Sun on the Rocks - The Shabby Sheik

by Somers Isle & Loveshade

  Chapter Sixteen

  Clarity woke up at eight in the morning the next day, sleepy, but not too dissatisfied with having carried out the purchase for Hari the night before. She ordered breakfast in her room and checked the time zone of Tortola the next day, noticing it was showing the same time as New York, where Carliss lived. Using the fixed line phone available in her room, she called the office of Carliss in New York at nine thirty in the morning, to let his secretary know that his boss had sold two of his companies. The man who answered the phone, Gile Cunningham, took notice of her name and reason for calling. All of the procedure set up by Carliss, a fanatic of efficiency and automation, was working to perfection. Cunningham was aware of the technological set up of Carliss and he was seeing his confirmation and electronic signature showing on his computer screen, confirming the sellout of Veuve Ponsard and Laurent Varignon for a total of one hundred three million dollars, which he was seeing in the account of Carliss as pending. That money was basically available to Carliss, and it was virtually impossible to revert the transaction unless Carliss and the person who had purchased the two sparkling wine companies decided to do that.

  The teleoperator saw that the secretary of Carliss was believing the transaction was genuine. He asked Clarity why Carliss was not taking care of the matter in person, and she responded diplomatically that he had attended a party the night before, where the opportunity to sell both companies arose, and that he was resting, delegating to her the tasks of informing the secretary and putting in place all of the paperwork needed to transfer ownership of the companies. Cunningham did not dare question Clarity, for no one had access to the personal phone of Carliss. After working for his boss for twenty years, he was not risking dismissal by waking up his boss early in the morning after a lavish party involving wealthy people. Carliss was the single owner of both companies, and he owned them through a holding company which he also owned. He could do what he wanted with them, including selling them.

  "I will prepare the updates of the company statutes and the board resolutions. Our legal counsel has all necessary power of attorneys, the presence or signature of Mr. Carliss is not necessary. I will inform the board of directors and management groups of the two companies of the new owner. Mr. Al-Najib, from what I see, is the buyer of both champagne companies, and you are his representative, is that correct?"

  "Yes."

  "This will be done by twelve thirty pm today. Where would you like the information and all the documents to be sent?"

  "You can send it to the email of Mr Al-Najib." Clarity gave Cunningham the personal email address of Hari and stayed on the line a few more minutes, until the secretary assured him that he would call back at twelve thirty.

  "Very good, noon would be good, Mr. Carliss is having brunch around that time and he said he wanted all matters solved by noon today."

  "Yes, that can be arranged."

  At noon, Cunningham called, saying that all the paperwork was done, and the documents had been sent to the email of Hari. Clarity verified with the Sheik that the documents had arrived, and thanked the secretary for all the work done.

  "Thank you Mr. Cunningham, you will hear from Mr. Carliss shortly." Clarity ended the call and stepped out on her balcony looking at the gorgeous view of the brightly lit marina. After a short lunch, she met Hari at a picnic table, getting shade from the sun under a beach umbrella. Guligher had called him a few times in the morning, warning him that they would pick him up with Clarity at two in the afternoon, since they had not received any valuable information about the Shawab. Access to Heir Force One was closed to them, and a large group of more than forty policeman was patrolling the airport, all of them carrying their photographs.

  "I'm going to the airport," said Clarity, "the only other alternative is to leave by boat and the coastguards will be there, there is no way we will be able to escape by sea. We've got to get official permission."

  "I talked to Hakeem, the authorities here are refusing him permission to get me back to the plane and take off with Heir Force One."

  "Let's go, I just need to stop by the photocopy shop a few minutes." She added.

  "I want to ask you for a favor, Hari."

  "What is that?"

  "Some money, about five hundred dollars in cash." Hari was grateful for what Clarity had done for him, in some ways, getting him out of the golden cage of influence placed on him by his family. He reached for his pocket and pulled out a stash of bills.

  "Take this," he said. Clarity took the cash and placed it in her pocket.

  They took a taxi to the airport and got there at one pm, after stopping a few minutes in the photocopy shop used by Clarity a few days earlier. Clarity walked past a group of six constables watching the hall of Lettsome airport, by walking with a group of tourists traveling together. She met Plum in the departures area, by the ladies' room, while Hari began to speak with a hostess at the airport information counter, carrying his shabby clothes in a trolley.

  "What do you have for me?" Asked the videographer.

  "The Consortium has the file of Hari with all of his connections. With this badge, you can access one of their computers at their office here, and get a copy of the file, listed as Scrub Leaks."

  She gave Plum the official badge of the Consortium of journalists, which no one had taken from her. Her own name had been erased at the photocopy shop and showed instead the name of Allison Bentley, a journalist working for a newspaper in Australia. Plum checked the badge and placed it in her pocket. Clarity also gave her the phone of Carliss.

