“Non-issue? You mean throwaway pieces?” asked Rose.

“No, no. My mistake,” said Jack. “They’re officially issued to operators, but aren’t the standard weapons issued to uniform or plain clothes members. No Mountie symbols.”

“Oh, good,” replied Rose.

“Yes, we wouldn’t tell you about the throwaways,” said Laura.

Rose looked quickly at Laura and saw her eyes sparkle.

“Gotcha!” said Laura. “You looked as freaked out as my husband did once when I said that to him. He works Anti-Corruption. I think he believed it for a moment, as well.”

Rose grinned, “Okay, you got me. But this is serious. Please be careful. What can I do to help?”

“Let’s get our ducks in a row,” said Jack. “We have the basic identification to match our aliases, but we’ll need passports, as well. Also, permission for foreign travel to the countries Lee has mentioned.”

“I’ll handle that. What else?”

“I want practice sessions with a polygraph operator. I want to know what I can do to beat that damned machine.”

“Don’t think you can,” replied Rose. “I’ve heard that the best you could achieve for some of the questions is maybe inconclusive results. No pass, no fail. However, it only takes one question to fail, and the probability of you failing that critical question, even with training, is extremely high.”

“Perhaps I can come up with an undercover scenario that might negate me having to take the actual polygraph. But polygraph operators are experts when it comes to body language. They conduct lengthy interviews prior to even using the machine. They usually know long before they put anyone on the machine if they are guilty or not. I need to know how to behave if I am being interviewed by someone like that. What I learn from a polygraph operator would affect the type of undercover scenario I use and add to my credibility.”

“If you’re being questioned by someone who is a polygraph operator, I’d like a cover team practically holding your hand,” said Rose.

“Me, too,” agreed Jack. “Lee has been looking to me for all of the business dealings. Drugs are still a male-dominated business. I doubt that Laura would be asked to take a polygraph, and if she was asked, we would refuse. One of us is risky enough, but it still wouldn’t hurt for her to learn the basics, as well. Will you arrange it?”

Rose looked deep in thought, but smiled.

“What’s so funny?” asked Jack.

“I was imagining the look on Assistant Commissioner Isaac’s face when I ask him.”

“Sort of like a bad guy asking if he can hold your gun,” said Jack, wryly. “Remind him that I really am one of the good guys.”

“I think he believes that,” replied Rose. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be working for me.”

“Or perhaps Isaac is simply putting all his naughty fish in one rain barrel,” suggested Laura. “Easier to shoot at.”

31

Jack and Laura did not have to wait until the next weekend to hear back from Lee. It was only three hours after Rose had left Jack’s apartment that he received a text message.

“Perfect,” smiled Jack.

“You hear back from Rose?” asked Laura. “Did Isaac go for it?”

“Not Rose. It was Lee. He said there was a misunderstanding. Wants to meet for lunch. Our choice where.”

At twenty past twelve, Jack and Laura walked into Ceili’s Irish Pub and Restaurant and made their way to the rooftop patio where Lee waited, glancing impatiently at his watch.

“Sorry we’re late,” said Jack. “Had a flat tire we needed to get repaired,” he added, watching Lee for a response.

Lee looked slightly uncomfortable and quickly forgave them for being late. After Jack and Laura each ordered a Guinness to drink and beef stew for lunch, Lee came straight to the point.

“As a result of your displeasure over the asking price,” said Lee. “I spoke with my boss, and it occurred to us that you were likely thinking the quantity was a ton, or two thousand pounds. We were thinking in terms of a metric tonne. That would add over two hundred pounds to the quantity that you thought we meant.”

“You’re right,” said Jack, “I wasn’t talking metric. However, your price would still be at least ten percent too high. Sorry, I’m not —”

“No, please, hear me out,” said Lee. “My boss wishes to apologize for the misunderstanding. No wonder you felt insulted! He is prepared to offer you a metric tonne at twenty percent less than originally asked.”

Jack paused as he looked at Laura for a moment. Both their faces remained impassive. He looked back at Lee and stared at him briefly, before smiling and saying, “That, my friend, is an offer too good to refuse. We should drink to our new business venture.”

“I thought you would agree,” smiled Lee. “I have already taken the liberty of making a reservation for you both in Thailand. It is time, as they say, to get this show on the road.”

The following afternoon, Jack and Laura met with Rose, Connie, and Sammy back at Jack’s apartment, where Jack tossed a bar coaster to Rose. On it he had written: Pavilion Samui Boutique Resort — island in the Gulf of Thailand called Koh Samui.

“That’s the resort where Lee has booked us two weeks of accommodation,” said Jack. “We’re supposed to arrive in Bangkok on September seventh, which is two weeks from tomorrow. We overnight there and then continue on to Koh Samui the next morning.”

“He said once we arrive in Koh Samui that we would be given a week to recover from jet lag and the fourteen-hour time difference before any business took place,” said Laura.

“Meaning we can expect to be under the magnifying glass the whole time,” said Jack. “However, it also gives us more time to befriend Lee. See if he gets liquored up and says something about what took place in the park with Melvin. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to meet the guy in the suit with dead eyes.”

“I would definitely like to find out who that is,” said Connie.

“You will have a cover team,” said Rose, looking at Sammy.

“Four from our office can go,” replied Sammy. “I’ll be in charge of the cover team and will handle that end of it. We’ll arrive one day ahead of you, but remember, we’re not allowed to carry weapons over there, so really, all we can really do is surveillance.”

“Must be nice,” said Connie. “A two-week vacation on a sandy beach in the tropics. Wish I could go along.”

“Personally, I feel that four members from Drug Section is too many as it is,” said Jack. “We’ll presume we’re being watched the whole time. Lee picked the resort. They could even have our room bugged.”

“Well, that’s interesting,” said Connie with a smile, looking at Jack and Laura. “You two are supposed to be a happy couple right? Young, virile, in love …”

“Good point,” replied Laura. “What do you think, Jack? Maybe we’d better practise kissing and getting intimate with each other before we go. We don’t want to look or sound nervous with each other when we get there.”

“Yeah, I guess we should,” replied Jack, trying not to smile as Connie’s head swivelled back and forth at the two of them, unsure if they were joking or not.

“Hope neither of you talk in your sleep,” said Rose, seriously.

“I don’t like being plunked into a spot of their choosing,” said Jack. “We’ll give it a couple of days to recognize faces and then find an excuse to switch hotels.”

“Keep the bad guys off balance,” said Rose. “Help put everyone on an even playing field.”

“Exactly,” replied Jack. “Still, we’ll have to be vigilant.”

“September is their low season over there,” cautioned Laura. “I’ve been to Thailand. Did a UC in Bangkok once pretending to mule drugs. Very few Canadians or Americans go over because it takes so long to get there. Most tourists are European or Russian, with a small smattering of Australians thrown in.”