Digging Deeper: An Adventure Novel (Sam Harris Series Book 1) (9 page)

‘If Sam comes on Friday, I will get Eduardo to pick her up from the bank when she deposits the diamonds.’

‘Excellent.  How about another whisky?  My wife has made some excellent cod stew for us, too.’

***

On Friday night, there was a production party at the prefabs where the workers lived, to celebrate the one hundred percent bonus earned for the August diamond production.  Grey’s Security had run over a large crocodile, about four metres long, which crossed the road in front of them at Tunde the night before.   They had to shoot it due to its injuries, so there were croc steak sandwiches in the bar that night.

When faced with the choice between a tender, if ripe, filet steak and fried onion butty and a tough overcooked piece of ancient crocodile, Sam's hunger got the better of her curiosity.  But there were plenty of takers for the crocodile.  Some people were still chewing when they went to bed. 

The girls organised silly games, including one in which they snatched carrots tied around the men’s waists in a rude version of musical chairs.  Everyone got very drunk.   Dirk got jealous and grumpy when some of the drunker members of the management team forgot that they had to all intents and purposes sent Sam to Coventry and started flirting and trying to get her to dance with them. 

Sam called Dirk over and whispered in his ear.  She felt horny and decided that they had procrastinated long enough.  Dirk cheered up, and a smug expression appeared on his face.  He tried to kiss her but Sam moved out of the way.  Public displays of affection were definitely taboo. 

Suddenly, she felt great.  Dutch courage was having its effect.

Jorge had been watching her from one of the tables and came over in a determined manner.

‘Sam, I need to talk to you.  Now.’

‘For God’s sake, Jorge, now is not a good time.  Let’s do this tomorrow, okay?’  She was not in the mood for a lecture and muttered ‘tomorrow’ in Portuguese a couple of times.

Jorge would not be put off.  He pulled Sam away from the party and sat her down on the steps to the porch of one of the nearby houses. 

‘Sam,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry to drag you away from the party but I have to tell you something right now.’ 

‘Can’t it wait?’

‘No, I’m afraid it can’t. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I wasn’t sure how far it had gone.’

‘How far what had gone?  What are you talking about?’

‘It’s Dirk.  Have you slept with him?’

‘No, but I was about to when you called me over.’

‘You mustn’t.  It would be a mistake.’

Sam was not sober and she totally misinterpreted Jorge’s motives. 

‘I like Dirk, and I don’t like you.  Not that way anyway.  You can’t stop me.  I’m a grown-up.’ She tried to flounce off. 

Jorge grabbed her arm. ‘No, you don’t understand,’ he pleaded. ‘I’m trying to stop you from getting hurt.’

‘Hurt?  I don’t think it’s any of your business.’

‘Oh, it is.  I have a bet on you.’

‘What did you say?’

‘They're running a book on who will sleep with you first and when.  Dirk stands to win a lot of money if he sleeps with you.  He doesn’t really like you.  He just wants to win the bet.’

Sam froze.   Jorge waited for her to talk.

She sat down again, hard. She looked up at Jorge. ‘He has a bet on himself?’

‘Yes, and he expects to win it tonight.  He’s been telling everyone who will listen.’  Jorge could hardly look Sam in the eye.

Her hard-won confidence evaporated like the water off a boiled egg.  She stood up, wobbling with drink.

‘Thanks,’ she said.  ‘Nice to know who your friends are.  I'm going to give him a Glasgow kiss.’

‘A kiss?'

‘Not that sort of kiss, Jorge.  You’ll see.’

Sam stomped back across to the party.  She pushed her way into a throng of people near the drinks table.  Dirk stood there talking to one of the local girls.  He looked up.    A lazy smile crossed his face.

He stumbled over to Sam. 

‘Are you ready to go now?’

Sam tried to head-butt him but swayed at the crucial moment and hit his shoulder with her forehead.

‘Ow!’ he shouted. ‘What the hell, Sam?’

‘You bastard.  I thought you were my friend.’ 

