Beyond Twilight - a thriller with backlash of policies
Smashwords edition
Text & Cover by Frans Welman
eISBN 978-616-245-011-2
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This book is a tribute to the resilient Naga Peoples of Nagaland, both in India and in Burma.
Though in itself the story is not real, the people are. This is a fictitious story, a story that could have happened for the Nagas are real and the conflict which has been raging since the inception of India is as real as it continues. Due to the leaders of Great Britain then, but without consulting the Naga people, handed their Nagaland over to the Union of India.
This is a story that could have been. With just a twist in time and person the story goes real to venture far Beyond Twilight and could lead to irreversible changes..
Prologue
“What darkness,” she murmured to herself, humming the word darkness with the emphasis on dark, “what is it in me that darkness has such irresistible attraction on me?” It was not the first time she asked herself this question. When thinking time arrived to take possession of her, recurrently this question had popped into her mind. She called it ‘thinking time’ for to her it meant that she was going into some kind of recluse. It was like going into herself and though she called it thinking it actually was more like going into hibernation. Her thinking seemed to have frozen or, when still active, the thoughts would take possession of her, surround her, and enveloping her. Yet, the darkness she felt was nothing else but her fear, fear of dying and she sought to confront it frontally. By doing this she hoped the confrontation would set her free.
“I don’t feel free, yet I am,” she repeated to herself, “this is my darkness; to feel like being lost in a forest at night, hearing creepy sounds and no one there to come to my rescue. Oh God in heaven, I feel so bound. Teach me how to be free?” she said in deep prayer, praying aloud to herself while seeking the connection.
The crying Lisa had surrendered to self pity, knowing her tears would set her free, freer than her icy ways of thinking. Irrespective of what she thought she sensed it was her ritualistic way of thinking that bound her. And, she knew very well that through this ritual she felt the pattern of, at least, familiarity, kept her on the route she could follow. It was not a road she wanted to wander on and, though negative in outset perhaps, it was a route she felt safe on, familiar and bad it was may be, safe it felt: “I should be more adventurous,” she said out loud realizing she was talking to herself. And, hearing her own voice, it was like a stranger talking to her. Startled now she shot up and giggled till tears ran over her cheeks. Astounded at first and gradually aware of her tears, she drifted off to a slumber.
“For the love of Ivy,” Marius exclaimed, “how can anyone tolerate this?”
“Simple,” Jeanie answered dryly, “through planning, followed by executing the plan on the basis of motivation and the desire to control.”
“But to this extent?” he exclaimed further, “it is like people have no conscience.”
“Right,” Jeanie agreed, “but then what do you think? To use people for one’s own end one can only do that when one has no conscience, Marius.”
“Yeah, indeed,” Marius replied more inwardly like he was speaking to himself only, “you know what these people do when they have achieved that end?” he asked.
“There is no end to get to. There is always more to achieve and to control, it does not stop at their first goal. Once the appetite is wet, those people go further and further. Only when they are stopped, it will end.”
“So that is the inner motivation of a dictator?” Marius asked sternly now, looking Jeanie straight into the eyes, almost menacingly.
“Expanding motivation, feeding on itself yes,” Jeanie answered, a little startled now about the way Marius changed his posture.
“Yet these small time third world dictators can only act like that when they are supported by their so called democratic counterparts of the first world,” he retorted.
“No dictator can stand alone,” Jeanie remarked, “they all depend on something; sowing fear through brutality meted out of their subjects is one. Another kind of motivation is the dominant relations a male or female dictator has with those operating in the background. They prop up to execute. Those people know their advantages and they maintain the status quo. It is profitable for them to keep these dictators going. For their friends in more powerful countries it is all a matter of cheap labor and cheap resources. Use the tested divide and rule method and you can get rich over the backs of others,” Jeanie said and concluded, “to be rich is not the goal itself but an exponential benefit in which control is expressed self evidently. If the dictator is like a queen or king, they may even have the luster of their people paying them tributes. But then when exploitation becomes too apparent people become defiant and rise. A real dictator will be inspired by this and, using any means, and will force his people into submission.”
“Yes,” Marius agreed, “it is obvious when you see how the people are being kept ignorant. Yet there are always rebellious sections of society, they come out to fight against their leeching suppressor, they stand up for their rights, right?” he asked.
“Right,” Jeanie answered curtly.
“This is Africa, this is the Cameroons, this is the scorned people and if these people fight for their rights what shall we do?” he asked.
“Stand by them?” Jeanie asked suggestively.
“That means when the going gets tough, the tough get going,” he answered.
“What else is new?” she replied.
“We will leave the mopping up to our capable friends and allies Jeanie,” Marius said, “I am going to have a meeting in Paris in a few days, with a representative of the Forbidden Land. Care to join me?”
“Paris?” she asked.
“Yes, Paris then Amsterdam with one of the leaders,” he answered.
“I will have to see if it fits my bill, but I would like to. Are you going to see Lisa in Europe?” she asked.
“I would love to,” Marius said thoughtfully, “but after that assault she witnessed, she is very unstable now. I should like to help her getting out of the doldrums. It is after all the woman I love, provided that, in our line of work, love is possible, we have a long way to cover still Jeanie, a long way indeed.”
