Bluewater Quest

by Charles Dougherty

  "Who are they?" Rick asked, eyes wide. "How could they have gotten their hands on the translations? The foundation … " He shook his head, frowning.

  "They got the files as attachments to emails from someone in Iran. Marie said the IP address was in Tehran."

  "Iran? But that doesn't make sense. I told you the Saudis had the originals. They aren't exactly friendly with Iran."

  "That was mentioned in some of the emails, too," Dani said. "Marie's take is that the Iranians have hacked into this foundation's servers, and they either have an inside source in Saudi Arabia or they've hacked into some server there. Maybe both. They even had the latest update, the one about the cave."

  "But Iran?" Rick asked. "I thought the people on Aquila were Americans."

  "That's what their passports show; U.S. born, all four of them," Sandrine said. "Unless they are forgeries. But I will find out when I get to the office." She glanced at her watch. "Come, Phillip. You drive me to work now?"

  Phillip nodded and pushed his chair back.

  "I will call soon," Sandrine said. "You will stay today? Or go to Soufrière?"

  "I don't know," Rick said. "We'll have to think about that. Can we let you know when you call?"

  "Yes, certainly," Sandrine said. "I will talk with you soon, then."

  "How far is it to Soufrière?" Rick asked, after he took a sip of coffee.

  "Around 35 miles," Dani said. "An easy four-hour sail."

  "And to this Petit Anse d'Arlet? It must be closer," he asked.

  "A little, yes," Dani said. "It's just around the western corner of the island from us — 15 miles. And Rodney Bay's around 24 miles. We'd go right by it on the way to Soufrière."

  "My intuition says we should go to Soufrière," Rick said.

  "Then that's where we should go," Liz said. "It's easy. We can leave after lunch and be there before dinner."

  "Maybe I should call your friend, Sharktooth. If we left now, he could take us to the cave this afternoon."

  "Mebbe. But I don't know this mon. I got his name from a mon who used to be St. Lucia's tourism minister. I don't even know if he knows this Randolph Mercer fella. So you mus' start fresh wit' him. He won't know any of us. But don' worry; he's in the tourist business."

  Rick nodded. "Okay. Thanks for the background. Excuse me while I call him." He went inside the house.

  "If we leave today," Dani said, "Aquila can't follow us."

  "Because of the passports?" Shellie asked.

  "Right. Unless they skip clearing out," Dani said.

  "Or manage to clear at the internet cafe without showing passports," Liz said. "Based on Sandrine's comments, they're pretty lax. Then they'd have the problem of trying to clear in somewhere with no passports, though. I guess you're right; they're stuck here. But they've got the tracker, anyway."

  "We could leave it here," Dani said. "But then they'd know we'd discovered it. I wonder … "

  "What?" Liz asked.

  "I was wondering if they were using the laptop to track us."

  Rick came back in. "You're talking about Aquila?" he asked.

  "Yes," Shellie said. "What did you learn? Did you talk to Randolph Mercer?"

  "Yes, but he was working, leading a tour. He can take us tomorrow; he's tied up for today. He says it takes the better part of a day."

  "It must be a big cave," Shellie said.

  "I don't know," Rick said. "The problem is, it's a couple of hours’ hike each way to get to the one up on the side of Gros Piton."

  "There's more than one cave, then?" Sharktooth asked.

  "Yes, he says there are several places called Brigands' Cave. But the one he will take us to is the real thing."

  Sharktooth laughed and shook his head.

  "What?" Rick asked.

  "This mon, he mus' be a hustler."

  "You don't believe him?" Rick asked. "About several caves being called the same thing?"

  "Oh, tha's mos' likely true. Jus' the idea that he's goin' to show you the real one. Tha's what made me laugh."

  "So should we look for someone else?"

  "No, I don' t'ink so. You mus' start somewhere. This mon, he sounds like he may know about some caves. Jus' be sure you ask the right questions."

  "Okay. I did book with him for tomorrow, by the way."

  "When would you like to leave?" Dani asked.