He looked dazed.  ‘But I am.’

‘No, you’re not. You're a pig like all the others. I hate you.’

‘But what have I done?’ Then the expression on his face turned from surprise to remorse, just when Sam was wavering.

‘Bastard,’ she said again and dredged up the dignity to leave the field of battle without another word.  Her withdrawal did not cause any comment, as everyone was too drunk to notice what had just happened.  She felt so betrayed.  She really fell for that old trick?  What an idiot. 

One thing was for sure now.  She did have a friend in Kardo, but it wasn’t Dirk.  She would not let them defeat her.  Never.

The next morning, Sam felt like she had been hit by a train. The combination of drink and shame was not ideal, as she had to get up before dawn to go down to the recovery plant to do the diamond export to Mondongo again.  There was not much for her to do in Kardo, so sending her to Mondongo with the diamonds meant that one of the security men, who were in short supply, did not have to go instead. She knew she had to do whatever was necessary to stay in Black’s good books and that everything she did got back to him.  She also needed to get out of camp to avoid seeing Dirk.

‘Jim, I’m shattered.  Do you think that I could take Saturday off in Mondongo to see the sights and come back on Sunday instead?'

‘Sure,’ Jim laughed.  'But you won’t need a whole day for that.  Off with you then, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.’ 

Sam thought there was little chance of that, seeing as her only hope for a bit of entertainment, Pedro, was on a short leave and she was not sure when he would be back.  However, the prospect of a nice day at the beach with some of the other staff cheered her up.

The SDM representatives arrived on time. They finished the weigh-up and put the diamonds in the small safe for transportation to Mondongo.  Then they got into their vehicles in the convoy and shot off to the airport with the usual pandemonium ensuing. As soon as they got there, they were ushered onto the plane and strapped in, and the doors were locked.

The plane taxied up the runway for take-off.  Sam felt the anticipation in her stomach and held on to the edges of her seat.  Then the engines cut out and the co-pilot came through the small door from the flight deck to tell them that they could not take off yet because there was a problem.   The President of Tamazia was at Mondongo airport on his way to South Africa.  The airport was always shut to other aircraft when the president was passing through because of the intense security surrounding him. 

The aircraft sat on the ground for an hour and a half, a sitting target on the runway at Kardo.  There were no security guards at the airport.  They had all left after delivering Sam and her companions to the aircraft.  The plane was carrying more diamonds than usual because of the record production.  Sam hoped that MARFO rebels were not in the vicinity.  Her mood was not improved by the fact that she and the other passengers were being broiled in the airless cargo hold and they had nothing to drink.

At last, the co-pilot informed them that the President had left Mondongo and that the airport was once again open.  The engines started up again and they took off.  It was a bumpy flight, and the SDM man beside Sam almost lost his breakfast beers. 

They arrived at Mondongo at mid-day to find that the trucks of security men, who should have met them on the tarmac, had left to eat lunch.  They stood on the ground with their cargo beside them for ten minutes, while the security guards were radioed to come back.  Sam felt very vulnerable. There were a lot of armed men wandering around on the tarmac, and Sam and the SDM men had a safe at their feet. She did not want to die for some crummy bits of broken glass.

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend in theory, but in practice, she preferred her best friends to be less life-threatening.  The troops returned after a short time but Sam was panicky by then.   She and her companions got into the jeep that was sandwiched between the pickups full of security men.  They set off in a convoy for the bank. 

By the time they arrived at the bank an hour later, the staff were all back from lunch.  The handover of the diamonds went as planned and soon Sam came out of the bank to find Eduardo waiting for her.

He greeted her and said simply, ‘The General is waiting for you in his house at the beach.  He would like you to stay the night with him and his guests.’

Sam was taken aback by the request.  She was not big on protocol and she was sure that Black would not have approved of this development.  But she did not see how she could turn down an invitation from the brother-in-law of the President.  A house at the beach sounded like paradise after Kardo.  Besides, she might learn useful things that she could tell Black and garner brownie points, if there were ministers amongst the guests. 

