Nick held the menu in his hands. “Thanks, I’ll decide later. I’ll wait for my wife and daughter to wake up.” Another thought entered his mind. “Tell me, when is the flight to Lemuria heading out?”
The attendant pointed to a closed set of doors at the other end of the room. “In about an hour, Mr. Dirkse. Your family will transfer directly to the helicopter pad from this lounge. Don’t worry, we will announce the boarding to you soon.”
“A helicopter? I can’t say I’ve rode in one before. Why not a plane?”
“Lemuria only has room for helicopters by air, Mr. Dirkse. Not enough of a runway for fixed wing aircraft.”
“How far away is it from here?”
“Close to five hundred kilometers, or around three hundred miles.”
“Is it safe?”
“Very,” the attendant said. “We’ve had many helicopter charters come and go over the past several months leading up to the soft opening. Your family will enjoy the full view of the ocean as you travel towards the islands of Lakshadweep.”
“We’re sure getting the royal treatment. Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” she said before moving away.
Pouring himself a steaming cup of coffee and opening a few paper packets of sugar to sweeten the beverage, Nick couldn’t help but feel hopeful. Scott had gone all in the moment they gathered the two kids and told them about the sudden trip. Kim had been mostly quiet and sullen, yet she’d hardly protested either.
They all flew in business class, and had their own individual pods inside the plane on the way to India. He wanted to chat with them during the flight, but they were all too engrossed with the various in-flight entertainment stuff to strike up a conversation, and so Nick waited until they touched down at the airport. By then the two women were drowsy from the sudden shift in time zones, while Scott remained energetic and Nick could hardly keep up with him.
Why am I in a hurry? he thought while sipping his coffee. I’ve got two weeks with them, so I’ll wait till we get to the resort and then spend some quality time with Cathy and the kids. I’m going to win them over one by one.
Nick was on his second cup when he noticed a tall, heavyset man wearing sunglasses stride in through the lounge entrance and give his passport to the waiting receptionist. The man had light brown hair that was graying at the edges, and he carried a large backpack behind his rumpled suit.
He continued to watch as the man took back his passport and walked over to the salad bar, taking a plate and helping himself to some food. Afterwards, the man glanced in Nick’s direction with a spry smile on his face before settling down on a set of couches a few meters away.
With the caffeine now keeping him awake, Nick got up and walked over to the self-serve bar section. A tray containing assorted bottles of wines and spirits was on the back counter, but he felt like going for a beer, so he moved past it. Opening the transparent refrigerator, he scanned through a number of assorted bottles, but the brand names confused him.
Figuring he might as well experiment, Nick took out a bottle with a light amber hue, popped the top open and had a long guzzle. He could immediately taste the brewed hops, but the sudden alcohol kick made him stagger a bit. The light lagers he drank back in Los Angeles were nothing compared to this.
“You need to be careful with those Indian brands, mate. They have double the alcohol content that you yanks normally drink,” a voice behind him said.
Nick turned. The man who he had been observing now stood beside the bar, a glass of whisky in his hand. “Thanks for the advice.”
“No worries,” the man said, extending his hand. From his accent and slang it was obvious he was British. “David Blaise, Associated Press.”
Nick shook it. “Nick Dirkse. I work for a small software firm in California.”
“First time in India?”
Nick nodded while taking a more careful sip. “Yeah, I got an all-expenses paid vacation to Lemuria. I’m guessing you’re going there to cover it for the media?”
“Quite right,” Blaise said. “I had to do a lot of cajoling and convincing to get ahead of the crowd. Initially the higher ups just wanted tour agencies to be the ones to handle the media stuff, but in the end they were willing to allow a few of the more established journalists to cover it too. I was lucky enough to be one of the first.”
“Good for you. Anything I should know about the place?”
Blaise stared out past the huge windows of the lounge, scanning the various planes sitting on the tarmac. “It’s not all paradise in Lakshadweep. The natives are restless.”
Nick was intrigued. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, I heard a lot of money changed hands to get the permits to dredge up Cherbaniani Reef and turn it into a private island. The islanders were mad as hell about it, but the whole process was rushed through in a record number of months.”
“I’m sorry, where?”
“The island of Lemuria used to be a coral atoll,” Blaise said. “The locals wanted to keep it as one, but big business bulldozed over them, so to speak. Now there is growing resentment at Morgenstern and his Indian partner Mukesh Dhar, and so they’ve doubled security on the island from what I heard. I’ll only know for sure when we finally arrive.”
“You think there’s going to be trouble?”
“They say Lakshadweep is paradise, and crime over there is nonexistent,” Blaise said. “But there’s massive change on the horizon, and if Lemuria is a bonafide hit with the tourists, then the rest of the region will surely be developed along the same lines.”
“I guess it’ll be interesting,” Nick said. “But I’m just headed there to have a good time with my family.”
Blaise raised his half filled tumbler. “Cheers, mate. You know what else I heard about Lemuria?”
Nick took another sip of his beer after clinking glasses with him. “What?”
Blaise leaned closer to make sure there weren’t any eavesdroppers, despite the lounge being mostly deserted. His voice turned to a low whisper. “Our mutual host Kazimir Morgenstern has a private mansion on the island, off limits to the public of course.”
“Oh? Well, if I was a billionaire with a nice resort on a tropical island I would do the same thing.”
“Rumor has it that Morgenstern built it for his brother, to keep him away from the public eye for good.”
“Kazimir Morgenstern has a brother? I didn’t know that.”
Blaise nodded. “His younger brother Emeric. He’s been kept out of the limelight, because of a rather… unsavory past.”
“Oh? What past is that?”
“It is said that Emeric’s wife died in mysterious circumstances,” Blaise said softly. “Rumors even claimed she was murdered. By who, nobody knows. Very large skeletons in the Morgenstern family closet.”
Despite the alcohol and his fatigue, Nick’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“Yes. I heard Kazimir Morgenstern paid huge amounts of money to hush up the media outlets, even suing a few newspapers. In the end all that was published was about Emeric’s wife dying due to an accident. No autopsy, and the death certificate was sealed from public view.”
“Wow,” Nick said. “That’s some story.”
A soft chime came over the lounge, followed by the voice of a female announcer. “Namaste, and good morning, everyone. The flight to Lemuria will begin boarding from our exclusive lounge gate in thirty minutes. Thank you.”
Nick put the beer down on the counter. “Well, I need to gather up my family. Nice talking to you, David. I’ll see you later.”
“See you in paradise, mate,” Blaise said as he shook the other man’s hand once more. He watched Nick walk over to his wife and daughter to check up on them before going out of the lounge. Sliding a hand into his inner suit pocket, he couldn’t help but rub his finger against the lining of the fake passport he carried. It took a lot of effort to get to this point without anyone knowing my real identity, he thought. Now all I have to do is find a way to get inside the private estate once I make it onto the island.