02 Heller's Revenge - Heller

by JD Nixon

  “You’re going out of phone range with two strangers and a person we barely know. And I might not be able to contact you. I’m not happy about it, Matilda. How am I going to know that you’re all right?” he demanded, a little grouchy, his accent growing more pronounced.

  “I don’t know, Heller. I’m sure I’ll be okay. Everyone seems nice so far.”

  He insisted that I find out the name of the boat, the intended route and whether I would be contactable. Embarrassed, I asked Alex all of those questions when he came to pick us up. His wife, Sali, a young, beautiful and petite Indian woman, in the second trimester of her pregnancy with their first child, was in the passenger seat. She smiled in a very welcoming way to me when I stepped into the car. Alex told me the boat was called Lady Hawk and that he was only intending on venturing past the heads to deeper water, but not too far from civilisation. He also told me that I should have no problems receiving a signal on my phone, as we’d remain reasonably close to the coast. I was surprised to hear that.

  We drove to the marina and picked our way through the wharves until we reached the jetty where Lady Hawk was moored. I didn’t know much about boats, but Alex proudly informed me that it was a 10.5 metre, four-berth boat, comfortable but not luxurious, practical rather than ornamental. I rang Heller when I found a chance, to relay to him the name of the boat, where we were heading, that I should be contactable, the marina we were leaving from and giving him Alex and Sali’s full names. I didn’t know what other information I could give him, to be honest, but it still didn’t quell his unease at letting me onboard. Impatiently, I cut him off again, shoving my phone in my pocket.

  Sali showed me the cabin while the men did boring man-things on deck in preparation for leaving. The cabin was a compact but clever space. A private double-bedded ‘room’ with a concertina wall took up one end of the cabin. Next to it was a tiny bathroom with shower, vanity and toilet. The living space consisted of a small, sensible galley and dining area. Twin beds were tucked into the other end of the cabin with only a curtain to separate them from the galley.

  “I hope it’s all right for you to sleep in this area with Meili,” she asked, her eyes begging me for clues about our relationship.

  “Sure, no problem,” I replied, not volunteering anything, neatly stowing Meili’s and my things in the overhead locker. Let Meili tell them about our unusual arrangement, I thought. She let it go, too well mannered to push me for more information.

  I helped her stow a few groceries in the tiny pantry and fridge.

  “I’m really counting on the men catching some fish for dinner tonight. Otherwise it’s going to be cheese and crackers, I’m afraid,” she laughed.

  “Let’s keep our fingers crossed then,” I replied, my mouth watering already at the thought of such fresh fish for dinner. “I might have a try at fishing too. Maybe I’ll be the one to catch dinner! That would show the men something.”

  “Girl power to you, Tilly!” she giggled, then straightened up, resting her hand on her ballooning tummy. “Oh goodness, Junior’s restless today.”

  “Do you know if you’re having a boy or girl yet?” I asked politely.

  “Boy,” she said proudly. “Alex is so excited. He has three daughters already with his first wife and was really hoping for a son this time.”

  We climbed back up on deck where Alex made us all slip into life jackets, his caution surprising me because we hadn’t even started moving yet.

  Noting my questioning face, he shrugged and said, “I’m a lawyer, after all,” which made me laugh.

  Meili was playing deck boy for the time being, so Sali and I sat on the small deck at the back, near the wheel house, and chatted inconsequentially until Alex finally pulled the boat away from the jetty and nosed it out of the marina into the harbour.

  It was a glorious day to be on the water, and so agreed a fair percentage of the city’s population, because the harbour was teeming with craft – motor boats, sailing boats, rowboats, even a kayak or two; from luxurious cruisers down to a humble inflatable dingy. A water police boat glided through the craft, reminding everyone to behave themselves, much like a couple of street cops on their beat.

  We headed out towards the ocean and I enjoyed relaxing on board, watching the scenery drift by. As we made our way out of the harbour, I let the other three catch up on gossip about mutual friends while I rang Heller again. He never minded me ringing him, even if he was busy, knowing I never took up much of his time. Especially lately.

