A Reason for Living Part 3
Two for the Road
It was nearly 8:00 pm when 01 arrived at his residence. After a late dinner of reheated vegetables and rice and a mug of herbal tea, Heero poured a glass of Chardonnay and stretched out on the sofa to read over the dossier on Treize Khushrenada.
Zechs Merquise's name did turn up quite a few times but the one person that most interested Heero was a man named Duo Maxwell. It seemed that Mr. Maxwell had popped up out-of-the-blue four months earlier. His job description was listed as Electronic Engineer. What exactly Maxwell did for Khushrenada was not known.
Like Merquise, the mysterious Maxwell had also made several trips to Switzerland including one extended stay just three weeks ago. There was a single wide-angle surveillance picture attached to the data sheet and that didn't show much detail. There was no mention of his whereabouts at the present time.
Heero took a slow sip of wine allowing the "kiss of the grape" to warm his throat. "Duo Maxwell." he repeated lowly.
Running his thumb along the photo's edge he studied the grainy image. The only feature he could pick out was what appeared to be a long braid hanging down Maxwell's back well passed his waist. "Yes," Heero decided as he traced the braid with his finger, "Duo Maxwell would require a closer, more personal, study."
*********
Heero had retired for the night when the ringing telephone put his plans for sleep on hold. Commander Une's voice was toned down more than usual no doubt reflecting an exhausted end to a busy day.
She explained that as soon as the matter of the guidance disruption device came to her attention she had contacted Frederic Weisman the Bureau's undercover agent in Hamburg and put him on alert. "I just received a dispatch from Hamburg." she stated, "There is new information that might have a bearing on your assignment."
According to the message one week prior to Merquise's last trip to Switzerland he met with a man named Baines. Two days later Baines showed up in Hamburg. Agent Weisman had been keeping tabs on the comings and goings of a tramp steamer suspected of transporting contraband. On two separate occasions Baines was observed meeting with the steamer's Captain.
The day after Baines' second meeting the ship offloaded enough cargo to fill three trucks. Wiseman tailed the trucks to a heliport where the crates and boxes were transferred to a long-range helicopter with the Khushrenada Electronics logo printed on the side.
"I want you to stop in Hamburg first and see what connection, if any, there is with Baines, Merquise and the shipment. Come by for your tickets, falsified passport and identification documents first thing in the morning." Une ordered.
"How soon is "first thing"? Heero asked knowing Une's habit of coming to work at ungodly early hours.
"Your flight leaves at 10:00 am. I have scheduled a briefing at 8:00. In light of this new information I've decided to also assign 05, you two work well together." she stated, "I will see you at 8:00 and, Yuy, don't be late."
Heero's hand lingered on the phone a moment after the call ended. "I guess Wufei must have asked nicely." he smiled as he switched off the bedside table lamp.
Just before Heero drifted off into welcome slumber he recalled an interesting encounter he once had in Hamburg but he couldn't remember her name.
*********
Hamburg was one of Heero's favorite cities especially since the unification between East and West had eased the job related tensions but 01 and 05 didn't plan an extended stay in the city by the Elbe.
Later that evening while Wufei nosed around the docks, Heero was to meet with his Hamburg contact. Over the years Frederic Weisman had developed a network of informants ranging from the wealthiest hotel owners to the saltiest dockworkers. There wasn't anything that went on in the city that he wasn't privileged to or could get the lowdown on.
A photo and an address on the seeder side of the harbor were 01's only guide to Weisman. Heero had been informed that it would be useless to set up a meeting any earlier than 11:00 pm or midnight, which was when Weisman did his best work.
After checking into a modest but comfortable hotel Heero and Wufei shared lunch at an outdoor cafe. The streets bustled with shoppers and businessmen and needless to say the many representatives of feminine beauty made the noontime meal much more enjoyable.
Afternoon passed, dusk added a new atmosphere to the busy streets. The nighttime crowd was certainly a different breed. Young men and women meandered along the sidewalks or cruised the boulevards. Music and laughter floated from doorways. And of course the ever-popular Ladies of the Evening strutted their best selling points up and down the avenues.
As the midnight hour approached Wufei and Heero agreed on a meeting time and place then 05 headed off for some stealthy sneaking around the dockside. Heero checked his new watch...11:45.
