Kamigami didn’t even bother to drop his rucksack. He unsheathed his knife and slipped up behind the man. Kamigami had no compulsions about killing him — he had killed many others before — but it bothered him that it was so easy. Fish in a barrel were better fighters. In one smooth motion he grabbed the man’s hair, which was too long for the jungle or combat, jerked his head back, and drew the knife across his neck. It looked easy, but Kamigami had put all his strength into the attack and almost decapitated the man. He threw the body over the bicycle and retreated down the path until he reached the place where he had come out of the bush. He pushed the overloaded bike into the dense foliage and retraced his steps.
It was hard going, and Kamigami had to lighten the load. He tossed the body into a ravine and pressed on. When his small GPS placed him near the location where he had left Tel, he dropped the bike on its side, certain that it was too heavy for one man to lift. He rifled through the bags strapped to the bike and pocketed a few items. He dumped the rest on the ground so his quarry could easily find it. Then he sat down to rest, and within seconds dozed off.
“You do sleep a lot,” Tel said from a deep shadow.
“That’s the idea,” Kamigami said, instantly awake. “Where is he?”
“About two hundred meters behind me. Coming this way.”
“Good. Let’s vamoose.”
“What’s vamoose?” Tel asked. “Something to eat, like a McDonald’s?”
“You don’t eat a McDonald’s, you eat at a McDonald’s.”
“I could eat a McDonald’s right now,” Tel told him. But all he could see was Kamigami’s back as he headed for the path.
Tel sat on his haunches and munched the soy cake Kamigami had taken from one of the bags on the bicycle. He was puzzled, since they had been watching the path for over a day and nothing had happened. “This tastes terrible,” Tel said.
Kamigami handed him a granola bar. “Drink lots of water.” Tel savored the bar as Kamigami turned on his GPS and unfolded a map. It was time for a navigation lesson. “We’re here,” he said, pointing to a spot near the Tembeling River in Malaysia’s Taman Negara, or National Park. Suddenly Kamigami’s right hand flashed, palm down, close to the ground. Tel lay on the ground, certain he could not be seen. Again Kamigami signaled by pointing a finger to his eyes and then pointing into the jungle. He held up a finger indicating that one person was coming their way. The man they had been stalking pushed through the brush and stepped onto the path, a relieved look on his face. He had a bag strapped to his back and was in much better shape. He looked both ways and set off toward the east. Kamigami didn’t move.
“Aren’t we going after him?” Tel asked softly.
“He’ll come back,” Kamigami replied.
“How can you be so sure?”
“The stupid ass is going the wrong way.” He pointed to the west. “That’s the way the pack train was going. I think he wants to go the same way.”
Twenty minutes later the man came back, making good time. He trudged by, less than three feet from Tel’s hiding place. Again Kamigami didn’t move. After what seemed an eternity to Tel, Kamigami stood and shouldered his rucksack. “He’s going in the right direction,” he announced.
“What now?” Tel asked.
“We follow. Stay alert for lookouts or guards.” Kamigami set off, moving silently along the path. His forward motion was a series of short moves from shadow to shadow, which Tel tried to copy, but it was hard going. He was just hoping that Kamigami would take a break when the big man stopped and motioned him to join up. Tel heard voices, and Kamigami pushed a leafy fern aside. Tel looked where he was pointing and, far down the path, saw their man talking to a guard. After a few words the guard motioned the man on and stepped off the path to light a cigarette. “Stupid,” Kamigami said under his breath, the professional in him disgusted with the lax security.
He carefully slipped out of his rucksack and signaled Tel to cover him. He stepped onto the path in full view of the guard. But the guard just kept puffing on his cigarette and was oblivious to the danger coming his way. Kamigami shrugged in resignation and walked toward him. Kamigami spoke a few words of Cantonese in greeting as he approached, finally capturing the man’s attention.
The guard bent over to stub out his cigarette butt. Kamigami, still speaking in Cantonese, called him a fool. The guard looked up to see Kamigami’s hands flashing down on him in a clapping motion. Kamigami’s palms slapped the man’s temples — hard — stunning him. He easily shouldered the unconscious body.
Tel followed and watched in fascination as Kamigami carried the guard into the jungle, hung him by the heels from a tree, tied his hands, and stuffed part of his shirt into his mouth. Satisfied that the guard was immobilized if he regained consciousness, Kamigami searched the foliage until he found a certain thornbush. He cut off a slender shoot and carefully extracted the core, leaving a hollow tube. He cut the tube in half to make two before retracing his steps to the tree where the guard was hanging.
The man was now fully awake, his eyes wide with fear as Kamigami scooped out a hole in the ground directly underneath him. Kamigami sharpened an end of each of the tubes and jammed them into the guard’s neck, side by side, about an inch apart. Blood spurted from the tubes and dribbled into the hole as the man twisted and turned, trying to shake the tubes out. He slowly weakened as his life drained away. “Why are you doing this?” Tel asked.
Kamigami gave him a cold look. “These are the men who butchered our families.” He paused to let the lesson sink in. “Follow me,” he said.
They had barely regained the path when a smoky smell drifted over them. “I can’t believe it,” Kamigami said. “Cooking fires. They’re not really serious about this.” Tel didn’t know what “this” was, but he was afraid to ask, especially after witnessing the guard’s execution. They moved off the path and came to a ridge overlooking a shallow valley. The smoke of numerous cooking fires floated over the treetops, and off to the far side, men were exercising in an open area. Beyond the open area, and dug into the high limestone ridge at the northern end of the valley, were three tunnels.
“What is it?” Tel whispered.
“Don’t whisper like that,” Kamigami said. “It travels too far. Just speak in a low voice.” He paused to let that lesson register. “It’s a military base camp. A big one.” He sat down and made himself comfortable. “We’ll move out when it’s dark. Now we get some rest. Wake me in an hour, and don’t let me snore.”
Tel came awake with a jolt. Kamigami’s hand was over his mouth. “It’s time,” Kamigami said. He handed Tel a pair of night-vision goggles and helped him adjust the straps. “You lose a lot of depth perception, so go slowly at first or you’ll get a stick in your face.” Kamigami moved slowly until Tel was comfortable with the goggles. Then he moved quickly, heading down the path and away from the base camp. He relied on his GPS to guide them to the body that was still swinging from the tree.
Kamigami covered the hole where the blood had pooled and cut the body down. He carried it back to the path and again strung it up by its ankles. “It’s blocking the path,” Tel said.
“That’s the idea,” Kamigami murmured. He took a few sips of water and told Tel to do the same. “Rest. We’re going to be moving very fast the next few hours. You up to it?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Kamigami shook his head as they sat down. When he judged that Tel was ready, he stood up and tightened the straps on his rucksack. Then he unsnapped the side pocket, and the MP5 fell into his hand. He slipped in a clip and charged a round. “Make sure your shoelaces are tight,” he said. He carefully inspected the boy. “Ready?” Tel nodded, and Kamigami put the gold whistle to his lips.