  "I vote for sometime this afternoon," Shellie said. "Our hosts from last night said there were some interesting shops in Marin. I'd like to walk around and do a little shopping, if we have time."

  "Sure. Why not? I don't suppose it matters what time we get to Soufrière, does it?"

  "No," Dani said. "We won't be able to clear in there until tomorrow morning, anyway. The customs office there has short hours; they don't have much commercial traffic — just tourists."

  "Great! Can I get a taxi to Marin, then?" Shellie asked.

  "Nothing's open yet," Liz said. "Phillip should be back any minute. Maybe we can … hi, Phillip."

  "Hi. What's up?"

  "I was about to suggest to Shellie that we might be able to borrow your Jeep to go shopping in Marin later this morning."

  "Sure. That's no problem. So you're not leaving?"

  "This afternoon, sometime." Rick said.

  "Did Sandrine call yet?" Phillip asked. "She was going to — "

  The ringing of a cellphone interrupted him. Dani pulled her phone out of her pocket.

  "Hi, Sandrine," she said. "You must be psychic. Phillip just asked if you had called."

  "So he is home, already. Good. I have scanned the passports. I have some news."

  "Are they forged?" Dani asked.

  "No, they are genuine, issued by the U.S. passport office. But what is interesting is that they were already in our system here."

  "From when they cleared in the other day?" Liz asked.

  "No, remember they cleared at the internet cafe. Those entries are uploaded in batch mode; there's a delay. Sometimes as much as a few days, depending on the business and their hours. The scanned entries from our offices are updated immediately. But what is interesting is that these four people arrived here on a flight from Dubai in the early morning, four days ago."

  "From Dubai," Rick said. "But they're Americans."

  "Yes," Sandrine said. "Four days ago, they came here, to Martinique. A few hours later, they left on a flight to Grenada."

  "Can you tell how long they were in Dubai?" Dani asked.

  "For nine days, on their most recent visit. From the stamps, they travel there often, mostly from Europe. I could have someone go through the passports and analyze their travel, perhaps."

  "That's probably not worth doing," Phillip said. "Let's get those passports to Marie. Clarence has people who can do that research if they need to. First though, we should see what he can find out about them from the U.S."

  "Okay, then," Sandrine said. "Have you decided when you will leave, Shellie?"

  "We were thinking after lunch sometime," Shellie said.

  "Ah! This is perfect. I have the rest of the morning free. Would you be interested in a little bit of the shopping?"

  When the laughter died down, Sandrine asked, "I have said something wrong?"

  "No," Liz said. "Not at all." She told Sandrine about Shellie's request.

  "Great minds are thinking the same thing," Sandrine said. "So, Liz, you and Shellie, you come now? To my office?"

  "Ten minutes," Liz said.

  "I will be waiting in the car park. Phillip?"

  "Yes?"

  "I will leave the passports in an envelope for Marie to pick up at the counter outside my office, yes?"

  "I'll tell her."

  23

  "Look, Ed." Leila nudged him as they walked down the street in Marin. They had just left the Mairie, where they reported the previous night's theft to the policeman on duty. She gestured with her head, and said, "Don't be too obvious, but that's Liz, from Vengeance. She and Everett's wife just went in that dress shop. There's ano
ther woman with them, but I don't recognize her."

  "What's going on?" Ashley asked. She and Bert were walking a step behind Leila and Ed.

  Leila shook her head and kept walking. In a few steps, they came to a café with two small tables on the sidewalk. "Let's grab a cup of coffee," Leila said. She sat where she could see the door of the shop the three women had entered.

  Ed said, "Looks like self-service. Everybody have a seat; I'll get it. Four coffees?"

  Everybody nodded. Leila took out her cell phone and appeared to be reading something on the screen.

  "Why'd we stop?" Bert asked. "Shouldn't we hurry to get our passports replaced?"

  "Yeah," Ashley said. "We're stuck here without them."

  "Everett's wife and one of the women from Vengeance just went in that dress shop," Leila said. "There's a woman with them; I'd like to get a picture of her."

