Holiday In Cambodia

The night following his confrontation with Maggie wasn't an easy one for Billie Joe. Partly because he couldn't stop their short history replaying in his mind, and partly because the groaning noises that were coming from Tre weren't helping him in his desperate attempts to sleep. He tossed and turned all night, occasionally considering moving to the other side of the beach to be on his own, but soon deciding that the lack of sleep was a small price to pay for the comfort of having his best friend by his side.

He must have drifted off eventually, because when the sun finally broke over the horizon the next morning, he awoke with Tre curled against him, and a heavy arm looped over his waist. Raising his head, he turned to look at his friend, who stirred from his sleep, his eyes bleary for a second before his pale lips twisted into a smirk.

"Morning, babe... how was it for you?"
"Hah," Billie Joe replied, rolling his eyes and smiling a little as he hauled himself into a sitting position and rubbed his heavy eyelids with his fingers.
Tre let out a chuckle, which turned into a cough.
"I'll get some water," Billie Joe yawned, swaying slightly as he stood up and stretched.
"Thanks, bud."

Tre watched, sleepily as Billie Joe ambled over to the rocks where their stash of water was sitting in the shade. He saw him glance over at Maggie, who was still fast asleep under the mosquito net, before quickly looking away and taking a mouthful of water.
"I'm gonna walk down to the shore, try and wake up," he muttered, as he passed the bottle to Tre, "You gonna be okay?"
Tre nodded, lifting a hand to wave Billie away as he brought the water bottle to his lips.

Billie rubbed at his eyes again as he walked down to the water, before bending down to splash his face. He felt like shit, in every way. He squinted in the early sunshine as he looked out over the ocean. The mainland was coated in a layer of thin mist. He could have sworn it was starting to look further away.

By the time he made it back up to the beach, some of the others were awake, and he made his way over to the rocks where Mike, Jack and Maggie were huddled together on the sand.
"Hey, man," Mike greeted him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he sunk down next to him, "How'd you sleep?"
"I didn't," Billie Joe replied, as he attempted to meet Maggie's eyes. His attempts failed. Maggie forced herself to look anywhere but at Billie. She figured it was safer that way.

He watched her hands twist together in anxiety before she stood up, muttering something he didn't catch before she hurried away. Jack saw the desperate look in Billie Joe's eyes and waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry, mate. She's just hurting."
"I don't want her to be hurting. I really like her."
He sighed, dropping his head into his hands.
"She hates me."
"She doesn't hate you," Jack replied, flopping onto his back on the sand, "She's just... she's hurt and she's embarrassed."
"Why is she embarrassed?"
"'Cause that's how rejection makes you feel."
"But-"
"'Rejection' is this thing that we mere mortals suffer now and again when someone we like knocks us back."
"Alright, Smartass. I've experienced rejection before."
Jack looked sceptical, but he let Billie continue.
"But I didn't exactly reject Maggie. I mean... come on, I'm married... "
"I know that. I didn't say you were wrong in rejecting her. Your wife comes first, I get that. Maggie gets it too, but that doesn't make it any easier for her to deal with."

Billie Joe sighed into his fingers as Amber sat down next to him. He looked up when she nudged him with her shoulder.
"I see someone's in a better mood this morning. What d'you say to a trip down to the plantation?"
"I'd rather eat my own liver."
"... Alrighty... Mike?"

Mike smiled in amusement.
"Sure, why not... " he replied, stretching, "I mean, the company here is just great but I think I can take just a half hour or so without it."

"So, are you still pregnant?"
Amber laughed at the straightforwardness of his question as she followed him along the trampled down path which led to the rice field.
"I believe so," she replied, "No evidence to suggest otherwise."
Mike looked back over his shoulder at her.
"So, you're pretty certain now, huh?"
"Yeah, pretty certain."
"Told Jack, yet?"
"No. I already told you I'm not going to. There's no point freaking the boy out if it's a false alarm. And the last thing any of us need is Jack turning into a gibbering wreck."
Mike grinned.
"Well maybe, but I feel kind of bad that I know and he doesn't. He'll want to kill me when he finds out. I've been choppin' it up with Jack all morning and I was desperate to say something."
"You say something, I'll kill you ten times worse than Jack ever could."
Mike laughed.
"Okay... I get the idea. But I don't think you give him enough credit, Amber. I bet he'd deal with it well."
"Mike. I have known the guy five years. Believe me, he is not going to deal with this well."
"Yeah... well, he's gonna have to deal with it somehow. I mean, it isn't like it's gonna go away... right?"
Amber smiled, looking down at her feet as she negotiated the roots that crossed their path.
"No," she replied, briefly looking up to smile at Mike, reassuringly. "It isn't going to go away."

