The Prince and His Harem - Ch 57 & 58

Chapter 57

“Miss Torno, do you mind if I speak with Rick alone for a moment?  It won’t take long.  I just need to debrief him before he’s released from the hospital.” 

“Wait.” Rickie called, as she turned towards the door, “Wait until I’m able to leave and I’ll drive you home.  Please.”  He couldn’t stop the pleading tone.  Meaghan gave a jerky nod and all but rushed from the room.   Rickie cursed under his breath and laid back down on the bed as the door closed behind her.   The director made a dismissive gesture.

“Once she knows you just got a scratch, she will feel better.  I just wanted to go over what we found tonight.”  Rickie let the words wash over him.

The body of the sniper, John, was recovered on the helipad, along with a T91 Chinese-made assault rifle, and a M77B pistol.  He had died from a self-inflicted gunshot after sustaining multiple injuries from other weapons.  There was no identification on him; the cabin he and Ani used yielded few clues and little forensic evidence.  Both the BKN and the STAR agents determined that their belongings had been moved to their getaway boat prior to their actions on the tower.

Ani had disappeared into the night in the extremist’s boat.  Other APMM vessels were scouring the waters with little success.  Although Ani was wounded during her fight with Rickie, she still managed to shoot the STAR boat pilot in the shoulder and thigh before making her escape.  A Be On Lookout (BOLO) had been issued, so there was little left to do besides wait for a sighting.

Specialised bomb technicians were currently combing through the remains of the explosive device, which Ani had managed to partially activate before being discovered and forced to flee.  Luckily, the only damage was to several layers of casing around the subsea freshwater aquifer, which would be relatively easy to repair.  The drilling was delayed by a matter of months, but no permanent damage was done to either the platform or the seafloor.  No other explosive devices or sabotage had been found.

Although Rickie felt fine physically, he was exhausted mentally, unable stop thinking about the scene in his room.  After giving his statement to the Director, he waited for Meaghan to return.  The only person that showed up, though, was JoAnne.   She carried a colorful paper bag into the room and plunked it down on the hospital couch.

“I brought you a change of clothes.  Since I’ve got your medicine and have already signed your discharge papers, we can go home any time you are ready.”

“Where is Meaghan?  Is she still here?”  He demanded, eliciting a disapproving look from JoAnne.

“She’s at the cafeteria, having tea with Cynthia.  Why are you yelling?”

“I’m not!  I’m just…” Rickie threw his head back in frustration, striking the headboard.  JoAnne smiled evilly at his grunt of pain, but her expression sobered as she saw the play of emotions across his face.  More gently, she asked, “Okay, what happened between you and Meg?”

Chapter 58

The hospital cafeteria was almost deserted this time of the morning, except for a few doctors eating an early breakfast.  Meghan gripped the ceramic tea cup in her trembling hands as she stared across the table at her old boss.

“Cynthia, can you tell me why you picked me for the special assignment with the task force? I don’t understand why I was the one chosen.”

Cynthia looked at Meaghan with a puzzled expression.  “En Ahmad specifically requested your transfer to the task force.  He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.  You were qualified, and, after all, he is the owner of the company.”  Her smile faded as she looked at Meaghan’s expression, and quickly added, “Though I agreed with him that you were the best person for the job.”

Meaghan looked down at her white knuckles, and ruthlessly tamped down the hysteria that threatened to bubble up.    The image that she had of her…boss? …friend?...lover?...was now tarnished and cracked.  All the time she had known him, he had been keeping important secrets from her.  Not only that, he had used the fact of his ownership to move her into his office.

Her breath hitched when she remembered their phone conversation…was it only last Wednesday?  And the way he held her hands in his office just two short days before.  It was all just a seduction ploy, wasn’t it.  After all, what did they have in common?

It reminded her of those Korean Dramas her neighbor Shel enjoyed:  the rich chaebol seducing the honest inexperienced girl.

But interspersed with this was the vision of him laughing with Tina and the other girls at the slumber party, his friendship with the restaurant owner, and his gentleness with her.  It all swirled around her head until she thought it would explode.  She put the cup down and clamped her hands over her face.

Cynthia walked around the table, sat next to Meaghan, and put her hand across her shoulders.

“Poor thing, you’ve got to be tired after this entire ruckus tonight.  Should I drive you home?”

“No, I’ll drive her.”  Meaghan dropped her hands and looked up to see Rickie, pale but determined, walked towards her, JoAnne a presence next to him.  Meaghan quickly wiped her face with her hands and stood up.

“I’ll be okay.  I’ll just catch a cab. I don’t want to be a bother.”

“You promised I would drive you home.”  Rickie stated strongly.  Cynthia also stood up and took a step towards him, but JoAnne shook her head and rolled her eyes.  Cynthia looked over at Meaghan, who was staring at Rickie like she had never seen him before.

“Well, I’ll go ahead and drive JoAnne home then. You’ll be okay, Meg?” Meaghan nodded and smiled woodenly at the pair, rooted to the spot until they both had walked away, whispering furiously together.  Once they were a distance away, she picked up her things without a word and walked with Rickie to the carpark.

