“You really should take one of my courses, Nina. You have the body of a good swimmer. I bet you would be a stellar diver once you got into it,” Crystal nodded, looking quite impressed.
“Aye, I love water, but I have to admit that the times I had to dive always kind of put me off. Let’s just say…” she thought of her past exploits in dangerous situations, “…it always merits great care and vigilance.”
“Then this one should be no different,” her companion sobered her.
“What do you mean?” Nina frowned. “I will not be wreck diving. That is what Purdue pays the crew for, the engineers and you, doesn’t he?”
Crystal shook her head, “My darling, you will have to come down with us to ascertain the significance of the insignia and the like. From what I have heard so far, the ship lies too deep to take particularly good pictures.”
Nina was suddenly distraught and twisted the pen between her fingers while she pondered on the nasty currents and the cold blue depths she had had to brave before. She hoped that Crystal was joking, or, at least, uninformed what Nina’s role within the expedition team was going to be.
“How much do you know about this find?” she asked the elegant lawyer who poured more Earl Grey from the porcelain pot.
“Actually, I am pretty much still in the dark about it. And I mean that quite literally. Before I have a team out on a survey ship to give me a sonar map of the wreck and its surroundings, I have absolutely no clue. I feel blind, literally, to the project and the vessel itself. Hopefully, the meeting will clear everything up," she explained.
“Shit, I hope Purdue knows what he is getting into here. He has never been one to sweep up ventures he has not seen himself,” Nina said with a tone of concern.
“Don’t fret. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing,” Crystal consoled nonchalantly. Nina gave her a suspicious look, “You sound like you know him quite well.”
“I do, indeed,” Crystal smiled, still, attending to her tea without affording Nina even a glance. Her manner annoyed the historian, just like the first time Nina saw her talking on the phone. Frustrated by the way in which Crystal implied that she was close to Purdue, who had once been Nina’s lover, Nina felt a sickening turn in her stomach.
‘Christ, how I’d love to slap that smirk off her face’! Nina thought as she broke the edge of the pen with her molars. If there was one thing she could not stand, or trust for that matter, it was people with perpetual smiles on their faces. The condescension and the underlying confidence usually meant that they were up to no good and had the means not to care about it.
“Ah, there they are!” Crystal exclaimed suddenly, breaking Nina’s sinister stare. She stood up and pointed to the tall gates, where the luxury car waited for the security guard to open. At once, Nina felt relieved. Sam would be more forthcoming toward her. She would not feel so dull next to the posh wench who apparently knew Purdue so well, she thought. With Sam in the mix she, Nina, was bound to feel more adequate.
“Have you met Sam before?” she asked Crystal, hoping to all things holy that she was not in for another sobering clout.
“No. No, never met him before,” Crystal smiled. “Do you know him well?”
Nina could not believe the incredibly well-placed question she childishly answered, "I do, indeed." She knew she was acting like a juvenile, but sometimes adults indulged in the smallest of infantile pleasures to feel better about themselves – even professional ones.
The Bentley pulled into the driveway in front of the main doors of the mansion while the two ladies descended the stairs to meet Purdue and Sam in the foyer. Nina still had her pad and the ravaged pen in her hand. When the door opened, and the two men came in, she felt a rush of intrigue of unknown origin overcome her. It was a curious sensation, that of seeing an old friend at a school camp, but at the same time she could not deny feeling an impression of apprehension surrounding Sam’s presence.
He looked dashing, she thought, in a wild way. The last time he had sported this look had been when the two of them had shared the adventure with the motorcycle gang that guarded Valhalla. Nina could not help but notice before she even greeted him. With arms outstretched she said, “Shall we get you some rum and a tricorn hat, eh, Laddie?” Sam wrapped his strong arms around her and whispered, “Aye, don’t make me throw you in my brig, wench. I tend to do my worst.”
