“I suppose, not sure how much of my time there is to take,” Pete replied with a southern drawl. “Come aboard then, just don’t fall in the drink. I don’t feel like gettin’ wet today.”
We clamored to the edge of his dock, and I understood what he meant. I literally had to pull my groin to get a foothold on the deck. Galveston offered a hand to Maddie, but instead of taking it, she leapt gracefully onto the deck in one swift, agile jump. Galveston grinned with a goofy look of appreciation on his face.
“I got some warm pop there in the cooler if you feeling so obliged,” Pete offered. “You can also have some of my fish I caught.”
Pete threw a large fish onto a small grill, skin and all. The fish began to crackle as Pete gave us a mostly toothless grin. “Sure you don’t want some?”
“Where’d ya catch that, Pete?” Galveston asked, noting the freshness of the fish.
“Right here off my boat. Nature’s breadbasket ya know, the ocean.”
“You don’t think that’s a little dangerous, catching a fish right here in the harbor? The water here isn’t the cleanest,” I pointed out to Pete.
“Water’s water,” he stated while staring at his catch. “All connected with the ocean. Sure you don’t want some?”
“I think we’ll pass. A little too fresh for our tastes,” Galveston remarked. “We just need some information on a ship that was supposed to dock here a few days ago.”
“Supposed to? Where’d it go?”
“Well, we think it was hijacked by pirates in the Pacific past Hawaii.”
“You don’t say. Pirates, huh? Maybe it’s those Pirates of the Caribbean looking for work,” Pete said, chuckling to himself at his bad joke.
“No, I guess just some of your run-of-the-mill pirates,” Galveston replied smiling.
“Uh-huh. And what ya got on this ship?”
“It is called the Trusian, a container ship out of Hong Kong. Have you heard anything about it?”
“Nope. I know of the ship, but haven’t seen it here in probably, oh, six months. Good vessel; strong, big sucker, but pretty beat up. Can’t believe anyone would be stupid enough to pirate in the Pacific this close to the U.S.”
“And why is that?”
“U.S. Navy of course, plus Coast Guard. Real difficult to make a fast getaway in a boat that big.”
“Do you think you might know the men that were on the ship?” Maddie interjected, obviously tiring of the banter between Galveston and Pete.
“Sure, always a chance. Lot of sailors come through this port, and I know a right many of ‘em.”
“How about these two men; Captain Olgary Svenson, and Chief Mate Dimitri Petsoro?” Maddie asked quickly.
“Hmm. Second guy, never heard of him, but that first guy, sailed with him many a times, good captain.”
“These men were on the Trusian when it departed from Hong Kong and may have something to do with the hijacking.”
Sailor Pete looked thoughtfully for a second. “Well, like I said, don’t know nothin’ about that first mate, but the captain, probably a little tough for him to be on that boat.”
Maddie looked confused. “Why?”
“Captain Svenson is dead, back in Sweden. Had a sailor that just left here talking about how he had some type of massive heart attack or somethin’. Just found him a few days ago in his house. Damn shame, he was a hell of a sailor, real Viking stock.”
Galveston, Maddie, and I could only stare at each other in disbelief.
“Are you sure about this, Pete?” Galveston inquired.
“As sure as I know there’s fish in the water,” Pete answered dryly.
We stood standing with our mouths agape. This was huge. We had thought we had two good suspects in this case with a good lead on where to go next, but this changed things.
“How would you find this ship, Pete?” Galveston asked, suspending his disbelief on the information we had just gathered.
“Oh, I don’t know. To hide a ship like that in the Pacific wouldn’t be too hard, I guess, if you knew where to sail her. But then again, these are the busiest shipping lanes in the world, you know, all that Chinese crap coming over. Someone would have to see something, if they were looking for the right thing.”
“What do you mean?” I asked him.
“Well, I would probably try to change the ship in some way; the registry, the name, something. All the ships make a log of who they pass within any reasonable distance, especially if there’s a call out for it. This ship would have to pass a lot of other ships any direction they went. It’s a big ocean, but these things ain’t speedboats. You can’t just turn tail and run.”
