Transition Plan Chapter 98: Searching for Jeanne - Part 16
…
Karl-Heinz and the others fled with Jeanne firmly in Gunter's grip as the truck headed rapidly toward the public cove where a couple of boats were moored. Margrite felt helpless against her husband's and henchman's anger. She only wanted to keep her daughter Meriem alive now.
He shouted at Jeanne mercilessly, "Sohn von einem Weibchen! You knew what was coming didn't you, you little Schlampe? You let the Count and his son walk right into town to rescue you. You played Jaeger. You played me. All these years you've loved the Count's son. He was the boy and the Count was the mysterious jungle man we gassed in Kamina. Stupid, stupid me. We demanded the ransom from the wrong man, thinking the half-naked jungle man and his boy were penniless. We'd have been done with you four years ago, Hundin. I should kill you right now. And I wish the hell I still had those shackles. I'd put them right around your little French neck and throw you in the ocean. I can't trust you any more than when we first captured you. I've taught you nothing."
Jeanne snapped back, intentionally not calling him 'Dad', "You taught me plenty, Karl-Heinz. It's not my fault you trained me to be a world class liar, and how to make deals and fight shrewdly and ruthlessly. You need me now more than ever, wherever we're going next, and you know it. Think again about offing me. I changed all our bank accounts into numbered accounts, and only I know them. Over 3 million Pounds in those accounts. You'll never see your precious money again if you sell me or kill me. If you want any of it again, you have to keep me alive and with you."
Karl-Heinz seethed with anger, "Fick dich Meriem."
He hit her in the jaw, and she tasted blood, spitting it on Gunter. It hurt like blazes but she refused to cry.
"Self-righteous Hudin," he snarled.
Karl-Heinz knew the girl was tough enough from her days on the streets of Douala that he'd never get the secret bank account numbers by beating her. He thought about maiming her or disfiguring her, but knew Margrite would shun him if he hurt the girl. He was addicted to sex with Margrite. Besides, Meriem could get an infection and die and the knowledge of the accounts would die with her. There were a lot of people getting really sick and dying lately. If he injured her permanently, she'd never keep up on any escape, or be able make money for them in the next town.
He realized he had been unbelievably successful with corrupting Jeanne. Too successful. He'd raised a talented criminal who was far more clever and conniving than he ever dreamed possible. It truly angered Karl-Heinz that Meriem was right. Again. For the first time, Karl-Heinz felt like this extremely brilliant and scheming young woman, which he had totally underestimated, was just toying with him, and that he was the real slave. She had nearly single-handedly destroyed a vast criminal empire with her brains and her beauty with those seemingly innocent and beautiful hazel eyes. Karl-Heinz knew early upon their arrival here two years ago that Jaeger had every intention of twisting Meriem for his own purposes. It turned out it was the other way around. She completely used the occasion of the Count's innocuous business visit to manipulate them into letting it become her latest attempt at escape. It almost worked.
Part of Karl-Heinz wished the Count's son had been successful in rescuing her. The kidnapper couldn't stand being with her right now.
The middle-aged German reflected. Meriem recently said she didn't do 'that jungle thing' anymore. She was lying again. Underneath that pretty face and eyes was the fury of a mother lioness chasing her prey and he was staring right into her maw, and worse, those teeth held the venom of a female cobra.
Karl-Heinz had to get them all out of Walvis Bay. He didn't care where, but it had to be far away as possible. There would be wanted posters with their names everywhere across Southwest Africa and South Africa as well a Kamerun and Togoland because of that accursed kid. He was running out of good places to hide. It was useless to carry on business in this part of Africa.
Going all the way back to Germany was out of the question. It was devastated by the war that kept going interminably. They would be killed, starve, or die of disease. There was no profit to be had in Germany. But then he remembered he still had contacts in German East Africa. The best Karl-Heinz could hope for is that he could channel Meriem's talents to help his contacts in East Africa, make his own crime empire, or steal someone else's crime business. He'd preyed on the disarray in the economies and governments left by the victories of the Allied Powers over former German colonies before, and he knew he could do it again. Only this time he really didn't want to work for anyone. Meriem could be his bookkeeper.
