Gemsicuted

Written by Julian Robov


Fifty Three


Lam returned home with a sunken feeling, after being tattooed and fired from the job by Rubyhall, and he had a month to leave his posh condo, when other details were settled. Marla received the news at first in shock and disbelief, followed by a deep sadness. For them the whole world was splitting apart, because of a 37carat ruby, and Rubyhall’s inability to replace one immediately. Both sat in the living room speechless pondering their future. Finding a new job was close to impossible when the economy in the country and in the whole region was going down like a bungy dive. Fear and desperation ran through Lam’s mind, while Marla kept wondering his thoughts. She was too scared to ignite his anger after watching him for the past several days. It was a difficult moment in her life. For reason he couldn’t explain, Lam was weighing several options. He had no intention of creating a miserable situation for Marla and his two girls. It was already taken care of.

The next phase was his future. This was a job he loved so much. But that has been plucked away by a 37carat ruby. He didn’t realize until now how powerful rubies were, when it came to certain events. That thought reminded him of a tale told by Tom Chavalit about Aung San, the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese Nobel Peace prizewinner. The Burmese soldiers killed him during a rally and the rumor was he forgot to wear the ruby he had worn everyday, leaving others on the stage unhurt. The legend also had a different tale about rubies. The lucky owner was assured of peaceful life with all men, and a guarantee that his possessions would never be taken away from him, free from other damages. There was even a suggestion for the wearer to insert rubies into their flesh so that no sword, spear, or gun, could hurt them. For Jay, it was all wholesome bull looking at his own fate. It was legend and lore rather than fact, but events after a 37carat ruby came into the Bangkok market had brought him only misery rather than luck.

He began to hate rubies, and Rubyhall, of course. All his friends began to show disinterest in him after being fired by Rubyhall. They knew already, Lam had no more future. Working for someone else was close to impossible, because they had no interest in hiring a man of Jay’s stature.

Jay had only two options. Either leave the country or start on his own. Both looked a distant possibility due to his age and competition. So there was nothing left, and the industry believed Rubyhall’s version rather than his, because Rubyhall was more powerful and well known. He was just a shadow. This attitude disturbed him, even though he had contributed a lot to the organization, which the world and the industry didn’t see. With this negative feelings accumulating incrementally by the second, he lost interest in everything, even his own existence. The only good friend he had was Tuna. She was a good listener and an understanding woman, and now his new friend, Harry Takashi, but for how long.

Without detailing further, he asked Marla to leave for Chiang Mai in a couple of day’s time. She didn’t understand his motive. He had a condo in her name, and had transferred all his bank deposits into her account. She refused at first to leave him but after his persistent reasoning, she decided to move to Chiang Mai with their two girls. They were too young to understand the complicated events, and Lam was in no mood to explain them. He saw it as a relief once and for all from family commitments. Now it was just a few other important things. Some ideas were brewing in his mind, but he had no precise plans.

First, he decided to get out of his condo to be away from family. He loved to visit only one place, Tuna’s Club and Restaurant! The timing was consistent, as Takashi arrived at Tuna’s Club & Restaurant just after Lam. It was already six, and the regulars had arrived to watch the replay of the world cup soccer. Some had already lost a lot after betting against France for Brazil and the winners decided to celebrate in style. There was disbelief and shock after Brazil’s unexpected defeat, and Lam and Takashi had no problem joining the losers. The wine, which followed after the food kept the conversation going. As the gathering became too noisy, Lam winked at Takashi, and then led him to a corner seat, as if he had something to say. Takashi had no problem, because he had all the time in the world to listen to anyone as long as it had any mention of job or money. The rest was irrelevant, but still he insisted that he was listening. It was a clever disguise.

Lam had ideas, and he needed Takashi to accomplish his last goal knowing his pathetic situation. And he was right. Takashi too was thinking in a similar way, but due to the wine and beer, he nodded to Lam’s ideas. He had no reason to think further. His life was falling apart. Surrendering in front of his parents without any achievement was the last thing in the world he could contemplate.

After paying the bills, they both got into a taxi and headed to a dirty-looking soi(lane). Lam knew the inhabitants of this dirty-looking soi (lane) somewhere close to Klong Toey. Narong, a short and sturdy-looking man in his late forties, emerged from his apartment to welcome Lam and Takashi. Lam knew him through one of the gem brokers who frequented him while at Rubyhall’s. Narong was the contact when it came to fake guns of any famous brand. Only he and a few policemen knew the original source of all the expensive guns reaching them at a cost.

Narong drove them to an unnamed apartment in Rangsit to show them the brands he had. Lam chose a Magnum .45. In fact, he bought two, one for him and Takashi. Takashi smiled unknowingly, while holding the gun in his hand. Lam was observing Takashi’s reaction. He was trigger-happy looking like a fool. After collecting the money, Narong drove back to Sukhumvit, and dropped them in front of the Sheraton Grande hotel. From there, they hailed a cab to his condo. Takashi accompanied Lam to his condo at the President Park for the first time. The two guns they bought were carefully concealed in a plastic bag. Takashi was really surprised by the size of his condo and the facilities inside. It looked a bit bigger than the one where he used to live, while working in Hong Kong.

It was just the two of them now. After hiding the guns in a safe place, Lam brought in more wine and beer to keep the mood at bay. He knew the time had come to implement the idea, which was unthinkable a few weeks ago. Now with Takashi in deep shit financially or otherwise there was no problem convincing him what to do. Lam needed an ally in that last moment to cheer him up for one more time.

Takashi too was having some serious thoughts, even though he was drunk. Though he had difficulty putting all those thoughts together into a meaningful sentence, he knew the purpose of the entertainment after seeing the guns. Someone had to die, and he had no idea who that was going to be. But he had no problem with that after he knew both had become some sort of losers, and perhaps this was one way to show the world they did something no matter how stupid the event might be. He glanced at Lam.
Everything looked blurred to him. Eventually, he slumped into the sofa. Lam looked at Takashi, and didn’t feel like saying anything. His mind was clear, precise and determined, even though he was drinking as much as Takashi. The time had come to do something about it, and the images of his targets became more transparent and visible.