Gathering his jacket Love borrowed a few of Tan's smallest drones, before heading out to the garage. He was the only person Tan trusted with his drones other than himself, an unspoken understanding between the two tech guys.
He looked over the transportation options available to him: a motorbike, two motorcycles, three cars, two trucks, and one big silver SUV. Most of the motor-pools for undercover work are vehicles seized from drug traffickers. The idea was it would help them blend into the city far easier than regular police vehicles ever could plus it was cheaper a lot of times undercovers vehicles had to be disposed of quickly or were ruined in the line of duty, it was less painful for everyone to trash a car or bike that the government hadn't paid for.
Love checked his watch, 17:30 he better take a bike. Depending on the time of day in Bangkok you could spend hours sitting in traffic on the same miserable patch of asphalt and it was the start of rush hour. Walking to the garage attendant he picked up the clipboard on the desk.
"I'll be taking the Triumph out." Love said as he looked down the list of vehicles and signed his name next to the Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR. Checking his badge, the attendant retrieved the keys from the lockbox.
Love checked the address of Harts gallery; he hadn't been in the creative district for a while, but he was vaguely familiar with its location down a soi off Charoen Krung Road in Bang Rak, the area that occupied the space between the Chao Phraya River and Silom. Putting on his helmet he waited for the crystal display vizor to come to life, Tan had made this helmet especially for him. The vizor was a screen made of the same liquid crystal as their boards allowing him to connect to his phone and computer at work as well the rest of the team's phones. That way, he could be a one man command and research center from anywhere they needed. Tans magic allowed him to grow these liquid crystals. Mali said it was like he could fabricate brain synopsis literally growing the circuitry for the hardware he built. Checking everything was active, he pulled up the small file he had put together on Hart, kicked the motorcycle to life and sped out of the garage.
Turning right, Love headed south, zipping in and out of traffic weaving between cars, trucks, and other bikes, he had decided to go through the city rather than take the toll road. At red lights the bikes all pool toward the front of the line grouped around the cars or trucks there. Traffic in Bangkok was chaos but a kind of organic organized chaos, each rider aware of what was around them, and what could go wrong. Most of them had impeccable timing, sliding between cars and other bikes with mere centimeters to spare, it was like an intricate, dangerous dance one wrong step and it was over. Traffic fatalities had become significantly less common, but the number was still high with around 4000 accidents a year, and roughly 350 lives lost.
As the first gallery came into view, he slowed hugging the side of the road looking for Hart's distinctive red BMW convertible. It wasn't long before he found it tucked behind a building, Down the road just around a slight curve were several food stalls with tables set up. Love could see the car from there, but he wouldn't be visible to Hart. It had taken him an hour to get across the city in traffic. The upside was finally the sun was starting to set, and it would get marginally cooler once it was dark. He parked and ordered before sending up the two small drones that he had borrowed from Tan to scout the area. Love monitored the drones and once he confirmed that Hart was inside the gallery all he had to do was wait and follow him if he left. Packing the drones away once more he turned his attention to the Pad Thai picking out half the bean sprouts, from the dish he didn't like them once they were wilted.
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Hart checked his Phone and swore under his breath.
"Shit!" He bolted out of his chair and upstairs to change, he had promised to meet some friends in Silom and if he didn't get there soon, it would be standing room only, especially on a Friday. Hart checked his make-up, opting for winged eyeliner and adding a few delicate rhinestones on his upper eyelid just below his brow line. His red lipstick made his already pouty lips sultry; he finished his look with tall boots and a black pleated skirt, a halter top, and a red slouchy blazer with ¾-length sleeves. He checked himself in the mirror and smirked.
'Gorgeous,' he thought.
Hart scanned the sky as he descended the steps toward where he parked his car. You almost never saw stars at night in Bangkok, but it wasn't cloudy so it probably wouldn't rain. It was a short drive from his studio to Silom, but he wanted the roof open anyway. Turning the key, he pushed the button to lower the roof, which always felt like freedom.
Less than 15 minutes later he parked his car at a friend's restaurant and walked the last block to where he was to meet the others. Silom housed most of the gay clubs in Bangkok on soi 2 and soi 4 the bars and clubs lined both sides of the street. Tables, spilling out onto the sidewalks and streets like grandstands facing each other, you could sit and watch the continuous parade of interesting people, or you could walk around seeing who was where. Here you can find everything from drag shows and strip shows to Karaoke.
Heading down Soi 4 the heels of his boots clicked ferociously against the pavement, he could feel the crowd's eyes on him, friends and regulars stopped him to plant kisses on his cheeks and ask how the gallery was doing. Tourists stared and the newcomers asked about him in whispers. He used to revel in the attention, but it wasn't the same without Phet. Together they broke necks. Lost in his thoughts he didn't pay attention to the motorcycle that parked at the end of the soi past the last strip club. Hart checked his watch. It was nine. He had better get inside and order a drink; his friend Marina was doing her first drag show tonight and he wanted to be right up front.
The Stranger Bar was already packed as he made his way through the crowd to the bar his friends occupied one corner and stood all along the black wall lined with masks. Hart ordered a Sex on the Beach and a round of Sperm shots for his group.