Stopping for a rest just before they reached the plantation, Amber leaned back against the trunk of a thick tree and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Walking in the heat was hard work, especially when they were all so exhausted anyway. She looked over at Mike, who looked equally worn out.

"You must be getting sick of this now, right?" she smiled, "I think you've been roped into it more than I have."
"Ah, I don't mind," Mike shrugged, with a small smile, "I quite enjoy my walks in the jungle. Makes me feel kinda like Indiana Jones. I just need a hat and a whip and I'm set."
Amber grinned.
"Yeah... and maybe a few plastic skulls scattered randomly on the ground."
"Right... and you can be the girl with inappropriate shoes who I'm mean and sarcastic to, then try and sleep with."
"Hah. I don't think so. You can get Billie Joe to play her."
Mike grinned.
"No, Billie Joe'll be Shorty. We'll fix some blocks onto the pedals of our getaway truck so he can drive it."
Amber laughed.
"Maybe we'll wait till he's in a better mood before we approach him with this new venture," she suggested, with a smile, as she pushed herself off the tree trunk she had been leaning against.
"Probably a good idea," Mike agreed, with a sigh, wiping his sweaty hands on his shorts.
Amber smiled, taking the lead as she set off along the path again. She looked back over her shoulder at Mike.
"C'mon, Indie. We don't have all day, you know."

Back at the beach, Billie Joe had given up trying to capture the attention of Maggie. He half-watched her as she sat over by the rocks, etching an image into a coconut shell using Jack's penknife.

He wished there was some way he could put an end to all the agonizing conflict going on inside his head. He was far too restless to sit down, so he absently dribbled the soccer ball around on the sand for a while, mulling the situation over in his mind. Again.

His eyes remained fixed on the ball at his feet, kicking up sand as he changed direction, and he didn't even notice Rick until he was shoved from behind, another leg tangled up in his own. Before he'd had time to react, Rick was away, taking the ball with him.
"Hey!" he called, in protest, "That's foul play!"
Rick grinned at him, and Billie Joe half-heartedly chased after him to retrieve the ball, before giving up a minute later. He didn't have the energy or the motivation.

He let out a breath, hitching up his shorts, which were now threatening to slide right off his hips, before sinking breathlessly onto the sand, and leaning back on his palms as he watched Rick engage himself in a rather tense game of keepy-uppy.

"Still dwelling, mate?" Rick asked, his eyes flicking to Billie for a fraction of a second.
Billie nodded.
"I can't stop thinking about what a mess I've gotten myself into. I miss her."
Rick regarded Billie for a second, balancing the ball on the top of his foot, before he tossed it back into the air.
"You miss her," he stated, bluntly.
Billie nodded again.
"You miss Adrienne too though... right?"
"Sure," Billie Joe replied, "Of course I do. You know, you're fucking good at that."
Rick grinned, switching feet.
"I know," he replied, lightly. "She'll be fine, y'know. It's like I said. She's just hurt cause she has this crush on you and... everyone gets crushes. Whether you're single or not. But it's not worth losing a friendship over. I mean, you guys were great mates."
"Tell that to her. I've tried to smooth stuff over. It didn't work. She doesn't wanna know."
"So that's her problem. The ball's in her court now. And you sitting around worrying about it's about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike, right?"
Billie Joe nodded, dumbly, then groaned.
"I'm so fucking sick of this now. I'm sick of everything."

Rick let out a breath, catching the ball deftly on his foot again, before letting it drop to the ground and trapping it with his toes.
"Tell me about it," he said, turning to look at Billie Joe. "Just thinking about Oz makes me ache."
"You gonna go back when we get outta here?"
"Yeah... what you said to me the other day made me think a lot. Life's too short, right? I guess before all this I kind of felt invincible. I mean, I'm eighteen. I have my whole life ahead of me, right? But it looks like we can't take any bets on that. Life's too uncertain to waste time hating your own family, right?"
"Exactly, man. And I bet your parents are missing you like crazy."
"Well... I wouldn't go that far."
"C'mon. If you were my kid, I'd miss the hell outta you. You're pretty damn cool, y'know."
Rick grinned, warmly, looking back at the ball as he kicked it back into the air."
"I know," he replied, and Billie Joe grinned too.