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 55 & 56

Chapter 55

Rickie felt the cold metal of the floor as he slowly became aware of his surroundings.  The fire in his belly flared as he tried to take a deep breath, and he couldn’t hold back a gasp.

“He’s awake!”  He heard someone say, and then a black-clad soldier leaned over and looked him in the eye.

“Don’t move.  We’ve secured the area, and are waiting for a litter to bear you to the helipad.”   Rickie grimaced and tried to sit up, but the pain was overwhelming and slipped back down to bang his head against the floor.  The knife had been secured in place with cravats, but the red stain spreading through the muslin illuminated the severity of the injury.  The soldier put a steadying hand on his chest that nevertheless felt like a stone’s weight. 

There was a commotion near his feet as several other soldiers brought a metal Stokes basket and carefully loaded him onto it, the jostling causing bolts of pain until he was safely with the basket’s edges and secured.

Soon enough, they were at the helipad.   Rickie weakly looked around, but it appeared to be intact.   His nose detected the acrid smell of hot metal and smoke, but he was quickly ushered into the aircraft’s hold as they prepared to transport him back to the mainland.

~     ~     ~

Meaghan stood along with Cynthia with a group by the hospital’s landing pad as the dark gray helicopter gracefully dropped from the sky.   She had received a cryptic phone call from Raine asking her to meet them here.  Too distraught to think, she contacted Cynthia, who willingly picked her up and drove to the location, where they had been waiting.  Raine had explained that Rickie had been wounded at the gas rig, but she did not know the extent of the injuries.

Like a dragonfly, the aircraft delicately alighted on the concrete pad.  At once the blades began slowing down and doors on either side of the canopy rolled open to discharge passengers.  A dozen or so people walked from the aircraft towards the group waiting at the site, but Meaghan didn’t pay attention to them as she searched for the one person she wanted to see. 

The ambulance behind her strobed the scene as the medical team trotted towards the helo with a yellow stretcher in tow.  They disappeared behind the machine, and Meaghan gripped Cynthia’s hand as they stood there.

Then, from behind the copter, the medics wheeled the stretcher towards the ambulance, carrying a familiar figure.  Meaghan’s breath hitched as she realized Rickie was injured enough to need this type of medical attention.  She broke away from Cynthia and intercepted the stretcher at a run.

“Rickie!!”

At Meaghan’s cry, Rickie said something to the medics, who stopped the stretcher, but clearly were impatient to get him into the vehicle for the short hop to the Emergency Room. 

Meaghan swiftly glanced over Rickie’s prone figure.  He was swathed in sheets head to toe, with a strange lump in the middle of her torso.  Then she forgot everything as she looked into those cerulean eyes, now glazed with pain, and began crying.

Rickie slowly lifted his hand and used his thumb to carefully wipe away the tears falling from her dark eyes, his own throat tight.   Nothing had ever made him happier than her presence here, with her warm hand on his cheek.

“Hey, beautiful,” he managed to say, “I’m glad you’re here to welcome me.  Thanks to you, we stopped them.  Stick around, and I’ll tell you all about it.”  With that, he reached up and touched the hand on his face and curled his fingers around hers as the stretcher started moving towards the ambulance.  Meaghan was forced to let go as they loaded up the stretcher; by then Cynthia had caught up and was holding her shoulders as the doors to the unit shut, and the ambulance pulled away towards the Emergency Room entrance.

Chapter 56

It was several hours before Rickie was again aware of his surroundings.  The wound turned out to be less deep than they had feared; no organs were damaged and it only required suturing.   The doctor admonished no strenuous movements and a round of antibiotics and antinflamatory medicine.  JoAnne hovered while the doctor gave his final instructions, and plucked the prescriptions out of Rickie’s hands to get them filled.  As she walked out of the hospital room, she spoke with someone in the hallway.  Rickie sat up, despite the protest from his stitches, when he saw who it was.

Meaghan placed her hand on the bedrail and leaned over until she was finally enveloped in his familiar arms.   She began crying softly, overwhelmed and happy that he was safe.   He made soothing noises and rubbed her back until the storm passed and she pulled back, sniffling.  He gave her a lopsided grin, flashing his dimple.

Tearing up again at the sight of his smile, she turned and busied herself with the humidifier until she felt more composed.  Once she was done, she turned to face him and sat down on a chair next to the bed.  He picked up her hand and idly began rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.

“How are you feeling, Rickie?” she asked, with just the hint of trembling in her voice.

“Well, I have been better, but the doctor said I could leave soon.  It’s probably been rough on you too.”  Rickie decided it was time to really tell her how he felt. “Meggie,…”

“There he is!”  A deep voice intruded into the quiet moment, as a well-dressed older gentleman strode into the room.  Meaghan quickly pulled her hand away, much to Rickie’s consternation, and stepped back from the bed.  The man reached the bed and clapped Rickie on the shoulder, almost knocking him down.

“Rick!  You’re looking pretty good after all the excitement tonight.  You’ve done a good job for us.  That was some excellent intelligence you managed to discover.  I expect we’ll be able to root out the entire organisation after this.”

Rickie glanced over to Meaghan, standing immobilized by the window.  He nodded towards the man.

