Under Vanishing Skies (23 page)

He took another drink and then motioned towards the jungle canopy with the flask, “Look, the sky is starting to lighten up. The sun will be up soon. Kamish said that he’d be back for us around sunrise.”

I looked towards the east and saw the first light of dawn filtering through the leaves. “I guess we should head down to the main dock.”

He nodded, but neither of us moved. We just sat there, lost in our own thoughts for a few minutes. Finally, I got up. Then I pulled Mohamed to his feet and we headed toward the main pier.

I counted six boats tied up at the pier. It was a big difference from the day before. Around the pier there looked to be about forty people. Some sat on the beach alone. Others huddled together in small groups. Like us, they were probably waiting for rides.

As we walked past the first group of people, I did a double take. Standing there, smoking a coconut-fiber cigarette.  It was Michio. He looked as exhausted as I felt.

“
Michio!”

He turned his head and saw me. I heard him apologize to a man who was talking to him and then he walked over to me.

“
Aron, I did not realize that you were here.”

“
I spent the night in the triage area. Have you been here the whole time?”

He nodded. “We were one of the first boats to arrive.” He shook his head. “It was very bad. I spent most of the night out there,” he nodded towards the water, “We pulled victims out and then kept watch against another attack.”

We stared into each other’s eyes and an awkward silence enveloped us. I knew that he wouldn’t mention it, so I did.

“
What happened...with the Council, I mean?”

He bowed his head and said, “I hope that you can forgive me. There was no other way.”

“
No other way to do what?”

“
To save my son, Kazuki.” He looked up and said, “They took him. They sent me a message and threatened to kill him if I did not vote for the list. I knew that I could not do it, but I also could not risk having my son…” He cleared his throat and said, “So I resigned and he accepted my resignation.”

“
Who? Ahmed?”

Michio shook his head. “No, Viyaja.”

“
I knew it!” I felt the rage begin to build, but a thought flashed through my mind transforming the rage to excitement. “Wait a minute. You have proof!”

“
I do not understand. What proof?”

“
The message. It’s proof that Ahmed and Viyaja blackmailed you. They tried the same with me, but Viyaja threatened me face-to-face.”

“
I do not understand.”

 “
Don’t you see? All we have to do is tell the ship’s captain that they coerced a member of the Council. The captain will have no choice but to scrap the list and start from scratch. They’ll be here—”

“
No! We cannot tell anyone!” He grabbed my arm and said, “Viyaja said that he would kill my boy if I said anything to anyone. I told you, Aron, because I know that I can trust you.”

I ran my hand through my hair.  I felt like grabbing a clump and pulling it out. “Yeah…of course. I won’t tell anyone.” I kicked the sand and said, “Those fucking bastards!”

Mohamed interrupted, “You still have the other messages, Aron. Once you decrypt them, you will have the proof that you need.”

“
What messages?” Michio asked.

I’d forgotten that Michio didn’t know about the messages, so I went over the whole story, beginning when Jin came to see me in Male and ending with our breakthrough yesterday.

“
That is incredible,” Michio said. “Do you really think that you can decrypt the messages in time?”

I shrugged. “If I remember enough of my quantum programming class, then decrypting it will be the easy part. The hard part is figuring out how to connect to the computer. I’ve never actually operated a satellite before and I have no idea how to make a connection without going through a laser uplink station.”

Mohamed patted me on the back and said, “You will do it.”

Michio nodded, but then said, “Aron, can I speak with you in private?”

 
Before I could say anything, Mohamed said, “I will go wait for Kamish over there.” He pointed to the pier. “You two talk.”

When Mohamed was far enough away, Michio motioned for me to follow and we walked away from the crowd. He looked from side to side. Then, in a hushed tone, he said, “I was the first to arrive here.”

It took me a few seconds to realize what he was trying to tell me. Then it hit me. He must have found Shannon’s boat. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear what he had to say, but I said, “Was she—”

He shook his head. “She was not on the boat, but I found this.” He pulled out a data mat from his pocket. “It is hers.” He paused as if he wanted to give me time to process what he had just said. Finally, he said, “There is some blood on it, but I did not find her body. I think they took her.”

I reached out, took the data mat, and held it up to my face. The faded scent of jasmine and mangos was still perceptible.

“
Aron,” he said.

I looked at him.

“
I believe that I know where they have taken her. It is probably the same place where they took my son.”

“
How do you know where they took them?”

“
Before they forced me from the Council, I was researching some of the names that had been added. The sudden addition of such a large number of names from the same island seemed very strange.”

“
Hanikada!”

He looked at me and furrowed his brow. “Yes. That is correct.”

I nodded. “I saw the same thing. Hanikada used to be abandoned. I know, because Jin, Rick, and I put a tower up on that island. But Shannon said that they put some refugees there a few years ago.”

“
That is correct. But I made some inquiries about Hanikada from a friend who delivers supplies there. My friend told me that over the last several months, the people on that island became very secretive. They never let outsiders past the dock…not even my friend. I suspect that the island has been taken over by the pirates.”

My heart began to pound.

Michio continued, “I was preparing to go there last night in search of Kazuki, but that is when I received word that this happened. So I am going tonight instead. If you want to find Shannon, you can come with me.”

