Daniel Ganninger - Icarus Investigations 02 - Peeking Duck (22 page)

“
I bet.  What did you guys do, blackmail the poor guy that was supposed to be here?”  Galveston joked.

Dimitri managed a slight smile, but said nothing.  He moved on with his commentary. 
“They somehow got a last minute contract to get the container aboard that housed him.  That was about as much information I could get out of the CIA when they hired me.”

“
You stuck the guy in a container?” I asked with surprise.

“
It was fully self-contained and hidden in the stacks.  He had all the necessary equipment for the journey.  They made up the phony story about the containers carrying expensive car parts. That was to ensure they could get the most secure containers possible, with tracking devices, and to know they wouldn’t be tampered with.  The CIA never told me anything about Chinese antiquities.”

I had no idea why the CIA had the internal messages talking about Chinese artifacts.  I deduced that it must be some type of internal CIA
code that allowed them to discuss how they were going to defect the Chinese national.  It was of no matter now.  The CIA was smuggling a high-level Chinese official out of the country.

“
And why does the CIA want this guy?” Galveston inquired.

“
I bet I can answer that,” I interjected.  “They want to know how this man hacked into all the U.S. computer networks, how he infiltrated the government and stole secrets, that’s why.  I’ve read how we have been accusing the Chinese of stealing secrets and hacking for some time, even though I’m sure we’re doing it to them too.”

“
That may explain the office in Singapore.  I’ll bet it’s where the CIA is pulling information out of China,” Galveston surmised.

“Your tax dollars at work,” I retorted.

“
Amazing,” Galveston managed to say. “Then who the hell are these pirates?”

“
I don’t know.  That’s why I want to question them.  They could have killed my crew, and I don’t know why they didn’t get rid of us all,” Dimitri responded, thinking like a leader of his crew other than a hired pawn of the CIA.

“
Do you have any ideas?” I questioned Galveston.

“
All I can figure is a mole in the CIA.  It pains me to say that, but it’s the only possibility how some other group could know about this ship and what was on it.”

We told Dimitri that we had a team in place in
South Africa working to get us off the
Trusian
, and that Jane and Maddie got us a ride on a helicopter bound for South Africa.  Dimitri declined when we offered him a ride to the country and safe harbor. 

“
I would rather be with my crew.  I never should have taken the job in the first place.  I thought it would be easy, and I thought it was exciting,” Dimitri responded with a bit of remorse.

“
Well, you definitely got your excitement,” I said, trying to console him even though he had tried to shoot us.

“
Dimitri, have your crew make this man from China comfortable. We’ll talk to him soon.  Find a quiet spot for yourself, too,” Galveston generously ordered.

“
I will.  I’m glad to be almost done with this,” Dimitri replied, relieved at being removed from most of the responsibilities.

I took
Galveston into the hallway for a private conversation.

“
Okay, I’ll say it again.  I think we’re done here.  I mean, we have the ship, and Maddie’s containers have to be here.  It’s the job of Regentex to get the ship to port.  I would rather not be here when the authorities show up,” I said to Galveston emphatically.

“
Okay, I understand.  There is just so much to learn.  Let’s get our stuff and get the hell out of here. If anybody wants to talk to us they’ll have to do it in the states where we have legal representation.  Sometimes I just can’t turn off the detective in me,” Galveston conceded.

Just as we were gathering our things to make our escape, the satellite phone in Galveston
‘s pocket began to beep.

“
Uh-oh,” he said, “I hope there isn’t a delay in that helicopter.”

Galveston
answered the phone quickly.  “I hope you gals got good news for us, and that we’re still getting out of this mess,” he said with a laugh.

“
You have started a mess,” an ominous voice responded.

“
Who the hell is this?” asked Galveston, shocked at the voice on the other end.

“
You have taken my ship and something that we worked hard to get.  I want it back, and I will get it back,” the voice continued.

“
Again, who the hell is this, and where is the owner of this phone,” Galveston responded angrily, as I watched in horror at the tone in his voice.

“
You have someone I need, and I have two people you need.  I plan to get him back, or you will never see these two women again,” the man’s voice threatened.

Galveston
realized what the call was about, and fought the urge to scream at the man.  “I’m listening,” Galveston said calmly.

