Kill or be Killed
The resort’s dive boat was a converted fishing vessel equipped with heavy lifting gear. It was not as fast as Frank’s catamaran but that didn’t matter. They weren’t going far. David stood beside Rambo as they chugged out to sea and watched the coastline recede.
The view was not as impressive as when he left Cape Town. No distinct promontory marked the southern tip of Africa. There were no towering cliffs or jagged mountains. The coast curved round in a series of low hills. It wasn’t difficult to see why the early Portuguese navigators had difficulty charting its exact position.
The Flamingo Resort was not at the southern-most point. Its wealthy patrons probably didn’t know or care. So long as they could tell their friends that they had stayed at the famous resort at the tip of Africa they were happy.
David didn’t care either. He was interested in the sea rather than the land. Two distinct bodies of water met there. Two oceans collided and that didn’t happen in many places. When it did the outcome was always spectacular.
Here it was awesome. Cape Agulhas was the meeting point of the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the southern Atlantic and the warm nutrient-poor waters of the Indian Ocean. Huge eddies spun off as the two oceans combined. The result was an abundance of marine life.
The nutrient-rich waters warmed and algae flourished in them. Small fish ate the algae and were, in turn, eaten by larger fish and seals. Sharks were at the top of the food chain and the biggest of them all was the Great White.
David had dived with Great Whites. That was when he was trying to run a diving business in Australia. The big shark was rare in the waters where he took his divers but the creature did put in an occasional appearance. When that happened, the outcome could be unnerving. On one memorable occasion, two of his divers suffered serious injuries when they panicked and bolted for the surface. They failed to breathe out fast enough and the expanding air burst tiny blood vessels in their lungs.
This time, there would be no such risk. The boat was equipped with a viewing cage that was big enough to take three people. David had examined the cage and it met with his approval. The bars were made of high-tensile steel, the welds were good and the locking mechanism could be operated from both inside and outside.
Dino would be taking Carla and Mario down. David would descend later with Anna and Petra. Anna was an experienced diver and he had no concerns about her. Petra was of a nervous disposition and got stressed when things didn’t work out as expected. She was the sort who panicked and would need tight supervision.
He glanced across at the younger of the two de Villiers sisters. Despite a chill wind, Petra was wearing a skimpy swimming costume. It suited her far better than the one she had worn in the dive pool. David figured that she would be quite attractive if she put on a bit of weight and wasn’t so skinny. But she would never be like Anna.
Anna was totally amazing. She dominated everything around her. Carla wasn’t impressed by her behaviour but Dino and Rambo lapped it up. David watched as she draped herself over them and pointed at buttons and leavers, demanding to know what they did.
Dino and Rambo were going out of their way to be friendly. They slapped him on the back at every opportunity, called him Davo and made jokes about his dive knife and what would have happened if it had come into contact with the ridgeback’s throat.
Mario had watched the exchange. As usual, it was impossible to guess what was going on in his mind. His face was always expressionless. David guessed it was a habit he had learnt from his parents. In their sort of company, it was advisable to keep your thoughts to yourself and not let others know what you were thinking.
The young man left the main party and climbed a ladder onto the cabin roof. There was a guardrail and seats that could be used for game fishing. David decided to join him. The sea was flat and the boat was chugging along at a steady pace.
It wasn’t hard to get a conversation going.
‘It’s a bit like the northern tip of New Zealand,’ he remarked casually, ‘but on a much bigger scale.’
‘Have you dived there?’ Mario asked.
‘Yep. It’s where the waters of the Tasman Sea meet the Pacific Ocean. The temperature difference isn’t as great as here but there are some impressive eddies. You have to know what you are doing and not get separated from your boat.’
Mario moved closer.
‘How well did you know Richard de Villiers?’
‘I met him twice,’ David said. ‘He was a great guy.’
‘Petra says you don’t think his disappearance was an accident.’
‘I said his disappearance was strange. I didn’t suggest that someone had killed him if that’s what you are thinking.’
Mario dropped his voice.
‘Don’t mention Richard’s name to anyone. If they find out that you knew him say Richard was a dangerous nutter and the world is better off without him.’
He pointed to a large vessel on the horizon.
‘That’s a factory ship. It processes fish caught by fishing boats operating from the mainland. The fish could be processed on shore but they aren’t. They are processed by big machines fed by labour that is paid even less than the low rates paid in this country. Richard’s people collected information. The factory ships sail under the flags of counties that are not signatories to international labour conventions and most are owned by guess who?’
‘I don’t know?’
‘A consortium headed by Cuthbert Maguire,’ Mario’s tone soured. ‘Yesterday, I saw his people feed seals to sharks for the amusement of the guests on his yacht. Richard would have had a few things to say about that but he’s no longer around to say them.’
