Digging Deeper: An Adventure Novel (Sam Harris Series Book 1) (16 page)

‘Maybe he’ll only pay for me, then,’ said Sam.

‘For fuck’s sake, woman, why can’t you quit when you're ahead?’ said Brian. But he could not help smiling.

The relaxed atmosphere in the camp had even had its effect on him and he could be spotted playing chess with the MARFO commander in the evenings.  Even Fred had started to thaw, helping people with their mobile phones and trying to scrounge food from the women in the kitchens.  Whilst it was true that there was no violence directed at them, there was a certain menace surrounding the closed meetings that sometimes took place in the meeting hut.

Afterwards, the fighters would emerge red-eyed from the smoke and glare at the captives with what seemed like loathing.

Back in Mondongo, Black was getting ready to meet the General, who was coming to the Gemsite office with news of the ransom demand.  He called for some tea.

Pedro put his head around the door.  ‘The secretary is at lunch, boss.  Can I help?’

‘Yes, you can get me some tea.’

Pedro could see that he was in a good mood.  He knew that Black was buoyed by the news from Ewen of near record production from Kardo.  The ransom was sure to hurt but with this sort of production, it would not make much difference to the bottom line over the quarter.

The tea in Gemsite’s Mondongo office had also run out. No one had dared tell Black.  Pedro was not fazed, though.  He knew that Sam kept tea in the Villa Alice for her visits to Mondongo.  He drove there as fast as he could, determined to keep his boss in a good mood.

He found Sam’s supply stashed in a box in the kitchen pantry.  These British people and their tea.  He could never understand why they would not drink coffee, like everyone else.  Grabbing a handful of bags from the container, he shoved them into a plastic bag he found in the kitchen.  He also stole a packet of biscuits that was hidden in the box.  She would not need any of this stuff now.

He spotted the floral dress rolled up and shoved into a corner of the box.  Smirking, he remembered Sam’s panic when she realised she would have to sleep with him to keep him quiet.  He did not even like her that much; just pushing his luck.

Mind you, she was worth it.   If she ever got out, he would make sure he got some more of that.

On his way back into the office, he met Eduardo, who loitered beside the General’s limousine, smoking a cheroot.  Never one to miss the chance of picking up some high-level gossip, Pedro took out a cigarette and approached him for a light.

‘Good afternoon, Eduardo. Are you here with the General?’

‘Pedro, good afternoon. Yes, my boss is inside with your boss.’

‘I heard that there is news on the ransom demand?’

Eduardo nodded and rubbed his thumb against his index and middle finger.

‘Well, I guess the hostages must be worth that much to Black.’

‘The General would pay that much for only one of them,’ said Eduardo and winked.

‘Really,’ said Pedro. ‘I had no idea.’

Eduardo, who liked to make himself look important by affecting knowledge that he did not have, winked again.

‘Oh, yes.  I have it on good authority that, well, you know, Sam stayed the weekend with him on the island.’  He made an obscene gesture with his hands.

‘Is that so?’ Pedro struggled to remain calm and neutral.  ‘You never can tell.  I’d better get these tea bags inside before Black gets withdrawal symptoms.  Not a pretty sight.’

‘Of course.  Good to see you.’

Pedro was by now quivering with rage.  The bitch.  He knew she was lying about the General.  She was spying for him.  Black was being led up the garden path by that lying cow. But Pedro would not allow it.  His honour was at stake.  He went upstairs to the boardroom.

Black was alone, smoking a cigarette.

‘Here’s your tea.  Shall I make you a cup?’

‘No, not yet. I’ll wait for the General to come back.  He’s making a call downstairs in the office.  Leave the teabags in the kitchen.’

Pedro did not leave.  He stood hovering in the doorway, despite the very obvious dismissal he had received from Black.

‘Was there something you wanted, Pedro?’ he asked.

‘I think there’s something you ought to know.  About Sam.  Sam and the General.’

‘Sam and the General?'

‘My sources tell me they were having an affair.’

‘An affair? Are you mad?  What makes you think that?  How on earth has Sam had an affair with the General in Kardo?  The General lives in Mondongo, and he hasn’t visited Kardo since last year when we invited the government to the inauguration of the new plant.’

