Cargo: A Leine Basso Thriller (8 page)

Leine snapped awake
as the door screeched open. Derek clambered to his feet, blinking against the weak, gray light filling the room. The fresh air from the open door was short lived as the stench of animal feces Leine noticed the night before hit her full force.

She stood, raising her arm in front of her eyes to block the light and squinted at their visitors. A solidly built, dark-haired man with a straggly goatee pointed an AK-47 at them while a small, wiry man placed two bowls of rice, a rusty lantern, and a container of water just inside the door. Leine looked past the men into the hold, but she couldn’t tell if there was anyone else nearby.

“How long until we arrive in port?” Derek asked the men in Swahili.

The smaller of the two, the one who delivered their food, answered, “Maybe two weeks.”

“Can’t we make a deal?” Derek asked. “I can get you money, my brah. I’ll pay if you let me off the boat before we pull into port.”

The smaller man smiled and shook his head. “Wang pays us more than you.”

“How do you know? Have I given you a price?”

Derek was all charm, reminding Leine of a money lender she’d met in Morocco, although his cropped blond hair and accent placed him squarely in the Dutch South Africa camp. The two crew members just laughed and walked out. Derek stepped past the bowls of rice and wedged his free foot in the opening. When the door failed to close, the smaller man peered at the threshold, a puzzled look on his face. Realizing what Derek had done, he yelled for the other man. With a shout, his counterpart wrenched the door open and shoved the barrel of the machine gun into Derek’s face.

Leine remained quiet, certain the wild-eyed man holding the AK-47 would pull the trigger, splattering pieces of Derek across the room. Beads of sweat appeared on Derek’s forehead, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he licked his lips.

No one moved as the two men glared at each other. Leine held her tongue, acutely interested in how events would pan out, recalculating her options if she had to make the voyage alone.

Time crawled and the tension in the small space crackled. Finally, Derek broke the silence.

“Now wait a minute, my brah,” Derek said, keeping his hands in the air as he inched his foot away from the door. “I meant no disrespect.”

A few heartbeats later, the man with the gun released his finger from the trigger and stood down. He narrowed his eyes at Derek, who let out a breath and lowered his hands.

“You must not ever do this again,” the smaller man scolded him. “I am not responsible for my brother.”

The two men exited the container, slammed the door closed, and locked it.

“That went well, don’t you think?” Derek’s voice echoed in the small room.

“Well, at least now we know they have machine guns.” Leine felt for the lantern and popped the switch. A bright white glow illuminated the space. Battery operated. They’d have to conserve.

“I noticed you didn’t react when he pointed that thing in my face,” Derek said. “Aside from your obvious disregard for my well-being, that kind of composure is rare.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, you’ve got to admit, most women would be a sobbing mess confronted with that kind of threat.”

“You think so? You must not know many.”

“What kind of shit is that? I know a lot of women.”

“I see.” Leine rolled her eyes.
Great. I’m stuck with an idiot for a travel partner. Two weeks?

“I
do
.” Derek’s voice rose an octave, obviously irritated. “Piss off. You think what you want. I know what I know.”

Leine didn’t reply, preferring to let him de-stress from the incident with the gunman. She assumed he was crashing from the adrenaline dump. A person could get testy when that happened. She scooted one of the bowls of rice toward Derek while taking the other for herself. The rice was tepid, but at least it meant their captors were interested in keeping them alive.

“What are they going to do with you, I wonder?” Derek asked between mouthfuls.

Leine had been trying to work that out. Worst-case scenario, Kavi hadn’t just betrayed her reason for being in Bangkok—he could have told Wang who she’d been in her former life, giving him unlimited marketing options. “I honestly don’t know,” she said.

“Will your employer pay a ransom to get you back? Wang’s a greedy bastard.”

“Maybe.” Leine finished her rice and set the bowl on the floor. She’d resigned herself to being at sea for the foreseeable future. There had to be some way to either bribe or overcome the crew. She’d have plenty of time to plan her escape. For now, she contented herself with the task of making Derek an ally, which appeared to be her best bet for getting off the ship.

