The Tahitian Pearl

by Sean Blaise

  John surfaced coughing out seawater as the wave washed him into the foam-covered water, as the wave died. He felt stinging pain in his leg and his back. John began to doggie paddle himself towards the deep-water channel as another wave came crashing into the rocks. He felt his leg pulled back as his board was smashed onto the rocks by the final wave. He finally made it into the channel and out of the danger zone, when he looked back and saw that he was now towing a broken board.

  Otter knew he was bleeding pretty badly. He clung to the remaining back half of his surfboard and began to swim for the nearest beach. He was furious with himself and was sick of these near-death experiences. Suddenly, John heard a boat engine near him and turned around fearing he was going to be run over next, when a small gray Novurania inflatable pulled up next to him. The engine was cut and then he saw her. Jet black hair, bronzed face, and the most incredible green eyes John had ever seen. A smirk danced on her lips, as she reached out and grabbed the broken end of his surfboard.

  "Who you like a lift?" she asked in a lilting French accent.

  Chapter 94

  “Yes, please!" John said, as he attempted to climb the rubber tube on the side of the dingy. The woman made no move to help, in fact she looked at him now with obvious displeasure.

  "American?" She asked.

  John slipped back down in the water. His shoulder ached still, and he was having trouble kicking with his bleeding thigh. He looked at her with exasperation.

  "Is that a problem?" he asked.

  "How very typical of Americans to just jump on the board and hope for the best."

  "Well, despite your obvious distaste for us, do you mind giving me a hand?" he asked.

  She sighed. Another fucking tourist. They came, took what they wanted, and then left. The leaving part was something she had experienced very recently that left her more than a little bitter. She reached for John's arm while leaning over the tube and her loose shirt fell forward. John couldn't help but glance at her braless breasts hanging like ripe fruit. He quickly averted his eyes, but he was caught in her big green eyes. Her look of scorn somehow hurt his pride. She pulled on his arm nonetheless and finally he plopped over the tube and landed like a beached whale in the bottom of the boat. She gracefully sat back down and started the motor. Nice work, John, he thought, as he struggled to sit up.

  "I appreciate the lift."

  "Where to?" she asked.

  "The Pink Coconut Marina, I'm on the…"

  "Ah yes, a yachtie, of course," she said looking away from him.

  "I'm sorry?" Otter asked.

  "A yachtie, of course," she repeated, not looking at him as she brought the boat up to speed.

  John didn't know what her problem was, but he couldn't help but notice her looks. She was a staggering beauty. Her skin was a perfect dark brown, her hair jet black and wavy, and she had a European sensibility when it came to bras. The wind was framing the light blue t-shirt onto her pert breasts in such a way that Otter’s board shorts were becoming uncomfortable. But her attitude sucked.

  "You must be French."

  John said as he forced himself to look away from her towards the bow off the little boat. Two could play the bitchy game.

  The motor slowed. "Of course, I am French. This is a French island," she said. "Is that a problem, American yachtie?" she nearly shouted. The dinghy slowed to a crawl.

  "You have a problem that I work on a yacht? It’s absurd."

  "You are just another bored tourist, taking a stupid chance on that wave, with something you don't understand."

  "I'm not what you think."

  "Why do you care what I think?" she asked.

  "For some reason I want to change your opinion of me."

  "Don't bother. I know your kind too well.”

  "How cliché, a rude Frenchwoman," Otter retorted.

  "Perhaps you would like to swim again?"

  John turned and smiled, "with pleasure!" With that, he rolled off the boat's tube back into the water and began swimming his way to the docks that were much closer now.

  Sophia bit her lip as he slowly swam towards the docks. Shit, what a bitch I am, she thought. She wanted to drive the dinghy to him and apologize, but her pride wouldn't let her. Instead, she turned the motor toward the harbor and her sailboat and gunned it.

