Shortly after 4 p.m., the sky darkened, and a dense fog began to settle over the sea. Just then, Keith contacted Deng Shiyang via satellite phone, informing him that the *Cristo* had reached the designated location.
Du Preez, seemingly anxious about the weather, was eager to depart. He instructed the Africans to load the crates onto the smaller inflatable boat, while the other two, larger boats would carry personnel. He, Deng Shiyang, and Semler each piloted a boat, heading northeast.
Deng Shiyang led the way on the boat carrying the weapons, partly because he could contact Keith via satellite phone and partly because his bright orange inflatable boat was more visible in the thickening fog than the other two, which were light gray.
Once they were out at sea, they realized the weather was worse than anticipated. The fog thickened considerably, reducing visibility to under two hundred feet and continuing to fall. Due to the two heavily loaded boats, they couldn’t travel too fast, which cost them precious time. By the time they left French territorial waters, visibility had dropped to below a hundred feet. Worse still, they hadn’t yet spotted the *Cristo*.
Deng Shiyang attempted to call Keith but couldn’t get through despite multiple tries. Checking the GPS, he confirmed they were at the coordinates Keith had given him, but in the dense, gray fog, there was no way to make out the silhouette of any large vessel nearby.
He signaled to the others to stop, then shut off his outboard motor. Du Preez, who was following behind, immediately did the same, allowing his boat to drift closer.
As the three boats gathered together, Du Preez craned his neck and asked, “No found?”
“No,” Deng Shiyang replied. “And I can’t get through on the phone.”
“Damn.” Du Preez punched his thigh. “If the coordinates are right, they should be close by. We can use signal lights to mark our position and then fire a flare to help them locate us.”
Deng Shiyang nodded, took out an SDU-5E strobe light, and mounted it on the bow of his boat, then switched it on. They placed strobe lights in three directions, and Semler raised a pull-trigger flare, tugging the cord forcefully.
With a “pop,” a bright red light shot up into the air, tinting a small patch of the gray sky a faint red.
Watching the flare wobble and fall near the sea, Deng Shiyang felt a bit uneasy. This type of flare only reached about two hundred feet in altitude, and in such thick fog, it might not even be visible from afar. He regretted not asking Semler to bring a signal gun.
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Just as he hesitated to fire another flare, a low “mooo——” sounded from the southeast. Recognizing it as the foghorn of a ship, Deng Shiyang immediately started the engine and steered toward the sound.
A few minutes later, several shifting beams of light appeared ahead. As they drew closer, faint yellow lights multiplied, along with a gradually sharpening rectangular silhouette.
By the time the three inflatable boats pulled alongside the *Cristo*, it was 5 p.m. A visibly impatient Keith leaned over the side of the ship, illuminating the nearby sea with a handheld spotlight. Deng Shiyang held up his satellite phone with a shrug and spread his hands.
Several rope ladders soon dangled from the side of the ship, and the African soldier began climbing up one by one. Jansen and the Serbian first officer directed a few sailors in setting up a davit and hand-cranked winch on the railing, then lowered a hook attached to a canvas strap.
Deng Shiyang grabbed the hook, noting a lemon-yellow handheld radio attached with tape. He took it off, clipped it to his waistband, then secured the crate of weapons to the hook.
As the first batch of crates containing assault rifles was hoisted up, the twenty-plus African soldiers had already climbed aboard, but the two inflatable boats remained in place. Given the heavy fog, Deng suggested moving the *Cristo* into French territorial waters, as close to Europa Island as possible, to facilitate passenger transfer. This idea quickly received unanimous agreement from everyone present, and Keith appointed Mark to discuss it with Sernechevich.
The two met on the bridge, and Mark explained Deng’s suggestion.
“No,” Sernechevich refused flatly. “There’s a large stockpile of arms on board. I can’t take that risk.”
“Can’t take a risk?” Mark frowned, slightly annoyed. “What do you think we bought this ship for?”
“As long as those things are in international waters, it’s not illegal,” Sernechevich countered. “The recipient of this shipment is the Burundian government, and the destination on the shipping manifest is Dar es Salaam. If we enter French waters with these weapons, it’s cross-border smuggling, and smuggling arms is a serious crime everywhere.”
“Relax,” Mark said. “There’s no radar, no radio, and no French presence on the island, just those people and the cargo.”
“It was on the condition that all loading and unloading happen in international waters that I agreed to captain this ship,” Sernechevich replied. “But now you’re asking me to take a ship loaded with arms into French waters—how can I be at ease with that?”
“You’d better grasp the situation,” Mark said coldly. “Those aren’t just regular illegal immigrants; they’re trained soldiers, all from the same tribe. If they find out you’re leaving their comrades stranded on the island because you’re afraid of trouble, I can’t guarantee what’ll happen next.”
Sernechevich’s expression changed, and he instinctively glanced through the windshield at the group of twenty-plus Africans gathered on deck.
Mark’s lips curled up as he pointed to the stack of crates on deck. “Look over there, I think you know what’s in those military-green boxes.”
Sernechevich’s face went pale, though he tried to maintain his composure. “Without me and the crew, you wouldn’t be able to operate this ship.”
“Who knows?” Mark shrugged. “The boss wants you drive the ship to Europa Island. Are you in or out? I need an answer now so I can relay it to him immediately.”
Sernechevich clenched his fists, his facial muscles twitching. After a long pause, he finally replied in a barely audible voice, “Alright.”