The foursome approached the bay, and got out of the truck, but not before stuffing their clothes and belongings with the money that was in the truck. It was enough money to survive for some time. They shoved the truck into a ditch to throw the police off track.
They saw the only ocean-going vessel in the public area besides Jaeger's yacht. It was a Russian fishing trawler that he'd seen arrive the other day. The Russian Empire was aflame with the Bolshevik revolution since last year, and the Communists were most likely to take over, and so Russia was only weakly allied with French and British in their fight against Germany. They were too busy with own internal affairs not likely to turn them in. He guessed these men were in were in no hurry to go home, or might be escapees from the turmoil there.
The foursome walked up the dock. Gunter had his gun hidden but Jeanne knew it was aimed at her back. She did not struggle.
Karl-Heinz said, "Ahoy, Captain, you guys staying long?"
The Russian trawler's Captain, in broken German, answered, "Nope. Hoping to ship out today. Call me Dmitri."
"Can you take us with you, Captain Dmitri?"
"Hmmm, I never have been asked to take passengers. You must be pretty desperate. I suppose we could if you pull your weight. And pay your way. Who is it that's asking for passage?"
"My name is Karl-Heinz. Middle name is Paulvitch."
"Funny, you don't look Russian," Dmitri eyed the German suspiciously.
In Russian he hadn't used in years, Karl-Heinz said, "My grandmother was Russian."
"If you say so."
"So what about that ride?" Karl-Heinz directed the conversation back on track. He could feel the pursuers. This had to happen fast.
"Can you pay? Do you have rubles?"
"How about 100 English pounds for passage?"
The Captain hardly ever saw that much money in a year and he agreed instantly, "Even better! But you must help us fish and run the boat, and do chores like the rest of us. This ain't the Queen Mary. And I'm not your butler, rich man."
"Of course. We can help you sell your catch too. We're traders."
The Captain got a greedy, virtually toothless grin, "That would be pretty helpful, Comrade Paulvitch. How about another 50 Pounds for me to stay quiet when that police squad gets here? I see them coming in the distance. Seems you don't much want to see them, do ya, rich man?"
Karl-Heinz was quite angry but paid them, and the seaman let them board.
He asked, "Where are you going?"
Dmitri shrugged, "We can go anywhere."
Karl-Heinz asked, "How about Dar Es Salaam?"
"A great city, but why there?"
It was part of German East Africa. I have friends there."
Dmitri warned, "The Brits rule now. It's going to annexed to British East Africa. They call it Tanganyika now. Those British aren't real friendly to Germans."
"But here are thousands of German citizens still there. We'll blend in. German is still the main language."
The Captain wasn't really that concerned, "You got a point there. Sure, we can go there. We'll get there eventually. We're fishermen. We catch fish. We sell them for what we need at every village and town along the way. We move on. I bet being out to sea awhile will make these guys forget who you are and why they want you."
"Yeah, maybe you're right."
Karl-Heinz concluded that it might be worth it to lay low in a leisurely journey up the eastern coast of Africa. They had plenty of money. Out at sea in international waters, they really didn't need a lot of money. They would have some sanctuary, and plenty of food, and whenever they got to port there was business to be had. It was mostly British and Portuguese colonies on the eastern half of Africa. Italy had Somalia, far to the north of German East Africa. Madagascar was now French, and they'd steer far from there, in case the authorities there were alerted to watch for them.
Gunter was very unhappy about the prospect being cooped up on a stinky ship for weeks or months, especially with a bunch of grizzled old Russians and two women, doing the grunt work for Captain Dmitri. Gunter hated fish. Fish were not really meat. Jeanne and Margrite really didn't care at this point. Maybe they could learn about fishing, which was a legitimate business, and it would be better than their constant life of crime.
