Singapore Sling Shot Read Online Free PDF Page B

married? How long had she been here, etc, etc? I bit them back. This was a one-day gig. The less I knew the better, in all probability. She had other ideas.
    â€œSorry,” she replied. “I’m divorced, two kids, girl, eleven, and a boy thirteen. I work for Stanley’s company, administration, nothing more. I know the company is actually owned by Mr Somsak.” Simone paused momentarily. “I have been in meetings with Mr Somsak and Stanley, so I know how things are. Were,” she corrected herself and pushed away the obviously less-than-pleasant thought that momentarily clouded her expression. “This is a welcome change,” she said, changing gear and putting on a patently false happy face. “I get the chance to play-act.”
    â€œAs payment for your performance I’ll be buying the best lunch we can find,” I added, “following an absolutely disgustingly rich and unhealthy breakfast.”
    â€œSounds good.” This time Simone DeLue smiled as if she meant it. Maybe, work aside, this would be a nice day all round. And hey, my mind was definitely above my belt on this one, and while that’s not a first, it’s a pleasant change of pace for me. I was here to save Sami’s arse, not get laid, pleasant as it would no doubt have been with my companion of the moment.
    We had coffee and pastries on the balcony of a café at VivoCity. The view was of the busy harbour basin towards Sentosa. The amount of building work going on across that short stretch of water completely astounded me. Simone told me that a casino and God only knows what else was being built over there.
    â€œHow things have changed.”
    â€œHow so?” Simone wanted to know.
    â€œNot so long ago gambling was an absolute no-no here. Changing times, I suppose. The powers that be have decided to capitalise on the gambling revenue. Easy money for the coffers.”
    â€œI guess,” she agreed as we stood and prepared to go to the fantasy land across the water.
    Now I’d been to Sentosa once a few years before when I’d been based in Bangkok. It hadn’t been a fun trip. I’d had to give one of her Majesty’s flunkies a severe spanking for an indiscretion involving some missing embassy funds. He had fled Bangkok and holed up in a hotel on Sentosa island. He wasn’t particularly bright and we’d tracked him down within days. I’d managed to retrieve the bulk of the funds and, following orders, I engineered a slight accident that put him in hospital for several months. I didn’t enjoy what I had been instructed to do, so my one and only visit to Singapore’s fun island hadn’t been pleasurable in the slightest. The things we do, huh? Or rather the things I did for Queen and country in my other life. That life was now over.
    The monorail to Sentosa took about thirty seconds. Well, it seemed that quick. In reality it was probably a three-minute ride from land to land and another three minutes to the first stop as we rumbled over the massive construction work going on below us.
    Simone led the way as we left the unit and made our way downstairs at the first station. There had been only a few passengers on the train with us. Most of them were young people who looked as if they had dragged themselves out of their beds and were heading to their jobs on the island.
    We swiped our tickets and went sightseeing. Above us was the peculiar Merlion symbol Singapore has adopted as its mascot: lion’s head, mermaid or merman’s body! I knew from my time here all those years ago that the tower served as the base for the spectacular light and fountain show that used to run nightly on the island. That was before they tore everything up to build the casino and waterworld. I guessed the lightshow or something like it would be reactivated as part of the new-look Sentosa in time. I just hoped they wouldn’t go and build another fucking Disneyland on the