  Chapter 95

  Pierre stepped off the plane with relish. The flight had been long and unpleasant. The landing had been downright terrifying. Due to the mountain on Papeete, the plane literally dove to the tarmac in a mad dash to get down to the runway. Once on the short runway, the pilot seemed to pull the e-brake as the plane struggled to slow down before it skidded into the ocean. Pierre's neck was sore from the whiplash.

  He was shocked by the blast of heat on his face as he exited the airplane and even more stunned by the mountain behind the airport. It was massive, green, and beautiful. So, this is paradise, Pierre thought.

  The crowd of newly landed tourists were approached by Polynesian women in flowery outfits that were supposed to match every tourist’s imagination of the place. The tourists moaned with delight when they saw this, oblivious to the fact that no one in French Polynesia actually wore flowers on their necks on a daily basis. These locals had jobs, places to be, hungry kids to feed, and little time to pick flowers to garland themselves with. They were normal people like the rest of us, not some island fairies whose days were only occupied with surfing and smiling. But it was the illusion that brought tourists to the island, and the illusion paid the local's bills. The locals were more than happy to keep up the charade.

  Pierre spotted his local contact standing by the entrance from the tarmac. A tired-looking Frenchman who had taken the island life to heart, judging by his large belly and alcoholic's ruddy glow. Nothing but the best help from Frances.

  "Pierre?"

  Pierre nodded, handing his bag to the man. The man looked surprised at this, but reluctantly took Pierre's suitcase.

  "The car?" Pierre asked.

  The man pointed the way and began to make his way out toward the parking lot. Pierre looked at Abdul waiting at a taxi stand. He had sent orders to have Abdul followed from the airport. The island was small, and there was no place to go. Pierre wanted to get to his hotel and sleep off the jet lag before he began his work.

  Pierre and his driver took a winding road up the mountainside in an old Land Cruiser. As they wound up the side of the mountain, Pierre could clearly see the Ivana motor yacht at the Pink Coconut Marina. It was impossible to miss. The large yacht dwarfed anything else in the harbor. Offshore, Pierre could also see a large orange ship, more like an oil services boat working near the island of Moorea. It looked out of place.

  "That orange ship, know anything about it?"

  His driver squinted in the distance. “It’s a survey vessel, arrived three weeks ago. C-Legend, I believe it was called. Rowdy American crew. They are never in port, they work offshore around the clock, and come in only for provisioning."

  "Surveying what?"

  The man shrugged as he turned into the driveway of a small bed and breakfast. He stopped the truck, but kept the engine running.

  "Your bag is in the back, inspector," the man said, before Pierre could give him more bag duties.

  Pierre looked at him coldly before grabbing his bag. "Pick me up at 7 am, do not be late. By morning I want to know what that boat is surveying."

  Pierre turned and walked up the walkway to the small hotel. He dropped his bag on the floor by the front counter and rang an old brass looking bell. A very large Polynesian woman ambled slowly from the back room. She reeked of strong vanilla that made Pierre's eyes water. He wasn't sure if she had eaten a whole cake or if it was sweating right out of her pores.

  "You must be the inspector, I've been waiting on you," she said.

  "On me?"

  "Yes, I can't go home until all guests are checked in."

  "Sorry to keep you." Pierre glanced at his wristwatch, "It is 11 am is it not?"
<
br />   "Yes? Why do you ask?" she asked with scorn.

  "No reason."

  "You are in room 8, right down the hall. And your visitor is waiting in the lobby."

  "I'm sorry, my visitor?" Pierre asked puzzled.

  The lady nodded her three chins and pointed to the small courtyard in the middle of the bed and breakfast. Pierre walked slowly toward what sounded like a small fountain and when he turned past the wall, he stopped. There was a breathtaking blonde woman seated in a chaise lounge. She looked up at him without emotion.

  "Inspector Pierre?" she said, showing a brilliant smile that was somehow cold at the same time.

  "Mon Cheri, you are?" Pierre asked.

  "Ingrid is my name. I work for Mr. Popovich. He would like to see you this evening for dinner on the Ivana. I will arrange for a car to pick you up at 5." Ingrid walked out without another word.