Maggie rested her head in her hands, watching Billie Joe and Rick from the other side of the beach. She heard the familiar sound of Billie's laughter carry over on the breeze, and she sighed. She loved the way he laughed.

Another murmur from Tre dragged her attention away from them and she turned to where he was lying next to her on the sand. His eyes remained closed and his breathing steady and she knew he was asleep, despite the way his lips moved in silent mumblings, his brow furrowed. She reached out and pushed his sweaty hair back from his forehead, but it only flopped into his eyes again. She smiled at him as Lara took a seat next to her.

"How's the patient?" she asked.
Maggie turned to her.
"'Bout the same, I guess," she shrugged, "Still pretty feverish. He's been talking in his sleep again."
Lara smiled, reaching out and touching Tre's forehead.
"He say anything good?"
"Not really. A few minutes ago he suggested we went shopping. But he hasn't been revealing any deep, dark secrets or anything."
Lara grinned, before turning back to Maggie.
"So, how are you?"
Maggie raised her eyes to Lara's.
"Great... . Can't you tell?"
"Ignoring him isn't going to help, you know."
"Seems to be working okay for now."
"Can't you just make friends again? You've been his little sidekick all week. It just seems a shame to chuck that away."
"It wouldn't be the same."
"It could be."
"No, it couldn't."
Lara sighed.
"I would never have thought you'd be so stubborn," she said, looking over to where Billie was sitting on the sand, staring down at his hands, "He's really missing your company."
"He's only known me a week, Lara. I'm sure he'll cope."
"Doesn't look like he's coping too well right now, right?"

Maggie was relieved at a sudden interruption from Tre, as he rolled over and began murmuring again.
"Elizbe... I'll have... I'll give you a ride home... you don't have any feet."
Maggie and Lara stifled giggles behind their hands.
"Elizabeth's the mermaid," Lara explained, looking back over at Maggie, "Look's like she's made a comeback."
Maggie grinned.
"Well, I'm glad he has something to take his mind off things, at least," she said, "Tre has this whole nightmare worse than any of us."
Lara nodded, standing up.
"I said I'd go fishing with Jack and Jase," she explained, "Coming?"
Maggie made a face, and Lara rolled her eyes, sliding her hands into her pockets and smiling as she turned away and headed off across the beach.

She stopped to look at Billie Joe as she passed him by. He was sitting cross-legged on the sand, fiddling with a piece of material he held in his hands. Feeling her presence nearby, he looked up.
"Hey Lara."
"Hey," she replied, keeping her hands in her pockets as she ambled closer, until she was standing over him, "What'cha doing?"
"Building a fort."
Lara rolled her eyes as she sat down next to him.
"I swear you weren't always sarcastic."
Billie Joe grinned, squinting at her.
"I guess I've been spending too much time with Jack, right?"
Lara nodded, looking down at the spotted handkerchief that was now bunched in his hand.
"I lost it in Phnom Penh," he explained, "Or at least, I thought I had. But I found it stuck in a tree over there so I guess it must have just blown out and gotten caught there the night we arrived at this place."
"Lucky."
"Yeah... I know."
Lara smiled, curiously.
"What's the story behind that thing anyway?" she asked, looking up at him again, "I mean... I swear all the pictures I see of you guys, it makes an appearance. Lucky handkerchief, eh?"
Billie Joe smiled, sticking his middle finger through the hole that the material had acquired during its war with the tree.
"This used to be Adrienne's," he replied, after a long pause.
Lara raised an eyebrow, and he continued, looking up from the handkerchief to meet her questioning gaze.
"When I was about eighteen, we were playing this show in San Francisco. Adie and I had been dating maybe a couple months or something. Anyway, that night she shows up with this tied around her wrist."
Billie smiled as he held the handkerchief up in front of Lara's eyes. Lara smiled too.
"I was living up in Berkeley back then. After the show, Adrienne came back to my place... and we slept together for the first time. Next day, I left with the guys for the East Coast. That morning, we were lying in bed, and she took the handkerchief off of her wrist and tied it around mine."
Lara grinned.
"That's so cute."
Billie Joe smiled.
"I didn't see her for a few weeks or so, and I missed her like hell. But I kept the handkerchief in my pocket the whole time. It kinda... felt like she was there."
He smirked.
"I do realise how corny that sounds," he smiled, "Anyways, I never gave it back to her. She said I could keep it for next time I had to go away."
"I guess you've had to go away a lot over the years."
Billie nodded, looking down at the handkerchief again.
"Yeah... I have. So, when I go on stage I keep it in my pocket. I guess it's kind of a comfort thing after all this time."
Lara nodded.
"It's pretty weird how attached you can get to the simple stuff, right?" she sighed.
"Yeah," he agreed, "I was fuckin' stoked when I found it."