Pedro stuck to his guns.

‘I have good information that Sam’s been meeting the General in Mondongo and that she’s been passing him production information about Kardo.’

‘Now that is ridiculous!  Sam didn’t have any access to that sort of information until I went there on my last trip.  I had to wait until Fred was drunk before she could access his precious information.  She couldn’t have passed any information about that night to the General.  She was kidnapped straight afterwards.’

Pedro faltered, doubting his own certainty.  But he could not back down now.  That would be fatal.

‘The General’s man, Eduardo, told me.  He is very close to the General.  He should know.’

At that moment, the General stepped back into the room and caught the last volley from Pedro.

‘What has Eduardo been telling you?’ he asked.  ‘He is the most terrible gossip.  I wouldn’t believe half of it.’

***

Black needed time to think.

‘Pedro, go and tell the girls to make us some tea.  General, you will have some English tea?’

‘Yes, thank you.  I hope that Eduardo has not been spreading more false rumours.  I am tempted to cut out his tongue.’

This was said in a weary tone of voice that suggested that this was not the first indiscretion committed by Eduardo but one in a long line of similar leaks and fibs.

Black was sure that the General was more than capable of cutting out Eduardo’s tongue, if he was in the mood.  He would proceed with caution.

‘So, General, I presume this is not a social visit?’

‘You are correct.  I have had news from the rebel camp.  They are asking for one million dollars for the hostages.  I cannot tell if this is a final demand but I don’t recommend pushing them too far, as they are quite capable of killing the hostages if they don’t get what they want.’

‘One million dollars!  Holy fuck!  Even my mother’s not worth that much.  Are you sure they won’t negotiate?’

‘They might, but they might not.  Their leader, Joao Contes, is a bit of a hothead.  And remember, they are holding Sam.  Who knows what they could do to her?’

To Black’s immense surprise, he heard the General’s voice break when he said this.  It was almost imperceptible but he had not imagined it.

The girls arrived with the tea, giving the General time to compose himself.  Black affected a relaxed demeanour as he asked the next question. ‘Have you met Sam, General?’

‘Yes, several times.  She is a very special person; don’t you think?’

This was said with a total lack of guile but Black did not notice.  His brain went into overdrive.  He had been taken in by Sam.  How could he have been so stupid?  The woman was playing both sides.  He should have known.  Sam was just another lying, duplicitous, two-timing bitch.

But he held the cards now.  ‘Yes, very special indeed.  It would be a shame to lose her.  Let me talk to my people about our finances.  We have a diamond sale coming up.  I hope that we can raise the money before it’s too late.  Meanwhile, ask your sources to inquire about the ransom.  I need to know if it’s a fixed price or if there could be some movement.’

‘That could be very dangerous.’

‘I’m not paying a million dollars to a bunch of terrorists.  Get the price down, and I’ll think about it.’

The General looked taken aback but he nodded.

Black knew that he must have expected him to lower the ransom.  He thought that everyone was well aware how much he loved his money, even the General.

‘Very well, Mr Black.  We will talk tomorrow.  I shall call you.’

‘Thank you for coming, General.  I know how busy you are.  Please give my regards to the President.’

‘I shall.  Have a good day, Mr Black.’

After the General had left, Black worked himself into a fury.  He was a primitive man and the only two colours he acknowledged were black and white.  He had by now completely forgotten that Sam could not possibly have been feeding the General information before she had access to it.

His pride was hurt, too.  He had imagined that his relationship with Sam was special and had even considered taking it further.  Now he felt betrayed.  Why should he pay a ransom for a traitor?  And that buffoon Fred?  Did he imagine that Black did not know what a useless, lazy, lump of lard he was?  Pretending that no one else was clever enough to use the computer? Cheeky fucker.  The only person worth a fig was Brian but was he worth one million dollars?  Brian was always disagreeing with Black and talking back.  His attitude betrayed his lack of respect.

Black thought the rebels were very unlikely to murder the hostages.  He convinced himself that MARFO would throw the hostages out to fend for themselves, if no ransom was paid.  The Filipino had managed to survive, after all.  Sam could talk to the locals in their own language.  They would get home alive.  No doubt.  It would serve them right if they did not.  Traitors.

