Chapter 16: The Niger Heart-Pot

After a very stressful day at school, Jenny went looking for Eveline. Unfortunately for the team captain, it was Wednesday and Eveline had to leave right after class to go to work.

Nancy Lombardi arrived in a limo and escorted Eveline to Tri-State University, which was about an hour’s drive away. Nancy spent most of the trip on the phone, trying to find out what exactly was being auctioned. She knew that night she’d have to perform the role of auctioneer because the university was too cheap to hire a professional. Nancy was not pleased about that, nor about how haphazardly the entire event seemed to have been thrown together. But those were all Nancy’s problems. Eveline would be doing her normal job as a presenter. The business end of the auction and “lack of professionalism” were not her concerns. She blissfully stared at the passing countryside while Nancy argued over her cellphone with various contacts.

They arrived immediately before the bidding was about to begin and did not have the normal time to settle in. Eveline followed her boss through the Admin building and into the university’s main ball-room. She took her position on a small, elevated stage and glanced around at the items for sale. Nothing too impressive, really. Eveline noticed a large bronze kettle, something that looked like an huge ancient cooking pot, hidden in a corner behind other auction items. A cooking pot? Seriously? They were auctioning an old cooking pot?

Nancy introduced herself and her assistant, then laid out a few rules, such as all sales being final and that her company expected all buyers to have insurance for their purchases before attempting to move them out of the room. Eveline tried to maintain her poise and ignore the fact that a whole room of rich guys (and a few women as well) were staring at her while Nancy spoke.

At first the auction seemed to be no big deal. Several departments were auctioning off over-priced items, mostly crappy modern art. There were a few more interesting things, including some fossils and 17th-Century weapons.

The mood of the auction changed when that weird-looking bronze kettle went on sale. Nancy described it as an artifact recovered from the tomb of one of the kings of ancient Niger. She seemed surprised when she saw and described the night’s final bid item.

The buyers knew full-well what it was and no, it was not just an old cooking kettle. It was the infamous Niger Heart-Pot, rumored to be a magical relic that channeled to its owner unlimited charisma to rule his kingdom. Superstition? Maybe, but there was no question that owning that particular artifact would be extremely prestigious for any African ruler. The competition went wild as several foreign-looking bidders raised their offers in rapid succession, moving the price of the kettle from $ 150,000 to over $ 9 million within minutes.

Nancy took a deep breath. At first it appeared that including the Niger Heart-Pot with a batch of mediocre modern art was a huge screw-up on the part of the university. The Niger artifact was worth way more than $ 9 million. It really belonged in the Smithsonian.

But it was going ... going ... gone. Sold for $ 9.2 million dollars. Then she saw who placed the winning bid. A middle-aged African, wearing a military beret over his shaved head and an immaculate suit covering his muscular body, stood up in the company of two armed guards. That man was the Comandante Foxtrot, Supreme President of the West African Confederation and the ruler of just about everything between the cities of Dakar, N’djamena, and Libreville. Yes, Comandante Foxtrot was actually in that ballroom, in person.

Nancy realized immediately what had just happened. Comandante Foxtrot must have bribed someone in the university to slip the Niger Heart-Pot into the lot of art just before the auction was scheduled to begin. A couple of his rivals got word of the maneuver and quickly sent representatives, but it was too late. The Comandante was ready with his bank accounts and briefcases full of cash and of course, to him, price was no object.

After Comandante Foxtrot placed the winning bid, there was the normal clapping, but Eveline could tell that the mood in the room was bewilderment more than anything else. She did not yet know the significance of the Niger Heart-Pot, nor did she know anything about African politics. She had no clue that the winning bidder was the 4th richest man in the world and the most powerful ruler in Africa, but right away she could feel a sinister charisma radiating from him. Whoever he was, that well-dressed African was the most intimidating person she had ever seen.

Comandante Foxtrot lost no time consolidating his victory. He walked up on the stage, positioned himself next to his prize, and ordered Eveline to stand next to him. He turned to Nancy and pointed behind the artifact: