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tom crowley books
down & Out books
Category:
Action/Thriller
Publisher: down & out books
ISBN-10: 1643961535
Type: Fiction
Pages: 228
Copyright: Nov 30, 2020
ISBN-13: 1643961538
Price: $5.99 (eBook)
Matt Chance is recruited to find a kidnapped girl in Thailand. Along the way he finds a mad monk and cyber criminals with outlaw states backing them.
Kidnapping, international trafficking on the dark web, bit
coin blackmail by gangster police states, loan sharks, and a
monk obsessed with profit and power are all in the mix.
When Matt Chance is asked by a Bangkok gambling kingpin
to investigate the kidnapping of his daughter he’s not
interested.
That is until he learns that his mentor, former Special Forces
soldier John Scales, already on the case, has disappeared.
On the trail, Matt confronts Jade Lee, an ex US Army
chopper pilot who joins the chase.
Their attempt to rescue the girl and capture the monk in
charge of the criminal cult appears to be a failure until the
CIA joins the picture in the form of Matt’s older brother
Rick. Offered the chance to take part in a covert operation in
Macau, where the monk has fled, Matt and Jade agree to go.
The risk is great, the territory unknown, but it seems the only
way to rescue the girls and get the mad monk.
Excerpt
Chapter One
She had escaped.
That was the important point. She had to forget the negatives or they would overwhelm her. The dirt road stretched before her into the night and on into the countryside, lined by palm trees. Shadows dotted the road from the dim moonlight above the trees. The tall rice stalks in the paddies behind the trees were bending slightly with the breeze. There were no lights or signs of habitation other than the temple grounds from which she had just fled.
She was sweating through the white robe they had made her wear, except for when one of the elect was using her. They had used her so often, letting her ‘serve the elect’ as they termed it. God, what if she was pregnant? She hurt from the beatings dealt to her for resisting. The pain was not just in one place but all over her body.
She was alone. Her mind frantically tried to come up with more facts to describe her situation. She thought organizing the facts in her mind would somehow help her to control her fear.
Ok, that was another fact. She was so scared she couldn’t stop shaking as she ran. She couldn’t let them catch her and take her back to that cell, to that depraved ‘service center’ as the religious brethren termed it.
She stumbled and ran. The wet cloak of the humid night air enveloped her. She had no plan except to get as far away as she could. She had to find people, farmers, anyone who could help her and hide her.
Her foot slipped in a hole in the road that had been covered by the tree shadows. She fell and scraped her knee, loose pebbles ground into her palms as she tried to break her fall. Ignore the pain, get up, keep moving.
Then beyond a bend in the road, beyond some trees, she glimpsed some farm huts and faint lights inside. The farmers would be simple people but they would see her need. They would help her.
She ran on. As she approached the huts she saw a small group of farmers gathered outside talking. They had their backs to her. She ran closer, calling to them. Just as she neared them, and slowed to a walk, they heard her and turned towards her. She was saved. They would protect her.
Then, as she came closer to the group, their circle opened, she saw who it was the villagers had been talking to. Facing her were two of the senior monks, including Uncle Pham, one who had used her often. She stopped, tried to turn, but instead, exhausted, fell to her knees, sobbing.
Uncle Pham smiled at her but with his mouth only, not his snake like eyes which seemed to look right though her with contempt.
“Little sister, we were worried about you. It’s okay now. We’ll take care of you as we promised. We’re here to take you home.”
The farmers didn’t look at her. Most had already turned and were walking back towards their thatched roof homes.
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