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EIGHT

  The flight to Los Angeles was brief, but Noah, Marco and Neil would have a two-hour layover before their connecting flight to Thailand. Sarah followed along with them, relieved to find that her own connecting flight left from a gate close to theirs. She would have time to see them off, and they even sat down and had a light snack before it was time to board their plane.

  Both flights would last almost 20 hours, so she would be arriving a couple of hours after they did. By that time, Sarah knew, the men would already be out of the airport and in or near their hotel. Noah would want to get started on their cover stories immediately, and she knew that she was to have no contact with them before the escape.

  Holding back tears, she kissed Noah goodbye when his flight was announced, then turned and walked off toward one of the small bars nearby. She turned at the last minute to see Noah disappear through the door into the boarding ramp, then entered the bar and took a seat at the counter.

  “Traveling without the boyfriend?” The waitress appeared and set a glass of water in front of her. “Sorry, but I couldn’t help seeing how you watched him go.”

  Sarah shrugged and gave her a sad smile. “Fiancé,” she said. “We both have to go out of town on business, just sucks we can’t travel together.”

  The waitress nodded. “Yeah, it sucks. What can I get for you?”

  Sarah glanced up at the board and chose a Vodka Collins. The waitress returned with it only a couple of minutes later, and left her to sip it in silence.

  * * * * *

  “She’ll be okay, Noah,” Neil said. “Sarah’s a smart girl, she’ll make it.”

  “She’ll cry,” Noah said. “She’s pretty frightened about this mission, because it basically puts her on point instead of me. I gave her some tips on how to use her fear and her tears to advantage, though. By the time she actually gets into the prison, I think she’ll have herself well under control.”

  Noah was seated at the window, with Neil beside him and Marco on the aisle. They had just stowed their carry-on luggage and taken their seats, waiting for the plane to begin to move.

  Other passengers were boarding, and Noah listened to a few disputes about who was supposed to be in what seat, but none of that affected him. Neil seemed to think the arguments were funny, while Marco had earphones plugged in and was leaned back with his eyes closed.

  Finally the doors were closed and Noah listened to the engines starting up. The plane was pushed back out of its parking space and the engine sounds increased until it began to move forward, swinging around to point toward the taxiway.

  They moved in a start and stop pattern, slowly getting closer to their turn on the runway. It took almost 12 minutes before the plane turned into position, and then the engines began to scream as the pilot tested his brakes. A moment later he let them go, and the plane began rolling.

  Noah looked out the window as the runway and scenery flashed by, and then the plane was airborne. This flight would last nearly 20 hours, landing in Taiwan for a two-hour layover before making the final flight to Bangkok. Both of the flights, though boring, were otherwise uneventful, and they arrived in Bangkok at just after five AM. Another half hour let them gather up their luggage and head for the front exit.

  In order to avoid scrutiny, Noah had been told to take a taxi to the hotel, the Thai Cozy House. They selected one at random and rode along quietly. The drive took slightly more than half an hour, and then they were able to settle into their room. The room held four twin-size beds, and Neil joked about being glad he didn’t have to share a bed with either of the other men.

  There was a table and a desk in the room, and Neil commandeered the desk for his computers and equipment while Noah and Marco unpacked their cameras and recorders.

  “Let’s head over to the prison,” Noah said, “and start building our cover. If at all possible, we want to get ourselves a tour of the inside.”

  “You think they’ll let us see the women’s section?” Marco asked. “Wouldn’t hurt my feelings a bit to make sure it’s really like the one we practiced in.”

  “We’ll ask,” Noah said. “More than anything else, though, we just want to reinforce the idea that we are trying to do a story on tourists coming to the prison. Our angle will be that visiting the inmates is an interesting experience that every American tourist coming to Bangkok ought to try.”

  Marco nodded. “In that case, maybe we should actually try to interview some of the inmates. Get their perspective on having random strangers come to visit them, you think?”

  “We’re definitely going to try. Neil, see if you can find that website that Jefferson mentioned, pick a few names we might want to talk to. That might make it easier to get inside, too.”

  It took Neil only a couple of minutes to find the website, and they chose three inmates: two men, both Americans, named Albert Parker and Phillip Swan, and a woman named Angela Brown. Neil printed out the bios and photos on all three, and they locked up the room as they started toward the prison.

  Visitor registration didn’t open until after eight, so they made their way to a small restaurant and managed to find coffee and a fairly recognizable breakfast. By the time they got their food and were finished eating, it was already a few minutes past eight. Noah paid the tab and left a generous tip, then they made their way to the boat that would take them to the prison.

  It was a little after nine by the time they finally arrived. The visitor registration office of the prison was near its front entrance, and Noah was lucky enough to find an officer there who spoke fluent English. They showed their press credentials and Noah explained that they were working on a story about tourists visiting inmates at the prison, and that they wanted to interview the three inmates they had chosen.

  “We would have to get approval from the warden,” the woman explained. “We get a lot of tourists who want to visit inmates, but I’m not sure the warden is going to want your cameras and recorders inside. Let me make a couple of calls, just wait here.”

