Hidden Sun

by John Campbell

  “It is my turn,” he said as he stared mischievously at his American friend. He refilled their glasses and held his glass up ceremoniously. “To Maggie, Stephen’s lover!”

  Hendrick’s mouth fell open, but he was feeling too well from the drinks to take any offense. He hadn’t thought Golubev knew about Maggie. They toasted Maggie with gusto.

  “To Maggie, wherever she is,” said Hendrick and threw down the drink in one gulp. He knew he would soon feel the effect of this drink to Maggie. That’s fine, he thought. Maybe I’ll stop thinking about her.

  “Listen, Viktor Ifan-a-vich,” began Hendrick by slurring the Russian’s name. “Before we start doing some really serious drinking, I have to give you this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the small books given to him by Finance Minister Gradov. He double checked the amount shown in the book, then handed it over to Golubev.

  “What is this?” asked Golubev curiously. He opened the book and stared at the numbers on the first page, then gave Hendrick a penetrating look.

  “Numbered Swiss bank account holding about one million three hundred thousand dollars,” replied Hendrick. He looked the old Russian straight in the eye. “A deal is a deal, as we say in America.”

  “How?” asked Golubev in a shocked voice.

  “Let’s just say that we have had our day,” replied Hendrick, repeating what he had told Golubev when they were leaving Itbayat Island. “I got some of the bank notes back from those two fascist morons, Loshak and Drukarev.”

  Katya leaned over her husband’s shoulder and read the numbers, which were in Swiss francs. Her eyes went wide open. She squeezed her husband’s shoulder and suddenly had tears in her eyes. Golubev just stared at the numbers in the little book.

  “You will take care of your men, won’t you?” asked Hendrick. “Especially the family of the one who was killed by Chang’s men.”

  Golubev looked up at him and determination filled his face. “Da! This captain takes care of his men!”

  Hendrick nodded and refilled the glasses himself. “I knew you would.”

  Hendrick, Golubev, and Katya proceeded to get rip roaring drunk.

  CHAPTER 24

  Reunion

  TAIPEI, TAIWAN

  Steve Hendrick hung up the phone and nodded to himself. In a few hours he, Malik, and his Taiwanese friend Loh would be headed back into the Taiwan Strait to recover the diamonds he had hidden almost a month ago while on board the Russian submarine. They would make the transit under cover of darkness to Niushan Dao, the island near where he had hidden the diamonds.

  He sat down on the bed and eyed the half empty bottle of sour mash whisky sitting on the bedside table. No, no more drinking for a while, he decided and wondered why he had been drinking so heavily in recent weeks. Maybe losing seven hundred million dollars had something to do with it, he thought. Or maybe it was Maggie, always Maggie.

  Hendrick got up and went into the bathroom. He ran water into the sink then splashed it vigorously on his face. The cold water tingled his skin, making him more alert.

  A noise came from the main room of the hotel suite, a sound like a door shutting, then nothing. Hendrick ran a towel over his dripping face and cautiously opened the bathroom door.

  There, standing in full view of him, was Maggie!

  Hendrick froze and just gaped at her in shock.

  “Hello, Steve,” she said with an unpleasant tone in her voice.

  Hendrick’s eyes locked onto her face, and he grew dizzy at her astonishing beauty. She looked ravishing, not at all as if she were in the hands of pirates for several weeks. He dropped the towel and started to walk toward her without saying a word.

  Maggie had her hands by her sides with her right hand a bit behind her, concealing the object in her grip. She backed up a step and brought her right hand out in front of her, pointing the gun straight at his stomach.

  “We have to talk,” she said firmly.

  Hendrick didn’t hear a thing she said. He totally ignored her weapon and walked straight up to her, the handgun brushing along his left arm as he moved to within a foot of Maggie. She backpedaled quickly, trying to get the gun barrel repointed toward his stomach, but her back hit the wall and she could go no further. Hendrick kept coming and in an instant he was next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

  “Hendrick!” she said in annoyance as she pointed the gun at his head pressing it against his temple so he would feel the cold steel of the barrel. “I have a gu -”

  Hendrick’s lips pressed on hers but she resisted, turning her face away from his, breaking the kiss. She turned her head back to look at him and saw the passion and relief in his eyes.