Mario was interrupted by shouts from below. They had reached the dive site and sharks were already congregating around it. They were regular visitors and knew that the sound of a boat meant they were going to be fed.
Footsteps sounded on the gangway. Charlie looked through his porthole and saw Sipho. He was dressed in his smart suit, carrying a brief case, and running as if his life depended on it.
‘Frank!’
He clattered onto the deck.
‘Frank. I must speak to you.’
Charlie climbed the ladder from the lower deck.
‘What’s the matter, Sipho?’
‘Where’s Frank?’
‘He’s gone into town. Can it wait?’
‘No,’ Sipho shook his head. ‘Do you speak Afrikaans?’
‘I speak Dutch … that’s close enough.’
‘Then listen to this.’
Sipho produced an audio player from his case and turned it on. Two male voices sounded from the small speaker. They were talking about money and naming prices. Charlie listened intently. The accent was different from Dutch and there were words he had not heard before but the meaning was clear. He turned to Sipho.
‘When was this recording made?’
‘Last night in Carla’s room. I couldn’t get it earlier. I had to wait until they’d gone. Then the cleaners went in. It would have looked suspicious if I’d done it then.’
‘The two men are Dino and Rambo and the woman is Carla?’
‘Yes,’ Sipho rung his hands. ‘They are planning to kill Petra and Anna in the shark cage. They’ve already gone. We must warn David. I’ve tried to call him but he doesn’t answer. Petra and Anna left their phones behind so it’s no good calling them.’
‘You are saying that David, Petra, and Anna have gone diving with Dino, Rambo and Carla?’
‘Yes. They will be there by now.’
Charlie pulled out his phone and tapped up David’s number. There was no reply and he left a text message. Sipho looked over his shoulder.
‘He’s not answering you either?’
‘No.’ Charlie tapped up another number. ‘I’ll talk to Frank and brief him on what’s going on.’
Sipho listened as the two men discussed what had to be done. Frank’s opinion of Dino was chilling. He described the big muscleman as a psychopath and accused him of being responsible for the deaths of two divemasters. That was just for starters. There was worse to come. The catamaran was out of service. Frank had gone to Cape Town to fetch a mechanic and collect spare parts. He suspected that they had been sabotaged but couldn’t work out how.
‘I’ll take the inflatable,’ Charlie said.
‘Best check out the radar,’ Frank cautioned. ‘There’s more than one spot for viewing the Great Whites. Don’t go to the wrong one.’
Sipho followed Charlie into the captain’s cabin. The radar was kept switched on. Charlie examined the screen.
‘Shit!’
He turned to Sipho.
‘Have you any idea where they went?’
‘No,’ Sipho shook his head.
‘There are three sites out there and they’re all occupied.’
‘Go to the nearest first,’ Sipho advised.
‘Good thinking.’
Charlie grabbed a marine chart and sped down the stairs.
‘What do you want me to do?’ Sipho called after him.
‘Stand by at the resort and await instructions. I’ll phone if you are needed. Have a vehicle ready and don’t tell anyone what you are doing.’
The sun shone from a clear blue sky. David watched Rambo throw another pig’s head into the water. There were sharks around but none were Great Whites. They had missed out. Two boats had gone out before them and were having all the luck. Instead of joining them, Rambo had pressed on. He insisted that their chances were better further out to sea … and he was wrong.
The moron could spend all morning chucking bits of pig and goat over the side and it would make no difference. There was no chance of luring a Great White to the boat. There weren’t many around and the few that had put in an appearance were entertaining the people on boats that had anchored far nearer to the shore.
He watched as Dino arrived on the scene and tipped a bucket of offal into the water. Not surprisingly, the sea erupted in a frenzy of heaving bodies and flashing teeth. Dino seemed to think he had achieved a miracle.
‘Great White!’
He jabbed a finger at the water.
‘You Beauty! Look at that! There’s one!’
David couldn’t see anything that looked remotely like a Great White. He didn’t believe Dino had either. When Great Whites are around other sharks get out of their way and that hadn’t happened.
Carla wasn’t put off by the lack of evidence.
‘Clever Darling!’
She dashed forward and planted kiss on Dino’s cheek then looked up to the viewing platform where Mario was standing. Her face dropped when she saw that he had been joined by Petra.
‘Mario,’ she beckoned furiously. ‘It’s time to go. Get your camera from Petra. Dino is going to take us down first. Petra is going later with David and Anna.’
