HAVING HANDLED THE OVERNIGHT COMMUNICATIONS KAYN TOOK THE ELEVATOR FROM THE 50TH FLOOR DOWN TO THE LOBBY TO GET A COFFEE AND NEWSPAPER; the concession had not been open when he passed through the lobby earlier at 5:30 a.m. He certainly did not need a coffee or a newspaper, but a few times a week he would pass through the concession and spend a few minutes with the proprietor, a refined English woman, who reminded him somewhat of his mother. Checking his watch he excused himself, always inconspicuously leaving the change from his $20.00 bill on the counter. He travelled across the lobby and pushed the up button for an elevator to take him to the 12th Floor where he knew the service were waiting for him. Usually incredibly astute, Kayn did not notice the man standing amongst others in a clustered seating area of the lobby; screening his face with a newspaper, but eyes focused only on Kayn. He followed behind others towards the bank of elevators following Kayn’s movement and quickly boarded the same cab. Kayn, being the first on the elevator pushed the indicator light and moved towards the back of the cab turning and immediately taking notice of the man entering. He was attired in quality; a standard that Kayn had taken great time over the years becoming knowledgeable in; Kayn held his newspaper up so not to be obvious in his attention to the detail of the hand-tailored suit this man displayed with simple elegance. He recognized the bespoke tailoring as only that from Gieves & Hawkes of Savile Row in London, England. The elevator doors opened on the 12 floor, but Kayn held back showing no movement to exit. The doors closed and the elevator carried on. The stranger stood confident in his position, never looking up from his newspaper. Each stop Kayn waited for movement from the man, but nothing. They finally arrived at the last stop on the 49th floor where Kayn and an associate stepped off leaving only the stranger in the elevator. Kayn turned and looked back at the stranger who was already locked onto Kayn; the elevator doors were the only thing that broke their stare. Kayn moved to the reception desk and called to the building security and ordered that they monitor elevator 8 and report back on the sole occupant in the cab; he wanted to know every movement this man made.
An elevator arrived on the 49th floor and returned Kayn to the 12th floor wherein he departed and proceeded directly through the doors leading him to the back office. The walls facing the street were in reflective plate glass, but to ensure asylum the lights had not been turned on. Looking down the vista, Kayn saw how the Intelligence Service had been so successful taking the photographs of the streets surrounding the apartment building housing Kim Chan So.
He was joined by the Field Supervisor who was quick to point out the black Town Car parked between two vehicles having a clear uninterrupted view of the parkade doors and the entrance doors to the apartment building.
Kayn looked down at all the people moving back and forth along the walkways, travelling alone or with a group; all oblivious of the surveillance that surrounded them at each moment.
He was passed a summary report detailing the activity in and around the apartment building for the past 72 hours. After being released from detention, Kim Chan So was picked up by his companion and they immediately returned to the apartment. All surveillance since that time indicated that they had not left the apartment.
Reports on Kim Chan So confirmed that he was an accomplished athlete, best known for his marathon long distance challenges throughout China and Europe. Intelligence reports had hundreds of photos of Kim Chan So running along the riverfront pathways. All the photos, in chronological order, documented Kim running, never choosing a regulated pattern or time, but every day, rain or shine. Hiding in plain site amongst thousands of other enjoying the riverfront pathways.
Farther in the report were floor plans of the apartment building confirming that no gym was available in the building. Further interviews with the staff indicated that the apartment Kim Chan So resided in has had no deliveries or work done since their arrival. Looking at the MLS listing it was a simple one bedroom unit, sparsely furnished located on the 12 floor with a north-west exposure.
A security officer knocked on the entrance door and requested Kayn return to the lobby. Once there he was advised that elevator 8 had returned to the lobby with no occupant. Kayn ordered the security desk to retrieve all tapes monitoring the elevators and the lobby between 5:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon and get them to his office immediately.
Kayn left the office building and walked towards the apartment building. He remained on the opposite side of the street so not to interfere with surveillance on the Town Car, which remained on the street. Kayn was trying to determine why Kim Chan So returned to this apartment building, knowing that the authorities now had him under surveillance. If he was no longer able to run the pathways along the river front was he satisfied staying within the four walls of the apartment or had he found another source. Kayn’s eyes immediately turned towards the flow of traffic coming and going into the downtown recreation facility; a perfect location, drawing all the downtown office traffic throughout the day, as well as the traffic from China Town. It was perfect, hiding in right under everyone’s nose. Kayn returned to his office and asked an assistant to arrange for a meeting with the Directors at the recreational facility that afternoon.
The facility Director was briefed that afternoon and volunteered her full cooperation. The security officers immediately started reviewing all video films over the past month. The cameras were intense throughout the complex, mounted along the stairwells, exercise rooms, court yards and the Olympic track; everywhere except the change rooms. All registered access cards were cross referenced; all video of the entrance doors were reviewed, but nothing indicated Kim Chan So as a member or user.
Kayn had a previous commitment that evening but left the ongoing surveillance of the videos in the capable hands of the agencies.
He arrived home, quickly taking a shower and changing, they had been invited to the ballet this evening. He knew that Irene was waiting for him at her apartment. Since meeting six months ago they had become very close. He enjoyed her company; they usually met for dinner every day, kept their conversations social and entertaining. They had met each other’s family’s which caused no end of comments and concerns from both sides. Kayn at one point felt he had to justify his future intentions towards Irene. After that, Kayn and Irene agreed that their friendship would remain that; it seemed much simpler for all concerned.
Everyone met in the lobby where the town car would pick them up. Arriving at the art center with enough time to enjoy a cocktail before taking their seats everyone’s mood was pleasant and relaxing. The doors to the theatre opened and ushers were busy escorting everyone to their seats. Kayn, as expected had retained his box seats for another year; nothing surpassed the prestige that came with these seats. Kayn enjoying each moment standing at the balcony edge acknowledging those along the mezzanine. The silhouette of a beautiful woman waiting to take her seat along the front row caught his attention. Once the crowd disbursed to their seats Kayn had an unobstructed view and was taken aback by her escort; none other than the man who had been following him earlier in the day and then had alluded all security monitoring thereafter. The lights dimmed and Kayn took his seat vowing to meet the unknown character at the end of first scene.
Kayn and party rose in applause with the other patrons when the lights went up. The front row of the theatre was missing two people; the beautiful woman and her escort were gone. Kayn walked into the reception area scanning the crowd, but not seeing the couple. For the rest of the evening Kayn remained uncomfortable, suspicious of where this man had disappeared to once again.
Kayn arrived at his office the next morning there was only one message waiting for him; the agency had been successful in identifying the man that had successfully evaded all cameras and security checks yesterday. Security Intelligence identified him through his passport as Chanarong Montri of the Department of Special Investigations of Thailand. His passport places him in the Country, only as a visitor.
Kayn took the file and returned to the 12th floor where he learnt that Chanarong Montri was an experienced Intelligence Officer who had escaped the State the same time as the Chan So family had. At this time Intelligence was not considering him a security risk, but would monitor his movements from this point on. Kayn found that comment somewhat humorous seeing as this man had freely escaped all security detection over the last 24 hours.
Intelligence had not been successful determining any further leads on Kim Chan So from the security videos supplied by the recreation center so it was agreed that members of the team would attempt to visit the apartment building the following day.