  It was nearly 15 minutes later when she reappeared. “Sir, I got permission for you to interview these inmates, but you must submit your recordings for review before you leave. Will that be a problem?”

  Noah smiled. “Not at all,” he said. “Frankly, I expected as much. Don’t worry, our goal is to make this sound like a fun adventure. We’re not going to ask questions that might paint the prison in a bad light.”

  She nodded and smiled back. “Very good,” she said. “Let’s get you in to see your first inmate, then. The men’s visiting section is full at the moment; would you mind visiting the woman first?”

  “No, that would be fine.”

  They filled out the required paperwork and were led into the prison and to the women’s visiting area. There was a waiting room where they were told to have a seat while Ms. Brown was brought in. It was nearly 30 minutes later when they were finally called inside.

  They saw very little of the structure of the women’s prison, so they didn’t get a chance to compare it to the mockup they had trained in. The only thing they noticed was that it seemed cleaner and neater than they had expected.

  They were led into a booth that was barely big enough for the three of them, facing a glass window. A large woman with short brown hair was seated on the other side, and she looked up at them with a smile, then picked up the telephone receiver on her side and pointed at the one on theirs.

  Noah picked it up and smiled back at her. “Hello,” he said. “Angela?”

  “Yes,” Angela said with a nod. “I was surprised to hear that I was getting a visit today. How did you happen to choose me?”

  “We are actually reporters,” Noah said. “We’re here to do a story on tourists who visit inmates, so we thought we ought to experience it. I’m Peter, and this is Josh and Sean. Do you mind if Sean records our visit on video?”

  Angela’s eyes went wide, but she continued to smile. “No, that’s fine. Maybe you could post it on YouTube or something when you get home? I’m sure my
family would love to see it.”

  Noah took a notepad out of his pocket. “Sure, we can do that. How would I contact them?”

  She gave him her mother’s email address while Neil set up the camera and taped a small microphone to the earpiece of the phone receiver. That would allow the camera to pick up her voice as well as Noah’s. When he was ready, he signaled Noah to begin the interview.

  “Angela Brown,” Noah said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “No, trust me, the pleasure is all mine. You’re the first visitor I’ve had in almost a year. My family has been here a couple of times, but it’s just too expensive for them to keep coming back to visit. This was quite a pleasant surprise, being told I had a visit today.”

  “Well, we’re glad we have the chance to brighten your day. Angela, can you tell me a bit about your story? How you came to be here, and what your sentence is, that sort of thing?”

  “Sure. I’m doing a thirty-year sentence, and I’ve been here seven years already. It’s my own fault, I got involved with some people who were doing yaba—that’s the local word for meth—so when they got arrested I was rounded up with them. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t exactly innocent, but I wasn’t part of the drug dealing they were into. I just happened to be there and used a bit of it myself, but in Thailand, if you’re present when drug deals are happening, you’re just naturally guilty with everybody else.”

  “Wow, thirty years? You seem to be in pretty good spirits. How are you handling it all?”

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong, it can get pretty depressing in here. There are days when I don’t even want to get up off my pallet, but Jesus gets me through. I found Jesus about six years ago, and He helps me cope with it all. There are some missionaries that come every week and teach Bible study, so I get to spend time with them, and we pray and study God’s Word. That helps me handle it.”

  Noah talked with her for almost half an hour, and then the phone suddenly went dead. Angela grinned and held up five fingers, mouthing the word, “Wait.” Five minutes later, the phone suddenly came to life again and they were able to talk for another thirty minutes.

  At that point, the visit ended and Neil unhooked the microphone and packed away the camera. The three men were led out and back to the registration area, where the same woman told them they would have to wait another hour before they could see the first of their male inmates. She collected the SD cards, promising to return them before their next visit.

  There was a food stall nearby, and they decided to go and have something to drink. They found some Cokes and bought them, and then went into a small store where it was possible to buy gifts for inmates you were visiting. Angela had told them that she had to buy her own food, toothpaste, everything, so Marco decided to send her some fresh fruit and toiletries. Noah told Neil to get video of the entire transaction, keeping their cover intact.

  Marco made his selections, writing down the items he wanted to purchase and then taking the list to a counter. A clerk took his money and promised to have all of the items delivered to Angela within an hour. From what she had told them, many inmates received such gifts from their visitors, and it was one of the few areas of prison life where things seemed to be done honestly. It was almost certain that everything he bought would actually get to the woman, but then it would be up to her to hang onto it and prevent it being stolen.

  They returned to the waiting area and talked about their visit with Angela and the gifts they had sent her, doing their best to give the impression that the visit had deeply affected them.

  It was actually closer to an hour and a half before they were called to go and visit Philip, and the first thing they noticed was that the men’s side wasn’t in nearly as good repair as the women’s. The walls were filthy, and they noticed a lot of men wearing inmate clothing who seem to be working on construction jobs, repairing some damaged areas and even putting up a few new walls. Another man who was walking with them to the visiting area told them that these were inmates who were close to the end of their sentences. It was no longer considered necessary to keep them under maximum observation, so they were allowed to do jobs without supervision.