They hurried aboard and took what little they had and tossed it in a corner of the living quarters below decks. They were surprised to find a younger Russian woman and a child about three huddled in one of the cabins. She and the little boy smiled nervously at the new strangers.
"Zdrastvooyte," was all the young couple could say to greet the strangers.
Dmitri urged them to follow him, but said in German, "My daughter-in-law Tatianna and her child. My son Leonid is one of the sailors on this boat. They only know Russian. They escaped when the revolution started. But never mind that. There's a place we hide the good stuff - and them - whenever we get searched. Or boarded."
"Boarded?" asked Jeanne.
"Yeah, my pretty. There's plenty of pirates off the coast of Somalia. Good thing the Italians patrol those waters. But there's no protection on the way. We'd may have to hide the likes of you two dearies. They'd steal you and sell you in a heartbeat."
"Great, just great," thought Jeanne.
They were deep in the hold of the trawler, Dmitri noted, "Well, here it is."
He opened the big heavy metal door. The odor nearly killed them.
Karl-Heinz could barely stand it, "Fahhh. It smells like a blackout in a fish house down there."
"It's safe. No lawman – or pirate – ever wants to muck around down in there."
"Neither do we," Margrite complained.
The Captain shrugged, "Suit yourselves. When you get caught don't blame me. I got your 150 Pounds and whatever else you got. No skin off my bones."
They looked at each other and crawled in, and Dmitri locked the hold. It not only smelled terrible, it as pitch black. Locking them in the dark made all of them very claustrophobic.
"I hate you, Meriem," he snarled at the teenage girl. He could hear Gunter groan in disgust.
"And you? Twice as much, Karl-Heinz," she snapped right back with narrowed eyes.
Compared to their rich living, this was truly the dregs of life for them again for who knew how long.
"I don't trust you not to yell," Karl-Heinz warned.
He gagged her with a kerchief, and tied her hands with his belt. She was desperate to call out get their attention to be rescued and to be returned to Jack. But then in the dark, she felt a knife at her throat.
It was, as always, Gunter doing the dirty work, "You say a peep and the Count and Viscount will find you in fish chunks. You be quiet. Maybe the boy will beg his father to pay for you when your Daddy wouldn't. You just might pay off that debt and turn the rest of that money over with the accounts in your head. Then you can go home in a few months and never worry about staying in a fish tank again your whole life when you go live in the Viscount's Castle."
She said a muffled, "OK" to let the men know she would behave.
The Police Sergeant came aboard with a half dozen officers. The policeman asked the trawler Captain, showing them sketches and the poster, "You seen these people?"
"Nyet," he pretended to know very little English.
The Sergeant asked firmly but kindly, "You don't mind if we have a look around do you, Cap'n?"
"Please. Look. We're fishermen. Buy filets? Take home to wife?"
"Nah, sorry Captain, we're on duty."
They turned the trawler upside down looking everywhere. They came to the fish storage area and it smelled so bad they turned away from the stench. No one would hide there. The Policeman left frustrated. This was one of the last searches. The kidnappers were going to get away again. The Chief and Mayor would be livid, and the kid and his father would be heartbroken. Four years of kidnapping. My goodness how much time they'd invested. She was a little kid when it started. The Chief felt awful at how many bad things they had forced the girl to do. His heart went out for all of them.
…City Hall…
All the guests were searched and checked for weapons and association with Jaeger. Most were not, and were released to go home.
The Police Chief said apologetically, "Count and Viscount Clayton. I'm sorry about you coming all this way and in the space of a few hours all hell breaks loose. That's not much southern African hospitality. You really didn't know who you were dealing with. I guess none of us did."
Tarzan said, "Chief, finding Jeanne well-cared for by this man and almost saving her were worth it. We'll find her again."
Jack agreed.
The Chief was amazed at their good attitude about being stolen from them yet again. He assumed because it had already been a four year search. He sheepishly asked, "I know you probably want go home, but we really need some depositions testimony and written statements about… well… everything."
