Chapter 18

There was silence as the police officer gathered the diamonds out of the collector pan. Only the whistling of the light southeasterly wind in the rigging of the ship was heard. The fog crept nearer, driven by the wind. One by one the police officer picked up the diamonds using soft cloth gloves, and placed each one into a big plastic evidence bag.

Roland could not believe his misfortune.

In the meantime, Klaus was lifted out of the water and stood dripping on the deck, also with an expression of disbelief on his face. Where did the police launch come from? Why did they choose to come and inspect the diamonds now? Will all the crew be searched? Then they would find the diamonds he took, on him.

The leader of the police contingent looked at Roland, who was pale in the face and clinging to the derrick supporting arm.

“Can you explain how it is possible for you to have mined rough diamonds that are marked by an intricate process of sub-surface laser engraving, captain?” he asked Roland. “These diamonds have seen dry land and had been in a laboratory of some sort. How could the diamonds have found their way back into the sea? And how did you know just where to place your ship to mine them?”

“No. I ... I don’t know how that is possible,” Roland said, as the police officer turned to Klaus.

“What were you doing underwater?”

“I was directing the pipe head,” Klaus said and felt like a bug under a microscope with all the eyes watching him.

“Did you place the marked diamonds there?” The Officer asked.

“No! Of course not! I don’t get involved with stuff like that,” Klaus said and just for a moment flicked his eyes towards Roland. The officer saw it.

“Search him!” The officer instructed, and two of the policemen near Klaus approached him. Klaus knew he was lost. They will find the diamonds in his pocket and match them with the ones that had already been found. He was caught in the spider’s web.

The furthest away policeman covered Klaus while the closest one started to go about body-searching Klaus. He started in the normal hideaway places like the diving gloves and the cuffs of the suit. Then unzipped the pocket on the rubber suit on Klaus’s right arm.

The policeman rummaged inside the pocket and extracted three stones that looked like the ones already in the plastic evidence bag.

“What have we here?” The leader of the policemen said and took the diamonds. He placed the diamonds under the microscope and bent over to examine them. He took each diamond and turned it around and around until he spotted what he was looking for.

“Captain, would you care to come to look at this.”

“What is there?” Roland asked, getting confirmation of his suspicion about Klaus siphoning off some of the diamonds.

“The same as on the other stones. Either mister diver here did not manage to place all the stones, or he decided on keeping some for himself,” the officer said and looked at Roland and Klaus in turn. “I think I’ve seen enough! You two will be placed under arrest and detained. Who is the first officer?”

“I am!” A scruffy-looking seaman answered.

“Good! Prepare the ship to sail and follow us to Walvis Bay. You, captain, and you, mister diver, you will be our guests aboard the police launch. Now, please get aboard our launch.”

“Inspector, a moment please,” Roland said speaking up and feeling a little bravado returning to him.

“Yes Captain, what is it?”

“You can’t arrest us and detain my ship.”

“And why should that be, Captain?”

“We are in South African waters off the coast of Alexander Bay; therefore you have no jurisdiction to board my ship or conduct any inspection whatsoever.”

“Captain, with due respect to your seamanship, from where is the wind blowing?”

“Out of the south-east, so what?”

“Well, Captain, you are utilizing sea anchors, isn’t that correct?”

“Yes, we are,” Roland said.

“Well, Captain, in the last thirty-five minutes you have drifted into Namibian waters. If you had checked your GPS, you would have noticed that you drifted about 900 metres. You are no longer in South African waters, you are well within the Namibian side of the border,” The police officer said and smiled. “Do you need to check that?”

“No, I take your word for it. But I do reserve the right to an attorney, for both my crew and for me.”

“No problem, Captain. Your crew is free to go once we get to Walvis Bay. Only you, mister diver over there, and the ship will be detained. Now, get aboard my launch, else resisting arrest will be added to the charges.”

It felt like the world was collapsing around him. Of all the rotten luck. But he must say calm. So far, he had not said anything about the diamonds. The police officer gave him an idea. An idea that he could pull off if he played his cards right. Only Klaus and Max know about the Angolan diamonds. Max will keep his mouth shut, and his brother, his brother’s wife, and their daughter are dead.

