She pointed out a chart on the top of the paperwork.
"The wiretaps have mentioned Thailand, but it seemed like a code-word or a concept more than the country. The taps also mentioned a festival and we have several starting this weekend that are in the early part of the month. I spoke about that last week, if memory serves. There are several companies in our database that use derivatives of Thai words, and they seem to be in similar fields.
"Chiang Tung Investments is located in Shanghai; they invest in energy exploration. There's the Samui Group who specialize in petroleum geophysics, supplying manpower.
"Then there is Chiang Mai, which is a marine distribution company. There has been an increase in exports of containers identified as industrial machinery being shipped from China to Malaysia. Oddly enough, for this company, it seems they have little activity planned for June, which is unusual given their manifests for May." She leaned forward.
"I think that something is being planned to happen the beginning of June." At this admission from Meaghan, Rickie looked through the report, made the decision, and met Meaghan's eyes.
"I think you're right too, Meggie. Now we have to figure out what it is. I'll meet with Raine either tonight or tomorrow and see what she thinks. Did you want to come to dinner with us?"
Meaghan shook her head. "I promised Leaf I'd help her with a school project tonight. If you would like, I can send her my report via email," she offered. Rickie nodded and stood up. Meaghan did likewise.
"Please do. And if something else comes along, contact me day or night. In fact," Rickie's eyes warmed, "Call me for any reason whatsoever." He touched her shoulder, and ran his hand down her arm, intertwining their fingers. He held her hand for a moment, gave her a quick kiss on the back of her hand, and then reluctantly released her. The bright pink spots on either cheek belied his effect on her as she bobbed her head and hurried out of the office.
Outside his door, Meaghan held her hands to her burning cheeks and willed them to die down. Making her way back to her desk, she sent the file to Raine's email box and prepared to finish up for the day.
~ ~ ~
Rickie met Raine at Hillary's restaurant. She had taken them to an out-of-the-way corner table, and promised to return when she had a moment. Meanwhile, they sipped glasses of wine as they waited for their entrees.
Raine reviewed her copy of Meaghan's report. "I think it's a good call on Meg's part, but we need to pinpoint the location if at all possible. Any ideas?"
"I have two consultants on my gas rig near Pulau Serasan. I checked their references this afternoon, but everything appears to be legitimate." Rickie thought for a moment. "I'll go ahead and check with my contacts, and see if anything unusual pops up. My first impression was that they were a bit odd, but I've only been working the family interests for only a short while, so I don't personally know their reputation."
Hillary showed up with their meals, and after serving them, and sat down with the pair. They had a friendly discussion of favorite wine selections, and the meal proceeded amicably.
~ ~ ~
In the quiet darkness above the bustle surrounding the drill, two figures leaned against the railing around the helipad and looked down at the movement below. A matched flared up as John lit a cigarette, deeply inhaled and then sighed a puff of smoke.
"Are we prepared for tomorrow?"
"Affirmative. And you know," Ani added dryly, "Those things will kill you."
A laugh was the only reply.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Thursday morning, Meaghan barely stirred when her alarm went off. Her limbs felt like lead, and a tickle in her throat warned her that she probably was coming down with something.
After multiple attempts she was sitting up, but the dizziness that accompanied it made her feel slightly nauseous. Her face felt hot, too. Realizing the futility of going to work in this state, she called the office.
"Hello!" Somehow Maya's perkiness made her feel even worse.
"Hi, Maya. It's Meaghan. I'm too sick to work today. Can you let everyone know?"
Her voice instantly became concerned. "Anything we can do for you, Meg?"
"No no, I'm just going to stay in bed today. If something comes up that's important, though, call me." At least she had her laptop and could work a little from home if needed.
"Okay, Meg. I hope you feel better," Maya replied.
"Thanks."
~ ~ ~
After a hot bath and some medicine, Meaghan felt marginally better. Straightening the house left her feeling exhausted, so she sat down on the couch, a box of tissues within reach and a thermos of hot tea on the end table. She glanced around the room until her eyes rested on her computer bag. Maybe this is a good time to go over Ivoire's files again, she thought.
She heaved herself off the well-sprung cushions and shuffled to the bag. She sat back down on the couch with an audible sigh, plugged in the power cord to the wall outlet, and booted up the computer.
