Running Dark

43

MUNGABE WATCHED HIS LATEST CREW COME LIMPING BACK TO the mother ship. Three men were dead, two injured, and none had ever reached the Kaiser Franz. Mungabe set his teeth together while Talek asked the questions.

“What happened? How is it three boats were unable to take the cruise liner? A bunch of weak tourists overcame you?” Talek screamed his derision at the crew. One of his lieutenants screamed back.

“We were hit from behind! A second craft hid in the shadows, waiting to attack. It launched grenades at us as we fought forward.”

“Who was on this boat?” Mungabe asked. The crewman turned to him, fear in his dark eyes.

“An African. Maybe Kenyan, I don’t know, and two Westerners. But, Mungabe, this is the thing—I could have sworn that the boat they used was Ali’s.”

Ali the thief held few loyalties, but generally he would not cross a warlord unless under great pressure. Whoever paid for the boat held enough power to frighten Ali or was many times smarter than him. Mungabe lowered himself to his deck chair to think. An assistant brought him a pot of hot tea, bowing as he backed away. Talek began his screaming once again, but Mungabe flitted a hand at him to silence him.

“You”—he pointed to the crewman—“go below and tend to your injured. Be prepared to tell me everything that occurred.”

The man nodded and limped away, keeping his eyes averted from Talek’s the entire time.

“Talek, get Roducci on the phone. He has not given me the information I need, and by now the wire transfer must have cleared.”

Ten minutes later, Roducci’s voice flowed out of the satellite receiver’s speaker.

“There is rumor of a significant sale going down soon in your region.”

“What arms are they selling?”

“Not arms, a weapon. Chemical. Some say it is a new poison.”

Talek’s eyes widened as he listened. “Where is it?”

“There are many different stories, some impossible to believe, and it is difficult to say which is true, but there is one that says the weapon is on a freighter somewhere in the Gulf of Aden trade route.”

“Why do you say the stories may not be true? Tell me all the rumors.”

Roducci sighed over the line. “One source told me that the weapon may actually be hidden on a cruise liner. There are some buyers on the ship, having a vacation while they wait to cut a deal.”

Mungabe smiled to himself. So the Vulture’s precious cargo was actually a weapon, not a medication. “What kind of weapon is it?”

“Chemical. But there’s more. The rumor is that the buyers are other arms traders and are actually being set up. The seller has no intention of holding the auction. Rumor is that the seller lured them onto the ship but intends to either attack the ship or sink it. Either way he gets rid of the competition. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?”

Mungabe was impressed with the Vulture’s duplicity. No wonder he let Mungabe take the proceeds from the ship and its hostages. He was using Mungabe to eliminate the competition.

“And who owns this ship?” Mungabe said.

“A German conglomerate. But I wouldn’t attempt to take it, if the rumor is true.”

Mungabe snorted. “Why not?”

“Because the word is that the ship is protected by a company that I know well.”

Mungabe knew what Roducci would say next. He felt his face flaming at the thought. “And who would that be?”

“Darkview. An American—”

“Do not say that name to me! I have taken steps to destroy it. By now both it and its president must be dead.”

Roducci scoffed. “Hardly. I know the president and the vice president, and they—and their company—are very much alive. In fact, I just handled a matter for them. I don’t know who tells you Darkview is no more, but you should not listen to them. They lie.”

“Who from Darkview is protecting the ship?”

“You want names?”

“For several thousand dollars, I deserve names,” Mungabe said. He heard Roducci blow out a breath in aggravation.

“I’ve heard that two Darkview agents are there. A sniper and a chemist.”

“And their names?”

“This I do not know.”

Mungabe thought Roducci did know, but he didn’t bother to press him.

“Chemists don’t scare me. Tell me about the shooter.”

“The gossips say that he can shoot the eyes out of an eagle at five hundred paces.”

“He is the mercenary, and the chemist guards the drugs. These two men will not live to see tomorrow.”

Roducci coughed for a minute before catching his breath. “The sea is vast. There are any number of trawlers you can harass. Perhaps you leave the cruise liner alone. Nothing good will come of attacking it.”

Mungabe stood up to increase his presence, even though he knew Roducci could not see the gesture. “Do you question my ability? I will kill them all!”

Roducci sighed over the line. “Think, Mungabe. If Darkview agents are protecting the arms, then it is likely that the American military hired them. You are buying trouble. I doubt that the ship will be taken without a battle. You don’t need the money. Why do you do this?”

Just like a Westerner, Mungabe thought. They had no understanding of the greater glory beyond this world. They only fought to live; they did not embrace death.

“I do this to ensure my place in the afterworld.”

Roducci burst out laughing. “You do this to buy another Range Rover and some more khat. You also do this because you are in too deep with the Vulture.”

Mungabe sucked in a breath. Roducci’s information went farther than Mungabe liked.

“But you should know that even though the Vulture is losing against Darkview, he will not die, because he fails to do his own fighting. He hires people like you to do it for him, and after you die, he walks away, beating the dirt off his palms. So think carefully before you take on the sniper and the chemist.”

“I should not have paid you. You disrespect me,” Mungabe said.

“You paid for the truth, and that is what you got. My advice will keep you alive. Take it.”

Mungabe punched off the speakerphone in response. He dialed the Vulture’s number.

“What do you want?” The European didn’t bother with a greeting.

“You haven’t eliminated Darkview. You broke our agreement. Therefore I am no longer honoring it. I’m going to take the chemical weapon after I take the ship.” Mungabe felt enormous satisfaction when he heard the Vulture’s quick intake of breath over the phone line.

“You broke your end of the deal. You were to have taken the ship by now, but you haven’t. You failed.”

Mungabe’s brief feeling of superiority disappeared. He wanted to reach through the phone to throttle the Vulture.

“There are Darkview agents on board. You didn’t tell me this. Had you done so, I would have put all my men on the job. I thought I was dealing with a bunch of soft tourists. You lied to me.”

“I didn’t know Darkview agents were on board. This is the first I have learned of it. However, I have one of my men there. Tell me which ones are the agents and I’ll arrange to kill them.”

“Like you killed Darkview’s president? He still lives.”

“Tell me. My operative can use the weapon on them. They’ll be dead in half an hour, and you can take the ship.”

“I don’t know who they are. I just know it’s a sniper and a chemist. My contact refused to identify them.”

The Vulture said nothing for a moment. “I’ll have my contact hit the entire ship. This will disable it once and for all, and then your men will be able to walk on board. We’ll put an end to this back-and-forth fighting.”

“Oh, no you won’t. Those hostages are mine to ransom. You will not kill them.”

“Relax, Mungabe.” Now the Vulture’s voice took on a soothing tone. “The stick won’t kill the passengers. The weapon will disorient them. Only the weak and old will die with the first dose. It kills all on a double dose. I will tell my operative to hit everyone once, then wait to see if the Darkview agents reveal themselves. When they do, only they will be hit a second time.”

Mungabe liked the idea of weakening the enemy from the inside. “Do it.”