  “You won’t believe what you’re paying me to do right now,” I gloated, and proceeded to tell him in fulsome detail. He listened with amused patience.

  “I’m glad that you’re talking to me, Matilda. You keep cutting me short lately.” I remained guiltily silent, not sure what to say in response. After a few beats, he gave up waiting for me to answer and changed the subject. “Are you wearing a life jacket?”

  “Yes, mum.”

  “Don’t be cheeky. Promise me you’ll wear it even when you sleep.”

  I groaned. “No! That would be too uncomfortable! And they’ll all laugh at me.”

  “I insist. Please, my sweet. Do this for me.”

  I sighed ungraciously. “Okay,” I agreed, pissed off by his demand.

  “Do you mean that?”

  “I said I would, didn’t I? Geez!” I huffed and cut him off again.

  “Problem?” asked Meili, noticing my thunderous face.

  “Just Heller being difficult as usual.”

  “Who’s Heller?” asked Sali.

  “My annoying, dictatorial, over-protective boss. He wants me to wear my life jacket even while I’m sleeping.”

  “That’s good advice, Tilly,” chimed in Alex. “I wish I could get my lovely wife to do the same. She’s not a good swimmer.” They exchanged the kind of glance that told me that they’d been over this ground a million times before.

  “Alex darling, I’ve told you that I can’t sleep with it on, especially now my belly’s so much bigger. And I need my sleep more than I need my life jacket.”

  His face eloquently expressed his silent despair at her logic.

  “What if I wear mine as well while I sleep, Tilly? Will that make you feel better?” asked Meili. And his kind smile melted my irritation.

  “Yes, it would. Then I won’t feel like such a dork,” I smiled back. “Thank you, Meili.” I said to the others, “He’s such a nice man, isn’t he?”

  “Yes,” they agreed in unison.

  Sali, deceptively casual, asked, “Have you known each other for long?”

  I kept my mouth shut. I’d let Meili deal with this one.

  “For a while,” he answered vaguely.

  She persisted. “How did you meet?”

  “My boss introduced us,” I said, which was the honest truth. Meili’s lips twitched.

  “And what do you do for a living, Tilly?” she asked.

  “I’m a security officer. My boss runs his own security and surveillance firm. You might have seen us around? We have a black uniform with a gold H on the pocket for Heller’s. And everyone who works there, except for me, is a walking man-mountain.”

  Alex spoke up. “Yes, I’ve seen some of your colleagues escorting people to court on occasion. They were very big blokes. Security officer, hmm? Interesting.” And it was his and Meili’s turn to exchange meaningful glances.

  I think he’d sussed out the situation between us, knowing Meili so well. But he didn’t have any time to cross-examine Meili or me further, needing to concentrate on negotiating the boat through the bar of the heads, a tricky and sometimes treacherous stretch of water. Sali was interested in my work though, so I entertained her with censored stories of my assignments chaperoning rich foreign women around the city, while Alex successfully took us through the bar.

  We were finally floating in the Pacific Ocean. I abandoned conversation and ran from port to starboard and back again, revelling in the excitement of being on an ocean-dwelling boat. The others watche
d me with amused tolerance, jaded from doing the trip so many times before. But I’d never seen the city from this view and everything was so interesting to me. Alex revved up the motor to full-bore and we sped off until the coastline became smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared from the horizon altogether. He slowed the engine and we bobbed in the ocean, surrounded by nothing but water.

  Alex found a spot that suited him and weighed anchor.

  “I like to be out of sight of the coast but close enough to return to the city in decent time if there are any emergencies. Especially now that Sali’s pregnant. We never go out much further than this,” he told me. I admired his cautious spirit.

  A number of craft had followed us out on the ocean, but most of them headed out further than us and were soon dots on the horizon. One boat anchored about two hundred metres near us though, its two occupants setting up on deck with a beer cooler, a fishing rod and some binoculars for a tad of bird spotting, I supposed. They had them out already, looking around. I hoped they weren’t spying on us.

