Cargo: A Leine Basso Thriller (9 page)

Leine woke to
something warm touching her ankle. She sat up quickly as Kibwe, flashlight in hand, released her from the metal cuff. Finger to his lips, he made his way to Derek’s sleeping form and tapped his shoulder. Derek started to say something but Kibwe cut him off.

Once he freed Derek, Kibwe slipped past Leine and out the door, gesturing to them to follow. They moved furtively through the hold, past the container that Kylie was in with the large X painted across the side. At least Wang had moved the box off the upper deck and out of the sun.

Unless there was more than one.

Leine slipped around to the back of the forty-foot box. Derek and Kibwe waved at her to follow but she ignored them. She leaned in close and gently rapped her knuckles against the metal wall. Hearing nothing, she tried again. A few seconds later, there was a faint tap. Leine knocked again, this time louder, certain that the rumble of the ship’s engines would cover the sound to anyone nearby. A louder, answering knock came back. Derek had eased up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.

“We have to go. Now, Claire.”

“There are people inside this container.” Leine stood motionless, her mind racing for a way to overpower the crew and hijack the ship, knowing he was right and they’d have to leave. She stared at Derek, searching his face for a hint of compassion. Derek blinked, revealing nothing.

He let out a frustrated sigh. “What are you going to do? We can’t take them with us.”

“No,” Leine said, an idea beginning to take hold in her mind and growing.
But you can track them.

She noted the positioning of the X on the side of the container before following Derek back to where Kibwe waited, pacing nervously. The three stayed in the shadows until they reached the metal stairwell Leine had used when Wang first led her below decks.

Kibwe leaned in close and said in a low voice, “There are two crewmen in the pilot house, but I know they are not watching the deck.”

“How do you know that?” Derek asked.

Kibwe shrugged. “They have discovered a magazine someone left near the captain’s chair by mistake.”

“Ah.” Derek lifted his chin. “Naked ladies to the rescue, once again. Where are the rest?”

“Most are asleep. We have been at sea long enough now that the captain is slack in his orders, so only a handful of us are on watch.”

“Where are we? Is there land nearby?” Leine asked. Being stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean didn’t sound like much of an escape plan.

“That is why you must leave tonight. We are only a day’s journey from Dar es Salaam. We will dock late tomorrow night.”

“How do we get off the ship?” Derek asked.

“The lifeboat. There should be enough fuel to reach land.”

“But doesn’t a lifeboat need someone to launch it? How will you explain your way out of that?”

“I will suggest to the captain that you allowed Claire to escape in the lifeboat, while you climbed down the side of the ship. They will think she picked you up once you reached the water. I will drop a line over the side to make it look convincing.”

“Why the change of heart?” Leine asked.

“I thought about how long it would take me to save enough money to become a doctor and realized it would never be. God has provided another way.” Kibwe’s expression turned serious as he shifted his attention to Derek. “I will make it look like you overpowered me and took the key for your manacles.” He handed him the key. “We don’t have much time. You have money, yes?”

“Yes,” Derek replied.

“Good. Follow me.”

They climbed the stairs and sprinted across the deck, threading their way through the shadowy rows of containers toward the stern. Kibwe paused in the darkness to allow a crew member to pass, and then continued on to the lifeboat.

“You will find food and water as well as a compass inside,” he said. “There is also a first aid kit. In calm seas, the boat will travel at six knots. That should place you near the mainland by late evening.” He looked at Derek expectantly.

“Oh, right.” Derek patted his pockets. “Could I bother you for a knife?”

Kibwe frowned and handed his rigging knife to him.

“You may want to turn away,” he said to Leine. “This won’t be pretty.”

Derek dropped his pants, twisted around, and using the tip of the knife, carved into the side of his buttocks, gritting his teeth as he did so. Blood surged through his fingers and down his leg and he used the bottom of his shirt to stanch the flow. A few moments later, he straightened and wiped something off with a clean section of shirt. Then he instructed Kibwe to hold out his hand and dropped an object into his palm. Kibwe held it up, squinting. The diamond’s facets sparkled in the deck light.

“That oughta pay for a year or two of medical school, eh, my brah?” Derek said, wincing as he slid his pants over the wound.

Kibwe nodded, his mouth gaping in surprise. He clamped his lips closed and blinked. “Thank you,” he managed. “God is great.”

“Small payment for saving our lives, eh?” Derek replied. “Shall we?”