Traffic noises and voices faced, the streets became emptier and darker as Heero traveled further into the lower waterfront area. The air was scented with a fishy mixture of water-soaked wood and musty storage bays filled with cargo from all over the world.
Out of habit Heero lit a cigarette shielding the flickering flame of his lighter against the stiff breeze blowing off the water. He inhaled deeply then let the exhaled smoke drift out of his nose in a wispy puff. With a disapproving frown he took another short drag before crushing the bad habit under his boot. Smoking was one vice that Heero had decided he needed less of in his life but stopping altogether had proven to be a formidable challenge to his discipline training.
Straining to read the street number under a poorly lit lamppost Heero noticed a shadowy shape moving just outside the dim pool of yellowish light. That was the second instance that the figure had copied 01's movements. Out the corner of his eye he could just make out the long black coat that helped to conceal the persistent pursuer.
Now there was no doubt in 01's mind that he was being trailed. The full intensions of his "watcher" weren't known but in that dangerous neighborhood one could expect encounters with anyone from common street thugs to edgy conmen and smugglers.
As he crossed the gloomy street Heero hoped that his identity and his reason for being in Hamburg had not been found out. Slipping his hand into his jacket pocket his fingers encircled the familiar contours of his Beretta. If the secretive stalker was hell-bent on continuing the hunt then 01 was ready to meter out his own brand of street-smart survival.
In the middle of the next block a conspicuously bright blue neon sign brightened the sidewalk. Indistinct voices and the odor of stale beer wafted out the door as Heero stepped into the Blue Heron Tavern.
One large room passed for a bar or casino or whatever the patrons wished it to be each night. Tinny-toned music did its best to escape from an aged jukebox. Smoke hung thickly in the air and the single ceiling fan that had also seen better days did nothing to disperse the hazy cloud.
The tavern's clientele was an odd collection to say the least. It was clear the customers were not employees of the luxury liner or cruise companies. In fact most looked as though they didn't work at all or only when the price was right. One portly woman perched on a stool at the bar screeched out an off-key version of the currently playing song. It didn't seem to matter that she was a half a verse behind as she performed her rendition of a cat in heat.
Four men whom 01 reckoned poised the greatest threat of springing into action at the slightest provocation sat at a table against the far wall. Heero sat down at a table opposite the easily antagonized quartet and displayed a non-aggressive posture, as he really wasn't in the mood for a physical altercation. He particularly didn't want to tangle with the one large brute that had a thick, whitish scar running from the outer corner of his left eye to his chin.
The bartender wiped his hands on his dingy apron and in abrupt German asked for the lone customer's order. "Bier." Heero replied. He didn't bother requesting a brand name, in a place like that you took what they offered.
No faces among the gathered dregs of humanity matched Weisman's picture. Heero leaned back trying to position himself to watch his back and the front door at the same time. All he could do now was to sip his warm beer and wait for Weisman to show up.
Twenty minutes passed. No one left, no one came in. At least the inebriated songbird at the bar had fallen into a silent stupor that saved Heero's ears from further abuse. He ordered a second bottle and paid up his tab, he wasn't going to wait on Weisman much longer.
All the while the four men leaned closely together in confidential conversation. From time to time the big burly man would cast a sideways glance in 01's direction but the fleeting look was borne more from boredom than a desire for confrontation.
Finally at 1:15 Weisman made an appearance. The overdo German paused at the door scrutinizing the various people populating the tavern. Heero straightened making direct eye contact.
With the confidence of being in his natural environment Weisman joined Agent 01. "Heero Yuy?" he inquired in accent laden English.
Heero nodded in the affirmative.
"Been waiting long?"
"Long enough." Heero responded dryly. "You should know how to pick first rate watering holes." he declared still discreetly watching old scar face whose features were not improved by the neon sign's indigo tinted light shining through the front window.
"For the information you want this is where you come." Weisman stated as he waved a hand at the man behind the bar. "I understand you are interested in a fellow name Baines. What do you need to know?"
Heero waited while the bartender took Weisman's order. "Anything you have to tell but especially what you know about his dealings with the Captain of a tramp steamer registered as the Vagabond."
