Daniel Ganninger - Icarus Investigations 02 - Peeking Duck (4 page)

-Chapter 5-

Galveston and I had a cool drink of water after our late morning wrestling session and discussed how to get back in the swing of things.  It would take some time to reestablish our contacts.  I knew I had to keep Galveston in check to prevent him from reverting back to his previous ways.

“
Man, I was really stupid, wasn’t I?” Galveston asked through slurps of water.

“
Yeah, you ain’t lying about that.  So you’re back then?”

“
Yes, yes, I’m back, I think.  It’s going to be hard to break out of my ways from the last six months, but I’ll try my best.”

“
I’m going to stay on you about this.  It’s going to be okay.  You’ll get over it in time.”

“
Don’t get all sappy on me, it’s not like I’m going to die or something.  So this is what the office looks like, huh?  It’s still pretty crappy.”

I gave a laugh and took another sip of water. 
It was good to see his humor returning, but we needed to do something about his appearance.  That would come in due time. 

Our first order of business was to get back to work. 
I decided it would be best to discuss how we would move forward.  I wasn’t a hundred percent confident I had Galveston back to normal and wanted to reengage his interest as soon as possible.

We
decided to move to his office and discuss business.  I made a clear rule that at no time could Galveston talk about Elizabeth or discuss anything about their relationship.  I wanted his mind on business and only business.  I asked Jane to join us in our meeting.  She had been a part of this crazy place from the start and frequently became a mediator between Galveston and me when we reached an impasse.

“
Jane?  Do you think you could call Alex and have him come in?  Maybe he can tear himself away from his pool.”

“
I’ll get him in here,” Jane responded and went to make the call.

Alex
Judokowski was our resident electronics and computer man and an expert in all things dealing with geekery.  He was by no means your stereotypical computer geek, however.  Alex graduated from MIT, worked with the National Security Agency (or NSA), and had been integral in helping us with research, gadgets, and security.  He had left his work with the NSA on sketchy terms after being caught using an electronic rigging device on slot machines in Las Vegas.  He was blackballed from any future work in his field.  At this point Alex didn’t need the money. He had already racked up enough money to retire and now enjoyed a leisurely, luxurious lifestyle.  But he was bored and needed excitement.  That excitement is what he got from us.

Alex was a
prior acquaintance of Galveston’s and engaged in our exploits from the beginning.  He loved fine cars, fine food, wine, and anything that was expensive or out of reach of the ordinary person.  We constantly ribbed him about being a snob.  It was something that bothered him so it made us do it even more.  Alex was a good guy, and above all else, reliable and trustworthy. 

We hadn
‘t needed his services in a while, however, and I hoped that with Galveston back we could flex Alex’s intellectual muscle.

Galveston
and I waited on Alex in his office, discussing the previous six month’s numbers.  It didn’t look good.  The poor quality of the clients we had procured had produced little income.  We needed the high quality clients we used to have after the resolution of our biggest case to date—the
Flapjack
battery. 

Alex
finally rolled up on his motorcycle an hour and a half later, looking exceedingly relaxed.  He didn’t appear to be stressed over the lack of work.

“
Those are some bitchin’ leathers,” Galveston remarked to Alex.

“
I take it he’s back to his usual, annoying self,” Alex said as he strolled in the office.

“
Mostly,” I replied.  “We’re trying to take it little by little.  As you know, a little Galveston can go a long way.”

“
Tell me about it,” Alex said, setting down his helmet.  He gave Galveston a look over.  “What the hell is with his face?  That looks glued on.”  Alex pinched Galveston’s facial fuzz with his fingers.  “Oh, my God, those clothes, they appear to be,” Alex paused, “they appear to be from the
1986 homeless man in the alley collection
.”  He flicked at Galveston’s collar with his finger.

“
I love this guy,” Galveston said grabbing Alex by the shoulders and hugging him.  “Come here you big lug.”

Alex kept his arms by his side
, and a look of disdain crossed his face before Galveston finally released his grip.

“
Now that the pleasantries are over, do you guys finally have some work for me?” asked Alex, moving to an open chair.

“
Not really,” I responded reluctantly.  “This meeting of all members of ‘Ick’ Investigation is to discuss our future.”

“
Because the prodigal son has returned, I see,” Alex quipped.

