Commandeered (Mercury Black Authority Book 2)

by Finian Blake

  “Would you like a drink?”

  In the morning, Noah called Anna and the four of them met for breakfast. Anna was the first to speak.

  “Have you come to an agreement?” Noah looked at Sera.

  “Have we reached an agreement?”

  “I can definitely state that we have.” Sera sounded positive about her answer.

  Noah wanted to know, “Have you gotten to know Roger better?”

  Anna smiled but did not answer, “I think we better take care of business and leave.” Noah wanted to set the price and finish with arrangements.

  They called Abdul-Rahman setting an appointment for eleven at his office. Noah wanted Roger to preflight the Ark and Sera to stay with him, but elected to take Anna with him to meet Abdul-Rahman. She and Gregory were full partners with him on this run, so he brought Anna a long to make sure that there was no confusion in the deal. After Roger and Sera left for the airport Noah asked how Anna wanted to handle things. Anna elected to work things as she and the general had worked before. She spoke Arabic, Farsi and understood a few of the other dialects. English was common in Pakistan, so she would not have to translate which allowed Anna to play the role of a silent partner. The office was located between the airport and the harbor in a shabby three story building. Noah and Anna were shown in the office immediately recognizing Abdul-Rahman.

  “The last time we did business your name was different.”

  “Your name was different also.” Abdul-Rahman looked back at Anna. “I see that you have brought Ekaterina with you. You are working for the Russians now?”

  “No, I am strictly a private contractor.” Anna recovered instantly and responded to her old name. She had always been known to Abdul-Rahman by that name. He looked at Ekaterina.

  “This man is a thief.”

  “This man is a liar.” Noah pointed at Abdul-Rahman with Ekaterina being somewhat relieved to see that they knew each other. She was also relieved to see that he did not know her new name. Anna noticed that Noah stayed with her old name. She was pleased that she did not have to prompt him about the change. Coffee was served and they settled down to business.

  “So, Hermes, what are we talking about for weapons?” Abdul watched Ekaterina carefully to see if the name registered with her. She remained impassive.

  “I prefer the name Noah, or shall we use other names?”

  “One name is as good as another. What are we talking about for merchandise Noah?”

  “Thirty thousand AK s, half AK 47’s and half AK 74’s, fifteen hundred RPGs both seven and twelve, thirty heavy machine guns, and five quad machine guns plus there will also be five million rounds of ammunition or more. We will include every bullet that we can lay our hands on. The weight will be right at five hundred thousand pounds or better for a delivery weight. How much can you speak for?”

  “All of it…”

  “How do you wish to pay for it,” Noah asked.

  “I understand that you will accept heroin. My contacts at the CIA say that you will process the payment. Is that correct?”

  “The Russians want theirs in gold. I will have to convert it to make the payment. I want a thousand kilos per hundred thousand pounds of weapons.”

  “Street value in Europe and the US is twenty to twenty five a gram for uncut.” Noah was quick with his response.

  “I will see eight to twelve wholesale, since I am not going to stand on a street corner selling it. Of course you can see how it sells in Karachi or Tehran. I must front the gold to the Russians and make the bribes.”

  “The penalty for selling in Tehran or Karachi is death,” Abdul-Rahman was expecting the price. “You must make your deal where you can. I can recommend the deal. Business has been bad for the warlords. There is a local surplus of merchandise since the war began nothing moves.” Noah could sense that there was a reserve in his voice.

  “They wish to pay my commission in heroin also. Could you process that for me?” Abdul-Rahman needed to move it to another country and then sell it. Noah did not hesitate. In Pakistan heroin was so much powder.

  “Five is an excellent price in Karachi. I will give you the full wholesale of eight.” Abdul-Rahman was thrilled with the deal. This would add millions to his profit.

  “Can you trust a thief,” Adam asked.

  “I can trust a thief, if you can trust a liar.” Abdul-Rahman smiled wolfishly.