“Meaghan, this is my former boss and Director of the Special Branch of the BKN, Datuk Seri Abdul Bakar bin Ali.”  Meaghan made a nervous bow and tentatively reached out to feel her hand enveloped in his grasp.

“En Torno, thank you for your wonderful assistance in this endeavour.  I can see you decided to follow in your parent’s footsteps.  We are sorry for their loss; it was a blow to our division. You’re the exact image of your mother, you know.  And Rick here had always admired your parents.  In fact, he trained under them.  You must be proud of the job they performed for their country.” 

Rickie winced, realizing he had never told her about his relationship with her parents, or the organisation they worked for under the guise of consultants; his old supervisor had just pulled the rug out from under his woman.

Meaghan was having trouble comprehending what had been said.  She looked back and forth between the two men.  Rickie’s expression was guarded, as if he had bad news.  The other man gave nothing away in his expression, and she felt the floor tilt, as if the world suddenly shifted it axis.

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 53 & 54

Chapter 53

Rickie blew on his hands to warm them.  With the inky blackness of night, the breeze had taken a cooler turn.  

At first he thought the quiet growl was his stomach, but then realized it was coming from across the water.  A dark shape detached itself from the pitch-black water, and Rickie smiled for the first time in hours when he recognized the rigid hull fender boat of the APMM.  The newest and fastest vessel in the Maritime fleet, capable of 50 knots speeds and painted matte black for covert operations, it eased in behind his cigarette boat, and began discharging its dark-clothed occupants.

Rickie use a small penlight to flash the agreed-upon signal, and then went down to the dock to meet the team.  He shook hands around, and then handed his radio to the team leader.

“The crew members here are on this frequency, but the at least one Tango is able to listen in.  I’m not sure of her current destination; the other one is still on the helipad.  I don’t believe there are any others here. I’ve only visually confirmed her.  She called herself “Ani”; black fatigues, around 170 cm, dark hair.  She has an assault rifle, but I don’t know what other weaponry is on her.  I last saw her in the crew mess hall on Level D.  I’m going back to the Control Room; I’ll contact you on Tac channel 7 once I’m in place.  Good luck.”  They all nodded, pulled their balaclavas in place, and silently glided up the steps.  Rickie watched them go to make sure they had a good start, bowed to the boat pilot still at the wheel, and climbed back up to start his winding way back to the Control Room.

~     ~     ~

Rickie carefully unlocked the door to the Control Room and surveyed it to look for any changes.  Without a radio, he was unable to determine where the troops were before getting here. Since there were no staccato sounds of gunfire, he decided they hadn’t engaged anyone yet.   He walked back over to the bank of monitors and gave them a cursory glance before grabbing one of the radios from the charger and switching it to the appropriate tactical channel.  

“This is Ahmad; I’m back in the Control Room. Nothing visual yet, but will advise, over.” His transmission was acknowledged, and he sat back down in front of the screens and began to look more closely at them.

For several minutes, he directed the Alpha team through the platform to the helipad.  Several team members pulled off to assist the civilian crew members still waiting in the meeting room, but most were heading for the helipad.  Rickie was sure John was still there to make sure the helicopter couldn’t land.

Once the team was in place, Rickie pulled back, momentarily closed his eyes and rubbed his temple with his right hand, trying to stop the headache that threatened to settle in his forehead.

He was concentrating on that spot of pain when he felt a cold metal object against his left ear.

“Why, Mr Ahmad,” Ani purred, “How nice to see you again.”

Six of these 600 hp patrol boats have recently been purchased by the APMM.

Chapter 56

Only his years of agent training kept Rickie from reacting and reaching for the weapon.  Instead, he adopted a conversational tone.

“Ani, I can’t say that I have the same pleasure.  How are you?”  The gun retracted from his head, and he slowly swiveled until he faced the extremist.

Her pistol was now pointed directly at his chest, but her stance was relaxed, almost bored.  On her right hand, a small black device was attached to the back of a wrist brace.  Her assault rifle was slung over her shoulder.

“You have caused a bit of a bother, Ahmad.  We expected you to be otherwise engaged with your European office.  How did you end up so Johnny-on-the-spot, tonight?”  She held up her right hand to stop any response, a small, slowly-blinking light catching Rickie’s eye. 

“Don’t tell me; I’m sure it would be a fascinating tale.  Too bad I can’t stay and listen.  Your satellite phone, please.”

She held out her hand, and, with feigned reluctance, he placed the device in her hand, trying to discover anything about that box on her wrist.  He was sure that was the trigger for the explosive; there was a small button on top but no other features that he could see.
He settled back down on his chair to wait for an opportunity.

“Why was it important to attack my business?  And why now?” Rickie queried.

“When you made the agreement with PETRONAS last year, we knew that it was the perfect situation to show our might.  A symbolic pillar of fire on your king’s birthday, and the chaos of the festivals would help frame our achievement.  In truth, this has been planned for almost two years, with the target the final decision.”

“You know, if you cause that much damage, it will be catastrophic for the plants and animals in the sea.  Why would you want that?”

Ani sneered.   “If you really cared for the environment, you would have never created this thing we are standing on.   This platform is nothing more than a symbol of pure greed, one that we are going to look forward to destroying.”   A hissing noise emanated from the radio at her waist.

