Indonesian Gold (38 page)

The familiar sensation of soaring high above fields and
forests carried Angela Dau into the night, her mind totally devoid of earthly inhibitions. With
arms spread wide she floated up into the darkness carried by unseen thermals, her excitement
immeasurable as she looked down at the sleepy city's blinking lights, confused and startled by
dream-fed images of Campbell lying naked, locked in love tryst with another. She paused, midair,
her arms flapping violently as she fought to maintain flight, the overwhelming sense of betrayal
so great she surrendered to more powerful forces, the shape now assumed that of the great
hornbill as she folded her great wings and dropped towards earth as would a stone, fisted talons
anticipating the kill.

****

Campbell tensed, the first climax-driven shudder thrusting
him even deeper into the girl's sensuous pool, the shrill, terrifying call which seemingly
emanated from nowhere filled the room driving his partner's nails even deeper into his back as he
arched and screamed in pain, then convulsed again, before collapsing, totally spent.

****

Morning came, and Bandung's city traffic woke him with a
start. Head pounding from whatever had been slipped into his drinks, Campbell rose, slowly
favoring one side, squinting painfully at white lace curtains wafting lazily with the morning
breeze. He was alone. Hazy recollections battled an excruciating headache and he staggered over
to his briefcase in search of medication, the sudden stabbing pain running the length of his back
as he moved away from the bed, sobering in severity. He turned, startled to see that he had left
a trail of spotted blood on the bed, the freshly opened wounds bleeding eagerly once the sheet
had pulled away, a fine black feather which had floated to the carpeted floor, going unnoticed.
Standing naked, he glanced groggily over his shoulder into the full-length mirror, confused at
the deep scratches evident along the length of his back. He cursed, staggered back to sit on the
bed and phoned reception, requesting the house doctor. Campbell then remembered to check his
valuables, relieved to discover that only the cash he was carrying was missing.

* * * *

‘You should report this to the police,'
the concerned doctor advised.
‘Why didn't you call me when this happened?
You should have phoned security immediately.Was it a prostitute?'

Stewart Campbell grunted as the doctor attended to the
lacerations.
‘I don't remember, Doc,'
he winced, painfully,
‘but I am sure that I was
drugged.'

‘What did she cut you with?'
the doctor wanted to know, closing the last tear.

‘That's just it,
' he
answered, deeply distressed that this could happen to him.
‘I thought she had just scratched
me with her fingernails!'

The doctor covered the deeper wounds then went into the
bathroom to wash up. When he returned, his face was serious.
‘When you get back to Jakarta, I
recommend you do some blood tests, to be safe.'

‘Blood tests?'
Stewart
became alarmed.
‘Why?'

‘Well, amongst other things, you should check that you
have not been infected as a result of your sexual contact.And,as for those wounds, you can come
down to my surgery now if you wish, and I'll give you a tetanus shot as a precaution.'

****

The day wore on. Campbell stepped into the Fokker and
gingerly lowered himself into the aircraft seat. Angered by his stupidity, he vowed to be more
careful with his choice of drinking venues in the future. The aircraft banked as it climbed, low
cloud preventing any view of Bandung and its surrounds, adding to his depression.

He was deeply disappointed that he had missed his
appointment with Angela Dau, accepting that she was most likely offended that he had not kept the
commitment – concerned that she had not called on his cell-phone. The previous evening's driver
had all but vanished and, although he did eventually locate Angela's lodgings on the way to the
airport, it was Nani who had greeted Stewart at the door, informing him that Angela had waited,
but when he had not turned up as promised, she had gone out alone. He suspected that Angela was
inside at the time, but did not press, soliciting an undertaking from Nani that she would
encourage Angela to phone.

Over the following days Campbell made a number of
concerted attempts to contact Angela, his interest in all matters relating to the fairer sex
tempered by a severe and painful urinary infection, the result of his Bandung misadventure. After
another month passed, aware that Angela had commenced work with the Environmental Agency in
Jakarta, he decided not to pursue her any further, relieved when he was finally cleared in
subsequent months of not having contracted the now rampant
aids
.

****

P.T. Kalimantan Gold -
Longdamai Mining Camp

Sharon
resisted the temptation
to burst out laughing, faced with the expression of disbelief spreading across Eric Baird's face
as they sat across the desk opposite each other.

‘This can't be right!' he exclaimed in astonishment, eyes
darting from one sheet to another as he absorbed the laboratory's findings.

‘It says so, there,' Sharon stabbed a finger in the
report's direction.