While sipping the hot, strong tea, her cell phone went off, and she smiled when she saw who it was.
"How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Should I come over?" Rickie barked the questions out, his concern underlying the bossy tone.
"I'm fine, Rickie. I'm just resting a bit right now. It's just a slight fever, and I'm sure I'll feel better soon."
Rickie's voice became gentler. "I don't like you being alone when you're not feeling well. Should I have Sethe keep you company?"
"I'm fine," Meaghan insisted, "I'm going to read a little, have some tea, and rest some more." A quiet beep showed the computer was ready. "If I need anything, I will call you. I promise."
"Are you sure there's nothing I can do that would make you feel better?" Rickie's tone became intimate, and Meaghan squirmed at the image that suddenly popped into her mind; lying on Rickie's chest, hearing his heartbeat against her ear while he stroked her hair. She took a sip of tea to ease her suddenly-dry throat.
"N...nothing comes to mind," Meaghan said. A low chuckle greeted this, and Meaghan knew he caught her stammer.
"Call me later, Meggie. I want to know you are still doing okay." After she promised, he disconnected, and Meaghan fanned her face, feeling hotter than the fever warranted.
Once her unruly heart slowed, she plugged in the thumb drive and began looking over the files, trying to find whatever data Ivoire had tried so desperately to send her.
<><><><><><><><><>
Meaghan pulled up the most recent data from France and compared it to the information found in Ivoire's file. It was clear that several businesses were missing. She compared the files and found the same companies that she had flagged previously based on the wiretap information were suspiciously absent from Misty's files:
Chiang Tung Investments. The Samui Group. Chiang Mai Distribution.
Meaghan pushed back from the laptop and sank back into the cushions of the couch with a sick feeling in her stomach. The similar nomenclature of the names; the wiretap discussion of festivals.
Misty was more than likely involved, and not in a good way.
It was probably going to begin tonight, at the start of Gawai Dayak.
And it was happening on Rickie's drilling platform.
Her heart in her throat, she quickly attempted to call Rickie, but the call went straight to voicemail. She left a voicemail asking him to call back as soon as possible, then walked to her bedroom and began changing into outside clothes.
~ ~ ~
Just back from lunch, Rickie contemplated leaving early to go see Meaghan. She had sounded a little congested; surely she would appreciate someone bringing some abalone porridge and a sympathetic demeanor, someone willing to keep her company and cater to her every need. He grinned as he pictured her, curled up on the couch and wrapped in a fluffy blanket.
He was reaching for his phone when it rang. Looking at the Caller ID, he answered it.
"Selamat tengah hari, JoAnne. How are you this afternoon?"
"We have a problem at our Nice office." The seriousness of her tone had Rickie sitting up.
"What happened?"
"The building is on fire. Witness said they heard what sounded like an explosion. Since it's early in the morning in France, there wasn't anyone besides the custodial staff, and they have all been accounted for. The firefighters are still battling the blaze, but it looks like our offices have been gutted."
Rickie leaned back in his chair. "At least no one was injured. Our servers back up at midnight there, so we shouldn't have lost anything." There was a long pause, and then JoAnne sighed.
"It appears there was some type of malware or worm that made it past our firewalls. The backup servers have been completely corrupted. For all intents and purposes, the office has disappeared."
Rickie couldn't speak for a moment, thunderstruck at the complete destruction of the branch. He mentally shook himself, and then addressed JoAnne again.
"I'm on my way to the house. Please collect whatever information we can gather, and get in contact with our command staff in France. Let's see what we can do."
"Okay, boss." JoAnne brusquely signed off.
Rickie collected his keys and computer bag. Heading out the door, he looked at his cell phone and realized Meaghan had called and left a voicemail. He put the phone in his pocket with some regret; his visit with his woman was going to have to wait a while.
<><><><><><><><><>
Several hours later, Rickie was exhausted. After the endless phone calls between his staff and fire department personnel in France, he was ready to rest. JoAnne capably fielded calls from the newshounds and the curious; pictures of the fire had already spread through the internet. The French investigators believed some sort of accelerant was used in portions of the building; the preliminary finding of arson hung heavy in his mind.
