Donald Quist

The Goon
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1.

“F-fish,” the bartender coughs into his tiny hands. “Yeah, I know ‘em. Met him a few years ago on the day Buddha died, during a celebration for the gathering of the 500 monks. Said he was coming into town from Pataya. Fish’s a goon, got wrinkles in his neck as deep as gills and knuckles as tough as barnacles. Fish, he’s built to take out the trash, you know what I’m mean? I’m saying if you need a job done you call Fish.”
“…”
“Well no, I’ve never required Fish’s services. I’m just saying is all, I know him. Comes in her regular, gets piss drunk and starts blabbing to anyone who’ll listen. And I mean blabbing, EVERYTHING, his entire life story, every nasty job he’s ever done. I knew your type would be showing up here asking questions, eventually.”
“…”
“If you mind me asking, what is all this about?”
“…”
“I see, so, look how bout you ask me what you really want to know and I’ll get back to tending bar. Where is Fish?”
“…”
“I don’t know where Fish is, but I know he likes to gamble; spends a lot of time downtown, at the fights. In fact he owed a few loan sharks so much money he started working for them to pay off the debt. Cause of his size you know, big guy, good for breaking legs. Yup, you’ll probably find Fish up in the nose bleeds taking bets. Ask around, somebody there has seen ‘em.”
“…”
“There’s this girl, a round card girl, named… What was it now? Man, a guy was in here just asking me about her the other day… Kunshrii, that’s it, Kunshrii Plaloma. She’s half Chinese, real pretty, real young. Long legs, smooth and shiny. Chatty too, a little too chatty. She never really knows when to shut the hell up, always squeakin. Fish brought her around here a few times.”
“…”
“She nurses his wounds if the price is right, or at least that’s what I figure. What else would a girl like that want with a guy like Fish, I can’t understand otherwise,” the bartender explains. He looks at his watch and taps the bar, climbs down from his stool and says, “Right, so I guess you should get going, you’ve got Fish to catch, ay?”
“…”
“No problem, just doing my civic duty, you know, as a concerned citizen and all that. I don’t think it’s right for people to just go around killing government officials. I mean, I’m not a fan of Thaksin but it’s not okay to go around shooting friends of the Prime Minister, even during a coup.”
“…”
“Yeah, I hear ya. And look, if I could offer my opinion…”
“…”
“Fish is a lot of things, but he ain’t no killer. It’s just not in him; he doesn’t got the nerve for it.”
“…”
“Right, good day to you too Captain Hang.”

2.