Baird checked the data again, shaking his head at the
results verifying the grades and the thickness of the strike zones. He rose and leaned closer to
the wall graph recording drilling undertaken, adjusting his glasses as he read off the numbers,
correlating these with the laboratory's findings. Baird had no reason to suspect the results,
having monitored Sharon's procedures with respect to maintaining corresponding samples on site.
He knew that if the samples had been tampered with during shipment, future checks would reveal
that the split sample maintained at the camp would not produce identical results. It was just
that he had all but given up discovering anything of real value, the years of trekking through
swamps and jungle failing to produce anything even remotely resembling the Longdamai grades
before him.

‘It's a major strike, Sharon,' he announced, his throat
dry with excitement. ‘Have you released this information to anyone yet?'

The results had been couriered to Samarinda as in the
past, then delivered by helicopter to the camp. Under the terms of her Contract of Work with the
Indonesian Government, she was obliged to file duplicate copies of all reports with the
Department of Mines.

‘No. Apart from the laboratory, you and I are the only
ones privy to these results. But,' she added, ‘you know I can't sit on them too long, what with
the mandatory reporting to the government agencies.'

Eric Baird seemed pleased. He cleared his throat, in
preparation for his pitch.

‘Sharon, my understanding is that the holding company,
Dominion Mining is privately owned. It won't make any difference to the company how this
information is released as the shares are not traded in the market.'

‘Go on,' Sharon insisted.

‘Well, I know it's probably a big ask but, after years of
slogging around these areas without any real success, it would severely improve my own lot if you
would agree that I take the information down to Jakarta...sort of bask in some of the glory, so
to speak?'

Sharon
suppressed a smile;
Baird, like Kremenchug, was predictable. She had expected his request, pleased that her assistant
continued to remain in character, his eagerness to release the data further confirmation that he
in no way questioned the integrity of the results. Sharon had no doubt that Baird would also be
on the phone, first opportunity, to inform Kremenchug. That she maintained absolute secrecy as to
how the samples were spiked further consolidated her control over her devious associate. ‘As you
said, Dominion Mining is not a publicly listed company. The directors will also have to be
informed as to these results, Eric, so why don't we both fly down to Jakarta and take a
well-deserved break? I'll contact Dominion's director's and you can submit the results to the
government.'

Baird grinned gratefully. ‘Thanks, Sharon, you don't know
how much this means to me.'

****

In the week following their visit to the Indonesian
capital, the city was abuzz with the find. Speculation as to the ownership of Dominion Mining and
its Indonesian subsidiary, P.T. Kalimantan Gold (Ind.) increased, Sharon and Baird returning to
Longdamai to complete the drilling program, further results suggesting that the Longdamai find
had potential reserves of at least two million ounces.

Having secured the results necessary for the next phase in
her audacious plan, Sharon Ducay then placed the operations on standby, paying off the expatriate
drillers along with their promised bonuses, and retaining Baird on half salary. The drilling rigs
were kept on standby rates, Baird agreeing to arrange onsite security not only to prevent
indigenous prospectors from establishing claim over the area, but also to protect equipment,
machinery and the integrity of the samples retained on location.

Then Sharon left for Canada.

****

MAHAKAM RIVER SYSTEM

 

Part Two

The Midas Touch

 

Chapter Fourteen

1995 Vancouver

The Vancouver Tribune
September 16, 1995 – Borneo Gold Corporation Vancouver, British Columbia: Borneo Gold
Corporation has announced the restructure of its resource company involved in the acquisition and
exploration of mineral properties on the island of Kalimantan in Indonesia. BGC, through a share
placement with offshore Dominion Mining, now effectively owns 80% of the issued and outstanding
shares of P.T. Kalimantan Gold (Indonesia). PTKG holds a 1994 general exploration contract with
the Indonesian government encompassing 531.2 square kilometers of primary gold exploration at the
Longdamai Prospect in East Kalimantan. BGC currently maintains a contract of work (CoW) with the
Indonesian Government for adjacent properties in the general area through its subsidiary, P.T.
Tambang Mas Kalimantan but these have failed to produce any significant results since operations
first commenced in 1990. Initial reports from PTKG drilling carried out last year estimated gold
reserves at 2,000,000 ounces. BGC has also announced that it intends conducting a comprehensive
drilling program over the next twelve months within the Longdamai general prospect
area.

****

Champagne corks popped, signaling the moment Sharon Ducay
and Alexander Kremenchug had worked towards throughout the past eighteen months had finally
arrived. The gathering was small – deliberately exclusive to Board members, senior management, a
number of selected shareholders and an overly inquisitive journalist. Against his better
judgment, Christopher Fielding had agreed for Scott Walters to attend, the consequence, a flood
of irritating calls from the Press, a result of the financier's blatant attempts to talk up the
value of the stock. Over the past months, the market had lifted BGC's value only marginally, but
not enough for Walters or other option holders, to want to exercise their rights.

‘Have to admit, never thought it would go through,'
Christopher Fielding raised his glass in salute.