Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Myanmar

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is the second largest producer of opium in the world after Afghanistan. Thousands of square kilometers are estimated to be used for opiate poppy cultivation. It is the livelihood of a large number of peasants who have no options for survival. Burma integrates together with Thailand and Laos the so-called Golden Triangle, source of much of the narcotic drug in the world. The army's success in defeating some opium-financed Warlords at the end of the last century was not followed by firm action to counter drug trafficking and money laundering associated with it. Peasants in Myanmar and the Highlands of Thailand continue to depend on this income, and not only these poor sectors, but most of the hotel and tourism boom and other investments in the country are based on the dirty money of drug trafficking and official complacency. Public service companies and the Myanmar army itself are used to launder money from illegal activities. After the destruction of a large part of the poppy fields in the last century, they have begun to increase their surface again in the first decade of the 21st century. New drug lords have taken the place of the fallen and a so-called United Wa Army, made up of militiamen of the same ethnic origin, control the eastern border with Thailand, the nerve center of the aforementioned Golden Triangle. The opium and heroin base produced there are transported to Thailand where they are transformed into high purity heroin, and circulate through the territory of this country until reaching Bangkok, from where it is distributed to world markets, particularly the United States where it enters via California and Hawaii. To complete a complicated geopolitical board, Chinese Muslims have created triads dedicated to the opium trade to the west and also to China. Finally, local methamphetamine production has supplemented heroin supply to foreign markets.

The fortress, located in the rugged mountainous area between Myanmar and Thailand, lay quietly amid the total absence of breezes. Its silhouette on the top of a hill was cut dark among the sparse vegetation that surrounded it. No light from the interior betrayed the presence of people in the castle. The night of the new moon did not illuminate the rocky landscape, through which it was dangerous to move due precisely to the darkness. No one could visualize the two black-clad figures gliding stealthily toward the building.

The hooks thrown from the ground to the top of the wall were covered with burlap cloth so that they did not make any sound when falling inside, nor were detected the two dark figures that climbed the castle's interior by ropes. The sentries asleep in their posts had quickly their throats cut, leaving the east side of the fortress fully exposed. The figures went down to ground level inside the large patio without being perceived, and after quickly orienting themselves based on the information received from two prostitutes who had been hired days before to provide services, they went without hesitation to a completely stone building with a heavy wooden door. With great dexterity they managed to open it in the light of a tiny electric flashlight and then they went to one of the interior doors, which they also managed to open. There, after staying still for a few moments, they illuminated the wide bed and recognized in the sleeping man that lay there the main provider of Khun Sha, the drug lord who led the predominant triad in northern Thailand. The man slept peacefully in the company of a woman. The daggers did their job and the two infiltrators withdrew from the compound with the same secrecy with which they had entered, after writing in blood and using the tips of their daggers the fateful word Alamut in various calligraphies. Then, knowing that their backs were covered by the murder of the sentries, they lowered themselves from the castle wall using the ropes, which they later detached from their restraints on the wall with a predetermined movement and retreated by the prevailing darkness, now complemented by the mist that it raised the nearness of dawn. The two Fedayeen set out on their long journey to receive the reward that had been promised to them, the enjoyment of all earthly joys in the Garden of Eden surrounded by a hundred virgins who would dance for them.

They were all gathered in Dr. Richardson's office waiting for the call that they knew would come soon. Admiral Donnelly had indeed anticipated the day and time of the call by what´s app. The office owner, Watkins, Suzuki, Madame Swarowska, Lakshmi, and Jack Berglund were chatting while waiting for the connection. Finally the device beeped, Watkins took the call and switched on the speaker so that everyone could participate in the conversation. Donnelly's voice sounded distant.

“Hello Admiral.” Richardson said.” Where are you speaking from?”

“ Now I just got back to Bangkok. I was on the border with Myanmar.”

“What information do you have about the murder?”

"It is ... it was a lieutenant of the main Drug Lord acting at the moment. He was a Muslim of Chinese ethnicity, as is his employer.”

"The methodology?" Suzuki inquired succinctly.

“The usual. The sentries in the slits of the fort had their throats cut, then the assassins proceeded to open the doors, entered the bedroom and dispatched two victims with daggers. All without attracting attention, without waking anyone and then they fled in the dark.”

“Was there an inscription?”

“Of course, Alamut, in several languages, this time including Chinese characters.”

“ All right. What are the next steps?” It was always Richardson who asked.

“For you, I think your people have to go on a journey.”

“To Thailand or Myanmar?”

“No, there is nothing to see here anymore. My men are collaborating with Burmese and Thai people to collect evidence and testimonies. You cannot add anything in this area.”

“Where, then?”

"Where it all started." Donnelly's answer was firm.

“That is?”

“To Alamut. It is there where we have to look for the first keys to this whole situation. And I think it is precisely you who can find clues that others have overlooked.”