“The helo is coming back and I’m ready.  Ani, take care, my dear.”  John’s voice sounded tinny coming from the small speaker.  Ani reached down for the radio, never taking her eyes off of Rickie and her gun still trained on his torso.  Suddenly, the loud retorts from semi-automatic weapons came over the gadget, as simultaneously the loud sound of an aircraft swooping over head reverberated through the office.   She reflexively looked up, and Rickie launched himself from the chair, grabbing for the handgun and trying to take her down as the assault rifle skittered across the floor.

Slamming her against the outside door, Rickie used both hands to grapple for the gun, forcing it up and over her head.   She used a leg sweep to knock his legs out from under him, but he was able to maintain his grip and pulled her down to the floor.  Once there, they rolled around, crashing into the furniture as each tried to gain the upper hand.  Rickie managed to punch her cheek and ear, causing her to loosen her hold on the pistol.  He wrenched it away and threw it to the other end of the room, where it struck one of the monitors, and bounced off to land behind the desk.

Ani cursed and struck the heel of her hand against Rickie’s nose.  Pain blossomed on his face and his eyes immediately began to water.  As he stepped back from her, she gained her footing and crabbed backwards towards the rifle.

Rickie knew that if she got a hold of that weapon, killing him would be easy.  He swivel-kicked, catching her on her hip and sending her once again against the outside door.  Rickie lunged at her, his priority the device on her right wrist.   She reached behind her and opened the door, and they both spilled outside, Rickie landing on top of her. 

The gunshots and the helicopter were much louder outside.  As Ani struggled underneath him, Rickie ripped the kill switch off her hand and threw it over the railing.

As his eyes briefly followed the arc of the trigger, he felt a sudden, blinding pain to his abdomen, and looked down to see a butterfly knife protruding from his stomach.  Ani had somehow gotten the weapon and stabbed it upwards, catching him just to the side of his navel. 

He collapsed backwards; she wriggled free and stepped back from him.  With a snarl, she turned and ran down the walkway.  Rickie saw her form disappearing in the distance as his eyesight wavered.  His last thought was regret that he never told Meaghan that he loved her.

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 51 & 52

Chapter 51

Rickie turned the two-way radio volume back up and keyed the mike.

“Anyone out there, this is Rick Ahmad.  Any level one supervisors, please respond.”

The jumble of voices quieted down except for two individuals.  Swiftly, Rickie established the location and circumstances of most of the platform employees.  

The most likely place to seriously damage the apparatus and set back, for a long time if not forever, the production capabilities of this location.   The Deepwater Horizon crude oil platform, in North America’s Gulf of Mexico, was forever sealed as the result of an accident.  The South China Sea held a vast and unique biodiversity, with over 3400 varieties of fish alone, and the ecological threat was just as real as the economic one.

Rickie had a hunch that any explosive device would probably be somewhere near the marine riser.  Attached to the blowout preventer, it housed the main drill bit and drillstring.  A strong enough explosive could not only damage the drill and the tower itself, it had the potential to damage the blowout preventer and contaminate the freshwater aquifer currently protected by multiple layers of steel casing and cement.

Via the radio, Rickie sent a small group of experienced crew members and their gang boss to the lower levels of the tower to inspect the drill for explosives or anything unusual.   For everyone else, he arranged to meet up at an area a short distance away from the Control Room.  There were several people unaccounted for, however, and no one had seen John since supper, when Ani came into the mess hall and forced them all to stay there.

The cool night air playfully ruffled Rickie’s hair, but there was nothing amusing about the situation.  At least two armed extremists were on his rig, and help was still some time out.

After locking the Control Room door with a set of keys he conveniently found on a nail on the wall, he silently made his way to the rendezvous point, hoping the rescue teams arrived soon.

In the designated room, the group of men huddled together, as if drawing comfort from each other.  Rickie entered the room and received several back slaps as the crew acknowledged his presence.  His radio made a squawk.  

“Drill team to En Ahmad, over.” 

Rickie immediately answered.  “Did you find anything?”  He held his breath.

“Yes, En Ahmad, there some type of box right at the marine tensioner coupling.” 

Rickie cursed; this was bad news.

The marine tensioner provides a near constant force to maintain the stability of the riser with the drill platform.  Within the riser itself, power and control lines to the subsea blowout preventer, as well as high pressure choke and kills lines for the drill itself are located.  Damage to the riser could also cause a devastating cascade effect on both the platform above the waterline, and at the seafloor.

Rickie thought for a moment, and keyed the mike.  “Don’t touch anything; I’m heading towards you now.”  He nodded to the other in the room, hooked the radio on his belt, and peeked out the window before opening the door and stepping outside the room.

A detached, yet amused voice came over the radio as he shut the door behind him.

“Mr. Ahmad, I hope you enjoy our little present; be warned, there is nothing you can do to disarm it.”

A hydrocarbon exploration platform.

Chapter 52

Rickie pulled the radio off his waist and keyed it.

