Counterpoint (18 page)

Carla burst into tears; her worst
nightmare had come true. As she saw it, her best friend had
actually seen her mother, unknowingly for six months, she had got
to know her, and obviously there was love between them even if they
hadn’t realised it.

Her friend had been loved, and missed
enough for her mother to come looking for her, but where was
Carla’s mother, Carla deserved to be loved and missed too. Carla
had suppressed her feelings about her unknown parents all her life.
She desperately wanted them to find her and love her, but they
never came. She thought it must be because she was not good enough
or worth enough to be missed.

Sure, she had been loved and cared for
by the Duke, but he was not her father. What if the Duke was Amy’s
father? What had happened to prevent Lana from bringing up Amy
herself, or with the Duke?

In her emotional state, Carla’s
reasoning failed her; she could not see the obvious
possibility.

Max tried to comfort Carla whilst Amy
and David looked on in stunned silence.

Before more could be said, the launch
from the Ocean Raider arrived. Max led the still sobbing Carla
aboard and sat her down, then went back for luggage, and to say
goodbye. He suggested to Amy and David they met again when Carla
had recovered, because he had something to add to the story, which
would go a long way to clearing up the mystery. He would phone them
tomorrow.

Max return to Carla huddled up in the
cabin.

The man smoking on the jetty turned
away as Max boarded the launch, Max suddenly looked across in his
direction.

“Nosey sod!” Max thought, must be
wondering what all the sobbing is about, and then he dismissed it
from his troubled mind.

Geoff Collins, the nosey sod, knew all
about the commotion on David’s yacht, though it was of no interest
to him. His camera case concealed a state of the art listening
device; he had aimed at the open entrance to David’s cabin. The
part he was interested in, however, was that Max and Carla would be
meeting David and Amy again soon. If he lost the launch that was
heading away, back to the Ocean Raider, he still had a way of
picking up their trail again.

Collins waved casually at a group of
small boats moored nearby. A launch engine burst into a deep
muffled roar as it headed towards the jetty, to pick him up.
Leaping aboard, not taking his keen eyes off the rapidly
disappearing launch, he directed the helmsmen to follow Max and
Carla.

Geoff Collins, currently on a mission
to recover the statuette for his new employer, was a complex man.
He would be 52 in January though he looked older. His craggy face
and close-cropped greying hair worked well for him by making
credible the three contradictory personas he readily employed, when
out to deceive.

On one hand, he could look
intimidating, his withering eye contact and “Don’t mess with me”
expression made most adversaries back down.

Alternatively, he was the sharp-witted
and intelligent man of authority. A man others obediently followed
and could confide in, and trust. A man with a human touch, a warm
smile, drinks with anyone, fun to be with, but never out of
control.

If he did not want to be noticed, he
could soften the expression and appear slow-witted, kindly and
ineffectual, totally unimportant, a grey man, the sort of unnoticed
body that makes up a crowd. This was his role today.

His great talent was tracking down
people and information. He always knew the right questions to ask
of the right people. His instinct led him to conclude seemingly
impossible tasks in a very short time. So far today, he had
discovered that the Ocean Raider had been at sea for almost a week,
and no one knew precisely where she was now. However, two of the
guests on board were due back soon and often visited the yacht that
had been pointed out to him. His apparent idle loitering near the
yacht listening carefully to what David and Amy said had paid off
already. His next goal was to get aboard the Ocean Raider and find
out if the statuette was there, or if anyone knew where it might
be.

In essence, he needed to be the
proverbial fly on the wall. Somehow, he had to stimulate
conversation about the statuette, and the events after the agent
Stephen Jackson took off with it, in the helicopter.

The crew would provide hearsay
background information, the officers, even the captain may know
more than they would openly discuss. There might be some paperwork
to provide a lead. Who were the guests on board at the time, where
were they now, and were they likely to be connected with the
statuettes disappearance?

