Fathers and Law: Lom and Fah Book One

Chapter 21

"Come in," said Ton as he waved Lom and Bank into his office. "Pichai, close the door on your way out. I need to talk to these two privately." Pichai and Gun left the room. "You two, let's sit and talk."

Ton stood up, walked across the room, and sat down in an armchair. Lom and Bank sat across from him on a sofa.

"I'm pulling you two from collections. Lately, I've been having issues with the shipping business. A certain outspoken public prosecutor and a judge who won't play the game are causing issues. They used to be a minor irritation but lately, they've been making so much noise the people on our payroll are too afraid to help us; they're afraid they're being watched. I need this problem to go away."

"Okay, what were you thinking?" asked Lom. He was hoping his father wasn't about to ask them to assassinate a public prosecutor and judge.

"If the judge comes on board, it won't matter how much the prosecutor talks to the media because our cases will be dropped. You guys must remind the judge how much he loves his family." Ton lifted an eyebrow and looked pointedly at them.

"Okay, sure. When should we remind him?" asked Lom. He already didn't like the sound of this assignment but since it was a step-up in responsibility, he knew he couldn't decline it. He never thought he'd miss collecting debts.

"It must be done within the next four days. You'll need to impress upon him the importance of signing off on some paperwork which I'll give to you. Do not let anyone see these documents, not even the people you choose for your team."

"How many people can we use and when will you give us the supplies we'll need?" asked Bank, the more practical of the two.

"You can have as many men as you need but not so many that people notice. This needs to stay under the radar. Tell me when it's accomplished." Ton waved them out of his office.

Outside, Lom and Bank leaned against Lom's car smoking cigarettes. "I guess the first thing we need to do is find out how many people live in the house, and what the daily schedule is. We will need a crew to grab the wife and kids, you and I can handle the judge." Lom's phone alert chimed; he held up his phone and showed the text to Bank. It came from an unknown number.

Judge Adisorn Chen

Bank glanced at the phone. "Er," he said, jutting his chin out. "Lada isn't gonna like this."

"No, Bank. Not this time. For her safety, you can't tell her we're doing anything different. She shouldn't know who you work for but since she does, let her think all you do is collect. If we're caught, and they find out she knew, she's going to jail. Do you want your kid born in prison?"

Bank shook his head no. Lom continued brainstorming aloud.

"We need to figure out how many people are in the family and how many people are needed to carry them out. Are there any security people or other staff? Do they have dogs?"

Bank remembered what a colleague told him and said, "We need someone small who can slip inside and scout the house for us before we break in. I heard the crew that did the job with the Jakarta businessman used a gas they pumped in through the air vents to knock him out."

Nodding his head, Lom said, "We need that gas and someone skilled in using it. We don't want to make a mistake and end up killing the whole family."

"That would be awful. Your father would kill us," said Bank.

"Never mind Ton, if it happened my father would sacrifice us to keep his business going. Do you think we'd live a day in prison if we're in there for murdering a judge and his family?"

Lom's apprehension regarding this job was growing but there was no way to back out. Bank could, he wasn't Ton's son. Lom didn't want to point it out because he feared being left alone to pull off this job.

"We'll need a location to hold the judge and his family until he agrees to sign the documents. I'll do some scouting tomorrow morning," said Lom.

"We'll need vehicles, restraints, burner phones, and the gas," Bank said.

"You're more familiar with the men than I am since you've worked for my dad longer. You're the best judge of who we'll need based on their skills. We also have to make sure we're not pulling anybody who is working another upper-level job for Ton already. He never gives me information but he expects me to be aware of everything. If I ask, he doesn't tell me, he just complains I don't know and wonders how that can be."

"I've noticed that, but I'd never admit it to your father." Bank smiled.

"I get it. Hey, honestly, as far as Lada, you can't tell her. If anything happens and you end up in jail, she needs plausible deniability. Plus, she's so close to having your baby. If you tell her about this it could scare her so much she could go into early labor. You want her as relaxed as possible."

Lom worried because Bank had never been able to lie to Lada. He caved so fast she only had to stare at him and say, "Come on, tell me the truth" and Bank would reveal everything.

It's lucky Bank loves his wife and never cheats on her because he could never hide anything, thought Fah. This made him smile.

"I realize I can't tell her, but I think she's gonna figure it out. Knowing I can't tell her is going to make me act weird around her," said Bank.

"If it comes to that, and you're afraid, just say I confessed my love for you," said Lom, cracking himself up.

"Oh hell no, she'll never believe that!" Bank roared with laughter.

"Because Lada knows I'm picky and I have good taste. You'd never get a confession from me!" Lom winked at his friend.

"Fuck you, Lom! I'm not good enough to be your boyfriend? You'd be lucky to have me. I'm tall, handsome, hard-working, loyal, funny...wow, I better stop bragging. You're going to fall in love with me as soon as you realize I'm right and then we won't be able to work together anymore. You'll be following me around like a lovesick puppy." Bank couldn't stop laughing.

"I think you're safe. If I haven't been interested yet, it's not going to happen," Lom laughed.

"Yeah, besides, I don't think you'll ever get over Fah," Bank said without thinking.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted it. It took months for Lom to stop walking around in a daze, constantly calling Mek to try to find Fah. Now that he had finally given up and was even joking around, Bank tried to never bring up the subject.

He looked at Lom and immediately said, "Hey, sorry, I didn't mean that. You're already doing a lot better. That's probably why your dad is ready to give us this assignment."

"Mm, maybe," agreed Lom. He hadn't thought about that before. His father might have been too afraid to trust him with a major task until now.

"Do you think you'll start dating anyone soon?" asked Bank. He'd been curious about this because it seemed as if Lom had no life. He came to work and then went home to eat and sleep. He never joined the others for nights out drinking which caused some resentment.

"Ah, there it is! The old trick of pretending you're not interested in me but you want to find out if I'm ready to date because deep down you want me!" Lom teased. Bank gazed at the sky and silently offered thanks.

"Hey, I better go home. We can talk more tomorrow."

"Okay, Zodiac History Café at 8 a.m. tomorrow - don't be late. Have a list of people you want for the team —" They ground out their cigarettes in unison.

"See you tomorrow," said Bank as he got into his car. Lom watched him go. He'd been hoping his father would promote him but he wasn't prepared for this. He tried not to think about what Fah would say.

What does it matter? It's not as if Fah will ever know. I'll probably die before seeing him again in this lifetime. Lom was pissed off that he couldn't keep Fah out of his thoughts. Back inside the house, he tried to stop thinking about work and Fah.