Overthrow (A James Winchester Thriller Book 2) (James Winchester Series) by James Samuel (the gingerbread man read aloud .TXT) 📕

their objective and gave them full creativity to handle it their way. People like Thom didn’t realise this was only handcuffing them and making it harder to do their jobs.

“Fine. Then how’s Hun Sen after all this? You must have been reading the papers while I was away.”

Sinclair shrugged. “There was a march outside the palace yesterday in support of the King. The papers were asking how this could have happened. They never went too far, but Mr. Arun said that they went further than usual. Sen controls the media in this country. It’s the first seeds of a rebellion.”

He continued tucking into his second fish amok, slurping at the flaky white fish ground into the sweet curry.

“Get in touch with Thom. I want to meet him,” said James. “We need to move.”

Sinclair stopped scarfing down his food. “Really, now?”

“Now. Every hour we lose gives Narith a chance to regroup. We don’t even know who this Shao Fen is or what he’s planning.”

“Well, he’s Chinese.”

“Great. That should narrow it down,” James said sarcastically. “Just get on the phone to Thom now.”

Sinclair clattered the cutlery on the table, leaving little orange stains on the tablecloth. He pulled out his phone and clamped it to his ear with a pouty look playing on his face.

“I’d like to set up a meeting with you. It’s a matter of urgency,” said Sinclair.

James tapped his fingers on the table. His experience in the Cardamom Mountains made him want to kill Narith and get out of this country as soon as possible. Watching a man consigned to death after he stepped on a landmine was a step too far for him.

“Fine. He’ll meet us at sunset at a Buddhist temple here. Wat Phnom is its name.”

“Why’d he want to meet us there?”

Sinclair resumed consuming the remains of his amok. “Maybe he’s a Buddhist?”

James nodded. “So, which corner are we fighting? Kravaan or Fen?”

He swallowed a mouthful of food. “Kravaan. He’s the immediate threat. If Fen is the real power behind all this, we need to blunt his sword and then we can use the time we get from it to take the initiative. Right now, I feel like we’re spending our time reacting to everything they do. How’s Blake anyway?”

“Fine. He’ll be back on his feet soon enough.”

James refused to think about Blake. His headstrong approach had almost got them killed. He’d spoken little of the retreat down the mountains. Blake had slowed them up allowing frequent attacks from the guerrillas. Only Dylan’s firm urgings had managed to keep him far enough ahead to avoid getting them pinned down.

“And Dylan?”

“Shame he’s working for Xiphos, not us. He’s worth more than what they’ve got him doing.”

“Oh?” Sinclair smirked. “Has James got a newfound respect for someone?”

James returned the smile. “I have. Never thought I would say that about someone working for Xiphos. We should stay in contact with him. You never know, he might be able to help us again.”

“Remember, he’s working against us.”

James looked to his empty banana leaf plate. He didn’t want to consider that he could find himself facing Dylan across a battlefield. The young American had his weaknesses, but he’d grown in those mountains. Watching his superior turn into pâté had hardened him. This business always came with those defining moments.

“Don’t get attached to him as you got attached to the Montoya girl.”

James’ head snapped up. “And just where the fuck is that coming from?”

“I’m just saying, sometimes you get attached to the people you meet, and you let it get in the way of your job. Just saying that you shouldn’t think anything about Dylan because he might be the reason we don’t finish this the way it should be finished.”

“Fuck off, Sinclair.”

Jessi Montoya had become a big focus of James’ time in Mexico. After rescuing her from a drug lord, they’d developed something between themselves. Reluctantly, James had let her go and encouraged her to return to the protective embrace of her brother, another drug lord. She’d refused and promptly disappeared. Nobody had heard from her since, not even James, with all the intelligence resources at his disposal.

“So.” Sinclair wiped his mouth with a red napkin. “With that out of the way, let’s go meet Thom. Hopefully, you won’t have any feelings of respect for him too.”

“Fuck off, Sinclair.”

Chapter Forty-Six

Sihanoukville, Preah Sihanouk Province, Cambodia

 

Dylan, once again, found himself in the backroom of the Lucky Dragon Casino. Shao’s centre of operations in Sihanoukville, Dylan hadn’t visited this room since he’d been forced to kill to prove his loyalty. It still gave him the creeps even after the blood had been removed. No amount of scrubbing would wash out the stain of death.

“Mr. Howser. Welcome.” Shao took Dylan’s hand. “This is a most special occasion. I have expressed my gratitude to your boss, Sir Richard.”

“Thank you, Mr. Fen.”

Dylan and Shao sat on opposite silk cousins with the usual gongfu tea table separating them. Shao didn’t say a word but displayed a thin smile as his aides went about making tea in the traditional Chinese manner.

“Mr. Howser,” said Shao. “I understand that Tep Prak is dead and the Khmer Rouge are in disarray.”

“That’s right, sir. But I would like to add that I couldn’t have done it without the men on my team.”

“The men on your team? I understand you lost your comrade in arms. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

“Me too.” Dylan tried to shut the memory of Adam from his mind. He didn’t need the nightmares. “But James Winchester is the only reason why we got Prak and why any of us managed to escape the mountains at all.”

Shao tilted his head out of curiosity. “James Winchester? I’ve never heard that name before.”

Dylan paused. “Yes, well,