Lara smiled, ruffling his hair as she stood up.
"I'm going fishing," she said, "You coming?"
Billie Joe made a face very similar to Maggie's. Lara laughed.
"Suit yourself."

"It's all in the wrist," Jack was explaining, as he stood next to Jason in the shallow water, spear in hand. "You have to get it to spin, or it's too slow... see?"
Jason nodded, absently keeping one half of his attention on Jack's demonstration, and the other half on Lara, who was giggling on the other side of him, for no apparent reason.
"What's up with you?" he grinned, turning to her as Jack got on with his fishing.
"Nothing," she smiled, sliding her arms around his waist under the water and resting her chin on his shoulder, her mouth next to his ear. "You just look sexy with a weapon, I guess."
Jason laughed.
"I do? Cause, I think you just look fucking scary with a spear in your hand."
Lara grinned, splashing him with water, and Jason laughed again as he splashed her back.

Jack rolled his eyes as he listened to their giggling, driving his spear back into the water and skewering his first fish. As he pulled it out of the water, he turned around, interrupting their flirting by waving the writhing silver fish in their faces.
"Jesus H. Christ. Do I have to listen to the two of you carrying on like a pair of lovesick teenagers?"
"Sorry," Lara apologised, giving Jason a sidelong grin, "Good work on the fish, Jackster. Maybe I'll just go take it up the beach for you."
"I'll help," Jason announced.
Jack rolled his eyes again.
"Good idea guys. Why don't you take a fin each? I think that one might weigh a whole pound."
Jason grinned at Jack, before he took Lara's hand and they waded out of the shallow water onto the beach.

"Something for dinner," Jason announced, tossing the fish down next to where Amber was sitting on the sand.
"Cool... you catch him?"
"No... your action man boyfriend did," Lara told him, "He's a fucking killing machine out there."
"I know... It's actually kind of scary, " Amber replied, lifting the fish up by the tail and narrowing her eyes at it as it attempted to hold on to the last threads of it's life. Lara grimaced a little, before grabbing Jason's hand and dragging him further up the beach,

"So I guess I'm not that good at hunting," he smiled, with a small shrug, as they sat down on the sand, "You care?"
Lara laughed.
"Once we get out of this place, I don't think I'm likely to notice."
Jason smiled, looking down.
"If... once we get out of here... you think we'll see each other again?"
Lara looked up at him, feeling a flicker of nerves in her stomach.
"I... I mean... do you want to?"
Jason folded his arms over his knees, then looked up at Lara and nodded, squinting slightly in the sunlight. Lara felt a small wave of relief rush through her.
"Cool," she smiled, "... me too."
Jason smiled back, feeling warm.
"Awesome," he replied.

Lara couldn't keep the smile from her face as Jason reached a hand out and guided her into a kiss. Scooting closer, she wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling his slide around her waist as his teeth scraped against her lip and their kiss deepened. Lara let out a breath between his kisses as they fell backwards onto the sand and he leaned over her, his mouth returning to hers. After a few minutes of heavy kisses, they were interrupted by a shout from nearby, and Jason looked up.

"For fuck's sake!" Tre complained, attempting to sit up and glare at his friends from his position a few metres away, "I might be sick, but I'm not blind! You can't start fucking right in front of my damn face! Jeez!"
Jason chuckled.
"Point taken, dude," he said, apologetically, before dropping his head a little to grin at Lara. "Wanna take this elsewhere?"
Tre cut Lara off before she had even opened her mouth.
"Please, God, do", he grumbled, as he lay back down on the sand.

"Where are we going?" Lara giggled, holding onto Jason's hand as she followed him through the jungle.
"Away from them," Jason replied, looking back over his shoulder with a smile. Lara smiled back as they pushed their way through the leaves, until they reached a small clearing and he stopped suddenly, turning around as she crashed into him.
"Shh... " he whispered, taking her arms in his hands as she reached up to place her own against his chest. "Can you hear them?"
"... No," Lara replied, feeling his breath against her lips as they moved closer.
"Good," Jason smiled, as he kissed her. Lara let out a small gasp as her arms went around his neck and he pushed her against the tree behind her. She moaned a little into his mouth as his assault on her lips continued and his hands went to her waist, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. She tangled her fingers in his hair as she pulled him closer and he pulled the shirt over her head. She had only just had time to register the feel of the air against her skin before his mouth crashed against hers again, and her mind went fuzzy.

