Page 28 of The Big Fix

It probably was.

Arden asked, “What’s your thought on whoever knowing you’re here?”

“I suspect our real enemy is already onto me. But that’s fine, it plays. I am, in fact, a desperate man in search of answers regarding the death of a colleague. They’ll be watching me, so hopefully that means you, Jing, and Chris will be able to find answers. As Chris is, on paper, a man of considerable means—”

“I am a man of considerable means,” he groused at me.

“It’s natural,” I continued, ignoring him, “that he would travel with a bodyguard and an executive secretary.”

“Ah, got it,” Arden said, turning to Jing. “Do you wanna be the secretary or the bodyguard?”

“The bodyguard, of course,” she said, grinning at Arden. “No one will think you’re the badass one in those shoes.”

Arden looked at her sneakers. “What? Why?”

Jing lifted one of her feet, shod in a Louboutin knee-high boot. “Come on.”

Arden shook her head. “This is the difference between what we do with our paychecks.”

Jing nodded and smiled. “I can’t argue with that.”

“Do we have any theories about who might be behind this?” Arden asked me.

“People with money and influence, I suspect.”

“He means no, he has no fuckin’ clue,” Chris translated.

“What’s the likelihood this is about you?” Arden pressed me.

“I’m not naive. When you wield the sword, you make enemies. I’ve killed plenty of people in the service of my country, but I’ve never operated in this part of the world. You know I’ve been mostly in Eastern Europe and the UK. That’s not to say my enemies haven’t perhaps found their way to Asia. But that’s unlikely.”

She nodded.

“I mean, I love a good Bond book as much as the next guy, but there aren’t really any megalomaniacs out there trying to rule the world. That’s the stuff of fiction. Most of these crime syndicates are after money, power, and influence. Rarely does that stretch beyond their region. Give a criminal a city and they seldom realize there’s a country. The Thai government just awarded Sutter Limited a billion dollars’ worth of development contracts for urban renewal. He’s been buying up properties all over Bangkok. He’s had some problems on his last jobsite. It seems that some of the local mobs have taken an interest in Sutter’s contract, likely seeing the renewal project as a gold mine for them in bribes and extortion.”

“But a man like Aaron Sutter has people to take care of all that, I’m guessing,” Jing chimed in. “Yes?”

“Yes,” I agreed.

“Do you think it’s possible Owen was kidnapped for leverage?”

“That’s a far more plausible theory than Auric Goldfinger.”

“It certainly is,” Jing conceded.

I leaned forward in my chair, looking at them. “It’s important you both understand something from the jump. If Owen is still alive, I don’t care how many people I have to kill to ensure his safe return.”

“Oh, I know,” Jing replied quickly.

“Absolutely understood,” Arden echoed.

“Good.”

“Where do we start?” Chris was ready to go. Waiting around had never been his strong suit.

“With this man,” Jing answered, showing us a photo on her phone. “His name is Charkrit Nam, and we’ve had him under surveillance, or I should say, Arden followed him around all day today.”

“Got in all my steps,” Arden said, tapping the face of her Apple Watch.