  Alex was annoyed at their proximity. “Oh, for fuck’s sake! We have the whole ocean surrounding us and they have to anchor right in our pocket.”

  “Language, darling,” cautioned Sali, resting her hand on his shoulder. They smiled at each other with great affection.

  “Maybe they’ve heard of your reputation for finding productive fishing spots,” said Meili with a straight face, which only drew him an unamused glare from Alex.

  “Ha ha,” he retorted acidly, and by that exchange I gathered he wasn’t a world-renowned fisherman. In that case, I sure hoped Meili was, because I really, really wanted fresh fish for dinner. They retrieved their fishing gear and set up on the opposite side of the boat to where our neighbours were. I watched with interest as they baited and cast and reeled in, empty-hooked time after time, Meili explaining everything patiently to me. Sali settled down on deck with a book, her feet elevated on one of the other chairs, delighting in the sunshine.

  “So,” I said to the men with a grin, after watching them for a luckless hour. “The object of the sport is to feed as many fish as possible in one day? Is that correct?” And that casual quip earned me two sour glances.

  “Have a go yourself if you think it’s that easy, Little Miss Smartarse,” challenged Meili, and I took him up on the offer, smiling.

  He ran me through the basics again and I spent a pleasant hour feeding the fish and lapping up the winter sunshine. It appeared as though we were going to be munching on cheese and crackers for dinner, after all. Luckily, Sali had packed us some hearty chicken salad sandwiches for lunch, with a homemade carrot and walnut cake and some lovely ripe pears to munch on afterwards. God bless a woman who thinks about the stomach, I thought, tucking in, absolutely starving.

  “Why aren’t you a vegetarian, Meili?” I asked him, my mouth full of food and my nosiness showing through yet again.

  He regarded me thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t eat an unethically caught or farmed animal, but generally I’m more interested in the survival of species as a whole rather than individual animals. Obviously, I would never eat any animal that was in danger of extinction, but I don’t have a problem with animals being farmed for food sources. Humans have been doing it for tens of thousands of years, after all. And I’m very glad of that choice every time I bite into one of Sali’s famous chicken salad sandwiches because I know she always chooses free-range, organically-fed chickens.” He cast her an affectionate glance that she reciprocated.

  After lunch as I fished again, I sat idle, holding the rod and letting my mind roam, thinking about Meili, thinking about Heller, thinking about Will and Daniel and Niq. Then I thought about Brian and Gayle. I was in a real reverie, my mind a million miles away, when suddenly I had a genuine bite on my hook.

  “Oh!” I said loudly, surprised. “I have something.”

  “Reel it in slowly,” Alex advised, quickly by my side, and I did what he said, carefully winding the reel back, my arms straining with pressure as the tip of the rod bent towards the ocean.

  “Oh!” I exclaimed, starting to struggle with the weight on the end of the line. “Can someone help me please?”

  Meili stood behind me, placing his hands near mine on the fishing rod while Alex barked out orders. Whatever I’d hooked was bloody heavy and I sincerely hoped it wasn’t the biggest tyre ever caught in these waters.

  “Wow!” said Meili, starting to struggle himself, his muscles popping out on his forearms. Mine had popped out about five minutes ago. “Must be a tuna or something. It’s huge! I’m not sure this reel can handle its weight.”

  We grappled with the fish for another five minutes, and I became exhausted with the effort.

  “Just let it go,” I cried out, my arm muscles screaming in pain.

  “No!” the other three shouted in unison.

  “It’s so close, Tilly,” Meili said in my ear. “One last big effort, okay. On three – one, two, three . . .” We strained together, using all our muscles to pull the fish out of the water.

  “I see it! I see it!” screamed Alex in excitement. “It’s a yellowfin! Watch what you’re doing! Not like that! Do it like I told you. Don’t let it get away now!”

