A Modern Nemo 29

The North Korean climbed aboard the Embark, only to find out that there were only two people on board. He learned from them that one of the Japanese women, the pregnant one, was giving birth. There wasn't time to rush her to a hospital so she had to be brought to a nearby port office to deliver to baby.

Kim Nam-ha decided not to run anymore for fear of getting lost a second time.

Meanwhile in the office, there was no time to get the doctor. The personnel at the port did say that an ambulance was on its way. Sayoko was on a table and everyone was in a panic until Shoji and Chidori arrived.

Shoji and Chidori weaved through the crowd, confident they could help. During her stay in England Chidori had changed her course of study several times, taking nursing at one point.

"Please make way," said Shoji, as he led Chidori through the crowd. "Please make way; we have someone here who can perform a delivery."

As they entered the office they found Konstantiniadis, the captain of the Embark, its cook and Ryutaro, Sayoko's boyfriend standing and looking at her bewildered. They definitely did not know what to do.

Chidori immediately set to work. "Get me some water, now," she said to Shoji, "a basin, hurry!"

Shoji took a step back and ran out of the office. "Where can I get a basin?" he asked the janitor.

The delivery was long.

Elsewhere in the town, several other events were afoot.

Out of a certain port side tavern stepped a short man in white and a tall man in black. The man in white wore a panama hat and carried a half-full bottle of wine. The man in black had his hands in his pockets.

As they stepped out of the tavern, they headed in opposite directions without saying a word; the man in white went straight for town, the man in black proceeded to a collection of buildings near the harbor.

As the man in white walked up the road he was approached by two huge men in black suits.

"Excuse us, sir," said one of them in a New York accent, "could you come with us, please?"

"Where to?" asked the man in white. "I'm on my way to my hotel."

"This'll just take a few minutes."

The man in white looked at the second man, who was holding the left lapel of his jacket in a suspicious manner.

"Sure, I'll come," said the man in white with a smile.

They walked deep into a small alley, where the windows were closed and the lights were out. The only signs of life were stray cats rummaging through the garbage heaps.

"So," said the man in white, "what is it you want to talk to me about?"

"You were talking to one of our personnel a couple of hours ago," said the first man. So he was a Green Oceans security man. "Did you discuss anything company-related?

"Company-related, let's see," said the man in white, looking down and scratching his left temple.

"You were talking to a Korean employee of our company," said the first man. "Just what was it you two were talking about?"

"Oh!" he said, looking at the first man and raising a finger. "You're with Green Oceans, are you?"

"What's your name, sir?" asked the first man.

"It's Drake Forest."

"That ain't your real name," said the second man, who was black.

"Okay, okay," said the man in white. "It's Draig H. Goedwig."

"You're not a Brit," said the first man. "Nice try."

"You're Asian," said the second man, "you're hiding something."

"Alright, alright," said the man in white, waving his left hand and holding up the wine bottle. "It's Paamai Teeneungmangkon. I'm from Thailand."

The two Green Oceans security men looked at each other for a moment. At the same time, the man in white glanced at his wine bottle. "Hey, wanna drink?" he asked, holding the bottle out to the two larger individuals.

"No thanks," the black man said, lifting the lapel of his coat and revealing the handle of a gun. "We'd like you to come with us to answer a few more questions."

He barely finished what he was saying when the man in white pulled out a pair of tailor's scissors and drove them through his left eye. He shrieked as the man in white kicked him in the chest.

"Son of a bitch!" exclaimed the first man. He reached for his gun but was stabbed in the throat by the same pair of scissors before he could pull his weapon out. Hayashi finished everything by driving the scissors into the black security officer's skull.

Hayashi sighed. "That's what you get for threatening me with a gun," he said. He pulled the cork out of the bottle and drank some of the retsina. "Now, I'm late for my favorite anime."

He put the cork back in the bottle and returned to his hotel, leaving the pair of scissors in the black Green Oceans security man's head.

At another place in town, Onodera walked out of another alley, leaving behind another pair of dead bodies in black suits. These ones had their guns drawn -and their necks snapped.

Onodera tucked what looked like a chain into a coat pocket and lighted a cigarette. "Looks like they're trying to keep their 'precious lambs' under wraps," he murmured.

A Modern Nemo 28

Drake Forest walked into a tavern. He sat at a table next to the door and bade the waiter bring him a bottle of retsina and a pair of glasses.

As he sat at the table and sampled the wine's bouquet, another Asian man dressed in black and wearing glasses sat down on front of him.

