xieng Yeun. I had expected it to take us no more than ten minutes even at the slow pace at which we were walking, but it required a good deal longer, as Chanthra had slowed even more so the older people following us could keep up with us. It was 8:20 before we arrived at the entrance of the Wat.

I had looked behind us several times on the way here and had seen the increase of the crowd following us each time. On arriving at the Wat, I looked behind us again and was shocked to see well over 200 people! Thao also turned away from Yuang to look at those behind us.

“We’ll never be able to hold a meeting today with all of these people here,” he told me.

“Think of them as camouflage,” I advised him with a smile.

“Camouflage?” he asked.

“We will be able to hide among all of these people,” I assured him.

When we and all of those following us entered the Wat, the monks there were both shocked and amazed. Those with us were in addition to the much smaller number of visitors who they expected, and who were already there. Wat Xieng Yeun was not an overly large Wat and now it was very crowded with all of these additional people. Chanthra and Yuang went to pray. Part of the crowd followed them while others went to listen to sermons from the monks at a number of locations in the Wat. Some went to spend time in other parts of the Wat, as not everyone would be able to fit in the Ubosot (Prayer Hall) at the same time.

Thao and I remained with a group of the latter, but where we could keep an eye on the entrance of the Wat for the arrival of the others in our group. They started drifting in about fifteen minutes or so later and moved toward the Sala where others were relaxing between spending time praying and listening to sermons or other activities. Once everyone else had arrived, Thao and I joined them at the open air Sala. Other people were still arriving at the Wat to pray and gain merit.

“We’re all here now,” Vanh said as we joined them in one corner of the Sala. “Has anyone located a place where we can hold our planning meeting without anyone knowing about it?” he asked. I could see that Lieutenants Kham and Souk had the four drivers with them. No one had said anything after a number of seconds, so I spoke up.

“Through the Amulets, Chanthra has arranged for us to use a house behind Wat Chiang Lae, ” I told them to looks of surprise.

“There is a very old house there, but it isn’t usable. It’s falling apart,” Sergeant Ai told us in a knowing voice.

“According to Chanthra, the Amulets have repaired the house, and it is ready for us to use,” I told them.

“It will be better than any of the places that I could find in Sing. Also, perhaps others will think that we are going there to pray at a less crowded Wat,” Keo said after a number of seconds. Vanh looked undecided for a short time.

“Alright,” he finally agreed. “We will slip out in small groups several minutes apart and meet at this house. If it appears that anyone is watching you, go up to the market and spend time looking around. We will see what we need to do then,” he told us.

Lt. Kham and two of the drivers were the first to leave. The rest of us mixed in with the others here at the Wat while waiting for our turn to leave. Chanthra was teaching a class about the Amulets to a group of women when Thao and I were ready to leave, about five minutes after all of the others had left.

The walk to Wat Chiang Lae wasn’t any further than the walk here had been from our house, and we covered the distance quickly but didn’t appear to be in a hurry. We didn’t have to slow down for any old people as Thao and I were by ourselves.

Arriving near the Wat, we went down the side of its outer wall and once behind it, we could see the house. It didn’t appear to be new, but it was in very good condition. Kham, Souk, and the four drivers were already there, and Ai came out of the house as we approached it. Bounmy was still inside.

“This house was falling apart the last time I was here, and that was two years ago. How can it be in such good condition now?” Ai asked as we joined the others. I only smiled.

“The Amulets can do many things,” I reminded all of them. A short time later, we were joined by Vanh and Keo. They had left before Thao and I had but must have made a detour.

“Let’s go inside, and we’ll explain and make the introductions,” Vanh told us. We all trooped into the house. Inside, it appeared to have just been freshly refinished, as everything appeared to be new. There wasn’t any furniture, but the Thai and Lao are used to sitting on the floor, so there wouldn’t be any problems.

“This is Master Sergeant Barnett,” Lt. Souk told the four drivers before turning to me.

“This is Mr. Nai. He is the chief driver and a civilian,” he told me indicating the first man in line. Nai was an older man of about 36 years old. Physically, he was rather typical of the local people, but a bit heavier than most of them.

“And this is Mr. Kam,” Lt. Souk continued indicating the second man in line. Kam was also a civilian driver, but younger than Nai and thinner. Lt. Kham then took over the introductions.

“These are Corporals Som and Jai. They were trained to drive while in Thai Army training,” he told me indicating the last two men in line. Both men were rather young at about 23 years of age. They were both thinner than the civilian drivers, but no thinner than many people in the area. I exchanged greetings with all of them.

“Lieutenant Souk will be in charge of the drivers for the move to Prathae and then the move to Ban Phoc Hane. Sergeants Barnett and Bounmy will take them to the trucks once we have secured the village,” Vanh informed us. “Som and Jai will have rifles, but will not assist in removing the guards,” he added.

“Sergeant Barnett will lead the rest of us in taking out the guards and securing the village. He will decide how we are organized,” Vanh told us next.

“We will be organized in two fire teams. I will lead the first and Captain Vanh will lead the second. The first fire team will be composed of Sergeant Ai, Sergeant Bounmy, Sergeant Thao, and myself. The second fire team will consist of Lt. Kao, Lt Kham, Lt. Souk, and Captain Vanh.

“The first fire team will be responsible for eliminating the night guards. We will be covered by the second fire team. Once the guards are eliminated, two of us will take their place. When the man in charge comes out to check on the guards, we will capture him if possible. If not, he will be removed.

“Around sunrise, the other guards will be called out of the house they are in, and the second fire team will take control of them, while the first fire team rouses the villagers. Captain Vanh will explain to the villagers who we are, and why we are there. At the same time, Sergeant Bounmy and I will lead the drivers to the trucks, which they will inspect and prepare to move them down to the main road. Most of us will be needed as ground guides for the trucks, while a couple of us will keep an eye on the villagers,” I told them.

“Once we reach the road, Captain Vanh will take charge of the trucks and direct them to where they will be parked. Those who provided the transportation will recover them and drive them back to Sing,” I finished before asking Vanh about the trucks.

“Where will the trucks be going, Captain?” I asked.

“Once they have sufficient fuel, they will be going to the Ban Chap Houma valley to be parked until we need them. Some of us will need to remain there to guard the weapons that are on the trucks. I will determine who the guards are later,” Vanh told everyone.

“When will we be going on this operation?” Lt. Keo asked.

“Tomorrow. There will still be a mostly full moon, and we will be able to see reasonably well at night,” Vanh told him and us.