Taking a sip of still-warm coffee, he turned to JoAnne, who was hanging up after another call. He gave her a tired smile. "Thanks for your help." JoAnne shrugged.
"Once I convinced your father to have a lie-in, it was easy to help you. And thanks for the food." She waved at the table, where chocolate pieces and cheese curls were side by side with turkey sandwiches and sliced vegetables. JoAnne stretched and sighed after looking at the wall clock. It read 7:35 pm. "I'll follow up with everything in a couple of hours, our time. Hopefully by then, we can determine what can be salvaged from all this."
Rickie gave her a one-armed hug. "What would my father and I do without you?" he asked with affection. She smiled and lightly punched his arm.
"You can always give me a raise to show your gratitude. I still have my kid's college tuition to pay for." She picked up her bag, gave a little wave and headed out the door.
Rickie sat down and rubbed his temples. What a mess. The Nice servers were physically backed up to magnetic tape once a month and stored offsite, so everything was not lost. It was going to take a long time to rebuild, though, and some records were irretrievable. He thought about the main office here in Kuching.
Of course. He snapped his fingers. The monthly reports were compiled from data from their various distribution locations, so maybe the data could be reconstructed from those records...
Meaghan. Somehow, with the turmoil of this evening, she had left his thoughts. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and saw Meaghan had tried several times to reach him. He dialed for his voicemail and sucked back his breath when he heard her strained voice.
"Rickie, please call me back. I...I found something bad. I think someone's going to destroy your gas tower, and I think it's going to happen tonight." With a sigh, Meaghan continued. "I'm really worried, so please call me. Please."
The voicemail ended. With a curse, Rickie quickly dialed Meaghan's cell phone.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meaghan was perched on the couch in a pair of jeans and a green cable-knit long sweater. Tina had already gone to her room to study, after she was unable to keep her big sister from pacing. Her dizziness had finally abated, but she was still felt weak. She picked up the phone again and willed Rickie to call. After the first voicemail, she had called several times, but each time it rang several times without Rickie answering, and she hung up before leaving any additional messages.
The strains of Minnie Ripperton's "Loving You" came on immediately after her phone vibrated. "Finally!" Meaghan breathed and quickly answered.
"Rickie?" At the sound of her worried voice, Rickie sharpened his focus.
"Meggie? How are you feeling?"
"Nevermind me," she stated impatiently, "I need to talk to you about my information..."
Rickie interrupted her. "The Nice office burned down today."
Meaghan was stunned by the appalling news. And, yet, given the conclusion she found, it made strange, terrible sense. "Are all the employees safe? What about Misty? Has anyone seen her since this happened?"
"I don't recognize the name, but I was told all employees were accounted for, why?" Rickie questioned.
Meaghan replied, "I think she started the fire." Swiftly, she gave him the information from Ivoire's files, as well as the altered files sent by Misty, and her conclusion. "And I think those two consultants are some type of terrorist or saboteurs, and it's going to happen tonight."
Rickie made some swift calculations. The sun was already setting, so it would be close to dark before he reached the structure by boat. Given the situation, though, he thought the boat would be the most viable option.
"I'm going to get in touch with Raine and the team, and try to prevent anything from happening. Just stay home, and if something happens, someone will contact you."
"You can't go alone!" Meaghan cried, "It's too dangerous!" She gripped the phone tightly in her trembling hand and whispered, "Please don't go."
Rickie sighed. "I have to. It's my family's property, and I have to protect it. And I can't send anyone out until I know for a fact that something is happening. I believe you," he said, to stop a protest he knew was already on her beautiful lips, "but I'll need more evidence before I can activate the troops. Don't worry; I promise I'll be careful."
Meaghan bit her lower lip. "I wish you wouldn't go, but I understand." She closed her eyes and willed her voice to stay steady. "Do what you must, and come back to me."
A lump formed in Rickie's throat, and he had to cough several times to clear it. He realized how much he had grown to crave for this incredible woman, and how much she cared for him. "I will always be there for you, my Meggie, and I hope you will always be by my side."
A quiet sob greeted those words. Rickie finished. "Now I have to go protect what is mine. I give you my word that, when this is over, you and I will have a very important conversation."
"Be careful." It was little more than a whisper, but it reverberated in Rickie's chest and settled warmly in his heart, and he blinked back sudden tears.