"Drake Forest, huh?" said Shizuo Onodera as he leaned forward, placing his left arm on the table. "Just how many people are you planning to call yourself that name in front of?"

Ryuichi Hayashi took off his hat and glasses, smiled and continued sniffing the wine. "Which would you prefer?" he chuckled. "Lim Yong-il? Lin Longyi? Paamai Teeneungmangkon? Rung Rong Mot? Preichheu Dambaungneak? Pamai Khangthoaidmangkon? Draig Hunfed Goedwig? Oh, how about Hutan Pertamanaga?"

"They all mean the same thing," said Onodera, grinning.

Hayashi poured wine in the other glass and handed it to Onodera.

"Paamai Teeneungmangkon, Lin Longyi, Hutan Pertamanaga," Onodera went on. "They mean the same thing: your name. Doesn't matter if it's in Thai, Chinese or Malaysian. It's still Ryuichi Hayashi."

"Don't worry about it."

"I kinda like Draig H. Goedwig, though; It's not that obvious. So, how do you find your new friend?"

Hayashi tasted the wine. "Naive," he replied. "Interesting, can actually be quite trusting to people who give something to him."

Onodera sniffed the wine and drank half the glass of it. "So," he asked, "can we use him?"

Hayashi lifted his glass to the light and swirled the wine. "I believe we can," he said, watching the wine as it moved round and round in the glass. Lowering the glass, he put it to his lips and drank.

A Modern Nemo 27

The North Korean ran in panic. He was lost, lost in a place far removed from his homeland. Exhausted and trembling, he slumped into a chair at an outdoor coffee shop.

"Are you lost?" said a voice.

He started. Turning to his left, he saw a man -another Asian- sitting at the table; a cup of coffee was in his right hand and a newspaper was in the other. This man was the same height as him and wore dark glasses, a  wide-brimmed panama hat and white clothes: an unbuttoned shirt, tank top and trousers.

Kim Nam-ha was stunned. He thought only he and the others in the fleet were the only foreigners around. He wanted to leave, but felt compelled to stay.

"You're travelling with the Green Oceans fleet, I see," the man continued, noting Kim Nam-ha's ID.

"Yes, sir."

"Are you on vacation?"

Kim Nam-ha was nervous. Adapting to life at sea was stressful enough. Dealing with another foreigner just added to it. Sensing the distress, the stranger motioned a waiter to bring over a glass of retsina.

Tasting the wine was an exciting experience for Kim Nam-ha; he had never tried grape wine before. He began talking at length about his ordeal; how he escaped North Korea, getting his hands on Konstantiniadis' book, and wanting to live freely. And now he was lost. He had no idea how he would get back to the port.

The other man listened and smile all this time. Kim Nam-ha, his face now flushed (that was a pretty strong retsina,) ran out of steam. Depressed, he slumped forward. "But now I don't know what to do," he said. "I don't know this place and I can't think of what to do next... or where to go."

"That's easy," said the other man. "I can take you back to the pier."

"You can?" Kim Nam-ha started, his eyes wide.

"Sure," said the man. Rising, he placed a pair of SS bills on the table. "Keep the change," he said to the waiter.

"Follow me," he said, motioning to Kim Nam-ha and started walking. As Kim Nam-ha followed his new benefactor, the waiter approached the table to pick up the bills. His eyes widened at what he saw. It was enough to buy a small TV set.

"Where do you come from?" asked an astonished Kim Nam-ha. The money he saw wasn't European.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I've never been out of my country before," replied Kim Nam-ha. "And we're in Greece. I've never traveled before and I-"

"You're not comfortable meeting different people?"

"No, it's just-"

"It's alright," said the stranger reassuringly. "I had the same problem. But now I travel a lot. My work takes me places, and your time at Green Oceans will as well."

They had been going a short distance when Kim Nam-ha became even more uncomfortable. "Excuse me, sir," he said. "But are you sure we're going to the pier?"

The man pointed upward. "Look up," he said.

Kim Nam-ha looked up and saw the  bow of the Embark. It glistened in the afternoon sun, and even though it was still quite a walk, the figure of the huge ship was still a sight to behold. Kim Nam-ha gasped in amazement. "Thank you, sir!" he exclaimed, running past the stranger.

As he neared the port gate, he almost forgot one thing. "I'm sorry, I just remembered," he said turning around. "What's your name?"

"It's Drake Forest," replied the stranger.