“
You have seventy-two hours to make an exchange in Paris.  Information on the place of the meeting will be in lock box 427, ferry terminal at V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, combination 25 18 32.  The two women in exchange for the man you have,” the voice instructed.

“
Let me hear they’re okay,” Galveston said, almost pleading.  He motioned to me to give him a pen, which I did, and he scribbled some numbers on his hand.

There was a pause on the other line. 
“Galveston, Roger?” A voice stammered.  It was Jane.

“
Are you okay?  Did they hurt you?”

“
I’m okay, but they roughed up Maddie a little bit,” she started, but was immediately pulled off the phone.

“
What the…?” Galveston began to yell, but was interrupted by the man’s voice again.

“
The women are fine, but they will not be for long unless I get what I want.”

“
I understand.  Let me hear the other woman so I know she’s okay.”  There was another pause as a groggy sounding voice started.

“
Galveston,” Maddie murmured.

“
Are you okay, Maddie? What did they do to you?”

“
I’m okay.  Just a little banged up.”  Maddie attempted to say another sentence, but was cut off.

“
They are both alive.  You have seventy-two hours to get me that man or these women will die,” the voice said forcefully as the line clicked dead.

Galveston
sat with the phone at his ear in a state of shock.  I knew from his look and the conversation that something terrible had happened.

“
They have them,” he stammered. “They have Maddie and Jane.”

I fought the urge to burst
into tears.  “Are they okay?” I asked quietly.

“
Yes, they sounded fine, for now.  Maddie is hurt in some way.”

I noticed Galveston
‘s look turn from shock to rage as he gripped the phone tightly with his fingers.  “They’re not going to get away with this.  I’m going to kill those sons of bitches,” he said through clenched teeth.

“
We’ll get them,” I said with confidence as my own rage began to kick in.  “They’re going to pay for this.”

We had never talked this way, but now things
had got personal—and fast.  We grappled with our emotions for ten minutes before allowing our heads to cool and clear.

Galveston
punched the steel wall with his hand as we went back onto the bridge.  Our plans had changed, and we had to fight the urge to simply make it a quest of revenge.  We needed to talk to the captive pirates to gather as much information as possible about our assailant, especially the one we pulled from the helicopter.  The one unknown to us as Balboa.  He better produce answers or else, because Jane and Maddie had become pawns in this dangerous game.

-Chapter 46-

Galveston ordered the crew to bring the pirates one by one to a room near the bridge in order to be questioned.  Every minute that passed by was precious. 

Galveston
was fierce in his questioning, and he occasionally bordered on violent when each pirate would only give information on what their precise role in the mission had been.

It
became more and more evident that these mercenaries were only hired to complete the task and receive a paycheck.  I noticed there was no real drive for them not to offer information.  Each pirate offered up what they knew almost before we began to ask.  The men were of a variety of skill levels and country of origin.  After we plodded through the lot, it was apparent that they knew nothing of real value.  The only clue was that the few remaining pirates would take the ship to somewhere in Africa, and a few select pirates would leave in a helicopter with the bounty; our man from China.

We managed to get a few more pieces of the puzzle strung together about the hijacking operation itself. 
We learned that the
Alterra
had been parallel to the
Trusian
during the entire journey, albeit forty miles away.  The
Alterra
had been waiting offshore near Hong Kong after leaving a port in Malaysia.  It followed the
Trusian
for almost a day, well out of sight.  It was a fast vessel carrying no cargo, and during the night it got within ten miles of the
Trusian
.  This is when the pirates debarked the
Alterra
and drove their fast rubber pontoon boat in the middle of the night toward the
Trusian
.  We all knew what happened next.  The pirates also offered information that the
Alterra
then altered course, well away from the hijacked vessel, until two days had passed and the two ships crossed paths again.  This is when the alteration of the
Trusian
to the new
Alterra
took place.  The
Trusian
took on fuel and supplies to get it to Gough Island, while the original
Alterra
continued to a port in Peru.

It was a carefully managed, well orchestrated plan.  I would have
been more impressed with the operation if I hadn’t been filled with so much rage over the kidnapping of Jane and Maddie.   

We were just finishing up with the last remaining pirates when
a crewman escorted in the pirate Galveston had tackled at the helicopter.  This man was obviously one of the select, ranking highly enough to merit the helicopter ride.  The other pirates had also fingered the man as the leader of the group.  He was our final hope in finding out more about who was behind this ordeal.  The other pirates called him Balboa.

