Valentine's Dinner?

53. Customs

Patrick led a uniformed man and woman along the aisle. "The Customs agents are here, Sir."

"Thank you for allowing us to clear this way." Lorne pointed across the aisle. "The passports are on the table."

The male officer said, "Later. We have some paper here what says you imported diamonds for a deploy." He took the dossier from the woman and leafed through the enclosed pages. "Says in here we gotta look at them to see you isn't left none here."

Lorne stood and unzipped a flap in his cargo shorts, then lifted it and unzipped the pocket to pull out a rectangular black velvet case, open it and hand it to the man.

The agent took the case and stared at it for a while in silence. Then he turned to his colleague. "You know anythin bout diamonds?"

"Yes, certainly. From both basic and advanced training and refreshers." She took the case and dossier from the man. "That's why I am in charge of this. You're here to observe and to learn."

Valerie sighed quietly as she thought. Oh, God. Just what we need. A training session. And a power struggle.

The woman stepped across the aisle and set the case on the table, then she leafed through the file, selected a sheet and scanned it. "You were due to depart yesterday evening. This is what triggered our probe."

"Our helicopter went down in the mountains just short of Franschhoek, and that delayed us a full day."

"That was you? I was relieved to hear on this morning's news you had been rescued. That must have been ..." She stopped herself and turned back to the dossier. "Our probe found that the declared value appears to be misstated."

Lorne nodded. "It should read two and a half billion Rand. What does it?"

"Yes, two and a half billion." She pursed her lips as she examined the case of gems, then nodding, she said, "So, they must all be flawless."

"All but two which are internally flawless. Their descriptions are on the certificates I attached to the statement. You should have photos as well."

"The high value triggered insurance fraud alarms." She scanned the declaration again, stopping at a red mark. "What was the display?"

"For when I proposed marriage to this beautiful lady." Lorne picked up Valerie's hand and took it to his lips. "I didn't have time to purchase a ring, so I brought along this box of samples for her to choose a stone."

The officer pursed her lips and tilted her head side-to-side as she stared at the eight diamonds. "Tough choice." She blushed and looked up at Valerie, then at Lorne. "Why do it here? Why not in England?"

"I'm a busy man; always on the go. This fit with my scheduled trip."

"And, besides proposing, what was the purpose of your trip?"

"To purchase a winery and to sign a contract with the government to establish a vocational centre for new vineyard and winery workers."

The agent read a red-pencilled note, then pulled a loupe from her satchel and held it up. "We need to check the serial numbers. May I?"

Seeing Lorne's nod, the woman lifted the brilliant cut and put the loupe to its girdle as she slowly turned the stone in her fingers. "Need a lot more searching when they're this big. Here, finally."

She motioned to the male agent. "Look through here. This is the serial number. Read it out to me, and I'll check it against the declaration.

The two agents took turns examining each stone to verify the serial numbers, finding all in order. After the woman returned the square-cut to its spot, she turned to Lorne. "So, each of these is worth a third of a billion Rand. That's an expensive engagement ring."

Lorne shrugged. "She's a rare woman. Besides, some of my companies fluctuate this much or more in a day."

"Right. Different perceptions of value." She looked at the other agent, then back at Lorne. "We need to ask; are you taking any prohibited or restricted goods out of the country?"

Lorne shook his head as he swept his arm up and down the aisle. "No, we're not. Feel free to look around. The only things you'll find is a case of wine from my new winery and the provisions for the flight."

The woman pulled a stamp and a pad from her satchel and handed them to her colleague. "Do the passports, Kabili." Then she turned to Valerie. "I'm curious. Which did you choose?"

"The emerald-cut." Valerie picked up the case from the table, checked the contents and closed the lid.

"My choice as well." She chuckled. "Now I need to find a man to give me one. Hell, even a tiny one."

After the woman had coached her colleague through processing the passports, she thanked Lorne and Valerie and herded her burden along the aisle and out of the aircraft. As soon as the agents were clear of the steps, Patrick lifted the door and sealed it.

Seeing it close, Valerie waved the small case in front of Lorne's nose. "You had this with you the whole time. The pick-pockets, the forced landing, the ..." She shook her head. "You've huge balls."

Lorne pulled her onto his lap, then whispered into her ear, "And they're aching for a chance to be pumped into you."

"Hmmm." She trembled as she glanced across the aisle to see Clyde absorbed in a book, then along to Patrick, Jack and Chloe resuming their discussion. "It's going to be a long time until dessert."

"We could go aft and have a nap. Maybe a shower first."

Oh, fuck! She felt a swelling, then quietly moaning, she mashed her bum into his lap. "This tells me you'll be up for more than just that."