Chapter 20 - One of Us

We quietly slipped out of the scene, wasting no time to stock up on supplies.

Camping equipment, biscuits, instant noodles, batteries, and first-aid kits, etc.

On the long ride back to the warehouse, getting bored with nothing to do, Bobby asked with a grin: "Sam, so you and Amy Lee together now?"

Kurnawan glanced back at the rear-view mirror, curious to know the answer.

I "tsked" at Bobby, "No, what gave you the idea?"

"I don't know, maybe like how you were visibly angry when Clement got close to her?"

I could see Kurnawan nodding vigorously in unison.

Was it that obvious? I quietly thought to myself.

"That's because of the money. I didn't want to share it with them. What do you think that Dayak man wants?"

I quickly threw out this question to change the topic.

Even though I had a hunch who this Dayak man was.

Bobby sighed, then lashed out in frustration, "Damn him, always appearing like a ghost. Next time I swear I will kill him."

My distraction worked, and we arrived back at the warehouse.

With the supplies ready, what's left is to wait for Sea Snake Fang to get better.

I bought some oil ointment to help soothe his pain; it was supposed to help with fractures.

There are many different oil ointments being sold and used in Southeast Asia, for situations like sprains or fractures.

The Haw-par Villa in Singapore with all those weird and scary-looking statues was built by the Haw-par brothers.

They earned their fortune with their famous oil ointment.

"Thanks, I should be better soon. Just give me one or two more days," Sea Snake Fang thanked me after applying the ointment.

"How did you get to work with Amy?" I asked, trying to get to know him.

Previously I had only seen him as someone quiet with a low presence.

"Amy Lee's father was my Shifu; I'm what he was to me for her."

That explained a lot.

Sea Snake Fang had been letting Amy Lee lead the expedition, only stepping in whenever necessary.

I then thought about my Shifu, where he was and what was the plan.

Welp, different Shifus had their own ways, I suppose.

This reminded me to check on my Shifu with Ramdan.

I whipped out my phone, SMS'd Ramdan, and waited for his reply.

Crickets. He didn't reply.

Nothing much I could do but to call it a night.

...

While I was in deep sleep, I felt my body shaking. From the side of my head, I heard a whisper, "Sam, wake up."

"What the hell? Clement found us?" I sat up groggily, slowly opened my eyes; it was still night.

"No, I think I saw something outside," Bobby pointed out to the window.

Looking through the window, there was nothing out there.

Just trees and the leaves rustling in the wind.

It must have been a cat or some other animal.

He wasn't convinced.

So, we retrieved the parang (machete) meant for bashing through the vegetation, went and investigated.

There was no one.

With the parang in front and the tall grass brushing through the skin of my hand, I searched around.

After some searching, I stumbled upon something, an old NTUC plastic bag among the trash on the ground.

But there was no NTUC in Indonesia, only in Singapore.

This must have been a message from Shifu!

Quietly, I bent down and picked it up.

There was a piece of paper inside, written on it were the words "one traitor among you."

It was my Shifu's handwriting; after going through all his notebooks while learning his ropes, there was no way I would not know it.

I looked around, ensured that no one was around, lit up a cigarette, then burned the piece of paper.

"There's nothing, Bobby, let's get back to sleep."

Bobby scratched the back of his head, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "I swear I saw something."

When I was back on the bed, I tossed and turned and couldn't get to sleep.

Everyone on the team came into my mind; I recollected who they were, what they did.

I could trust Bobby with my life, so he is out of the picture.

Amy Lee had no business being a traitor to her own expedition.

She didn't seem like one who wanted to take it all.

Sea Snake Fang being Amy Lee's Shifu, had no reason to betray his disciple.

That leaves Firecracker Tan and Kurnawan.

I couldn't pinpoint who was the traitor.

All of them had fought the Lawrence brothers with their lives.

But what if it was a setup?

What if the Lawrence brothers were disposable?

My mind went through all the different possibilities but couldn't decide.

Very soon it was daylight; I woke up with deep dark eye rings.

Firecracker Tan, looking at my face, burst out laughing, "Young man, you should lay off and give your body some rest."

"It's not what you think." I gave him an annoyed look, lit up a cigarette but secretly kept an eye on him.

He was rummaging through his backpack, found and took out his phone, checked if someone was looking, and stared at the screen.

I tried getting close, but he was alert, switched off his phone, and kept it immediately.

Seeing that I was approaching, he looked at me and asked, "What do you want?"

Pointing to my dark eye rings, I said, "You have instant coffee mix?"

He rummaged in his backpack, found it, and tossed me a packet of instant coffee.

While boiling the water for the coffee, I thought to myself, I need to find out what he was looking at on his phone.

I need to find an opportunity to do so.

While I was lost in thoughts, Bobby gave me a firm pat on my back, grinned widely, and said, "Wow, coffee? Thanks, Sam."

"Don't touch it, it's not for you."

I had an idea. I whispered to Bobby, "I need your help. Try and get Firecracker Tan away from his phone."

I looked around, checking if anyone was looking, then whispered: "You just have to..."