“Look, if you want to go to Greece, you go to airport. Buy ticket there.”
“But we’re already here. I’ve got cash. How much?”
The man threw a glance over his shoulder, then eyed Xander. “You pay me two hundred euro, I call manager.”
Xander caught Leila’s nervous glance and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring look. Her lips twitched in a weak smile. He set his gaze firmly on the sailor. “Deal.”
Xander handed over a wad of cash. The man picked up his phone again and pressed it to his ear and, after a moment of back and forth, he nodded at Xander. “Okay. The manager come in half-hour. You ask him.”
Xander nodded. “That’ll do.” He turned and winked at Leila. They found a place to wait a short distance down the walkway, away from the cranes, containers, and the ship. Away from the grumbling engines and clanking metal.
“All right.” Xander crossed his arms and scanned the shipyard as a seagull swooped lazily overhead. “Now we need a good story for the fleet manager.”
“Oh?” Leila sat on the rounded top of an iron mooring bollard roughly the size of a short barstool.
“Yeah. The sappier, the better.”
“Got something in mind?” She picked at the bollard’s peeling yellow paint.
“Hmm, I don’t know. We’re traveling around the world in a year. Without flying.”
Leila smiled and tilted her head. It was mischievous, almost flirty. “Throw in that we’re on our honeymoon.”
“Good thinking.” He swallowed the sudden scratchiness in his voice. Honeymoon. Probably the closest they would get to a real one. Longing stirred in his chest. He didn’t bother to fight it. Maybe there still was a chance for them to get back on track. They’d be at sea for two days—they’d find time to talk it through.
A chill crept over Xander’s skin, raising the hairs on his arms. He knew that feeling. He turned around, searching, but all he saw were cranes, forklifts, and hard hats going about their business.
“What is it?” Leila stood.
Xander kept watching. Everything seemed normal, but often normality was a lie. A man in a hard hat stepped out from behind a container and headed toward them. He walked with purpose, and when he drew closer, a look of curiosity covered his bearded face. That must be him.
Once the man joined them, he shook both their hands, then introduced himself.
“Noa Feldman, fleet manager. I understand you want to hitch a ride to Athens?”
Xander went into their agreed-upon story about backpacking around the world, Leila’s crippling fear of airplanes, and the fact that they were on their honeymoon. “We’ve been traveling for ten months now. All we need to do is get to Greece, cross Europe, then ride the ferry back to England. Just in time for our first anniversary party.”
“Well, it’s just a bit last minute.” Noa cringed, seemingly on the fence. Xander could sense it. The man just needed a little push. “Usually we book passengers a few months out…”
“But you have room?”
The man nodded. “To be honest, we don’t have any booked for this trip.”
“Well, there you go. We don’t take up much room. We don’t have much luggage. And it’s only to the next stop.”
“Please?” Leila clung to Xander’s arm and grinned sweetly. “It’s our honeymoon.”
Noa cracked a smile. “We’re delayed until tomorrow morning. I suppose we can let you on. If you can pay for your room tonight, you can go ahead and embark.”
Xander nodded, hoping Leila wouldn’t let go of his arm. He’d missed having her there. “Not a problem, sir.”
“Do you have all your documentation with you? I need to see passports and medical certificates. This is a working ship, not a luxury cruise.”
“We’ve got all that.”
“Follow me to my office, we’ll finish up there and get you two your hard hats and vests.” Noa jerked his head toward the walkway and the three of them ambled in that direction. “You’ll need to wear those any time you’re out on the deck. I can give you a map so you can find your room and the galley. The sailors probably won’t be able to help you. Not many of them speak English. The captain does, but I’d advise staying out of his way the best you can. He’s busy with his ship and is not responsible for passengers. I also hope neither of you get seasick. The weather forecast doesn’t look too promising for the next few days. It could be a rough ride.”
After checking their medical certificates and their IDs, the fleet manager took the payment of four hundred euros for two nights on board. He then directed the honeymooners toward the passenger terminal for Israeli departure stamps on the blue slips of paper most tourists receive on entry. With no intention of going to passport control, they walked to the terminal, took a stroll around the dock, then returned to the ship.
Xander and Leila walked across the main deck between towers of blue and red metal containers. Bangs, engine noises, occasional shouts, and honking filled the air. Diesel fumes penetrated every molecule around them. He glanced down at Leila, or rather, the large, bright orange hard hat on her head. She made a cute little cargo sailor. But then, she would probably be adorable in anything.
“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” Leila said as they moved to the side to allow a forklift to drive past.
“You sure about that?” Xander raised an eyebrow. “I can think of at least twenty other things.”
“Well… this is definitely high on the list.”
Remembering they were supposed to be honeymooners, Xander slid his arm around her shoulder, eying each person who neared. So far, the sailors they had passed had barely acknowledged them, aside from the occasional nod. Xander preferred it that way, as much as possible. The fewer people who took notice of them, the better.
They came to the starboard side and followed the marked walkway, like the fleet manager had instructed. With most of the containers behind them, they had a clear view of the main deck where the bridge and cabins were located. Xander looked up at the bridge, a long wall of windows that reflected the giant cranes scattered in the harbor. A dark figure on the railing outside of the windows caught his eye. Probably the captain. But when Xander looked again, the man was gone.
“Here it is,” Leila said as they came to a white metal door, and Xander tore his gaze from the railing. “It says cabins on it.”
“Well, that wasn’t too hard to find.” While he might have sounded confident, his racing pulse said otherwise. There was no reason to worry, it was just his own paranoia. But he was either going crazy, or he was starting to see Jones everywhere.
CHAPTER 23
The foghorn woke Leila up. She jolted into a sitting position, her breathing heavy. The room dipped gently from side to side. The ship was moving.