“Great to see you again, Nina,” he said out loud as he let go of her. His eyes fell on the beautiful woman next to her, and he looked spellbound. "And you must be the priceless gem Purdue told me about, Miss Meyer,” he charmed her. Nina bit her lip at the sight of Crystal’s perfectly groomed fingers mingling with Sam’s big, strong hand. Irately she made for the dining room to get a whisky without a word and in passing caught Purdue’s stare. He looked sympathetic to her obvious disgruntlement, but he did not follow her.
In Nina’s opinion, it was time for a stiff drink. Her last hope of being the “meat of choice” had squibbed at Sam’s obvious attraction to the tall lawyer. Suddenly the morose feeling in her chest grew stronger than ever, and she felt that something about the whole expedition was amiss, but, of course, she could not make such a ludicrous claim until she knew more about it.
Purdue silently kept his eye on Nina. He could see the hurt Sam’s attention toward Crystal had inflicted. In his own selfish way, it amused him because this would present the perfect opportunity to win Nina back from Sam, no matter how adamant both were in denying their obvious love. If Sam kept flirting or even engaged with the admittedly beautiful, promiscuous lawyer, it was bound to send Nina straight into the arms of the playboy who had lost her once and vowed never to stop trying to reverse the unfortunate turn. If not, Purdue still had Crystal to own. With their past and his exuberant lifestyle, she would be easy to annex like an uncharted island for the taking.
Crystal was instantly taken with Sam. The fact that he was an investigative journalist, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and pretty renowned author turned her on. After all, she spent her spare time in perilous seas, capturing the treasures of the past from the claws of oblivion, storms, and ruthless treasure hunters.
His black hair fell on his collar and tousled strands fell into his handsome face. Evidence of at least two days of shaving tardiness colored his jaw and chin with a coarse shadow that starkly contrasted his big, gentle dark eyes.
"Where did you get the tan, Sam?" Nina asked, tumbler in hand while her eyes rivaled the fire in the hearth.
“A week in Malta and two days after that chasing a tale for a client in Milan. Do you like the bronze?” he winked.
“Looks like sunburn,” she remarked flatly, evoking a chuckle from Purdue, who had just entered the room with a few folders in hand. That tone and look were all too familiar, and Sam knew right away that once again he had done something wrong. What it was would probably transpire as soon as they were in trouble again, Nina’s favorite time to disclose her feelings.
“Right, people, have a seat. Let’s arrange this excursion in the correct manner to make everything run smoothly. We don’t have much time on this one, not until we get it into international waters undetected,” he revealed. Nina and Crystal exchanged glances of equal confusion.
“It is an illegal salvage?” Nina asked.
Purdue and Sam looked at each other, acutely aware of the sense of right and wrong both women possessed.
“Look, it’s not the first time we’ll do something a little south of proper," Purdue explained. "This find is of tremendous significance; we just can’t pass this one up.”
“How much do you know about this wreck, Dave?” Crystal asked. “Nina was barely able to find anything about it, apart from two, maybe three lines somewhere in a historical article about the naval town of Simonstad that mentioned something about a vessel, but not more.”
Nina nodded in agreement.
“My client, my… an old friend has assured me that he has seen the wreck and that he is fairly certain that it is the Admiral Graf Spee,” Sam s
aid. “I trust his judgment. As archeologist and anthropologist, he knows what he is talking about. Billy Malgas is no fool.”
Nina shifted forward to lean her elbows on the table, “The article says that the Admiral Graf Spee was a Nazi pocket battleship that passed the Cape of Good Hope toward the east and sank several Allied ships without getting hit at all. It says that not one single shot was fired at it, but that’s all it says about it. There is no mention of where it sank, or even if it did.”
“Well, now we have reason to investigate. And since Crystal is both a salvor and a lawyer, she is indispensable as legal advisor on Maritime Law and as a master diver,” Purdue clarified.
Sam looked at Crystal with admiration, “Then she’ll know how we can get the vessel out of territorial waters first.”
“She does not. That is Dave’s side of things,” Crystal corrected Sam.