  "Everett wasn't with them?" Ed asked. He set a tray holding four cups of coffee on the table and took the remaining chair.

  "No," Leila said. "There they are." She snapped away with her cellphone.

  "Did you see the way that woman was dressed, Ash?" she asked. Shellie was dawdling, window shopping as she meandered up the sidewalk. Liz and the other woman followed her, talking to one another.

  "Yeah. Business attire, like she just came from an office somewhere."

  "She looks like she's showing them around," Leila said. "That makes three local contacts here. Her, and those two men from yesterday. I think I'd like to follow them."

  "Worth doing," Ed said. "It would be nice to know why Everett came here. How about if you and Ash keep an eye on them? Bert and I can go see the man at the computer shop and pick up our stuff. After we take care of that, we'll give you a call and see where things stand. We can always meet up at the consulate in a couple of hours."

  "The guy at the consulate told you he'd be there from three until six, right?" Leila asked.

  "Yeah, so there's no big rush, anyway." Ed slugged down his coffee and stood. "Come on, Bert."

  Ashley watched them walk away. When they were out of earshot, she said, "Bert's a loser."

  "He's a warm body; we're short-handed," Leila said. "But you're right. That's why Ed and I don't leave him alone."

  "You don't trust him? I thought he was the second in command."

  "Yeah. Well, that's what you get with a bunch of misogynists calling the shots."

  "You think he's a double agent?" Ashley asked.

  "Why?" Leila fixed Ashley with a cold stare. "Has he said or done something?"

  "No, not really. But he asks strange questions, sometimes."

  "What kind of questions?"

  "About you and Ed. He thinks maybe you're fooling around, like."

  Leila laughed at that and shook her head. "What a moron."

  "You mean Bert?"

  "Yes. Bert. Ed's a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. Bert's too dumb to be a double agent."

  Ashley looked at Leila for a few seconds. "I've wondered about you and Ed, too. He defers to you quite a bit."

  "Because he's seen me in action. We worked together on a mission in the States once. That's enough questions. And watch what you say around Bert. Let me or Ed handle him. You understand?"

  Ashley swallowed hard at the look Leila sent her way. She nodded. "Sorry. I — "

  "Shut up. They're coming this way. Finish your coffee. Let them get about a half a block away, then you follow them. I'll hang back for a while and we'll tag-team them, okay?"

  Ashley nodded. She took a deep breath and sighed. After several seconds, she got up and began following their quarry.

  "Hello, Marie," Phillip said, answering his cellphone. "Hang on; I'll switch to the speaker; it saves my repeating everything." He set the phone on the table. "Marie?"

  "Yes. Who else is listening, please?"

  "Rick and Sharktooth and Dani. Maureen is outside, sketching, and Liz and — "

  "I know Liz and Sandrine are showing Shellie the shops. I have a team following the people from Aquila. The two women from Aquila are following Liz and Sandrine and Shellie."

  "What?" Dani asked.

  "Following Liz and Sandrine and Shellie?" Phillip asked.

  "That is correct. They picked them up about ten minutes ago. My people called to ask for instructions, because the people from Aquila split up. The men are in a taxi, going to Fort-de-France. Before that, all four of them went to make a police report on the break-in last night. From what they told the police, they have an appointment at the U.S. consulate this afternoon about replacing their passports. My people think it was an accident that they saw Liz and Shellie and Sandrine."

  "Did you get the passports okay?" Phillip asked.

  "Yes, we have them. We are in the process of making an inquiry through Interpol, but it might be a good idea for you to ask your friend at the Miami Police to check them out, too. Interpol will eventually get whatever the U.S. has, but it can take some time."

  "Luke Pantene," Phillip said. "Yes, I'll call him when we're done. Good idea."

  "You have the passport information?" Marie asked.

  "Yes. We made copies last night."

  "Marie?" Dani asked.

  "Yes, Dani?"

  "About their computer — was there software on there to monitor the tracker? Or does that happen via the web?"

  "No, there was no app for that. And no, it is not done over the web. They must have another device for that, or perhaps they use a smartphone. This is possible."