“Yes, I know this. She is a remarkable woman my friend. So we are going to leave the Cameroons then after the meeting this afternoon? I am sick and tired of both Yaoundé and Douala man!” she added and sighed, “I am ready for some real adventure.”
“I am going, that’s for sure. You better take it up with your boss big mama,” Marius smiled at her now.
“All right,” she answered, “consider it done!!!”
“Then we will do it and there is no one who can stop me, not even my superiors, who will no doubt come up with some sort of assignment in place of what I want to do, should I be so stupid to tell them that!”
“You will take that risk?” she asked, “you might be condemned a renegade.”
“What do you do for loving a woman and the case of her people but to support?” he asked rhetorically, “especially when it is a neglected case of people crying out for justice and who have been prepared to fight for their rights for over 50 years?”
“You must be right and if I am not mistaken right out of your mind,” Jeanie smiled, “what is so important there?” she continued.
“To find out the truth about killings and what can be done when it is revealed who did what concerning the consequences,” he answered enigmatically.
“Well, that is puzzling,” she laughed, “you are a handsome man and you need not be nebulous with me at all!” she said.
“The Indians suppress all kinds of information. They have been successful in keeping things out of the public eye. They have done what they liked. Under a different identity I will go and investigate about who the culprits are that killed some crucial people. This partially will determine the fate of these people aspiring the right to self determination!”
“Sounds noble, but then why should you be you doing that? You are ready to sacrifice your life and freedom for that?” she asked when looking at a nervous and serious Marius. More than just asking he definitively had suggested it to her in a way she could hardly say no to, “we will go as a married couple. That way we can get into Nagaland State, Manipur or Arunachal Pradesh. We will do that,” he stressed.
Jeanie had only one rebuff on that and brought it on: “But you love that other woman, this Lisa!”
“That’s right,” Marius was quick to reply but smiling all over, “we go as a married couple, so I can see her!”
“I do not get it,” Jeanie answered quizzically.
“Think Jeanie,” Marius said then waited for her to come up with something. She did not immediately and he went on to explain: “you see Jeanie, we work together. I am invited by the Nagas to come. Who are the Indians to restrict me? So, when they create stumbling blocks, let’s be clever enough to circumvent them. As a couple we can get in, so we get in. I do not see why not. Only when you find the idea repulsive to –on paper- be married to me, I understand. On the other hand what I envisage is about much more than just purpose of meeting a dear friend. And, you know that too.”
“Well of course, I am just teasing you and also because I am jealous,” Jeanie said and laughed out loud now.
Marius and Jeanie had known each other for years, they worked closely together and had felt favorable suspense between them, yet had never had laid a hand on each other, much less a kiss. Though it was said playfully, there was a tinge of pity in the tone of her voice. Secretly Jeanie knew she had grown closer to Marius, until that fateful day when he had excitedly told her that he had fallen in love with a girl from a far away and from a very unknown place. It was the girl called Lisa. Not to show disappointment Jeanie had bitten her lip till she could taste her own blood. Obviously Marius had been quite oblivious of his attraction to her. She knew that for he had never made advances to her. It was not that Jeanie had been unattractive to him, on the contrary, but Marius was a professional and would not think of mixing work with personal matters. And, especially when potential intimacy was concerned, she represented that. So, he had kept his distance but she knew she did not leave him cold. She could feel that, sense that. Marius, a responsible but playful person, had a very serious and responsible job after all. Like Jeanie he was a very well trained agent and so just for Marius to tell Jeanie he was in love could really have an impact on their missions. Should their respective governments come to know then what? Being in love meant Marius and Jeanie would be vulnerable, others could capitalize on that knowledge and certainly if they knew who the person was Marius or Jeanie loved. So, when Marius broke that news there were really three things that shot through her: one was that he was now lost to her, second that he would be vulnerable and third the girl he had fallen for too could become a target. These three things would have effect on their relationship, she thought. Jeanie being a very independent lady thought she would never tolerate any man ruling over her. Yet, the idea to travel as couple in itself was not a bad thing to experience either. And not even Marius, whom she held high, could dream of landing himself in that kind of a position. But now, when she agreed to go with him to that darned Forbidden Land, she would both jeopardize her job as well as her friendship. She could become a renegade from her team too, the team that deployed her on dangerous missions. Marius meanwhile was thinking too. He wanted to be with Lisa but not just because of her but because she would too be a jumping board to get close to the leaders who with their fierce and convinced resistance had been able to keep an entire army of 200.000 soldiers in check. That, in itself, he found to be an achievement of the highest order. And, since they would never be commissioned there, simply because of the disinterest lodged by their countries, who in turn acknowledged India as having a domestic problem to be solved domestically and thus without any interference from outsiders, it was out of their focus. And Marius, who was a faithful follower of his nation’s policies, even though he knew politics were played at times, this time disagreed for he wanted to find out what really went on in this land shielded from onlookers, observers and investigators.
“This must have some reason,’ he said to Jeanie and I am compelled to find out what makes the people not just stand up for what they think is right, but also to how they have been able keep a whole army at bay. Here is much to be discovered Jeanie and as my partner now, I want you to do this with me. The best thing is to take leave. We do not have to do it right away, but surely we can plan to take leave together?”