Mario ambled down the ladder and took up a position beside Carla and Dino. No one checked anyone to see that they were properly kitted out. Rambo was equally casual in handling the cage. It jerked off its stand and swayed dangerously. David grabbed the bottom and brought it under control. He had handled dive cages before. This one was massive. He figured it would stand up to any amount of battering by any shark that tried to rip it apart.
The cage stopped swinging and Rambo lowered it into the water. Dino jumped in and Carla followed. Mario entered last. David noticed that he had failed to follow Carla’s instructions to retrieve his camera from Petra.
‘Good luck!’
Petra waved enthusiastically and took photographs as Mario lowered the hatch and checked that it was firmly secured. More photographs followed as the cage sank slowly into the water.
Anna sidled up and whispered in David’s ear.
‘He let her have his precious camera.’
‘He thinks it’s safe with her.’
‘No. It’s the bikini …’
‘The bikini?’
‘Did you see the glint in his eye?’
‘No.’
‘He is lusting after her, David.’
She nibbled his ear.
‘Have you talked to him about condoms?’
‘Not yet.’
‘I think you should, David. There’s a brand that falls apart when it’s used with Vaseline. It attacks the rubber. The magazines are full of it. You could get some. Tell him to use Vaseline with them. Say it increases the satisfaction.’
‘Mario’s not stupid.’
Anna considered the point.
‘You’re right. Better not talk about condoms. Most unplanned pregnancies occur on the first night. That’s what happened to me. I should have picked an experienced man like you. Then I wouldn’t have had that little problem.’
She ran her hand up his thigh and David returned his attention to the cage. The top was just below the water. He saw flashes of light and guessed that Carla was taking photographs. There was a lot of action. Fins broke the surface and tails thrashed. He didn’t doubt that Carla would get some great shots. Some of the sharks were big and very hyped up.
To his surprise, they didn’t stay down long. Rambo worked the controls and the cage came back out of the water. Petra took more photographs of Mario as he climbed onto the boat. He said the sharks were putting on an awesome performance and he expected her to get some great action shots.
It was now their turn. Petra stepped forward and David checked her out. All her equipment was correctly in place. She seemed a little apprehensive but that was to be expected. Lots of people are apprehensive on their first cage dive. He cast a quick eye over Anna and decided not to tell her that her weight belt was buckled on the wrong side. He had done that in the dive pool and been told not to behave like a fussy old maid.
Petra climbed down into the cage and Anna followed. David joined them and watched as Dino lowered the hatch. David checked that it was correctly secured and gave the diver’s okay-sign. Dino leant forward and smiled.
For a moment the big muscleman looked friendly. Then his smile contorted into a malignant grin. He stared down into the cage and David felt immensely stupid. All his training had told him to avoid situations like this. Dino and Rambo were psychopaths.
He had formed that opinion of them from the start. Yet he had placed his life in their hands. He had helped prepare his own coffin. Worse still, he was taking two other people to the grave with him. Carla was intent on killing Petra and Anna.
He saw her standing behind Dino, holding the lever that worked the cage. An expression of pure hatred consumed her face. Her mouth opened, her dark eyes flashed and she shouted something as she slammed the lever down.
The cable supporting the cage went slack and it began to descend. David felt the hatch pressing against his head. Anna and Petra pressed up against him. They were locked in an iron prison that was taking them deeper than any scuba diver should attempt to go … and it was taking them down fast.
The water pressed against his ears. He grasped his nose and breathed out. The pressure in his ears equalised. He hoped Petra and Anna had done the same. If they hadn’t they would risk a burst eardrum. Bubbles flowed everywhere.
Then the cage stopped. David guessed they had reached the end of the cable. He checked his dive computer and found that they had gone down to a frightening forty metres. At that depth, they would quickly exhaust the air in their scuba tanks and suffocate.
That was just one of their problems. At forty metres, nitrogen was being absorbed into their blood at an alarming rate. It could bubble out when they surfaced. That condition was called The Bends and it was life-threatening. They had to get out and get out fast.
David’s hand shot up. The lever that secured the hatch was above his head. He fumbled and found it. The next bit was tricky. He had to work the lever with a finger stuck through a narrow opening in the grill. On the surface it had been easy. Now it refused to budge. He had been in similar situations before. Something had changed and he had to work out what it was.
He sank back and the answer came in a flash. His head was pressing against the hatch and pushing it up. He pulled the hatch down with one hand and worked the lever with the other. This time it moved. The operation took only a few seconds but seemed to last an eternity.
The hatch rose. He finned out and grabbed Petra. Bubbles should be coming from her mouthpiece and there weren’t any. Her face was contorted in fear. She was in a state of shock and had forgotten to breathe out. He thumped her chest. Bubbles flowed. He held her tight and started his ascent.
