Cargo: A Leine Basso Thriller

by D. V. Berkom

  “Pretty tough to outrun a chopper.”

  “You could say that.”

  “And you decided to stop doing things his way, is that it?”

  He shrugged. “That’s part of it.”

  “Not only did you skim profits, but you attempted an end run around Wang with one of his clients. Am I close?”

  Derek smiled. “You must have a crystal ball. I figured I could work things better than Wang. His business practices aren’t what I’d call sustainable.”

  “Greedy without a view to the future.”

  “That’s Wang in a nutshell. As soon as one commodity’s depleted, he just moves on to the next, like a wave of locusts.”

  “‘There is no torrent like greed’.”

  He grimaced. “Yeh. A lot of good changing tactics did me. Here I am headed for the auction block, just one more of Wang’s commodities.”

  “What does he do with the girls?”

  Derek’s gaze cut to Leine’s. “What girls?”

  “The girls he’s transporting on the ship.”

  He shook his head, shifting in his seat. “I don’t know about any girls.”

  “Sure you do.” Leine raised an eyebrow.

  “There’s a word for it, you know.”

  “Yes, I know. Wang already trades in illegal ivory. Why stop there? Human beings are lucrative. And he needs domestics for his camp, as well as entertainment for his clients.”

  Derek narrowed his eyes. “Why are you so keen on whether or not Wang’s into slaving? Unless you’re here at his request, to see if I’ll sell him out.” He shook his head. “No such luck, Claire. I’m in deep enough shit. Go look somewhere else. I’ve already said too much.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. And why would Wang plant a spy in here? According to you, your fate is already sealed, right?”

  “Good point,” Derek conceded. “I tend to be a bit paranoid. Professional hazard.”

  Leine paused, thinking about what he’d said. Time to change tack. “Ever think about working in a conservation capacity?”

  “Like helping save the elephants?” Derek laughed. “Yeh, that’d go over well.”

  “I’d think the conservationists would welcome your expertise. Why not use your abilities to conserve what’s left?”

  “It’s not that easy. Anyone who comes between a smuggler and his clients winds up dead. Life is cheap in Africa.”

  “Then how about working on the demand side? Give talks. Educate. Tell people that their taste in ivory trinkets and belief in the magical qualities of powdered rhino horn is misplaced and damages the larger picture.”

  “Same argument.”

  “Don’t do it in Africa. Do it in other countries where they buy the stuff.”

  He studied her, his expression unreadable. “You sound like someone who’s been on both sides of an issue yourself. Am I right?”

  “Astute observation.”

  “And which way did you choose?”

  At that moment, the door rattled and opened with a screech. Sefu and his trusty AK stood to one side, the barrel of the gun pointed at both of them, a wary expression on his face. Kibwe stepped into the room and held out his hand.

  “I’m here to empty the bucket,” he said.

  Derek moved to the back of the dank room and picked up the five-gallon plastic bucket they’d been using as a toilet. He returned and handed it to Kibwe with the cover on.

  “I wasn’t kidding about being able to pay you,” Derek muttered to Kibwe, out of earshot of Sefu. Leine caught the bribe, but didn’t react. Any seed planted in Kibwe’s mind had potential, although she didn’t trust Derek to include her in any of his escape plans. Yet.

  Good thing she was a light sleeper.

  CHAPTER 13

  SEVERAL DAYS LATER, Leine and Derek had managed to forge a wary friendship. They saw Sefu and Kibwe twice a day, once for their daily ration of food and water, and once to empty the bucket. Each time, they engaged the two crew members in conversation, lulling them both to the point of carelessness. Sefu was the last to let down his guard and now wore his gun over his shoulder, looking bored whenever the other three exchanged words.

  Leine and Derek had worked out a schedule of sorts, where they would engage one or the other guard in harmless banter. Leine had gotten Sefu to admit he had a girl back in Dar es Salaam whom he missed dearly, and she’d even made him blush, once, when she asked him about her. After each conversation, Leine and Derek would compare notes, parsing what was said and figuring out how to burrow deeper into their psyches, teasing out more personal information which they intended to use once they sailed closer to port.