Leine and Derek climbed up the platform and made their way into the enclosed lifeboat, closing the watertight door behind them. The small boat itself had seen better days, but still had the webbing to hold them in place during the launch. Leine sat in front at the controls. Grimacing, Derek maneuvered himself into the seat across the aisle from her and they buckled themselves in. After a slight pause, there was a loud clunk and the lifeboat rumbled down the rails. Seconds later, they were airborne and weightless, rushing toward the dark ocean.

Leine braced for impact as the bow split the water, plunging beneath the surface. The force threw her forward but the straps kept her from slamming into the console. The boat leapt upright and bobbed like a cork, seawater streaming across the windows. She started the engine and steered away from the ship, the lights on the upper deck fading into the ink-black night.

“How’s your ass?” Leine asked as she unbuckled the safety strap and started searching under her seat for supplies.

“It’s been better.” Derek released himself from his seat and limped down the aisle, checking the rest of the lifeboat for the same. “Aha,” he said, holding a first aid kit in the air. “I’ll just be a minute.”

While Derek cleaned and bandaged his cut, Leine kept the little boat on course, headed in the direction Kibwe had told them to go. Images of the container with the X on the side continued to crowd her mind. She needed to convince Derek to help her track Wang’s shipment.

Derek returned and placed a canvas bag on the floor, then gingerly lowered himself into his seat.

“In addition to the first aid kit, we’ve got several liters of water, a hatchet, a flashlight, and a knife. There’s a signal mirror and a couple of ropes, too.”

“Any food?”

“Just these.” Derek held up a handful of individually wrapped energy bars.

“Better than nothing,” she said, helping herself to one. She took a bite and stretched her neck to release the tension. “I hope the crew doesn’t notice the lifeboat missing too soon. I would assume there’s a transponder somewhere on board.”

“Yeh, but I’ll bet the captain delays telling his boss about our departure. It’s not like he can turn the ship around and come after us. I imagine Wang’s going to be very unhappy.”

“Remember the container marked with an X?” Leine asked. “The one with the human cargo?”

When Derek didn’t say anything, Leine repeated her question. He studied her for a moment before replying.

“Wang marks the ones with live cargo so they’re easier to spot and unload.”

“I thought you said you didn’t know anything.”

“I lied.” Derek leaned forward, his forearms on his thighs. “Look, I didn’t know you, and besides, it’s not a business practice I agree with.”

“I’m looking for someone.”

Derek stared at Leine. “That’s why you were on the ship. You think the person you’re looking for was part of Wang’s shipment?”

“She is. I confirmed it before Wang sidelined me. She disappeared from a hostel in Bangkok. I received information linking her disappearance to Wang’s latest shipment. An associate set up a meeting, and I saw her inside the container.”

Derek crossed his arms. “Is there even an employer?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“So now we’re even. We both lied.”

“You can help me find her.”

“How do you know Wang isn’t going to just auction her off?”

“I don’t. But when you told me about Wang’s floating safari camp for wealthy hunters in Tanzania, it clicked.”

Derek shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable. “And if I decide to help you, what’s in it for me?”

“Like I told you earlier, I can ensure safe passage anywhere you want to go.”

“Nah. You need to give me more than that. I’ll be risking my life getting that close to Wang’s people after fucking up his little plan to sell me off to the highest bidder.”

“I’m sure we can work something out.” Leine watched him closely. “The girl I’m searching for witnessed a drug dealer gun down her little brother. As if that weren’t enough, she’s been kidnapped and shipped halfway around the world, to be used as a slave. You know Wang and can find his camp. My gut tells me she’s being delivered as part of the entertainment.”

“Add in a hefty payment and I’ll think about it.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Leine held out her hand.

After a brief hesitation, he extended his and they shook. “What the hell am I doing?” Derek let out a frustrated sigh before he got up and limped to the forward hatch.

“Mind if I open this for some fresh air?” he called back to Leine.

“Go ahead.”

Derek unlatched the cover and heaved open the hatch. Warm sea air and the sound of gently lapping waves filled the cabin. “I’ll be back to relieve you in a little while,” he said before climbing out through the opening.

Leine peered through the window at the brilliant stars, thousands of shimmering diamonds like the one Derek had given Kibwe.

She’d been so close to rescuing Kylie. She took a deep breath and let it go, feeling the weight of all the victims out there who needed help.

Needed her help.

Stop it, Leine. It’s not your job to save the world.

Didn’t Santa tell her that once? He was right, of course, but for Leine the weight of the guilt she felt—for all of the targets she hit, no matter who she’d killed, for all of the women and children she couldn’t save—that guilt clung to her like a massive anchor tied around her neck, dragging her under.

