Speculation that former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra may be seeking political refuge abroad carries many political overtones, according to The Nation Weekly.
While the military leaders and United States charge d'affaires Patrick Murphy dismissed the rumour, red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan believes the tale was cooked up by those in opposition to the Yingluck-Thaksin camp, says the article, entitled "Prayut-Yingluck: On a New Collision Course''.
If the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders rules that Ms Yingluck is guilty of dereliction of duty over the rice-pledging scheme and gives her a jail term, the government, PM Gen Prayut and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will be the ones who suffer the consequences, it says.
The public will rise up, and the result will be chaos, Mr Jatuporn predicts.
At this juncture, Ms Yingluck has only two choices, says the article.
The first is that she can stay in the country and fight the case to prove her innocence.
This course of action carries a high risk because she has already been impeached by the National Legislative Assembly for the same case.
The other option is for her to seek political refuge overseas by citing unfair treatment by a non-elected government that seized power by force.
The problem is how Ms Yingluck would travel overseas without being caught, the story says.
As for the government, Gen Prayut and the NCPO, they appear determined to let justice run its course in this instance.
On the one hand, red-shirt leaders and Pheu Thai politicians predict the coup-makers will face dissent if Ms Yingluck is convicted and punished with a jail sentence.
On the other, Gen Prayut has taken a strong stance to hold the corrupt accountable, and if the courts were to let her go — or the junta be seen as encouraging her to leave — the coup-makers themselves could suffer.
"If Ms Yingluck is allowed to leave the country and take refuge overseas, it would be a major setback to the military government. It is not something the military would allow,'' the article says.
This means the military leaders will do everything to ensure the rice-pledging case is tried in court.
The case is seen as a way to restore the integrity of the judicial branch under the junta's power, the story says.
"There could be repercussions but the NCPO has no choice but to prepare itself to cope with them,'' the article concludes.