He will pin this thing on Klaus. He was not caught with the diamonds. Although he as captain of the ship was responsible, it could be well worth it to plead innocent and pin the smuggling on the crew, or someone in the crew. The diamonds were in the collector pan. No one knew about the diamonds; only Klaus. Yes, he can pin this thing on Klaus. It will be his word against Roland’s word. And Klaus still had diamonds in his pocket. Yes, it might just work.

Roland smiled slyly to himself as he followed the police officer towards the launch. Tomorrow he will get a lawyer, and in the meantime he won’t say a word.

At the top of the gantry that led around the back of the bridge, Cookie stood holding the railing and observing the goings-on down on the deck. He flicked some ash off his cigarette. He needed to get hold of Max. Cookie took the last drag from the cigarette and flicked it away over the side of the ship. A few metres away, on the rail leading to the port side of the ship, a seagull was resting after his flight, drying itself in the sun.

“We have ourselves a problem, mister windsurfer,” Cookie whispered to the seagull. The gull just turned its head, looking at Cookie with one eye. Then it spread its wings and launched off the railing. “Yeah, you don’t know what to do, but I do. You go surf the wind. Leave this to me...”

Silently, he slipped away from the railing, walked into the bridge and made his way back to the galley. Max will know what to do and will maybe pay a bit more on the bonus due to him. Yes, Max would know what to do. Tonight, when the crew goes to supper, he will man the radio room again. There will be ample time for the ship to shore calls. Two calls in fact ... One must butter his bread on both sides.

Tomorrow, a new day will dawn. Oh, what will the future hold?

(Later that afternoon in Windhoek.)

The day was progressing slowly. It was almost boring to just sit and wait. The doctor and nurse were happy with my recovery. There was no sign of infection, and both the entry and exit wounds were healing to perfection. Blowing into that damn little instrument that the doctors use to check lung capacity proved beyond a reasonable doubt that my lungs were good. Still, I needed to take antibiotics and finish the course of pills.

Angie hovered near me most of the time. When I sat outside on the patio she was there, either reading a book or lying on the couch with ear bud earphones in her ears, listening to music. If I made a move to do something, she was at hand to help me.

Early in the morning she joined her mom in the pool. The tiny bikini she had on left little to the imagination; however I had seen more the night before. Although she was a mature girl of twenty, her body looked a little younger. Some would say that Angie was reed thin; I would prefer to say she was athletic in build. She was slender, and like those girls on the Californian beaches, a hard body. She had nice cone-shaped breasts, maybe A-cup with no sag at all, standing proud on her chest. Below, she had almost no pubic hair; just enough to confirm that she was indeed a natural redhead.

It was fun to have a giggling Angie all soaped up and teasing in the shower. It did not stay at just a back scrub. No, I did shampoo her long ginger red hair and washed her sides, cute firm bum, legs, and, oh yes, those A-cup titties as well. Drying her off with a big fluffy towel brought some more giggles and laughter. Then all was hidden away by powder blue panties and Hello Kitty pyjamas.

The mid-morning sun on the patio had me dozing off and on. The feeling of complete boredom was rife. I had read all the newspapers there were and just did not feel up to surfing the internet.

Angie lay stretched out on the couch, reading a book and listening to music at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking. Her ginger hair had an extra curl to it, due to being wind dried and not brushed to shiny perfection. She had her short summer dress on, giving me a magnificent view of those shapely slender legs.

That she had her bikini on underneath was evident in the double stringing things running over her shoulders; one set from her dress and one set from her bikini top. I was still admiring the view when my cell phone rang. “Charley.”

“Hi, getting on well, I suppose?” I asked.

“Did not know you cared, but yes, no aches and pains or other ailments.” The grumpy old voice said.

“Good. I missed your grumpy voice.”

“Ugh, don’t make me go soft on you now. Are you well enough to fly?”

“Anything but sit here and wilt away.”

“Good. The doctor told me that you healed faster than he thought, and he’s impressed with your progress.”

“So, you have work for me?”