“Okay, that should be possible. That way we should minimize the potential conflict when we do it outside the extent of our missions. It will be our own incentive then!”
“Good and agreed,” Marius answered her in ironic tone. He gave her a wink and a smile as if he had been conspiring with her and had come up with a final conclusion plus a plan to execute. Then daringly he added: “I am ready to go right now, Jeanie!”
Marius rapidly finished his work for the day and left the office thereafter. He knew what to do and how to prepare. The problem now was only how to get into Nagaland. Booking a flight and getting a visa was no problem also. He could only get one the same day. Jeanie should be able to get one in London, he thought, while at home in his flat in Buitenveldert near Amstelveen, close to Schiphol airport. Getting ready to go out he put on the news. Half an ear up only he listened and occasionally glanced at the screen. Suddenly he heard something strange but he could not properly catch the newscast that caught his attention and he decided to switch on his laptop to follow it up through internet. As suggested by a search engine in one of the local dailies he found this article about an assassination in Manila the Philippines:
News Paper report in the Daily Enquirer on page seven:
In busy Manila suburb an unknown man, non Filipino, shot dead in broad daylight
During rush hour today, in broad daylight, a well dressed gentleman was shot dead in Cubao. The older man was trying to catch a taxi at the frantically busy junction of Cubao’s Quezon City on Epificio de los Santos Avenue when he received multiple gunshots in head and body. He was fired at from a passing vehicle and died on the spot. The killers fled the scene in the car from which they had opened fire. The police, within minutes on location could not apprehend the killers.
Chapter 1: Preparation
This news cast in the local dailies failed to attract the attention of the media worldwide. Really no wonder that was for Manila is notorious responsible for some twenty murders on average a day. Though in itself it was rather odd this kind of local news reached the Netherlands, as could be expected nobody but Marius paid any attention to it. The news had come from Radio Netherlands International, so perhaps that is why it had hit Marius’ ears. And like no one cared about what happened in Manila at first the same was true for the police of Manila. But then, the idea to find this alien body in this peculiar situation was food for thought to some detectives and this was what they were thinking: here was this older gentleman, well dressed but obviously no Filipino. The man had plenty of dollars on him but only a few thousand pesos. After they had frisked him they were puzzled more for they found some identification papers on him and a check on his strange name learned he had a residence permit; for years he had been quietly living in the vicinity of Cubao. According to his papers he appeared to be a Baptist minister and so the local police of the Cubao unit wondered why anyone would have want to kill a foreign protestant minister. Then Efren, superintendent of the Quezon City police force, spoke: “What is his name again?” he asked the men who had returned from the scene of the crime. They had questioned some bystanders about what happened and the victim, also the bystanders who had reported the shooting. They had interviewed eye witnesses in front of the shops on Epificio de Los Santos, or Edsa in short, near to where the assault had taken place: “A strange name Sir, not Indian at all, but he is an Indian national,” Eddie, head of the Cubao police answered, his pot bellied crew beside him, “Isak Chishi Swu is his name.”
“Good heavens, what name is that? Find out everything about this man, perhaps he has been leading some terrorist drive in the South on Mindanao and helps out Abu Sayyaf under another pretense. Get onto it now,” he ordered the Cubao team, looking nervous and irritated.
“Yes Sir,” dutifully a surprised Eddie said. Eddie thought this to be a rather farfetched idea, but knowing very well Efren was his superior, much higher in rank, he waited to gather enough courage to ask Efren: “I hope you do not mind Sir Efren, but why so much interest in this murder? We still have more than ten to solve and we are overloaded as it is?”
“I cannot imagine you people did not come up with the same idea Eddie. You have so many strange leads already. I want to know who this man is, what he does and what he was doing here and most of all why he was killed, Eddie? Just because you have a lot of easy murders does not mean you cannot appreciate a mysterious one man!” Efren smiled ironically, clearly showing how little he thought of his local counterparts. Eddie felt the sneer of course, but did not twitch. Rather than going against a superior of name and fame than he had learned it was wiser to comply. Yet, this time he could not help to show interest too and reacted: “I am glad you see the mystery of this too Efren Sir. I am highly intrigued about why this man was murdered in broad daylight and so for everyone to see. This is no ordinary pay back or the result of gangster war. This I feel has deeper ground and when we investigate this it might lead to very unusual findings?”
“Aaahhhhhh,” Efren sneered again, “so you do other things here than drinking beer and get the women you arrest! I am glad you people are capable of thinking too,” he said as he scanned Eddie’s men. Pot-bellied they were indeed. The Filipino police was well known for a kind of casual behavior and concerning law enforcement had quite a bad name. Grinding his teeth over that cynical remark with his men looking on sheepishly Eddie answered: “Oh yes Efren, as you well know we do some tricky investigative work too. How else did you think we could find the man’s family? We are ready to interrogate his wife and children as we speak.”
“Good, do that and keep me posted,” Efren smiled, “I feel we will be quite occupied with this case for quite some time Eddie. Let’s work together on this and get committed. This is an order all right?”
“Right,” Eddie agreed getting elated as he squeezed his toes. He felt that this cynical way of approaching Eddie had just gotten what he wanted, a clearance to devote his time to get to the bottom if this assassination.