‘I would love to come.  It would be an honour,’ she replied.

The air- conditioned car felt like chilly heaven compared to the sweltering streets of Mondongo.

‘Can you please stop at the Villa Alice on our way out of town?’ she asked.  ‘I don’t have any suitable clothing in my bag for a social weekend.’

‘Of course, my lady, anything for you,’ said Eduardo. 

They soon pulled into the cul-de-sac where the villa was located.

‘I’ll be about fifteen minutes.’ She dashed inside.  She knew just what she was going to wear on this escapade.  She had stashed a bag of more glamorous gear for town in a cupboard, which she now raided for a couple of summer dresses and a swimming costume.  No need to look like a geologist all your life. 

She had a speedy shower and changed into one of the dresses.  She did not have a mirror, but she could tell she had lost a few pounds in Kardo by the ease with which the dress slipped over her hips.

Eduardo looked her up and down with approval when she emerged from the Villa twenty minutes later, her hair still wet and wearing a fitted floral dress.  She blushed at his reaction.

They drove down the coast for about an hour.  Then they pulled in beside a small jetty opposite a low sandy island with a colonial type house on the shore.  Eduardo emptied the contents of the car into a motor boat moored at the jetty.  ‘Get in,’ he gestured to Sam.

She hopped aboard, hesitating just a moment as she realised that she would be trapped on an island with lots of people she did not know and a man whose motives she had not figured out yet. However, having worked with men-only crews most of her life, Sam also knew how to hold her own in a house full of testosterone. 

Also, she had seen a lot of fresh produce being loaded onto the boat, and the lure of decent food was too much for her.   She could not imagine where the General was sourcing fresh food but his brother-in-law probably had something to do with it.

They flew over the top of the waves and soon pulled into an identical jetty on the small island parallel to the shore.  Some members of the General’s staff were waiting to help Sam up from the boat and show her to the house. 

The General waited on the steps. He gazed at Sam with her windswept hair and flowery dress, as if he were trying to recognise her.  A twinkle appeared in his eye.  ‘Don’t they feed you in that place?’

‘Not much that I want to eat.’

‘I hope we can tempt your palate this evening.  I bought some fresh lobsters. I know you like them.  I bought three just for you.’

‘Three for me?  I don’t think I can eat three.’

‘I thought you were macha.  Don’t let me down now.  I’m counting on you.’

Sam laughed.  She was going to enjoy herself on a diet of lobster and flattery.  The general asked one of the staff to show her to her room and left to entertain his guests.  The staffer [? It is not clear who is telling] told Sam that the Ministers for Mining and Petroleum had both come with their wives and that two of the general’s own daughters were also in the party.  She was so happy that she would have some friendly women to talk to.  The monosyllabic conversations she had in Kardo were wearing her down, despite all her efforts to remain positive.

Dinner was great fun.  Sam sat down at the women’s end of the table and joined in the banter with the daughters and wives.  The husbands all sat at the other end of the table, trying in vain to have a sensible conversation but failing as the women made merry and flirted with them.  Sam managed to eat two and a half small lobsters, which elicited a round of applause. 

After dinner, the General invited Sam to have coffee with him at the end of the front balcony looking out over the sea.  He offered her a Cuban cigar, which she refused and a cigarette that she did not.  They sat looking at the waves breaking on the beach. 

‘So how is work?’ asked the General.

‘Oh, pretty tough and lonely,’ replied Sam with a big sigh.  She remembered with horrible clarity how close she had come to humiliation with Dirk and the nasty sneering that night they shunned her in the bar.  ‘I don’t think they like me very much in Kardo.’  Her voice broke, and she started to cry.  Despite her embarrassment at this unexpected turn of events, she was unable to stop.  The dam had burst.

The General reached out and put his hand over hers.  He waited until she could control her sobs. He handed her an immaculate handkerchief, its pristine whiteness a testament to the quality of his laundry staff. 