“You don’t look like a cop.”
“…”
“You look like you belong in the nosebleeds along with the rest of those born losers.”
“…”
“You can flash that badge to me all day, doesn’t prove nothing to me. This is Bangkok. I could get one of those in thirty minutes, gun too. Plus, you barge into this dressing room claiming to be a police captain and you’ve got no back-up? I could have been a psycho killer with superhuman strength for all you know; and you just show up alone?”
“…”
“Right, back-up’s in the car outside huh? You’re a terrible liar buddy. Who are you fooling? I’m supposed to believe that everyone at the station is just okay with you investigating the murder of a Thai diplomat, alone?”
“…”
“Look, whoever you are…”
“…”
“…Captain Hang, whatever, you can throw out all the bait you want, this one ain’t biting. I’m not giving Fish up to you or them.”
“…”
“Yes, I understand who they are and what they are capable of. Do you? Don’t worry about me, I’m tough.”
“…”
“You think I just sit around shuffling round cards all day? I watch the fighters. I practice my Muay Thai and when they come for Fish they’ll have to go through me,” she exclaims slamming her fist down onto the dressing room counter. The vanity mirror shakes from the aftershock and in the distance a bell sounds signaling the end of round 1.
“…”
“I’m tough. I’m not just long legs and a pretty face. I can protect Fish on my own. I don’t need you butting in.”
“…”
“Yeah, I do love Fish, but not in the way you’re thinking.”
“…”
“Note said that? Nutapong ‘Note’ Kung? That slimy midget bartender doesn’t know half as much as he thinks he does. If he were any kind of real friend to Fish you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation right now… The nerve of that guy. Look, I’m not a prostitute okay? Fish is a friend, not a customer.”
“…”
“The man, practically raised me, rescued me when I was just an infant. Some beggar woman had stolen me from my parents. She was using me to spark up sympathy while she was begging. Toted me around the streets all day and night, collecting change in her cup. Fish was walking along one day, saw this and bought me off the lady right then and there, 10,000 baht.”
“…”
“Fish told me.”
“…”
“Fish took me in like a daughter, fed and clothed me.”
“…”
“School? School is for chumps and people that don’t know how to work for a living. Fish taught me everything I ever needed to know. He taught me how to survive. I owe him my life. Fish is a good man. Yeah, he’s tried to come onto me a few times, when he’s drunk, but he never tries to force me and he stops whenever I ask him to.”
“…”
“Look, I know all of Fish’s friends old and new, he doesn’t have many, and you aren’t one of them.”
“…”
“Oh you have a picture huh?”
“…”
“This is supposed to be you and Fish,” Kunshrii asks, pulling the photo closer to her face, examining it.
“…”
“Hmmm.”
“…”
“Look at him, man, he’s always been that scalely.”
“…”
“Eczema? That’s dry skin right? Dry skin disease in Thailand,” she chuckles to herself. That Fish, guess he could never get himself in deep enough water. He’s always dry, never sweats... till now.
“…”
“You want to help him? Please, you can’t protect him he’s just as dead in your custody as he is out here. Hell, they probably have most of your guys on the payroll. They’ll blow him away the minute he reaches that cell.”
“…”
“Hmph,” she grunts folding her slender arms dismissively.
“…”
“Yes.”
“…”
“Captain, this is the real world and there is no such thing as straight cops their all crooked, even you. Every man has a price.”
“…”
“Yeah, Fish did teach me that, but I sort of figured it out on my own, you know, the hard way. I might look like a cabbage but I’m not that green.”
“…”
“Well, look, I’m not going to tell you where Fish is or what I know so unless you’re prepared to drag my ass down to the station kicking and screaming, I suggest you leave.”
“…”
“And you can tell your friend, General Muk not to bother coming around here again and he can tell his men to stop following me.”
“…”
“Oh, you don’t know what I’m talking about? Sure.”
“…”
“Right, well as if you didn’t know, the guy they say Fish killed or assassinated or whatever, wasn’t just a diplomat, he was a highly decorated Thai general.”
“…”
“SO, word on the street is that the military is looking for Fish too. They plan on paying him back for taking out one of their own.”
“…”
“I’ll tell you this, even if Fish is guilty of capping this guy, he deserved it. Fucking Thaksinites have ruined this country with their crooked politics, pulling us farther from the king and snubbing the poor. The only ones who have thrived these last few years are the rich.”
“…”
“I may be young but I’m old enough to know when the country’s going in the wrong direction.
“…”
“No, I’m not a member of the People’s Alliance for Democracy. Me and Fish often talked about them and how much we agree with a lot of what they say. I’m not committed. Fish is more into that stuff than me.”
“…”
“That’s enough questioning. Captain. I think it’s time you left. Good luck out there. You’re going to need it.”

3.