“I gathered by your interaction with our guards that the three of you have worked together.”

“A time or two.”

“Tell me about the two brothers. The smaller one seems less inclined to follow orders.”

“You’d be right about that. Sefu, the big one with the machine gun, has something to prove, whereas his brother Kibwe isn’t such a bad guy.”

“Could be a way to leverage that, don’t you think?” she mused.

“
Ja
, definitely.”

“I noticed they weren’t too interested in your bribe. What’s Wang like when things don’t go his way?”

Derek gave her a rueful smile. “He can be a ruthless shit when money’s involved. Obviously, a reward has been offered for my safe delivery to interested parties.”

Leine could work with greed. At least it was something. She wiped the perspiration from her forehead with the back of her hand. The hot, muggy space was like being locked inside a dirty humidifier. Thankfully, they weren’t above decks. The temperature in their little prison could have been much worse.

“Since we have a bit of time, let’s get to know each other,” Derek suggested. “Maybe I’ll be able to figure out why they’ve decided to keep you locked up in here with me.” Derek folded his arms across his chest and studied Leine. “I’ll go first. You’ve been around guns, obviously, and not just your normal, everyday handguns. I’ll venture a guess you were in some kind of military unit at some point in your life, yeh?”

Leine shook her head. “Nope. My turn.” She held his gaze. “There’s more to your being here than just skimming a little off the top.”

Derek’s attention shifted to the floor for a second and then back to her.

“I’m right. What’s your great sin? Did you betray Wang?”

Derek shrugged, paused. “He might look at it that way.”

Leine leaned her head back. “Ah. Then it’s even more important we escape before pulling into port. Betrayal is a worrisome accusation when the aggrieved party has triad connections. Things don’t normally end well for the accused.” For all of Derek’s earlier bravado, the look in his eyes telegraphed his concern.

“How do you propose we do that?”

“I haven’t figured that out quite yet, but I will. Are you interested? Because if not, I’m fine going it alone.”

A look of annoyance crossed Derek’s face. “Well, of course I’m interested. Jesus, I knew I should’ve skipped that meeting with Wang.”

“Tell me about poaching. What’s your motivation, other than money?” Leine asked. “You say you have plenty. With the exception of career criminals, I’ve met very few wealthy people pursuing a way of life that could land them behind bars or face down in a ditch somewhere who were solely in it for the money. At least, very few who are as successful as you say you’ve been. The luster of gold wears off, while the challenge dies with achievement.”

“I live for the hunt.”

“Not good enough,” Leine shot back. “Not much challenge locating game in a helicopter now, is there?”

Derek nodded. “When I first started, poaching was hard work. Dangerous work. It took skill and gave game a fighting chance. I only took what I needed to fill orders.” He gazed past Leine at some far-off memory. “Nowadays, they track them by air and use machine guns. No skill in that. And no way to replenish the herds, either. Shortsighted bastards.”

“And this is how Victor Wang operates?”

“Yeh. He’s got a traveling safari camp and uses a helicopter to scout game for his clients. Some of ’em actually prefer hunting from the air.”

“Pretty tough to outrun a chopper.”

“You could say that.”

“And you decided to stop doing things his way, is that it?”

He shrugged. “That’s part of it.”

“Not only did you skim profits, but you attempted an end run around Wang with one of his clients. Am I close?”

Derek smiled. “You must have a crystal ball. I figured I could work things better than Wang. His business practices aren’t what I’d call sustainable.”

“Greedy without a view to the future.”

“That’s Wang in a nutshell. As soon as one commodity’s depleted, he just moves on to the next, like a wave of locusts.”

“‘
There is no torrent like greed’
.”

He grimaced. “Yeh. A lot of good changing tactics did me. Here I am headed for the auction block, just one more of Wang’s commodities.”

“What does he do with the girls?”