He poured himself a large whisky from the tray on the cabinet and went into the kitchen to get some ice.  He would have to pretend that he was going to pay the ransom and then refuse at the last minute on some pretext or other.  He swirled the whisky around in his mouth as he stared into space.

No one from Gemsite needed to know what he had in mind.

***

A couple of days later, the General arrived on the island for lunch at his favourite restaurant on the beach.  He sat at a table for two in the corner of the patio that had been built out over the sand.  It was a breezy day, and the seagulls were buffeted from side to side as they scoured the beach for scraps.  The General was sheltered from the breeze by flimsy wooden walls painted in a faded pink.  He could feel the coarse sand scrunch under his shoes.  He had the impulse to take them off and enjoy the warm boards on the soles of his feet. But before he could do so, he was joined by Eduardo, who had the air of someone bringing important news.

‘Good afternoon, my General.’

‘Good afternoon, Eduardo.  Won’t you sit down?  I took the liberty of ordering us some fried squid to pick at and a cold beer.  I hope that is okay?’

‘Perfect. Thank you, General.  I was dreaming of a beer when I was stuck in traffic on the way here.  I apologise for my lateness, but you know how it gets at lunchtime.’

‘No need to apologise for the traffic jams in Mondongo.  Do you have news for me?’

Eduardo sat forward.  At that moment, the waitress approached the table with the beers, and the General raised his hand to stop Eduardo from starting his report.  The two men sat back as the waitress fussed around their table, putting out the beer mats and the tankards, which were frosted with ice.  She took out a novelty bottle opener in the shape of a diamond and opened the drinks.  They were already cold, and when poured into the iced tankards, they were just too tempting in the heat of the Tamazia midday.

Eduardo’s news was put on hold as they took deep draughts of the icy liquid.  The fried squid were also delicious. There was an appreciative silence as the two men enjoyed their crunchy heat, washed down by the arctic beers.

‘Fantastic, General.’

‘So, what news have you of the rebels?’

‘I have heard from my source that they have agreed to lower the ransom to five hundred thousand dollars on condition that it is paid next week.  The rebels claim they will kill the hostages if it is not paid on time.’

‘That doesn't give us much time.  I will have to speak to Mr Black as soon as possible.  By the way, I forgot to ask you what you and Pedro talked about before my meeting with Black last week.  He rushed upstairs and repeated it all to Black, you know.’

He saw Eduardo freeze with a piece of squid halfway to his mouth and go pale.  The General could always tell when Eduardo was not telling the truth.  He knew that Eduardo would not dare to lie to him about what he said to Pedro.

‘We were talking about the ransom.  I told him that you wouldn't have a problem paying for Sam if it was your choice.  Because she’s nice.’  He faltered and stopped.

‘Jesus Christ, Eduardo, don’t you have any sense at all?’ asked the exasperated General.  ‘Did you tell him that Sam was at my beach house?’

Eduardo’s miserable face told him the truth.  The General was shocked by this revelation.  No wonder Black was cross.  He was not a stupid man, and he must have guessed why Sam was being courted.  The chances of Gemsite paying the ransom were receding by the minute.  He felt responsible for the debacle.

‘You have put Sam in grave danger.  I don’t know if we can save her.  Did you leave the phone with Edison Sousa’s widow in the MARFO camp?  My sources were right about her being there?’

‘Yes, General.  She was very grateful that you remembered her.  I gave her money for her children.  She likes Sam and will keep an eye on her.’

‘You’d better be right, for your sake.’

‘I am sorry.  I'm an idiot.  I will do whatever you say to get Sam back.’  Tears welled up in Eduardo’s eyes.

‘Okay, don’t take it like that.  We are warriors, are we not?  We will find a way to rescue the hostages, especially Sam.  Just promise me to keep your phone charged and in your possession day and night.  We may need to move fast. I have talked to General Freddy, from my old brigade.  He has a helicopter available day or night, if I give him word that I need it.  We will get into big trouble with my brother-in-law but it can’t be helped.’