161. Duff makes a splash
The boy pulled Larson’s arm again. Larson hesitated for a moment, but took the first step to follow him.
Duff still had his supersize orange juice in his hand. He took off the plastic top and exposed the liquids in the cup. He still had a lot of juice left.
- Larson! said Duff sharply.
- What? said Larson.
Duff aimed carefully. With a swift movement, which gave Larson no warning about what was about to happen, Duff threw the contents of the cup at him. It hit Larson on his chest. Larson’s formerly white shirt turned orange-yellow and dark where the juice spread and flowed down the shirt.
- WHAT ARE YOU DOING? HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY MAD? yelled Larson.
- Sorry, said Duff. - It was an accident.
- AN ACCIDENT? YOU THREW OJ AT ME ON PURPOSE!! IT IS COLD! IT IS DIRTY!! YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME BY THIS SORT OF LOW TRICK? THINK AGAIN!!
Larson wiped off his shirt with his hands. The boy stood watching the two farangs and seemed not to know if he should laugh or run away. A group of taxi drivers watched the scene with expectation. The foreigners were fighting! This was the most exiting thing that had happened on this corner for months.
- Come here, said Larson to the boy.
Duff’s cup was not yet empty. He had the bottom third left, a slush of water, sugar, melted ice and remnants of orange juice. Duff aimed higher this time.
- VAD I HELVETE!! (*) said Larson, who forgot to speak English and switched back to his native Swedish. - AR DU TOKIG?(**)
(*) What in hell?
(**) Are you insane?
- It was an accident, said Duff. - I am terribly sorry. I don’t know how this could happen. Here, let me help you clean you up.
Larson was cleaning his eyes while half melted ice flew down from his head. He could not see properly.
Duff took Larson by the shoulders and said: - This way please.
Duff guided Larson to the nearest taxi. He opened the door for Larson and pushed him into the back seat. Duff took the front seat, feeling safer when putting some distance between him and the irate Swede.
- But the boy! said Larson. - What about the boy?
- He ran away, said Duff.
- Oh no!
- Yes he did. He was quick on his feet too.
- Malaysia Hotel please, said Duff to the driver.
- You will pay for this, Duffy! said Larson.
Duff’s phone rang.
- Did that fool take the boy? asked Robert.
- He tried, said Duff. - We are going back to the hotel now.
- What did you do? Punch his face?
- Almost, said Duff, giggling.
- What?! said Larson from the back seat. - Is it me you are talking about?
- Of course not. See you at the hotel, Robert.
When the taxi arrived at the hotel Robert was already there. Larson went upstairs to change. Duff and Robert sat in the lobby while Duff gave Robert the story blow by blow.
- Quick thinking, said Robert.
- Thank you, said Duff. - I just used what was at hand.
Larson came out of the lift. His hair was still wet from the shower he had taken, and his clothes were clean and dry.
- Good evening, said Robert. - I hear Duff saved you.
- Saved me?? Duff has lost it. He has turned into an orange juice terrorist. He is a menace!
- Someone had to stop you, said Duff.
- Duff saved you from an arrest and a hundred thousand baht blackmail scheme, said Robert.
- Duff saved me from nothing, said Larson. - He thinks he is so clever. But I knew what I was doing. I just played along to see how it would develop.
- So you knew the boy was blackmail bait? asked Robert.
- Of course, said Larson.
- Don’t listen to him, said Duff.
- I was in full control of the situation. Everything was going fine until this mad Englishman panicked and began using dirty methods.
- No need to thank me, said Duff.
- In any case I support the Thai police if this was a sting operation to catch those who use underage boys, said Larson. - The young need to be protected from predatory adults.
- It is a strange way of protecting the young, said Robert. - They put the boys out on the corner to entice tourists. And to make sure the tourist is guilty and knows it they wait until the boy is well shagged before they storm the hotel room. And then they show great moral indignation and tell the poor sucker he will spend twenty years in prison.
- Well-deserved, said Larson.
- But down at the station one of the policemen will play the good cop and tell the tourist that a donation can solve the problem.
- They let them off too easily! said Larson.
- You never change, do you? asked Duff.
- What is there to change? said Larson. - I am as near perfect as I can expect to become.
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109