"Certainly. We can stay through the trial if need be."
"We'll see."
"You will probably need this, too," noted Jack. He held Jeanne's personal log book in his hand.
"What's this?" asked the Chief.
"A personal business ledger that Jeanne kept on Jaeger's 'business'. She gave it to me to give to you."
The Chief and City Prosecutor, who had also been at the party, turned to each other like kids let loose in a candy store.
"I'll take that, then, son," said the Prosecutor kindly.
Jack hesitated and clutched the book like it was attached to Jeanne, "Sirs, before I give you this, I need your assurance."
"What assurance?" asked the Chief in surprise. Tarzan almost interrupted Jack. Honest people didn't make conditions on giving evidence to lawmen, but before he could say something, his outspoken son asked again.
"That Jeanne Jacot – Meriem - is not arrested or put in jail. She was forced to do all this bad stuff. I know my Jeanne. She'd never be bad on purpose."
The Chief smiled, "Well, young man, we should charge her, but then we could acquit or the Mayor could pardon her. But I have a better idea - how about no charges at all for being cooperative, especially since she was forced to do this as a kidnap victim?"
Jack smiled happily, "Oh yes! Yes, of course. That's wonderful!"
Tarzan and the Chief shook hands, with agreement by the Mayor. Jack gave the Prosecutor the ledger. He only had to turn a few pages when he noted with very wide eyes, "This is a story book of the Walvis Bay crime sprees going back years. It's got every name, every shady business associated with Jaeger, every 'job', and every 'hit'. Young man, your girl friend was very thorough. These guys are finished. And so is his buddy in Kamerun. I know the guys up there have been trying to nail that guy for decades."
Jack beamed with happiness and Tarzan put his hand on his son's shoulder.
The Chief apologized, "But I'm so sorry we don't have the real bad guys as far as you and Colonel Jacot are concerned.
"It's all right. Jeanne has to be happy we tried. I know our hopes of finding her are much better now. They had to leave in a hurry. They'll make mistakes."
The Prosecutor requested gently, "It's great to have her ledger, but now we need to ask some questions."
"We'll stay as long as we need to. We just need to send a message home to my wife, and Jeanne's parents."
The Mayor had to add, "We'll take you to the city's radiotelegraph to make that message. Rest assured Mademoiselle Jacot helped bust up the biggest crime cartel on the entire west coast of Africa. We've had nothing until now. You guys are once again heroes of the British Empire."
Tarzan quipped, "Excuse us if we aren't really happy this is becoming a habit."
They all laughed.
The Mayor offered, "Tell you what, Count. You gentlemen have endured a lot. You're now the VIP guests at the Mayor's Mansion. There's a lot of history to it."
…
An hour or so later, Tarzan and Jack were comfortable in the Mansion, and came down for the first set of depositions in the parlor with the Prosecutor and his staff. It lasted a couple of hours.
The Prosecutor was about done but had some bad news, "You know your shipping contract is null and void now. Our laws forbid legitimate businesses like yours doing business with illegal organizations, even unknowingly."
Tarzan replied, "Yes, I figured."
The Mayor quickly added, "But the harbor and the city need a primary shipper for all our trade that we now will take over from Jaeger. How about we honor your contract until we can renegotiate it with you? We have to have some other shippers. A government can't have just one. That wouldn't be honest. But you'll get most of it. You guys are good. And you're British."
Jack looked at his father expectantly as he quickly answered, "That, Mayor, would be our pleasure. There's still a war. Britain needs what Southwest Africa can provide. And we're glad to take it back to London for you."
The Mayor smiled proudly, "It really truly is a pleasure dealing with an honest patriot, Count Clayton."
Tarzan took a chance with a request, "Mayor, I'd like to see one thing happen. I appreciate the business, and that you must give some of the contracts to the other shipping companies. But, please give some of your business to the German nationals you now rule over. This is their home. For decades. We English are just the new landlords. The tenants will be a lot happier if you use them to keep the apartment running."