“Get on to it and report to me personally every evening,” Efren ordered him further now more concretely.
“Without fail,” Eddie smiled. As Efren left Eddie’s office he directed his team to resume the investigation, but first called in the three men who had responded to the emergency call and ordered them to minutely report on what had actually transpired on the scene:
Leave nothing out of it, not even when you think it is insignificant,” Eddie said.
“We got a call and we were warned a shooting was in progress, so we jumped into the jeep to ride to Edsa/Cubao, Sir,” said Juan, quite a young police officer and the only one without a belly.
“Yeah,” Franco his teammate added, “when we arrived a lot of people were around shouting and gesticulating. We came there and saw this man in a three piece suit stretched out on the pavement, I counted 16 hits Sir. He must have died instantly for there was not much blood,” he said.
“We began to examine the body while Juan asked the people around some questions,” Alphonse the older policeman said.
“Yeah I asked what happened and excited bystanders said a Ford Fiera had stopped in front of this man and a machinegun began shooting at him, just at him. The people went down for cover so they could not see who were in the Ford. The man was with these two people here,” he said and pointed to two shattered young men, “they said their father was shot and the shots were directed only at him. This way it was easy to get his name. The young men are no Filipinos either but they study here. The victim is 72 years old. He originally is from India somewhere, but strangely enough has a Bangladeshi passport.”
“No sign of the Ford Fiera?” Eddie asked.
“No sign but someone could take down the number plate and here is the number,” Alphonse grinned.
“Ok, good, ask our men to run it through our system. Has the body been sent to the morgue for an autopsy?”
“Yes already,” Juan nodded, “the results we will get tomorrow.”
“Okay men, I will go and check on the body. Do we have any other lead? Remember head office will be on our tail. Get our detectives on it rapido,” Eddie commanded, “we are not equipped for that. We need a man who can interpret the leads. Let’s first find out who this man really is. Let’s get to his house and speak with his family, alright? You and you go,” Eddie said to Juan and Alphonse as he readied himself to come along with them and directing the two young men on the scene to come with them.
Moments later they were on their way to the suburb where the family of the murdered person lived. They came to one of the so called villages of Greater Manila where the houses and neighborhoods are shielded from direct exposure by gates which manned with guards. In this case the village had two gates, one on the main through road and one on the street of the centre of the suburb. It was a busy road they were on. They passed the Santa Lucia intersection with its two large department stores, called shopping malls, before reaching the main gate of the village. They stopped to show their credentials to the guards. Since this was a rather large village those who lived there and visitors without transport of their own could either walk or take available tricycles. For a small fee a number of men were waiting in line to take passengers to the required address. Instead the policemen asked directions then drove off to the house. When they arrived, they landed right into a commotion for at least twenty people, in despair and grieving, had gathered outside. Undeterred by the commotion Eddie took the lead and introduced himself and his men. After telling the family the purpose of their visit a middle aged man took the policemen aside and with tears in his eyes said cautiously: “We are all shocked and in mourning here now you know. Ask me what you want to know, I can probably answer most questions,” he explained.
“This is not going to be easy,” Jose one of the two policemen began, “let us first condole you and your family with your loss.”
“Oh thank you very much,” the man answered, “we need that now. His demise is a terrible loss indeed.”
“Please tell us more about that,” Jose prompted him.
“Well, he was a leader, our leader and one that has led us for so long. Not only when we were resisting the invasions of the Indian Army but also, now that we experience some peace because of the cease fire, he leads the peace negotiations with the Indian Government. And now he is gone,” the man softly said as his head went down.
“We know you are not Filipino and I do not understand what you are talking about. Resisting invasion?” a bewildered Jose asked him with Eddie listening intently, “so tell me, actually where are you from?”
“I am sorry, you could not know of course. We are Nagas and we live in what is now India and Burma. The Indians and Burmese want us to be part of their countries, but since the British colonialists left and those two nations were formed, our people did not want to be part of those nations. The Indians invaded our land and since then we defended ourselves. You can call it war since 1954 and now our leader has been shot dead here in Manila. What do you think of this?” he asked Jose as looked at him with pain in his eyes.
“It is too early to tell, but if what you say is true the finger points into a direction. I am sure our bosses will call on the Indian Ambassador here, but let me tell you this. I have never heard about a people called the Nagas and certainly not about a war which lasted for so long. Your people are here and you are a Naga, how come you chose to live here and not in Nagaland?” Eddie remarked and asked jumping into the conversation.
“It is a long story and we are quite willing to disclose all if it does not jeopardize our residence permit. There is so much to tell to put you on the track of the prospective assassins,” the Naga man said.
“We will report all you said to our superiors and we will let them handle it. This is much bigger than an open and shut case,” Jose concluded and soon after the two left. Eddie let them go to report to Efren, but stayed behind to get to know some more. He was hooked on the puzzle in front of him and felt the urge to unravel what he felt was an enigma with far reaching consequences. He wanted to see the slain man and when he left the family to their mourning, he hurriedly left for the morgue. The excited coroner mumbled something he could not understand at first. Only when the man had calmed down he could tell Eddie what disturbed him. When he had finished something began to dawn on Eddie too and a plan took shape in his mind. Now he had an idea about the motivation of the culprits and how to get to them. But also he knew too that, in order to get things straightened out properly, the coroner and him would have to be tightlipped on this for a while. They talked at length and when they reached an agreement they vowed to keep their secret for a while. Only then the now very excited Eddie left the morgue.
