Chapter 54 Ore
Chapter 54
Ore
The splash was a way off, but in the tranquillity of the scene it caught their attention.
‘A fish?’ Ore asked, turning to the expert.
‘I don’t think so. It looked like a flipper …’ Daniel squinted, and then there was another splash, and a third. His expression turned from confusion to understanding in an instant. ‘It’s Claude’s guys.’
As though they were following the steps of a prepared plan, Ore and Daniel silently gathered their own equipment and made sure to dry their footprints from the wooden decking of the swimming platform. Daniel led the way as they quietly headed up the stairs on the side of the boat to get to the top deck and into the wheelhouse. Daniel motioned for Ore to drop the equipment. At the back of the wheelhouse was a door, about a foot off the ground. Daniel opened it and stepped through, holding his hand out for Ore to follow.
They found themselves in yet another small cupboard. It crossed Ore’s mind that he had another make-out session in mind, but then he reached out and removed a panel from the back of the cupboard to reveal a small window.
‘The sun’s pointing in our direction so they won’t be able to see us past the reflection.’ Daniel whispered, and then Ore understood. This was a stakeout.
Through the tiny pane of glass, Daniel and Ore watched as Chuck and Claude walked out onto the deck to meet the three men now hauling themselves and their scuba tanks onto the small platform. Claude looked around, then looked up towards the wheelhouse window. Ore’s heart quickened as he shielded his eyes from the sun and squinted up at where they were hiding. A second ticked by slowly and when Claude turned back to the gathering on the deck, Ore let out a deep breath.
‘Told you,’ Daniel whispered teasingly.
They couldn’t hear what was being said, but Ore could see that the discussion was animated, and positive. Chuck was smiling and slapping one of the divers on the back. Another of the divers had something in his hands.
‘Can you see what he’s holding?’ Ore asked.
‘It looks like a small black box …’ Daniel trailed off as he craned his neck to see. ‘Yep … it looks like they’ve opened a lid, but I can’t see what’s inside.’
‘Damn.’ Ore felt like the key detail was just out of reach. The five men continued talking for a minute or so, and then headed inside. Ore felt frustrated. ‘What the hell does this all mean?’
Daniel looked reticent for a moment. ‘I’m pretty sure what I overheard last night explains it all.’
‘Can’t you just tell me now?’ Ore didn’t understand why Daniel was insisting on withholding vital information.
‘I’d really rather wait, and anyway, I left the notebook back on Thalassa .’ Daniel had made his mind up.
‘You’re such a tease,’ Ore replied, more than aware of the double entendre. They were doing that close-proximity thing again, bodies within touching distance, and the space between them becoming thick with unrealised expectation.
Ore held off making a move, and Daniel didn’t either. She could understand that it was more difficult for men to stop their desire from becoming … noticeable, and no doubt Chuck would be marching over at any moment to demand an update on their route home.
Ore took it upon herself to defuse the tension, opening the door and stepping back out into the wheelhouse. Daniel followed her out, but she was sure she spotted a tinge of redness in his cheeks.
Almost right on cue, Chuck burst through the door. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Ore and Daniel, his eyes flitting to the open door behind them.
‘What are you doing up here, Ore?’ His tone was laced with suspicion and Ore panicked.
‘Um … err … We were just …’ Ore looked down at her feet, and felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of her neck. The silence was heavy.
‘Ore and I were just …’ Daniel had a go but he too stumbled.
‘Oh,’ said Chuck knowingly, ‘I see.’ Ore forgot how to breathe. She peeked up at Chuck; a lazy smirk settled on his face. ‘I knew you two had a thing going on.’
On this occasion Ore was relieved by Chuck’s strange obsession with their relationship. She’d always found it strangely racially loaded, but right now it was a useful explanation, and it wasn’t even a wholly untrue one either.
Daniel laughed nervously, and Ore worried he might deny it. She knew him well enough by now to know that he took his ‘professionalism’ very seriously.
‘We were just … talking,’ Daniel said finally, and honestly. But the vagueness worked in their favour.
Chuck winked at Daniel. ‘So that’s what you kids are calling it.’ On this round of nervous laughter, Ore joined in, wishing with all her might for an opportunity to flee this mortifying situation. Chuck obliged.
‘Well if you don’t mind, Ore, I need to have a chat of my own with our dashing captain …’
‘Not at all, I was just heading back down,’ Ore said slightly too quickly. She was already halfway out of the room. She heard Chuck offer up another back slap and a ‘I don’t blame you, Captain. If I was ten years younger …’ as she scuttled down to the deck.
The journey back was uneventful. Ore sat in the salon willing the hour to pass faster. She needed to know what Daniel had to tell her. Mel had reverted back to sullen teenager mode and ignored Ore the whole way, seemingly texting non-stop, most probably messaging her girlfriend.
Claude and his men were nowhere to be seen. Ore imagined them squirrelled away somewhere below her, hunched over that mysterious box and exchanging ideas on how to take over the world.
Back inside the hull of Lady Thalassa’s marina, Mel was the first to disembark, notably not acknowledging Chuck as she climbed onto the gangway and raced off. Chuck waited for Claude and the pair watched as that same crate was loaded off the boat by the divers, before they too got off.
Ore hung back, and when Daniel appeared she kept it brief: ‘What time?’
Daniel was lithely hopping on and off the boat, tying various ropes to various hooks lining the dock. He barely looked up from what he was doing, and despite herself Ore took a second to admire his athleticism.
‘Usual spot, twenty-one hundred hours?’ Daniel suggested.
All this sneaking around was kind of exciting. ‘Copy that, Captain,’ Ore said, resisting her incessant urge to salute.