"Thank you, sir!" cried Kim Nam-ha, "Thank you Mr. Forest!"

Drake Forest turned around and waved as he headed back to town.

A Modern Nemo 26

Eric, Peter, Leon, Cyrus, Makoto, Ethan and Lorenzo were in the study of Ong Manor. This was the same room the where taipan and the cardinal regularly played chess. They had dinner at the manor with Eric's family and afterward, Christine had gone to bed, Linus and Laurie went to their beach house.

The taipan, the cardinal, Leon and Ethan were at the Mahjong table, playing Mahjong. Makoto was playing billiards with Lorenzo while Cyrus was drinking coffee at a nearby coffee table.

Peter sat opposite Eric, while Ethan sat facing Leon. They were playing Hong Kong Old Style Mahjong -and the game was getting pretty tense as no one seemed to be winning.

Cyrus' phone rang. It was Maximilian. "What is it, man?" asked the younger brother.

"Are you with dad?"

"Yeah, but he's got company."

"Well, I need to talk to him."

Cyrus put his mug down and went to the mahjong table. Everybody there was growing rather agitated. Eric had used up all his cigarettes and was glancing nervously at the other players. Ethan was smiling but sweating. Leon was looking at his tiles and trying to figure out whether to pick a tile from the wall or discard one in his hand. The stone-faced cardinal seemed unmoved -until one could notice that his hands were frantically rearranging his tiles.

"Dad," Cyrus whispered in his father's ear. "Maximilian wants to speak with you," and he handed Eric his phone.

"Yeah?" asked Eric as he took the phone from Cyrus. He was very uncomfortable having to make such a receive such a call while playing a game that turned into a nail-biter (lowest score would host a buffet for the other players at the city's most expensive restaurant.)

"Konstantiniadis isn't just building a fleet of ships for his own sea-spanning nation," replied Maximilian.

"So what is he up to?" muttered Eric, as he glanced at the other players. The tension was already so high, they had been playing for almost four hours with miserable scores. It was decided to have a final round.

"I don't want this tile..." Ethan mumbled as he dropped a One of Dots onto the table. Peter snatched it and dropped a Seven of Characters as Ethan picked another tile from the wall. Leon threw in a concealed tile and drew another one from the wall.

"Konstantiniadis is building something at sea," continued Maximilian. "A city that can move across the ocean and control international trade."

"That idea's kinda far-fetched," remarked Eric as he discarded a tile without looking. It was eagerly snatched up by Ethan.

"It's true, dad," said Maximilian. "I got the files from Petrov."

"Petrov? Where is he now?"

"He didn't say, but what he sent is definitely Green Oceans material."

"I call," said Leon. "Somebody's bluffing here."

"I'll catch you later," said Eric as he handed the phone back to Cyrus.

"Somebody better show his hand," said Leon.

Eric glanced at his hand. He had blundered throughout the game. His hand held a pung of 3 Bamboo, a pung of 2 Dots, a kong of 4 Characters, a 2 of Characters, a 1 of Characters, a 1 of Dots and a West Wind tile. He was East wind.

The cardinal  held a chow of 5 to 7 Characters, a pair of 1 of Dots, a pung of 2 Bamboo and an odd assortment of 3 of Dots, 3 of Bamboo, 2 of Bamboo, 2 of Characters and 8 of Bamboo.

Leon's hand held a pair of Red Dragons, a pung of 3 Bamboo, a pung of 7 of Dots a pair of 6 of Dots, an 8 of dots and a 7 of Characters. He chuckled. "Let's see what you got!" he said to Ethan.

Ethan sheepishly put down his tiles: a kong of White Dragons, a kong of his own wind (North) a pung of 1 Bamboo and a pair of flowers (Bamboo and Chrysanthemum.) "Sik," he mumbled.

Leon leaped to his feet, roaring in dismay. The cardinal landed face down in the table. Eric gaped at Ethan like a landed fish.

The Anthem

Anselmo: Taking a break from "A Modern Nemo." Here's the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, the complete fourth movement, also known as the EOGC's unofficial anthem.

Lorenzo: Almost everybody in the EOGC territories loves this song... except the politicians.

Anselmo: Haha, yes. Oh, and this version's being sung by Japanese.

A Modern Nemo 25

Maximilian was in his office, going through all the files Petrov had sent him. He was practically so engrossed that his secretary had to go into the room because he didn't answer the phone. And when someone wanted to see him, he would nod his head, wave and continue reading the files while the visitor would go on and on with his or her ramblings.

