Chapter 6

Vanida and I woke about 7 and shared a long, hot shower together, followed by a slow, lazy room service breakfast. The conversation was as good in the morning as it was the night before, and I realized I had met a very special lady. We promised to keep in touch. No money changed hands other than some cab fare I had to almost force upon her.

After Vanida left I took a long, relaxing swim and used the while I was pounding laps to talk to Gandalf about how our venture was going and how the Aliens felt about the whole thing. I learned that profits were rising and that a lot of races really enjoyed betting on the utter unpredictability of humans. We were pulling in about 200 million credits in profit per day, and that number was expected to rise another 20 to 30 percent before leveling off – providing that I could keep things interesting.

I shared that while I would be using Bangkok as a base of operations, I planned to take trips to Singapore, the Philippines, Macau, Brussels, Tijuana, Poland, Russia, and other mongering hot spots around the world. This excited the Aliens as they did not realize there were so many venues, and that each had different protocols and rules of the road.

When I asked what the Aliens were going to do with their profits, they basically told me that they put aside a good chunk of money for me – more than I could possibly spend, and they rest they were paying back the ones who funded their engagement with me, and then they had a "special plan" for investing the rest. They told me that I would be delighted with what they were developing, but it was too early to share and details.

"Fine," I thought, "have your little secrets."

I left the pool, toweled off, showered and changed into a comfortable set of clothes. I grabbed a light lunch at the hotel and then decided to just take a stroll. Bangkok is such a visual delight and you never know what you will see when wandering about. Over the next two hours or so I wandered somewhat aimlessly. I had no destination in mind and no real purpose. I figured that with the continuous video monitoring, the Aliens would at least get some background footage they could use.

With the heat and humidity I began to build up a thirst, and decided that a cold beer would taste good, even though the alcohol would not impact me, so I stuck my head in a small, no-name type of bar and grabbed a seat at a table. A woman was working behind the bar and I let her know I wanted a cold beer and a damp towel, both of which she brought as she plopped down in the chair opposite me. I pretty well drained the first beer, and used the towel to cool off, all the time dodging what the woman thought passed as conversation, but was more like an interrogation, wanting to know if I was new to Thailand, where I was staying, did I want a nice girl, etc., etc. I kept my answers short and not entirely truthful. I certainly did not want her to know where I was staying or anything else. I just played tourist while I ordered a second beer, figuring to drain it and leave.

The second beer came in a frozen mug like the first, and I quaffed about half of it. As I worked on the second half, my vision got blurry and I suddenly got very dizzy, and was overcome by darkness.

{Sir, you have been given a drugged drink. The drug is designed to make you pass out, so I have simulated that condition to see what will happen next. I can wake you up immediately if you need me to.}

[Thanks Gandalf, I agree, let's see where this goes, but if I am in significant danger, wake me immediately, and I need to know everything that is happening.]

<The bartender lady has locked the front door and is calling someone on her cell phone.>

{It is her husband. I am listening in, } Gandalf continued. {He drives a taxi and he is on his way here. They apparently plan to rob you and drop you in the marshland where you will drown and your body won't be recovered. I am recording everything and will put it on your Blackberry to use as evidence.}

About 5 minutes passed while I was leaned over the table, unable to move my body or limbs, but fully alert and listening attentively to Gandalf's running narrative.

{He has arrived. They are going to take you to the cab.}

I felt myself being lifted by the armpits and roughly tossed in the back seat of the taxi. I could feel as she sat down almost on top of me. I felt him get in the driver's seat, start the cab and pull away. I knew that, given the nature of Bangkok traffic, that it was going to be impossible for us to go anywhere fast.

"Head down by the marsh area where we dropped the last one," she told her husband in Thai. "I'll get his valuables."

{I have reached out to the Thai police, they are following at a safe distance and have launched a helicopter. I'm giving them real-time updates. I'm hacked into their communications channel and they think they are being directed by one of their dispatchers. The dispatchers think another officer is giving directions.}

I could then feel the woman pull my wallet out of my back pocket, grab my Blackberry and Hotel room key, then lift my watch and rings. She checked to see if I had money in my socks or loose in my pockets. She was very rough, but very thorough, I had been cleaned out. I could hear the woman berate her husband to drive faster, drive slower, be careful, hurry etc. Plus, she smelled bad. No wonder her bar was going broke and she needed to resort to robbery in order to get by.

<The helicopter is in the air and they are also following from a distance. Stay calm Sir.>

[Easy for you to say, Gandalf, you are not the one on the back seat getting robbed.]