The Seventh Secret

Chapter 30 — Insidious

Mieke and Zain looked over the ocean as the sun was about to set.

“I don’t think I can eat tonight,” Zain admitted. “Those people drowning really got to me.”

She looked taken aback by his sentiment. Mieke placed her hand on his and moved closer to his large frame. He looked down at her, noticing how beautiful she was. Like Crystal, she had enthralling blue eyes that pierced through anyone looking directly at them.

“You? A hardened security advisor should not be put off by something as mundane?” she said.

“Mundane?” he snapped. “I had lunch with those two men, Mieke! I got to know them. Granted yes, they were scum without morals and terrible manners, but they were brothers… in a sense.” He paused for a moment, recalling what he just said to make sure it was accurate for the likes of her. “I don’t expect a girl like you to understand.”

"A girl like me?" she asked offendedly.

“Yes, an academic with a safe little life. Probably a rich mommy and daddy who paid for your education. You know nothing about the brotherhood of crude men,” he explained almost proudly.

“Really?” she asked. “I have to concede, I do have a rich daddy who paid for my studies, yes. But if you think I know nothing about the brotherhood of crude men, my dear, you are sorely mistaken.” Mieke scoffed, branding a wry little smile that held no amity or joy. It was a smirk of vengeance and hatred. “I was raised in Europe and came to South Africa only three years ago. And you know what my first taste of your miserable country was?”

“No, what?” he asked.

“My roommate and I were held for seventeen hours in our fucking flat! We were raped and beaten by three animals just like these brothers of yours. Nobody came to help when they heard us screaming when they heard the breaking glass or the thumps of our bodies hitting the walls and floor!" she sneered at him.

Zain did not know what to say. For the first time in his adult life, a tale of violence upset him. Usually, he was the attacker in stories like hers, the kidnapper and perpetrator of physical abuse against women — women like the one he had been chasing before finding out about Dr. Malgas and his historical find. He dared not to let Mieke know what fabric he was cut from.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “For what it is worth, anyway.”

“Don’t ever make assumptions about women like me, Zain,” she said, sounding dejected.

They stood quietly overlooking the waves of the Indian Ocean, the constant rush of the frothy water from under the huge tugboat. He held her hand, hoping that Sibu would not come out and see his tender side. “I will make sure these animals don’t come near you, Mieke. I promise.”

She smiled a welcome response. "Ooh, so you are my personal bodyguard now?"

“Yes,” he smiled. It was strange to see Zain smile, but Mieke was elated that he was in such a good mood. “Say, don’t you have to check in with Dr. Malgas?” he asked. “I have noticed that there is no reception on this boat, not even satellite.”

“That’s weird,” Mieke frowned. “I hadn’t noticed yet. You see, I don't have to contact him until I start cataloging the finds. Besides, he has enough on his plate with this Cheryl girl he is so close to.”

“Oh yes,” Zain recalled the junky he and Sibu were going to deal a fate to… one similar to Mieke’s story, which he could never reveal. “Wonder if she will recover.”

“Don’t really care,” Mieke remarked indifferently. She looked at her watch.

“Will you excuse me?” she asked. “I have to go over some footage with Crystal before the next dive tomorrow.”

Zain was surprised, but he reckoned she was put off by talking about Cheryl. “Alright. I’ll see you later.”

Mieke disappeared into the mess hall, passing through the empty galley and made her way up the steps to the quarters of the expedition members. Nina and Purdue’s cabins were empty, but Sam’s door was closed.

“Need some company?” Sibu asked, peeking from his cabin.

“No,” she barked rudely. But then she realized that over her eagerness to get to Crystal’s cabin she had abandoned her manners. “I’m sorry, Sibu,” she smiled. “I’m just in a hurry, okay? I’ll hang out with you later, maybe?”

“Sure, no problem,” he said, but his eyes were dark with rage and lust. She noticed that he had been drinking the same stuff Ali was so fond of. As far as she knew, the moonshine was anything but Egyptian too, but she kept that to herself for now. It was something she needed to share with Crystal, though, to make sure there were no unforeseen complications on such an important excursion. She knocked at Crystal’s door.

“Come in!”

Mieke closed the door behind her. Crystal was sitting on the bed with a small laptop on her briefcase, heavily invested on what she saw on the screen. Mieke joined Crystal on the bed and kissed her on her neck.

“Was ist?” she asked Crystal, lazily playing with her dark hair. Crystal looked at her young lover, but her face remained stern. She sighed, “I have found the last of the coordinates, but it would be difficult to get Purdue to fund another expedition. I don’t know what to do.”

“I can just pull the same con on a professor there. Where is it?” she asked.

Crystal looked displeased. “Japan. Can you believe it?”

“Actually, it’s not so surprising, considering they belonged to the Axis powers during World War II,” Mieke reminded Crystal. “So now we have all the locations?”

"Yes," Crystal smiled happily. "All seven sites are logged, but…” she pointed her finger at Mieke, “…we should bring her in this time — once and for all.”

“There is too little time. Seven hours to get her to the nearest port to dismantle her — forgive me for playing the Debbie Downer here — impossible,” Mieke remarked, shaking her head. “Let alone to Germany! How are we ever going to get her there?”

“We don’t. I have calculated it. According to the GPS’s you planted on the two divers the ship is now on the ocean floor of the Sea of Japan, just 400km off the coast of South Korea. In two hours it will teleport and appear off the coast of Puerto Rico, then another hour later it will be in the Russian Kara Sea,” Crystal explained.

“That would have been perfect! From the Kara Sea it would be a short tow to Germany, but no, we had to catch her way off in the godforsaken south!” Mieke complained.

“Look, Malgas was the only gullible academic we could find to fall for this con, Mieke. There was nothing else we could do. There was no other way to get Cleave involved, and without Cleave, there is no Purdue. Do you understand?” Crystal reminded her.

“I get it, Crystal,” Mieke nodded, “but how far can we get in seven hours?”

“Not far, for now, but we just need to get to Yemen to dismantle her. Now we have to make do with towing her as high up north as we can before she disappears again. The next time she’ll reappear at the new coordinates we had reached before she teleported away. A few days and a lot of patience,” Crystal smiled, stroking Mieke’ cheek.

“And once she is dismantled?” the young blonde asked.

“We’ll have the technology they failed to harness in World War II, my darling,” Crystal smiled. “The Order will bow to our will because we will have the power of Vril to drive the unified fields and we will be the only ones who know how to contain and control it.”

“And all that’s on the ship?” Mieke asked.

“Correct.”

“Then why did they fail? If the ship has everything the Eldridge failed at, why is she teleporting every few hours? Why did she sink?” Mieke asked.

“Does that matter?” Crystal asked. She was getting annoyed with her girlfriend’s incessant questioning.

"Of course, it matters. Listen, Crystal, I love you. I want you to rule the underworld and be at your right hand to do your bidding, my love. But I am not some dumb little girl who follows orders blindly. I might look like a bimbo, but I have a brain, and I want to know what I am involved in," Mieke insisted. She did not expect Crystal’s response at all. The dark haired beauty grabbed her by the hair and slapped her across the face. With cool and calm command she licked Mieke’s face and whispered, “You are involved with me. And that is all you need to concern your pretty little head with. Are we clear?”

Mieke nodded, her face burning and her nose bleeding. It was not the first time she had provoked Crystal’s abusive side, but her love and her loyalty kept her in the pit.

"Let's get some supper, love," Crystal suggested as if nothing had happened. She released the young academic and put away her laptop. "Clean yourself up and meet me in the mess hall."

“Yes, Crystal.”