That meant only one thing – it was going to be a clandestine project, utilizing only the best and slightly less legally sound personnel. It had to be kept a secret.
9
Cheryl’s Deal
“So we are waiting for Sam Cleave and his associates to meet us at the harbor,” Dr. Malgas told Cheryl. “Would you be interested in helping out, perhaps? You know, since you said you are between jobs right now?”
“What kind of work? Cataloguing?” she asked.
“I think so. We will need to mark whatever we pull out of the wreck and the other members of the assignment will probably be too busy working on the wreck itself assessing its historical significance; Sam and I will study the vessel’s history and have Mieke Badenhorst help us deal with the PR-side of things. She is my current assistant,” he explained. “Would you be interested in joining us?”
Cheryl shifted in her seat. What she had to clarify now was the difficult part of the conversation. Telling Dr. Malgas that she had to drag two shady looking men with her had to be handled with great sensitivity. However she was going to convey her condition, it would have to happen soon. She was beginning to feel anxiety, and she knew the next symptoms of withdrawal would be visible perspiration and tremors
“Billy, I…don’t work anymore alone these days,” she smiled shyly. “I too, have an assistant and an associate who helps out on our various projects, you see? And I have to include them. Would that be alright?”
Billy Malgas cleared his throat at the revelation, which made him a bit reluctant. He had not intended to include this many people in the hoax, especially since only he and Mieke knew that the whole thing was a complete and utter lie. He was afraid that adding more people would increase their risk of getting caught lying, but to keep up appearances that he had faith in his claim he could not refuse. What would his reasons be?
“That, uh, changes things a little. I’m not sure if we have the funds to accommodate everyone’s fees. Tell me, what your colleagues could bring to the project?” he asked.
Cheryl’s body ached. She had no idea if Zain or Sibu had the kind of drug she needed, let alone if they would take her to one of her dealers and the notion hammered a sharp stake of panic into her mind. As if in tune with her inner turmoil, the weather started to turn while she discussed the plan with Dr. Malgas. The wind picked up, and the skies clouded up. Not that Port Elizabeth had much precipitation, save for a rainstorm once in a blue moon that would last about fifteen minutes. But it seemed to cool down considerably at this hour, prompting Cheryl to make her case and be done with it.
"They are two very high-end security consultants, Billy. Believe me, they won't allow any unwanted prying in your business," she assured him as if she had all the faith in the world in her two captors. If she could just convince him and get going already, before he saw her suffering a panic attack and cramps, she would not run the risk of losing her old mentor’s trust. She also did not want to disappoint him, strange as it may sound under the given circumstances.
“Oh, I haven’t even thought about that side of things,” he exclaimed. “You are quite right, Cheryl! We will – almost most important of all – need security to keep the media and the coast guard off our backs until we have secured the find. Good thinking, girl!”
‘Yes! He bought it!’ she thought. ‘Now just close the deal and get the hell out of here. I have to get to Central soon. I have to get in touch with Pat Pyramid, or I'm going to die!'
Patrick the Nigerian, or Pat Pyramid, as he was called on the street, was Cheryl's drug dealer. He had earned the name because his place of operation was the surroundings of the Donkin Reserve, a pyramid-shaped monument built by Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin, who named the then-rising seaport of Algoa Bay Port Elizabeth in honor of his wife. Pat was one of the dealers who had turned the once posh historical part of the city into a gangster slum for people like Cheryl.
She used to frequent many dealers, but he was the quickest and second most affordable for the heroin she needed. The once brilliant assistant turned prostitute was hooked on several substances, but mainly heroin and the occasional cocaine kept her body busy in between sporadic rushed of speed. The latter usually served for those all-nighters with more than one client at a time when she really had to perform at the top of her game.
“So, do we have a deal?” she asked Malgas in a shaky voice he would soon recognize from the old days.
“I think your offer is feasible. It did not even cross my mind before, silly coot that I am,” he chuckled.