“Sorry to keep you waiting Captain Hang, but since the King’s Army has seized control of the country we’ve been very busy,” General Ekamai Muk says as he storms into the Ministry of Defense conference room. He takes a seat at the oval shaped table across from Captain Hang and waves the two lieutenants accompanying him out of the room.
“…”
“We’ve been cleaning up the messes left behind by those bourgeois politicos. Under the rule of Thaksin our economy has surged but at the cost of the nations pride and our core beliefs. Damn bureaucrats have ruined this country; they should all be taken out back and shot.”
“…”
“Yes, with the exception of General Morchit Plachalam, of course. He was a hero to many in this country despite his ties.”
“…”
“Yes, I knew him.”
“…”
“We were friends once.”
“…”
“Revenge? What do you mean?”
“…”
“Well, you’re one to talk aren’t you Captain Hang. This case doesn’t seem to fall under your jurisdiction either. You’re stationed in Ayutthaya; the murder of General Morchit Plachalam was committed on the island of Koh Chang at his beach home. I suppose the real question is what interest you’ve taken in this case?”
“…”
“Let’s quit the pleasantries, dressing up interrogation as friendly chit-chat. I have no need to hide from you. You see with a military junta in control, the King’s Army can no longer be held accountable to the police. Until the Council for National Security relinquishes our power to an alternative governing system the military is in complete control of the country. Until that time, Captain Hang, I have every intention of making sure Fish and these PAD bastards get what they deserve.”
“…”
“You could say we are planning to make an example out of him, yes. We’re resending a message; that the army takes care of their own, even in death, that the People’s Alliance for Democracy will not get away with profiting off the coup.”
“…”
“That I haven’t completely worked it out yet. Why General Plachalam? He was a diplomat true and a close personal friend of Thaksin but it doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to kill him. Why not someone else? Or perhaps he was the perfect target a public figure close enough to Thaksin to let him and the country know the PAD could be a threat to the nation’s leaders. Regardless, all evidence points to Fish, so he has made my list of things to do and if you care for him still, which I can’t see how you could, you’d better reach him before I do. Truth be told there are things I’d rather be doing then tracking down some low-life criminal.”
“…”
“Yes, I’m well aware of your connection to Fish. I went ahead and took the liberty of having the police hand over any and all information they had on Fish and you, Captain Hang. I thought you of all people would welcome our interest in Fish. From what I’ve read in his wrap-sheet he’s better off dead.”
“…”
“He deserves to die whether he’s guilty of assassinating General Morchit Plachalam or not. I won’t lose sleep over it,” he huffs as he stands. “If you intend on finding him and proving his innocence I suggest you do it quick. I don’t want to kill him, but I will.”
“…”
“I suggest you check with Dr. Udom Pu. He’s one of the leaders of the PAD’s radical sect. He shared a cell with Fish in prison three years ago. Our intelligence tells us that Pu is probably the one who put Fish up to this. He should know where Fish is hiding, he put him there.”
“…”
“What’s he a doctor of? Nothing, he has graduate degree in Applied Science, whatever that means, and Mass Communication, both received in America. His doctorate is self proclaimed and ties into his image as an activist leader. He says he’s a doctor for the people of Thailand. He’s diagnosed the country as suffering from corruption resting on the foundation of a dying monarchy. He’s written a prescription for, what he calls, ‘The Last Real Truth.’”
“…”
“I’ve tried to meet with him, my office offers to schedule appointment but he refuses to speak with me in person and outside of open threats there’s nothing I can do. I can dispose of his lap dog Fish but doing away with Pu would cause a lot of unwanted attention from the PAD and their high profile friends abroad.”
“…”
“Find Pu, if you can get him to prove his involvement, get him to admit that he ordered the hit and I’ll spare your brother.”
“…”
“Yes, it’s a trade. Get Pu to give himself up and I can promise your brother a long SAFE jail sentence.”
________________________________________________________________________
4.