  The next morning, Kibwe came by to deliver breakfast. It was Leine’s turn to work on Sefu while Derek would have a friendly chat with his brother. But Kibwe had come alone.

  “Where’s Sefu?” Derek asked, taking a bowl of rice.

  Kibwe shrugged. “He has more important things to do. You will speak only to me from now on.”

  “I will miss your brother, but I’m glad we’ll have more time with you, Kibwe,” Leine said with a smile. Kibwe smiled back, but then checked himself as though he remembered whom he was talking to.

  “Sefu has big plans. He wishes to climb higher in Wang’s organization so he can stay in Dar with his girl.”

  “And you? What do you want?” Leine asked.

  Kibwe frowned. “To become a doctor. I have some money saved, but not enough.”

  Leine and Derek exchanged looks. Derek cleared his throat.

  “You know, Kibwe, if you help us, we will help you.”

  “This is not possible,” Kibwe replied, shaking his head. “I like you both very much, but Wang is a dangerous man. If he found out I helped you escape, he would kill me and my brother, maybe even our family.”

  “Then we need to make it look like it isn’t your fault,” Leine said.

  At the suggestion, Kibwe’s eyes widened and he stepped backward. “No.”

  “You know that you’re sentencing us to die, don’t you?” Derek said, his voice low. Kibwe, clearly afraid of where the conversation was headed, glanced behind him before he took another step backward and started to swing the door closed.

  “You will be responsible for the death of two innocents,” Derek repeated.

  “You are no innocent,” Kibwe murmured to Derek. He glanced at Leine. “I do not know why you are here, but there must be a good reason.” He walked out and slammed the door shut.

  Leine paced the small area that the chain allowed her, excited by the progress they’d made with Kibwe. “It won’t be long now.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? We just set ourselves back a week. He’ll never trust us now. We don’t have enough time,” Derek said, scowling. “I shouldn’t have pressed him so hard.”

  “I disagree. Sefu no longer feels the need to shadow Kibwe. That’s huge progress. Of course Kibwe’s going to react with fear when one of us suggests escaping. That’s entirely normal. But you’ve planted a seed.” She turned to face him and crossed her arms. “You continue to lead him on with promises of money, but what happens when he finally capitulates and expects to be paid? If it were me risking my life and the lives of my family, I’d turn in the asshole that made a promise of money when he didn’t deliver.”

  “Ja, ja,” Derek said, waving away her concerns. “Don’t worry. If he ‘capitulates’ as you put it, I can pay.” He let his gaze travel along her body and back up to her face, where he arched a brow. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do about your predicament.”

  Leine rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. I can’t pay anything now, but I will guarantee your safe passage to anywhere you choose.”

  “I’ll believe that when I see it,” Derek scoffed. “At least we agree you’re going to owe me.” He cocked his head and smiled. “I think I like that idea.”

  ***

  The days marched on, and each time Kibwe visited them he kept his comments brief and noncommittal, even
though Leine and Derek continued to work him.

  The two prisoners passed endless hours teaching each other their respective talents; Leine demonstrated fighting moves from various martial arts disciplines and Derek taught her about the movement of elephant herds and lions, and ingenious ways to track prey. His was an encyclopedic knowledge of the animals he tracked, and he probably knew more than most scientists conducting observations. Little by little, Leine developed a grudging respect for the poacher. The feeling appeared to be mutual.

  “You know,” Derek said one afternoon after describing the way the light played on the acacia trees at sunset, “Africa’s a massive place with a lot of potential. You and me, we could go into business together, make a name for ourselves.”

  Leine gave him a look that said she thought he’d gone off the rails, and he hurried to explain.

