Butler Did It! (16 page)

His eyes flew open and he quickly
located the only other occupant of the room, a tanned, gray-bearded
man in a white lab coat.

“Hello,” said the man, “I’m Doc
Sanders. You are aboard the Pelican, and I’m responsible for
treating all your wounds. I bet you’re wondering why you’re
here.”

As Doc conducted a brief examination of
Kobi’s pupils and reflexes, he brought the injured man up-to-date
on his situation.

“You’re safe now, and it looks like
you’ll recover from the beating you took. Do you have any idea who
beat you up?”

Kobi looked at the man, trying to think
where to start in telling his story.

“Not really, but I know what they and
their boat look like.” He paused and thought some more. “I’d like
to speak to the Captain,” he said. “There is something very
important that I need to tell him.”

Captain Z met Matthew, Katharine, and
Tommy just as they were boarding the ship on their return from
Praslin. He took one look at their condition and said, “You can
tell me about it later. Doc wants us all down in sickbay; his
patient is awake and wants to talk to us. Trask is already on his
way.”

Matthew, Katharine, Trask, Tommy, and
Captain Z crowded into the tiny sickbay and introduced themselves
to Kobi.

Sitting up on the examination table,
Kobi began to tell his story.

“Do you know what the Lord’s Resistance
Army is?” Kobi asked.

Butler looked around at his companion,
“It sounds familiar but I can’t place it,” he said.

“Uganda,” said Trask abruptly. “Some of
the nastiest rebels ever.”

“I remember,” said Doc, “weren’t they
the ones with all of the child soldiers?”

“Actually most rebel armies end up
using child soldiers, but the LRA got the most press,” said
Trask.

“I thought those problems were over,”
said Tommy, “we haven’t heard anything about them in a long
time.”

“I am afraid Westerners do not
understand the ways of Africa. Your news gives you a very small
glimpse of what is really going on. Problems like this one do not
go away, they are a part of the culture here, and they are a result
of many tribal nations trying to live together. There was a
ceasefire signed with the LRA in 1996, but I think it is about to
be broken.”

“A week ago I witnessed a meeting where
LRA soldiers arranged to buy a shipload of guns. I was a stowaway
on the gunrunner’s boat. They were the ones who were going to kill
me. I must find this shipload of guns and stop them from getting to
the LRA.”

“Whoa, hold on now. Maybe you had
better start from the beginning and tell us what happened and how
you got involved in this.”

“Kobi told them his story, beginning
with the ceremony in Mombasa and ending with his escape from the
Rapier. “Now I must find a way to stop the guns from getting to the
LRA. They caused so much harm in Uganda before and they cannot be
allowed to do so again.”

“You’re right about that,” exclaimed
Doc.

“Also, I am very worried about my
country. I think they killed many of our leaders at the
ceremony.”

“That was in Mombasa, right? That’s
probably the smoke we saw coming from the airport, just as we
left.”

“You are correct. I personally am
responsible for bringing home the artifacts. I followed the thieves
until they met with the white men who were selling the guns. I
followed the white men to their ship and hid on their ship. I
thought that way I might be able to do something to save my
country’s treasures and to stop the LRA from getting the guns. They
are going to meet at sea and exchange the stolen artifacts for the
guns. I do not know when it is going to happen but I do know where.
I have the coordinates; I pricked them into my skin to make scars
on my body while I was a stowaway on their ship.”

“It’s true,” said Doc. “I wondered why
anyone would have a bunch of numbers carved into their
thigh.”

“It was so that they could not be lost,
no matter what happened to me,” said Kobi.

“What are these artifacts you keep
talking about?” Doc asked.

Kobi explained about the treasure of
Hatshepsut and the lengths to which the thieves had gone to steal
it.

“They are very valuable artifacts; I
have no doubt that there are collectors who would pay a great deal
of money to have them. It is a terrible blow to our country and
especially to my family, to lose them. I am certain that these
thieves must have had help from someone inside my government for
this to happen. It is a very dishonorable thing.”