Sam blew her nose into it.  ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t expecting that.’

‘Neither was I. My charm does not often have such a catastrophic effect on young ladies.’

‘Do you mind if we don’t talk about Kardo?’

Sam missed the fleeting look of irritation that passed over the general’s face.

‘What would you like to talk about?’

‘Well, I hope it’s not an imposition.  You told me that you were in Cuba with Castro and Che Guevara. Do you mind telling me about it?’

‘Not at all.  You realise that Imelda, who you were talking to this evening, is the daughter of my Cuban wife Carmen’?

‘No, I didn’t know that.’

The general excused himself for a minute and returned with two large glasses, a bottle of scotch and some more cigarettes.  

‘We may be here for a while,’ he said.

***

The next morning, Sam stayed in bed and was served a sumptuous breakfast with coffee that she could almost stand a spoon in.  She had no hangover, perhaps due to the quality of the whisky or all the food she had eaten.

The Minister of Mines had been impressed that she spoke Portuguese, even if her grammar was a bit ropey.  She had noticed that he kept trying to steer the conversation around to the production in the mine.  But Sam had been careful to keep her answers vague like Jim had told her before.

The truth was that no one knew about production figures except Black, Fred and Jim.  Only Black knew about the bottom line.  As far as she could remember, she hadn't gone into any details at all.  Not even after a couple of whiskies with the General. The last part of the evening was a little murky, but she did remember him escorting her to her room and kissing her goodnight on the cheek.  She blushed again as she remembered bursting into tears.  No wonder they thought she was useless and weak at Kardo.  The water pipes at Kardo were less leaky than poor old Sam.

***

Downstairs, the three men were having a quiet breakfast.

‘I don’t think she knows anything,’ said the Minister of Mines.

‘I’m sure that she doesn’t know anything about diamond production,’ said the Minister of Petroleum.  ‘Did you get anything out of her, Fuego?’

The Minister of Mines snorted. 

General Fuego ignored him.

‘No, I didn’t. She burst into tears when I tried to find out more about the Kardo operation.  I think she’s not as senior as we imagined.’

‘I thought she was Black’s direct employee.  How come she doesn’t know anything about the diamond production numbers?  I’m sure she must see the figures?’

‘Gentlemen, as we are well aware, Mr Black is paranoid.  I don’t think his girlfriend knows his first name.’

‘What is his first name?’

‘I don’t know,’ the general deadpanned.

‘So, did you get anything out of her or not, Fuego?’

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ he replied and winked.  Both of the other men guffawed.

‘You dog, Fuego; I knew you weren’t interested in production.  She is kind of cute, though, in a gringa sort of way.’

‘The President is going to kill me.’

They all mused on this as they drank their coffee.

***

The General crossed from the island with Sam in the boat.  He insisted on driving her back to Mondongo by himself, at a never less than hair-raising speed.  Sam tried not to focus on Eduardo, but she could see him wincing in the back of the car.  When they reached the centre of town, they stopped at a little coffee shop near the Gemsite office and Eduardo stayed with the car. 

The site not only had milky coffees made from UHT milk but also Portuguese custard tarts.  The General ordered six, telling Sam that if they did not eat them all, she could take one on the flight as a snack.  He asked her how she came to work for Gemsite and proved to be such a good listener that Sam found herself telling him about the Dirk debacle.  She was so desperate for someone to talk to and she didn’t think talking about Dirk was a Gemsite secret. 

The General waited for her to stop speaking and smiled gently at her.  ‘Ah, my dear, you have made the mistake of choosing a younger man.  In my opinion, you should look at someone a little more mature.’

‘You mean vintage, like a good wine?’

‘That’s exactly what I mean.’  He gave her a mischievous smile and told her that he had to go.

Sam refused a lift to Villa Alice and kissed him goodbye.

‘See you soon,’ he said.

After the General had left, Sam walked around the corner to the office.  She knew she would find someone on duty and she needed to know when the flight was due to take off for Kardo.