  “How much are we talking about,” Noah became serious.

  “I will receive five hundred kilos for my commission.”

  “The total may drive down the wholesale price. I can say that the price will be will be between eight and ten a gram. That would be between four and five million for a general figure. Can you live with that? There is also risk involved.”

  “You are risking a great deal. I can live with the risk.” Abdul-Rahman knew that if anybody could pull it off Noah could do it. He also knew that Noah was right. Here the merchandise was worth little. He would be lucky to see three dollars a gram and eight would be spectacular. Ekaterina was amazed that Noah could set the price so quickly. Gregory took forever haggling over the price. Abdul-Rahman was a man of the world, and he did like the pretense of haggling, but he dropped the show with Noah.

  Noah asked, “Can we do all of the transactions in Zurich? Ekaterina will give you the banking information.” Ekaterina handed Abdul-Rahman the numbers. Abdul-Rahman laughed quietly as Noah walked out the door. Noah had no idea of the surprise that he was in for. As Noah and Anna left Abdul-Rahman pressed a button on his desk and a short man came in taking a seat in front of the desk.

  “So, Abdul you will provide us with the information about his transportation?” Abdul-Rahman frowned he did not like his name abbreviated.

  “I want to be sure that you will not interfere with the incoming arms. You will only get information on how he will transmit the payment.” He listened to the deal that Noah made and had learned nothing.

  “Yes, we will get information on the payment only.”

  “And, you will pay me fifty thousand dollars for this?”

  “We were hoping to pay you twenty thousand for the information.”

  “Thirty thousand and we have a deal.”

  “I can live with thirty thousand.” Hans stood up and left without a word.

  ‘What is your game’, Abdul-Rahman thought to himself as Hans closed the door.

  Anna and Noah left in a cab riding to the passenger terminal getting in line for Air France. After a few minutes, Anna pulled a scarf over her head and went to the toilet. Shortly after that Noah left the line. As he walked through a large group of people, Noah slipped off his coat and went to the cab stand taking a cab to the private aviation terminal. Anna was waiting for him on the Ark. It was one o’clock before they were airborne. Anna went below asking Seraphina to join Roger up front.

  “I wanted to say thank you for talking to Sera. Whatever you said was perfect.”

  Noah shrugged, “One thing that I did not tell her was that they were planning to kill her. That is very personal news and I thought that I would let you do that.”

  “I have not done that yet.” Anna knew that this would not be easy. “I did not want to drive her over the edge.”

  “She needs to know. We can support her now.”

  “What decisions have you made?” Anna knew that she could ask Noah directly and receive a direct answer.

  “I will help her no matter what. There are several people that intend to do her harm. I am guessing that she signed all of the authorizations and that she set up all of the accounts. What rank does she hold?”

  “She is a colonel in the administrative section. In America you would call her an office manager. With the Generals approval, she could sign for almost any action.”

  “They were setting her up to take the fall.” Adam had to be careful not to upset Anna. “If she disappears they get to steal the money and blame the theft on her. Even though she is with us they can still blame it on us. What she must do
is outline what they had her sign and list the numbers in Zurich. Where is her car?”

  “I do not know.”

  “Start on the ‘in the event of my death’ letter, and I will go to work on giving her an inconvenient death.”

  “What do you mean inconvenient death?” Anna sounded worried.

  Noah let out a quiet chuckle before he started to speak. “With the letter if Seraphina appears to die it will come forward, and they will be too busy running to hunt for her.”

  “Are you sure that you are not Russian? Stalin would have been proud of that move. He was Georgian you know and he held a special feeling for our country.” Noah noticed that she said country and not province.

  “Gregory said the same thing a few days ago.” Noah said cautiously not being sure of what she was saying.

  “It was a compliment,” Anna said lightly punching his shoulder. “You are kind but no push over. I find that you can be quite ruthless when you need to be, but there was one more question that I need to ask.” Adam nodded silently in answer to her request. “When Abdul-Rahman asked you to process his payment why did you cave in so quickly?”