“Yeah, I can’t have you all on holiday while I need to keep the job going.”

“What do you mean, ‘you all’ on holiday?”

“Well, you are lazing around Windhoek, Lorie is cavorting in Brits, and Shadow is twirling his fingers in Walvis Bay.”

“My, my, all have forsaken you. Shame ... Why is Shadow twirling his fingers?”

“Roland and Klaus have been arrested for diamond laundering and smuggling diamonds.”

“You don’t say.”

“Yip, they got apprehended this morning off the coast at Oranjemund.”

“The diamonds from the DC-3?”

“The very same diamonds.” Chuckle. ‘It seems like our plan worked. So, Roland and Klaus are now the guests of the Namibian State Resort for wayward individuals.”

“So, can Friederich and company now rise from the dead?”

“Not quite. They should stay ‘dead’ for a little while longer. I need to see what Max is up to. Now with Roland looking at a steel bar-streaked picture of the Atlantic Ocean, Max is on his own. He is determined to find that missing submarine.”

“I know where the submarine is located.”

“I know, and that is why I need you to go and see if the thing is accessible, and maybe see if there’s really a treasure aboard the sunken vessel.”

“I can’t swim.”

“Fiddlesticks! I know you have done a scuba course and dived off the Maldives Islands.”

“Diving off the Maldives in lukewarm bathtub water, looking at colourful fish isn’t exactly diving for treasure in the icy Atlantic.”

Chuckle. “No, my boy, but you can do it! It’s like riding a bicycle, you get on, you go...”

“ ... and fall off. Only here you don’t scrape your knees, you die. Dive alone, die alone.”

“Take the redhead with you. From what I hear, she won’t let you out of her sight, let alone die. And she can dive. She had been doing a course as well; had to do it during her studies.”

“Charley, what do you know about me and the redhead?”

“Only what I hear. And what I hear is good. You just take care. Don’t mess this one up. She seems good for you.”

“Who told you?”

“I can tell you, but then I’ve got to let you be killed. I might use Darya or Nadia for that, With Darya, you won’t know what had hit you, or feel a thing. But, then again, I wouldn’t like to terminate you because you are too valuable to me. You, and Lorie, and the rest.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence...” I sighed.

“My pleasure, my boy. Now to business. Take the paraffin budgie and go survey the area where you think the sub is, then report back to me.”

“It takes two pilots and a flight engineer to operate the urban camo bird outside. Who will help me?”

“Lorie is qualified, Friederich can be trained, and the redhead can help. I believe she had two years of study as a geologist. You can get all the spectral survey equipment you need. I’ll have it flown to Windhoek and Alex can get it.”

“Okay...”

“Don’t okay me, get the job done! I don’t pay you for sitting on your ass sunbathing and sipping olive-infused Martinis and ogling the redhead the whole bloody day.”

“How do I get fuel there? It’s near to 90 kilometres to the nearest A1-jet fuel station.”

“Not to worry, just give TC the coordinates where you want a temporary base, and it will be part of his logistics. You do want security there, don’t you?”

“If you say so. Let me confer with TC. By the way, how is Lorie getting back here? It’s going to be hard to explain that mangled piece of wreckage in the newspaper is flying again!”

“Either the Angels will be flying her in, or something else will be arranged. Just be prepared to receive her per mail.”

“Receive her per mail? What the hell do you mean, Charley?”

Chuckle. “I’m getting used to you calling me ‘Charley.’ I always liked that name. But we can’t have Lorie drive up there in broad daylight with Max’s spies watching, now, can we? We’ll just have to ‘mail’ her.”

“Oh, Lord! What are you planning, Charley?”

“Watch this space. Now, go chat to your comrades. I’ll get you all the supplies in a day or two.”

“Thanks, Charley. Have fun!”

“As always! Life’s a journey, enjoy the ride...” And Grumpy Charley disconnected.

I sat staring at my phone. With ‘Charley’, life is always something to watch out for. Now it looks like I’ll be going on a treasure hunt. I wondered what Easter eggs would be hidden in the cold Atlantic Sea.