Her hands fumbled blindly with his belt, which seemed to be frustratingly uncooperative, and after pulling at it for a couple of minutes Jason giggled into her neck and reached down to unfasten it himself.
"Do this often, huh?" he whispered into her ear.
"Fuck off," she smiled, pulling him back into a kiss as his hands returned to her waist, his fingers tracing the curve of her waist up to her ribs, making her shiver despite the sticky humidity of the jungle. His lips moved from her mouth to under her jaw, and she drew in a breath when she felt his tongue against her neck. She ran her fingers down his stomach to his zipper, easing it down as his kisses became more urgent.

Moments later, he was pulling away, and she spent a few seconds being confused before he pulled her down to the jungle floor and covered her body with his own. Lara giggled as she landed in the dust, only just managing to get her breath before he captured her lips again. She cupped his face in her hands as she returned his kisses, the noises of the jungle fading away to nothing as she lost herself in the only thing that mattered.

Back at the beach, Jack and Amber were preparing dinner, unaware of the antics going on in the jungle nearby.
"So," said Jack, turning the fish over on its skewer over the fire, "What d'you want to do when we get home?"

Amber smiled, looking down. She was suddenly aware that, when it came to getting off the island, the 'if's that people had been discussing a couple of days previously seemed to have become 'when's. The monsoon had brought with it a new hope that she didn't think they could have survived much longer without.

"I don't know," she replied, looking up at him, "I guess... Christmas shopping?"
"Fuck. Is it that time already?"
"Almost. The guys were talking about Thanksgiving the other day. It can't be far off."
Jack leaned back on his hands.
"You know how much I hate shopping. But to be honest, at the moment, the thought of traipsing around London in the freezing cold under all the Christmas lights sounds like a kind of heaven."
Amber smiled, looking out at the ocean.
"Definitely," she sighed, "And I can't wait to see my friends."
"Nor can I. I say, when we get back to the UK, it's time for a massive bender. Huge pub crawl, few litres of dirty vodka... what d'you say?"
Amber rubbed her hand over her still-flat stomach as she absently trailed her finger through the sand in front of her.
"Well... maybe," she replied.

"Hmm... we should get back or we'll miss the food... "
Jason smiled, pushing a lock of jet black hair behind Lara's ear and pulling her face closer so that he could kiss her again.
"There'll be more food tomorrow," he replied, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist and holding her against him. Lara laughed as she pulled free, sitting up and reaching for her clothes.
"I am not waiting that long," she told him, "I'm fucking starving. I'm wasting away on this damn island."
"Tell me about it," Jason sighed.
"When I get back to Canada, I think I'm going to eat for a fucking week."
"You're waiting will you get back to Canada? I'm waiting till I get off whatever boat picks us up. There has to be a McDonalds in Ha Tien."
Lara laughed as she pulled her shirt over her head.
"To be honest, I'm surprised there isn't a drive thru on this island," she told him, as she stood up, reaching out a hand to pull him up.

She linked her hand in his as they walked back through the trees towards the beach, their quiet chatter mingling with the familiar noises of the jungle. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, and Lara didn't even notice until she crashed into his back. She started to laugh when he turned around and held up a finger.
"Shh," he hissed, "You hear that?"
Lara frowned, suddenly nervous.
"Hear what?" she whispered.

Jason looked up, his eyes wide and his breathing slow. Lara listened. She could hear the steady twittering of the birds in the trees, the occasional rustle of animals in the undergrowth, a cackling primate.
"Jase, wha-"
"Shh, there it is!" he hissed back, cutting her off by placing his finger on her lips.

Lara frowned in confusion and fear, before her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a low hum in the distance. Jason's finger dropped from Lara's lips as both their heads jerked in the direction of the noise, where the ocean was obscured by trees. Jason's heart pounded and his breath shook as he turned back to Lara, wide-eyed.
"It's a motor," he breathed.

Lara's stomach flipped, as a surge of wild panic went through her.
"Are you serious?" she demanded, her voice cracking with the overwhelming relief that came with this new hope of rescue, along with overwhelming fear of missing this single chance of getting off the island.
"I... yes... fuck, yes... Lara, we have to fucking run!"
"I... you think it's a... it's a boat?"
"Yes!" he exclaimed, grabbing at her hand and hauling her forwards, "And we're on the other side of the fucking island! Come on!"
"Shit... " Lara muttered, shakily as Jason took off and she ran after him, stumbling on the uneven ground as they sprinted forward, the sound they had heard drowned out by the cracking of the roots and leaves beneath their pounding feet.