An object like the statuette, so unique
and valuable would be difficult to transport from place to place.
The security around it would be high, and the delicate nature of
its construction would result in careful handling. If the current
owner moved it without apparent security, in a simple box marked
“Glass. Handle with care” for instance, the owner would personally
make sure there was no chance of dropping it. Such clues of
overprotection would be noticed.

How could he pull off the next phase of
his mission?

Back aboard the Ocean Raider, Max
helped Carla down to their cabin. She apologised for the scene and
said she would call David and Amy first thing in the morning. Max
thought this was the best time to tell her about the DNA results.
There is a limit to the effect shocking news can have on a person.
Two shocks close together have less impact than if a long time
apart.

“Carla, I have something to tell you,
relevant to this afternoon’s discovery.” She looked up at him, her
eyes were red-rimmed, and she looked so vulnerable. He glanced away
for a moment to gather courage, then looked deep into her large
blue eyes, and waded in.

“I had a DNA test done on Amy’s hair,
and it was a perfect match to your own. She is your twin sister!”
Carla’s face was expressionless, her eyes flickered to and fro and
back again and her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Max reached into his pocket and gave
her the printed results. “Oh! So that is why you were talking to me
about sisters the other morning. You knew then.”

Max thought she would be annoyed with
him for keeping it from her, but she was not.

“I understand why you kept it from me
until now,” she said meekly. “You did what you thought was best.
You are such a kind person, this is one of the reasons I love you
so much!” She put her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
Eventually, she said, “I am really so happy Amy is my sister, I
know a lot about our mother that Amy doesn’t and so we can fill in
many spaces and answer questions together. I will appreciate that.
It raises the question about the Duke’s role in all this
though.”

Max could see she was much better now;
her nimble brain was working overtime to sort out the facts.

Philippe opened the door of his hotel
room in Malé and let in the last of the seven men gathered there
for the briefing. Each man had travelled alone to this destination
to avoid attention, leaving one person watching the Ocean
Raider.

In low voices, the men discussed the
situation and how to deal with it. According to the two men who
were tailing Max, the statuette must still be on board the Ocean
Raider. He and Carla have only carried normal luggage off the ship.
Two other men who were watching the ship and monitoring
communications confirmed no parcels or other objects large enough
to be the statuette, have left the ship. The report also mentioned
the incident at Poros, this annoyed Philippe intensely.

“Those two have pulled something off
and got away with it, again!” Pulling himself together, Philippe
asked, “Where is the Ocean Raider now?”

“At this position,” replied one of the
men pointing to a cross on the chart. “Wilson is still watching the
ship in case it moves away, or the object is transported off. The
only problem will be if a helicopter lands on board, we cannot
follow it at such short notice.”

“I know! ” Philippe snapped back
“That’s why we must make our move straight away, and board
her.”

“My contact is waiting for us to pick
up the guns and equipment you wanted, do you want me to tell him we
are on our way?” Said another man.

“Yes, do it now, say we will be there
in half an hour,” ordered Philippe. “Boarding will take place in
six hours’ time under cover of darkness.”

***

After a short rest, Max and Carla went
to dinner. Captain Steel inquired about their plans for their cargo
in the vault and vacating the ship. He politely avoided the subject
of Carla’s distressed state earlier when she came aboard.

“I have planned to leave the day after
tomorrow,” replied Max. "Fine," said Captain Steel, “We will be sad
to see you go and must say you two are the most interesting guests
I have ever met. The place will be so dull without you.”

Carla smiled sweetly at the captain and
winked at Max. She is back on form, thought Max.

After dinner, the two walked arm-in-arm
around the deck enjoying the warm sea breeze, and velvet blackness,
of the sea and sky.

“Those stars are like our diamonds,”
whispered Max in her ear. Then he gently nibbled her earlobe and
kissed the side of her neck.

She squirmed and chuckled and said, “I
want to look at the statuette again.”

“OK, I’ll speak to the purser and get
it out of the vault; I’d like to look closely at it again, as
well.”

