Other than the pad and pen, the surface of the table gleams empty except for a squat black high-tech object at one end, an obviously expensive Whole Geek Catalog item that looks to Rafferty like it might spring a set of pincers and decide to crawl across the table toward him. The walls, covered in a cream-colored fabric, host large rectangular pale patches, announcing where pictures or posters were probably removed for his visit. Near the top of the wall to his right are two small square windows: a projection booth.
Rafferty takes a couple of steps, and a tinny voice says, “Sit.” The voice comes from the techno-thing on the table, which Rafferty belatedly recognizes as a conference-call terminal. He glances up at the windows of the projection booth, but the glass is dark. Whoever is watching him is sitting well back in the gloom.
“Here, I assume.” Rafferty pulls out the chair in front of the legal pad and sits. “Listen,” he says. “I appreciate you sending the car and everything, but if this is about the book, you should know that I’m not going to-”
“Of course it’s about the book,” the man says. “I want it written immediately.”
Rafferty parrots, “You want it written.” He feels like a man who’s just been shown proof that two plus two is a subtraction problem.
“Beginning today. You’ll be paid a substantial advance, which will be transferred into your account at Thai Fisherman’s Bank, the Silom branch, in ninety minutes. It’s account 044-35-11966, is it not?”
“I’ll take your word.”
“Look under the legal pad.”
Rafferty says, “No.”
A pause, just long enough for Rafferty to swallow.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not going to write the book.”
“You’re mistaken. You’re not only going to write it, you’re going to file regular reports on your progress. You’re going to share the chapters with us as you finish them. We’ll have suggestions. You will accept them.”
“It’s not going to get that far. I’m not going to write it. So, with that out of the way, you can go back to standing behind the screen and working the levers or whatever it is you do with your time.” He starts to get up.
“If you go through that door before I excuse you, you’ll have a very brief time to regret it.”
Rafferty analyzes the sentence for a moment and lowers himself back into the chair.
“Mr. Rafferty. Has someone told you not to write this book?”
“No. Actually, I’ve decided to write a children’s book.
“And were there threats involved?”
“The problem is that rabbits don’t have fingers-”
“Against your wife and daughter, perhaps?”
Rafferty says nothing.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Two things you need to know. First, we can protect you and your family better than anyone else in Bangkok. Second, whatever you may have been threatened with, I promise you that it would be a feather bed compared to what we will do if you don’t cooperate with us.”
Rafferty realizes that he has crumpled the top sheet on the yellow pad.
“So let’s not waste time. Lift the legal tablet. Look beneath it.”
He does as he’s told, forcing his hands to be steady. He finds two sheets of paper, stapled together.
“Those are names,” the man says. “Most of those people will talk to you willingly. The book will also require some investigative work, nothing you can’t handle, judging from what you’ve already written. The last number, at the bottom of the second page, is the one you call to communicate with me. Is all that clear?”
What’s clear to Rafferty is that he needs to get out of the room. He can’t do anything until he’s out of the room. “What else?”
“Now and then we’ll have people watching you, just to make sure you’re giving us the time and energy we expect. Occasionally an addition to that list will probably occur to us, and we might call to tell you about it. Your cell phone number is 012-610-2230, isn’t it?”
Cell phones aren’t listed. Rafferty says, “Don’t showboat.”
“This is Wednesday. You’ll get the advance in your account today. You’ll leave most of that in the bank. We’ll know how much you withdraw, down to the last baht. We don’t want you running around with so much cash it gives you stupid ideas. I’ll expect the initial report on Monday, and it will be substantial if you don’t want things to get uncomfortable. Your family will be under continuous surveillance, which you should find reassuring.”
“Not exactly.”
“Well, you’re right. It’s a two-edged sword. But as long as you’re doing what you should, they’ll be better protected than the prime minister.”
“And when this is over,” Rafferty says, “how do I find you?”
“You won’t have to worry about that. If you’re foolish enough to try, we’ll find you.”
Rafferty says, “I’ll look forward to it.”
“Don’t waste energy being angry. You have work to do.”
“So,” Rafferty says, holding up the two pages, “I take these with me?”
