Chapter 55
Ore
Back in her room, Ore checked the clock incessantly.How is it only six thirty?She was pacing the room when her phone rang. It was Henry. She screened the call. She’d ring him after she knew more; there was no point pitching him half a story.
At seven thirty came Carlos’ call. She was too anxious to eat, so she asked him to surprise her. When the bubbling moussaka arrived though, she could barely manage a mouthful, and she felt bad as she watched it cool and congeal.
After what felt like an eternity, 9 p.m. rolled around, and Ore almost ran to the middle deck. The door to kit cupboard 6 was slightly ajar and Daniel was already inside.
‘Close it behind you.’ He sounded agitated; she did as she was told.
The light inside the cramped space was weak but warm as Daniel pulled out a small notepad.
‘Quite the budding journalist I see,’ Ore teased, hoping to ease the intense atmosphere.
‘If I had it my way, I’d never have been involved in any ofthis,’ Daniel fretted. Ore reached out and pulled his chin up to face her.
‘I really appreciate all this, Daniel. I know it goes against literally all of your natural instincts,’ she said with sincerity.
Daniel gave a tiny nod and opened the notepad.
For the next three minutes Ore’s jaw hung open, as Daniel read out what might as well have been a transcript of the conversation he’d overheard. When he was done, Ore was speechless. He’d cracked it, the whole story; if she hadn’t been so grateful, she might have been a bit envious.
‘So what do you think?’ he asked nervously.
‘I think you’ve uncovered an environmental crime, fraud and a corruption scandal at the heart of one of the highest valued companies in the world, Daniel.’ Even as she spoke Ore was still processing, thinking out loud. ‘So Claude is helping Chuck to excavate cobalt from the sea beds right next to and even on the Great Barrier Reef, with plans to pay off, or lobby the Australian authorities into allowing him to set up a permanent deep sea mine. All the while he’s touting this new battery as some innovative,sustainable, new leap forward for the tech industry …’ Ore shook her head, in disbelief. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it was nothing on this scale.
‘He’s a crook,’ Daniel said plainly, and Ore had to laugh because thatwaswhat it all boiled down to. Daniel seemed surprised by her reaction, but after a moment he joined in.
As the laughter died down, something heavier replaced it. Ore wasn’t sure if it was the build-up of frustration throughout the day, or the ecstasy of putting together the pieces of this puzzle. Maybe it was the adrenaline coursing through herbody, or the want that was creeping into his gaze. It could have been the smell of him, or the curve of his jaw, the pinkness of the inside of his lip that she could just make out in the dim light.
It was impossible to know exactly, and it was also impossible to fight it.