Away from Quezon City, in fact in Mabini so downtown Manila, Bailung had an ice-cold beer in his hand and a woman next to him. Here, enjoying himself under the smoke of Intramuros, the old walled city of the Spaniards, and Luneta nearby, in the remnants of what once was a tourist trap called the tourist belt, he smiled. He smiled a sour smile though, for he had done what he reluctantly had agreed to do. Sour the smile was even though he knew no one would be able to get to him, for he was pretty sure he could not be traced. Now looking just like an ordinary man, one who could hardly speak tagalong. When speaking with an Indian accent was easily taken for a foreigner, he had kept quiet but acted like a tourist with a zest for women. Though once abundantly on offer here once, now only they could be had in laid back joints. And this was one of them: “Hi man, you like chicks?” the barkeeper asked as he smiled significantly, “very cheap for you my friend.”
“Yeah sure,” Bailung answered and felt he had deserved a nice reward.
“You look schmuck. Do you see that girl there? She has been eyeing you already and you can get her for the night. She is good man, if I had the money I would take her myself,” he joked and winked at Bailung. Bai, as his friends called him, was not worried about the money. He got paid handsomely and could afford anything quite easily now. The reason why he could not be caught was, he thought, because no one had actually had seen him. It was Jackie, her nickname, the assassin who had actually done the precise shooting. Bailung had been her planner, her guard and her get away. Bai was once an Indian covert agent but years ago because of an very unfortunate mistake had left the service in shame and had gone drifting. Born in the Philippines it was because of this unfortunate happening in Rwanda that he could not refuse to be commissioned to guide Jackie to the place where they should eliminate the required man. Bailung had been working for weeks to get it organized before Jackie had been notified and was flown in to do the job. Bai had had paved the way for her and when he had planned it all he had signaled Sean, the Brit and the man who commissioned both Jackie and him. Now in this Mabini bar and surrounded by women who smelled his money, he thought of Jacky. He was certain she was about to board a plane to wherever she wanted to go. He also knew that Jacky would disappear to never been seen again. That was the plan. Bailung was here only to wrap things up and to see to it the police would not get to nosy. He knew this was the weakest point in the plan for, should the police indeed decide to investigate, then of course they would find out the deceased man was no other than Isak Chishi Swu the president in exile of the Government of Nagaland, president over a people that since the inception of India had been fighting for its own independence.
Bailung did not work for any government but had become a renegade after the failure Sean and he had experienced in Rwanda as UN soldiers and which had left both of them in shame. Jacky and Bailung were hired, well hired may not be the right word as they were made an offer they could not refuse, by Sean for the sole purpose of actually assassinating Swu. Neither Bailung not Jacky then had any idea who Swu was. At that point in time they had no knowledge of his importance. But when Bai was on the prowl to find out about this man and his routines, he soon learned about Nagaland and the fight for freedom Swu’s people were engaged in. As the mission was accomplished now, it was his task to check on the aftermath. Because this murder had to be concealed no trace of who were involved should be left for the police to go on about. By those who had given him this contract, Sean in fact, this was as important as the murder itself, he was told. So, here he was now, unwinding and with some gorgeous girls around to play with and to entertain him. But he was not quite at ease; there were a few disturbing things on his mind. One of them was that he was not entirely certain the man was dead. Sure, when Jacky shot him he had fallen and he also had seen the bullets riddling Swu’s body, but was he dead?”
As she read a newspaper with its report on page seven on what she had just done a few hours ago, Jackie’s flight was called.
Very efficiently done indeed, she said to herself and smiled; a piece of cake it was. Well prepared Bailung, she complimented him. Jacky, a very good looking woman of Latin background, but of Dutch nationality, could easily pass for a Philippina but in this case she had not needed that for the glass in the Ford Fiera had been darkened so anything bystanders could see was the nuzzle of the machine gun she had used. She had painstakingly avoided killing anyone but her target and she had done that efficiently. To elude all suitors Bailung and Jacky had fled and only a mile ahead they had switched cars and again they had switched for another near Quiapo, the heart of old Manila. From there they had gone to the five star Manila Hotel where they, as a couple, had shared a room and where she had moved like a lady of class. After their deed they had returned to check out. They took a taxi to the airport but in passing Intramuros Jacky had dropped Bai at Roxas Boulevard where he checked into a hotel and left Jacky to get to the airport alone. Just a small kiss among professionals they exchanged with no strings attached but for the payment and she had gone off, leaving Bailung to wrap things up. Speeding off to Bangkok now for a debriefing now on the plane Jacky smiled. Straight to Amsterdam after that, she rehearsed in her mind and thought: I shall get back to being a call girl for a while, a good cover indeed! The flight to Bangkok on Thai Airways took less than three hours and Jacky smiled all the way. I love it when things are dangerous, she thought. I am sure I will be caught eventually, she laughed. Then a serious thought enveloped her: ‘this should be my last time. If I do not stop living dangerously, I will end up dead!’