Butler turned to an intercom on the
wall. “Bridge, ask Richard to dial up BBC World and see if there’s
any news on Kenya.” He said.

“Don’t need to,” came the reply, “it’s
all over the place. There’s been rioting and murders. Somebody
killed some government officials and the tribal factions are all
accusing each other. It sounds pretty bad.”

“Oh dear,” moaned Kobi. “Please, will
you help me? I must go to the authorities and stop all of this from
happening.”

“We will help you, Kobi,” said Butler,
“but it may not be a good idea to go to the authorities here. We
spoke with some locals about the owner of that yacht you were on,
they led us to believe that he might have the local authorities in
his pocket,” said Butler.

“Levasseur the Pirate becomes Levasseur
the gun runner,” said Tommy.

“So it would seem.”

<<>>

The location pinpointed for the gun
deal was about 20 nautical miles northwest of the island of Mahe in
the Seychelles. Captain Z immediately ordered the Pelican’s radar
crew to keep an eye out for activity in that area.

“How should we do this?” Butler asked
his assembled team.

“We need to be there when the artifacts
are exchanged for the guns. Where do you think the guns are
now?”

“Probably en route from wherever they
are manufactured. There must be a cargo ship out there somewhere
that belongs to Levasseur. Richard, have you had any luck
researching this guy?”

“Well, he’s got an export business that
sort of moves around the Indian Ocean. He has a couple of ships but
they’re pretty old, and don’t have much capacity. I can’t really
tell where he makes his money. None of the deals I could find were
anywhere near big enough.”

“Can you find anything on where those
ships are now?”

“I’ll look into it,” Richard returned
to his computer screen.

“So, what do we do if we find the ship,
blow it up?”

“We’re not going to blow anything up
until we find out for sure that there are guns aboard and that
they’re headed for the LRA.”

“We can’t let them get into the hands
of those children.”

“Or into the hands of the bastards who
made those children soldiers.”

“So we’ll have to board this arms ship
when we find it.”

“Well, we do know where it’s going to
be.”

“I guess we’ll just have to be ready
then.”

“First of all, how are we going to get
close to that ship? They’ll be watching their own radar for
intruders.”

Tommy and Butler exchanged a glance.
“We can do it in the VASH. That’s the Dolphin I showed you,” he
explained in reply to Katharine’s inquiring look.

“Yeah, it would work,” agreed Trask,
“they won’t be able to pick it up on radar.”

“We’ll have to be careful not to run
out of battery life,” said Tommy.

“We’ll run on top for as long as we
can,” returned Butler.

“What about when you get there? What
will you do if you find the guns?”

“Thermite,” blurted Tommy, “I’ve got
everything we need in the Lab. Give me an hour or so, and I can rig
up a thermite grenade that will put a hole in just about
anything.”

“Do it,” said Butler, “but we’re not
going to use it unless we’re sure.”

<<>>

After an amazing dinner of Crab Cakes
drizzled with Volcano sauce, accompanied by Mrs. Yan’s Five
Treasure Rice, and a controversial side dish of Bitter Melon with
Pork; Matthew and Katharine wandered out to lean on the port side
railing of the Pelican.

“No moon tonight, so the stars ought to
be good,” observed Matthew. Most of the staff and crew had been
given shore leave for the night. Strangely, those who remained on
board all made excuses about things to do, leaving Katharine and
Matthew alone on deck enjoying a peaceful after dinner
glow.

“I asked the deck crew to prep the
Carmine. Let me take you away from the Pelican’s lights, so that we
can really see the stars.” Extending his hand to her with a
flamboyant bow, he led her down the steps to the boarding platform
and onto the gently rocking Carmine Electra. She felt both hesitant
and intrigued; she definitely wanted to know more about this warmly
charming man.

Silently, the electric motor propelled
the sleek craft away from the big ship and out into the dark
waters. The ocean was calm and the night so dark that the stars
reflected on the water like jewels scattered on the black velvet
swells. It was hard to tell where the sky and water met; it felt
like they were sliding silently through a starlit sky. They cruised
away from the ship until the deck lights were just another
glittering part of the night. Disengaging the engine, Matthew
slowed the boat to an almost motionless drift.