I stared at him for a moment before saying, “Michio, listen. I understand that you want to get your boy back, really...I do. I want to get Shannon back too. But if the pirates are in control of that island…” I wasn’t sure how to say this. “Come on, Michio. You’re a bureaucrat, not a samurai.”

Michio said, “I can handle myself in a fight.”

“
I’m sure you can, but how are you going to get on the island without being seen?”

“
Tonight is the last night of a new moon, so I believe that we can get onto the island undetected.”

I studied him for another moment. “I hope you know karate or something, because I don’t.”

He smiled and said, “I will make a fine addition to my team."

"Team?"

"My youngest son, Yoshirou, is coming with us.”

This was suicide, but what choice did I have. If those bastards had Shannon then I had to try.

“
I will come to Lohifushi tonight,” Michio said. “Meet me at the pier after sunset.”

I held out my hands and said, “Whoa. Tell me about your plan first. How are going to get there? How are we going to find them?”

“
I will tell you everything tonight.” He reached out, grabbed one of my hands and shook it. “It is said that a single arrow is easily broken, but we will be three. Together, we will have the strength to succeed.”

Before I could ask him what that proverbial mumbo jumbo meant, the sound of a helojumper cut through the air. I turned and looked up

It had crept up behind us, flying low over the island. It stopped, hovering thirty or forty feet off shore. A minute later it descended toward the water. The engine whined as it flipped into hovercraft mode and skirted above the water to the shoreline. It rotated around and stopped when the door faced the beach. The engines cut and it settled on to the sand. A moment later, the doors slid open and Ahmed and Viyaja stepped out.

Ahmed whispered something to Viyaja who nodded. Then Viyaja walked briskly over to Hans, who stood next to the pier. Ahmed worked his way through the crowd, shaking hands, patting people on their shoulders, and looking unconvincingly dismayed. I pushed my way over and stepped in front of him. He looked at me and I slugged him. He fell to the ground like a sack of plantains.

Viyaja must have heard the commotion. He sprinted to Ahmed’s defense, positioning himself between me and my victim.

“
Stop! What do you think you are doing?” Viyaja shouted.

“
I’m going to do to him what he did to these people,” I replied.

Ahmed rubbed his nose and surveyed the blood on his hand.

“
You are crazy!” Viyaja said. “Ahmed has done nothing. You have no right accusing the prime minister of such atrocities.”

“
If the atrocities fit—”

I took a step towards Ahmed, but Viyaja pushed me back. I swept his arms away with a swift uppercut. I was about to send him into the sand, but stopped when Ahmed yelled, "Enough!” 

He crawled up to a kneeling position and repeated, “Enough. There has been enough violence for one day.” With a grunt, he stood up and said, “I have done no harm to you or these people. I came here, at great risk to myself, so that I could see what those barbarians have done. Viyaja tried to persuade me to stay in the capital, but a leader’s place is with his people...even when there is danger.”

For the first time since I met him, Ahmed sounded like a real leader. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me from kicking his ass.

“
You want to see what they’ve done? Come on, I’ll show you. Just up that path over there are over a hundred bodies. Yesterday they were people going about their daily lives and now they’re dead. They didn’t deserve to die. The only person on this island that deserves to die is you.”

Ahmed confused..

“
I know what you’ve done, so don’t try to act innocent with me,” I said. “I’ve seen the messages between you and the pirates.”

“
What messages?” he demanded.

That son of a bitch actually looked surprised. Years of being a politician must have given him a lot of acting practice.

“
You know what I’m talking about. The messages sent from your data mat in Male to the pirate mother ship that’s anchored south of here.”

“
Preposterous!” Viyaja interjected.

Michio grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. “Aron, this is not the time.”

I brushed his hand off and glared at Viyaja. “I’ve seen the message traffic, you spineless prick.” I looked back at Ahmed. “Go ahead, Ahmed. Deny that you sent those messages.”

People began to gather in a circle around us.

Ahmed said, “Of course I deny it. It is a lie. I have never sent a message to any pirate.”

“
You cannot accuse a prime minister without evidence,” Viyaja added. “Show us the messages that you claim are from Ahmed.”

“
I’ll show them to the captain of the Mars ship when he gets here.”

Viyaja looked as if he was about to come at me. I was ready for him, but Ahmed intervened. Putting his hand on Viyaja’s shoulder, Ahmed said, “My cousin, we do not have time for this. He is angry and upset. We will deal with him later. Right now I need you to collect the names of those killed.”

“
You fucking vultures!” I yelled. “The bodies aren’t even cold and all you can think about is replacing the dead people that might be on the list?”

The crowd closed in and for the first time, I noticed their faces. They seethed with hatred and rage. It wasn’t going to take much to turn this crowd into a lynch mob.

Ahmed must have sensed it too, because he said, “Go Viyaja, gather the information that I asked you for. The MDF patrol will be here soon. You can return with them. I must go back to the capital now and prepare for the arrival of the Mars ship.”

He turned and ran for the helojumper. As soon as he was on board, the doors shut and it took off. I watched it lift straight up, hover for a moment, tilt forward, and then fly away. I turned away, disgusted. I was thinking about going after Viyaja when the energy wave of the explosion punched me in the back and pushed me into the sand.