“Hello I am Dr. Udom Pu. Please have a seat.”
“…”
“Don’t try anything or make any sudden movements, my people have us under surveillance right now.”
“…”
“I can’t stay with you long, I’m very busy. I can’t TELL you where Fish is, because I don’t KNOW where Fish is. However, if talking with you might help lead to my being absolved of this crime I felt it was at least worth meeting with you. I know that a food court is not conducive to interrogation but it is crowded and safe. Siam Paragon is one of the largest malls in Bangkok and draws a lot of foreigners; I can be assured that here no one would dare make an attempt on my life.”
“…”
“Yes, I have had a few threats made on my life but these are different.”
“…”
“You didn’t track me down to find out who is after me and why I have been forced to go into hiding. You came here to ask me about Fish.”
“…”
“So then ask,” he snaps cracking the knuckles of his left hand with his thumb.
“…”
“I don’t know where Fish is and though General Muk would have you believe I am the one who employed Fish to assassinate General Plachalam I assure you I did nothing of the sort.”
“…”
“Someone has decided to frame me. They plan to use me and my connection with Fish to discredit the PAD. The Army is like a dog chasing a bone. Instead of focusing on more important things, like stabilizing the south and those Muslim separatists, they’ve always opted to go after us. They want so much for it to be true. They’ve done little to investigate the validity of these accusations.”
“…”
“The truth, all there is to tie me to this murder is my association with Fish, which isn’t all that substantial.”
“…”
“Four years ago I was arrested during a protest of the Prime Minister. The police began to fire bean bags into the crowd, people ran and three young people were trampled. I was held responsible having organized the event. I shared a cell with Fish. He told me things. That’s why I agreed to meet you. He mentioned you and your daughter, Kunshrii Plaloma.”
“…”
“You’re his brother.”
“…”
“So I imagine that you’re out to clear your brother’s name, ergo, you are the one person in law enforcement that I can trust. You could look at this case objectively, sensibly. Proving Fish’s innocence would disprove my involvement with the assassination and save the name of the People’s Alliance for Democracy.”
“…”
“I know Fish didn’t do this because Fish is nothing but a petty criminal. He doesn’t have the conviction for murder and he’s nowhere near organized enough to orchestrate an assassination.”
“…”
“What did Fish tell me about you? This hardly seems pertinent.”
“…”
“Okay, he, he told me that the two of you are brothers. He’s adopted, which explains why you two look nothing alike.”
“…”
“Kunshrii is your daughter. You asked Fish to care for her when she was younger while you dealt with the death of your wife, which I don’t really understand considering Fish has a proclivity for poor decision making.”
“…”
“But he truly cared for her. Some nights I’d wake up to the sound of him crying, moaning Kunshrii’s name. One day I asked him about her. Though he’d never admit it, I believe he was sorry for having left her to fend for herself. She was no older than 15 at the time. Who knows how she survived? I imagine she had to do a few things she wasn’t so proud of. I don’t know why she felt as though she couldn’t just come to you.”
“…”
“Yes, uh, you were raised in Ayutthaya. Fish was fond of Ayutthaya. He talked about it a lot. He’s always talked about returning some day but for some reason he felt as though he couldn’t.”
“…”
“I don’t know why, we never discussed it,” he yaps. He pauses to straighten his tie and jacket, a matching color of sandy gray. He frowns and says, “I also remember his smell. Fish had a pungent odor. It wasn’t moldy or septic; it was, iron-like, like dried blood.”
“…”
“Fish never had an interest in joining the PAD. He doesn’t believe in democracy, in a government for the people. That’s what’s so ridiculous about all of this. Fish would be happy if complete control of the country was turned over to the King and made the first and last authority on every decision concerning the people of Thailand. To group me and the PAD in with the likes of Fish is a grave injustice, one that I hope for you to set right.”
“…”
“All my resources are at your disposal. If me or my people hear anything we will forward it on to you, anything to aid you in finding Fish and putting an end to all this.”
“…”
“Well, I just hope something I said could have provided you with a lead. Good luck Captain Hang and remember there are people counting on you.”


5.