“
Pretty much,” I said.  “We need to come up with a game plan.  The clients we have right now are unacceptable, basically they’re pretty crappy.  No offense.” I motioned to Galveston

“
None taken,” he said quickly.  “We do need a new game plan, I agree.  Let me propose this, I will get back out there and find some new clients.  I still have an extensive list of people I haven’t tapped.  I need a few days though.”

“
You’re going to shower up before you meet any of these people, right?” Alex asked seriously.

“
I’m not going to dignify that with a response,” Galveston retorted.

“
No, we mean it.  You are going to clean yourself up, right, Dan?” I asked, truly wanting to know.  “Sweat pants and an ‘I love New York t-shirt aren’t quite the image we would like to convey.”  I still had my doubts that Galveston wasn’t just giving us face service.  We needed to know he was going to jump back into the business with two feet, two clean feet.

“
Of course,” he announced forcefully.  “You don’t need to worry about that.  I will get things going.”

“
Now that we have that established, what else can we do while waiting?” I proposed to the group.

“
Why don’t we first get back to the basics,” Jane interjected.  “I think we need to do some of the easy investigations we used to, like the background checks and web research.  That always brought in a nice, steady stream of business.  It never broke the bank, but it helped to offset many of our costs.”

“
She’s been around you too long, Roger,” Galveston said.  “She’s beginning to talk like you.”

I smiled at Jane. 
“She is brilliant isn’t she?”

“
Oh, please,” Alex said rolling his eyes.  “What do you guys want me to do?  I have the pool guy coming in an hour.”

“
You could find some clients too, you know,” Galveston told Alex, “instead of baking yourself everyday in the sun.  You must have some of those computer companies that need some help.”

“
I guess I can look into it.  I do have a wine tasting tonight though,” Alex said smiling.

“
What a delicate flower,” Galveston retorted.  “Alex and I will look into who we can get now.  We’ll try to find some clients that have a larger need and bankroll.”

“
Agreed,” I announced to the group.  “I’ll do the same.  Let’s meet back up tomorrow with our findings.”

“
Yes, boss,” Alex and Galveston said in unison.

Our plan wasn
‘t rocket science, but we had to start somewhere.  I didn’t want to tell them that we desperately needed some revenue.  The coffers were running dry even with our low overhead.  Galveston’s little hiatus had really put a crimp in our business.  I was just not good enough at marketing to keep the business afloat on my own.  I had gotten my private investigator license a few years before to make us a little more legal, so I was confident that Galveston could at least get us some quick business using that as a marketing tool.

We adjourned our shareholders meeting after about another half hour of small talk.  Jane had a performance in the local
theater that evening so she left early.  Alex followed closely behind to get back home to supervise his pool cleaning.  Galveston and I were left in the office.

“
You’re still okay?” I inquired.

“
Yes, enough already.  You’re like my ugly, nagging wife.  Good Lord, I’m okay, but I do need a raise,” he said with a smile.

I felt relieved at his retort, but he needed to show me with his actions.  Things were formulating themselves on the horizon that would thrust us into action, and unbeknownst to us, we needed to be ready.

-Chapter 6-

The day progressed slowly for the crew secured in the supply room.  Boredom was beginning to set in, and they tried to entertain each other with stories of past voyages. 

Dimitri
was doing his best to keep their spirits up, but the pain in his leg began to worsen.  He was concerned if he didn’t receive proper medical treatment he could become septic and potentially lose his leg.  The medic was doing his best to keep Dimitri comfortable despite a lack of adequate supplies.

The crew wrestled with their lack of information.  Where
were they going, why were they being held captive, and what did the pirates have planned for them?  The only thing the crew knew for certain was they could share a similar fate as their Captain.

Dimitri thought through as many scenarios as he
could for escape.  It was obvious, however, that they were outgunned and in no position to challenge the skills of the pirates.  These were not your run-of-the-mill type of pirates.  These men were highly trained with military experience, and the chances of surviving a coup were slim to none.

On the bridge a different scenario played out.  The pirates
had shed their black fatigues and changed to everyday sailor attire.  The ship had transformed itself into the
Alterra
, and they were only a few hours away from the southern Pacific shipping lanes.