Bai meanwhile tasted the Forbidden fruit of the Philippines he knew so well. Not looking for possible trouble, he was in for a messy encounter with one of the women on offer. Messy only of course because of his likes and dislikes no woman dared to say no to when he was in a mood, not in the Philippines they dared to object. Should there be any doubt about that just raising the price would settle that; hardly any of the women working in the bars would actually say no to the extra income. In fact Jacky was the only professional woman who had ever said no to him. Bai had known Jacky for quite some time. In comparison to him she was quite a remarkable lady. Jacky, a woman working for a high class bordello was always in command, had made it known to him from day one that he could forget about anything. Jacky was clear on this for she would neither do it for money nor as reward for a job well done. She even went as far as threatening to kill him if he would ever try anything on her. Though Bailung was a well trained man, agile and versatile in almost every environment, he knew he should not try to match Jacky. He knew her capabilities and did not dream of doing something with her. Oh, the desire was there, but over the years it had become dormant, almost like it did not exist. Yet, every time they had contact, his feelings flared. Especially so this was when she had dressed up in her assault outfit. She actually changed from a classy woman in business suit into a cat like creature capable of doing anything she felt like. While a few girls were physically seeking his attention he remembered he had seen her changing and did recollect how fiery he had felt when Jacky casually had taken off her suit. Seeing her in just bra and panty as she discarded her heels then her nylons and garter, she had only laughed at him then smiled while saying these memorable words to him: ‘Yes Bailung you can glimpse, but you will never touch. You are on my team, so we will never be close personally. You will be professional at all times. If you can’t do that I will report to Sean, your good friend, and he will see to it that you are fired as my partner!’ Oh, Bai knew he could not bear that, the thought alone made him shiver. So he had pleaded with her and in the process she had practically made him her slave. But now, in Jacky’s image he was among women, gorgeous Filipinas, and the thoughts of Jacky faded into how he was going to ride one of them, perhaps in the way like he imagined to ride Jacky. Finishing his beer after having made up his mind Bai paid the bartender and winked at a young woman next to him. Elated to be chosen, she reacted to him like angel pleased to please him. He paid and took her to his room in the not so classy hotel in Mabini, behind Roxas Booulevard. The woman, a girl perhaps still for she could not have been more than twenty to twenty two, showed herself to be quite willing. She had reassured Bai that she could and would give him a splendid time. And, if he so desired, she would be at his disposal all day and all night. Before they left she had winked then teased him saying she would much easier wear him out that he her. As they walked to his hotel Bai imagined it was actually Jacky on his arm but he had kept that to himself. It was not her clothes that gave Bai the idea of being with Jacky, but her face and features and he decided to buy her some mantle piece, a garter belt and some nylons too. The girl giggled for he not just suggested that but commanded her to do to wear the sexy lingerie. He knew he did not have to do that for she happy with his choice, elated even for she instantly realized that she could keep what he bought for her to wear. She saw Bai looking at her approvingly in the fitting room when he saw her into the outfit to realize how close she fitted Jacky’s image of Jacky.
“You are mine girl,” he had said and she had answered him with a laugh as she, before putting on the business suit, showed him the new lingerie reacted: “But of course, you hired me to be yours so I will do everything to make you feel good!” she exclaimed.
“Okay, this looks quite good on you, now let’s go and celebrate,” Bai said and brought her to a liquor store to enhance the celebration.
Jacky on her approach to Bangkok thought back on the successful job. Her job as a high class escort was a perfect cover for these important assignments. She was good in slipping in and out of roles at will. She would not be missed at the agency she worked for as there would always be someone who could stand in for her, not just in time but also in appearance. She received her orders through the manager and owner of Bangkok-London-Amsterdam Girls, pleasure agency, it’s Amsterdam name was The Bordello.
In Bangkok Sean, the owner of the international Bordello agency was ready to fetch Jacky from the airport and her heart jumped when she thought of him. Sean after all was her lover, her man, and really the only person who could assign her to commit herself to the work they had set out to do. Though successful in most of what he had done, there was something about him which made her feel things should change. Together, Jacky and Sean were a perfect but quite an odd couple. Quite complementary to each other out in the open, nobody could have pictured them as being in love. And in fact nobody actually knew they had much more than a working relationship. At the agency she did her tricks on a regular basis and Sean, while there, did not treat her any different from any other girl. The success of the international agency Sean knew was based on mutual trust and with regard to the appointments for the women, their dependability and high ethics in serving all had to bear their own privacy and that of their high rolling clients in mind. Consequently, the women and the personnel of the Bordello could talk about anything but their privacy. That was the unwritten rule. So, while on the job and quite openly talking about the dynamics, no one would attempt to pry into the private life of any of the girls or the managers. This made it possible for Jacky and Sean to be together whenever they wanted. But what was all this secrecy for? Most women would be proud of having a sound relationship and loved to share details with their friends. Not so in the case of Sean and Jacky. Oh, this was not because Jacky was a high class prostitute, one who would escort the top brass of the commercial circuits, politicians and celebrities. No, it was purely because of the covert work both of them were involved in. Thinking back on her latest assignment Jacky wondered why Sean had taken it on. Since she had to come out from Amsterdam there had not been time for explanations but she was certain she would ask him about it and expected him to talk about it in full. When he had come up with it, he had only given her details to consider her motivation to work with Bailung. And he had assured her it was to be done as fast as possible. Because Jacky had faith in Sean she had not questioned anything. But now with Bangkok in sight, she wanted get into this. No more secrecy, she said to herself, this time I want to know all about it. And on top of that this work, in more ways than one, was very dangerous too. It is time Sean and I will take on a different role. This time, and she beamed thinking of that, the role of two people in love, Sean and I two people attached to each other, with nothing to be ashamed of. I am getting on in age. I want a more regular life. Sean should commit himself too, she murmured as the plane commenced its descent into Bangkok Airport.
