by Tom Stern
She glowered at him. “If you mess with me again, you’ll regret it.”
“I already do,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “I promise. Me here, you there. Nothing goes on besides counting sheep.”
Anastasia slowly lowered herself back down to the mattress. “All right,” she told him. “But let’s be very clear. You try anything, and you’ll never have sex again.”
“I believe you! G’night!”
Kelley settled against the ruck sack. Arms folded behind his head. Darkness. Quiet. Immediately felt himself slowly drifting under.
“Kelley?”
After a long moment, he said: “Yup.”
“Why’d you give up so easily? Don’t you like me?”
Kelley pulled the ruck sack over his face.
…
Director Han gave Kelley a stony look. “We have already determined you are not guilty of undue use of force in dealing with the pirates.”
Kelley leaned forward like an attack dog straining a leash. “I already know that. They were firing grenades at us. I want to see the tapes.”
“You haven’t earned the proper clearance.”
“Cuchulain said I could watch them.”
“Why is it necessary, Mr. Kelley?”
“The only reason I’m standing in this office wasting my time talking to you is because I need IPC’s resources in finding King Pirate,” Kelley barked. “If you’re not going to give me access, then you’ve been using me and wasting my goddamn time!”
“Calm down, Kelley.” Cuchulain. The voice from everywhere and nowhere.
Han picked a spot on the wall. “Please tell him I’m not trying to stand in his way. We have a procedure for a reason.”
Kelley talked to the air: “You said I could watch them! Are you a man of your word, or not?”
Anastasia picked that moment to come into the conference room. Both men turned to her in unison.
She was as gorgeous and professional as always. She’d left Kelley’s room early that morning. She wanted to go to her place and pick up some clothes. She’d refused to shower in the hotel’s shared-bathroom. When Kelley jokingly asked her why not, she’d replied with nothing more than a withering look.
As they parted ways, she thanked him for letting her stay at his place. She flagged down a cab. The moment before Anastasia jumped in, she’d tossed a quick peck against Kelley’s cheek. He wasn’t happy with it, but it would have to do for the moment. He knew this wasn’t the last time they would be spending the night together.
But, since the moment they’d both arrived in the office, she’d put a thousand miles of frozen emotional tundra between them. Kelley wasn’t trying to be cutesy. He didn’t mention her staying at his place. He was his usual self. Good morning. How are you? What’s today’s case?
But Anastasia acted like he’d shot her dog. It was a complete freeze-out. It pissed Kelley off. Mostly because he was totally confused. Seemed to be the standard for dealing with beautiful women. But every other time in Kelley’s life, whenever a woman started playing games, he just moved on. He didn’t want to move on with Anastasia. He wanted to see if there was something to be had with her. He was resolved to see it through. He had so little experience in untangling the complexities of male-female relationships, he was an emotional teenager in this situation. It made Kelley feel helpless, which he hated. He couldn’t yell at Anastasia in front of everyone in the office. So he took it out on Han.
“This son of a bitch says I can’t watch the video from the raid,” he told Anastasia.
She regarded him with glacial eyes. “You should refer to Director Han with more respect,” Anastasia said. “And he is absolutely right. You don’t yet have the proper clearance for examining that evidence.”
Kelley gripped the back of a chair. Fighting to keep himself from throwing it through a window.
“If I hadn’t blown those pirates to hell, they would’ve killed a lot more marines. And I can’t watch it? Access to IPC’s resources was part of the deal.”
Anastasia sat at the table. Flipped through a file. Without looking up, she said, “What do you expect to find in that video, Mr. Kelley? A sign that says ‘This way to King Pirate?’ We have agents who are experts in disseminating audio/visual evidence working on the tapes right now. There is nothing of value that you can add to the process.” She finally deigned to look at Kelley. “In the meanwhile, I suggest you go through procedure, shut your loud American mouth, and obey orders.”
Kelley dropped into a deadly calm. It was obvious by now she was actively trying to anger him. He didn’t know why. But he wouldn’t let her.
