Death Trip. Lee Weeks

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СКАЧАТЬ knows what deals they are making? You have contacts all over Asia. You can find out what has happened to Jake—I know you can. You can get my son back. There is no one else who cares. He is just a boy and he is your brother.’ Magda looked close to breaking. She shook her head miserably. ‘I’m sorry. I would not have troubled you if I did not have to. Believe me.’ She looked up at him, her eyes imploring. He did believe her. She was a mother who would do anything for her child and Mann was her last hope. And he knew she was right. Now he knew about Jake, there was nothing left for him to do. He had to help.

      He smiled and nodded his acceptance.

      ‘Thank you.’ The tears in her eyes spilled over and she wiped them quickly. ‘He looks like you,’ she said as she pulled out a tissue and blew her nose. The Americans turned at the noise, but just as quickly turned their attention back to the stage where a group of lads was lining up to eat a banana from the dancer’s vagina. Mann stood and picked up his coat.

      ‘Let’s go somewhere else to talk.’

      They were greeted outside by a blast of icy wind. Flanked by the tall houses that leant over as if magnetically drawn towards the water, the canals acted as wind tunnels. Magda steered Mann left. It was Saturday night and De Wallen was busy. People and bikes were filling pavements and spilling onto the roads. Bikini-clad prostitutes smiled and pouted from behind their windows, their bodies softened by neon. They chatted to one another and drummed their nails on the glass to attract passersby that they liked the look of, and then they stopped to take up negotiations at the door. Mann looked around for the men in the puffer jackets. There were enough suspicious-looking types hanging about doorways to warrant paranoia but those particular two were not amongst them.

      He caught Magda watching him as they walked alongside each other past the Granny and the Tranny quarters, where young men and old could indulge their confused fantasies.

      ‘You’re taller than I thought you’d be,’ she said.

      ‘And you’re younger.’ He smiled. ‘The height’s from my mum’s side.’

      Magda pulled up her fleece around her neck. ‘Did she tell you about me?’ she asked, not looking at him.

      Mann shook his head. ‘No.’

      Magda nodded as if it was what she had expected.

      The will had been read a few weeks after his father had died. Mann had been eighteen. He remembered his mother being led into a private room and emerging some time later, ashen faced. She had never told him what had gone on in there but that’s when she must have found out about Deming’s indiscretions. It must have broken her heart. She never spoke about his father again. She sold the house, got rid of many of their belongings and she never touched the money he left behind. If Magda hadn’t got in touch it was unlikely Mann would ever have known about the existence of a brother. What hurt him now was the knowledge that his father was so evidently missing something in his life that he had to travel to the other side of the world to find it. It left Mann feeling insecure, unsettled. His world had turned on its head.

      ‘What about Jake, is he tall?’

      ‘A bit taller than me. But I think he is still growing. He’s just eighteen.’ Magda’s voice softened as she talked about him—he was clearly the light of her life.

      They stopped outside one of the prostitutes’ windows and Magda waved at the occupant who was dressed in a black rubber corset and stockings, and sitting on a stool in the window.

      The woman grinned back and gave a small wave of the hand.

      ‘That’s Carla—she has been working this window for a few months. She does the evening shift from eight until two, or until she’s had enough.’

      Carla mouthed something and pointed to Mann and began drumming her long nails on the window. Magda turned to him, amused.

      ‘She says special rate for you—suck and fuck, thirty euros.’

      Mann pretended that he was giving it serious consideration and then tapped his watch and mouthed that he was sorry, he didn’t have the time. Carla shrugged and winked back at him.

      ‘She a friend?’ he asked as they walked away.

      ‘Carla? Yes. Sort of. The girls come and go but the window stays the same. I wanted to show you this window because…’ Mann looked at her. Her eyes were burning in the reflected light from the street lamps, watering from the icy wind. ‘This is where I met your father.’

       4

      Burma

      Saw Wah Say ran on ahead and then stopped at the edge of the ravine. He shielded his eyes from the afternoon sun as he studied the horizon and craned his head to listen to the sounds in the air. He looked strong and fresh after the seven-hour march. He carried no extra fat. His body was stripped down to its finest components. He was born to fight and to run.

      He looked down towards the teak forest below; there was no sign of a disturbance. No monkeys screeching or birds squawking in alarm. It had been a good plan to take this route. The jungle was a friend to Saw and to his men—it had hidden them well for many years.

      He looked at his line of hostages as they passed him. Their wrists were tied together in front of them. Ditaka, his second-in-command, held the girl Anna by a rope around her neck. Saw knew that the others would not try and escape and leave her behind. They looked like adults but they were children. The girls were the ones that Saw admired. They had beauty and strength. He was fascinated by their blonde hair, their white skin, and strong bodies. He looked beneath their thin tops, he smelt their fresh sweat and he growled inwardly. Saw knew his men were dribbling after the girls and they would have them, but not now. Anna was his favourite. She always looked him straight in the eye. Anna would give him the greatest pleasure. Saw looked across to the distant hills, woolly and green as they rose in sharp peaks towards the north. They had another two hours’ march before they could afford to stop for the night. He looked at the boys and felt nothing but contempt for them; they were babies. Saw had become a man as soon as he could carry a rifle. By the time Saw was their age he had already killed a dozen men. He stared at Jake. Saw had witnessed the affection between Anna and Jake. Saw had never touched a woman with a soft hand. Saw took his women when he wanted them. He never waited for their consent. When the time came, Saw would take these girls too. They would be his prize. He would make Jake watch as he raped Anna.

      Saw looked back along the path they had come and he saw the setting sun set fire to the Thaungyin river that separated Burma and Thailand. Tonight he would leave his hostages and head towards the town of Mae Sot. Tonight someone was waiting for him and tonight would decide the fate of the five. In the morning he would hand them over. If not, they would be dead by nightfall.

       5

      ‘It’s not my business, Magda…’ Mann hurriedly stepped out of the way of a passing bike.

      ‘Yes, it is.’ Magda stopped walking and refused to move until Mann faced her. ‘I used to work the same shift as Carla does. I need to tell you because I am asking you to become involved in my life, in my son’s life. Now that you know about us—everything is changed. Besides…‘ She gave him a СКАЧАТЬ