Mike glanced up at the darkening sky as he sat next to the crackling campfire, which cast flickering shadows across Jack's face as he reached out to take the charred fish off the flames. Behind them, Tre was still slipping in and out of consciousness, and Billie Joe was singing quietly. The mood was calm, a result of their complete unawareness of the sounds that had gotten Jason and Lara into such a frenzy.

A loud rustling in the jungle made Mike jerk his eyes away from the flames.
"Looks like the lovers are back," Billie Joe smirked.
Jack looked up, frowning a little as the noise got louder.
"Back and... creating a fucking stampede... " he said, sitting up a little. He looked at Mike, who was staring over toward the trees, unblinkingly, his expression one of confusion. He knew he was thinking the same as he was.
"That's not Lara and Jason," he said, "That's... more than two people."

Mike hadn't had any time to register Jack's words before the source of the noise burst through the trees, and his heart stopped as they were faced with four people instead of two, none of which were Lara and Jason, none of which were familiar.

He blinked nervously as studied the closest of their uninvited guests. He was short and stocky, his dark skin bronzed and slick with sweat that made his muscles shimmer in the firelight. He was young, maybe around eighteen or twenty, but the look in his hard eyes showed that he knew exactly what he was doing, the AK 47 that was slung over his shoulder only serving to back that up. As Mike's eyes adjusted from the brightness of the flames to the dim twilight, his mind adjusted from the relief of long awaited rescue, to the possibility that things were only about to get worse.

He couldn't say how long the two groups stared at each other; with hope, fear and confusion rendering the beach dwellers dumbstruck. Any hope soon dissipated when the Cambodians opened their mouths, releasing a torrent of angry Khmer that Mike knew he didn't need to understand.

Panic hit him in the guts as he and Jack stood up, only to be faced with fresh anger and further indecipherable abuse as the leader of the gang raised his automatic rifle and pointed it threateningly in his direction. He felt sick. He glanced over at Billie Joe, who was standing in front of a dazed-looking Tre, the colour drained from his face completely. Billie Joe was terrified of guns, and it wasn't a fear tjhat Mike considered irrational. He was horribly aware that all this guy had to do was muster up the balls to pull the trigger and his life was over, and it didn't look like getting the balls was something he was going to find difficult.

Jack instinctively grabbed Maggie, who was standing by his side, and pulled her behind him, before stepping forwards and attempting to form words. He didn't know what to say, but he had started rambling something along the lines of a plea for help and an explanation of why they were here, before he was cut off by the guy that was aiming his automatic, who barked some instructions at the guy by his side. Next thing Jack knew, the man was coming towards him, and Amber let out a cry as he grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him up against the sugar palm behind him.
"Fuck... " he groaned, fear shooting through him as the others looked on in horror.

He looked desperately into the black eyes of his attacker, giving up his struggle as he racked his brains for something he could say to make them understand, wishing he had his phrasebook.
"Som," he groaned, as the cold barrel of the gun pressed against his chest, "Som. K'nyom mau bpe pro-teh Onglais... Onglais... "
His lame attempt at their native language wasn't well received, and only resulted in the gun being pushed harder into his flesh, another stream of angry Khmer thrown in his direction.
"Som," he protested again, helplessly.

He glanced over the shoulder of the man in front of him as he saw a terrified looking Mike starting towards them. He was about to yell to him to keep still, when the smallest of the men gained on him, the side of his gun connecting with the back of Mike's head. The crack echoed against the rocks as he fell to the sand, the shocked exclamations of horror quickly silenced by an angry yell from the leader of their new enemies.

Jack felt cold fear sweep through his body as his attention was forced back to the man that continued to hold him hard against the tree, still ranting in his speedy tongue. He tried desperately to pick out something familiar, some kind of clue to how they had gotten into so much trouble, and what they could do or say to get out of it. He thought he picked out the word bai a few times. Rice. It was difficult to be sure though, when the words were becoming louder and more rapid and his fear was clouding his every sense. But suddenly the words were repeating, separating out, and registering a flicker of familiarity somewhere in the back of his mind.

"Jowl!" the man yelled, furiously, "Jowl!"
Jack stared at him, his eyes desperately searching his face as his brain scrambled for meaning. As the barrel of the gun moved from his chest to his temple and the world was screamed at him again, a cold realization of its meaning dawned upon him.

Thief.