‘Well, I’ll be damned,’ exploded the Colonel, shaking his head in amazement.
Jason continued, ‘So to clear my mind, my old friend the Bear with a group of his men will bring the Emissary and meet me there then I and my men carry on down river?’
‘Yes, just that, in outline. And before you go any further it now strikes me as it must have already struck you but you have yet to mention it, from just before till just after your suggested timings, there will be no other troops at all in the area. You must not have the worry of meeting any of our own people.’
‘Thank you, sir. I was coming on to that,’ said Jason, then asked, ‘What is this pin here, quite a way up the Sungei Perak?’
Colonel Mason went to look at it. ‘That is a Police Field Force fort, Fort Tapong.’[3]
‘And are there police boats that can go farther up river?’
‘Yes, they can be arranged. Sometimes their engines break down and their propellers break their shear pins but with a fitter aboard with plenty of shear pins that should not be a problem, especially if the engine has had an overhaul before.’
‘The General is pretty keen on this, isn’t he?’ Jason asked.
‘Yes, he is. He is still not sure whether the civil authorities will accept such a person but he feels that their reaction will be positive rather than negative if the man can be shown as being an intelligence bonanza and if he is brought in without a great fuss.’
He was interrupted by the phone ringing. He went over to answer it and Jason heard him say, ‘excellent news, sir. So the civil boys are happy with what we’re planning provided a government representative is with him from the moment he steps over the border. Yes, sir, I’ll tell Major Rance who’s here with me now.’ He rang off.
‘All systems green, Major Rance. You’re on. Let us sit round the table, us three and work out a time and space programme, so beloved by military planners and what they make much of at Staff College.’
Within half an hour they had an outline plan. D Day, the day the Emissary was to start his journey, was fixed for 20 February. Today was Friday the 10th so that would give Ah Fat enough time both to conclude his job in KL for the Secretary General and for the Emissary to start his journey on the 20th.
That should be plenty of time to brief the Emissary – they decided not to use his name for security reasons – and to get the Bear and his men rations without seeming to, not an easy task. During that period Major Rance would return, get his men ready – he said that he, his three escorts and a radio man were enough – and bring them to KL. He thought he would need five days for the journey – ‘it’s unknown territory for me and there are some inquisitive guerrillas to evade’ – and he would like first of all to have an air recce in an Auster on Sunday the 19th, please for me and two others. I’m sure you’ll help out if the air boys get sticky, sir’ – and he and at least one other fly up the river, past Fort Tapong and, with his map, locate Gunong Gadong. He would like a heli for his team to fly to Fort Tapong the next day, the 20th, and one police boat to be there to take them up as far as the boat could go. That would be all in one day. They would take eight days’ hard tack and scrounge meals in KL and Tapong.
For their return could there be a boat at the place they disembarked at, or two come to that if the police wanted an escort – and that would apply to the way up also – on the 28th and a chopper warned to stand by to pick them up from Fort Tapong for the 29th but only to be confirmed on re-reaching Fort Tapong, so it could be the 1st of March. ‘On the way up I think the chopper should land as far away from inquisitive eyes as possible, don’t you, sir?’
‘Yes, I agree. I will arrange for transport to take you back to the battalion. In case it is too late I’ll get the Gurkha Engineers at Sungei Besi to look after you for the night. There will be someone to tell you about it, with transport, after you have deplaned.’
‘Thank you, sir. That is all in the best case. May I turn to the worst case, being intercepted by the guerrillas and taking casualties? What I would like is to have a rear link close to you. There are some Gurkha Signals men who work nearby, surely. What I plan is a nightly sitrep with our grid reference. If you hear nothing it could be because our set has gone “dis” or that the set has been shot off the signaller’s back. I’ll take a Very pistol and green and red flares. When I hear an overfly I’ll fire whichever colour is needed. If it is red can you arrange a stand-by group somehow to come to our aid?’
There was no need to go into details now but, ‘yes, yes, yes,’ came the replies.
The Director asked Ah Fat is he had anything to add. ‘No, sir. I have yet to make up my mind quite how to play it my end but play it I will. If the Emissary does change his mind I’ll have to get my Bear to disappear on some mission or other and get a message through to Mr Too. I can’t think of any other way.’
‘Any more before we finish off?’ the Colonel asked.
‘No, sir. I’ll just say farewell to my childhood friend and leave you.’
‘Before you go, let’s have an operational code word for this. Any suggestions?’
‘How about Operation Emissary,’ suggested Ah Fat.
‘Okay. That’ll be it and Top Secret also.’
Before Ah Fat and C C Too left Jason and his boyhood gave each other a hug and wished each other well. The Colonel signed Jason’s pass and he left. Back in the car park he found his driver. ‘Sorry to keep you so long, Ustad. Back now to the battalion.’ He climbed in and was silent all the way back, deep in thought. Unusual for him the driver said to himself.
