Digging Deeper: An Adventure Novel (Sam Harris Series Book 1) by PJ Skinner Page B

she got past bank security and out through the back of the bank to the hand-over point again, the safe had gone to the vault already. 
    Sam had to sign a form certifying the delivery of the diamonds.  She was nonplussed.  She had not even seen the handover. She could just imagine the resulting scandal if the diamonds went missing.
    ‘Bloody stupid woman.  That’s the last time we hire one to work with Gemsite.’
    After the elaborate and tedious security measures in Kardo, where each diamond was weighed four times and six men watched her every breath, the procedure was a little blasé.  Sam signed anyway.  There was nothing she could do at that juncture.
    No one was at all fazed by the absence of the diamonds.  In fact, everyone was in a hurry to get away. Sam realised that they had arrived at the Central Bank in the nick of time, just before they closed for lunch.
    Eduardo, as predicted by Jim, invited Sam to lunch.  ‘It would be my honour if you joined us for lunch.  I know just the place.’ 
    She knew that he intended to grill her for information on Gemsite operations. But she enjoyed playing cat and mouse, and she was starving.
    ‘Of course Eduardo, that would be my pleasure,’ she said.
    Eduardo led Sam to a nice car with leather seats, which she suspected belonged to someone a lot more senior.  They drove off along streets that shimmered in the sun.
    Then they left the searing heat of midday Mondongo out in the street and entered the restaurant through double doors into cool darkness. When her eyes adapted to the light, Sam thought that the restaurant looked full, and she doubted that they would be able to get a table.
    However, Eduardo had a word in the maître d’s ear and they were immediately ushered to a private booth in the corner, made of dark mahogany and lined with faded purple velvet.  Eduardo looked nervous.  He fiddled with the cutlery and made no attempt to order.  Sam was surprised. She was sure that he must be as hungry as she was.  
    Suddenly, there was a commotion at the front door.  Everyone in the restaurant looked toward the entrance.  The sunlight streamed in, lighting up the dust particles in the air.  A small, neat figure stepped into the light and was ushered towards their booth by at least four members of staff.  People were standing up and greeting him with something approaching reverence. 
    The man was shorter than Sam, stocky but not portly, with a pencil moustache on his lip.  He had short, cropped curly hair and a spring in his step.  He exuded a strange raw power.
    Eduardo almost pulled the linen cloth off the table in his haste to stand up and receive him.
    ‘General, what a pleasure.  You look fantastic,’ he gushed.
    ‘Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, Eduardo. Are you going to introduce me to the lady?’
    ‘Of course, my General.  This is Sam Harris.  She is working at Kardo with Gemsite.’
    ‘Yes.’ He turned to face her. ‘I have heard a lot about you.  My name is Antonio Sanchez Magalhaes, although I am better known in Tamazia as General Fuego.’
    Sam was taken aback.  The famous General Fuego.  He was a legend in Tamazia.  She was not sure how he came to be having lunch with her, a lowly geologist and a foreigner to boot.  She felt embarrassed by her dusty trousers and baggy shirt.  She had not looked in the mirror before dawn when she got up to go to the diamond sort house, so she had no idea what she looked like except that it must be pretty bad.
    She composed herself and stuck out her hand. ‘It is a pleasure, General.  I have heard all about you, too.’
    The General tilted his head and looked her right in the eye.  ‘Your Portuguese is terrible.’
    ‘Is it that bad?’
    ‘Pretty bad.  Do you speak Spanish?’
    ‘Yes, better than Portuguese anyway.’
    ‘Then let us speak Spanish,’ he said, changing in mid-sentence.  ‘I learned it in Cuba with my first wife Carmen.’
    Everyone was staring at them.  The General turned to