[congratulations,]
“…”
[don’t]
[…]
[yes,]
[…]
[pretty]
[…]
[when]
[…]
[i]
[…]
[well,]
[…]
[i]
[…]
[ ]
[…]
[so]
[…]
[it’s]
[…]
[ ]
[…][
maybe]
[…]
[i]
[…]
[well,]
[…]
[i’m]
[…]
[uh…]
[…]
[h-hang…]
[…]
[hang,]
[…]
“Good work.”
[…]
“You can put down your gun Captain Hang. I’m not here to hurt you,” breathes General Muk as steps forward from behind a crumbling stone wall. He huffs to himself and extends an open palm but soon withdraws deciding against it. “I was just here to offer my congrats on a job well done. You did not disappoint.”
“…”
“You found Fish, you did what you were supposed to do, what you had been dreaming about doing for a long time…”
“…”
“We used each other. I supplied you with the trail leading you to your brother, giving you the tools, an opportunity to seek out your revenge. In return, you have laid the foundation for us to eliminate a grave threat to the monarchy and Thai loyalist like myself. You see, your brother, Fish, will be judged guilty of everything he has been accused of and you will turn in a statement to the police confirming his involvement in the assassination of General Plachalam.”
“…”
“Because if you don’t, we will kill Kunshrii... So easily silenced? I threaten the life a woman you hardly even know and you are suddenly willing to cooperate? Every man has a price. You know for a moment I was beginning to think we were alike you and I. I saw you for the first time, in person the other day. Sitting in the conference room, looking at you from across the table I began to have doubts. I said, ‘This is a man that can’t be puppeted like all the rest. This is a man like me who refuses to cower to another man’s machinations.’ However, here you are now, immobile, willing to give up your integrity. She may have been your daughter once but she isn’t anymore. She’s a complete stranger to you, Fish made sure of that when he kidnapped her, but yet you still want to defend her, you still want to be her father.”
“…”
“How hard was it for you when you saw her and realized that no matter what you did, no matter how many times you killed Fish, it wouldn’t bring back the time you had lost? How does it feel to watch your brother squirm in the dirt while life drains out of him knowing you are no closer to getting your wife back?”
“…”
“You would let me use you, gladly, to feel, for once like Kunshrii’s father. Pathetic, you’re just like your brother, a goon for hire.”
“…”
“You can save your compliments for someone else Captain Hang. I enjoy your enthusiasm but if you lunge at me like that again it will cost you…”
“…”
“ Now, you will head promptly to the nearest police station, your station, where you will alert your men that you have shot and killed Fish,” General Muk says, and two soldiers emerge from the darkness. They move quick and precise, altering the crime scene and squeezing a gun in the left hand of Fish’s lifeless body. “You tell them you had Fish cornered. A concerned older brother, you had intentions of bring Fish into justice yourself, you felt it was your duty and responsibility. Unfortunately, after trying to reason with him for several minutes Fish pulled a gun on you and you were forced to shoot him in self defense. About to meet his end, Fish, with his last breath revealed to you that he was approached by Dr. Udom Pu. The PAD paid Fish to kill General Morchit Plachalam.”
“…”
“They WILL believe it, that’s why we picked you. Your record is spotless; you are well liked and known for being honest to a fault, incorruptible.”
“…”
“Forensics won’t bother sweeping the crime scene if you tell them not to and you know that. They’re your men, Hang. You’ve put your neck out for virtually every guy in that station, one way or another. They would follow you to the ends of the Earth, that’s another reason we chose you.”
“…”
“Like I said you are a pawn, a key player in our fight to protect the monarchy, to protect Thailand. You see when, the Army decided to seize control of the nation and oust Thaksin many of us in the armed services viewed the coup as an opportunity to do some tidying up.”
“…”
“It had long been suspected that General Plachalam was using his connections to help fund and aid Muslim Separatists in the south. We found evidence of this less than two weeks before the intended coup. Plachalam’s involvements lead to the deaths of nearly 300 officers serving this country, innocent men fighting to keep Thailand united and under the rule of the King. We didn’t want to hand him over to you, the police, in fear that it could explode into a scandal and cause citizens to question our leadership. To get rid of Thaksin we needed to have the support of the people, we needed them to know we were a better solution, and though we don’t intend to control things forever the last thing we want is for citizens to have reason to doubt or question the intentions of the CNS while in power.”
“…”
“That being said, we decided to assassinate General Plachalam but it couldn’t appear to be us. Someone, some organization, had to be behind it. Immediately we thought of the PAD. They have been a thorn in the side of the monarchy for years. This was an opportunity to rock them to their foundation, discredit them and put away one of their chief officials –Dr. Udom Pu. Looking into Pu’s past I just happened to stumble across Fish, a two bit criminal that no one would care about, the perfect fall guy. However, we needed a way to clean up the mess we made. Framing Fish wasn’t enough; we had to make sure he couldn’t live long enough to piece together what had happened to him, who was really behind it. There you were, a picture of you staring up at me from the folder. Fish had plenty of enemies but you were perfect, you had a reason and you had a weakness we could exploit. We forwarded the lead to you. Dropped Fish’s last known whereabouts on your desk and waited for you to follow the trail.
“…”
“I’m not telling you this to gain perspective. I’m not telling you this because I give a damn how you feel. I’m telling you this so that the next time you see me walking down the street and I give a little nod, you’ll know why I’m there and what it means. I’m telling you this so you’ll realize that you’ve been drafted into our war, my war, a secret war. I’m telling you this so that the next time I give you an assignment you’ll know what we are capable of and why it is so crucial you do as you’re told.”
“…”
“Funny, Captain Hang Pla. Pla means Fish. You and your brother are more similar than you’d like to admit. On two different sides of the law, you both managed to end up in the same position,” General Muk snorts. He turns and begins to walk away. His soldiers follow. Before he fades out of sight he says, “Good work, Fish, you did not disappoint.”