“Could they have put a new name on the ship, is that possible?” Galveston now probed.
“Sure,” Pete answered after a second. “A little marine paint and a change in flag and you got it. Big job, but if they had the guts to steal the sucker, they could sure as heck paint over the name.”
“But if they did that, wouldn’t the name just come up as fictional?” Galveston wondered aloud.
“Not if there was another ship with the same name somewhere,” Maddie interjected, a light bulb seemingly burning over her head.
I thought for a second and understood her point. “Maybe there is another ship with the same name and going to the same point as the Trusian.”
“Yup,” Pete responded. “That could be it, as long as a ship didn’t see them both in the same voyage. You may want to check any ships along that route. But I gotta warn you, these gotta be crazy pirates you dealin’ with. You had all better be prepared if you find that ship.”
“We will, Pete,” Galveston said without much confidence.
“Hey, what’s the payout on such a thing, you know, a missing ship?” Pete asked. “There will sure be a lot of companies pushing for some money. Reminds me of the old Hyundai Fortune blaze, lot of money lost on that ship,” Pete added.
“What was that about?” I inquired.
“The Hyundai Fortune was a container ship, caught a mean fire in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Aden. I believe some of the cargo was fireworks. They lost a heck of a lot of money, about $300 million dollars if I remember right. That big insurance company, Lloyds something or other…”
“Lloyds of London?” I interjected.
“Yeah, that’s the one. They had to pay. Things get pretty dirty when you’re talking about that amount of cash.”
“You don’t say,” was all I could muster, shocked at Pete’s knowledge of the shipping industry.
“Yeah, all those insurance suits don’t like paying out that kind of dough. They get pretty upset and usually want some blood after a payout like that,” Pete philosophized. “Y’all got anymore questions?”
“I don’t think so. You gave us a lot to think about,” Galveston told him.
“I do have a question for you three, though.” Pete turned his gaze to the shore of the harbor under his rough brimmed hat. “Do you know them two fellers over yonder? They’ve been watching us this whole time.”
Galveston and I turned and spotted two men with sunglasses peering at us, one holding a pair of binoculars. As I began to say something to Galveston, the men broke from their stance and began to run towards the pier entrance.
“I think they’re here for us, but I don’t want to wait around to find out why,” Galveston yelped.
The men were closing in fast and one was holding something out of sight at his side.
“Uh, Pete, you got an engine in this thing? These aren’t friends of ours,” I fired back quickly.
“Damn straight I do. Best one in the harbor. This thing may look like a tub, but I did a little overhaul on the engine,” Pete said proudly.
“Do you think you can get us the hell out of here?” Galveston yelled as Maddie jumped to the middle of the vessel.
“Hell, sure. Get those lines and we’ll be off. I haven’t had this much excitement in years.” Sailor Pete was clearly pumped about the prospect of a getaway.
/> Galveston and I quickly got the lines off the dock as Pete fired up the engine. He punched the throttle, and we heard a large roar come from the bottom of the boat as the propeller cut into the water. Sailor Pete, with great skill, maneuvered past the boats near him, almost hitting a few, and left them bobbing violently in the wake of the small sailboat with the overly massive engine.
I peered back and saw the two men running down the dock edge, looking as if they were ready to jump. They stopped short, turned, and ran back down the deck. I noticed they were stoned faced and expressionless.
“Who are those guys?” I yelled to Galveston over the roar of the engine as we got out into the main channel.
“Looks like CIA to me. No expressions, and they dress too neatly,” he responded. “I think I have an idea how we can give them the slip.”
“Whatever it is, I’m in agreement,” I bellowed as I spotted the men jumping into a white sedan.
The unknown agents moved quickly and mirrored our position in the waterway with their position on land.
“Pete, swing the boat near the dock and those other boats. I’m going to drop off the back side,” Galveston yelled at Pete.
