As Ellen and I moved quickly around the side of the warehouse, I filled her in on the ship’s geography. And by the time we were crossing the road, she’d got the picture.
‘So right now, we need to find someone to take us to the crate?’ she said.
‘Right.’
In no time, we arrived at the foot of gangway stairs, which were bathed in light.
I looked up at the deckhouse. Its lights were on, and on the third floor, I could discern movement behind a window. But, so far as I could see, nobody was looking out.
I darted up the stairs, and Ellen followed. A few moments later, we arrived on deck. And though it was easy enough to avoid the light emitted by the halogens on board, they did a good job of illuminating our surroundings. To the right, the expanse of containers that occupied the space between the deckhouse and the front of ship – though the front was concealed behind a thick blanket of rain – and a door that seemed to lead below-deck. To the left, the deck house’s entrance.
We’d made it on board with fifteen minutes to spare. That in itself was a big relief.
And yet, there was still so much to do.
I knew the captain’s deck was likely at the top of the deckhouse. What we wanted, though, was the crew’s quarters. And these would be lower down.
I cracked open the deckhouse entrance. There was an empty, square hallway beyond, and Ellen and I entered. I shut the door, and the roar of rain was muted to a remote patter.
There were a couple of doors off the corridor, and they were conveniently labeled: Canteen; Games Room. However, both were useless to us: whereas the canteen door appeared to be locked, the games room sounded as though it was occupied by at least four or five men – too many to take on.
So instead, I led the way to the spiral metal staircase straight ahead, and started climbing. Next instant, we were on the second floor, and there were four doors, all closed. But while the three to our right (labeled: 1, 2, 3) gave no sign that the rooms beyond were occupied – the cracks under the doors indicated no lights were on, and there was not a sound emanating from inside – the room beyond the fourth door, which was to our left, and labeled First Mate, had its lights on, and what sounded like a radio playing within.
I moved towards the door, put my ear to it. Definitely a radio. And since I could discern no conversation, there was a strong chance there was only one guy inside.
I turned to Ellen who was also now clutching her Walther and whispered:
‘If someone’s inside, you cover him, while I frisk him.’
‘And if there’s two?’
‘We’ll cover one each, and work it out from there.’
She nodded. I turned to the door, paused a second, then burst through, Walther raised.
I was three steps into the sizeable bedroom, and Ellen had already shut the door, by the time the solitary guy – Caucasian, grizzled, easily over sixty – sitting on the bed with his back to us glanced over his shoulder. His mouth dropped, and he raised his hand in surrender.
I said authoritatively: ‘Stand up. Keep your hands raised, mouth shut.’
He did what I said. He was shaking slightly – adrenaline more than nerves, I reckoned. Ellen appeared at my side, put a bead on the guy, and I moved forward and frisked him. No weapon. Then I rounded the rest of the comfortable room. Nothing doing.
I said: ‘Crate 2025. You know where that is?’
First Mate nodded, cleared his throat. ‘Below-decks. Container Hold 3.’
His voice was American. Little surprise. The crew on a ship that went routinely between American and China was likely to be drawn from both nations.
I looked around the room again – it was large, with windows that looked out not only on the back of the ship and the orange escape boat, but also on the area just at the top of the gangway stairs. In fact, we were very lucky this guy hadn’t been standing at the window.
Then I made a decision.
I turned to Ellen. ‘I think you should stay here. That way, if I’m spotted, you have a chance of getting to the captain before he can make contact with anyone – he’s almost certainly on the top floor.’
I looked at the First Mate. He nodded that this was correct. I added:
‘We can stay in contact via our walkie-talkies, on the friendly frequency.’
Ellen nodded. ‘Fine.’ She extracted her walkie-talkie, switched it on. I turned again to the First Mate. ‘You’re gonna lead me to the crate. Any wrong move, and I’ll shoot you in the head, plain and simple.’
I considered a moment, then added: ‘I’m with US national security. There’s a Chinese fugitive on board, and I’ve reason to believe he’s got a hostage. There’s an enormous amount at stake, but we have to be stealthy, because your captain’s in on it, and if he realizes I’m here, all will be lost. I’m telling you this because it’ll be easier if I’ve got you on side. But either way, I’ll be keeping a gun on you at all time, and won’t hesitate to shoot if you fuck me around. Okay?’
The First Mate nodded contemplatively. ‘I’ll cooperate.’
I reckoned he meant it.
He walked towards the door, and I followed him into the still empty hallway. Then we headed downstairs, and soon we were exiting into the roaring rain, thankfully undetected.
The guy moved to the door opposite, took out a keychain, and started unlocking the bolts. I glanced back at the deckhouse. Ellen was watching us out of the window.
I took out my walkie-talkie, switched it on, and put it back in my pocket.
Next thing, I was following First Mate down the stairs, and into a grey, austere hallway, lighted by intermittent halogens.
We walked quickly, our steps echoing off the walls. After 150 yards, we arrived at three doors: on the left, Container Hold 1; on the right, Container Hold 2; straight ahead, a partitioning door. First Mate opened the door ahead, and passed into a second hallway.
‘How many container holds in all?’ I probed, as I followed him through, the door closing behind me.
‘Six this side of the boat. Two behind the deckhouse.’
We continued. Then, just as I’d expected, 150 yards later, we arrived at another set of three doors. On our left, Container Hold 3. Our right, Container Hold 4. And another partitioning door straight ahead.
First Mate opened the door to our left.