  Pierre was surprised that Alexi knew of his arrival. But perhaps he shouldn't have been. He knew he needed a few hours rest before his dinner, as he had no doubt Alexi would be on his game.

  Chapter 96

  Captain Bae's Tsung Tao ship was now renamed the Jie Shun, and sat at anchor in Cooks Bay, Moorea, just across from the Papeete. Captain Bae hardly recognized his own ship with its shiny new coat of red paint. The island of Moorea was just 12 miles away from Papeete, Tahiti. It was accessible by ferry boat as well as a small plane service from the mainland.

  Captain Bae had formulated his plan during the three weeks journey from Dubai to Moorea. He had been ecstatic when his boss and Pyongyang had informed him that the kidnapping and ransom attempt had failed. Now his orders were to spy on the Ivana, and wait until they discovered the Pearl. Once it was raised to the surface, Bae and his new crew of elite North Korean commandos would steal it. The team would attack the Ivana, and the bomb would be loaded into a fast RIB boat and brought back to Moorea. Once there, it would be loaded onto the Jie Shun, a name Bae still wasn't used to, and they would depart as quickly as possible for North Korea. At some point, a submarine from the Korean People's Navy would rendezvous with the Jie Shun to take the plutonium off his ship.

  It was a career making endeavor for Bae. He looked up at the lush green mountains of Moorea and wondered where he would go after this mission. He knew he would leave the DKRP at some point, unless this mission gave him what he wanted back home: Money, prestige, and respect. As well as a sweet government job, where he was paid to do nothing, his family was well-fed, and he would be a part of the inner circle in the government. The only way to survive under the oppressive North Korean regime, was by becoming a part of it.

  He looked at his commandos, dressed in flowering Hawaii shirts, replete with expensive cameras draped on their necks. They looked ridiculous, and they knew it. But they had to pretend to be tourists or the mission would never work.

  "Start smiling, you're in Tahiti! This is the vacation of a lifetime, remember this," Bae instructed his men.

  The men were splitting up. Five guys in one group would arouse suspicion. The ship would stay where it was. Bae had informed French Customs that there was a mechanical issue in the boiler of the ship, and they were waiting on parts to be flown in. This was a great long-term excuse. They had false papers proving the parts were being manufactured. The lazy French Customs had given the Jie Shun two weeks permission to stay at anchor.

  Bae and his commandos would take the ferry to Papeete this afternoon and set up their additional surveillance on the Ivana. Bae's radio operator was working feverishly to decrypt the orange survey ship C-Legend's radio communications with the Ivana. He had already activated the satellite tracker they had put on the Ivana in Yemen to begin audio surveillance.

  Chapter 97

  John was on the back deck of the Ivana, replacing a hydraulic hose on the A-frame crane, which would soon be used to lower the deep-sea submersible to the ocean floor. Movement on the dock caught his eye and he saw a familiar face walking down the dock. John pretended not to see her, in case she was walking to another boat, when she suddenly stopped at the Ivana’s gangway. John ignored her until she finally spoke.

  "Excuse me, I am here to see Mr. Popovich," Sophia said.

  "And here I thought you had come to apologize." John regretted his words instantly when he saw her jaw set and her green eyes flash with anger.

  "Apologize for what? I am not the one...."

  "Excuse me, I am Mr. Popovich, and you must be Professor Bisset? Won't you please come aboard?" Alexi said from the ship's doorway.

  Professor? John wondered. She didn't look like any professors he had ever had. She gave him a smug look and walked down the gangway, outstretching her small hand to Alexi.

  "Please, call me Sophia."

  "Sophia it will be. Please allow me to introduce you to Captain Otter," Alexi said, pointing to John.

  "Captain?" Sophia looked incredulous.

  It was John's turn to be smug and he wasn't going to miss the opportunity. "You sound surprised?"

  "Very much so. Captains usually make wise decisions."

  Alexi looked confused. "I'm sorry, have you two met already?"

  "Briefly."

  "Yes, I saved his life from the clutches of Teahupoo."

