Finally, the third installment. It's up much later than expected but I had busy week with work and uni. And now I'm posting at half time of the Sydney v. Adelaide... not really happy with how that game is shaping up.
Enjoy and please review.
Chapter Three
The Gove Peninsula was shaping up to be somewhat of a maze. The suspect vessel blended easily into the landscape of the main port and it was the Hammersley that stood out. They had the vessel's name from the EOD, but, by the time Kate's crew had come to inspecting each boat closely, it had disappeared amongst the ranks. And the cover of darkness wasn't helping much.
She had had the sinking feeling that this might happen when they arrived. After all, this was a notorious tourist stopover and every pleasure cruise in the Gulf of Carpentaria seemed to be about and then some. But what to tell Mike when he asked was the question pressing firmly on her mind. This would be a major disappointment to be sure.
"I'm on my way."
To take over command of the Hammersley? Kate was a little concerned. He had taken the awful news rather well, but why was he joining the daily QANTAS flight out of Cairns to Gove Airport?
She replaced the phone and glared at her ship's orders from NAVCOM. Naturally, it had been Commander Flynn to sign off on them. He had been more personally involved in the actions of the Hammersley crew than any other ranking officer in NAVCOM command. Separation anxiety, she put it to. He was stuck onshore while they were gallivanting about the seascape. It was a difficult lifestyle change for anyone to make, but almost two months in, he should have gotten used to it.
"What did Commander Flynn say?"
Raffy was in her unoccupied doorway. Did he open it without her noticing or did she leave it open, she wondered. Some of his impressive attributes, however useful and imperative at times, gave her cause for concern.
She pushed past them. "He's flying in. Did you know that there's an OZ-AL bauxite mine in Arnhem Land?"
"No," he replied with surprise.
A part of Kate felt slightly triumphant. For once, she knew something that her XO didn't. It was a refreshing change. "Well, there is and, according to AFP intel, the CEO is in town. The Commander has already set up a meet first thing in the morning."
"He's working fast for a case we don't even know exists yet," Raffy said. Kate could hear a restrained concern lacing his tone. A concern, she knew, that was the very same as her own. The implications of wrongful accusations here could be ruinous for their careers. "How sure are we that the boy is missing?"
"The father's word," Kate answered. "And it seems that Mike doesn't have any reservations about believing it."
"Not a ransom note?"
"Father deleted the tape as instructed," she told him. Soundless words of concern and trepidation were shared between them. The Hammersley command duo had come to the same conclusion, and it seemed that the former CO was about to be left out of the loop. "But if Edison Xiao is missing…" Kate continued, letting her idea mesh with Raffy's.
"I agree," he added. "He's six years old. If he has indeed been kidnapped and this ransom drop was made in our waters, then we should do everything possible to get him back to his parents safely."
The tired officer massaged her aching temples. "It's just… I don't know."
"Just what?"
"If this is indeed a red herring that Mike's latched on to as some part of the truth, we may never find Edison. Not to mention three good careers in tatters."
Raffy skipped over the use of Commander Flynn's first name in the professional construct. It was all getting very personal in the cozy CO's cabin. "We'll find out what's going on here," he said affirmatively. "One way or another."
"CO to the bridge. CO to the bridge."
"I'm going into Nhulunbuy," Kate told her confused XO.
"And I, ma'am?"
"Find that boat."
Raffy was never one to disobey a direct order, but there were some that were impossible to follow. The boat? Find that boat? He had looked. He had searched through the harbour as thoroughly as social etiquette and time would allow. There were many suspicious vessels on the water in the under-patrolled, inaptly protected Gove Peninsula, but not the one they were looking for. And they couldn't very well violate every rule in the book to search for it in a labyrinth of shady speedboats, touristic tugs and classy cruises.
By dawn, Raffy had called it off and contacted his commanding officer. He was right to tell her that there was very little chance in finding their wayward vessel after it scouted ahead of them into the thick ravine. Nevertheless, she was infallibly correct in asking them to try. The boy was still missing and they were still running out of time.
The short trip from Gove Airport into Nhulunbuy took Mike's driver ten minutes. Kate was at the Dhimurru Land Management office and they would accompany AFP and local police officers to the OZ-AL mine's headquarters. Greg Murphy, the officer they'd work with on a number of occasions, was now in charge of the police investigation. He had less faith than Mike that there was a case to attend to, but someone somewhere had managed to pull strings to ensure his unwavering support.
"Gareth Donaldson has been kind enough to give Commander Flynn his full cooperation," Murphy said on the thirty-minute drive there. "So we aren't going to accuse him of anything while this entire case remains answerless."
Kate got the feeling that he was specifically talking to one member of their party. She hated to admit it, but she felt the same way. He had better keep his civil tongue with the wealthy and politically influential mining giant. It was not worth her to lose sleep over what could happen if he didn't. She couldn't quite afford to lose any more sleep on this case as it was. But, as with most things in her life, it didn't quite go as expected.
The interview begun eventless enough and twenty-six minutes after it was scheduled. Gareth Donaldson was a busy person after all. Murphy had queried him on the proposed deal with Chinamin and Donaldson appeared reluctant to comment. He deferred back to his prior interviews with the Foreign Investment Board as well as other notable authorities. As it turned out, both federal governments had a vested interest in how it turned out and both had more than enough riding on it to get personally involved.