“Right o’ boy, just hit the water!” Pete was clearly too excited and racked the wheel to the left.
“You’re what?” I began to exclaim, but before I could get out another word, Pete had swung the boat hard toward the docks, almost throwing me over the side.
“Roger, I’ll get the car. There is a landing about a mile from here at Del Ray Lagoon Park. Pete, you got that?” Galveston said forcefully.
“Yup,” Pete announced confidently, “I’ll be there in two shakes of a rattlesnake’s tail.”
“Those guys won’t have time to negotiate their way over there,” Galveston added.
Galveston moved to the back of the boat and waited for a large cabin cruiser to block the view from shore.
As the sailboat neared dangerously close to the larger vessel, Pete swung us back to the right, yelling to Galveston, “get ready, go, go!”
Galveston immediately launched himself off the backside of the boat and into the murky water. I saw his head bob to the surface as he began a quick swim to the nearby dock.
Sailor Pete looked back quickly and then maneuvered the boat into the middle of the channel. “Hold on you two, time to put this sucker into full power.” Pete pushed the throttle forward and gave the boat max power, which pulled the bow of the ship up and threw Maddie and me onto our backs.
“Good Lord, Pete, what kind of engine did you put in this thing?” I exclaimed.
“Four hundred horsepower, reclaimed speedboat inboard engine. Had to modify the hull so it wouldn’t sink,” Pete said proudly. “Hold on to your shirt.”
We got out into the main channel, and I lost sight of our followers. They had made an unfortunate mistake of following us to the end of the harbor where the road ended. They probably hadn’t counted on us having a boat with this amount of speed.
Galveston, in the meantime, was dragging himself from the water, wet and heavy. He raced back to our car through a crowd of gawking onlookers and drove to our extraction point. Luckily he had spent some time in this area and knew the exact roads to take to get there as fast as possible.
Back on the boat, Maddie and I clung for dear life as Pete maneuvered down the channel and around a sea break before heading back to shore. Del Ray Lagoon Park lay just on the other side. As we motored toward the shore, Pete skillfully pulled alongside some rocks along the shore next to a parking lot near the beach.
“You’re going to have to slide off into the water and onto shore. I can’t get any closer than that,” Pete instructed.
“Thanks Pete, you’ve helped us more than you know. I’ll send you some reward,” I told him.
“Make it a case of whiskey and you got a deal.”
“Agreed. Thanks again, Pete.”
“Anytime. Make sure you make it the good stuff now, none of that rotgut. As you can see I don’t want to upset my mansion here with inferior stuff,” Pete yelled as he pulled the still cooking fish off the grill and took a bite. I nodded and smiled uncomfortably.
Maddie and I slipped into the water and gasped at the frigid temperature. The current was flowing toward the ocean and pushed us violently on top of the rocks, allowing us enough of a grip to scramble on to the shore. Maddie handled the swim expertly without flinching. There was definitely more to her than met than eye.
Galveston was just pulling into the parking lot and saw us emerge from the water. Of course he went to Maddie first, and helped her to her feet, while I flopped around like a beached fish.
“Time to get the hell out of here,” Galveston told us as we ran wet and cold to the awaiting car.
We gave a wave to Pete as he sped out of the channel, and despite the drawback of having to watch him eat that fish, Sailor Pete had just given us an incredible lead.
-Chapter 29-
Dimitri awoke to the sound of the opening of a heavy padlock that secured his door. He reacted quickly and pushed the film that had covered the porthole back into place. Dimitri prayed they wouldn’t notice what he had done.
The door swung open, and two men were standing side by side in the doorway. The first man had a submachine gun up in the ready position, pointed directly at Dimitri’s chest. The second man moved past him and motioned for his colleague to lower his gun.
Dimitri painfully pushed himself up to a sitting position in bed and swung his legs over the edge with a little effort. He had been working his legs constantly, but they were far from up to scratch.
“Petsoro,” the man said gruffly. “Are jou finding things comfortable?”