  "I would hardly call it saving my life. I happened to break my surfboard and..."

  "I just hope he drives your ship better than his surfboard."

  Alexi's smile faded at the bickering.

  "Perhaps we can go inside and discuss our project. There will be plenty of time for you two to squabble later, when you are both off my payroll for the day."

  "I'm sorry," Sophia said putting a hand on Alexi's shoulder and leading him inside the boat. John cursed that he hadn't gotten that last word in. But God was she beautiful he thought.

  Alexi sat on the couch in the living room with relish. John noticed the old man seemed to be more and more winded by simple tasks. He wondered about his health after the recent stress of the attempted hijacking.

  "May I get you a coffee? Or a tea?" Alexi asked.

  "Tea, please," Sophia said, as she sat across from Alexi, and far away from John.

  Alexi pressed the intercom and relayed the order to Ingrid.

  "Sir, if I may, it was extremely generous of you to fund my research. I will do whatever it takes to help you locate your sunken ship," Sophia said.

  Alexi smiled. "It was my pleasure. The wonders of worms at the bottom of the sea must be discovered."

  "Worms?" John asked.

  "Sophia here is leading the research on thermal vents at great depths," Alexi said.

  "Well, technically speaking, I study what is known as Black Smokers. They’re deep thermal vents that support a great diversity of biological life that lives off of the minerals released by these vents. I am specifically following the life cycles of Giant Tube worms." She said with a smile. It was clear where her passion lay. The worms just gotten more warmth than John had ever experienced from her.

  "Ah, Giant Sea Worms. Got it." John said sarcastically.

  Sophia flashed him an angry glance. "Yes, who knows what we will discover about them. After all penicillin came from mold."

  "Indeed," Alexi said. "Let me tell you what we have planned."

  Alexi explained that the survey vessel, C-Legend, had already been scanning the ocean bottom for weeks when the Ivana had arrived in Tahiti. They had pinpointed only two possibilities for the shipwreck. That was the cover story. Instead, what the survey boat had actually found were two very good possibilities for the location of the nuclear bomb.

  "So, tomorrow, after we have loaded up your submersible onto the Ivana, we will transit to the first of the locations, and you will see what you can see. If the Pearl is not there, then we will try the next location. The survey vessel is still mapping the ocean floor, so we may have more possibilities in the coming days. As I informed your boss, I will only need your skills and the submersible for a week or so; and then you will be free to go back to the worms!"

  "And we are l
ooking for a treasure ship?"

  John looked at Alexi who ignored him and said without hesitation. "Yes, the Tahitian Pearl. Have you heard of it?"

  "Of course, but it is a myth."

  "Perhaps," Alexi said with a smile. "But not much gets this old heart beating like hunting for treasure. Indulge my fantasies, won't you?"

  Sophia smiled. She could actually be charming, thought Otter.

  "Well, sir, it was nice to meet you. I will come down once Troy is loaded aboard the Ivana. I assume you don't need my help to do that, correct?" She asked, looking at Otter the first time since they sat down.

  "Troy?"

  "That is the name of our submersible."

  "I'm pretty sure we can load it without your help. You know we have quite a bit of...."

  "Good," Sophia said, interrupting John and shaking Alexi’s hand. Alexi followed Sophia to the door.

  "One more thing, Sophia," Alexi said. "John will be accompanying you in the submersible during the dives."

  Her face scowled. "I'm sorry, sir, that's not procedure. I can manage alone, and you will be able to see whatever I see from the surface with the cameras. He will be useless to me in the submersible."

  "It is not optional," Alexi said coldly. "For what I am paying for your research, I'm more than paying for a passenger."

  Sophia swallowed. “I understand, I will be happy to help with whatever you require. See you tomorrow.”

  Sophia walked out the gangway and back onto the dock. Alexi turned to John with a knowing look.

  “John can I ask for a favor? Please keep it in your pants, until after we have completed our mission.”

  “Sir, of course. I mean she’s rude, I wasn’t even.”

  “John, please.” Alexi turned without another word and headed back to his cabin.