Derek’s gaze cut to Leine’s. “What girls?”

“The girls he’s transporting on the ship.”

He shook his head, shifting in his seat. “I don’t know about any girls.”

“Sure you do.” Leine raised an eyebrow.

“There’s a word for it, you know.”

“Yes, I know. Wang already trades in illegal ivory. Why stop there? Human beings are lucrative. And he needs domestics for his camp, as well as entertainment for his clients.”

Derek narrowed his eyes. “Why are you so keen on whether or not Wang’s into slaving? Unless you’re here at his request, to see if I’ll sell him out.” He shook his head. “No such luck, Claire. I’m in deep enough shit. Go look somewhere else. I’ve already said too much.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. And why would Wang plant a spy in here? According to you, your fate is already sealed, right?”

“Good point,” Derek conceded. “I tend to be a bit paranoid. Professional hazard.”

Leine paused, thinking about what he’d said. Time to change tack. “Ever think about working in a conservation capacity?”

“Like helping save the elephants?” Derek laughed. “Yeh, that’d go over well.”

“I’d think the conservationists would welcome your expertise. Why not use your abilities to conserve what’s left?”

“It’s not that easy. Anyone who comes between a smuggler and his clients winds up dead. Life is cheap in Africa.”

“Then how about working on the demand side? Give talks. Educate. Tell people that their taste in ivory trinkets and belief in the magical qualities of powdered rhino horn is misplaced and damages the larger picture.”

“Same argument.”

“Don’t do it in Africa. Do it in other countries where they buy the stuff.”

He studied her, his expression unreadable. “You sound like someone who’s been on both sides of an issue yourself. Am I right?”

“Astute observation.”

“And which way did you choose?”

At that moment, the door rattled and opened with a screech. Sefu and his trusty AK stood to one side, the barrel of the gun pointed at both of them, a wary expression on his face. Kibwe stepped into the room and held out his hand.

“I’m here to empty the bucket,” he said.

Derek moved to the back of the dank room and picked up the five-gallon plastic bucket they’d been using as a toilet. He returned and handed it to Kibwe with the cover on.

“I wasn’t kidding about being able to pay you,” Derek muttered to Kibwe, out of earshot of Sefu. Leine caught the bribe, but didn’t react. Any seed planted in Kibwe’s mind had potential, although she didn’t trust Derek to include her in any of his escape plans. Yet.

Good thing she was a light sleeper.

Several days later
, Leine and Derek had managed to forge a wary friendship. They saw Sefu and Kibwe twice a day, once for their daily ration of food and water, and once to empty the bucket. Each time, they engaged the two crew members in conversation, lulling them both to the point of carelessness. Sefu was the last to let down his guard and now wore his gun over his shoulder, looking bored whenever the other three exchanged words.

Leine and Derek had worked out a schedule of sorts, where they would engage one or the other guard in harmless banter. Leine had gotten Sefu to admit he had a girl back in Dar es Salaam whom he missed dearly, and she’d even made him blush, once, when she asked him about her. After each conversation, Leine and Derek would compare notes, parsing what was said and figuring out how to burrow deeper into their psyches, teasing out more personal information which they intended to use once they sailed closer to port.

The next morning, Kibwe came by to deliver breakfast. It was Leine’s turn to work on Sefu while Derek would have a friendly chat with his brother. But Kibwe had come alone.

“Where’s Sefu?” Derek asked, taking a bowl of rice.

Kibwe shrugged. “He has more important things to do. You will speak only to me from now on.”

“I will miss your brother, but I’m glad we’ll have more time with you, Kibwe,” Leine said with a smile. Kibwe smiled back, but then checked himself as though he remembered whom he was talking to.

“Sefu has big plans. He wishes to climb higher in Wang’s organization so he can stay in Dar with his girl.”

“And you? What do you want?” Leine asked.

Kibwe frowned. “To become a doctor. I have some money saved, but not enough.”

Leine and Derek exchanged looks. Derek cleared his throat.

