297: Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Five Back to the Second Home 297: Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Five Back to the Second Home After much tossing and turning on the sea for twenty-six hours, Gao Yang and his crew finally boarded their own transfer ship.
Antoncel chartered two cruise ships as transfer vessels: the Sicilian Prince and the Sicilian Princess, both Italian-registered small coastal cruisers.
Both cruise ships had a displacement of 12,000 tons and had 110 guest rooms.
Apart from the crew needed to sail, they could each accommodate a maximum of 260 passengers and 45 service personnel.
As cruise ships go, 12,000 tons is rather small, especially compared to some of the ocean liners that are easily over a hundred thousand tons.
Additionally, both vessels were launched in 1976 and had undergone modernization in 1994 before they officially ceased operations in 2009.
Although they had retired from active service, both ships were still in good condition and perfectly suited to serve as transfer vessels.
The only issue was that their displacement was much greater than Antoncel had anticipated.
Originally, Antoncel had planned to rent two ships with a displacement of around 3,000 tons, but since the rental of cruise ships was not expensive—at three million five hundred thousand US dollars a year—it turned out to be more cost-effective than renting a cargo ship of three or four thousand tons and refitting it.
Moreover, staying on a cruise ship was far more comfortable than on a refitted cargo transfer ship, so Antoncel was very happy to lease the two cruise ships.
Sure, a larger tonnage would mean more fuel consumption, but since the transfer ships spent a long time at anchor, the extra fuel cost was negligible.
The key was the comfort of the ships, which could attract other security companies to pay for using them as a long-term base.
Just the fees from these other security companies were enough to cover the expenses of the two vessels.
The Sicilian Princess, that was the transfer ship Gao Yang and his companions were headed to.
Bob and Destin were both on this ship.
Since most of Antoncel’s personnel came from Destin’s company and Bob lacked management experience, Destin temporarily left his work at the Tel Aviv training camp to take charge aboard the Sicilian Princess.
Although the Sicilian Princess was just a small coastal cruiser, it was fully equipped with all the essentials—other than a swimming pool; it had everything including a casino, a performance stage, and of course, a luxurious dining room for guests was indispensable.
When renting the ships, Antoncel did not forget to hire service staff, among which was a chef who had worked on the Sicilian Princess for the better part of his life.
A fine Italian chef, he had already retired but was happy to return to work on the Sicilian Princess when he learned it was going back to sea—no doubt his generous salary contributed to his happiness.
Sitting in the dining room, Gao Yang wolfed down a twelve-inch pizza by himself and then, with a wave of his hand and a loud voice, commanded, “Pasta, get me a pasta.
No, make that two!”
After he finished speaking, Gao Yang patted his stomach and said with a sigh, “I have always thought that the Italians only had a few things to offer: football and pizza.
Oh, and pasta too.”
Seeing Gao Yang and their group of six devour what had been prepared for twelve people and still not be satisfied, Bob, who was too polite to fight over food with Gao Yang, said with a look of grievance, “I guess you guys must have been hungry for a long time.”
Gao Yang let out a sigh and replied, “Ah, well, actually, aside from the first few days, we had enough food later on.
But, but, it was only fish and flatbread, and the only seasoning we had besides salt was nothing.
Later, I managed to get some canned food sent to us, but eating canned food every day, it really could kill a person.
So if you say we’ve been hungry for a while, you’d be right.”
Bruce, who initially had a satisfied look and was savoring the joy that pizza brought him, grew angry when he heard Gao Yang’s words and yelled, “Boss, can’t you stop mentioning those words?
Why ruin our gourmet moment?
My God, you’re such a killjoy, I feel nauseous just hearing about it.”
Destin, sympathetically said, “That’s really pitiful, eating fish and canned food for months.
How did you guys bear it?
Today, Bob and I caught a yellowfin tuna, and we were going to serve it to you guys.
Now, it seems like you might not have the appetite.”
This caused Cui Bo to grimace in pain as he said, “Hey, can we not talk about it, please?
Don’t mention fish to me, okay?”
Yellowfin tuna is a delicacy, highly prized and tasty, but whether grilled or boiled in plain water, without the right accompaniments, even the best ingredients are wasted.
Even if Gao Yang and his friends wanted to have sashimi, they didn’t have so much as soy sauce to dip it in—they had to eat it raw in the truest sense.
The first thing Gao Yang and his companions did upon boarding the ship was to eat; they hadn’t yet had time to discuss anything else.
While waiting for the pasta to arrive, Gao Yang quickly asked, “Bob, is my gun ready yet?”
Bob nodded and explained, “It’s ready, but I couldn’t bring it to you.
When I left, Jack was still fine-tuning it.