"I like your suggestion, Count Clayton. We can do that."
The Mayor respected Jonathan Clayton even more after that, and when he got word of their deal back to Governor Botha of both South Africa and now Southwest Africa, so did he. The Governor used Tarzan's idea to better keep the peace in the southern tip of Africa.
… Somewhere around the southern tip of Africa steaming easterly…
Once out to sea, The Captain opened the foul fish storage hold, helped the escapees out, and tried to clean them off. In fact it would be over a week and gallons of bleach on their clothes before the stench was truly gone.
The trawler Captain gave the two women one of the few private officers' cabins to live right next to his son's family's cabin. He was a courteous man.
…
On the high seas later that night, Karl-Heinz gladly left Jeanne alone. She was as far up in the crow's nest as she could climb for privacy. She surprised herself her tree-climbing skills she learned from Jack were still there. There was nowhere to escape, at least for now. Jeanne had a warm heart, despite the fact she was still not free. She'd held and kissed her true love again. She was safely away from Jaeger. She knew her Dad was alive, who despite his injuries, still loved her dearly and wanted her home just as much as Jack. More importantly, Karl-Heinz and Gunter didn't know that. She knew her mother wasn't alone in life, even if her father was handicapped now. She knew she had a baby sister she desperately wanted to meet and that every day she was loved and missed and being searched for by every member of her and Jack's family.
She took out the secret family photo Jack had given her, and cherished it in the intense moonlight. What she didn't realize is that on the back of the family photo was glued a current picture of Jack, and she clutched it to her heart and smiled at the sweet surprise.
It was signed in French: 'All my love, cherie. Jack'.
Her heart flipped seeing his handsome smile and physique. A single tear dropped from her adoring eyes. All this would carry her through any hardship ahead. And she knew there would be a lot. A cushy living of crime like this would never happen again, nor did she want it to, with all the awful temptations it had brought. She put the photos back into her bra.
Her confidence soared, despite that Jack had not been successful in bringing her home. She'd nearly pulled off her own escape. They would be successful the next time. She knew there would be a next time. There would be another connection. And she would daily carry the warmth of Jack's lips, shining smile, sweet words, and tingling touch that would not fade.
She completely had her kidnappers over a barrel, since only she knew the bank account numbers, and that would keep her alive. Her education level was nearly at the University level, thanks to Jaeger's tutors, and that would yet be another advantage she'd maintain over her coarse captors.
She remembered the famous quote one tutor had said: "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer".
…Walvis Bay. Mayor's Mansion. A few days later...
After dinner one night with the Mayor and his nice family, Jack and Tarzan were headed for bed.
His father asked, "Jack, tell me. You knew she was here. I saw no surprise in your eyes."
Jack admitted with guilt, "Well, Dad you should have seen me when she knocked me over in the hall. I was very surprised. I had no idea she was part of Jaeger's crime business. But… umm… yes, Dad. I did know that she was in Walvis Bay. Somewhere."
"How?"
He sighed deeply. This had to come out, "She told me. The night we both turned 13."
"What?" asked a shocked Tarzan. He wondered how she had access to a radiotelegraph to get him a message.
Jack hesitated.
Tarzan insisted, but not angrily, "Jack, please tell me. Everything is important as we try to find her again."
He looked straight into his father's matching green eyes, "Jeanne and I have some kind of connection, Dad. A mental connection. An emotional link. No matter how far away we are from each other. We feel where each other is. How we are doing. When we're in trouble. Dad, it was Jeanne as much as Lily that kept me from jumping. It only happens once and awhile, and especially when we are in our worst trouble. When our emotions are strongest seems to cause it."
Tarzan sat completely stunned.
"Please Dad, don't make me go see a shrink."
He gave Jack a tentative smile, "No son, I won't do that. Who else knows?"
"Ndidi. Lily. Sis knew without me ever telling her."
"Lily is a very perceptive girl."