  "This is the smartphone of Richard Carliss, the guy that Nives bedded last night. Give it to Nives and tell her to tell him someone found it on the floor last night." Plum nodded, taking three items from her blouse pocket.

  "Here is a plane ticket and your passport, I got it for you after talking to the police superintendent and the white collars of the Financial Commission. I did that after I spoke with Hakeem. He agreed to let me face those who are investigating Hari, BVI police and Raleigh, in exchange for letting me be on the list of official girlfriends of the Sheik. I told Guligher that you have nothing to do with this, and that it's Lohvia which got the Sheik involved with his account at BVI and all the shady stuff that went on in it. Go to boarding gate two, there is a plane leaving for Miami, connecting to Macau. The person in charge of Corporate Registries, Raleigh, doesn't want you or Hari set foot again here in the British Virgin Islands."

  Clarity grabbed her Singapore passport and the plane ticket, glancing at the hallway, where a group of eight constables were gathering not too far away.

  "Did you get what I asked you to get me?" Asked Clarity.

  "Yes, it's all in here." Plum handed a third item to the teleoperator from Malibu, a small pen drive with no label.

  "What about the ring?" Asked Clarity.

  "I am keeping the ring, the Sheik does not know what to do with it, I am certainly not going to return seventy thousand dollars, and I need it in order to gain admission into the lodge of Lady Mulham, which is exclusive. I'm afraid you will have to work at the Florentia Moenia casino as a dealer or a videographer like me to make up for the value of that ring. Some people working there will take care of you when you get there, go to live dealer room three, tell people there that I sent you."

  "I can't get back to Macau, Chinese authorities are waiting there for me."

  "Then, you'll have to stay in Miami. Are you sure you don't want to stay with me?"

  Clarity was tempted to throw away all of her plan in order to follow Plum in her dubious endeavour, which was spiritual, sexual and personal. Her own preference for freedom and sense of autonomy took precedence over the temptation of further possible spiritual discoveries.

  "Yeah, I'm sure."

  Clarity glanced at the information counter. She saw Hari talking to Guligher, who kept shaking his head. Hari began walking towards a different gate from her, followed by Guligher, in order to board a plane headed for Cuba. Agitating his arms up and do
wn, pointing at the counter of Cubana de Aviacion, the Sheik was telling the superintendent that he wanted to meet those working at BICCC in Cuba, where, according to him, his money was being held and where the Shawab and his stooges, sought by Guligher, were there as well. It was all gibberish, because the money of the Sheik had been recovered from the Cubans through hacking, and it was now in the account of Richard Carliss in New York after the Sheik's purchase of his two champagne companies.

  Hari had no clue of the actual location of the Shawab. But he wanted to avoid jail in Tortola and leave the British Virgin Islands, and the sweat on his forehead showed that. Somehow, he struck a deal with Guligher, because Clarity saw him move towards the counter of the official Cuban airline on his own, with the police superintendent staying behind. After a few minutes of negotiation and Hari showing his privilege card, the hostess at the counter of Cubana took his trolley and let him through, as one of the unofficial members of the airline's flight attendant group specializing in the tasting of champagne. Clarity said goodbye to Plum and saw Nives making a call as she began walking towards the passports area. The customs clerk stamped a visa from the British Virgin Islands, her first stamp on her diplomatic passport from Singapore.

  "Have a good day," said the clerk.

  Clarity nodded and took one last look at the departures area. Going through the doors leading to the hallway, she saw the features of Richard Carliss, who was walking hastily and was followed by a group of four constables. Sensing trouble, she walked briskly towards the boarding gate area, and showed her boarding pass to a hostess of BVI Airways. She sensed mayhem and chaos were going to break loose when Carliss discovered his two champagne companies had been sold, and it was beginning to prove true. A few minutes later, as the airport bus leading her to the RJ85 regional jet flying to Miami began to move away from the terminal, Clarity sensed that her plan had worked. No one was stopping her, and BVI authorities were letting her out of Tortola.

  Everything was working except for a single detail, she was not carrying the Mauboussin ring she had been entrusted. There was a chance that she could stay in the U.S., in Miami, although the issuance of her U.S. passport kept being delayed by clerks working at the surveillance center under the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. That meant that she was probably on file by customs everywhere in the country, sought for being one of the people having stolen federal bonds, used to pay for the gold bar of Lady Fortuna. If that was the case, and the report by the Bellagio surveillance center was still an issue, she would have to stay inside the airport as a passenger in transit. That meant continuing her flight, and boarding a plane in Miami in order to land in Macau, where she did not know anybody, and where Chinese officials and those expecting the Mauboussin ring awaited there to question her. Taking one last look at Heir Force One, the plane of the Sheik parked at the airport several hundred feet away, she stepped off the bus and walked on the passenger airstairs made by AccessAir, grabbing the polished steel handrail. A hostess welcomed her and led her to the passenger cabin of the regional jet.

