Storm Breaking

The wind was stiff and bitter, and sailing was difficult. Luckily, Laughlin apparently had a lot of experience handling this kind of boat, and he managed to bring us into the dock with only a mild jolt. A member of the resort staff was on hand to help us tie up. When he saw the body of the beaten Tongan, he ran for help, and a short time later, the hotel medical staff arrived to take the man away.

Laughlin and I wasted no time getting inside, and we soon found ourselves sitting in the hotel bar as the storm broke over the island. The glass windows were shuttered against the wind, which howled outside like a living thing and lashed the building with torrents of rain.

"Looks like you've 'ad a rough day," said Brian in his affable kiwi accent. "'Ow about a large one?"

I nodded. Between what we'd encountered on that island, and racing the storm back to A'vuo'tutu, I felt rather on edge. "I'll take one of those Kiwi Hangovers of yours."

"You're not the only one had a hard time today," Brian confided. "That Stroeker fella, he got in bad with the natives, I understand. Both of you met him, I recall."

I made a face. "Unfortunately, yes. What happened to him?"

"As I understand it, they were loading crates onto a truck for him when one of them fell and broke open. It seems he was trying to smuggle Tongan native artifacts. They attacked him, but somehow he got away. They took those crates over to Utelei, but no one's seen Stroeker since then."

Utelei....oh yes, that was the native village on A'vuo'tutu. So that was how the crates had wound up on A'vuotuo'pavo. They must have brought them over from the village. "Are the local authorities looking for him, then?" I wondered. I couldn't possibly be that lucky.

"Don't know," Brian said. "Just what I hear over the bar. The natives who work here are suddenly tight-lipped. They're all from Utelei." He leaned close. "Listen, I'm not just saying this. These people are dangerous. That bloke's wrapped himself up with some right savages, who'd as soon cut his throat as take any trouble from him. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." He stood back up. "Nowhere to hide on an island this small, though. If he's here, they'll find him soon enough."

I was hoping. The irony of Stroeker getting done in by the people he'd been robbing would be rather delicious. Laughlin appeared to think so as well, for he looked slightly amused as he informed Brian, "You can be certain that if I see the bastard I shall be sure to report him immediately to the proper authorities, assuming that I don't beat him myself. Artifacts are for museums, not personal collections. At least not unless there is nothing unique about them."

"They were damned weird from what I heard," Brian noted. "Some sort of native gods. They used to worship some shark god named Hina, but now they're all Catholics. Supposedly."

Laughlin got a taken aback look on his face, doubtless remembering the monster shark we'd encountered. "Shark god, why on earth would anyone worship a shark god?"

Brian shrugged. "They're savages. And mostly ignorant. But when you live on a dot of land in a big sea, I guess you worship sharks. Anyway, I'd be very surprised if we see anymore of your friend around here. He's most likely gone to the big island. Or he's dead."

I frowned as a nasty thought occurred to me. "Or he's holed up with some poor young woman. He struck me as the type who uses women. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he hadn't conned someone into hiding him. Or forced them into doing it."

That would be just like Stroeker, in fact. I had never met him before coming to Tonga, but I had read every police report ever written about him, and talked to informers who knew him. He was violent when cornered, and was nearly always armed. He was physically strong and a good shot. He was also said to be very lucky. But mostly, Stroeker was wily, several times evading the law by mere minutes. And when cornered, he was likely to try to fight his way free. I heartily wished I had my gun with me right now. I was willing to bet Stroeker had more than one.

Looking nervous, Laughlin leaned towards me and whispered, "Don't get any ideas of tracking this guy down yourself. We have already done enough for today."

Right. So I should just sit around while Stroeker might be hurting someone...or worse? Like hell. I gritted my teeth, reminding myself that Laughlin believed me to be basically a secretary. He probably believed he was protecting me. Now there was an irony.

Laughlin continued louder to Brian, "Well, I hope that I never see that man again, but if I do, be sure that I will ring the police first thing. Do you think I could possibly get something hot and alcoholic? Maybe an Irish Coffee?"

"Of course, sir," said Brian. "Nasty weather."

"Stroeker is dangerous," I explained quietly to Laughlin after Brian left to prepare the drink. "If he's feeling threatened, he won't hesitate to kill to get away. I can't just assume the local authorities will find him before he hurts someone."

"Do you really want to hunt this guy down? I can't imagine that to be too good of an idea. Also, who are we to act as the police? I'm just an archeologist."