“Ani,” he began in a reasonable tone, “You know this isn’t going to work.  I don’t want anyone hurt here.  Would you like to meet?  I’m willing to see you and discuss your conditions to stop this situation.”  There was nothing but slight crackle from the radio speaker, and then…

“I’ve got the kill switch for our little surprise.  Disabling it is, of course, not possible.  I’ll think about and let you know.”  There was no further answer or response, even after Rickie tried to talk to her further.

The ringing of his satellite phone interrupted his communication attempt. 

“Hello?”

“En Ahmad; this is STAR Team Bravo.  We have spotted your tower and are waiting just south of your location.  Do you have any additional intel?”  Rickie advised them of the explosive attached to the platform, the location of the majority of the crew members, and the unknown position of the two extremists.  Rickie took heart that help had finally arrived.

As it approached, the helicopter shone its powerful spot light on the darkened structure.  Suddenly, a series of bright streaks from the helipad reached out into the dark sky.  The helicopter suddenly turned off its spotlight and veered off.  It was impossible to see if it was hit, but Rickie was sure that one of the terrorists was firing from the platform.

Quickly, he determined the fastest way to reach the platform, but before he headed there, the radio came to life again.

“John will keep them away until we are ready to show what we are capable of doing.” Ani spoke coldly, “And I will enjoy watching the light show.”

Rickie thought that, based on that statement, John, above on the helicopter platform, had every intention of dying on his rig.   However, the most important person was Ani and the trigger for the bomb.  If she was going to escape and set off the device remotely, her only option was the boat underneath the structure.

For now, radio silence was important.  Dialing his satellite phone, he contacted Team Alpha, and swiftly brought them up to date with his thoughts as well as the situation on the tower.   They were only several minutes out, and were coordinating their landing with the helicopter.   He decided to go down to the landing dock to both look for Ani and to assist the team if possible.

Checking the reassuring weight of the firearm, he hastened down to where the boats were quietly bobbing against their tethers, and crouched down behind a suspended air conditioning unit, affording him both a hiding place and a clear view of the dock.

Augusta Westland AW135, a 15-seat helicopter used by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM).

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 49 & 50

Chapter 49

The room appeared to be the crew members’ mess hall.  Amid the long white tables, there sat about a dozen employees, most of them still wearing their hardhats, their work clothes showing the everyday grime of a driller.  They were all sitting in close proximity to each other, and were all staring in the same direction at a female figure pacing near the double doors that lead to the galley.

The cold eyes of Ani passed over the huddled group as she moved past them.   She was dressed in black fatigues and carried a SIG 553 snub-nosed assault rifle in one hand, its dark, squat shape somehow more menacing than a more standard weapon.  She was talking to someone using an ear mike, but Rickie was unable to hear what was being said. 

Instead, he quickly glanced through the room and noted that this was only part of the entire complement of personnel on the structure.  Maybe some of them had escaped and were.  John, her partner, was nowhere in sight, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that for now.

The important thing right now was to get those individuals away from that woman, and do what he could to prevent anything from happening to the drill.

Rickie pulled away from the frightening scene and thought about how he could create a diversion.  He warily opened the exterior door to the galley and went inside.   He looked around for some type of weapon or useful item. 

The gleaming stainless steel utensils and pots stacked on various metal open-weave shelves reflected the light trickling from the mess hall doors, but did little to inspire him.  He glanced around the perimeter of the room, but ended back at the shelves.  After staring at them for a moment, Rickie thought of an idea to possibly create a diversion; that was all he was able to do to assist them.  He hoped the crew members would be able to take advantage of his efforts and escape.

Pulling several aprons off the hooks near the sinks, he used a paring knife to cut the aprons in half, and then he knotted them together.  He tucked the knife into his boot and tied one end of his makeshift rope to an upper shelf.   He played out the fabric until it stretched towards the outside door.

Taking a deep breath, Rickie pulled with all his might, and heard a cacophony of sound as the shelf and all the cookware crashed to the floor.  He ran out the galley door back into the camouflaging darkness without knowing if his ploy was successful.

Chapter 50

Rickie crouched beneath a diamond-plate walkway and tried to catch his breath.  The sound of running feet and shouting meant that his distraction may have allowed some of the crew to escape.    Since the tower was miles offshore, the authorities were at least twenty minutes out, and Rickie needed to determine what the saboteurs might have done to the structure.  Deciding the Control Room was the best choice to reconnoiter, he headed towards one of the doors leading to the interior.

He hesitated a moment before spinning the door lock and pulling open the heavy iron door.   The brightness of the interior stung his eyes as they adjusted. He strained his ears but did not hear anything, so his quickly slipped down the corridor towards the center of the structure.

In short order, he reached the Control Room without incident, and pressed an ear against the door.  Since he didn’t hear anything, he cautiously opened the door and ducked inside.  Straightening out, he noted that most of the security cameras appeared to still be online.  Rickie locked the door, and sat down in the chair in front of the bank of monitors.  Scanning the cameras, he saw several groups of crew members throughout the rig, but did not see either of the saboteurs.

He attempted to use the main radio to contact the Maritime Enforcement Agency, but all he received was static.  Possibly the explosion he saw previously had damaged the communication dish.  He checked his phone again, and kicked the wall in frustration; he should have thought to bring a satellite cell phone with him.

