Kaptain's Blog

“Adam, you’ve got to involve the local police. You can’t do this on your own. You don’t have the resources, the… you know, the guile to take on a whole gang like this.” Blake stared back at her impassively, his arms folded. “Look, you couldn’t even…” But Elle trailed off. “Go on, then. Say it,” her lover retorted, angrily. “Say it!” “Adam. Honey. I’m sorry.” Her voice was quieter, now. “But think about it, Adam. Please. Look – you couldn’t even manage to keep hold of that idiot back there. You took your eye off him when you lost your temper and allowed him to slip away, unnoticed. What’s going to happen if you do the same thing when you’re up against the real snakeheads? I’m scared for you, baby. These guys you’re going to be dealing with are hardened criminals. And whether you like it or not, they’re not dumb, like that lowlife. They’re clever. That’s why they’re at the top of their tree. They’ll hurt you, baby. This guy Din, for example. He’s probably the mastermind. The guy who set it up. Hired our friend and his pals t–” “I’m going to fucking kill him with my bare hands!” Blake burst out, suddenly. He slapped the wall of their hotel room so hard that he felt the sting rush all the way up his arm, to his shoulder. “Adam! Don’t you see that this is what I’m talking about?” Elle screamed at him. “You can’t control your temper! You’re too emotional. Too close to it. To get Sophie back, you’re going to need the help of people who can think objectively. People who’ve dealt with his type before. Professionals. The police, Adam!”

Elle’s eyes sought out his, appealing to his rational side. But Blake would not return her gaze. Turning instead to rest his forehead on the wall, it seemed for a moment that he would break down. “I can’t stand the thought of them hurting my little girl,” he gasped, the helplessness of the situation getting the better of him. “Please, don’t let them do that…” “Come on, Adam,” Elle soothed him, stroking his hair. “She’s going to be all right. Let’s give my plan a try. Look, if the police don’t respond as they should, we’ll do it your way. Deal?” “Ok… Okay,” Blake stammered. Breathing deeply, he rubbed his hands around his face, trying to gain some composure. “But I tried taking the official route back in Guilin, before you arrived. And it wasn’t easy to get past the front desk, even. If these clowns here adopt the same attitude, I’m going to walk away, very quickly, and take the law into my own hands.” “OK, that’s a deal,” Elle confirmed, a little uneasily. But as Blake was talking his thoughts had begun to wander, and he was suddenly reminded of his conversation the previous day with DCI Gai. It now occurred to him that Guilin municipal police force’s second-in-command might have further news to report. “Babe, there’s someone we need to get in touch with. Urgently,” he anxiously imparted. “Who’s that?” Elle quizzed him. “Name’s Gai. Deputy Chief Inspector Gai, of the Guilin police. Spoke perfect English. Knew about the case. Seemed to be pursuing things. Actively. I was supposed to go back and see him this morning, but what with everything that’s gone on, I completely forgot.” “We can ask the local station to call him,” suggested Elle, helpfully.

Somewhat encouragingly, the desk sergeant in Qinzhou police headquarters showed considerable interest in the tale that Elle recounted, turning over the newspaper article in his hands and taking down notes in considerable detail, including the names S-o-p-h-i-e B-l-a-k-e and Bei Din Din. But, flattering to deceive, he ultimately disappointed when dismissing the couple with a simple: “Xie xie.” Thank you. “I will refer the matter upstairs, when my superiors will decide what to do about this… er, case. You may go now.” “What’s he saying?” asked Blake, noticing the deflated look on her face. Ignoring him, Elle continued to plead with the young sergeant, now gesticulating with her hands. “For fuck’s sake!” Blake suddenly screamed at her, causing the officer to jump. “Doesn’t he understand that time is slipping away? Tell him they need to act now, before something… something terrible… Oh, look I told you this is what’d happen!” On hearing his shouts, two or three other policemen emerged from the office situated behind the front desk. Elle, meanwhile, continued to remonstrate with the sergeant; sensing, however, that she was fighting a losing battle. Finally, the young officer stubbornly dug in his heels. “We have a thing called due process here, Madam,” he said to her, officiously. “Due process will be gone through and the matter you have described will receive proper attention, in good time. Now as I said, you may leave.”

“Ask him to call Gai,” Blake instructed, sighing. With some difficulty, he was managing to regain some of his composure. “Could you at least do one thing for us? Before we go… officer?” Elle begged. “What’s that?” “Just place a call for us. To Guilin police. DCI Gai. Please?” At the mention of the Guilin police force, the young sergeant sneered inwardly. What the fuck does she think those pricks can do? he asked himself. Picking up the notes he had taken, he made to turn. “Wait here. I’ll see what I can do,” he said, before swivelling on his heels and disappearing through the door to the office, followed by the other uniformed men. Inside, he handed the papers to a subordinate, with the instruction to search the database of known criminals for the name Bei Din Din. Then, making no effort to contact Guilin’s Deputy Chief Inspector, he sourced their switchboard number from a directory and scribbled it down, before re-emerging behind the reception desk. “He’s not there,” he lied, handing the small piece of paper to Elle. “Here’s the number. You can try later. Zai jian.” Good bye.

In the back office, the subordinate had entered the words into the computer’s search engine, drawing a blank. For Bei Din Din had no criminal record. Did not exist within the domain of known villains. Cam Pho, on the other hand, was near the top of both Vietnam and China’s most wanted lists.