“As comfortable as possible. Where is my crew?”
“Secure, safe, and fed,” the pirate answered nonchalantly.
“Why did you hijack this ship?” Dimitri asked, not expecting an answer.
“Too many questions. Zhat is not something jou need to worry about, but zhere is information I need to know.”
Dimitri cringed. He knew what that meant.
The pirate walked slowly toward Dimitri and sat down next to him on the bed. Dimitri noticed he carried no weapon and his size was imposing. The man’s accent was French, or possibly German, definitely Western European, he thought.
“I notice jue took charge of a certain item being loaded on zhis vessel in Hong Kong without jour Captain’s notice. I need to know where zhis item is.” The man stated in a calm, calculating voice.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have the bill of lading. It has all the things we are carrying,” Dimitri stated emphatically.
The man shook his head, quickly becoming angered. “No, no. I don’t have time for zhe games. Tell me vhere zhis item is located on zhe ship.”
“I don’t know which ones you are talking about. I just don’t know,” Dimitri said, looking the man in the eyes.
The pirate peered forward, and without warning, grabbed Dimitri’s leg with one hand and struck a hard blow with the other. Dimitri yelled in pain and saw stars flash before his eyes as the pain shot through his body.
“Let me try zhis again. Vhere iz zhe item you loaded!” The man stood up and towered over Dimitri, who was writhing in pain.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Dimitri yelled as he grabbed his leg.
The pirate latched on to the leg again and twisted, causing Dimitri to lose his breath and fall backward on the bed. The man stepped back as blood began to seep from the Dimitri’s wound.
“Ve can do zhis all day if jou like, but I have a better idea. I vill give jou one hour and if in zhat time jou do not tell me vhat I vant I vill execute one of jour crew. I vill follow with one every hour until jou tell me zhis information. It is jour choice Petsoro.” The pirate backed out the door without a change in his demeanor.
Dimitri pulled himself up from the bed, and using a torn piece of sheet from his bed, applied a tourniquet to stop the new bleed
ing. The pain was intense and the room swirled around him. He would have no choice in the matter. The chief mate could only hope that giving in to the pirates would spare his men, at least for a little while longer. His new mission was to keep the crew safe.
-Chapter 30-
Maddie, Galveston, and I were unable to discuss the leads Sailor Pete had given us, our coherency a step above seaweed. We decided it would be best to regroup in the late morning after a good night’s rest.
Galveston had finally wound down somewhat on the way home, but as he grew more tired his hyperactivity worsened, and he became intolerable. I tried to guide him in a direction away from alienating and annoying Maddie further. Although I wasn’t having much luck, he was, and his advances were coming off on her as charming.
The sleep I got that night, after our long journey and meeting with Sailor Pete, was glorious. My head had felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, and I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. Jane had left me some welcome home food, but my weariness preceded the need to eat, and I managed to get it in the refrigerator before I went to bed.
The morning came, and I scraped myself from the bed, attempting to loosen my muscles in the process. The work ahead of us was daunting, and we had no time to waste. I realized there would be many sleepless nights to come.
Jane and Alex were already in the office of Icarus Investigatory Services, busily poring over the work Alex had completed the day before. Jane looked as lovely as ever, and the short time I had been away made me miss her more than I could have known.
“Hi, Roger. You look like hell,” Jane greeted me as she looked up from her work.
“Thanks for reassuring me on my appearance. I feel like I swallowed some socks,” I managed to respond.
“I have to agree with Jane, but maybe worse than hell,” Alex jabbed, smiling. “The homeless guy on the corner looks better than you.”
“Are you two done? I appreciate the lovely sentiments, I really do. It’s nice to know you care.”
Jane walked over and gave me a long kiss. “Sorry, hun,” she said with a glint in her eye, “but you really look like you’ve been run through the muck.” She then gave me a hug and patted me on the bottom. “It’s time to get to work.”
Daniel Ganninger - Icarus Investigations 02 - Peeking Duck Page 13