Read Online The Secret Chamber by Patrick Woodhead - Free Book Online
Authors: Patrick Woodhead
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come in. This goes out.’
Fabrice peered closer, lifting his sunglasses. He wrinkled his nose in concentration.
‘And a helicopter?’ he asked, over his shoulder.
‘Not just
a
helicopter. They come in with four of them. Machine guns … Mercs. I told you, this is some big shit, Fabrice. There was a whole Chinese unit there and it wasn’t easy to get that stuff out. I mean, I am taking a lot of risk here. We should talk about that.’
He looked across, keen to impress upon the middleman the difficulty he had had procuring the cargo, but as ever Fabrice was only half listening. He was turning the shard over and over in his hands, his expression darkening with each revolution.
‘So where do they get it from?’
‘North,’ Louis answered, leaning back in his seat distractedly and catching the eye of one of the girls on the next table. He smiled at her, his eyes moving down from her face to her cleavage.
‘North? What do you mean, north? Across the border?’
Louis shook his head. ‘No. Not Sudan. I heard it’s from somewhere inside the Ituri Forest. A place called Epulu.’
Fabrice’s expression twisted in disbelief.
‘The Ituri? Nothing comes out of the Ituri. No one ever goes past the river.’ He paused for a moment, his mind racing while he wondered what could be so valuable that someone would risk going north. It was nothing short of suicide. Turning back to the shard, he shook his head once again. ‘Jesus, it must be worth a fortune.’
Louis leaned forward eagerly.
‘So come on, Fabrice. How much is it worth? I weighed it already. We got over a kilo here.’
‘None of this makes any sense,’ Fabrice answered, dropping the shard back on to the table so that it nearly rolled off the lip. Louis made a grab at it, catching it just in time. ‘This isn’t worth shit, Louis. It’s plain old coltan.’
‘Coltan?’ Louis asked, his voice rising in shock.
‘Yeah. You know, tantalite. The stuff they use in cell phones.’ Fabrice waved his hand in disgust at the small pile of rocks. ‘It’s mined all over the place. What you got there is worth about fifteen dollars. Real “big shit”, Louis.’
‘No, no,’ he stuttered, shaking his head at the injustice. He grabbed the shard in his own hands and stared at it, holding the flame of the candle directly behind the rock, almost singeing it. ‘I’ve seen the security they use. There’s got to be something more.’
As Louis brought it closer to the light, Fabrice suddenly noticed a flash of red. Steadying Louis’s wrist, he leaned forward. There was a thin vein of colour running the length of the shard. It was a smouldering, blood red colour, welling through the blackness of the rock.
‘What the hell …’ he muttered, the words trailing off. He took the shard between his own fingers again and studied it more closely. The glow was soft and mesmeric, like lava cooling long after an eruption.
‘What is it? Uranium?’ Louis asked, craning his neck for a better view.
‘I don’t know, but I’ve traded everything there is and I’ve never seen anything like this before. One thing’s for sure. If security is as tight as you say and it’s coming out of the Ituri, then someone wants this stuff real bad.’ Fabrice paused for a moment, distractedly scratching his left cheek. ‘There is a guy I know who might be able to help. Works for one of the mining corps up here and he likes his women. He owes me.’
Fabrice signalled to one of his men, hidden by the shadow of the speakers. Louis watched him take the package, retreating towards the office at the rear of the club, and wondered if this would be the last time he would see it.
‘Whatever it is, we’re fifty-fifty, right?’ he said, offering Fabrice his hand.
Fabrice ignored him, attention suddenly focused on the entrance to the club. He straightened his suit, tightening the jacket across his athletic shoulders, and adjusted his sunglasses once again.
‘Hey, Fabrice, we’re cool,
Fabrice peered closer, lifting his sunglasses. He wrinkled his nose in concentration.
‘And a helicopter?’ he asked, over his shoulder.
‘Not just
a
helicopter. They come in with four of them. Machine guns … Mercs. I told you, this is some big shit, Fabrice. There was a whole Chinese unit there and it wasn’t easy to get that stuff out. I mean, I am taking a lot of risk here. We should talk about that.’
He looked across, keen to impress upon the middleman the difficulty he had had procuring the cargo, but as ever Fabrice was only half listening. He was turning the shard over and over in his hands, his expression darkening with each revolution.
‘So where do they get it from?’
‘North,’ Louis answered, leaning back in his seat distractedly and catching the eye of one of the girls on the next table. He smiled at her, his eyes moving down from her face to her cleavage.
‘North? What do you mean, north? Across the border?’
Louis shook his head. ‘No. Not Sudan. I heard it’s from somewhere inside the Ituri Forest. A place called Epulu.’
Fabrice’s expression twisted in disbelief.
‘The Ituri? Nothing comes out of the Ituri. No one ever goes past the river.’ He paused for a moment, his mind racing while he wondered what could be so valuable that someone would risk going north. It was nothing short of suicide. Turning back to the shard, he shook his head once again. ‘Jesus, it must be worth a fortune.’
Louis leaned forward eagerly.
‘So come on, Fabrice. How much is it worth? I weighed it already. We got over a kilo here.’
‘None of this makes any sense,’ Fabrice answered, dropping the shard back on to the table so that it nearly rolled off the lip. Louis made a grab at it, catching it just in time. ‘This isn’t worth shit, Louis. It’s plain old coltan.’
‘Coltan?’ Louis asked, his voice rising in shock.
‘Yeah. You know, tantalite. The stuff they use in cell phones.’ Fabrice waved his hand in disgust at the small pile of rocks. ‘It’s mined all over the place. What you got there is worth about fifteen dollars. Real “big shit”, Louis.’
‘No, no,’ he stuttered, shaking his head at the injustice. He grabbed the shard in his own hands and stared at it, holding the flame of the candle directly behind the rock, almost singeing it. ‘I’ve seen the security they use. There’s got to be something more.’
As Louis brought it closer to the light, Fabrice suddenly noticed a flash of red. Steadying Louis’s wrist, he leaned forward. There was a thin vein of colour running the length of the shard. It was a smouldering, blood red colour, welling through the blackness of the rock.
‘What the hell …’ he muttered, the words trailing off. He took the shard between his own fingers again and studied it more closely. The glow was soft and mesmeric, like lava cooling long after an eruption.
‘What is it? Uranium?’ Louis asked, craning his neck for a better view.
‘I don’t know, but I’ve traded everything there is and I’ve never seen anything like this before. One thing’s for sure. If security is as tight as you say and it’s coming out of the Ituri, then someone wants this stuff real bad.’ Fabrice paused for a moment, distractedly scratching his left cheek. ‘There is a guy I know who might be able to help. Works for one of the mining corps up here and he likes his women. He owes me.’
Fabrice signalled to one of his men, hidden by the shadow of the speakers. Louis watched him take the package, retreating towards the office at the rear of the club, and wondered if this would be the last time he would see it.
‘Whatever it is, we’re fifty-fifty, right?’ he said, offering Fabrice his hand.
Fabrice ignored him, attention suddenly focused on the entrance to the club. He straightened his suit, tightening the jacket across his athletic shoulders, and adjusted his sunglasses once again.
‘Hey, Fabrice, we’re cool,
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