"The Vagabond." the German agent repeated attempting to pull the name from his memory. "I know that ship makes a run two or three times a month and she not particular about the cargo she hauls.
The Captain is Roger Witman. He claims to be from South America but I have my doubts...sounds more like an Aussie. Wherever he does come from he has connections in a lot of ports and a list of buyers and sellers that are not among the cream of society."
The bartender set down Weisman's shot of whiskey and asked if Heero wanted another beer. Heero nodded "no" as he was anxious to continue his discussion.
Weisman drank the shot in one gulp and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "The Hamburg Bureau has been watching Witman closely for the last six months."
"Then why haven't you shut him down?" Heero wondered.
Weisman rolled the empty glass between his palms, "Witman is a small fish and we're hoping if we give him enough line that he will lead us to a prize catch. What makes you think that Baines and Witman are trading?"
"Baines appears to be the middleman between Khushrenada Electronics and Altron. He has been seen in the company of Zechs Merquise too many times not to be acting as a go-between."
"You think that Khushrenada is linked to the guidance disruptors?" Weisman asked lowering his voice to barely above a whisper.
Heero shook his head "yes".
"That could be nasty business." Weisman agreed.
"We know Khushrenada has his own fleet of trucks and cargo helicopters." Heero continued, "He would have no legitimate reason to ship anything on a tramp steamer unless he has something he doesn't want routed through regular channels. I think Baines was setting up an illegal shipment, one that Khushrenada didn't want going through customs. Although there isn't enough evidence to make a solid connection I know in my gut that Khushrenada is dirty."
Weisman let a thin-lipped grin tug at his mouth, "As luck would have it the Vagabond is in port. Want to do some spying, maybe check out her cargo logs? Even crooks have to keep some sort of records."
"There is no time like the present." Heero declared. "I have a partner on this assignment. He is already at the docks. I'll call him and tell him to meet us. But there might be a problem keeping the spying confidential."
"How so?" Weisman wondered as they started to the door.
"I saw someone lurking about when I came in. Whether I was the object of his inquisitiveness, I can't be sure."
"A tail...you're not slipping are you Herr Yuy?" Weisman joked then took on a serious attitude, "If there is a watcher I think I can arrange a roadblock."
Weisman backtracked to the far table and spoke briefly with the scar-faced man. Some Deutsche Marks were handed over before the sizeable man moved with surprising ease to the door.
Heero gave the man a sideways glance. By his body language 01 left no room for mistaken provocation. He was just glad that, at least for that moment, the hulking mass of muscles was on his side.
"If anyone does try to tag along," Weisman observed as he and 01 stepped into the shadowy street, "they won't get far."
Heero called Wufei on his cell phone and gave him a location. "Fifteen minutes." Wufei confirmed his time to the rendezvous point.
*********
Weisman fell into step as he and 01 hurried along the docks. Heero turned up his jacket collar against the chilly mist raising from the water. A buoy bell clanged, its sole note softened by the foggy blanket.
Few larger ships occupied the harbor. Weisman guided Heero behind a pile of crates draped with cargo nets and pointed across the way to a medium size vessel anchored in Slip 24. VAGABOND was lettered in faded red on her rusty hull. The steamer sat high, her waterline clearly visible above the dock.
"She must be between shipments." Weisman noted as he watched the line rise and fall on the constantly moving water.
Heero smiled, "Good...that means most of the crew is probably ashore."
The German agent pulled a Walther P38 from a hostler hidden under his windbreaker. 01 recalled Howard's irritation with him concerning his refusal to carry the regulation sidearm. He couldn't help but smile thinking how happy "Uncle" would be to know that at least one of the Bureau's operatives was in full compliance with the program.
"Cover my back." Weisman whispered, "I'll try to see how many crewmen are aboard."
"I think we should wait for Chang." Heero stated. The open space between their location and the ship had to be forty yards and he felt that the odds of detection would be reduced with two sets of eyes and ears on watch.
Unfortunately the detection debate became irrelevant when footsteps struck along the wooden wharf. Several fog-shrouded figures were traveling in the agents' direction and it wouldn't take long before they would overtake their position.