It was Kate's turn to ask how well he got on with Xiao Taiqiang and Donaldson responded emotionlessly that they were just business partners with similar interests. If the tycoon had any knowledge of Edison's kidnapping, or any indication that their line of questioning was somehow related to Xiao's personal life, he hid it well. And that's exactly what Mike as convinced that he was doing… hiding it well. Before long, he took his opportunity to ask the questions. It seemed to roll down hill from there.
"Have you met Mr. Xiao's son?" he asked. "His name is Edison and he's six years old."
At first, his questions appeared harmless enough and simply routine, but frustration soon became Mike's primary motivation and his painless questions turned to aggressive stipulations.
After Donaldson replied that he had never even heard of Xiao's son, Mike launched into the offensive. "He's missing. Kidnapped."
"Right," Donaldson relied, visibly unsure of how to answer.
"A ransom of five hundred thousand dollars was requested and paid," Mike told him. "Your goons picked it up last night."
"My goons?" And it appeared that Donaldson wasn't the only one shaken by Mike's sudden change in tactics. Murphy and Kate shared uncertain glances across the room.
"What makes you think I'm involved?" Donaldson continued.
"This impending deal, Mr. Donaldson," Mike explained as though it was obvious. "If you don't want it to go through, you'd have every reason to take the boy."
"And the money? What would I do with five hundred thousand dollars?" he asked arrogantly. "And, for your information, Commander, I want this deal to go through. If it does, the board of directors will let me keep my fancy position at the top of this company. And my shareholders… It's win-win."
"Is it likely to go through?" Kate asked, rescuing her lover and former CO from an awkward position.
"We were due to sign at the end of the week," Donaldson told her earnestly. "Look, I am telling you that I'm not involved in this. These goons that are supposed to belong to me… why don't you just ask them?"
"Because we don't have them in custody," Murphy replied. "They gave us the slip in Gove."
"Well, that just seems more like your screw-up than my wrongdoing," Donaldson ejected, his voice laced wit disdain. "And I don't appreciate the insinuation, so if you have anything more for me, you can go through my lawyers."
He pressed a buzzer on his desk and the double doors to his occasional office flew open. The conversation was clearly over and they had never been asked to leave more silently or antagonistically. And Murphy wasn't pleased. He had more questions to ask.
The trip back to Nhulunbuy was plagued with dispute and squabbling. Murphy argued that Mike had railroaded his case. Mike leapt on to the defensive, sticking up for his position and citing Murphy's incredible lack of fiery passion on this case. As if anybody needed further reminding that a six year-old was still missing. Kate, wisely so, had chosen to remain silent for the journey. She would seek time alone with Mike when they arrived in town.
That moment didn't arrive for a further hour. Murphy and Mike continued their debate into the government building. They didn't stop until Kate requested to speak to the Commander alone. He reluctantly agreed.
"What is it, Kate?" he asked hurriedly and with obvious agitation.
She didn't appreciate the short tone. "Don't you think that you were a little uncontrollable out there? We had no proof and you accused a powerful man of a serious crime. What's going on?"
"What's going on is that a little boy is missing and his father entrusted me with finding him."
"You're not the only one working on this case."
"Well, it seems like I am."
Kate stepped towards him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You had them and you lost them," Mike answered, his voice low and bitter.
"I lost them? We were supposed to follow, not engage."
"And you did a great job following them. Tell me, Lieutenant Commander, where are they now?"
She shook her head angrily and pushed away from him. "You're not even close to the mark, you know. Donaldson's right. The money? The only piece of evidence we actually have. So how can you link that with him?"
"You don't know he's not involved," Mike argued.
"I'm pretty sure he's not involved, just like you're pretty sure Edison Xiao was kidnapped by disgruntled miners."
"Don't patronise me!"
"Don't belittle my authority!" Kate returned. "I'm handling this case. You didn't need to personally fly out here."
"It seems that I do," he disputed, "and, if you don't mind, I'm going inside now to finish what I came out here to do."
Kate let him walk away. Not a single part of her felt the paralysing need to follow him.
"The Commander seems very much into this case."
That voice was growing on her, and it always seemed to appear at the most inopportune moments. She wondered how much of their argument he had heard and how much of their fight he had witnessed.
"X? I didn't know you were coming into town."
"Personally delivering some information from NAVCOM to RO to me," he replied. "I'm sure Commander Flynn will come around, by the way. He's just under a little bit of stress."
"A little? He's causing me more."
"That may be," Raffy agreed heartily, "but it doesn't change one vital point."
Kate scoffed. "Really? And what's that?"
"He picked you for the position of CO. And he is just doing what he can to help a man find his child."
She couldn't doubt his logic, but she wasn't quite ready to forgive her lover yet. "Well, when you see him, you can tell him what the Chinese word for 'doghouse' is."
"But I don't know Chinese," Raffy said right back. At first, Kate thought he was joking around, but then she saw the serious and honest look in his eyes. It didn't happen often, but that obviously went straight over his head.