Parker and York watched as I followed CW to the back of the bar, but neither said anything. A tall girl with bad skin had brought our drinks and then drifted away out of earshot.
“We got to get serious here,” CW said.
“I can hardly wait.”
“It’s my job to see that Plato Karsarkis is returned to the US.”
“That’s got nothing to do with me.”
“Yeah, it does.”
I gave CW a look, but I didn’t say anything.
“Look, Jack, I need your help here.”
“I thought you told me you were just waiting for the Thai government to approve Karsarkis’ extradition.”
“Well…” CW appeared to think for a moment. “It’s a little bit more complicated than that.”
I waited.
“Look, Jack, I’m not really allowed to give you the whole thing-”
“Wait a minute.” I held up my hand like a traffic cop. “Are you telling me the Thais aren’t going to support extradition.”
“Not exactly.”
“Not exactly?”
“Well…not at all, really.”
“I see.”
“I doubt that.”
I recalled Anita’s prediction and shook my head a little at the memory of it.
Damn. How could she always be so dead on about stuff like this?
“So you and your little elves over there are here to kidnap the poor bastard and drag him back to the US no matter what the Thais have to say about it. Is that about the size of it, CW?”
“This is an evil man, Jack. He’s a criminal. He has people killed. He’s a traitor to his country.”
“What movie is that speech from?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “I forget.”
“Then tell me what you think we should do about Plato Karsarkis, Jack. Just forget about him? Just forget about everything he’s done and leave him alone to live out his life on the beautiful tropical island of Phuket?”
“Look, this isn’t my problem.”
“Well, shit,” CW leaned toward me, “then maybe I’ll just make it your problem.”
I took a pull from my drink, trying to take the edge off my anger before I said anything I might regret. It didn’t work.
“Well, fuck you, too, Marshal Asshole.”
“Look, Jack-”
“Who the hell do you think you are? Do you threaten everybody, or am I something special to you?”
“I’m sorry,” CW said and he did seem genuinely discomfited. “I was way out of line there and I apologize.”
The man sounded so completely contrite I wasn’t sure what to say, so I didn’t say anything.
“Look, Jack. I really am sorry. I had no right to say that. I need your help here. Hell, I’m begging for your help.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I need intelligence on Karsarkis. How he lives, what his house is like inside, how many guards he has, stuff like that. You’ve been in there. You can tell me all those things.”
I raised my glass in a silent toast to Anita.
“What does that met d can tean?” CW asked me.
“Never mind,” I said. “Forget it.”
CW looked puzzled, but he let it go. “So. Can you help me pop Karsarkis or not?”
“I could, probably. But I’m not.”
“Plato Karsarkis is a fugitive from the United States, Jack. You don’t mean to tell me you’re unwilling to help the United States Marshals Service apprehend a dangerous fugitive, do you?” CW tilted his head and widened his eyes in a gesture so corny and theatrical I almost laughed out loud. “I thought you lawyers were supposed to be officers of the court, supporters of the law. That’s right, isn’t it, Jack?”
“Let me see if I understand this, CW. You’re planning to kidnap a man who I gather is legally in Thailand and smuggle him out of the country and back to the United States. Do I have that right?”
“We’re going to do what we have to do to-”
“You’re running a kidnapping operation in violation of both local and international law and you’re lecturing me about being an officer of the court?” I just shook my head. “Man, now I’ve heard it all.”
“You’re still an American, Jack. Have you forgotten where your loyalties lie?”
“No, CW, I think I’ve got all my loyalties in pretty good order, and fuck you for asking. By the way, you’re not on my list.”
“Then you’re not going to help?”
“I will not be a party to a kidnapping in Thailand or anywhere else. Not by you, not by the fucking President of the fucking United States. Is that clear enough for you?”
CW tapped on his glass with his forefinger and let the silence run for a while before he spoke again.
“You’re making a big mistake here, Slick.”
“And exactly why is that?”
“Well…” CW sighed and shifted his weight on the barstool. “You saw those photographs. We could-”
“Whoa,” I said, raising both hands, palms out. “Is it time for the part of the program where you threaten me? Because, if it is, you need to understand this: I don’t deal with threats very well. Particularly threats from cops and other government types. I start thinking about testifying to Congressional committees about government corruption. Just can’t help it.”
“Hear me good, Slick. I’m going to take Plato Karsarkis down. If you get in the way, I’m going to take you down, too. I’m telling you that as a favor, not as a threat.”
“I’m not part of this, CW”
“Well, Slick, you ever heard that line that goes, ‘If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem?’“
“Listen very carefully to me. I am only going to say this one time. I am not part of your problem. I am not part of your solution. I have a nice life here in Thailand and I am not going to screw it up. Not for Plato Karsarkis, not for you, not for anyone.”
“You really think it’s going to be that easy? You think you can just walk away from all this and that will be the end of it?”
“Yep, I do. From now on, just think of me as Switzerland.”
‹. amp;raway frop width="1em" align="justify"›“He’s reeling you in just like a big, dumb old fish, Slick,” CW shook his head, “and you don’t even know it.”
“You’ve been a cop too long, CW. You smell shit everywhere.”
“He’s settin’ you up, boy.”
“Look, this may come as a real shock to you, pal, but I’m a grown man and I make all my own choices these days. Only people who’re greedy or stupid get set up, and I’m neither.”
“Whatever you say, Slick,” CW shook his head slowly again. “Whatever you say.”
There wasn’t much more of any consequence left to talk about after that and CW seemed to lose interest in me once I had made it clear I wasn’t going to be any part of whatever he was planning. York and Parker had left while CW and I were trading insults in the back of the bar and it wasn’t very long before I wished CW a nice life and left, too.
I walked out of the Blue Lotus and back to the Holiday Inn, then I drove all the way to the hotel with the top of the jeep down. A breeze had come up from somewhere and I thought the wet night air slapping against my face might clear my head by the time I got back, but it didn’t even make a decent start. I parked the jeep in the hotel lot and walked down the hillside toward our cabin.
About the time I passed the swimming pool, still and empty in the darkness, I started wondering if maybe CW did have a point after all. There might be something sticking to my shoe that wasn’t going to be nearly as easy to scrape off as I thought.
Perhaps Switzerland was a little too much to hope for.