Ivory (26 page)

‘No hard feelings,' Alex said. The other Wu did not return the smile.

‘We've already ordered drinks, Mister Tremain, or may I call you Alexandre?'

‘Alex is fine.'

‘And you must call me Valiant.' Chan called the waiter over and Alex ordered a Scotch and ice.

‘I see you've come alone, Alex?'

Alex shrugged. He didn't know if pleasantries or small talk were a part of doing business in Asia, nor was he inclined to care. ‘Do you want your brother back alive?'

Wu stared back at him and betrayed no sign of emotion.

‘This man, unlike his brother, is unfortunately mute. The fact that you raided the
Penfold Son
soon after illegally boarding the
Peng Cheng
tells me that the good Captain Wu was probably not very good at
keeping his mouth shut. Am I correct, Alex, in assuming it was you who stormed the
Penfold Son
?'

Chan paused to savour and sip brandy from a snifter. Alex said nothing.

‘You needn't answer that question. However, and I give you this advice for free,' Chan leaned across the table and lowered his voice, ‘beware of George Penfold. I would not want him to think that I double-crossed him – and I am not a man who fears very much at all in this world, Alex.'

Alex swallowed some Scotch and let the warmth flow through him. He didn't want his senses dulled, but he did need to appear cool and in control.

‘What about your ship?'

Chan shrugged. ‘You're a pirate. Would you go to sea in her?'

Alex smiled.

‘I thought not. Scuttle her and you'll be doing me a favour. At least that way I can make an insurance claim. I doubt, however, that Lloyds will recompense me for the loss of my cargo. What have you done with it, by the way?'

There was little point in lying, so Alex told Chan the creatures that were still alive had been released to the wild, while the horn, ivory and other animal parts destined for traditional medicines in Hong Kong and Taipei were at the bottom of the Bazaruto Archipelago.

‘My, my, a pirate with a conscience? Perhaps tonight I'll meet a whore with a golden heart.' Chan laughed at his own joke. ‘What about my mahogany?'

‘Your mahogany?' Alex checked his temper. The timber belonged to the people of Mozambique and should never have been felled in the first place. ‘I thought it'd make a nice bar, actually.'

‘I like that. Perhaps we can have a drink one day to christen your fine bar.'

Alex pushed back his chair and stood.

‘Sit, sit, Alex. It's too early for grand gestures of dismissal. We have more things to discuss than animals and wood. I'm unimpressed by
your naivety, though your idealism is quite charming. What I've learned of your assaults on my ship and George's has piqued my interest in you and your men.'

‘I'm a busy man, Mister Chan.'

‘Valiant, remember? I don't think you are very busy at all, Alex. George Penfold's cargo is still missing – I know that because he accused me of being behind your attempt to steal it – and I feel certain that you would not be here if you had, in fact, taken what he is missing.'

Alex sat. ‘You're talking about the diamonds.'

Chan and Wu exchanged a brief glance. It appeared the captain's brother could at least lip read English.

‘What I want to talk to
you
about, Alex, has nothing to do with George Penfold or his shipping line. You need money and I am guessing that, after your botched raid on the
Penfold Son
, you will be holding off your piratical endeavours for the next little while, correct?'

Alex leaned back in his chair and finished his Scotch. Chan was right, but he said nothing.

‘You might have failed to get what you wanted on the
Penfold Son
, but a man who can organise a heli-borne assault on a cargo ship in broad daylight off the coast of Africa – let alone capturing my modest little craft – deserves my attention.'

A waiter arrived bearing a plate. ‘Your steak tartare, sir.'

‘Thank you. Forgive me, Alex, I was ravenous. I took the liberty of ordering before you arrived. Feel free to select anything you wish from the menu.'

‘I'm not hungry.'

‘Very well.' Chan took a portion of raw meat and popped it into his mouth. He closed his eyes and hummed with contentment. ‘Perfect.'

‘There is something that I want you to steal for me that will make us both very wealthy, Alex.'

