Page 42 of Wired Strong

Malee now lived in the adjoining house, separated from the original property by a tall fence with sharpened stakes at the top to prevent thieves. The contrast between the two dwellings was stark: Malee’s house was verdant with gardens and flowers, and brightly painted in culturally popular colors; but the property where the sisters had lived together during the time they were raising young children had fallen into disrepair. The plants in the yard had died without watering or care, and shingles and tiles were missing from the wooden roof.

The pilot circled the chopper and found an open area to land in the town square. Pim Wat took off her helmet and handed it to him. She tightened the scarf that concealed her hair, and exited the aircraft. One of the ninjas from the Yam Khûmk?n jumped out lightly behind her. She didn’t care to have an audience for what she was about to do, but the Master had insisted she always have a guard these days.

“I won’t be long,” she told the pilot. “Be back here in about an hour.”

She ducked away from the prop wash as the helicopter powered up to take off. She headed down the quiet street with its well-watered, ornamental orchid trees shading the road. This quiet area of Bangkok’s suburbs was no longer a fashionable neighborhood, but Pim Wat still liked the aesthetic of it, and the nearness of the mighty Ping River, visible beyond a dock area at the end of the street.

Pim Wat hadn’t called her sister to let her know she was coming, so she wasn’t surprised that it took a while for Malee to open the security gate and to admit her and her guard. “Sister! I am surprised to see you,” Malee said.

Pim Wat could smell Malee’s fear, and it made her smile. “I have been making the rounds of forgiveness,” Pim Wat said. “It’s your turn for a visit, Malee.”

“We did not part on good terms,” Malee said. “I’m glad to see you looking so well.”

“No thanks to you, foul betrayer,” Pim Wat said. Her eyes were hard on her sister’s soft, pretty face.

“That’s the Pim Wat I’ve always known. You’ve never been much of a one for forgiveness.” Malee narrowed her eyes. “My husband is due back any moment.”

“No, he isn’t. I’ve been monitoring you.” Pim Wat gestured toward the ninja lounging against the closed gate, looking around, his arms crossed on his chest. “Can we go inside? I’m thirsty.”

“Of course.” Malee made a visible effort to get her nerves under control.

Pim Wat’s sister wore an unfamiliar garment, a lovely fitted kaftan that touched the back of her knees. Pim Wat hadn’t seen her sister in over two years, and Malee had spent that time working on herself, it seemed. She had lost weight, her calves looked toned, and her bronze skin gleamed. “You’re looking well, sister,” Pim Wat said.

“As are you, Pim Wat, as I’m sure you know.” They had entered the house, and Malee slammed the door behind Pim Wat, flicking the deadbolt. She fisted her hands on her hips. “You don’t even look like yourself!” She hissed. “How dare you come here after what you tried to do to me!”

Pim Wat smiled. “I love it when a target makes my work easier.”

Malee’s shapely brows rose in consternation. “What do you mean?”

Looking at Malee’s face was, for Pim Wat, like looking at herself in the past. The softness and lack of definition that had made Malee’s face different from Pim Wat’s was gone, likely through her sister’s dieting. Her features were sharper and more beautiful. The girls had been mistaken for twins when they were younger. “You should have lost weight a long time ago,” Pim Wat said.

“I want you to leave,” Malee said. “You tried to kill me last time we saw each other. I have nothing to say to you.”

“And you held me prisoner after stealing my grandchild from me,” Pim Wat said. “And then you colluded with my daughter in turning me over to the CIA. Do you have any idea what those two years were like for me, in their interrogation camp?”

Malee’s eyes dropped. Her hands flew to her cheeks. “I tried not to think about it, Pim Wat. I know you would rather have died. But you survived and overcame, as you always do.”

“It’s true. I am a phoenix,” Pim Wat said. “I’m very good at surviving situations like Guantánamo. Unfortunately for you.” She spun Malee and pushed her between the shoulder blades, shoving her towards the kitchen. “This won’t take long.”

“What are you going to do?” Malee’s voice had gone high with alarm. Pim Wat spotted Malee’s hand sliding into her pocket as she fumbled for her phone.

Pim Wat whipped the phone out of her sister’s pocket and threw it across the room. It broke with a crash against the frame of the large bay window lined with brocade pillows where Malee liked to read in the afternoon.

She pushed Malee again, and this time her sister fell to her knees with a cry, landing on the cool tile floor. Pim Wat jumped onto her back, pinning her down with a knee between her shoulder blades.

“Please, please, Pim Wat. We’re sisters,” Malee cried. “Have mercy!”

Pim Wat took a knife from her small waist pack. “I am having mercy. I’m not going to kill you.” She reached over and pulled a dish towel off of the nearby rack, and stuffed it in Malee’s mouth. “You might want to bite down on something. This is going to hurt.”

Malee screamed into the towel, her wail of agony only slightly muffled, as Pim Wat reached down and sawed through the Achilles tendon at the back of Malee’s ankle. Blood flowed freely. Malee flopped back and forth like a fish.

Pim Wat stood up. She walked over to the sink and rinsed her blade, wiping it clean on a fresh white linen towel. She tossed the towel to Malee. “Don’t worry. That’s all I’m going to do. But you’ll never walk normally again; just a little reminder that you shouldn’t have betrayed me.”

Malee curled up and applied the towel to her mutilated ankle, sobbing, as Pim Wat walked back to the front door.

“You’ll be fine,” she said. “We’ll go shopping next time I visit.” She shut the door and rejoined the ninja at the house’s gate. “Let’s go. I still have some time to browse the shops in the town square before the helicopter comes back.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

---