One of the conveniences of his job was that he didn’t need to spend the day in front of the computer. He had taken advantage of this to walk around the historic quarter. Streets like Bahnhofstrasse were proof of why the city’s third source of income was tourism. He also walked by the Grossmünster cathedral commissioned by Charlemagne a thousand years ago.
His first concern was the possible legal complications. Reyes hoped Gotthelf wasn’t expecting him to deal with legal matters as well. Of course, he had studied some law and knew more than was necessary to carry out his work. But what Gotthelf was proposing was so innovative that any government, organization or court would initially be reluctant.
They would need someone not only well versed in law but also bold and with the ability to do research on the laws of various countries. They might also need someone with the skills to negotiate with more than one government.
From the start, these had been the things that were outside of his field of expertise. The rest of the plan would be his responsibility. He had spent the remainder of the previous afternoon thinking about what would be his first and most important steps.
Obviously, the first thing would be the ship. It hadn’t taken him long to decide that probably the most adequate ship would be the type the navy used. Evidently they would have no need for the type of equipment used in high intensity conflicts such as 3D radars, missiles, and anti-submarine warfare systems. They needed an off-shore patrol vessel designed specifically for fighting piracy. A vessel with high cruising speed, good surface radar, lightweight and portable weaponry, a helicopter, and smaller fast boats with the capacity to transport a good boarding team.
Maybe he was being too ambitious but that was the only way to get anywhere. Like Joe Namath once said, “If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?”
In addition to all that, they were going to need a shipyard to make the necessary modifications to the ship. This would be especially necessary if he was forced to go to plan B: convert a fishing or merchant ship. Initially, he had discarded that option because he knew it wouldn’t work. Complex things such as ships only perform well when they are used for the purpose that they were designed for. Besides, it would be nearly impossible for him to find a ship that met all the requirements he needed. It wasn’t as easy as mounting some sensors and weapons on a deck.
The last resort, an idea he almost dismissed, was to start from scratch. Design and commission the ship themselves. He knew that would take at least a few years and he was sure Mr. Gotthelf was not willing to wait that long.
Reyes knew he had come to a dead end. Both of the secondary options were impractical at best. As for the main idea, anyone with half a brain knew that Western navies don’t go around selling their ships to private enterprises, much less their modern ships.
And that, thought Reyes as he entered the sumptuous office, was just the first of their problems. He hadn’t even started thinking about the crew or supplies.
Gotthelf was waiting for him. He quickly introduced his companion.
“This is Ronnie Egger, my lawyer,” he said. “I’ve been telling him about our idea and he thinks it can be done.”
Egger was about five or six years younger than Gotthelf, short, chubby, and with a baker’s face. The wrinkles on his face denoted he was a person who laughed easily, and something behind his glasses said, I’m friendly, likable; I like peace and quiet.
“Ronnie has been with me since I started my businesses,” Gotthelf said. He’s gotten me out of trouble more than once and even though he’s never wanted to belong to a law firm, he has won all the lawsuits we’ve had. Maybe his loyalty has to do with how much I pay him,” Gotthelf smiled. “Though I think it may have more to do with stability.”
Reyes shook hands with the shyster, relieved to find out Gotthelf had been having the same thoughts. They needed a law professional. And if Gotthelf thought Egger was the man for the job, then he was probably right. After all, for the rest of the work Gotthelf had chosen him.
“I thought it would be appropriate that Ronnie was present. He’ll need to know exactly what we plan to do. In addition, he can answer our legal questions.”
I couldn’t agree more, Reyes thought. No doubt he’ll be a great help.
“So, you don’t think we’re crazy?” Reyes asked the lawyer. “You really think we can do this?”
“Obviously, it won’t be easy,” Egger answered. “We’re going to have to do some digging around, maybe even some wheeling and dealing. And why not? Even nowadays there are companies like Blackwater and its successors that are dedicated to providing the type of services that could be defined as mercenary. Why not at sea? The first thing that came to mind when Mr. Gotthelf explained the plan to me was probably the same thing you thought about. We’re going to need permission to work in Somali territory. And we’ll also need a letter of marque.”
Reyes smiled inwardly. He knew that if he hadn’t had the foresight to look up the term he would have been caught unawares. But just the day before he had looked up how to say patente de corso in English.
“As you can imagine,” the lawyer continued, “the European countries refused to hire corsairs, in the Paris Declaration of 1856 to be exact. And other countries also refused, such as the United States in the Hague Conferences in 1899 and 1907. Therefore, we can rule out any Western country’s support of our proposed measures. If they were in favor of our ideas they would just carry them out by their own means.”
Egger paused. It seemed he wanted to make sure they understood how complicated the situation was.
“It seems we’ve come to a dead end,” the lawyer smiled. “However, we may be able to kill two birds with one stone.”
Another pause.
“The Somali government is the only one that’s able to give us not only the go-ahead to work within their territory, but also the letter of marque.”
Once again Egger paused in a way that Reyes now understood as his way of making the subject more dramatic.
“No doubt gentlemen,” Egger continued once his audience had assimilated his proposal, “you may be asking yourselves if I’m forgetting that Somalia is, after all, a failed State and that the government barely has any power. Be that as it may, the new government is starting to be recognized by the Western countries. This, together with a little bit of positive publicity, will put the Westerners on our side and we won’t have any opposition at all. We need to show them that after all, Somalia is not doing anything other than protecting its own interests.”
Reyes was beginning to like Egger’s plan. But there was still a problem.
“Do we have the means to get in contact with and negotiate with the Somali government?” he asked Gotthelf.
Gotthelf smiled and said, “Leave that to me.”
And for the second time that morning, a feeling of relief. They had their law man and a negotiator for the upper echelons. It looks like now it’s my turn to put my hand to the plow, he thought.
Once the legal matter was resolved Reyes knew it was his turn.
“As far as I’m concerned Mr. Gotthelf,” he said, “I think I have a first draft of what we’re going to need.”
He went on to explain what type of ship he thought was ideal and the different options he was considering. To conclude he said, “I think my work here is done so, if it’s okay with you, I’ll return to Spain where I have the appropriate contacts for the work I’m about to do.”
Chapter Two
One week later, at his home in Las Rozas, Reyes closed his Mac Book exhausted. As soon as he had arrived in Madrid he had