Alex checked his watch. ‘What?'

Chan leaned closer to him again. ‘Ivory.'

Alex shook his head. ‘I don't kill elephant, or rhino, or anything else
in Africa that lives or breathes, Valiant. I would have thought you'd have guessed by now I'm not a poacher.'

Chan dabbed his mouth with a starched linen serviette. ‘No, no. You misunderstand. I'm not talking about a couple of spindly tusks hacked from a young bull by some poverty-stricken Mozambican poacher. I am talking about ivory by the tonne – by the truck load – from elephants killed legally, by South African National Parks rangers and accredited hunters in the name of conservation, environmental protection and sustainable land management.'

Alex couldn't mask his surprise. ‘The cull?'

‘Exactly.'

Alex waved to the waiter. ‘I think I will eat. Lobster mornay, and let me see the wine list.'

Chan smiled.

The debate had raged for years, and not just in Africa, about what to do with the increasing numbers of African elephants in some of the continent's national parks. Across the continent, total elephant numbers had fallen dramatically in the latter half of the twentieth century due to ivory poaching. In the 1930s there had been up to ten million elephants in Africa, but by 1992 that figure had dropped to around six hundred thousand. While the species was in peril in some parts of Africa, in others, such as South Africa's Kruger National Park, and Hwange in Zimbabwe, ecologists were concerned that there were too many of the animals.

Elephants, Alex knew, ate between a hundred and fifty and three hundred kilograms of vegetation and drank up to two hundred litres of water a day. They were destructive in their quest for food, clearing swathes of bush and knocking over mature trees just to nibble on a few tasty roots. Their land-clearing activities served a purpose in a balanced ecosystem – creating habitats for smaller creatures by knocking over trees; providing access to water for others by creating game trails, and propagating plant species through their dung. However, most of Africa's national parks were fenced or constrained by outside land uses, and elephants that had once roamed vast areas were now confined to finite reserves.

In years gone by, national parks rangers in South Africa and Zimbabwe – then Rhodesia – had culled elephants to keep their numbers at a sustainable level. Culling was carried out with ruthless efficiency, with teams of rangers and hunters positioned to kill entire herds driven onto their guns by helicopters and beaters. Taking out a whole family group was judged the most humane way of carrying out the grisly task. Wildlife authorities learned, through experience, that baby elephants that grew up without parental control turned into unruly, sometimes dangerous delinquents. The culls provided scientists and students an opportunity to learn more about the animals; allowed national parks rangers to manage the environment; and, as a bonus, provided huge stocks of meat, skins and ivory.

Chan savoured a mouthful of raw meat and washed it down with an expensive Stellenbosch red. ‘You are a man who cares for the natural environment, Alex. What's your view of the cull?'

The latest elephant
indaba
, a meeting of scientists, conservationists, politicians and animal rights activists from South Africa and abroad, had heard compelling evidence for a trial reintroduction of culling, on a limited basis, in the Kruger National Park.

‘Everyone seems to agree there are now too many elephants in Kruger,' Alex said. ‘The relocation of animals is an expensive business and can't be done in volumes high enough to make a difference.' Hundreds of elephants had been darted and transported across the border into the newly created Limpopo transfrontier park in Mozambique, but many had simply walked back into Kruger, where they seemed to sense they would be safer. ‘The verdict's still out on contraception, as far as I know. I read somewhere recently that there's an ongoing trial of immunocontraceptives going on in a private reserve outside Kruger, but who knows how soon that could be put into widespread use?'

‘Whatever happens, man and nature can only coexist into the future when man takes the guiding hand,' Chan said.

Alex snorted in disagreement. He paused in replying while the waiter laid the lobster in front of him. This crustacean might have come from the same place as he, from the waters of the Bazaruto Archipelago. Chan
was espousing a philosophy that had seen the decimation of some species and the extinction of others, but every human, Alex included, took from nature in some way. ‘The transfrontier park will give Kruger's elephants room to move in time, but I agree with the scientists who say that something has to be done now, in the interim, before the animals decide for themselves it will be better off to move across the border.'