He needs to ensure the mechanical sights he installed are precise enough and also to test the parts to select the most perfect combination.
So, I wasn’t able to bring it, but I guess it should be ready soon.”
Gao Yang’s face clearly showed his disappointment.
He had been looking forward to his gun for a long time, but he would not rush Jack because the tuning was almost as complex as the making.
Handmade guns had higher precision than mass-produced ones, mainly for this reason.
So, naturally, Gao Yang hoped that Jack would deliver a perfect masterpiece into his hands.
Destin smiled and said, “Gao, you’ve just finished a difficult job.
Aren’t you planning to take some rest?”
Waving his hand, Gao Yang said gravely, “Rest, we must rest.
We’ll need at least a month off before we can come back to work.”
Bob’s face was filled with disappointment as he said, “Life on the ship is boring, I didn’t expect you to leave just as you arrived.
Well, you’d better come back quickly.
With you around, we at least have someone to have fun with.
Destin is too dull, he only knows how to work.”
Gao Yang looked at Glolov and the others and asked, “I don’t even know where I’m going yet.
What about you guys?
Any plans?”
Glolov shrugged his shoulders and replied, “I’m going to America.
I need to go home and check on things.
Why, don’t you plan to go to America?”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “No, I have other plans.
What about the rest of you, what are you going to do?”
Frey spoke gravely, “I’m going back to South Africa, then I’m taking my mother and girlfriend to America.
The safety situation in South Africa is too bad, I can’t be at peace.”
Gao Yang nodded and responded, “That’s right, it’s a big deal.
You should have taken them there earlier.
This time you won’t need to bother Morgan.
Just contact Little Donnie and he can help.
It should be settled quickly.
But where do you plan to settle them?”
After hesitating for a while, Frey replied with a troubled expression, “I don’t know where to take them.
New York doesn’t seem quite right for them, but I can’t think of any other place.”
Glolov said in a deep voice, “No, I think it’s best to let your mother and the rest head to New York first.
Don’t rush to buy a house; just have them rent for now.
Natalia can help look after them.
When we get settled down at some point, then we can consider where to settle.”
Frey nodded and agreed, “Alright, then we’ll start with New York.”
At that moment Bruce laughed and said, “I want to go home.
I need to see my son.
Now that I have money, I need to think about what gift to buy for my son.”
The three who could go home all wanted to return.
That left Gao Yang and Li Jinfang, who clearly had homes they couldn’t return to, while Cui Bo, though involved because of Gao Yang, probably didn’t have any serious issues.
Gao Yang looked at Cui Bo and said, “Rabbit, you’ve been out for so long.
Aren’t you planning to go home for a visit?
I think there shouldn’t be any big issues.”
Cui Bo nodded and said, “Yes, I’ll go home too.
I already gave my family the Swiss Bank account details, but they don’t know where to withdraw the money.
This time I’m going back and I plan to bring some cash for my family.
You know I used to work off the books in Libya, and I was afraid I couldn’t leave if I went back.
Now that there’s Little Donnie, why not go back for a visit and then return?”
Gao Yang quickly advised, “Don’t take cash; it’s too risky.
Instead, when you get back, open an account at a domestic bank, then have Little Donnie transfer the money to your domestic bank account.
I’m not sure about the specifics, but you can ask Little Donnie about it.”
Cui Bo nodded in agreement, “Okay, you help me ask Little Donnie about where I should return from.
Brother Yang, and Jinfang, what are you two planning to do?
Why not just go with the Old Russian to America.”
After exchanging helpless glances, the two men who couldn’t go home both let out a long sigh.
Then Li Jinfang said with a look of dejection, “Forget it, what could I do in America anyway?
There’s nothing for me to do there.
I might as well stay here.
I can help Destin and the others with something.
Yang, how about you?
Aren’t you going to see Yelena?”
After hearing Li Jinfang’s words, Glolov hesitated for a moment then finally shrugged and said, “Gao, if Yelena sees you, she would certainly be very happy.”
Gao Yang shook his head and replied, “No, I’ve already called Yelena.
I won’t be seeing her this time.
I’m going to South Sudan.”
Bob perked up at this and asked, “South Sudan, are you going back to your tribe?”
Gao Yang sighed and answered, “Yes, back to the tribe.
You know, the Akuri tribe is my second home.
I’ve been away for so long, I have to go back to check on them.
If possible, I want to relocate them to a safe place while South Sudan is still calm.
I need to hurry.”
Bob asked with a curious face, “Your tribe is always migrating.
After such a long time, can you find them?”
Gao Yang shook his head and said solemnly, “I don’t know, but I have the GPS coordinates Morgan gave me.
I’ll start by going to where we left off and look for them from there.
I should be able to find them.”(To be continued.
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