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had some confirmation from counterparts in neighbouring countries in the
past that when the Devil’s Delight settles in, they dictate the terms
and call the shots. The general hopes to stop them before they become
entrenched in Vietnam but is already worried it may be too late.”
    “And what does he
expect from you?” asked Jonathan. “What kind of help is he looking for?”
    “To start, he’s
looking to identify the Delight’s man out there,” Nick replied. “I’m emailing
you some photos he sent me. All he had besides those is the man’s street or
code name, which is Scorpion.”
    “For some reason,
that sounds familiar,” said Jonathan, “But Scorpion is probably a pretty common
street name. I can have someone run the photos and name through our databases
to see if we can find something useful.”
    “Don’t bother,”
Sharp replied. “On Quang’s behalf, I contacted a couple of well-placed folks
south of the border, one with the FBI and the other with the DEA. They both got
back to me earlier today and sent me a report which I’ll be sending you. That’s
the second distinct but related issue I wanted to talk to you about and I know
you’re going to love this because it’s one doozy of a story.”

Chapter
7 – Tuesday, October 15, 2013
     
    Tân Sơn
Nhất International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
     
    The last passenger
to board the plane, Scorpion settled into his business class seat on flight
VN234 as an attendant was securing the hatch and a moment later, the Airbus
A321 started backing from the terminal. The two hour flight would put him in
Hanoi shortly before noon, giving him ample time to deal with the meetings he
had scheduled before taking the overnight train to Sa Pa.
    He was pleased
with how the Devil’s Delight’s integration into Vietnam had proceeded so far.
His approach, a carbon copy of what he had done in other countries over the
years, was a fairly simple one and he often wondered why other crime syndicates
involved in narcotics had never attempted anything similar.
    He had initially
sent a number of carefully selected scouts from the U.S. to Vietnam to do the
groundwork. As with other countries in the past, the ability to blend in and
effectively deal with the locals was paramount so chosen candidates had been
recruited from Vietnamese gangs affiliated with the Devil’s Delight. Over the
next year, the team had kept busy, gathering intelligence, identifying players,
locating existing poppy farms, processing facilities and locales for new ones
as well as developing relationships and network building at a variety of
levels.
    Agreements had
been reached, payments had begun to flow and land and facilities had been
acquired, all without the slightest rumour getting back to potential obstacles
such as local crime magnate, Cao Van Minh or his top brass police cronies. It
was amazing what money coupled with not-so-veiled threats could do to encourage
confidentiality. By the time Scorpion had made his first ‘public’ appearance to
meet the Vietnamese mobster, the Devil’s Delight was already a going concern in
Vietnam with initial shipments destined for North America ready to go.
    As the plane
taxied toward the runway, Scorpion checked his mobile to see if Pablo Martinez
had responded to his email but there was nothing from his man in Houston. Pablo had sent a message the previous Thursday informing Scorpion he was
heading to the Caribbean for a few days with a chiquita he had met so he
was likely drunk, naked and having a great time. However, he should know well
enough to reply in a timely manner when the boss contacted him, regardless of
where he was or what he was doing, particularly when the boss was halfway
around the planet. He would have a chat with Martinez on the subject when he
returned to the United States in a few weeks.
    The plane veered
into position on the runway and as the engines revved up, Scorpion turned off
his mobile, slipped it into his shirt