"We have to tell your mother. I will help her understand. You know that some animals have this 'connection'. Herds and flocks of hundreds of animals that all turn together instantly. Some call it 'instinct' but I think there's more to it. I've never understood it, but I accept it."
"Thanks Dad."
"Do Jeanne's kidnappers know about your link with her?"
Jack noted, "No. I think that's partly why we surprised them. You know Lily calls it a miracle from God."
"That it is, son. Jack."
"I guess you're right, Dad. But Dad, Something I just don't understand. My connection with Jeanne really didn't change anything. You were coming here anyway. The connection only helped me find out Jeanne was here. Why do you think the Douala crime boss didn't alert Jaeger and the kidnappers about us? He knew we were snooping around. He should have told the kidnappers. They would have finally figured out who we were from Kamina."
"I don't know why he didn't tell Jaeger. I guess criminals don't always like to cooperate. They'd rather compete and take over when another makes a mistake."
Tarzan then scolded his son a bit for his secrecy, "Jack, please understand me. You could have shared this with me."
Jack blushed with embarrassment and explained, "I'm sorry, Dad. I was afraid you and Mom would think I was… well… that I had something wrong in my head, especially after everything else that has happened to me."
"Oh… yes… I understand that. Son, I don't want to make you feel bad, but if I had known that you were absolutely certain she was here in Walvis Bay, we could have brought some more of our men here with us. We might have rescued her."
"Well dad, I kinda wanted this just to be just a 'me and you' trip. Besides, we really don't need anyone else to help find her, Dad. We are the Lord and Prince of the Jungle."
Tarzan blushed, "Oh, well thank you Jack."
They hugged, and Jack said, "I love you Dad."
"I love you too son, now let's rest."
"We have one more day of questioning before they will let us go home."
"How about making sure Jeanne is free?"
He unrolled the Court Order stating Jeanne's guiltlessness due to being coerced to commit criminal acts as a kidnap victim, and noted, "The Prosecutor gave me this at the end of day."
Jack beamed at his father, "Now this Court Order I like!"
They laughed and turned out the lights, sleeping in adjoining twin beds in the guest room.
…
A few days later, as the Count and his son headed north back to Nigeria, the trial began. The ape man recalled the words of assurance from the Mayor, "We have everything we need from you and especially from Mademoiselle Jacot's ledger. We will take care of the rest. Go home and be pleased that you help bring down a huge criminal network."
Guided by the wealth of damaging information in Jeanne's private ledger, the Prosecutor and Police had gathered reams of incriminating evidence. Some of the grisly evidence was recovered from landfills, secluded ravines, and from streams and lakes.
No evidence was more damaging to Jaeger than Jeanne's ledger, and it was allowed as admissible evidence by the court's judge, the Mayor's cousin, even without kidnapped Jeanne's testimony. It was more a journal than a spreadsheet. The warrants against Jaeger and a half dozen of his closest colleagues weighed heavily around them. Witnesses lined up to testify against Jaeger who his people had swindled or cheated, or eliminated a loved one, or took advantage of his power over the 'little guys' in Southwest Africa. Governor Botha observed from afar the impact of this, reading summaries of the court proceedings sent by the Mayor.
Justice was therefore swift for Jaeger and his cronies. Arrested on fraud of the government during wartime emergency, the charges piled up against them - racketeering, conspiracy to commit extortion, influence peddling to government officials, price-fixing and rigging contracts, pay-offs, accessory to an abduction and human trafficking, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Conspiracy to commit murder and several explicitly ordered murders were placed on him as well.
He was found guilty of nearly every count against him. It took ten minutes for the judge to restore order in the court with the cheering.
The day of Jaeger's and his colleagues' execution was one nearly of national holiday, removing the choke hold he had on the population of Walvis Bay and transferring that to his own neck. A large crowd gathered to see his demise. Just before he was hanged in public, he was asked for any last words as they tightened the noose, and he answered, "Damn you Karl-Heinz. And Fick dich in Knie, Meriem."