I nodded. "Of course. I didn't mean to imply that you should get involved. As you said, it's been a busy day. You should stay out of this." The last thing I wanted was to have him come with me. Dealing with Stroeker would be hard enough without having to protect a civilian. I wondered if Stroeker had left in a gun behind in his cabana? It was worth checking, after the storm had passed. At least then I'd be armed.

"You aren't going to stay out of this are you?" Laughlin observed. "All right, what do you want to do?"

I shook my head. "I can't ask you to get involved in this. It's too risky. Stroeker is very violent when he's cornered, and he's almost certainly armed. It's too dangerous a situation to involve a civilian."

"When did you become something other than a civilian? Are you military or something?" Laughlin paused and backed away slightly. "Just what have I gotten myself involved in?"

Oh hell! That was just perfect. I'd been focusing so much on what my next move was going to be, I'd forgotten that I was supposed to be a secretary. Damn! I considered trying to gloss over the slip, but decided that would only make Laughlin more suspicious. And by now, I was reasonably sure that he wasn't working for Stroeker. On the bright side, once he learned my real occupation, maybe he'd stop trying to come after Stroeker with me.

I looked to make sure Brian was still out of earshot, then admitted quietly, "I'm not military. I am, however, a federal agent of the United States. Stroeker's suspected of several murders there, and I followed him to Tonga to keep an eye on him. Officially, however, I'm on vacation, since I have no official powers here. I'm sorry I wasn't forthcoming about all of this earlier, but when I first met you I couldn't be certain that you weren't one of Stroeker's contacts here."

Laughlin took the news better than I expected. "Please, if I had any contact with someone like Stroeker, I think my family would rise up out of the earth to strangle me. I can understand why you wouldn't trust me, after all, mistrust is your profession, but I can't imagine that you would seriously consider me a 'contact' of that man, really."

After what we'd been through together, the idea did seem unlikely now, but at the time we first met.... "You'd be surprised at the sorts of people who turn out to associate with people like Stroeker," I replied. "Making assumptions that a person just isn't the type to be a contact can get you killed." As could not paying attention when you were undercover. I was still angry at myself for that slip.

Laughlin slugged down some of his drink, paused, and then asked, "What are your plans?"

I glanced at the storm raging outside. "My options are limited until the storm clears. On the other hand, so are Stroeker's. If I had to guess, I'd say he's holed up in one of the hotel rooms or cabanas - not his own. He'll be armed, and possibly have a hostage. If he does, he won't hesitate to kill them if he needs to to escape. With the local authorities looking for him, he needs to get off this island. Hmm, do you know much about the local geography? Is there another airport anywhere within relatively short boating distance?"

"I don't know how Stroeker thinks, but I would assume, were I him, that airports are dangerous. Wouldn't it make more since to rent or steal a sea plane or a boat? If he knows that someone is after him, then he should have little difficulty with the moral problems of theft, and it seems a likelier method to escape to me."

"Certainly, if there are any sea planes on the island, or even a private plane, he could force the pilot to fly him off the island. Stealing a boat only works if there is a destination relatively close by that he can escape to. An airport where no one is looking for him yet, a country that won't extradite him to Tonga, that sort of thing. Otherwise, there is a chance he could be caught before he is able to reach land. Or get lost in the middle of the ocean. Let's see if we can find a map of the area at the gift shop. That will at least give us some idea of the possibilities. I'd also like to search Stroeker's cabana, but that will have to wait until the storm breaks. Assuming the Tongans don't have it staked out on the off-chance that he returns. The same applies to his room in the hotel."

I paused as I realized that I was including him in my plans now. That hadn't been my intent, but after everything that had happened today, it seemed almost natural to do so. So what now? What I should do was tell him that we were parting ways. That I was going to handle Stroeker, and that he should stay out of it. That I had no business putting his life in danger. Except that it already was in danger. Someone had tried to kill both of us earlier today. I doubted that their failure was going to dissuade them from making another attempt. Until we knew who, and why, he might be more at risk if he was alone.

I gave Laughlin a serious look. "Are you quite certain you want to be involved in this? Stroeker is very dangerous, and this could turn deadly. You're under no obligation to get involved."

"Quite certain, thank you. I have no more intention of letting that madman walk the streets unpunished than you do."

Well, if he was going after Stroeker anyway.... "Very well. Let's find us a map, then. Unless you happen to have one of the area?"

"Sorry, no. I wouldn't think that one would be very hard to come by."

I nodded. "I doubt it. Let's find out."

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Last modified on July 8, 2002 by Kris Fazzari.