JonDlundyn Parker adventure # 8 cont
November 30th 2006 18:45
A legendery swordsman (Musashi)
Back on board the ketch Lundyn set course for a rendezvous with the other four yachts with which they were going to travel through the pirate waters. He picked them up within a day after steaming under engine through the night. They were all making good progress and were soon crossing the equator. It seems this was the first time for Karen, so the General was dressed up as King Neptune and sat upon his throne, which was the steering seat for the ketch. Lundyn and Roscoe acted as his attendants and bought a rather meek Karen before him. “So Karen Philips, this is the first time you have entered the domain of the mighty King Neptune? We have a ritual for you to follow. Take her away men and give her the dunking.” With that Lundyn and Roscoe grabbed her by her arms and sat her in a plastic chair. She was blindfolded and then hoisted to the end of the mizzen boom. She could feel her self being hoisted up and then lowered to the end of the boom and over the side. Roscoe and Lundyn kept up the banter about how she was going to be dunked over the side and fed to the sharks and so on. Then at the last moment she was splashed from above with a bucket full of soapsuds. When she was pulled back on board and her arms untied and her blindfold removed she was still covered in a mass of soapsuds. She was again bought before the General. “So you have now been made a member of my nation and here are your official papers.” Lundyn had made up a passport on the computer with an embossed cover, which read ‘The Deep Realm of Neptune’. Inside it had a picture of a half naked Karen drawn by the General. Also she received an ‘official’ equator crossing certificate.
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The next few days were relaxed and easy. The two men shared the favours of Karen as the mood took each of the three. It was an easy relationship and the three of them were more than pleased that it was going smoothly. The General smiled to himself and kept his own council. He had known the two men since they were young boys. He had seen them get into and out of a lot of fixes. This little affair would be a dandy. The ketch was now roughly abeam of Singapore and the other yachts with which they had been cruising in company were all going their own way. The general had arranged for a meeting of some of his cronies. It was to take place at sea. Lundyn used the ships Global Positioning System to fix the point on his chart. Normally he used celestial navigation but he knew he could be as much as 10 miles out with that system and the General’s buddies would not be keen on making the trip out from Singapore by speed boat not to find them where they said they would be.
The General had been through two major campaigns in the Australian army. He had served in Malaysia and also in Vietnam. His distinction had been tactics. He was not a real general but the name had become his nickname for his organising ability and his quick understanding of the enemy and their weakness. How to explore this weakness and strike quickly and decisively was also an art form. There were officers that were outranking him and trying to make tough decisions about committing men in the field. The General usually struck out and dealt his blow before the rest of the staff had known there was a problem. He had a network of field agents that trusted him and his word. He used all the information both good and bad to his advantage. It was he who introduced Lundyn and Roscoe to Miyamoto Musashi, the samurai who after the killing was over became an artist and a poet. Miyamoto Musashi had never lost a conflict and died an old man as much revered for his beautiful poetry and art as his lightning strikes with his two swords.
The General was also an exponent of Wushu, a type of martial art taught by the Taoist monks from the Shaolin Temple that was only just now becoming popular. He practised the inner way, which was more a use of the mind and hands. The monks were the original disciples of Zen when it was first bought to China from India. The use of Jujitsu and his own small boxing school complimented a rather sharp mind in a now weathered and, one must admit, slightly battered body. He had arranged a meeting with leading businessmen, police and armed forces leaders from the Asian region. Most were people he had met during his two campaigns but some were also exponents of his arts.
Lundyn raced the General over to the fast motor cruiser that was now idling its engines some 400 metres away. His ketch was hove to with the headsail backed and the helm hard over, it was drifting slightly with the current. The motor cruiser would hold station around the ketch. No radio contact had been made between the two vessels. Signal flags using a very old code were used. This was a very secret meeting of powerful men, many of whom were supposedly at unofficial war with each other as far as their governments were concerned. But in their own way they had kept contact and the General was an old friend seeking a favour. His ‘boys’ were in trouble and were living with an assassins mark over them. The General laid his information on the table. He had photos of Ho Sin Lee’s younger brother, several of his men and good video of pirates that had raided the tanker. Also there were the contents of the wallet and some email addresses. It would be enough to lead the police through Interpol to the leader of the drug runners and probably also the pirate chief. But it was agreed that under the circumstances a quick end to the matter was required. No need for prolonged court hearings and the information that tied the leader into the drugs and piracy was received in such a way that a good lawyer could make it any evidence gathered inadmissible. The General was assured that he would have all the information that was needed to do what he had to do when they arrived in Bangkok. The men drank a toast to each other’s health and despite not having seen the General for many years no idle chat was had. It was a clinical meeting but one obviously amongst many friends. A loyal toast of scotch was drunk ‘to friends’ and the meeting ended.
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