Balboa was a gruff man, and immediately I realized this was going to be a different, much more intense interrogation period. 

Galveston began peppering the man with questions, which Balboa quickly rebuffed.  His face was swollen where I had plucked him with the butt of the gun, and he sneered at us after every question.  In the beginning he offered the same information as the other pirates, but we could tell that he was very angry about being captured.  The other pirates almost had a sense of relief during their interrogations.  They knew their information was of little importance.

Balboa stayed flexed and tense during the interrogation and would reveal nothing more than how they got on the boat.  It was infor
mation that was of no use to us now, but it did prove fascinating to hear again how they had coordinated such an event.

Balboa only laughed after each question and became more derisive, and
Galveston was beginning to grow frustrated at the lack of progress,

“
I tell jou nothing, jou pigs,” Balboa yelled at us.  “I’ll die first.”

“
Tell us who hired you!” Galveston shouted.

“
Jou stupid ass,” Balboa growled back, “Jou puny fool.  Jou don’t know who jou’re dealing vith.”

With that comment, the fire grew in Galveston
‘s eyes, and he violently threw the man onto his back in the chair.  Balboa landed with a hard smack on the floor, and Galveston stood over him with his foot hovering over the pirate’s face, pretending to be ready to stomp. 

I saw what was about to happen and stepped in, pushed
Galveston away, and placed Balboa back in a seated position.  I managed to pull Galveston from the room.

I heard Balboa
‘s laugh echo into the hallway, and I wrestled Galveston against the wall.

“
What the hell are you doing?” he yelled at me.

“
Look, we’re getting nowhere with this guy.  Calm down.  I know you need some information, but this guy has some ideology that is driving him.  He’s willing to die for the information he knows.”

“
I think I may have another approach,” Galveston said, as a slight smile crossed his face.  He realized we better keep our heads cool.

“
What do you suggest?” I inquired.

“
Maybe we try a kinder, gentler, more terrifying approach.”

“
What are we going to do, tie him up by his thumbs and tickle him,” I quipped.

Galveston
laughed and laid out his plan.  “I’ll take it from here.  This is what we’re going to do.”

As usual, i
t was an insane plan, and I was frightened of the consequences if it went awry.  Galveston reentered the room as Balboa continued his rant about how we were the scum of the earth, and how we would pay for our misdeeds.  His tone had a religious slant even though he never mentioned God or any higher power.

“
Listen to me,” Galveston stated calmly, looking Balboa closely in the eye.  “You’re going to tell us what we want; you get one chance.”

Balboa only smiled. 
“Go to hell,” he said loudly.

Galveston
didn’t flinch and pushed the chair over again making Balboa land on his back, still tied to his seat.  He motioned for me to stay back as Balboa began to yell obscenities.  Galveston pulled duct tape over his mouth, shutting him up.

I was taken aback by the quickness in his actions, but it was my cue to do my part of the plan
—find a crewmember to operate the crane that was attached to the deck.  I left to find my man while Galveston aggressively pulled the chair backward from the room with Balboa tied to it.  I didn’t even want to see how he was going to get him down the narrow stairs to the deck of the ship.

Dimitri had told me earlier that Pi was a skilled crane operator.  I
approached Pi and carefully explained what we wanted him to do.  He simply had to move some containers around the deck. We did not need him to know he was taking part in our interrogation.

I climbed to the top of the crane to the cabin that
housed the controls.  Another crewmember climbed the stack and secured the ropes to the couplings on the container.  I directed Pi to lift the container up from the deck. 

I had informed Dimitri of our plan, and he hobbled onto the deck below.  He instructed the man on top of the container to leave immediately, as soon as he had finished his task.  When there was no one left around the container,
Galveston appeared walking with Balboa, now blindfolded.  He made the pirate climb up a nearby ladder until he reached the top of the container stacks.

The huge metal container hung precariously over the two men as
Galveston placed Balboa on his rear.  Balboa was still fighting against the binding on his hands and feet and had no idea what was looming above.

“
We mean business.  You either tell us what we want, or we have no more need for you,” Galveston said bitingly to the blindfolded man.

