She picked up her luggage—which she’d managed to pare down after great struggle—from the carousel, and headed to the oversized luggage pickup window. Mao had taken care of everything, so Tessa was able to move swiftly through the checkout process.
“Um... Teletha Mantissa? Please sign here. The cargo is an industrial refrigerator, then? Yes, yes... It all went just fine. Take care now, madam.” Mao’s go-between must have bribed the man, because he didn’t even attempt to pry into the nature of the package. “Mantissa” was also one of Tessa’s frequently employed aliases.
The worker led her to the large cargo area. Here, she was supposed to pick up her “industrial refrigerator” and meet up with her guide and driver, Murat, whom Mao had arranged for. After that, they’d head for Lantanfushi Island.
Tessa entered the swelteringly hot cargo area, roughly the size of a gym, before being approached by a tall, slender, swarthy man. He’d been talking with a gloomy expression to a worker with a sales slip in hand, but spread his arms wide and beamed at her welcomingly the moment she arrived. “Miss Mantissa!” he said. “I’m sorry I’m late. I am Murat. I wasn’t told you were such a beautiful girl. I’m surprised.”
This first impression was enough for Tessa to draw a conclusion. Ah, she realized, this man is untrustworthy. I guess there are limits to even Melissa’s connections... But out loud, she said, “Oh, thank goodness! Please take care of me, Murat-san.” She met his forced smile with one of her own.
Tessa would play the helpless little girl, relieved to meet someone who spoke her language in this strange foreign land. She’d spent three years dealing with trained veterans and knew that it wasn’t always smart to appear openly cagey.
“The pleasure’s all mine,” Murat returned. “I’m sure you’re tired from the long trip. Let me take your luggage.”
“Why, thank you.”
He took Tessa’s suitcase and began striding away. “I’m sorry it’s so unpleasant. The air conditioner in the warehouse isn’t working,” he explained. “Your package is here. Please confirm it.”
Murat stopped in a corner of the cargo area, where the wooden crate—large enough to hold an industrial refrigerator, as described in its documentation—sat. The label corresponded to the code number on her form, and the seals were intact. It was definitely her package.
“Is everything in order, miss?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Of course. Now...” He started directing the four burly workers, who had arrived behind them, in their native language. The men hoisted the crate, which weighed over one hundred kilograms, and began to carry it away.
“We’ll head to the nearby harbor by truck,” Murat told her. “Then it’ll be half a day’s journey to Lantanfushi on my ship. We’ll arrive late at night.”
“Good,” said Tessa. “Thank you.”
“Still, it seems like a waste,” he mused. “I think you’d enjoy spending a night here. There are lots of good tourist spots.”
“I really would love to, but my schedule is quite strict,” Tessa said with a smile, her guard rigidly up. Still, she reminded herself, I’m almost there.
Bani. Bani Morauta.
I’ll be arriving soon, in the land where you were born...
Murat’s “ship” would be more properly called a boat, as it was small enough to seem that its entire weight capacity might be reached with just him, his four workers, Tessa, and the crate containing the “industrial refrigerator.” The vessel did have a bathroom, but it was no more than a single stall formed by a few partitions.
Nevertheless, they soon left port and headed out onto a sea painted in sunset colors. The undulating movement of the waves was pleasant. The city of Sasbona shrank on the horizon, and all they could see now was a scattering of islands, popping in and out in the evening light. The closer they came to night, the fewer of those they saw.
Thankfully, the night was brightly illuminated. So many stars, Tessa thought. I haven’t seen a sight like this since moving to New York. Being out in nature has its benefits... Maybe once I’ve helped Melissa get settled in with her baby, I’ll move out here.
As she was having that thought, Murat asked her, “Miss Mantissa, would you like dinner? I’m afraid I can only make instant noodles, but...”
“Thank you,” said Tessa, “I’d love some.” She did have some cereal bars in her bag, but it was best to conserve things like that.
“One moment, then. Incidentally, may I ask a personal question?”
“Yes?”
“I’ve been in this business—as both guide and driver—for a fairly long time. A customer like you is a rare sight,” he explained. “Lantanfushi is fairly rural, even relative to this nation as a whole. The population is... I’ve forgotten, but it must be less than a hundred, and there aren’t even that many televisions. It feels strange for a young girl like you to be going to such a small village to deliver a refrigerator. It’s piqued my curiosity.”
“Oh, well,” said Tessa, “I suppose that follows.”
“I mean, an industrial refrigerator in a village with only one generator? Ha ha... It makes me wonder if there’s something else in that crate, you know?”
“Yes, I’m sure it seems quite strange.” Tessa just shrugged, unfazed in the face of Murat’s unsubtle prodding.
“In addition, you are very beautiful. Between you and the cargo, I assume it must be a very expensive item—to be quite frank, something worth far more than what you’re paying us.” He wasn’t trying to hide the lecherous quality in his voice now. She wasn’t sure if the workers understood his English, but they had started looking her up and down as well.
“If that were the case, Mr. Murat,” she asked, “what would you do then?”
The roar of the boat’s engine went silent. The helmsman had stopped it. The boat drifted on inertia for a while longer before eventually slowing down, and at last they just sat there, rocked by the waves.
“I’d do this, miss,” Murat said threateningly, as the other men laughed. “If you want to reach Lantanfushi safely, you should do what I tell you. Oh, we’ll get you there—if you do what we say, faithfully and without complaint, entertain us all night, and give us what’s in the box.”
“Ahh...” Tessa breathed.
Inwardly she thought, Ah, of course this would happen. Melissa Mao, in her current condition, was playing telephone tag with friends of friends of friends to arrange for a group of shifty workers in a backwater region. It’s natural that something like this would befall a fragile-looking girl alone in such circumstances. I can’t blame Melissa for it.
Besides, it’s not as if these men want to kill me. It’s annoying, but I’m sure they want nothing more than they’ve already requested. “If you do as we ask, we’ll let you go”—that kind of thing.
Tessa took a deep breath, then said to Murat, “Excuse me. I do have one question.”
“What is it?”
“How far is it from here to the nearest shore?”