Heero's Beretta emitted a silver shimmer under the dim harbor lights. He nodded to Weisman sending the German on his way. Heero crouched close to a crate, braced his shoulder against the rough box, narrowed his blue eyes and brought his pistol up next to his cheek.
Three sailors dressed in Royal Marine uniforms passed within a few feet of 01 but continued on down the dock completely unaware of the darkness camouflaged spy. Heero still would have preferred to wait for Wufei but the fifteen minutes had ended and 05 was nowhere in sight.
Heero straightened enough to pick out Weisman squatting off the Vagabond's starboard side midway between the bow and gangplank. From his vantage point Heero had not seen any movement on deck and the only light visible was aglow in the pilothouse.
Weisman stayed low until he reached the gangplank, paused to look and listen then motioned for Heero to join him.
"Anyone stirring about?" Heero whispered. The German shook his head negatively
Two pairs of eyes peered over the railing. So far, so good. Twin silhouettes flattened on either side of the pilothouse door listening for any sounds from inside. Heero's hand slowly turned the knob and gave the door an easy push. Salt corroded hinges whined disturbing the otherwise quiet night. 01's face scolded at the unwelcome noise.
Weisman grinned at Heero's reaction. "Wasn't it nice of them to leave the lights on for us?"
Weisman served as lookout as Heero hurriedly searched for anything that looked like a logbook or shipping manifest. He finally found an inventory register and quickly thumbed through the pages.
A shipment was recorded on the day after Baines' last conversation with Captain Witman. No specific listing included Khushrenada's name although K.E. did appear in two entries and beside one the initials M.W. were circled in red ink indicating some importance. Other than those possible clues that was only a vague reference to electronic circuits and what Heero assumed to be an arrival date and time.
The M.W. did add another angle to the mysterious data. Heero made a mental note concerning the initials, his instincts told him that someone represented by the letters would become a player before the mission was finished.
"Not much useful information." Weisman commented as he read over 01's shoulder.
Heero shrugged, "It was a long shot anyway." he reasoned, "As long as we're here we might as well check out the cargo hold. After all the evening shouldn't be a total waste of time." he concluded.
Again the trespassing twosome were on the hunt. They moved to the port side letting the ship shield them from the docks. Halfway down the deck footsteps pounded on the metal stairs that led down to the hold below. A crewman swung back the hatch door just missing Weisman as he knelt in the shadows. The closing door placed the German in plain view. The crewman paused for an uneasy moment to look out over the harbor.
On the opposite side Heero's hand encircled the Beretta. He didn't want to shoot unless it was absolutely necessary. Slowly withdrawing the weapon he palmed the pistol intending to quietly knock out the man. Luckily the man kept his gaze on the water as he walked down deck until he used another door to out back inside.
Both agents let out a collective sigh of relief then Weisman took the lead. The same stairs transported the curious operatives down into the dark, dank cargo hold. Weisman switched on a penlight and swept the narrow beam across the storage space. Tiny feet scratched on the metal plating as an incalculable number of rats scurried away from the invading beam.
The Vagabond's hold seemed to be as uninformative as the pilothouse records. It did appear to be quite empty. A piece of paper lying a few feet from Weisman was exposed in the penlight's limited illumination. Weisman retrieved the sheet and focused the pen's thin shaft on his discovery.
The paper's crispness and lack of yellowing told the agents that it had not been lying there too long. It appeared to be a shipping label but its crumpled condition and ragged edges made a sure identification an educated guess. Along the top that was minus most of the right corner, the letters "tronics" were printed in boldface type causing Heero to reckon that "electronics" was the full extent of the word.
SWITZERLAND was stamped directly below the partial letters. That much, at least, offered circumstantial evidence that the label probably belonged to Khushrenada Electronics and the shipment's destination was most likely Montreux. It wasn't much information to go on but it was more than 01 and the German had when they came aboard. The scrap of paper did confirm the Vagabond's role in the illegal consignment and to some degree validated their suspicions concerning Witman and Baines.
"What now?" Weisman wondered as he handed the paper to Heero.
"I guess Chang and I go to Switzerland and you continue to keep an eye on Hamburg." Heero answered.
Mentioning Wufei's name made him wondered why 05 had not shown up on time. But the first order of business was getting off the ship then Heero would go in search of his missing partner.
TBC...
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