  “No, no. I am aware of your disdain for my former trade, believe me. I was thinking we could go into the export business, but not game or ivory. Imagine this.” He spread his hands wide, describing a marquee sign in the air. “Derek and Claire’s African Fabric Emporium.” He grinned, his teeth glaringly white against his newly sprouted beard. “We could include jewelry and other handmade stuff, yeh?”

  Leine shook her head. “Not even remotely interested. But thanks for thinking of me.” She allowed herself a brief longing for Santa and April before she turned her attention back to the present. From Derek’s suggestion, she surmised that a kind of trust had been established between them, although she wasn’t naïve enough to believe it would last given the circumstances. Still, it was something.

  Hurt showed in his eyes but quickly disappeared. “Your loss,” he said with a shrug.

  “I don’t judge you, you know,” Leine said.

  Derek leaned his head back. “Why not? I do.”

  “Because I’ve finally gotten to a point in my life where I realize it doesn’t matter what you’ve done. It’s what you do.”

  Derek didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then he nodded, slowly. “I was right,” he said, his voice a quiet echo in the room. “You have been there.”

  Leine closed her eyes. “More often than you can imagine.”

  CHAPTER 14

  LEINE WOKE TO something warm touching her ankle. She sat up quickly as Kibwe, flashlight in hand, released her from the metal cuff. Finger to his lips, he made his way to Derek’s sleeping form and tapped his shoulder. Derek started to say something but Kibwe cut him off.

  Once he freed Derek, Kibwe slipped past Leine and out the door, gesturing to them to follow. They moved furtively through the hold, past the container that Kylie was in with the large X painted across the side. At least Wang had moved the box off the upper deck and out of the sun.

  Unless there was more than one.

  Leine slipped around to the back of the forty-foot box. Derek and Kibwe waved at her to follow but she ignored them. She leaned in close and gently rapped her knuckles against the metal wall. Hearing nothing, she tried again. A few seconds later, there was a faint tap. Leine knocked again, this time louder, certain that the rumble of the ship’s engines would cover the sound to anyone nearby. A louder, answering knock came back. Derek had eased up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.

  “We have to go. Now, Claire.”

  “There are people inside this container.” Leine stood motionless, her mind racing for a way to overpower the crew and hijack the ship, knowing he was right and they’d have to leave. She stared at Derek, searching his face for a hint of compassion. Derek blinked, revealing nothing.

  He let out a frustrated sigh. “What are you going to do? We can’t take them with us.”

  “No,” Leine said, an idea beginning to take hold in her mind and growing. But you can track them.

  She noted the positioning of the X on the side of the container before following Derek back to where Kibwe waited, pacing nervously. The three stayed in the shadows until they reached the metal stairwell Leine had used when Wang first led her below decks.

  Kibwe leaned in close and said in a low voice, “There are two crewmen in the pilot house, but I know they are not watching the deck.”

  “How do you know that?” Derek asked.

  Kibwe shrugged. “They have discovered a magazine someone left near the captain’s chair by mistake.”

  “Ah.” Derek lifted his chin. “Naked ladies to the rescue, once again. Where are the rest?”

  “Most are asleep. We have been at sea long enough now that the captain is slack in his orders, so only a handful of us are on watch.”

  “Where are we? Is there land nearby?” Leine asked. Being stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean didn’t sound like much of an escape plan.

  “That is why you must leave tonight. We are only a day’s journey from Dar es Salaam. We will dock late tomorrow night.”

  “How do we get off the ship?” Derek asked.

  “The lifeboat. There should be enough fuel to reach land.”

  “But doesn’t a lifeboat need someone to launch it? How will you explain your way out of that?”

  “I will suggest to the captain that you allowed Claire to escape in the lifeboat, while you climbed down the side of the ship. They will think she picked you up once you reached the water. I will drop a line over the side to make it look convincing.”

  “Why the change of heart?” Leine asked.

  “I thought about how long it would take me to save enough money to become a doctor and realized it would never be. God has provided another way.” Kibwe’s expression turned serious as he shifted his attention to Derek. “I will make it look like you overpowered me and took the key for your manacles.” He handed him the key. “We don’t have much time. You have money, yes?”