Wait; maybe there was one here in the Control Room.  A brief search yielded no results, although there was a locked cabinet underneath the desktop.  He pulled the paring knife out of his boot and used it to force the cabinet door open.

Wonder of wonders, the cabinet contained a bank of two-way radios as well as a satellite phone.  He picked up one of the radios from the charging station on the table and turned it on.

“…where is everyone…she’s escaped…we need to find them…”  Rickie winced at the babble and turned the volume down.  Leaving the chaos for the moment, he switched on the phone and called Raine.

“Just what the hell is happening?”  Raine demanded once Rickie identified himself.

“It’s just as Meaghan said.  I saw one of the consultants with an assault rifle corralling a group of crew members.  I managed to make enough noise for a distraction, but I don’t know who escaped.  I’m currently holed up in the Control Room.  The male subject is nowhere on the camera monitors, and I’ve lost sight of her as well.  Several of the personnel have radios.  I haven’t contacted any of them yet.  I wanted to check with you first.”

Raine replied, “We’ve got two patrol ships on their way, and the APMM also launched their AS 365 Dauphin helicopter as well.  A STAR commando unit of fifteen is on both the ship and the helo.  Just sit tight and they should be there soon.”

“I can’t do that, Raine.  Those bastards might have explosives somewhere, and I’m not willing to have an ecological disaster happen to my tower.”

“Don’t be a hero!” Raine all but yelled. “You need to let the professionals do their job.”

Rickie gritted his teeth.  “Don’t forget, I’m one of those professionals, too.  I went through PASKAU training, just like them.  Moreover, I know this building, and I’ll be careful.  What frequency will they be monitoring?”

Raine blew out a breath, as if she knew he wasn’t going to budge on this. “Fine, Tac Channel 7 has been assigned.  The boat team is Unit Alpha; the helo team is Unit Bravo.  And Prince, if you get damaged, you’ll hear it from me.”  Rickie laughed and gave a smart salute as if she was standing in front of him.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 47 & 48

Chapter 47

Several hours later, Rickie was exhausted.  After the endless phone calls between his staff and fire department personnel in France, he was ready to rest.  JoAnne capably fielded calls from the newshounds and the curious; pictures of the fire had already spread through the internet.   The French investigators believed some sort of accelerant was used in portions of the building; the preliminary finding of arson hung heavy in his mind.

Taking a sip of still-warm coffee, he turned to JoAnne, who was hanging up after another call.   He gave her a tired smile. “Thanks for your help.”  JoAnne shrugged.

“Once I convinced your father to have a lie-in, it was easy to help you.  And thanks for the food.” She waved at the table, where chocolate pieces and cheese curls were side by side with turkey sandwiches and sliced vegetables.  JoAnne stretched and sighed after looking at the wall clock.  It read 7:35 pm.  “I’ll follow up with everything in a couple of hours, our time.  Hopefully by then, we can determine what can be salvaged from all this.”  

Rickie gave her a one-armed hug.  “What would my father and I do without you?” he asked with affection.  She smiled and lightly punched his arm.

“You can always give me a raise to show your gratitude.  I still have my kid’s college tuition to pay for.”  She picked up her bag, gave a little wave and headed out the door.

Rickie sat down and rubbed his temples.  What a mess.  The Nice servers were physically backed up to magnetic tape once a month and stored offsite, so everything was not lost.  It was going to take a long time to rebuild, though, and some records were irretrievable.  He thought about the main office here in Kuching.

Of course.  He snapped his fingers.  The monthly reports were compiled from data from their various distribution locations, so maybe the data could be reconstructed from those records…

Meaghan.  Somehow, with the turmoil of this evening, she had left his thoughts.  He quickly pulled out his cell phone and saw Meaghan had tried several times to reach him.  He dialed for his voicemail and sucked back his breath when he heard her strained voice.

[“Rickie, please call me back.  I…I found something bad.  I think someone’s going to destroy your gas tower, and I think it’s going to happen tonight.”  With a sigh, Meaghan continued. “I’m really worried, so please call me. Please.”]

The voicemail ended.  With a curse, Rickie quickly dialed Meaghan’s cell phone.

                                                  ~     ~     ~

Meaghan was perched on the couch in a pair of jeans and a green cable-knit long sweater.  Tina had already gone to her room to study, after she was unable to keep her big sister from pacing.  Her dizziness had finally abated, but she was still experiencing weakness.  She picked up the phone again and willed Rickie to call.  After the first voicemail, she had called several times, but each time it rang several times without Rickie answering, and she hung up before leaving any additional messages.

The strains of Minnie Ripperton’s “Loving You” came on immediately after her phone vibrated. “Finally!” Meaghan breathed and quickly answered.

“Rickie?”  At the sound of her worried voice, Rickie sharpened his focus.

“Meggie?  How are you feeling?”

“Nevermind me,” she stated impatiently, “I need to talk to you about my information…”

Rickie interrupted her.  “The Nice office burned down today.”

Meaghan was stunned by the appalling news.  And, yet, given the conclusion she found, it made  strange, terrible sense.  “Are all the employees safe?  What about Mystisith?  Has anyone seen her since this happened?”