  "Okay, thanks. So as best we know, they can still track us."

  "Yes, that is correct. Are you planning to move soon? Or destroy the tracking device?"

  "I think we're better off letting them track us," Dani said. "If we ditch the tracker, it might push them to take a more aggressive approach."

  Marie laughed. "You? You are worried that they might become aggressive? You're the one who always provokes people. What has happened to you?"

  "They already know all the background from the files they've hacked," Dani said. "If we got rid of the tracker, they would probably still be able to find us. It might be more work for them; that's all."

  "Yes," Marie said. "But why make it easy for them?"

  "Because," Dani said, "if we get rid of the tracker, they'll know we're on to them. As things stand now, they think we don't know they're after us. That puts the advantage on our side, to my way of thinking."

  "I see," Marie said. "What do you think they will do? Only follow you and report back to Tehran? They must plan some action, or this effort would not be worthwhile."

  "Oh, I expect at some point, they'll make a move against us," Dani said. "But we'll be ready for them, and they won't expect that."

  "Rick?" Phillip asked.

  "Yes?"

  "How do you feel about this?"

  "I'm not sure. I can't imagine that these people would attack us. We're not talking about finding buried treasure here, only things that are of academic interest."

  "There's strong rivalry between the Saudis and the Iranians, though," Phillip said.

  "Yes, but I don't see how this would benefit one over the other. I mean, okay, they could one-up the Saudis, I guess, but that's about all I can see as a reason. The Iranians probably just want to know what the Saudis are up to."

  "Nothing related to the Middle East is that simple," Phillip said. "And I'm not sure any of us can guess what their motivations are."

  "We only know that these Americans are in correspondence with the Iranians," Marie said. "We don't know why, or what their relationship to Iran is. Is it possible that these people on Aquila could be academic rivals of yours, Rick?"

  "I suppose they could be," Rick said. "If we had more information on them, we'd be in a better position to judge that. You think maybe the Iranians are sponsoring these people? Is that it?"

  "We've drifted away from the key questions, here," Dani said.

  "What're the key questions, then?" Rick asked.

  "The fi
rst one is whether you're still committed to your search."

  "Okay," Rick said. "Nothing has happened that makes me want to drop it. So these people are spying on us for some reason we don't understand. What are they going to do? Swoop in and snatch whatever we find? That's assuming there's even anything to find."

  "We don't know what they plan to do," Dani said. "But you want to go ahead, even in the face of that uncertainty. Is that correct?"

  "Yes," Rick said. "You had other questions?"

  "Should we ditch the tracker? Or make it easy for them to follow us?"

  "I liked your logic," Rick said. "It's probably to our advantage that they don't know we know about them. At least for now."

  "Liz mentioned earlier that Aquila can't leave here until they replace their passports," Dani said. "Anybody have an idea as to how long that'll take?"

  "Yes," Marie said. "Our source in the police says this is routine. If they are lucky, perhaps late tomorrow they will have replacements. If not, then almost surely the next day."

  "That's what Sandrine said, too," Phillip said.

  "This is all I have," Marie said. "I will call Phillip when we hear from our Interpol inquiry. Phillip, please let me know what you learn from your friend Luke, yes?"

  "I will. If we're done, I'll call him right now. Thanks, Marie."

  "You are welcome. Goodbye for now."

  Phillip excused himself to make the call to Luke Pantene. While he was gone, Dani got a call from Liz. She and her companions were wrapping up their excursion and wanted to meet for lunch at the marina restaurant in thirty minutes.

  "Ed?" Leila asked, when her call was answered.

  "Yeah, Leila, what's up?"

  "Ashley and I are having lunch at the marina restaurant. Where are you and Bert?"

  "We're about to get a sandwich at one of the stalls in the market here in Fort-de-France. We gave up on you when we didn't hear from you. I didn't want to call, in case … well, you know. We found the computer store and got our stuff. I'll tell you about it later. Why are you at the marina? Still following those women?"

  "Yeah, you got it."