Balboa only grunted as
Galveston ripped the cloth from his eyes and the tape from his mouth.  He showed no reaction until he looked up, obviously wondering why he was sitting in the dark.  Balboa’s eyes grew wide, and he stopped talking for a moment as he saw the container swaying thirty feet above him in the breeze.

Galveston
relocated to the ladder and out of the way of the container’s path.

“
Let’s try this again,” he yelled over the wind whistling between the two containers.  “Who hired you?”

“
Go to hell.  Is this supposed to frighten me?” Balboa barked back.  “I’m not afraid to die.”

“
That will make this that much easier,” Galveston yelled back, and motioned to Dimitri on the ground.

Dimitri signaled me to have Pi
drop the container a few feet quickly.  Pi had no idea what was beneath that container he was controlling.

“
Just a little bit, about five feet or so, and drop it quickly.”

Pi gave a confused look. 
“These no like to be dropped fast,” he shot back.

“
Just do it, it’s okay,” I lied.

Pi did as I
requested and released the brake to the cable before quickly applying the brake again.  It was a scary sight, even form my vantage point, as the container swung violently from side to side.  It was an even more frightening from Balboa’s point of view.  He stared and cringed as the screech of metal and tension on the cables resounded through the metal container over his head.  Galveston watched his reaction closely; Balboa had flinched.

“
One more time,” Galveston yelled at him again.  “Who hired you?”

Again Balboa began to rant that he wasn
‘t afraid to die.  Galveston signaled Dimitri who waved at me with his hands.  I instructed Pi in the same process, and watched as the cables were released and the container lurched downward.  This time the container bounced up and down.  Balboa gazed at the tons of metal coming toward him and covered his face as he saw the container bounce precariously.  The container was now twenty feet above him and swinging wildly.

“
We’re running out of room.  Who hired you?” Galveston tried again with the same resulting response from Balboa.

We repeated the process again.  Each time the container swung and buffeted more than before.  I could hear the cables straining under the weight and the sudden movement.

Galveston moved down the ladder a few feet to get out of the way of the swinging metal.  He thought for a second before speaking again.  Galveston turned as if he was talking to Dimitri down on the deck.

“
What is it?” he yelled down to a confused Dimitri.  “He’s talking?  Good.  We don’t need to keep this slimeball anymore?”  Galveston turned back to Balboa.  “It seems this isn’t your lucky day.  One of your partners is telling us what we want.  We have no use for you now.”  Galveston said coldly. 

He began to go down the ladder, disappearing from Balboa
‘s view.  “Lower it all the way,” he yelled as loud as he could while signaling Dimitri to lower the container a little more.

Dimitri signaled to me with his hands slightly apart on how much we should move it.  Pi complied and moved the container down quickly causing the m
otors to strain.

Galveston
heard a scream from Balboa as the container now stood only five feet above his head as he lay on his back.  “Stop, stop!” Balboa screamed forcefully.  “I’ll tell jou vhat jou vant.  zhey don’t know vhat zhey are talking about!”

Galveston
waited a second and heard Balboa pleading again for his life.  Galveston climbed back up the ladder and popped his head over the edge.

“
Who hired you then?” he yelled at the pirate.

“
Marcus Olvary, zhat is who,” he stammered, breathing heavily.

“
I’ve never heard of him,” Galveston shot back and made like he was going back down the ladder.

“
It iz zhe truth.  Marcus Olvary.  Zhat is who hired us to do zhis operation.”

“
Why?”

“
For zhe revolution,” Balboa said flatly.

Galveston
shook his head and began to go down the ladder again.

“
Please,” Balboa yelled back.  “It is zhe truth.”

“
Why this Chinese man, and what do you want with him?”

“
He is how ve vill fund the revolution and crush the enemy.”

“
And who is the enemy?”

“
Zhe Vest and Russia,” Balboa said more calmly, almost glad to be able to tell about his cause.

“
I’m getting tired of this.  You better start telling me something I need,”

“
Olvary iz going to use zhis man to create financial turmoil in zhe vest and fund zhe revolution.  Zhen ve vill be able to fight zhe Russians and get back our homeland.”

Galveston
realized that ‘Vest’ was his dialect getting in the way of saying ‘West’.  He pondered what Balboa was saying.  “Are you Chechnyan?”