Chapter Eleven

The Awakening

Chantal felt emotionally drained as she sank to her knees and leaned back against the cold steel wall.

Jean had left them alone again and put her in charge of keeping the doctor in place. She was torn inside as she glanced in the direction of the man that she'd once loved with all her heart and the man practiced in medicine. She'd contemplated many times over the last hour if what she was doing was right. Jean had saved her life, nursed her back to health and been the nicest, sweetest man to her ever since. However, after seeing how he had treated Nicolás lately her love for Jean had evaporated and grown cold.

She had been astonished about how little he cared for human lives and how greedy he appeared. She found herself wondering when the transformation had taken place and how she could have missed it. The more she saw of him onboard the ship the more he appeared like a monster to her. Maybe he hadn't been so innocent as he'd claimed in the whole affair with the Germans.

Even though she was dismayed by his ways at the moment she feared for what he would do if she let the doctor and Nicolás escape his clutches. Chantal knew he had saved her once but she wondered if his love for her was strong enough not to hurt her this time around.

She realized with an uncomfortable clarity that somewhere back there she'd lost her humanity and let herself be dragged into Jean's world of greed for money and allowed herself the luxury of caring only for herself. Chantal desperately wanted all of this to end; to let go of the past and move ahead and she wanted to do it with Nicolás by her side, not Jean. Still she kept her weapon trained loosely on the doctor, afraid that if she let him escape Jean would take it out on Nicolás.

OOOOOO

Fernando knocked carefully on a wooden panel and then slowly and methodically worked his way down the empty corridor and froze suddenly as the sound of the knocking turned hollow. He dared not to hope that he'd finally found a way in to the secret compartments of the ship but he unconsciously held his breath as he knocked one more time to confirm his findings. The other two hollow areas he'd found had been a dead end as he'd managed to remove the panels since the hatches behind them had been of steel and bolted shut.

Knowing this part of the ship wouldn't be occupied for another couple of hours he gently began to remove the wooden panel. He unscrewed the small attachments and popped it off the wall with a thud. He sighed in frustration and gritted his teeth as a steel door became visible behind it. This one didn't appear bolted but welded. Fernando cursed, letting out a string of impolite words under his breath, as he grabbed for the wooden panel again and fastened it to the wall.

OOOOOO

Second officer Pierre Laganza sighed as he signed yet another paper and sent the merchant off the ocean liner. He was almost certain the ship would sink if anyone put on more loads of coffee, bananas, cocoa, meat and whatever was stored in those large wooden crates down in the lower compartment holds.

He let his eyes roam over the compartment filled to the brim with a diversity of merchandize on its way to Spain. Mr. Fábregas and his sister, de Souza's widow, would earn a lot of money from shipping all these things to their home country; of that he was certain. He wondered where he'd gone wrong, why he didn't receive that kind of money, perhaps he'd the wrong job? Pierre broke into a bittersweet grin at the thought of running his own shipping company and shook his head. No, he wouldn't want that, he preferred being out on the ocean with the wind in his back and the sun in his face. It felt simpler to be out on the ocean than to have a house and work in a town.

Then again, when you ran a tight ship you knew almost every member of the crew. It wasn't just a bunch of people; in a strange way they became your family. Pierre's mood suddenly plummeted as he thought of Nicolás. He couldn't for the world understand where his friend and commanding officer had gone to, something bad must have happened to him. Wasn't it enough that he'd lost Clara? Did he have to lose one of his best friends too? Life was definitely not fair.

Pierre turned around as he felt like he was being watched, then shrugged and admonished himself for being silly. There was no one else in the hold with him at the moment. As he was about to walk out of the large room he halted mid-step and turned to stare at a broken panel, of what looked to be metal, to his right. He made his way over to inspect it and figured it must have been bent during the rough seas. He trailed his fingers over it and frowned as there seemed to be something behind it. Intrigued and surprised he went across the room to pick up a few tools and began to unfasten the sheet of metal and within a few minutes he'd uncovered a steel door.

Pierre ran a hand through his curly hair and made a face. The door wasn't supposed to be there. Barbara de Braganza did not have any more compartments on this level yet here it was. Another left- over from when the ship had been named the Codonga he reasoned. The second officer took a deep breath and a steady grip around the cold steel then spun the handle. The door came open instantly its hinges newly oiled. He felt his heartbeat quicken as he reached for a flashlight and turned on the beam. There, on the other side of the door was a smaller compartment filled with wooden crates.

OOOOOO

"Eva," Carolina called, trying to catch up with her sister.

They'd been running around the bustling harbor for what felt like hours, not once had they seen Nicolás nor had anyone else apparently.

"Eva, he's not here," she tried wearily.

She stopped and waited for her sister to come to stand next to her as she glanced up on the large ocean liner. "Do you think there is more of it onboard somewhere?"