There was something very disturbing about the files Petrov had sent him. Weapons were being purchased from former Soviet countries in Central Asia and were being smuggled through Russia, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan through Green Oceans' own delivery and shipping offices after being disassembled and placed in containers. But in some places, especially in remote places on the Russian Pacific coast, the ships were just waiting on the coast and were loaded. There was even an office created to pay out bribes to local officials.

These things, taken in isolation, did not faze Maximilian; neither was the sheer size and the type of weapons involved: attack helicopters, AK-47s, RGPs, surface-to-air and surface-to surface missiles and electronic warfare systems and point-defense weapons, to name a few. What really got his attention was a folder entitled "The Agenda."

As he pieced the information in contents of the folder's files together, an image was building in his mind: Konstantiniadis was putting together a vast armada that would claim the seas as its pond and turn the seas into his own country. That would be bad for the whole world.

He never left his office the entire day and asked his secretary to bring him a cheeseburger meal for lunch. He never stopped reading the documents even though it was already six in the evening.

Justine arrived from Ong Manor at around ten. Maximilian's secretary had already left for home and Justine came to inquire why Maximilian hadn't come home yet.

"Hey bo," she said, walking into the room. "You haven't been answering any of our calls. What's up?"

Maximilian nodded but didn't say anything. His eyes remained fixed on the computer screen.

"Hey," she said again, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, hey," replied Maximilian. His face still remained in front of the screen.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"Working."

"But dad says there's nothing else to do today."

"Well, he doesn't, but I do."

"How important is it?"

Maximilian paid no attention until he came across a picture of a star-shaped city floating on the sea: a ship as big as a city, unconventional in design and sailing every sea in the world, claiming dominion over the waters. In the text, Konstantiniadis stated that he would ban international shipping and only his new creation, the Great Ocean Nation, would be solely responsible for protection of the seas' ecology and handle all maritime trade. A dangerous revelation was discovered.Commercial shipping would cease to exist and international trade would suffer, bringing about a global crisis. Wars would erupt and shake societies to their very foundations. Even the EOGC would be affected. Maximilian's eyes widened in horror. "Justine," he said. "Get me the phone. I'm calling dad."

A Modern Nemo 24

The wireless phone rang beside the bed. The girl awoke and picked it up. "Hello," she mumbled. "Who is this?"

"Oh," she said after listening. She turned and nudged the person sleeping next to her. "Hey," she said, "It's for you."

Maximilian opened his eyes. He put his glasses on and took the phone.

He was in his condominium unit with his girlfriend. Although his parents approved of their relationship, they did not approve of them sleeping together unless and until they tied the knot. Well, in Maximilian's opinion, that had weight if they were in Ong Manor. But this was his house; so the rules were his rules.

"Hello?" he said, sitting up.

"Mr. Ong," came Petrov's voice. "Can you go online right now? I have something important to send you."

"Alright," said Maximilian, "In a moment."

He hung up, kissed his girlfriend, who had just went back to sleep, and climbed out of bed. Then he put on a black brief and white tank top and headed for the living room.He sat down in front of his computer, turned it on and logged in. Patching into his chat with the camera on, he beheld an unusual sight.

Petrov's face was in the camera, he was covered with sweat and appeared to be moving back and forth in rapid succession. As Maximilian put the headset on, he could hear the sounds of panting and moaning.

"Hello Mr. Ong," said Petrov, breathing heavily. "I have been able to get some information on Konstantiniadis' plans."

"So what did you find out?" asked Maximilian.

"I'll send the over to you right now," Petrov replied.

A message with attachments appeared on Maximilian's screen.

"Have you received the package, Mr. Ong?"

Maximilian downloaded the attachments. There were several folders full of documents. "Yes, I have," he replied and saved them in a separate folder.

The moaning and panting was getting louder.

"Good," said Petrov. "Now I must get back to business."

He backed away from the camera and it was revealed that he was naked. His arms were holding something and were moving back and forth, as was his body from the chest down. He paused for a moment and lifted a head from below the camera; it was the face of an effeminate-looking blond young man.

"As you can see, I'm rather busy," Petrov continued.

The young man looked into the camera, smiled and waved a hand.

Unnerved, Maximilian closed the window and went offline. He thought of going back to his room for a moment. But he was tired. They had been up and about the whole night. Turning off the computer, Maximilian leaned back and fell asleep in the chair.