And there he was, she had just picked up her luggage from the conveyor belt and cleared customs when she saw him standing there smiling at the left side of the arrival hall of terminal one.
“Hello darling,” Sean greeted her with a broad smile on his face. He moved forward to embrace her in full asying, “all went well?”
“Without a glitch, Sean, I am sure the news did not reach here?”
“Only what has been sent to me from the local papers, good work my love,” he said and winked, “you did an excellent job. I would not have expected anything else by the way,” he said and laughed, but Jacky did not. Not reacting to his laughing the way he had and expected her to do, she said: “Let’s go sit down and talk Sean, I have been thinking!”
“Okay, I like a woman who thinks,” he reacted, still in good mood, “here at the airport or later in town when you have freshened up?”
“Now,” Jacky answered to his surprise.
“Sounds serious darling,” Sean answered arching a brow.
“It is and it is not, depends how you look at it man,” Jacky smiled.
“Okay, let’s go to the restaurant and have a drink there, all right?” Sean suggested.
“Fine,” she answered as Sean took her by the arm and pushed the cart which had her suitcases on it to the elevator, “lots of places between terminal one and two on the departure level,” he said.
“I know that Sean,” Jacky said as they walked over to a Japanese joint where Sean ordered sake. Once they were seated and relaxed, Jacky felt nervous. They could really talk about everything, she knew, but for some reason they had never actually talked about the assignments; neither about the ones she had been commissioned to do nor this one. Now she wanted to know but was aware that Sean could see this as a breach of trust, like it was something to question him on.
“Why is it that this old man had to be killed, Sean? I am pretty sure I should like to know this time. Was he an important person? Why did he have to die? Who are behind this? We are so close so I think I am entitled to know. We should not have any secrets for each other anymore man!”
“What happened to you my woman, my Jacky,” Sean reacted, in surprise raising his eyebrows further, looking at her now like he saw a new Jacky he commented defensively, “these are a lot of questions!”
“Yeah, but I like you to answer them. Take your time. I have come to a point that knowing we are so close, I want to see a future with you, so I want to know it all.”
“Of course darling, but I cannot tell you all just yet. This man had to die to create a situation, one that will change things for a specific people and might lead to a big change for others too. Much more I cannot say yet. But, indeed let’s talk about us now,” Sean agreed.
“Not so fast Sean,” Jacky cut in, “since there is only that very short report in a local daily, how can you say this murder will lead to a big change? In Manila there are homicides every day. I am sure the police have no time to investigate them all and this being a foreigner to them would only grab their interest slightly more, perhaps not even that. To them this murder would only be a nuisance for a lot of work has to be done like finding out who this man is. I don’t think they really want that unless they get some info from abroad to oblige them to get active. Sean my man, I did not question the assignment, I trust you, but do realize that I hate to pull the trigger on innocent people. I did not have the feeling this man was guilty of anything. I took great pain in being precise and to hit only him, his family, his sons, I think were with him. Considering I was your tool in this, I felt bad on hitting on an innocent man. This dawned on me when I pulled the trigger and fired at him. Now tell me man, what is this all about?”
“Hmm,” Sean reacted, hand on his chin, “you have been thinking indeed. Let me first tell you that I wanted to talk to you too. We have made enough money to live peacefully and in relative wealth, so I was thinking to leave this trade for good and sell the business. It was an energetic way of doing things and get connected too but I am tired of buying and selling and I love you too much to let things go out of hand. You are talking about a future together and it is what I want too.”
“What?” Jacky exclaimed, “you are going to sell?”
“It is ours Jacky,” he said, “so I like you to be with me in this. I do not like you to do tricks anymore. This was good to get to know things and as a cover up, but now I think we should not jeopardize anything anymore. We should come to a stage where we secure what we have together, all right?”
“Well Sean, it is what I want too of course and I am glad you mentioned that, but do not evade what I asked you. Who is behind this possibly senseless killing?” she asked.
“No, no, no, I did not mean to evade. You may know but not everything for if we ever get caught on this, then I do not want you to be implicated. I will take full responsibility for all actions then.”
“My God man, this sounds serious. So, there is much more behind this?”
“There is,” Sean confirmed.
“Then tell me,” she demanded.
“Oh, I will,” he smiled, “but not here. I will say now only that it is quite a story, one I think you will like. I think you will approve of my decisions. Come, let’s go, not to the agency here, but let’s check into a hotel. There we can talk. First though I have to call the agency and see to it all is running like clockwork. I do not want anyone to think I am not available,” he concluded.