Matthew and Katherine climbed onto the
long foredeck of the racing boat and lay looking up at the night
sky with their heads close together.

“I’ve never seen a night like this
before,” sighed Katharine. “You must see a lot of things like this,
living on the Pelican.”

“We see a lot of beautiful days and
nights, of course, not quite like this though; this time you’re
here,” he answered.

Katharine laughed at the corny line,
but thought it was cute anyway. Even on this beautiful night, in
this romantic setting, she was unable to get her mind off the
events of the day. She rolled over onto her stomach and reached
down to trail circles in the water with her fingers.

“You and Tommy had quite an adventure
today…” she began.

“Yeah, somehow situations like that
seem to find us.” He laughed.

“Do you think I’ll be able to go back
to my room?” She asked, “I didn’t get all my stuff, I only changed
clothes and grabbed my spare camera. I need the rest of my
equipment and my clothes.”

“I don’t think it’ll be safe until we
get this situation sorted out. Maybe tomorrow I can send a couple
of guys over there to get your stuff.”

“Don’t do that. It doesn’t make any
sense to put someone in danger just for a few
possessions.”

“What about your awards dinner?” Butler
asked.

“Yes, well actually I was rather
looking forward to that,” she admitted.

“I think we could probably arrange for
you to go,” said Matthew, “but I’m afraid you’ll have to put up
with me as an escort, and we’ll have to bring along a couple of
armed Redshirts. Maybe the people who are after you won’t know
about SUBIOS,” he said. In his mind he added,
and if they do
it’ll be a way to flush the bad guys out.

“Redshirts?” Katharine asked,
completely puzzled.

“The Pelican’s Security team,”
explained Matthew, “we call them that because of the Star Trek
reference, one of the crew called them that once and it sort of
stuck.”

Katherine’s face lit up in an animated
smile. “I bet I’ll be the only photographer there with bodyguards.
One thing though… I’ll need clothes; I can’t go in what I have
on…”

“How about if I take you over to
Victoria tomorrow and buy you something appropriate. We can have
lunch and do some shopping.”

“I don’t know what to say,” exclaimed
Katharine, at Matthew’s offer.

He rolled over to look her in the face.
“Say you’d love to, and take a chance that you might have some fun
along the way” he replied, grinning.

“I’d love to.” She grinned back. The
two of them talked into the night, letting the light of the stars
heal their souls. The water gently rocked the boat, its lapping a
part of the hush of the night.

They drifted until the moon arose and
the stars dimmed. Finally, he brought the boat back to the diving
platform. A goodnight kiss was inevitable. Neither of them seemed
to question it. The kiss didn’t last long, but it was
intimate.

Blushing, Katharine broke the embrace.
“I, er…well, good night,” she said, turning away.

“Good night.” He replied, regretfully
letting her go.

<<>>

In the small hours of the morning two
slight, wiry men, naked except for ragged shorts, crept out of the
darkened underbrush of Little Curieuse Islet. In the light of a
fingernail moon slowly waning, the small waterproof packs that rode
high on their shoulders gave their silhouettes a slightly Quasimodo
quality. Crossing the narrow sand beach, they eased into the water
and quietly swam in a slow dog paddle across the lagoon toward the
LST anchored several hundred yards offshore. Neither man uttered a
word. With their heads barely out of the water, the fading
moonlight illuminated only their eyes as they swam slowly toward
the anchor chain of the Pelican. Each man, like a South Sea
Islander harvesting coconuts, climbed it nimbly with only hands and
feet, pausing as the chain slacked with the swells and continuing
only when it became taut again. Carefully, with the delicate
balance of well-practiced acrobats, they stepped over the gunwale
and eased into the shadow of the Pelican’s port anchor windlass.
Only then did either take a deep breath. With an efficiency of
motion, each man pulled a silenced automatic pistol from his pack
and charged the chamber.