  “Maggie,” he said softly. He put his hand behind her head and slowly drew her lips toward his, allowing her to push away if she wanted to. She went willingly this time and their lips met in an explosive release of passion. He felt desire as he had never known it and ground his body into hers. She pushed back, working her hips back and forth as a prelude to the real act yet to come.

  Hendrick heard the dull thump of something hard hitting the floor and realized that Maggie wasn’t pressing whatever-it-was to the side of his head anymore. He pulled his head back to kiss her neck and heard her quick, deep breathing.

  “Maggie, was that a gun?” he asked between kisses.

  “It wasn’t loaded,” she gasped.

  “I can’t believe -” He planted half a dozen impassioned kisses on her neck. “ - you’re here.” He inhaled deeply, and her fragrance went immediately to his head making him dizzy. There was an intoxicating mixture of the scent from her hair and the subtle perfume around her neck that totally captivated him.

  “I escaped -” She lost her breath as he gently bit the muscle above her shoulder. “ - no thanks to you,” she finished in a rush.

  “I came back for you,” he said then ground his pelvis into hers.

  She took a deep breath. “I heard about the Chinese raid on Chang.” She pushed her hips tightly against his body. “Did you come back for me, or for the reward?”

  “I was devastated when I didn’t -” He hesitated as she wrapped her right leg around him. “ - find you there. I didn’t know where to look for you.” He ran his hands down her back and over her buttocks to pull her even closer to him. “How did you escape?”

  “I got my buyer drunk and ran away. I’m glad you figured out that the numbers I gave you were the coordinates for Chang’s headquarters,” she said between rapid, deep breaths.

  “I wish you knew Russian better,” he said as he ran a hand up her side to rest on one of her breasts. “I had a hell of a time finding out what the numbers meant.” He began to unbutton her blouse with one hand.

  “I should get - ohh,” Maggie exclaimed in a low purr as Hendrick began to kiss the tops of her breasts above her bra. “ - part of the reward,” she finished in a gasp.

  Hendrick stopped nibbling on her, tilting his head back to look her in the eye. “Okay,” he said and quickly went back to work on her shoulders and neck. He maneuvered her away from the wall, and they slowly walked each other over to the bed, keeping their bodies welded together as Hendrick pulled Maggie’s blouse free from her pants. He reached inside her blouse simultaneously feeling her skin under his fingertips and his own desire rise to an undreamt of level.

  They slowly lay down on the bed with Maggie rolling to one side to allow him to get to the back of her bra. His hands came up to the bra hooks, and he began trying to release them. He had always had trouble with brassiere hooks and immediately started having trouble with Maggie’s. She had one of the larger sized bras with four hooks, twice the work for ten times the pleasure.

  He got one hook free, but the other three wouldn’t budge. He pulled on the strap, but the hooks didn’t break.

  “I’ve seen battleships built weaker than this,” he mumbled.

  Maggie started to sit up to help him, but Hendrick pushed her back down. He reached in his pocket
and pulled out a knife. He pushed a button on the side of the handle and the blade snapped out locking itself in place.

  “And I thought you were glad to see me,” she said with some trepidation.

  He pulled the middle of her bra away from her body and cut the connecting fabric between the two cups. Her bra fell open and Hendrick gaped at her for a moment. Maggie’s incandescent beauty swept into his mind, intoxicating him. He slid down on her to give her a long, passionate kiss. He moved down her neck, pausing to plant a kiss every quarter inch. She inhaled quickly as he kissed her breasts. Her breathing was heavy and fast. Hendrick began to kiss her stomach while fumbling to undo her belt.

  There was a knock at the door.

