Bangkok Drowning by Steven W. Palmer

Author:Steven W. Palmer
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9798393276751
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: 2023-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

Well, sir, here's to plain speaking and clear understanding.

Sam had set an alarm on his simpad for 5 p.m. After another shower, he dressed quickly, foregoing his Spade outfit for simple suit trousers and one of the white dress shirts he had bought in Phitsanulok. He wasn’t sure how formal dinner with Zed would be. It could be anything from imported Wagyu to Gaeng Keow Wan Gai from a roadside, or canal-side now, food stall. However, he had a feeling that the former was more likely than the latter. Zed obviously wanted to impress him though, if truth be told, he was pretty damn impressed already.

He was on the outside dock at 5:55 p.m. and was unsurprised to see Zed waiting for him. What he was surprised was the boat Zed was waiting for him in; a classic American motor yacht, all polished wood and sleek lines. Sam didn’t know much about boats but at a guess, he would have said this was from the 1930s or 40s, maybe Zed’s way of acknowledging Sam’s eccentricities.

As he stepped on board, his smile widened as he saw the three women sitting in the covered cabin sipping on cocktails. They stood to greet him with smiles as wide as his.

“Sam, you old bastard. About time you came to visit us.”

Sam offered a warm and respectful wai to the three women.

“Laches…sorry, you no longer use those code names, so the Fates are no more. Zed did tell me your real names but forgive an old man his poor memory.”

The women laughed then each of them returned his wai in turn.

“You can call me Chua Ha, or just Chua for short.”

“I am Svetlana.”

“And you may call me Nou.”

“Ah, our hard-working chief of police. Congratulations on such a peaceful city.”

“Not always so peaceful but we’re working hard to make it better. As with much of the world, crime rates are down. Who needs to steal when everything is provided and every person has a universal income? Who needs to deal drugs when they are legal and cheap?”

“Yet Bangkok has a reputation for some drugs that are not quite legal.”

Sam realised he had overstepped the mark as he saw the scowl that crossed Zed’s face. But it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

“Sorry, I know how far you have come. That comment was a little unfair.”

Nou smiled. “Don’t apologise. We’ve come a long way since you helped us establish peace here. Yes, some of the drugs available here are illegal, at least according to the UN. Some of those illegal drugs we are trying to eradicate, others we see as being blocked by the UN for arbitrary purposes. We develop drugs for recreational purposes but we also have some of the leading experts in psychopharmacology working in our labs and are making great strides in coming up with new treatments for ailments that still haunt this shattered world.”

“So, not just cutting-edge tech then?”

“You’d be surprised how much crossover there is between our tech work and our pharmacological work.

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