  Sitting comfortably in her seat, she leafed through a local newspaper placed in the pouch of the seat in front, not too dissatisfied with her stay. She asked for earphones and began listening to the easy music channel, wondering for a second whether she should have asked for some ownership of the companies bought for Hari. There were so many irregularities with that purchase, that she felt more comfortable with less money and properties, and with more ownership of her time and freedom to do things. She pressed her arm on the armrest, reassured by the presence of the hostess button. Using some of the money that Hari had given her, she bought a tablet offered by one of the stewardesses selling drinks and snacks on a cart.

  As the small plane took off and began flying over Caribbean waters, Clarity looked at her tablet and slid her hand across the edges. She found a nub on the right edge, and pressed the push-button switch, in order to bring some light to the tablet screen, thinking about the intriguing side of Plum Bailey, and the pleasure and bliss awaiting her, if she was somehow able to get in touch with the group who had labeled the ring with that incomplete triangle, the Honorable Sorority of Ancient Freelayers. The sorority sought by Plum was headed by an old lady named Brighe Mulham, known as Lady Mulham, and Clarity did not know much about her. She took the pen drive Plum had given her, and connected it to the tablet, opening the first file. To Clarity, the meaning of the letter v etched on the ring bought by Hari, remained mysterious, or obscure. Plum had agreed to reveal the meaning, in one of the files, in exchange for access to the list of connections associated with the Sheik.

  The first file showed a single diagram, depicting a right angle triangle, and some text and illustrations explaining the meaning of it. The triangle alluded by the letter v in the ring was the Egyptian triangle, and each of the sides had a particular figure associated with it. The three sided figure of the diagram pointed to the Egyptian triad of deities, Osiris, Isis, and Horus. An explanation added that deities were personifications of attributes, either found in nature or in people. The short side of the triangle pointed to Osiris, associated with the creative principle, divine, a shepherd god, credited for giving Egypt a framework of laws, discovering barley and wheat, and gathering fruit from trees. The longer side of the triangle was associated with Isis, goddess of limitless attributes; it corresponded to matter, it was associated with the notion of nurturing, and it was also the personification of nature and the spirit of intelligence. Isis united a group of lesser goddesses and was known as the lady of ten thousand names, listing among her skills, the one of teaching how to read, and of understanding men.

  The third side, the hypotenuse, referred to 'Heru' or 'Horus', the son of the two deities shown in the other sides. Origin, recipient, mild resultant, each of the sides was associated with a meaning. She pressed with the cursor inside the triangle, and the hypotenuse disappeared, along with the illustration of Horus. When the hypotenuse was absent, the triangle was incomplete, becoming a letter v, which was carved in one of the baguettes of the Alessandra ring made of yellow gold and diamonds by Mauboussin. She clicked on the illustration of Isis below the longer side of the triangle, and the figure re-emerged, filled with a gold color.

  Inside the triangle which had reappeared, Clarity read a motto or phrase, which also explained the meaning of the figure. From two, stems one. A caption completed the explanation. In the Egyptian mysteries, the one stemming from two, from Osiris and Isis, was creative or sexual energy, and a particular mystery, reunion with life itself and the creative principle, the genuine meaning of religion, which came from the latin word 'religare', to re-unite with the initial point, what different cultures described as divinity, or god. That was the notion which brought completeness to the incomplete triangle. This was new to Clarity.

  In a very specific way, the triangle pointed to sexual energy and the mystery of Horus as the genuine meaning of religion and completeness. It pointed to the individual as capable of understanding or connecting with a sense of divinity in the body, instead of alluding or referring to an outside deity or figure or notion that religion referred to as god. Clarity knew that things were not perfect, in nature, and in general. It began to make sense, that the actual understanding of her own sexual energy, was the actual part of her, closest to divinity. And that everything surrounding religion, was simplifying, or making understandable, in general ways, social aspects or notions of individuals, and of this inner understanding of the body.

  She turned off the backlit screen of the tablet and placed the pen drive in her pocket, thinking about the second file in it. The file held a copy of the book Plum had shown her, 'The Rose of the Initiates'. What she found in it felt comfortable, the material of the book validated her own way of thinking in many ways. Some of it remained unclear though, some of the text was disguised as allegory, with a symbol representing an abstract idea, and that was not easy to understand. Plum had briefly said that the incomplete triangle referred to the outer order of the lodge he
aded by Lady Mulham. Maybe her friend Lanai could help her find the meaning of some of the ideas in the book, things like 'The Egyptian initiate', the 'Cube Altar', the meaning of the word 'candle', or of the 'pillars of the temple'.