44 Clouds on the Horizon

She pointed out a chart on the top of the paperwork.

"The wiretaps have mentioned Thailand, but it seemed like a codeword or a concept more than the country. The taps also mentioned a festival and we have several starting this weekend that are in the early part of the month. I spoke about that last week, if memory serves. There are several companies in our database that use derivatives of Thai words, and they seem to be in similar fields.

"Chiang Tung Investments is located in Shanghai; they invest in energy exploration. There's the Samui Group who specialize in petroleum geophysics, supplying manpower.

"Then there is Chiang Mai, which is a marine distribution company. There has been an increase in exports of containers identified as industrial machinery being shipped from China to Malaysia. Oddly enough, for this company, it seems they have little activity planned for June, which is unusual given their manifests for May."

She leaned forward, frowning. Rickie had a sudden impulse to poke at the "W" formed between her brows and smooth her expression. With effort, he tamped it down.

"I think that something is being planned to happen the beginning of June."

At this admission from Meaghan, Rickie focused on her report. He looked through the paperwork, made the decision, and met Meaghan's eyes.

"I think you're right too, Meggie. Now we have to figure out what it is. I'll contact Raine and meet with her either tonight or tomorrow and see what she thinks. Did you want to come to dinner with us?"

Meaghan shook her head. "I promised Leaf I'd help her with a school project tonight. If you would like, I can send her my report via email," she offered.

Rickie nodded and stood up.Meaghan did likewise.

"Please do.And if something else comes along, contact me day or night. In fact," Rickie's eyes warmed, "Call me for any reason whatsoever."

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He touched her shoulder, and ran his hand down her arm, intertwining their fingers. He held her hand for a moment, gave her a quick kiss on the back of her hand, and then reluctantly released her.

The bright pink spots on either cheek belied his effect on her as she bobbed her head and hurried out of the office.

Outside his door, Meaghan held her hands to her burning cheeks and willed them to die down.

Making her way back to her desk, she sent the file to Raine's email box and prepared to finish up for the day.

~~~

Rickie met Raine at Hillary's restaurant. She had taken them to an out-of-the-way corner table, and promised to return when she had a moment. Meanwhile, they sipped glasses of wine as they waited for their entrees.

Raine reviewed her copy of Meaghan's report. "I think it's a good call on Meg's part regarding the date, but we need to pinpoint the location if at all possible. Any ideas?"

"I have two consultants on my gas rig near Pulau Serasan. I checked their references this afternoon, but everything appears to be legitimate."

Rickie thought for a moment. "I'll go ahead and check with my contacts, and see if anything unusual pops up. My first impression was that they were a bit odd, but I've only been working the family interests for only a short while, so I don't personally know their reputation."

Hillary showed up with their meals, and after serving them, and sat down with the pair. They had a friendly discussion of favorite wine selections, and the meal proceeded amicably.

~~~

In the quiet darkness above the bustle surrounding the drill, two figures leaned against the railing around the helipad and looked down at the movement below. A matched flared up as John lit a cigarette, deeply inhaled and then sighed a puff of smoke.

"Are we prepared for tomorrow?"

"Affirmative.And you know," Ani added dryly, "Those things will kill you."

A laugh was the only reply.