The front door shuddered under a heavy hammered fist. Billy and Cheryl jumped in their seats, and for a moment neither knew what was going on. Soon after Cheryl realized that she had been inside for over an hour and that her wardens were probably very impatient by now. Billy grabbed his gun and went to the door, a decidedly deadly move considering who he was dealing with. Cheryl launched herself from her chair and caught up with him, "No, no, Billy! Put the gun away!”
He looked at her in befuddled panic as she grabbed his arm. Cheryl realized that her behavior probably looked a bit overzealous to him, so she sighed and smiled, “You don’t need that thing. It’s just my guys. I asked them to come and introduce themselves to you. Think of it as a…umm…an interview!”
Slowly he put his firearm away, trusting Cheryl's judgment. She made sure she stood close by him as he opened the door, to prevent them from just shooting him in the face upon sight.
“Hello, boys!” she said quickly as their intimidating shapes stood on the porch. The light fell on their crude, malevolent expressions and Billy felt a jolt of terror shoot through him. “Dr. Malgas just accepted our services as his security wing on the expedition! Isn’t that awesome?” Her eyes widened to signal them that they were to play it cool, and they promptly complied with her gesture.
“Good evening, Dr. Malgas,” Zain exuded charm at the man who almost got a face full of lead from him.
“Evening,” Dr. Malgas said, and shook Zain’s hand, still hesitant to believe he just hired those shady-looking people. Cheryl broke the tension and stepped out to speak to her new colleagues. “Just let me get my purse, gentlemen, then we can go.”
“Goodbye, my dear,” Dr. Malgas said as Cheryl embraced him at the door.
“I will call you tomorrow to find out where the rendezvous point is,” she smiled. “We will be ready to sign any contracts your benefactors draw up for security on their trip.”
“Good, thank you,” he agreed and waved them off, as they returned to the large car now parked in front of his home.
“So what is the deal?” Zain asked her as they approached the vehicle.
“Can you just wait until we are driving?” she sneered. “He is still watching us. Act professionally or we will lose our only chance.”
Annoyed at taking orders from their prey, the two thugs just scoffed and got into the car. They drove back to Cheryl’s apartment, where at least one of them had to stay over to make certain she did not flee.
“You have to bring me to the Donkin, please. Quickly?” she asked Zain, who was driving.
“Why?” he asked.
“Please,” she implored with no sign of her previous authority. She had regressed back into the sobbing, desperate street walker they met on the ledge. “I have to get my fix! I’ve already waited too long, Zain, please! Let me please get half of what I usually take, you know, just to tide me over until I get a trick to pay for a proper push.”
Sibu clapped his thick hands and laughed heartily in the back seat.
“Fucking hell, Zain! This girl should get a Grammy for acting, holding it together at that man’s house this long, hey?” he roared boisterously.
“It’s an Oscar, not a Grammy, you fucking imbecile!” she screamed at him, clearly losing control from the pain and cramps of withdrawal.
Without warning Sibu slapped the hooker hard against her head, slamming the side of her face into the closed car window. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back so hard she thought her neck would snap.
“Sibu, stop it!” Zain shouted. “If she has marks tomorrow they won’t believe our story! And you!” he raged at Cheryl, “Don’t forget who you are, filthy little skank. And don’t forget that your life is in our hands. Are we clear?”
Cheryl nodded, her scalp and face stinging from the treatment she had just received for losing her cool. But on the inside, she cared for nothing other than getting that spoon heated, the sweet release from the grace of a needle to make all the pain and worry go away. It did not even matter to Cheryl if she got beaten up, doubled teamed or held at gun point. All she wanted was to get her fix.
10
Subterfuge in Action
In the morning Dr. Malgas received a phone call from Sam Cleave, confirming the time and place for their meeting. From what Sam told him, all the arrangements had been made to begin the survey of the vessel and that the team would arrive at Port Elizabeth International Airport soon.
Order of the Black Sun Box Set 4 Page 24