The Red Thread of Destiny

Chapter 6: The edge of sanity

"Illusion is sometimes all that keeps us sane."

Phayu stared at his phone for the millionth since the morning. Every time it buzzed, he picked it up, desperate for a message from Rain. After dancing away almost the entire night, Rain and Phayu had exchanged numbers and LINE ids. But Rain had not messaged him, and he hadn't been able to gather the courage to send a message to Rain either. He was just wondering if he should ask Pai what to do when Pai barged into his cabin. "P'Pakin called just now. P'Chai and he are meeting with liquor contractors today. They want us there, but not in open. We can listen in," he said. "Okay, so when is the meeting?" Phayu asked, standing up as he asked. "In one hour at P'Pakin's office downtown. We have to reach as soon as possible," Pai replied. "Okay, let's take the bikes, we will get there faster," Phayu replied, picking up his phone and keys, as they both rushed out of the office.

"We have sent you the best liquor. The problem is not from our end," one of the distributors whined. The others all nodded. "Are you sure that's the route you want to take?" P'Pakin asked in his softest, most lethal voice. "This is not the first time we have complained about the quality of the alcohol being supplied. And this is not the excuse we want to hear," P'Chai walked around the table as he spoke. He too never raised his voice, but both Phayu and Pai, who were sitting in the observation room, could see the contractors literally shivering in fear. "I would not be surprised if they pee their pants," Pai said, smirking. Phayu nodded, his eyes glued to the monitors, trying to figure out any tells by the contractors. Suddenly Phayu leaned forward and picked his phone. He immediately sent a message to P'Chai.

Phayu: "They are lying. Look at the man on P'Pakin's right. He is fiddling with his phone. He is either recording the conversation or getting instructions from someone."

P'Chai: "Khopchai, I understand. We will take care of whatever it takes."

P'Chai immediately bent down and whispered something in P'Pakin's ear, and the two boys in the observation room noted the slight tilt of P'Pakin's head. They knew what it indicated. A bloodbath was about to begin. Now Phayu smirked. "This is going to be fun to watch!" he said, his voice hard and cold. After one hour, Phayu and Pai got up from their seats. They had seen the contractors spill every single secret. The two boys stepped out of the observation room and immediately called their fathers. "They gave up everything. It's your old partner Khun Pat, dad," Phayu spoke into the phone. The boys were on speaker on his phone, and soon P'Pakin and P'Chai joined them. "What should we do about them Khun Kinn, Khun Vegas?" P'Chai asked. "Whatever you want! Just make sure that this is never repeated. And take care of Pat also! Make no mistakes this time," Vegas' instructions were clear. "I agree with Vegas. This time, show no mercy!" Kinn's hard voice came down the line. "We got it!" Pakin said, his voice just as hard.

"Care to tell me what is bugging you this fine morning?" Pai asked Phayu as they stood by their bikes. "Nothing. What do you mean?" Phayu replied. "Dude, you forget our cabins are made of glass. Since the past one week, all I have seen you do is look at your phone. Are you telling me nothing is wrong?" Pai asked pointedly. "Let me guess, you are waiting for Nong Rain to message you, shemai?" "How do you know?" Phayu asked, a puzzled look on his face. "You are so obvious!" Pai laughed. "Give it up already and call the boy, or message him. He is a young boy, probably not having any idea how to approach a senior. So you can be the first to start the conversation, right?" Phayu looked into the distance. "Hmm.. you are right. But I want to start a conversation face to face. Let's go to Chula," he said, getting onto his bike. Pai looked at him as if he had grown two heads. "Are you fucking serious right now?" he asked, appalled. "Yes, I am. I really am. I want to see him in his normal settings. I want to see if I feel today exactly how I felt a week ago. No harm in that, right?" Phayu asked. "Okay, let's go then," Pai replied.