"More of what?" Carolina asked in confusion.

"Gold," Eva said suspiciously and began to walk toward the gangway. "That driver Uncle Pedro was talking about; why would he be here otherwise?"

"You can't just waltz onboard, Eva!" Carolina protested but followed her anyway. "Fernando will-,"

Eva stopped dead in her tracks and narrowed her eyes at Carolina. "What is he really doing onboard? He knew we would settle down in Brazil for the time being, he must have made sure everything was running smoothly without him back in Spain," she reasoned.

OOOOOO

Alberto Cardoso looked at Sofía with concern as she stared up at the large ocean liner from a slight distance, a blanket draped round her shoulders and a veil covering her hair. "I am not sure you should board the ship," he said seriously. "You did leave in a hurry and you're recognized by every sailor onboard."

"I can take care of myself," she replied in a voice that left little room for discussion.

Alberto couldn't help but to smile at her stubbornness. "Why don't I organize a search onboard?" he suggested. "Let's say I am looking for a stowaway?"

OOOOOO

Eva froze halfway around the corner as she spotted Fernando standing further down the corridor examining a wall. She hastily took a step back and was nearly ran over by her sister.

"Eva," Carolina complained with confusion. "Why are you stopping?"

"Hush," she cautioned and dared a glance around the corner again. "It's Fernando. He's looking for something."

Carolina frowned. "What do you mean he's looking for something?"

Eva turned back to her sister. "He's looking for backdoor of some kind. He's been running his hand over the wall trying to find something out of the ordinary."

"What?" Carolina questioned and began to shake her head. "No, no he said he was needed back in Spain to finish up some business. Why would he walk around the ship looking for jib doors?"

"Aníbal did pour money into the shipping company did he not?" Eva asked cunningly. "Now, we never solved the mystery of why he would do such a thing."

"You aren't actually suggesting he's hidden something onboard the ship, do you?" Carolina asked wearily, her mood plummeting.

"Well, since he's dead there is no way of telling is there?" she reasoned.

Carolina dared a look around the corner at her husband and dejectedly realized that Fernando had lied to her when he'd said he had no more secrets to keep from her.

OOOOOO

Captain Aguirre looked up in surprise as there was a knock on the door to the bridge. He nodded at a sailor to open it, hoping it would be Nicolás who'd miraculously reappeared. He noticed that the second officer looked hopeful too.

The face was familiar but not one either of the two bridge officers of Barbara de Braganza had hoped to see again anytime soon.

"What is the meaning of this?" The captain asked sternly as the serviceman from the port authorities walked through the door.

"Captain, my sincerest apologies for barging in like this but I am afraid I must search the ship for a stowaway," he explained.

Santiago nodded at a sailor. "Find Mr. Fábregas and ask him to come here immediately," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," he replied and hastily disappeared from the room.

The captain crossed his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the Brazilian. "First you're hindering us to dock at the port and now you're trying to prevent us from leaving. What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"Please captain, calm down," he reasoned with a smile. "We have reasons to believe that there is a man onboard this vessel who tries to escape justice."

"And what reasons might that be?" Fernando Fábregas asked sullenly as suddenly appeared in the doorway, not the least amused.

Cardoso smirked at the sound of the voice. "Mr. Fábregas. Forgive me. I had no idea you would be travelling back so soon," he said smoothly.

"Get off my ship, lieutenant," he replied coldly. "I am not going to repeat myself."

"Wait just a minute-," the Brazilian began, the smile gone from his face.

"Without a warrant or a valid reason, you're not welcome onboard this vessel. Am I making myself clear?" he pressed.

At that the lieutenant wisely remained quiet.

"Now, do you want to leave on your own or do you require an escort?" Fernando added.

Cardoso chuckled bitterly as he shook his head and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Have a good day Mr. Fábregas," he said.

OOOOOO

"Hello?" Verónica called as she walked inside the large mansion. "Is anyone home?"

Dimás frowned. "Did they say where they should go?" he asked curiously. "It's pretty late."

"Verónica!" the gardener hollered as he hurried over. "I am glad you are back. Miss Eva took a cab to the harbor and her sister followed in the car. "Manuel, the chauffer, says they boarded the ship."

"Barbara de Braganza?" Verónica said confused as she frowned. "It was set to leave today for Vigo."

"Sí, sí," the gardener confirmed with a nod. "Senõr Fábregas told Carolina he had to finish some business in Spain so he went to the ship earlier but I think his wife and sister-in-law are still on the ship too."

She stared at the man for a moment, not sure she'd heard him correctly. "But mother has awakened. I thought they wanted to see her," she said.

"The doctor thinks she might be ready to come home in a few days," Dimas added.

OOOOOO

To be continued