She’d have to tread carefully with Derek. Without him, she wouldn’t stand a chance.

Kylie closed her
eyes and leaned her head against the wall. For what seemed like months she’d been squashed inside the small space alongside the other women with barely enough food and water to stay alive. She’d lost all sense of time and place, only knew they were still at sea. She yearned for the sun on her skin, a good meal, and a soft bed. If it wasn’t for the filtered light that came through slits near the roof, the women would be in total darkness, unaware if it was day or night.

Sapphire had been singled out during the transfer from the van to the ship, and Kylie hadn’t seen her again. Nor had she seen the little boy, Jaidee, since he’d been taken from the cell. The only hope she’d had was days—weeks?—ago, when she thought she’d seen her mother’s friend, Leine. But no one had come for her. Leine would have found a way to rescue her; she was certain of it.

Now, she wasn’t sure whom or what she’d seen that night before leaving Bangkok.

Two dozen women of differing ages and ethnicities sat huddled together in the back of the container. The walls were covered in Styrofoam and other noise-canceling material, as was the plywood separating them from the rest of the shipment. Dirty, threadbare blankets, not nearly enough for all of them, had been neatly folded and stacked in the corner, waiting to be shared. The women had taken to sleeping in shifts, the small space and hard floor less than ideal but better than nothing. Several jugs of drinking water had been lashed to one side with bungee cords. The throb of the ship’s engines became the droning background music to their tiny world.

Modesty soon took a backseat to survival, especially when it came to the five-gallon bucket they were expected to use for relieving themselves. The days stretched on, unbearably hot and stagnant, filled with dull monotony punctuated by short, terror-filled moments.

Except for when someone tapped on the outside of the container. Certain it was a trick by one of the crew, none of the women had tapped back. After the third time, Kylie moved to the spot where it had come from and, heart in her throat, tapped back. Whoever it was had knocked again, once. Kylie tried a few more times, but there was no reply. Convinced it had been a cruel joke by a crewmember, she pushed it from her mind.

The women inside that small room had come together in solidarity in an attempt to buoy each other from the crushing degradation of being at the mercy of the crew. On countless occasions when one of them delivered their food or emptied the bucket, he would pick out a woman and drag her, screaming, from the small compartment, to be offered as entertainment to the rest of the crew. Kylie had been relieved to learn from another woman who spoke English that the crew’s interest did not extend to her, as she was considered an infidel, and they were afraid she carried HIV. Although beyond grateful for their ignorance, her heart broke each time they brought one of the women back, shoving her through the opening as though worth no more than her ripped and bloodied clothing, a vacant stare replacing the human being who had once live inside.

The longer they were at sea the more terrified Kylie became, not knowing what would happen to her when they reached their destination. The English-speaking woman offered no insight. Unaware of the identity of her kidnappers, she’d been bundled into a van and driven away as she walked to the market for the day’s groceries. She didn’t know why she’d been targeted. According to her, most of the women’s stories were similar.

After several days, the taste and quality of the air changed, growing incrementally different than what she’d come to expect in Thailand. It felt drier, less verdant, although the briny sea air still overpowered everything else.

How far had they gone? Would she ever be able to return home? The last time she saw her father, they had a fight. He tried to forbid her from going on the trip by herself, citing her impulsiveness and politically liberal naiveté. After enumerating the myriad dangers that a young woman traveling alone in Southeast Asia would encounter, he stated bluntly he didn’t think she’d survive.

Like a pressure cooker at its limit she’d exploded, accusing him of failing to understand her, of telling her what to do, of his own bad judgement in choosing to eat at a restaurant in a bad section of town, where Brandon had been killed. The hurt in her father’s eyes still haunted her. What she wouldn’t give to take back the words she’d thrown at him. Yes, their views on politics and religion were vastly different, so much so that she often wondered whether she’d been adopted, but he’d been a good father, and she loved him in spite of it, as he did her. She missed her mother the most. Her calm demeanor and loving acceptance went a long way toward keeping the peace between them.

The women had finished their allotted bowls of rice when the ship’s engines slowed, followed by shouts from the crew. Kylie turned to her friend sitting next to her and asked what was happening.

“We’re stopping,” the woman said.  “I think we are coming into port.”

Heart in her throat, Kylie crossed her arms and hugged herself. During the endless days and nights she had imagined every horrific scenario, which she tried to offset with more positive ones, like meeting someone who could help, or Leine finding out where she was and swooping in to rescue her. What was it that her mother always told her?  How nothing would ever be as bad as what she could imagine.

She hoped she was right.