  The visiting area was also in disrepair, and when they sat down in the booth they were able to see that the other side was quite filthy. There were stains on the wall that Noah was sure were from men urinating on them, and other stains that may have been even worse things.

  A thin man sat down on the other side of the glass and picked up the receiver. Neil had already taped his microphone to the one on their side, but he didn’t turn the camera on until Noah had asked permission.

  “Sure,” the man said. “Will this be on TV sometime?”

  “That’s possible,” Noah said. “More likely we’ll just use it as source material for an article, though. If you want, we might be able to put it on YouTube and send a message to your family so they can watch it.”

  “Yeah, that’d be great. I can give you my brother’s email, you can send it to him.”

  * * * * *

  Sarah’s flight had landed while the men were having breakfast, but he wasn’t aware of that. She gathered her luggage and found a limousine waiting to take her to the Dream Hotel. She had been provided with ample local currency, and the trip cost her 2200 baht, or roughly 70 dollars.

  A room was already booked in the name of Kayla Maguire, and she was surprised to find that it was a very nice one. She set about unpacking, the way she expected a tourist would, and then called room service to bring her up some breakfast.

  “Too bad I won’t have time to get used to this,” she muttered to herself. Still, it was only Monday and she didn’t have to start her part of the mission until Wednesday evening, so she decided to enjoy the luxury as long as she could.

  There was a large whirlpool bath, and she climbed into it as soon as she had finished breakfast. An hour of soaking in hot, bubbly water took away a lot of the stress from the flight and left her ready for some rest. She dried off and climbed into the king-size bed and drifted off to sleep while wondering what Noah was up to.

  NINE

  Noah, Marco and Neil spent a good part of the day visiting with the other inmates, and then managed to get a tour of the men’s area of the prison while they waited for the last tape to be returned to them. An English-speaking guard led them through the facility, and told them that this was known as a “banana tour.” That meant that the inmates complained that they felt like monkeys on display in a zoo, and the looks most of the prisoners gave them confirmed that theory.

  “They don’t like farangs staring at them,” their guide said. “That’s what we call foreigners, here. Most of our inmates are from our country or one of those nearby, and they all feel the same way. They begin to feel they are on exhibit, like they are not really people anymore.”

  “I can understand that,” Noah said. “Most of these people are doing some pretty hard time. Back home, their sentences would be much shorter.”

  “That is what they tell me, at least those from the West. The British, the Americans, the Canadians—they wouldn’t spend nearly as much time in prison if they had committed their crimes there. Here, though, we are much more serious about punishing the trafficking of drugs. Yaba destroys many lives, so it is fitting that those who produce and smuggle it into our country should pay a serious price.”

  Noah looked around. “But does it really help? Your prisons are as overcrowded as any in the world, and from what I understand it’s almost all because of the drugs. Does it really help to make the sentences so severe?”

  The guard shrugged. “There are those who believe it does not, but just as many believe that it does. I think, myself, the problem is not so much the availability of the drugs as it is the high profits they bring. In an economy where most people live below poverty level, is it so surprising that many of them will take great risks in order to reap what they consider to be great rewards?”

  Noah grinned at him. “That’s just about the way it
is back in our country,” he said. “As long as the drugs are so profitable, people will do whatever it takes to provide them to those who want them. Back home, they consider the likelihood of prison as just one of the costs of doing business.”

  The tour lasted a couple of hours, and then Noah and the others were led back to the front entrance. They stopped once more at the visitors’ registration office and spoke with the same woman who had helped them earlier. Noah let her know that he would be coming back the next day to visit more inmates, and she smiled and told him she looked forward to seeing him again. Noah posed with her and had Neil take a couple of photographs, which made her blush and giggle.

  By the time they left the prison, it was late in the afternoon. They had bought a light lunch at one of the food courts near the registration office, but it hadn’t properly satisfied any of them. Neil pointed out a restaurant near where they would board the ferryboat, and Noah nodded his agreement.

  The food was local Thai, and each of them tried something different. Noah had a chicken curry, Neil had what looked like kebabs with chunks of pork and vegetables, and Marco went for crab chili. Each of them was given extra dishes of rice, dips and sauces, and they were all surprised at the quantity of food. Even Neil didn’t leave the table wishing for more.

  Despite the fact that they had slept a lot on the flights that brought them to Thailand, all of them felt tired at the end of that day. They got back to the hotel and decided to forgo watching television in favor of stretching out on their beds and getting some sleep.

  * * * * *

  Sarah had slept until mid-afternoon, then rose and decided to act like the tourist she was supposed to be. She dug through the clothes they had given her, smiling at some and grimacing at others, but finally selected a pair of bicycle slacks and a long-sleeved top in a style she would never wear in her own persona. The weather was warm, but she got the feeling that it might rain at any time, so she opted for trainers rather than sandals, grabbed her purse and camera, and headed out to see a few sights. She found a map of tourist attractions in the hotel lobby, and was looking it over when a taxi driver approached her.