His voice was hard as a whetstone on a sharpened blade: “What does Cuchulain have to say?”
“She’s got a point, lad. Instead of getting upset, why don’t you work on other leads while the A/V crew breaks down the raid?”
Han and Anastasia watched Kelley. Waiting for the explosion. It didn’t come.
“I suppose you’re right,” he said. “It’s best for me to go through procedure, shut my loud American mouth and obey orders.”
Kelley quietly left the room.
Han let out a long breath.
…
Kelley sat down at a computer. He wasn’t very tech-savvy. But, like almost anyone from a First World country in the 21st century, he knew the basics.
IPC had an internal search engine dedicated to charting its database. Kelley typed: “King Pirate.”
He got 407 hits. Many of them in Malay. Kelley clicked “translate.” It did. He clicked “print.”
The office printer hummed to life behind him.
“Pulau Malak.” Got 54 hits. Print.
“Fong Sai Yuk.” Another 118 hits. Print.
“Kuala Lumpur.” The screen filled with 552 hits. Print.
Kelley grabbed the growing stack from the printer’s tray. Found an empty desk and put his head down.
Asano passed by. The Japanese naval officer; one of several transfer agents learning how to combat piracy from the IPC. He’d been sent as part of the Japan-sponsored effort against piracy recently ratified by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He paused at the printer. Looked at the top pages.
He asked: “What are you looking for?”
“Don’t know yet.”
Asano shook his head, didn’t get it.
Kelley explained, “When I was an insurance investigator, a lot of times the company knew something was up, but they didn’t know exactly what. The other agents would look at the facts. But sometimes, nothing fit with what they’d seen before. The pieces didn’t connect with any known puzzle. So they failed. Nothing got solved.
“I learned to look at everything at the same time. One big pile. And apply the no-mind. You can’t discover anything new if you’re only looking for what’s old, the things you already know. You have to examine what you have with the clarity of knowing nothing. Don’t try to impose what you want to find, but what you are finding. It’s only through the no-mind that any case can truly be solved.”
Asano thought of that and said, “King Pirate is suspected of involvement in hundreds of crimes.”
“To be King Pirate is to be a pirate. And to be a pirate is to be a criminal. I’m not looking for what King Pirate has done, or been involved with. We already know that. I’m looking for King Pirate’s existence. We don’t know who he is. We don’t know where he is. We don’t know what he looks like. If we can uncover his existence, we’ll find King Pirate.”
“IPC has sent many agents to find King Pirate. Undercover. They never come back. He always roots them out.”
Kelley shook his head. “Of course he did. Again, it’s about being a pirate. He knows what he is. And he’ll surround what he is with others like him. Finding an undercover agent is only a matter of looking for the man who doesn’t belong, in even the smallest way. IPC will never find him through agents. And they’ll never find him through informants. The authorities are bound by law. They can sweat guys like the pirates w
e caught on Pulau Malak. But they won’t take a guy apart piece-by-piece. They won’t kill a man’s family. King Pirate will do all that and more. His threat is bigger. There’s no way to counteract that, and still remain within the rule of law. We’re meeting strength with weakness. Because of our morality, we’ll lose every time. There’s another way.”
“What is it?”
Kelley offered his first smile of the day, the nasty grimace of the hunter on a trail: “I don’t know yet. But I’ll find it. I’ll find King Pirate, and I’ll kill him.” Kelley slapped the print outs. “This is just the start.”
Kelley put his head down. Digging. For what, he didn’t know. Asano watched him.
“Can I help you?”
Kelley spread a hand. “You’re more than welcome.”
Asano sat across from Kelley. Reading. Absorbing.
A hidden camera watched them. The man on the other end of its feed considered them with great interest.
A microphone hidden under Kelley’s desk had picked up the entire conversation. The man on the other end thought through Kelley’s words with great interest.
Anastasia blew past, leaving a cold breeze in her wake. Kelley studiously ignored her. He didn’t have time for whatever she was playing.
Kelley let his eyes focus, and mind unfocus. He read.
