Restless Earth by John Dolan

Author:John Dolan [Dolan, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912361007
Publisher: Tention Publishing Limited
Published: 2017-11-24T05:00:00+00:00

Having slept too late for breakfast, Trask’s priority on hitting the streets was to make for the Starbucks he had spotted from the taxi the previous evening. It was a short walk, but enough for his lungs to register an unaccustomed heaviness from the traffic fumes. The late morning light was bright, but the air had an opaque quality to it that smacked of the dust-laden atmosphere of Iraq. However, unlike the threatening silences of South Baghdad, Bangkok pullulated with the noises of life. Engines, exhausts, horns and excited voices assaulted Trask’s ears. Colours – some faded, some vivid, some positively phosphorescent – larruped his vision. It helped that he had not yet sloughed off the weariness of his long journey, since his mental fug acted as a damper on the myriad of impressions laying siege to his senses. It made him less jumpy and anxious than he might otherwise have been in this unfamiliar city.

He pushed open the door to the coffee shop and instantly felt less of an alien creature. There was something comforting about the green signage and the hiss of steam – no matter that most of the faces at tables, and those of the baristas behind the counter, were Asian. Better-travelled individuals would no doubt deride his need for a connection to home on his first day in Thailand, but that didn’t concern Trask. And if he decided he wanted to eat a hamburger and fries later rather than a rice dish, then he damn well would. He ordered an orange juice for the vitamin C, a bottle of water to assist with hydration, and a large black Americano to kick him into gear. To fix a lining on his stomach, he picked out a croissant: not his usual fare and he wasn’t entirely sure how to eat it without getting bits everywhere. The resultant mess would announce gauche American hillbilly, but it would have to do.

He unfolded the city map and considered his markings and annotations. Trask’s apartment was only a few blocks from the place where Fosse was staying, which in turn was only a ten-to-fifteen-minute walk from the Thaisom offices where Fosse’s negotiations were being conducted. When Trask had suggested to Reichenbach that he stay in the same apartment block as Fosse, his employer had dismissed the idea out of hand. “It would be too much for you to be staying in the same building. It might draw Fosse’s attention to all the coincidences of your meeting. Best to give him a little room so he doesn’t feel crowded. So he doesn’t get suspicious.” To Trask, this was a cockeyed way of reasoning. Surely it would be easier to monitor Fosse if he were close at hand? But Reichenbach was firm, so Trask didn’t debate further. Moreover, anyone who was able, from the other side of the planet, to find out where Fosse was staying and working, was deserving of respect for his shrewdness. He was an ex-cop, for goodness’ sake. He must know his stuff.

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