“What now?” Angie asked, closing her book, and taking the earphones out her ears. My heart nearly stopped as she reached her arms above her head and stretched, pushing her legs out and curling her toes.

“My boss,” I said.

“Asking about your health or something else?” She asked, the green eyes serious.

“He wants me to go check out the submarine. See if it is really there.”

“Oh.” Single word, sounding half disappointed.

“Can you scuba, Angie?” I asked.

“Sure, but what’s that got to do with go looking for the sub?” Then she returned to the normal lively Angie. “Am I thinking what you are thinking?”

“Yip, you’re going with...” And I was nearly smothered as Angie jumped up and in one leap was straddling me, kissing me, and giggling.

“So, when are we going?”

“As soon as the equipment and Lorie get here,” I said.

“Oh goody! Lorie is coming back.”

“You like her, don’t you?”

“I do like your little sister.”

“So, you know?”

“Yes, she told me. And also, that if I breathe a word of it, she’ll have to kill me.” Giggle.

“Oh, brother.” I sighed.

“No, not brother. Sister.”

“Whatever.”

“I do need to get a diving suit,” Angie said.

“No need, ‘Charley’ will sort it out. I think he knows your size and the waist weights required.”

“In saltwater, I use about eight kilos of lead, depending on the buoyancy of my tanks, and my seven-millimetre wetsuit with gloves and hood. In freshwater, about four or five kilos,” Angie said.

“Sounds about right to me.”

“You scuba, Ash?”

“Yeah, been there, done it, got the t-shirt, and seen the movie.”

“So, why are we still here? Let’s go ... ADVENTURE!”

“You like diving, Angie?”

“Oh, yeah. Fun, fun, fun!” And she kissed me. Long and passionate.

The world came to a standstill.

I held Angie tight against me. How different she was to the chili-pepper-pip I met a few weeks ago. The wall had come down, and she trusts me fully. I love this girl. I will never hurt her, or make her cry, or let her go.

Angie broke the kiss, sat up, and looked at me, a frown marking her face. “He’s got a file on me?”

“He’s got a file on everyone.”

“Oh.” Giggle. “I’d like to see your file.” Green eyes, twinkling.

“Why?”

“Oh, just to see...”

“To see what? I can tell you most everything you need to know.”

“Okay. You tell me your story ... and I’ll tell you mine...” Angie said, and I could see a cloud pass her eyes for just a moment. Then she was back to the giggly, normal Angie.

“So, we wait on Lorie and the equipment, then we are off?”

“Yes. A day or two from now. AND you get your ride in that dirty old copter standing out back!”

“I’ll go wash and wax her before then.”

“It’s a full day’s job.”

“Oh, I’ll have help!” Giggle. “Plenty of help!” she said, and I had a fleeting vision of Angie, in her skimpy bikini, climbing over the huge helicopter, with all of TC’s crew lending willing hands just to be near her. Yes indeed, she’ll have plenty of help, who may be too distracted to get anything done.

(Walvis Bay. Magistrates court. Earlier that day.)

Max sat on the wooden audience bench, about halfway from the partition that divides the courtroom, between the actual courtroom and the audience area. He was concerned. Roland and Klaus were just brought into the accused stand. Roland looked a little ruffled and scruffy. His shirt was wrinkled, and he looked older. Klaus did not look any better.

Max worried about Roland’s heart condition. To be arrested so shortly after his hospital stay could not be good.

“All rise!” Came a voice from the front and the few people who were in attendance all rose to their feet. Max did too.

“Mister Prosecutor, what do we have here?” The magistrate asked as he sat down on the bench.

“Your Honour, The State versus Roland Rothman and Klaus Müller. Laundering and smuggling of diamonds within the sovereign borders of Namibia.”

“Does the accused have representation?”

A skinny man in a black robe got up and addressed the court, “Your Honour, may I introduce myself, as I will be appearing for the accused?””

“Yes, you may. Please proceed.” The magistrate said.

“I am Wolfgang Dahlheimer, of the firm Dahlheimer incorporated, and representing the accused before the Court, Your Honour.”

“Noted, Mister Dahlheimer.”

Dahlheimer nodded and sat down. The prosecutor got up again.