  “I don’t believe this,” he mumbled. He lifted his head and looked at the door. The knock came again, this time more insistent. “Who is it?” he asked in a loud voice.

  “It’s Joe, Steve. It’s time to go,” came the muffled voice through the door.

  “Go away,” said Hendrick.

  “What do you mean ‘go away’?” asked Malik in an annoyed voice.

  “I’ll meet you in the lobby,” said Hendrick.

  “Goddamnit, Steve, we have to leave now,” said Malik. “Loh’s waiting for us at the pier.”

  Maggie pulled her blouse around her. Hendrick gritted his teeth in frustration.

  “Go attend to your business,” she said and started buttoning herself up. He exhaled in frustration and went over to the door. Maggie disappeared into the bathroom. Hendrick opened the door a crack.

  “Steve, time to go,” said Malik. He tried to peer over Hendrick’s shoulder to see who was in the room with him. “You got company?”

  Hendrick nodded. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

  Malik relented. “I’ll give you five minutes. The tide isn’t going to be right forever.” Hendrick said good-bye and shut the door.

  He looked around the hotel room until his eyes came to rest on the whiskey bottle. He threw some ice cubes into a glass and poured the glass three quarters full. Hendrick drank half of it in one motion, then turned to see Maggie looking at him with a mixture of annoyance and endearment on her face. She opened her blouse enough to show him the safety pin that held the front of her bra together.

  “It’s going to be tough to get a bra this size in Taipei,” Maggie said. “I mean I could have taken it off.”

  “I’ll buy you another one,” he said.

  “That switch blade looked familiar,” she said. He pulled it out of his pocket and tossed it to her. She caught it and looked it over. “I’d like to keep this as a souvenir.”

  He shrugged and nodded unable to take his eyes off her. “Now I know what the word breathtaking really means.”

  Maggie saw the intense desire in his face, gave him a coy look and smiled. “Maybe later.”

  His face turned serious, more serious than she had ever seen it. Her smile faded. She changed the subject. “Where do you have to go?”

  He gave her a look that told her it was none of her business.

  Maggie went over and picked up her handgun off the floor. Hendrick watched her and shook his head slightly.

  “So, how much are you going to get from the Chinese for taking them to Chang’s headquarters?” she asked casually.

  Hendrick wrinkled his forehead. “Where did you get a gun?”

  “They sell them, you know,” she replied and threw the gun on the bed.

  “Why did you point it at me?” he asked.

  “I thought maybe you wouldn’t want to share the reward with me,” she answered. “I confess I never expected the welcome you gave me.”

  Now I’m really confused, he thought. “How did you know where to find me?”

  “A simple check of the hotel registry -” she began.

  “At Itbayat Island,” he corrected. “Where we were going to transfer the gold to the ship from the States. Someone had to tell Chang where the transfer was going to take place.”

  Maggie gave him a sideways glance. “How was I to know where the transfer point was? I was in Chang’s hands, and the last time I saw you before that was when you dropped me off in Taipei almost a year ago.”

  That made sense, he thought, but I have a feeling that she’s not telling me the whole truth. He decided to go fishing. “One of Chang’s people said that you told Chang about Itbayat Island.” He gave her a suspicious look.

  “Who told you that?” she asked.

  “Li Tai Su,” he said, wondering what kind of reaction he would get from her.

  Maggie’s eyes grew wider in a subtle movement, and her face froze for just a second. Then she was back to normal, her face softening and relaxing in an instant. If he hadn’t been staring at her, he would have missed it. He could only conclude one thing: she did tell Chang where to find the submarine.

  “I think Li Tai had a very active imagination,” she replied in measured tones.

  Yeah, right, he thought. He sipped his drink and knew that there was much more to this mysterious woman. The question remained: how did she know where to find the sub?

  “And who were those people you had me call in Taipei?” asked Hendrick.

  Maggie didn’t answer right away but gave him a look bordering on disappointment. “That was my employer, the Far East Trading Company,” she said in a low voice.