The hangman smiled when he pulled the trap door lever. The noose gave a satisfying twang and a loud, sharp snap like a muffled gunshot signifying a broken neck, the sign of a perfect execution, just like the other six men before him. He hated it when those he executed merely strangled to death and just writhed until they suffocated. The seven hung for several days in the city square as an example to others.
That wasn't the end of the damage to the western African crime empire. Jaeger was directly connected with the crime syndicate in Kamerun. He was ruined and jailed for life, which didn't last long when a long time enemy got hold of him one day being held in a cell together and he couldn't run away.
Legitimate businesses pushed crime out of the way in Douala and Walvis Bay and many other places in between, and regular trade began to flourish again. The Clayton's and young Jeanne were held up as civilian heroes and good examples for good business and good government. This also created major political benefits to the newly occupied colonies in western and southern Africa – the old German ways of corruption and crime were replaced with new legal German businesses and English governmental cooperation.
The one major disappointment is that Jeanne was still missing, and once again, Karl-Heinz got away without a trace. So Jack and the families were back to square one.
When news of the nearly successful rescue got back quickly to Josephine and Armand, upon the boy's return, both nearly smothered him for his bravery and lavished praise on Jack's bold move to save her literally in Jaeger's lair. They were very upset he had been nearly been killed by Karl-Heinz and Gunter trying to rescue her. Jack and Armand shared the same experience – almost saving Jeanne once, and it made them closer.
Jack carried the effects of a mild concussion for weeks, and had to be very careful in everything he did. Josephine took as much care of Jack as Jane did during his recovery. The Jacot's were especially happy that Jack got to tell Jeanne that Armand was alive and gave her the family photo. Little Michelle was still not sure why bad men still had her big sister, but was happy that Jack could Jeanne now knew she had a little sister. Both families were pleased that Jeanne had not been corrupted by her captors, and that she fought valiantly to resist them. They really worried what her punishment and consequences would though. She really defied them this time and ruined a very cushy life for themselves. But they left it in the Lord's hands as they always did.
The Mayor of Walvis Bay, judge, and Prosecutor had let Jack return with all of Jeanne's lavish wardrobe that Jaeger had bought for her, along with a number of photographs and portraiture of her. It all hung in her closet at the Jacot's Nigerian apartment, waiting for her to wear again if she wanted to. It all made Josephine cry to see how pretty and grown up she had become. Josephine gave Jack the best and biggest of the framed photos to put in his room at the treehouse.
Jane took the news of Jack's special connection with Jeanne well, other than being upset that Jack felt like he had to keep the secret from his parents. She thought this aspect of their tender love affair was very sweet.
Only Jack was disappointed at his failure to bring Jeanne home, but was pleased at the same time, much like the others. After four years he held what had become the woman of his dreams in his arms again, if only for a moment, and he had kissed her. Her amazing lips and body were more attractive than ever.
"I'll find you again Jeanne. I promise. I won't get surprised by your kidnappers next time."
To his surprise, the answer came back immediately.
"I know you will, cheri. I will make another 'next time' for us. I promise. I'm OK, they didn't punish me too badly."
The connection flashed and faded again. Like always. He was so relieved to hear she was mostly OK.
Love was never stronger between Jack and Jeanne after this encounter.
...
Authors Notes: So we wrap up the aftermath of Walvis Bay. Jeanne has for once found some solitude in the company of a 'normal' fishing family, at least for awhile, much to the consternation of of Karl-Heinz, whom Jeanne has really tricked this time and saved herself with a vital secret only she keeps. And speaking of her kidnapper, I use the fishing family to tip the literary hat to remind everyone that my OC is really ERB canon villain Alexis Paulvitch, a Russian, recast to a German nationality, but having the family name be 'Paulvitch' on his grandmother's side. Hope you liked that little tribute to the original Burroughs work. And even in her absence, Jeanne was able to defeat Jaeger and bring down the criminal network and for her help, the Southwest Africa leadership let's her go free. She has used the criminal situation she finds herself in to accomplish much good.