Ah Fat also left, did what he had to do for Chin Peng, not forgetting to buy a pair of civilian-type jungle boots for the Emissary, and got back to Betong where he reported in, once more to the Secretary General’s satisfaction. That evening the Emissary strolled round, knocked on the door of Ah Fat’s room, making sure he was unseen and, without being invited in, entered quietly. ‘I have come to hear the result of your deliberations.’
‘Sit down and pay great attention to what I have for you. Some of it will, I hope, please you; some, I fear, will not. But you have been allowed to go to Kuala Lumpur where you can expect gentle treatment.’
‘That’s wonderful news. We’ll be together going there and when I am asked questions.’
‘Not so fast. This is the bit I fear you will not please you …’ and all necessary details were given him, why Ah Fat was unable to go with him, why the Bear could only take him to the border, why the journey was to be the one through the jungle, how he was to be joined by two one-time guerrillas, two Gurkhas – the Emissary had never heard of such people – and ‘the British Chinese speaker will be my boyhood friend, one I regard as a brother, who speaks Chinese like any Chinese person, who can write the script, whose name is Major Jason Rance and who I know as Shandung P’aau. He is a skilled jungle operator. You can trust him implicitly.’ Ah Fat let that sink in and then asked, ‘So do you still want to go or shall I cancel it and let you go back to China, back to your grim, artificial life?’ Ah Fat rubbed his hands together as he sometimes did when under stress.
‘So, if you don’t go with me, who will look after me when I get to Kuala Lumpur?’ which he pronounced Ka Lum Po.
‘There is one named Too Chee Chew whom I know well. He is wise and awaits your arrival with eagerness. I guarantee you will be in safe hands.’
‘Then I accept your conditions. Thank you for your efforts. I will now go back,’ and he stood up.
‘Before you go, try on these boots I have brought you to wear in the jungle. They should fit.’
‘So that’s why you asked about the size of my feet!’ said with a smile. He tried them on and they fitted perfectly. ‘A good omen.’
‘Yes, take them off and leave them here.’
Before the Emissary left Ah Fat told him the date he was expected to leave. ‘And before then I’ll have worked out exactly how you will leave this place without any suspicion.’
Next morning Ah Fat and his Bear had a long session together. The Bear suggested that Ah Fat pretend to go and show the Emissary the place in Ha La where his newspaper Red Tidings was produced and let both of them drift off down south towards the border. ‘I will have a man with me both ways and before then I will manage to go to Sadao and, under various pretexts, get enough to eat to last him to the border and us back again. You will have to buy stuff in such a way that there is no suspicion about people asking “why so much?” also don’t forget he’ll need quite a bit more for his journey on down south. See if we have a spare haversack to let him have rather than buying a new one.’ A sudden thought came into his mind: tradecraft ‘Buy a few tins of Thai sardines and a jar of Ovaltine to give to Meng Ru so if meets any Malayan guerrillas he can offer them one as “a present from Thailand” so allay any possible suspicion he has not come from where he says he has.’
Late on the evening of the 10th as soon as Jason reached Seremban he called in on Ismail Mubarak, the Head of Special Branch. The two of them had had excellent relations since the battalion had come to Malaya back in 1948. Jason told his driver to go back to the lines, have a meal, tell the Mess that Jason was back and ask the Duty Driver to come and collect him within half an hour. ‘You’ve been hanging around all day, Ustad. Time you were free.’
The driver thanked him, thinking that not all the British sahebs were so thoughtful.
Moby, hearing someone at the door, went to investigate and greeted Jason warmly. ‘Jason, what can I do for you? Not often I see you these days. Come in and have a beer.’
‘Moby, no beer thanks but I’d love the largest and hottest and sweetest cup of tea you can provide.’
They went inside. ‘Moby, I need your help for such a top secret and unexpected operation, so hush-hush I can’t even tell myself!’ and both of them laughed.
‘Can you never be serious, Jason?’
‘Sometimes. Now please listen. C C Too is on this, the Director of Operations and his staff and my old boyhood friend, Ah Fat, whom you know.’
Jason broke off as his tea was brought in.
‘Nobody else?’
‘Yes, Moby, you. Joking apart this is what has happened …’ and Jason gave him the background to the Emissary’s visit to Betong and his wish to change sides. ‘Planning has to be one hundred per cent safe from Ah Fat’s personal side of affairs. The Emissary wanted him to go all the way to KL but that being impossible I am the lamb being offered to the slaughter as we plough our way down the Sungei Perak, hoping not to bump into the CT who are still in the area.’ Jason was careful in not using the man’s name.
Ismail Mubarak looked grave. ‘Quite some task. You seem to be in the habit of being given them.’
Jason nodded as Moby asked him how many men he was planning to take with him.
‘Five not counting me. Two of them will be my gunman-cum-batman and a Gurkha operator and other two will be – and this is where you come into it – Goh Ah Wah and Kwek Leng Ming.’
‘But why them and not Gurkhas, Jason?’