  “And the message: time is running out. Sounds like some sort of code,” declared Hendrick. Maggie didn’t answer. He had another thought. “Chang sold you to somebody?”

  Maggie grew serious at the memory of feeling like a trapped animal. She nodded slowly.

  “And then you got him drunk and ran away?” asked Hendrick, quoting Maggie previous remark. It sounded too simple.

  “This is turning into a real interrogation. When do you stick splinters under my fingernails?” she asked.

  Hendrick stared at her for a moment, then visibly relented and waved his hand to dismiss his forceful curiosity. Maggie let out a sigh and gave him a sideways look.

  “So we’ll split the reward from the Chinese, right?” asked Maggie.

  He just looked at her. She waited for him to answer then picked up the gun off the bed and pointed it at him.

  “I thought you said that wasn’t loaded,” he said gesturing at the weapon in her hand.

  “I lied,” she answered with a purr in her voice.

  He walked boldly toward her, and she tried to back up, but the bed stopped her. He slowly took the gun out of her hand. He thumbed the button, releasing the clip, which popped out into his hand. Hendrick glanced down at the top of the clip and saw that it was empty. He looked at her with raised eyebrows.

  “I lied about lying,” she said in resignation.

  “You’re not very good at this, are you?” he said with an amused twist to his mouth. He threw the gun and the clip back onto the bed and picked up his drink.

  “I guess not,” she said. “So how much is the reward?”

  The numbers danced in his head. He had gotten a little more than one million. The numbers hadn’t been far from his mind for the last several weeks. If he split it with Maggie, her share would be over five hundred thousand dollars.

  “One hundred grand,” he said and looked into his drink.

  “That’s all they gave you” she asked incredulously. “You recovered over seven hundred million dollars from the Awa Maru.”

  “Yeah, they’re cheap skates,” he replied.

  She thought for a moment. “So I get fifty grand?” she asked with a smile.

  He nodded silently. So she didn’t know the deal I made with the Chinese and Filipinos, he thought. Although not publicized, that deal was a matter of public record. Both governments wanted to show the rewards given out for turning in the bothersome pirates that raided ships on the seas between both countries. A little research and she could have found out. She knows some things that she couldn’t possibly have known and doesn’t know other things that would be easier to find out. Very strange indeed.

&n
bsp; Maggie gave him a quizzical look. “You sure gave up easily with the reward money. Why?” He shrugged and stared into his drink. “The money doesn’t mean that much to you, does it? It’s only a means to an end. But what’s the end?” Hendrick looked at her and said nothing.

  “Your father’s mission,” she said. “Did you find what he was talking about?”

  “No, it was impossible to find something that he never described.”

  “So, your share of the reward money will go toward another shot at the Awa Maru,” said Maggie.

  Hendrick was again surprised that Maggie had hit upon what he had been thinking. The reward money and the diamonds would finance another salvage attempt, but he wasn’t about to tell her that, not just yet.

  Maggie took a quick look around the room and gave Hendrick a big smile. “We’re both rich. Let’s celebrate. Tell your friend that you changed your mind. Put on some decent clothes and let’s go out on the town.”

  “I can’t,” he replied. “I’ll be back in a couple of days. Where can I look you up?”

  She thought for a moment. “I’ll find you.”

  Hours after Steve Hendrick had left, Maggie sat in her room thinking about her encounter with him. He had impressed her as a man to whom many women would give themselves willingly, even enthusiastically. He had a certain ruggedness about him, and she knew that women would be attracted to the sense of danger that seemed to surround him. She had to admit that she was attracted by those same qualities.

  She was sure she hadn’t misread the signs. He was head-over-heels for her, and she struggled greatly not to feel the same way toward him. Maybe after all this was over, she could let her real feelings out. A sharp pang of lingering desire ran through her, and she wallowed in it. She hadn’t been excited like that by many men.

  She ran down the list of men she had known and thought of the few to whom she had freely given herself. Hendrick was easily the most attractive.