“You know, Kibwe, if you help us, we will help you.”

“This is not possible,” Kibwe replied, shaking his head. “I like you both very much, but Wang is a dangerous man. If he found out I helped you escape, he would kill me and my brother, maybe even our family.”

“Then we need to make it look like it isn’t your fault,” Leine said.

At the suggestion, Kibwe’s eyes widened and he stepped backward. “No.”

“You know that you’re sentencing us to die, don’t you?” Derek said, his voice low. Kibwe, clearly afraid of where the conversation was headed, glanced behind him before he took another step backward and started to swing the door closed.

“You will be responsible for the death of two innocents,” Derek repeated.

“You are no innocent,” Kibwe murmured to Derek. He glanced at Leine. “I do not know why you are here, but there must be a good reason.” He walked out and slammed the door shut.

Leine paced the small area that the chain allowed her, excited by the progress they’d made with Kibwe. “It won’t be long now.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? We just set ourselves back a week. He’ll never trust us now. We don’t have enough time,” Derek said, scowling. “I shouldn’t have pressed him so hard.”

“I disagree. Sefu no longer feels the need to shadow Kibwe. That’s huge progress. Of course Kibwe’s going to react with fear when one of us suggests escaping. That’s entirely normal. But you’ve planted a seed.” She turned to face him and crossed her arms. “You continue to lead him on with promises of money, but what happens when he finally capitulates and expects to be paid? If it were me risking my life and the lives of my family, I’d turn in the asshole that made a promise of money when he didn’t deliver.”

“
Ja, ja
,” Derek said, waving away her concerns. “Don’t worry. If he ‘capitulates’ as you put it, I can pay.” He let his gaze travel along her body and back up to her face, where he arched a brow. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do about your predicament.”

Leine rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. I can’t pay anything now, but I will guarantee your safe passage to anywhere you choose.”

“I’ll believe
that
when I see it,” Derek scoffed. “At least we agree you’re going to owe me.” He cocked his head and smiled. “I think I like that idea.”

***

The days marched on, and each time Kibwe visited them he kept his comments brief and noncommittal, even though Leine and Derek continued to work him.

The two prisoners passed endless hours teaching each other their respective talents; Leine demonstrated fighting moves from various martial arts disciplines and Derek taught her about the movement of elephant herds and lions, and ingenious ways to track prey. His was an encyclopedic knowledge of the animals he tracked, and he probably knew more than most scientists conducting observations. Little by little, Leine developed a grudging respect for the poacher. The feeling appeared to be mutual.

“You know,” Derek said one afternoon after describing the way the light played on the acacia trees at sunset, “Africa’s a massive place with a lot of potential. You and me, we could go into business together, make a name for ourselves.”

Leine gave him a look that said she thought he’d gone off the rails, and he hurried to explain.

“No, no. I am aware of your disdain for my former trade, believe me. I was thinking we could go into the export business, but not game or ivory. Imagine this.” He spread his hands wide, describing a marquee sign in the air. “Derek and Claire’s African Fabric Emporium.” He grinned, his teeth glaringly white against his newly sprouted beard. “We could include jewelry and other handmade stuff, yeh?”

Leine shook her head. “Not even remotely interested. But thanks for thinking of me.” She allowed herself a brief longing for Santa and April before she turned her attention back to the present. From Derek’s suggestion, she surmised that a kind of trust had been established between them, although she wasn’t naïve enough to believe it would last given the circumstances. Still, it was something.

Hurt showed in his eyes but quickly disappeared. “Your loss,” he said with a shrug.

“I don’t judge you, you know,” Leine said.

Derek leaned his head back. “Why not? I do.”

“Because I’ve finally gotten to a point in my life where I realize it doesn’t matter what you’ve done. It’s what you do.”

Derek didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then he nodded, slowly. “I was right,” he said, his voice a quiet echo in the room. “You have been there.”

Leine closed her eyes. “More often than you can imagine.”