“I don’t recognize the name, but I was told all employees were accounted for, why?”  Rickie questioned.

Meaghan replied, “I think she started the fire.”  Swiftly, she gave him the information from Ivoire’s files, as well as the altered files of Mystisith, and her conclusion.  “And I think those two consultants are some type of terrorist or saboteurs, and it’s going to happen tonight.”

Rickie made some swift calculations.  The sun was already setting, so it would be close to dark before he reached the structure by boat.  Given the situation, though, he thought the boat would be the most viable option.

“I’m going to get in touch with Raine and the team, and try to prevent anything from happening.  Just stay home, and if something happens, someone will contact you.”

“You can’t go alone!” Meaghan cried, “It’s too dangerous!”  She gripped the phone tightly in her trembling hand and whispered, “Please don’t go.”

Rickie sighed.  “I have to.  It’s my family’s property, and I have to protect it.  And I can’t send anyone out until I know for a fact that something is happening.  I believe you,” he said, to stop a protest he knew was already on her beautiful lips, “but I’ll need more evidence before I can activate the troops.  Don’t worry; I promise I’ll be careful.”

Meaghan bit her lower lip. “I wish you wouldn’t go, but I understand.”  She closed her eyes and willed her voice to stay steady.  “Do what you must, and come back to me.”

A lump formed in Rickie’s throat, and he had to cough several times to clear it.  He realized how much he had grown to crave for this incredible woman, and how much she cared for him.  “I will always be there for you, my Meggie, and I hope you will always be by my side.”

A quiet sob greeted those words.  Rickie finished.  “Now I have to go protect what is mine.  I give you my word that, when this is over, you and I will have a very important conversation.”

“Be careful.” It was little more than a whisper, but it reverberated in Rickie’s chest and settled warmly in his heart, and he blinked back sudden tears.

Chapter 48

Rickie called Raine and swiftly explained the situation both in France and Malaysia to her as he hustled to his Rexton.

“I’m heading out to the boathouse right now.  I’ll let you know what I find when I get to the platform.  If the team is correct, everything is going to happen tonight, but I won’t be completely sure until I arrive.”

“Should you take a helicopter?  It would be faster.”  Rickie shook his head as he climbed into the cab and turned the engine over.

“If they have set up any type of explosive device, the sight of a helo might cause them to set it off.  I’d rather take the boat; it will be only about a half-hour to reach it.  Raine, just stand by until I have some information; that way we don’t have a false alarm to the APMM.”

There was a pause, then Raine replied, “Okay, but if I don’t hear from you within the hour, I’m sending the troops.”

Rickie agreed, snapped the phone shut, and concentrated on reaching his boathouse in the shortest possible time.

                                                 ~     ~     ~

The sleek white boat sped across the waves towards the gas rig. Rickie hoped that his hunch and the data collected by his team were incorrect, and that his family’s property was not the target of a terrorist act.  He had attempted to contact the tower by phone, but was unsuccessful; and, as the steel scaffolding of the platform showed as black webbing against the barest orange glow from the sky, he slowed his pace and regarded the structure.

Outwardly, everything appeared serene, with nothing out of the ordinary.  Maybe we are wrong about this, Rickie thought, a thread of doubt surfacing for the first time as he approached closer.

A bright puff of light exploded near the helipad, and suddenly the exterior lights illuminating the helipad and tower shut off, plunging everything into almost total darkness to his dazzled eyes.  Rickie immediately slowed to a crawl and turned off his running lights.   He swore when he realized his cell phone wasn’t showing a signal, so he grabbed the boat radio and switched it to an emergency frequency while he waited for the retinal afterimages to fade.

“May Day, May Day, this is the boat Air Harimau Bintang from Ahmad Holdings.”

“This is APMM Maritime District 11, Leftenan Madya Maritim Najib bin Talib speaking.  What is the nature of the emergency, over.”

“This is Rick Ahmad; there appears to be a possibility of a terrorist act at our FLNG platform, Compliant Tower # 3, GPS location 2.459538 / 109.126682.  Director Raine of the BKN is aware of the circumstances and may already be in touch with your office. Please activate STAR on our behalf.  At this time, I am unable to contact you by anything other than this radio at this time, over.”

“We copy, and recommend you wait until we arrive and confirm the situation, over.”

“Negative, Maritime.  I intend to recon and make sure my crew is okay.  I’ll contact you again once I am on the tower, over.”  Rickie switched off the radio before they had a chance to protest.  After he signed off, Rickie stared into the night, where he could just see the tower, and, as quietly as he could, continued his course until he was directly underneath the drilling platform by the dock.

An unfamiliar black and white Bayliner was moored to the dock; Rickie shut down his engines and glided in, jumped out and secured the bow of his boat before tying off the aft section.  He loaded his Glock 17 and placed it in a holster in the small of his back, and headed for the stairs leading to the upper decks but paused every few steps to listen for any disturbance.

On the lower deck, where the employees’ quarters were located, he saw several lighted windows and decided to sneak a look through one of them.   The sight that greeted caused his heart to skip a beat.

It had already started.

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 45 & 46

Chapter 45

Thursday morning, Meaghan barely stirred when her alarm went off.   Her limbs felt like lead, and a tickle in her throat warned her that she probably was coming down with something. 