…
Everyone was gathered in the conference room. Han stood at the head of the table.
“I’ve received word that Interpol Agent Stronzo is in serious but stable condition. Thanks to his body armor, he was able to survive an otherwise deadly explosion.”
Applause. Relief.
“From this point forward, all IPC agents are to closely monitor the Philippine Deep. It’s a rift valley in the ocean floor, fifteen hundred nautical miles from this point. Cuchulain will send the coordinates to all of you.”
Kelley asked, “Why?”
Before Han could answer, Anastasia jumped in. “Because Director Han has told you to do so. That is why, Agent Kelley.”
Kelley said nothing.
“We’ve reason to believe pirates may be targeting ships bearing valuable scientific materials entering and leaving the area of the rift,” Han said.
Kelley nodded. “Chew’s men.”
“Care to elaborate, Mr. Kelley?”
“King Pirate has three lieutenants we know about: Fong Sai Yuk, Dilip Gaur and Yap Chew. Asano and I read over everything we had about King Pirate and his guys. If there’s anything that’s become apparent, it’s this: King Pirate keeps his guys in line by carving up the waters by territory. If each lieutenant was just grabbing ships as they came, it would only be a matter of time before they were at each others’ throats. But each of the three has a piece, so one man doesn’t trip over the next. It’s like King Lear with pirates.
“Even so, when I was ‘interviewing’ Fong Sai Yuk, he admitted he was part of a plan to take King Pirate down. An internal rebellion. Some of King Pirate’s guys think he has too much power. He’s too removed from the front lines. That, and their natural greed, makes them ripe for a power play. Which is no surprise. Show me any organization with one man at the top, and I’ll show you someone below him who wants to take him down.”
They blankly frowned at Kelley, unsure how to take that last part. He forged on.
“What I’m saying is, this interest in heavy water might not be coming from King Pirate. It might be one of his guys, for their own reasons. Take a look at the piracy cases coming out of the waters around Pulau Malak. Between interrogations, photos and eye witness reports, all of the intel we have points to known associates of Fong Sai Yuk. I found pictures of the guys I talked to while I was looking for Fong Sai Yuk. It’s obvious Pulau Malak was Fong’s territory. It’ll belong to whoever King Pirate promotes to replace him.
“With that logic in mind, we looked at the reports and known associates for the rest of the seas around KL. Dilip Gaur seems to have everything south of here. Yap Chew has everything from here to the Philippians.
“Hence, Chew’s men.”
“What would you have us do?”
“Easy. Dig up Chew. Hit him hard and fast. Hit him everywhere we know he has a base. Even if we don’t take Chew down in the first go, we’ll show Chew and his men that King Pirate can’t protect them. He could just as easily split from King Pirate’s organization. Leaving only Dilip Gaur. Divide and conquer.”
Han sighed, making a show of his frustration. “Look around you, Mister Kelley. There are only a few of us. What you’re suggesting is we wage a war across an entire ocean.”
“It’s not just us,” Kelley shot back. “What about the marines who came with us to Pulau Malak? Was that a one-time deal?”
“Almost,” Anastasia said. “We can only call upon government militaries in specific instances. When we have absolutely certain knowledge of piratical activity. When we know exactly where to hit the pirates, and when it’s in the best interest of the given nation’s commerce. We can’t just throw navies around the map, hoping to trip over something.”
“That’s not what I’m saying we do, and you know it. King Pirate’s lost one of his three top guys. We hit them hard at Pulau Malak. It’s not the killing blow, but it puts them on notice that we’re not fucking around. King Pirate has to be on the defensive. I say we call in every favor and go on the attack while they’re still on their heels.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
“What?”
“It’s beyond the capabilities of this agency.”
Kelley pushed himself off from the wall. “What are we doing here, then?”
The others stared at him in silence. No answer.
Kelley left the room. Anastasia stood up to call him back in.
“Leave him alone,” Cuchulain said. “Continue the briefing, Han.”
Anastasia slowly settled back into her seat. Glaring through the semi-opaque walls at the retreating shadow that was Ryan Kelley.