He left her to go back to their cabin,
whilst the box was retrieved from a vault.

Placing the box carefully on the coffee
table, they raised the lid in the privacy of their room. The object
sparkled with astounding brilliance even in the relatively dim
light. Carla reached in and with a clean hand towel to prevent oils
from her hands tarnishing the gleaming metal, carefully lifted it
out.

She stood the figure upright on the
table. The well-crafted feet of the statuette and its perfect
balance allowed it to stand firm. They both looked round it in awe.
It was so intricate and beautiful.

“What do you think it’s actually
worth?” Enquired Max.

“In money terms I have no idea. As a
token of your love for me, ” she replied, “It is beyond price.”

She knelt in front of it and touched
its hands with her little fingers.

Images flashed through Carla’s mind
like pictures in a children’s flicker book. Instead of a short
movie, each picture was like a still photograph. There was more to
it though; each picture left a lasting feeling.

“Wow!” Exclaimed Carla snatching her
hands away. “What was that all about?”

“Probably a static discharge”
pronounced Max, “are you wearing nylon knickers?” He joked.

She explained briefly, what had
happened, it reinforced her memory of the first image. “Max! We
must leave at once, I cannot explain why, but I know we must.”

Max knew she was no psychic, but did
have an uncanny sense of self-preservation. Even so, it was too
late to leave tonight.

They were both startled when the cabin
phone rang. Carla’s sense of dread had spooked them.

Max answered, it was Sam Leighton. He
spoke urgently, and Max replied in a series of yeses and a final,
“we will pack straight away.” Then, concluded the call.

Looking at Carla he said, “Sam needs us
in Egypt straightaway. There is a helicopter on its way, and the
Organisation’s jet is due to land at Malé in three hours’
time!”

Carla was still apprehensive, the new
mission was nothing to do with her anxiety, but at least things
were moving in the right direction.

Captain Steel’s telephone rang in his
cabin, and he reached for it “This is the bridge sir. A small boat
is in distress, do I have your permission to assist.”

“Yes! I’m on my way up.” Steel replaced
the phone and hurried to the bridge. Within minutes, the boarding
steps were lowered, and the launch pulled away to make its
rescue.

A similar launch was taking on water,
and the engine had failed, all within 300 metres of the Ocean
Raider. The two men on board the launch had flashed lights to get
attention, and shouted their predicament to the first officer, when
he came to the rail.

Once aboard, the captain was introduced
to the helmsmen of the launch and his passenger, a craggy faced man
who called himself Stan Peters. His real name was Geoff
Collins.

“Captain Steel,” called out Mark
Goodliffe. “I have an urgent and private call for you.”

“Thank you, I’m on my way,” replied
Steel.

He requested their new arrivals to wait
for him in the lounge.

Sam Leighton briefed Steel on the
imminent arrival of a helicopter to pick up Max and Carla, and
Steel related the unexpected rescue of the two men. Both Leighton
and Steel were suspicious of the incident, so security was
tightened.

Steel returned to the lounge and spoke
to Stan Peters. Steel thought the man was probably an executive on
holiday; he was intelligent and had an easy way with him yet
authoritative. Stan Peters tended to confirm this when he answered
the Captain’s questions.

The helmsman though, was a sullen and
uncommunicative individual, who did not participate in the subtle
information seeking questions, from Captain Steel. Still, Stan more
than made up for that. Steel was already talking and drinking with
Peters as if they were old friends. Steel even mentioned he would
have to dash off shortly, to say goodbye to his only two guests,
when their helicopter arrived.

“Would you mind if I went on deck for a
smoke, Captain, just to settle my nerves after the rescue?” Stan
asked.

The captain was pleased to agree; he
was a non-smoker and did not allow smoking inside the ship. Stan,
or Geoff Collins as he actually was, kept a sharp eye on the
helicopter pad to see what else would be leaving the ship.