Chan put down his knife and fork and spread his hands in a gesture of conciliation. ‘Perhaps the resumption of culling will assist that process – scare the elephants back into Mozambique, where many of their ancestors came from, yes?'

Alex nodded, grudgingly, in agreement. It was ironic that many of today's big tuskers in the Kruger Park had actually been born in Mozambique and moved into South Africa in their youth. While white South Africans were often quick to point the finger of blame at black poachers in neighbouring countries, the fact was that elephant numbers had been drastically reduced by white ivory hunters in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. History had shown that elephants would vote with their feet when threatened.

Elephant migrations had happened in Alex's lifetime, too, mirroring his own displacement in his youth. He'd read that between 1967 and 1976 the elephant population in Kruger had increased by more than ten per cent each year – well in excess of a natural birth rate. This showed that many of the giant creatures had fled Mozambique during the escalation of troubles.

Alex's mind was racing as he sipped chilled chardonnay. The food was good and he felt himself starting to relax in Chan's company. He reminded himself to keep his wits about him. As charming as the gangster was, he would be making no offers that favoured Alex over himself. Captain Wu's brother remained silent, another reminder that Alex was outnumbered.

Chan continued: ‘The most strident of the animal rights campaigners at the
indaba
made it quite clear they would do everything in their power to disrupt or stop the first tried cull. The shooting will be done deep in the bush, away from the eyes of tourists and protesters.
South African National Parks will have two Oryx helicopters from the national defence force seconded to them for the cull, to transport the killing teams of armed rangers and accredited big-game hunters. A temporary camp with a mobile abattoir will be established in the bush to carry out the butchering of the carcasses and the ivory will be flown out by helicopter.'

‘You seem to know a lot about the operation.'

Chan finished the last of his steak and set his cutlery down on the plate. ‘Delicious.' He wiped his mouth. He waited while the wine waiter refilled his glass, and Alex's. When the three of them were alone Chan said, ‘Dates, times, GPS coordinates, flight schedules, radio frequencies, call signs, names and cell phone numbers of all the key players. I have it all, Alex.'

‘How?'

‘That's none of your business. But my information is reliable, of that you can be sure. I have the written orders for the entire culling operation, and a mechanism in place to be notified of any changes.'

‘Security?'

‘As tight as you can imagine. As well as the military helicopters, there will be a platoon from the South African infantry battalion at Phalaborwa assigned to protect the ivory, once it's taken. That's in addition to police service detectives from the Endangered Species Protection Unit, local uniform cops from the Kruger Park, armed rangers and the parks board's own armed investigation division members. Added to all that, there'll be a score of hunters with rifles capable of stopping an elephant.'

Alex had faced worse odds in Afghanistan, in the fire fight in which he'd lost his fingers, but he'd also had air support – and he'd nearly lost his life. He finished the last of his lobster as he formulated his questions. The first was the most obvious. ‘How much ivory, and how much money?'

‘Ah, that's what I like about doing business with westerners. No pussyfooting around. The cull will be extremely controversial and the government expects a storm of protest after it is officially announced.
They are, according to my sources, so sensitive to negative public opinion that they expect the trial may even be cut short. For that reason, the plan is to kill as many elephants as possible in this first round, in order to get as close to the quota agreed at the
indaba
– two hundred animals in one operation.'

Alex gave a low whistle. Many of the animals would be juveniles or babies, with little or no ivory, but others – matriarchal females – could be carrying tusks in the range of fifty to sixty kilograms. ‘You're talking several tonnes of ivory.'

Chan nodded. ‘The air operations order is allowing for up to four tonnes.'

Alex wasn't sure of the market value of so much ivory, or if the price would drop if so much were offloaded in one hit. He suspected Chan might keep the tusks stored somewhere safe and sell it in dribs and drabs. That way he'd minimise the risk of the theft being tracked back to him, and maintain the current high premium.