  “We need insurance.” Adam said in a matter of fact tone.

  “Insurance…?”

  “Yes, he will increase his commission from a million and a half to four or five million. His fortune is tied to ours. Abdul-Rahman will help protect us while we are in Pakistan. I always treat my business partners fairly especially when it is no extra effort. We need a little misdirection in order to make our payment disappear. I had you ask for empty crates and some lathes and other broken machinery on the last plane load out of the depot and we will use them for misdirection. I do not trust Hans, and they would object to my killing him, since I did not return their last set of contacts. We need solid cover while we arrange all of this in Karachi. Call Sera down here and tell her of our discussions.” Noah went back up to the flight deck. Sera, was dying of curiosity. She scrambled back to the cargo bay. It was only a few minutes when Noah heard her scream.

  “They are going to what…?” Rodger started to get up to check out the disturbance.

  “Relax, she will come up here.” Roger was not comforted by that statement. Sera’s head appeared between the two seats.

  “You could have told me last night!”

  “You were safe with us and I needed to discuss my suspicions with Anna first.”

  “I believe you. They always used me when they did not want to put their name on a set of orders. Those bastards…!”

  “Have Anna tell you what we set up in Nicaragua. I want you to follow her instructions to the letter.” He noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks. Sera and Anna went to work down below. Adam helped Roger do the flying and after a few hours, Anna came up to relieve Roger who went back to the cargo bay.

  “She has a handle on it now. Sera, is busy writing down all of their sins. It is a long list. I do not think that we have enough paper.” Things were personal for Anna now. She wanted their balls.

  Anna had a bitter sound in her voice. “Those were the same Generals that are asking us for a place to hide with their money.”

  Adam had to ask, “Are we switching from business to revenge?” A look of revulsion came over Anna’s face. “Your sister is safe. We cannot do anything before the deal goes down. What I am suggesting is that you make your revenge count. If we work this right we conduct our business and you will know where to find them when you are ready.”

  “How can you be so cold about this?”

  “This business produces dirty little messes, after the first few hundred, you just have to take your revenge when you can. You know what my habits are, and you have helped me with my problems in the past, so I will help you with your problem when the results are most promising.” Adam concentrated on flying while Anna stewed. They flew on in silence for a half an hour. Anna finally broke the silence.

  “Will you make a contract with me?”

  “Do we need one?”

  “No, I can accept your word. We have been loyal to each other. I blindsided you with this and you covered me all the way without question.” Adam smiled at Anna.

  “Then we have a contract.” They flew on in silence with each person mentally working on their end of the deal for the remainder of the flight. The Ark made it to Malta around eleven PM. He called the number for Hans and was secretly switched to a non-secure number in Pakistan.

  “Everything is a go,” Hans said, “The deal will be completed within two weeks. Your agreed upon funds will be deposited in the bank that we discussed.” He hung up and placed a second call to Tony in Chicago.

  “The weight will most likely be five or six thousand kilos.” Noah qualified his answer, “This keeps growing don’t be surprised if that figure climbs by a few thousand. Delivery of the payment will be within three weeks in Milwaukee. I will call you with the specifics when time is closer. I will tell you that the H has been cooked by the Afghans and has never been stepped on.” Noah broke the connection. He was drained. Noah went up to the room with the idea of crawling into bed. Anna was waiting for him.

  “Seraphina is spending the night with Roger.”

  Adam had a project for Anna in the morning. “We will not leave before noon, so I want you to take Sera to the spa early and get her a full make over. She has a good body and we should be able to knock several years off her appearance. Sera, has those clothes that you sent to her.”

  “I will call Lynn for some help with customs while you are there.” Adam rolled over and thought he was going to sleep. Anna hooked her finger nail under his nipple and started to saw. At the same time, she chewed on his ear lobe. Anna was not going to accept the ‘I am tired for an excuse’. He decided to surprise her. Anna shifted and Noah missed.