“Okay do that and then I will be all ears!”
“Alright,” Jeanie said, “I will do it. I will come with you. I have to arrange it though. Mind you, only in public we will act like husband and wife.”
“I will get my passport fixed for a visa,” Marius smiled.
“You do just that then,” Jeanie smiled back at him, knowing he was the fine gentleman who unfortunately would play his part well.
How he could organize passports? Simple that was for either Marius or Jeanie. He had access to all official and unofficial information. In his capacity and having to go under cover he could easily get papers. Since it was his aim to do just that, this is what he had in mind.
Marius was captivated by the predicament of the Nagas and with Lisa as a the person to be with he could combine the pleasure of being with her with what he was curious about. He felt compelled to act, though he knew very well too that he had to implicitly turn against the Government of India and thus could jeopardize the existing relationship between his country and that country. So, travelling on fresh passports would at least elude the authorities should they smell anything out of the ordinary. On the other hand, Marius thought, he actually wanted to get to know the Nagas and had no real intention to go against India.
Since the Netherlands is such a small country but with a good track record in human rights it savors it’s trade relationship it has primarily with India,’ he thought. The Netherlands alone would not be able to intervene into the conflict on the premise of human rights alone. Regarding its dependence Marius knew it surely could not act on it’s own in the effort to encourage India to seek peace in earnest. There would be quite a number of other nations needed to accomplish that. Also the Indian civilian society could be mobilized Marius thought wondered how the Indians had been so successful in keeping each and everyone out of the Naga Homeland.
“How it is possible India could keep this long war from being noticed is beyond me Jeanie,” he mentioned aloud to her, “the whole world should have known about it and, considering the graveness, should have done something. If only to press India to live by the human rights principles it had agreed on through the United Nations, sooner or later it would have to concede.”
“I have been reading up,” Jeanie answered, “and I cannot understand that this grotesque war cannot be won by the Indians. I am not saying they should, the Nagas have every right to determine their own future, but just to think that the Indians cannot crush them is incomprehensible, don’t you think?”
“I think the Nagas really have invented guerilla warfare you know,” Marius said, “most of these 200.000 or so Indian soldiers have no training or motivation to fight against the Nagas. They are, I am told, outwitted and outmaneuvered. The Nagas can fight and disappear, while the Indians occupy and defend what they control, but cannot really engage. They then take it out on civilians and so the Nagas are furious because the Indians apply the low intensity conflict measures, LIC, like the Americans call it. This means they punish civilians for the achievements of the Naga army. Many were killed because the Indians burned villages and fields, so crops and no food and the people had to flee into the forests. They tortured villagers and killed a few here and there to force the villagers to talk about the hide outs of their Naga soldiers. However, whatever the Indian Army tried, they could not crush the Naga Army and this led to frustration of both the ordinary soldiers but the leadership too. Eventually, around, 1995 the generals of the Army advised their Government to change their tactics and so to come to the negotiating table. They said: ‘this is not a law and order problem, it is a political problem and should be handled politically.’ One of them even is quoted to have said: ‘we can only win this war against the Nagas, if we annihilate them all.’”
“This is really a grave situation. The Naga people have been living with 200.000 Indian soldiers, did you say?” Jeanie asked in a tone she thought she might have misunderstood.
“Right,” Marius replied, “indeed, from around 1954 some 200.000 soldiers have been deployed there since the war began in earnest.”
“So, more that 50 years now?” Jeanie asked.
“Yes sure,” Marius replied, “it may be the longest war of our time and with so few people knowing about it, right or wrong, I admire these Nagas for their perseverance. I admire them for being able to hold their ground against an, in comparison, incredibly powerful nation called India.”
“Yeah, and they are tribal people, people who until recently had only weapons like spears and knives and no fire power?” Jeanie smirked.
“That’s right,” Marius laughed, “incredible don’t you think? They learned from the British fast enough. They saw the light when they were sent by British to the trenches of France during the First World War against the Germans. Later they also participated in the second world war.”
“Well to hold out for over 50 years earns my admiration too,” Jeanie smiled, “and I am all for it now to go and see what we can do,” she said quite in a convinced tone now.
“Yeah, Jeanie,” Marius nodded.
“I have to go to Paris and London. You will make the arrangements for next week then I will make sure I can go. You are sure we can go as a married couple?” Jeanie asked.
“Sure thing,” he answered, “I have been talking to some experts. We will not apply for any remote area permit, for that might only wake up the sleeping dogs. Some people in Nagaland and of the Naga International Support Center in Amsterdam assured me that this is possible now. They gave me contacts of their friends who will receive us in Guwahati, Assam. From there we will get access to these permits I am told, so. tt should be fine,” Marius said.
“You want to go and be with the Naga Army too?” Jeanie asked.
“Of course, but I am sure there will be a program lined up. I can make it so that it is absolutely necessary for our intelligence to know what goes on there. It is about Burma too you know and for that country a lot of attention is raised. Aung San Su Kye won the Nobel Peace Prize yet still the world turns a blind eye on the terrible suppression leading to untold misery. I feel we have to do something to shake that unfavorable balance,” Marius informed some more.