Free Halfway to the Truth by Anthony Mays Page B

tray. He then leaned back and crossed one leg over the other before saying, “I’m surprised it took Doug this long to gain an interest in what’s going on down in our shipyard. You know she’s really after what goes on in the red zone?”
    “Uh-huh! I saw through that right away. She was trying too hard to get in touch with me. I told her I’d escort her around and even suggested she bring a photographer.”
    Viktor didn’t blink an eye as he asked, “When is all this taking place?”
    “I scheduled it for Friday morning.”
    “Excellent! The goods in that warehouse will be loaded onto containers and be onboard the Athenos Thursday. When the ship leaves Friday, you both can watch as it pulls away from the dock.”
    “I thought that too,” said Nikolaus. “I gave orders to Dimitris to make sure the warehouse was clean.”
    Viktor leaned again toward the table and picked up the coffee pot. “Sure you don’t want some?” he asked not waiting for an answer and drained the remaining contents it into his cup. “I know you’ve only been down at the docks a short while, but Dimitris tells me you’ve picked up on the operation quickly. Perhaps you’ll make a Greek businessman after all.” He gave a slight toast with his cup toward his son.
    Viktor then changed the subject. “So, when am I going to meet this reporter?”
    “Why?” asked Nikolaus with some irritation in his voice.
    “Because I don’t want her snooping around and maybe I can turn the tables on my friend Doug at the same time.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I’m not sure just yet. You let me know when you can bring her over here for dinner. But don’t take too long. We need to take care of this matter sooner than later.”
    Nikolaus was noticeably upset with his father’s request. “Why do you have to get involved with this? Just let me take care of it! Or, do you not trust me?”
    “I trust you Nikolaus, but as long as this is my company I’m in charge. I also suspect this new reporter is nice looking or you would have come to me sooner. I know you, and the way you are around women. I think she’s become a challenge to you and that could be a distraction. Mistakes get made when there are distractions, especially the kind that end up in bed. How you lead your life is your business, but your business and Drakos Shipping don’t mix. Understand?”
    “Sure father, I understand!” he said with testiness as he arose. “There will come a day when you will really need me. You better hope I’m in a better mood than you put me in right now.” He departed the room.

CHAPTER 12
     
    Reese and Bobby arrived at the security gate exactly at 11 A.M . The guard made a call to the main office and they waited for an escort to pick them up. It took about ten minutes before they saw a silver SUV come from behind a row of warehouses. Reese recognized the face of the man sitting in the passenger seat as Nikolaus.
    The SUV pulled up next to the guardhouse and the two men got out.
    “Beautiful day isn’t it Miss Summers?” greeted Nikolaus taking her hand. “I’d like you to meet my foreman, Dimitris. He’ll be taking us around the dock area today.”
    “This is Bobby,” she introduced, “my photographer.”
    Everyone shook hands and then they entered the vehicle.
    “Where would you like to start?” asked Nikolaus.
    “Let’s start at the office,” said Reese. “You can give me a rundown on the size of your company. You know, like the number of employees and ships you have and the types of products you move around the world. Then, we’ll go interview some of your dockworkers. How does that sound to you?”
    “Sounds like a plan,” he agreed and indicated to Dimitris to head over to the office building.
    They arrived at a two-story, cinder-block building painted in a faded gray color. An equally faded six-foot wide, light-green colored band was painted around the building starting at a point just above Reese’s head. Positioned in