After multiple attempts she was sitting up, but the dizziness that accompanied it made her feel slightly nauseous.   Her face felt hot, too.  Realizing the futility of going to work in this state, she called the office.

“Hello!”  Somehow MJP25’s perkiness made her feel even worse.

“Hi, MJP.  It’s Meaghan. I’m too sick to work today.  Can you let everyone know?”

Her voice instantly became concerned.  “Anything we can do for you, Meg?”

“No no, I’m just going to stay in bed today.  If something comes up that’s important, though, call me.”  At least she had her laptop and could work a little from home if needed.

“Okay, Meg.  I hope you feel better,” MJP25 replied.

“Thanks.”

                                              ~     ~     ~

After a hot bath and some medicine, Meaghan felt marginally better.  Straightening the house left her feeling exhausted, so she sat down on the couch, a box of tissues within reach and a thermos of hot tea on the end table.  She glanced around the room until her eyes rested on her computer bag.  Maybe this is a good time to go over Ivoire’s files again, she thought.  

She heaved herself off the well-sprung cushions and shuffled to the bag.   She sat back down on the couch with an audible sigh, plugged in the power cord to the wall outlet, and booted up the computer.

While sipping the hot, strong tea, her cell phone went off, and she smiled when she saw who it was.

“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?  Should I come over?”  Rickie barked the questions out, his concern underlying the bossy tone.

“I’m fine, Rickie.  I’m just resting a bit right now. It’s just a slight fever, and I’m sure I’ll feel better soon.”

Rickie’s voice became gentler.  “I don’t like you being alone when you’re not feeling well.  Should I have Sethe keep you company?”

“I’m fine,” Meaghan insisted, “I’m going to read a little, have some tea, and rest some more.”  A quiet beep showed the computer was ready.  “If I need anything, I will call you.  I promise.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do that would make you feel better?” Rickie’s tone became intimate, and Meaghan squirmed at the image that suddenly popped into her mind; lying on Rickie’s chest, hearing his heartbeat against her ear while he stroked her hair.   She took a sip of tea to ease her suddenly-dry throat.

“N…nothing comes to mind,” Meaghan said.  A low chuckle greeted this, and Meaghan knew he caught her stammer.

“Call me later, Meggie.  I want to know you are still doing okay.”  After she promised, he disconnected, and Meaghan fanned her face, feeling hotter than the fever warranted.

Once her unruly heart slowed, she plugged in the thumb drive and began looking over the files, trying to find whatever data Ivoire had tried so desperately to send her.

Chapter 46

Meaghan pulled up the most recent data from France and compared it to the information found in Ivoire’s file.  It was clear that several businesses were missing.  She compared the files and found the same companies that she had flagged previously based on the wiretap information were suspiciously absent from Mystisith’s files:

Chiang Tung Investments.  The Samui Group.  Chiang Mai Distribution.

Meaghan pushed back from the laptop and sank back into the cushions of the couch with a sick feeling in her stomach.  The similar nomenclature of the names; the wiretap discussion of festivals.

Mystisith was more than likely involved, and not in a good way.

It was probably going to begin tonight, at the start of Gawai Dayak.

And it was happening on Rickie’s drilling platform.

Her heart in her throat, she quickly attempted to call Rickie, but the call went straight to voicemail.  She left a voicemail asking him to call back as soon as possible, then walked to her bedroom and began changing into outside clothes.

                                          ~     ~     ~

Just back from lunch, Rickie contemplated leaving early to go see Meaghan.  She had sounded a little congested; surely she would appreciate someone bringing some abalone porridge and a sympathetic demeanor, someone willing to keep her company and cater to her every need.  He grinned as he pictured her, curled up on the couch and wrapped in a fluffy blanket.

He was reaching for his phone when it rang.  Looking at the Caller ID, he answered it.

“Selamat tengah hari, JoAnne.  How are you this afternoon?”

“We have a problem at our Nice office.”  The seriousness of her tone had Rickie sitting up.

“What happened?”

“The building is on fire. Witness said they heard what sounded like an explosion. Since it’s early in the morning in France, there wasn’t anyone besides the custodial staff, and they have all been accounted for. The firefighters are still battling the blaze, but it looks like our offices have been gutted.”

Rickie leaned back in his chair.  “At least no one was injured.  Our servers back up at midnight there, so we shouldn’t have lost anything.”  There was a long pause, and then JoAnne sighed.

“It appears there was some type of malware or worm that made it past our firewalls.  The backup servers have been completely corrupted.  For all intents and purposes, the office has disappeared.”

Rickie couldn’t speak for a moment, thunderstruck at the complete destruction of the branch.  He mentally shook himself, and then addressed JoAnne again.

“I’m on my way to the house.  Please collect whatever information we can gather, and get in contact with our command staff in France.  Let’s see what we can do.”

“Okay, boss.” JoAnne brusquely signed off. 

Rickie collected his keys and computer bag.  Heading out the door, he looked at his cell
phone and realized Meaghan had called and left a voicemail.   He put the phone in his pocket with some regret; his visit with his woman was going to have to wait a while.