  A final goliath yank and we hauled the tuna onto the deck where it thrashed about violently. It slapped itself hard against my legs as if in rebuke for its capture, knocking me off balance. I stumbled and fell on the deck in an ungainly heap. The dying fish, not finished with reproving me, gave one last jerk and landed right on my stomach, knocking the air out of me. I screamed with what little breath I had left and scrabbled hurriedly to my feet. I pushed it off me frantically, flinging myself behind Meili, holding his arms tightly. He shook with laughter, as did Alex. Even Sali giggled at me.

  “What?” I demanded, coming out from behind Meili. “You all saw it. That fish attacked me on purpose.” That made them all laugh harder and I waited patiently until they subsided.

  “Oh Tilly, if you could have seen the expression on your face when that fish landed on you. It was priceless!” Meili said, threatening to erupt into more laughter. I failed to see the funny side of the situation personally, because a twenty-kilogram fish was frigging heavy when it landed on your recently healed stomach. I’d probably have nightmares about killer fish tonight.

  Alex conquered his laughter and set about preparing the fish for dinner. I watched with equal curiosity and disgust as he bled the fish, then gutted, scaled, filleted and deboned it.

  “I’d much rather get my food from the supermarket,” I declared firmly, scrunching my nose.

  “Wait till you taste it. You’ll change your mind,” promised Alex. “It’s a beautiful fish, Tilly. It will feed all of us well tonight and I’ll be freezing the rest. Well done!”

  “It was nothing, really. It’s all in the wrist movement,” I said modestly, only to look up to discover Meili about to dissolve into laughter again. Why do men find me so hilarious? Heller was always laughing at me.

  I felt fishy in my t-shirt and shorts and showered quickly in the cramped bathroom, changing into a clean t-shirt and jeans. Afterwards, I took the chance to call Heller. The reception wasn’t great and kept dropping out, so I kept the phone call to the barest minimum, enough time to let him know I was okay and to promise to ring again before I went to sleep. I came back up on deck to find that Sali had set out the dreaded cheese and crackers for a pre-dinner nibble. But truly, the term ‘cheese and crackers’ didn’t do justice to the wonderful spread of four kinds of cheeses, three kinds of crackers, a homemade roasted capsicum dip, quince paste, dates, figs, grapes and walnuts. I had thought she meant cheddar cheese on boring, plain crackers.

  “Oh Sali, how lovely. You’re a real gourmet!” I exclaimed with pleasure, gratefully accepting a chilled glass of sauv blanc and cutting off a piece of brie. We chatted and munched for a while, watching the colours of the late afternoon sky change with the coming sunset. It was so tranquil and relaxing that I was replete with happiness.
I didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.

  “What are your plans for the tuna?” I asked Sali.

  “Alex is cooking dinner, Tilly.” Damn! I hoped he was as interested in food as Sali.

  “I’m keeping it basic, which is the best thing to do with very fresh produce. So I will simply sear it and serve it with baby potatoes and blanched green beans in a herb dressing. Delicious and easy,” Alex said.

  “Yum! You must let me do the dishes afterwards. I feel so lazy.”

  They all looked at me. “Tilly, you caught dinner, remember?” said Sali, smiling and topping up my wine glass. She was drinking soda water with lime.

  “Only with Meili’s help, let’s be honest. I’d have had no chance of reeling it in by myself.”

  “Tilly and I will both do the clearing up,” Meili decided and that was the end of the matter.

  We watched the sun set and Alex went down to the galley to prepare dinner while the rest of us dawdled on deck. As the evening crept in, it was incredible how dark it was around us. I suddenly felt vulnerable out there in a small boat, trusting to the ocean’s incredibly fickle nature to keep us safe.

  We ate dinner downstairs in the dining area and it was a delicious meal, the fish very fresh and tasty. I held up a forkful of the tender meat.

  “I helped catch my dinner. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to say that before in my life,” I boasted proudly. Meili reached over to squeeze my hand, a warm smile on his face. I couldn’t help but notice as he did that Alex and Sali exchanged a loaded glance, smiling. Oh brother, I thought, more of Meili’s friends getting the wrong idea about us.