…
Kelley knew Cuchulain would watch to see where he went after he left. He stepped into the men’s room. He leaned against the sink. Looking at his reflection. Kelley counted to thirty. He went back into the hallway. Kelley could faintly hear Cuchulain’s amplified brogue filtering through the thick glass conference room walls as he addressed the IPC team. Cuchulain was the mysterious head of an extra-military law enforcement unit. But he was still only one man with two eyes. He couldn’t watch everywhere at once.
Kelley only needed a minute. Han’s bullshit meeting would keep Cuchulain distracted. He headed down the hall towards the A/V unit.
…
“I want to see the video from the Pulau Malak raid.”
The Malay tech guy looked Kelley over. Doubt tinged his impassive black eyes. “Do you have authorization?”
The guy’s name was Sri Dato. He barely cleared five-foot-four, slight build. He looked like a child next to Kelley. Sri Dato was in charge of IPC’s A/V unit. He also had a hand in their ongoing internet security measures. King Pirate’s hackers had been cracking the networks of shipping companies, getting to-the-minute routes and cargos. It was swiftly turning into a nightmare. IPC’s resources were already stretched.
Kelley waved his IPC ID card at him. It had a magnetic strip that let him through the doors and guards downstairs. It had a scowling picture of Kelley.
Dato glanced it over. Kelley told him, “Cuchulain said it was cool.”
“Ryan Kelley. Sorry. You must be the new guy I keep hearing about,” he said in heavily-accented English. “But you do look familiar.”
“Have you watched the video?”
“While we burned copies… now I see. You’re the man who blew up those pirates with a grenade.”
“They did it to themselves.” Kelley didn’t have time for chit-chat. “You have copies?”
“Three.”
“Let me score one.”
“I already gave them to Cuchulain, Han and Anastasia.”
“Thanks.”
…
Kelley headed across IPC’s empty office. Everyone was in the conference room. He could see their silhouettes. Kelley made for his desk. Until he again heard Cuchulain remotely speak to the meeting. Still involved. Distracted. Kelley angled towards Anastasia’s desk.
Casually as possible, his eyes swept the work space. Computer. Flat-screen monitor. Files. She’d mentioned a live-in guy. There were no pictures. Nothing personal.
Kelley spotted a stack of CD-Rs. He shuffled through them. Found one labeled: “PULAU MALAK.” Dated two days ago with a black Sharpie. Bingo.
Kelley took it back to his own desk and computer. Found himself glancing up at the ceiling corners, where you traditionally found security cameras. Not so with Cuchulain. His were completely hidden.
Another quick look at the conference room. Silhouettes in the same positions. Han’s thick shadow standing at the head of the table. Blah, blah, blah. Kelley knew every second counted. Why the fuck were they hiding this video from him? Clearance, his ass. The whole thing was shady.
Kelley jiggled the mouse. Killed the screen saver. Popped the CD-R in the computer’s disc tray. It auto-ran. One second. Whirring to itself. Three seconds. Reading the disc. Five seconds. The conference room: still no movement.
A window opened on Kelley’s monitor. It seemed black at first. After a moment, Kelley realized it was a low-light shot in the helicopter from Anastasia’s helmet point-of-view. Kelley saw himself, a wolfish shape crouched among the Marines. The dull glistening of moonlight on his body armor.
This was it.
Kelley hit “copy.” The computer rendered the audio visual image into a file. Kelley realized he didn’t have a blank CD-R. He rummaged through the crap on his desk. The drawers. Came up empty. Dammit!
Kelley remembered an office supply cabinet. Anastasia had shown it to him on his first day. He’d regarded it with the vaguely disdainful curiosity of a man who had heard of office supplies before, was seeing them for the first time and found himself as thoroughly unimpressed as he knew he would be.
Kelley picked up a stack of his King Pirate print outs. Pretending to be engrossed as he made his way across the office. Kelley felt Cuchulain’s electronic eyes touching the back of his neck. Or was it his imagination?