The men performed the duties of running the ship flawlessly, as if they
had worked on a merchant vessel before.  The black speed boat that brought them aboard had long disappeared, but six more men had joined them before it left.  That left the final count of pirates at twelve.  The skeletal crew was just enough to run the ship effectively.

The pirate known as Captain Marquette made another phony call to the
Trusian’s
company headquarters, giving them a false position report and explaining that the ship’s transponder was not able to be fixed.  The ship was not scheduled in Los Angeles for another full forty-eight hours, at which point the company would know that something was amiss.  By that time the
Alterra
would be so far off the original course that it would be almost impossible to find.

The disappearance of merchant ships has happened before, even in this modern age. 
In July 2009, a Russian freighter named
Arctic Sea
was hijacked in the Baltic Sea by alleged drug smugglers.   The vessel traveled through the English Channel and even made radio calls off the coast of France before disappearing.  The Russian government couldn’t find the ship.  Its position wasn’t known for eighteen days, until finally it was located near Cape Verde off the coast of Western Africa.  Even with all of today’s technology, the ship disappeared for more than two weeks from the eyes of the world.

It was not a stretch
then that the
Alterra
could do the same.  The most inconspicuous thing the pirates could do was to act like every other merchant ship on the route.

The route they
were following was a common lane of traffic for vessels traveling to the Panama Canal from the South Pacific.  They had been heading due south for over twenty-four hours and had not yet encountered any other merchant ships.

“
Are the colors in place?” Captain Marquette asked Balboa.

“
Jes, sir,” he answered, “they are in place.”

The colors the Captain
was referring too indicated what country the vessel was registered.  It is called a flag of convenience.  It meant that the vessel was registered to a foreign country and thus the operation of that ship fell under the laws of that country.  It was a common practice for ships to be registered to countries that had few restrictions and regulations on merchant vessels.  This reduced operating expenses for the shipping companies that owned the ships.  Many countries had an extremely high amount of foreign owned ships under their registry.  Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Liberia, Marshall Islands, and Panama had the largest foreign owned fleets. 

The
Trusian
had been registered under the flag of the Saint Vincent and Grenadines Maritime Administration and was owned by a U.S. shipping company called Regentex Maritime Shipping, but the pirates had erased all evidence of that registry.  The
Alterra
now flew the flag of the country of Liberia in Africa where it was registered with a ship ownership originating in Latvia.  This made it even more difficult to track because of the difficulty in obtaining information from Liberia.  The fact was, a true ship named
Alterra
existed, but its location remained a mystery.

The bright black and yellow flag of
Liberia flapped in the wind at the stern of the ship.  The pirates painted the same outline of the flag in the same colors on the side of the ship.  All evidence of the
Trusian
was gone, even many of the records that indicated the name of the ship on the bridge had been removed and replaced with the documents indicating that it was the
Alterra
.  They had moved through all areas of the ship removing any indication of the name, just in case the ship was boarded by military personnel.  The disguise also ensured that the pilots they encountered in any ports of call would be none the wiser.  It was a brilliant feat of deception and coordination.

The pirates
had good reasons for covering all their bases.  The Liberian government in 2004 had brokered a deal with the U.S. government that allowed any U.S. Navy vessel to board a Liberian registered ship if that ship was suspected of harboring weapons of mass destruction.  This deal significantly reduced the anonymity of this country’s registry, but the pirates felt confident there would be no reason for suspicion.

The pirates
had gone to great lengths to emulate a legitimate cargo shipping operation.  They had phony manifests, documentation of loading from a previous port of call, and a rock solid ownership with a Latvian shipping company.  The pirates also had records from navigation and radio communication throughout the Pacific.  It was an intricate and complicated plan. 

As to their motive and agenda, only the pirates knew.  But the men in the cargo hold would know their fate soon enough. 

Captain Marquette refigured the course of the ship.  When he was satisfied that all was in order, the Captain gave over control to Balboa so he could get a bite to eat and some sleep.

The other eleven pirates aboard went about their work as if they
were regular sailors on the vessel.  Balboa checked the route and radar, making sure all the documentation was in order for where they were headed.  A list in front of him showed the ship’s itinerary, each port of call, and the time frame.  He hadn’t been made aware of their destination, but the bottom of the manifest read Cape Town, South Africa.  This was a destination this ship would never make.