Anna shot past. There was no problem with her breathing. A stream of bubbles followed her as she rocketed up. David watched her progress as she finned towards the rear of the boat. There was landing platform there. If she reached it in time she would be safe.
She didn’t. The sharks were upon her before she got there. The outcome was predictable. David hoped Petra didn’t see. One moment the water was clear. The next it exploded in clouds of blood and strips of brightly coloured wetsuit as Anna was torn to pieces.
Their only chance was to make for the other end of the boat. The alternative was to join Anna and be torn to shreds. Hopefully, the sharks would be occupied with her. The same went for Carla and her friends. With any luck they would be watching what the sharks were doing to Anna.
David finned as fast as he dared. Vibrations attract sharks and scuba fins make vibrations. The boat loomed closer. Two small sharks showed interest and he jabbed one with his knife. Both made off. His head touched the boat and he pushed Petra up towards a rubber tyre that was hanging there. She grabbed it and a hand grabbed her. Mario had Petra by the wrist. He pulled her up and she climbed over the guard rail.
‘Grab!’
An iron bar was thrust in his direction. David took hold of it and Mario strained at the other end as he heaved himself onto the deck. He arrived just in time. Dino had seen what was happening.
The muscleman left the spectacle at the rear of the boat and ran towards them shouting for Rambo to join him. David took the iron bar from Mario and eyed him as he approached. Dino was armed with a long knife.
The bar was three times that long. If Dino had any sense he would have backed off. He had been humiliated in the Flamingo Palace when he tried to arm wrestle David. He should have known that he didn’t stand a chance.
David stayed motionless until the last moment. Then his arm flashed out. The bar hit the knife from Dino’s hand and the tip followed through to his throat. Blood squirted. Dino’s knees buckled and he collapsed onto the ships rail. David pushed him over the side.
‘Davo …’
Rambo stopped in his tracks. Moments’ earlier he had been bearing down on him with a meat cleaver. Now he wanted to start a conversation. Carla stood behind him with a gun.
David hurled the iron bar at her and threw himself at Rambo. It was all over in a second. Blows rained down on Rambo’s chest, smashing ribs and rupturing blood vessels. David hurled him backwards onto Carla, knocking her over.
He yanked her up.
‘Don’t kill me!’
He squeezed her wrist and the gun fell to the deck. Mario picked it up and David released his hold on Carla. He was overcome by a wave of revulsion. In the space of just a few minutes, three people had died. Anna had been torn to pieces by sharks. Dino and Rambo had succumbed to his blows.
The only good news was that none of them would have suffered any pain. The whole awful business was over so quickly. David watched as Mario pointed the gun at Carla. For a moment, it looked as if he was going to shoot her. Then he replaced the safety catch and stuffed the gun into his pocket.
What was left of Dino was bobbing around in the water. The sharks had got to him. David looked over the side and had a sense of unfinished business. Rambo was lying dead at his feet. It would be fitting if he joined his buddy.
He took hold of Rambo’s shoulders and pulled him up. Mario grabbed his waistband and they heaved him over the side. The big muscleman had spent the morning feeding chunks of pig and goat to the sharks. Now he was being fed to them in one whole piece.
David turned away from the sight. He blamed himself. This should never have happened. If he hadn’t been so obsessed by sex with Anna, he wouldn’t have been so stupid as to get himself into such a situation. There was no such thing as combining business with pleasure. He should have listened to Sipho’s advice.
It was time to phone Charlie and tell him that he had failed in his mission. He was in a terrible mess. He had fucked up and his mind wasn’t working properly. He needed Charlie to tell him what to do.
The Bentley looked out of place parked on a patch of grass beside the beach. Sipho felt out of place too and more than a little nervous. His life had suddenly changed for the worse. The man he knew as Tom had phoned him. He was a friend of Frank and David and he had met him on Frank’s boat.
Sipho suspected that none of them was using his real name. All three were special agents sent to look after Petra and Anna. Petra had come close to telling him that. She said David was a friend of her father and wanted to know what really happened to him.
Now something awful had happened to her. His warning hadn’t reached David in time. Carla and her boyfriends had tried to kill the two sisters by trapping them in a dive cage. David rescued Petra but Anna had been killed by the sharks. What happened next wasn’t clear but David must have done something to Carla and the boyfriends because he and Mario were now in charge of the boat and making for shore.
Tom had given him the GPS coordinates of the place where they intended to land. Sipho guessed he was using a marine chart and had little idea about roads and access points. After a lot of driving down narrow lanes and over open land he eventually reached the designated area by smashing the lock on a farm gate and driving over a field.
There was no sign of