  “Yes,” Derek replied.

  “Good. Follow me.”

  They climbed the stairs and sprinted across the deck, threading their way through the shadowy rows of containers toward the stern. Kibwe paused in the darkness to allow a crew member to pass, and then continued on to the lifeboat.

  “You will find food and water as well as a compass inside,” he said. “There is also a first aid kit. In calm seas, the boat will travel at six knots. That should place you near the mainland by late evening.” He looked at Derek expectantly.

  “Oh, right.” Derek patted his pockets. “Could I bother you for a knife?”

  Kibwe frowned and handed his rigging knife to him.

  “You may want to turn away,” he said to Leine. “This won’t be pretty.”

  Derek dropped his pants, twisted around, and using the tip of the knife, carved into the side of his buttocks, gritting his teeth as he did so. Blood surged through his fingers and down his leg and he used the bottom of his shirt to stanch the flow. A few moments later, he straightened and wiped something off with a clean section of shirt. Then he instructed Kibwe to hold out his hand and dropped an object into his palm. Kibwe held it up, squinting. The diamond’s facets sparkled in the deck light.

  “That oughta pay for a year or two of medical school, eh, my brah?” Derek said, wincing as he slid his pants over the wound.

  Kibwe nodded, his mouth gaping in surprise. He clamped his lips closed and blinked. “Thank you,” he managed. “God is great.”

  “Small payment for saving our lives, eh?” Derek replied. “Shall we?”

  Leine and Derek climbed up the platform and made their way into the enclosed lifeboat, closing the watertight door behind them. The small boat itself had seen better days, but still had the webbing to hold them in place during the launch. Leine sat in front at the controls. Grimacing, Derek maneuvered himself into the seat across the aisle from her and they buckled themselves in. After a slight pause, there was a loud clunk and the lifeboat rumbled down the rails. Seconds later, they were airborne and weightless, rushing toward the dark ocean.

  Leine braced for impact as the bow split the water, plunging beneath the surface. The force threw her forward but the straps kept her from slamming into the
console. The boat leapt upright and bobbed like a cork, seawater streaming across the windows. She started the engine and steered away from the ship, the lights on the upper deck fading into the ink-black night.

  “How’s your ass?” Leine asked as she unbuckled the safety strap and started searching under her seat for supplies.

  “It’s been better.” Derek released himself from his seat and limped down the aisle, checking the rest of the lifeboat for the same. “Aha,” he said, holding a first aid kit in the air. “I’ll just be a minute.”

  While Derek cleaned and bandaged his cut, Leine kept the little boat on course, headed in the direction Kibwe had told them to go. Images of the container with the X on the side continued to crowd her mind. She needed to convince Derek to help her track Wang’s shipment.

  Derek returned and placed a canvas bag on the floor, then gingerly lowered himself into his seat.

  “In addition to the first aid kit, we’ve got several liters of water, a hatchet, a flashlight, and a knife. There’s a signal mirror and a couple of ropes, too.”

  “Any food?”

  “Just these.” Derek held up a handful of individually wrapped energy bars.

  “Better than nothing,” she said, helping herself to one. She took a bite and stretched her neck to release the tension. “I hope the crew doesn’t notice the lifeboat missing too soon. I would assume there’s a transponder somewhere on board.”

  “Yeh, but I’ll bet the captain delays telling his boss about our departure. It’s not like he can turn the ship around and come after us. I imagine Wang’s going to be very unhappy.”

  “Remember the container marked with an X?” Leine asked. “The one with the human cargo?”

  When Derek didn’t say anything, Leine repeated her question. He studied her for a moment before replying.

  “Wang marks the ones with live cargo so they’re easier to spot and unload.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t know anything.”

  “I lied.” Derek leaned forward, his forearms on his thighs. “Look, I didn’t know you, and besides, it’s not a business practice I agree with.”