  “You have to take it.” After several tries Noah succeeded. Anna struggled to move away but Adam held on tightly. The effort incited them both. “You are the first man to really ride me. Gregory likes to be ridden. I was wondering if I would find a man who could take charge in bed.”

  “I guess that Noah Body was there.” Anna backed into Adam rubbing against him. She wondered if Terri would mind regular visits.

  Anna called the desk at seven making an appointment at the spa for two. She had never been to a spa with her sister, since it was a luxury that they could never afford when they were younger. She had them dye Sera’s hair to her original color only wanting to remove the grey supervising her haircut too. The beautician recommended changing her make up giving her a protein pack, manicure and pedicure. The sisters took a steam bath after they had a full body scrub. Anna brought some of the clothes that she sent to Seraphina earlier. When they were done the sisters literally looked like a million Pounds. Anna contacted the concierge arranging a quick trip to the Jewelry shop a few miles away. She picked out a few gold bracelets and pendants, toe rings and they found matching emerald rings adding them to the collection bringing the grand total to a few thousand pounds. Anna pulled a stack of bills out paying in cash.

  Sera and Anna returned to the hotel shortly after noon. Because they were late, Noah was slightly annoyed. When they walked into the lobby, both women were absolute knock outs. Their fine cotton fashions were an elegant match for the warm weather. They both lost several years especially Seraphina who looked vibrant. She stopped in front of a lobby mirror studying the reflection running her hands over her body not believing that it was her. She gave Anna a warm kiss, “thank you sister.” Sera gave Noah and Roger a warm kiss and Noah forgot what he was going to say to the ladies about being on time.

  Anna drew more looks at the airport when she did the preflight with Roger. The manager of the private terminal came out and told Roger that only pilots were allowed to do the preflight. He was surprised when Roger told him that she was in fact the pilot which gave Anna a huge chuckle out of that statement. Gregory was always the front and now she enjoyed being accepted for her talents. They were airborne by one PM.

  The Ark
made it to Manchester around quarter of six. Customs met the trip Sera, was worried about her passport. Roger presented all four passports and the customs officer stamped them all without even looking at the names. Lynn had made the arrangements ahead of time saying that it was a MI 5 special. Frank pulled up to the Ark in the Bentley. Sera, was impressed by Adam’s connections. She was feeling much more confident. The trip to the Inn was quick and Frank went directly to the Knoll.

  Terri and Liz ran out to meet them with Terri announcing that they would be having dinner in the pub. The only thing that needed to be finished was the patio. She pushed for the extra crews and offered heavy over time in order to be ready by the studio’s dead line. Adam did the introductions. Terri was not surprised to see Seraphina wearing one of Beth’s creations, since Anna told her that she had been sending them to her through family members in Turkey. She prepared for Seraphina’s move, so that nobody would catch on to her deception. Liz would start the back ground work immediately after dinner and as soon as she took the necessary pictures, Liz could add them to the blanks that she prepared in advance. Seraphina would become Sarah Newley of Huntington Beach California. Anna set up bank accounts months ago buying the townhouse on the other side of Grace when it became available a year ago. Jeff could easily have her business degree carried over, by Father Cash showing her having graduated in nineteen sixty five. In light of her youthful appearance they also decided to shave ten years off her age instead of the seven that they planned. Adam realized that he was not as up to date as he should be. The female conspiracy proved to be a complete surprise. As Terri walked Sarah to the edge of the Knoll giving her the two pence tour linking arms with Sarah walking her around the courtyard like they had known each other for years. Sarah was impressed to find out that Terri did the design for the whole property. Anna clung to Liz so that Adam would not go off on her for hiding all this information from him which was a wasted effort since Adam had become adjusted to surprises from the women. They walked down to the pub with Terri doing the tour on the way down.