The mysterious wreck soon attracted attention in Turkey where historians pondered whether or not the ship could be Sothis, the lost treasure ship of an Ottoman pirate Ali Bakhar. According to legend, Ali Bakhar was a notorious raider of the Greek islands whose ship was a six gun sloop and which was sunk, after a four hour chase, by a Royal Navy frigate in 1808. The location of the encounter was logged by the British ship, but foul weather and poor visibility made it impossible to make an accurate fix on the stars and subsequently, the wreck has never been found. Only five survivors were pulled from the sea when Sothis went down, and one of these was a Serb who had been taken as a young man and forced to convert to Islam in order to survive. He told the British that Ali Bakhar’s ship had been carrying the spoils of a successful summer campaign, describing golden religious artefacts taken from Greek monastries and several chests of money and gold. The British admiralty eventually hung the pirates, including the Serb.
A Turkish/international underwater archeology team, was established and began working in the depths of the Black Sea, searching for Ali Bakhar’s ship. From their research vessel Patra Reis they located the wreck after only two days, but were disapointed to find a cannon bearing a date of 1845, meaning it was not Sothis, nor any other Napoleonic era warship. After three more days of searching with their RV, the Turkish team identified the wreck as a Russian warship named Ivana Nova which had been listed as missing during the Crimean war. Two days later, with only four days left of their expedition, the archeology team radio the authorities in Istanbul to report the discovery of a body in the sea. The condition of the body meant it had to be some one who had drowned very recently and the ships doctor aboard the Patra Reis, Achmed Cekic agreed to do a cursory examination. This however was the last any one heard from the Patra Reis.
When Patra Reis failed to respond to repeated hails from Istanbul, a Turkish navy AB-25 patrol boat was sent to find out why. They found ten of the ships twelve crew members on board dead. All had been killed by physical trauma wounds, mostly caused by a fire axe. The two remaining crew members were not found, but one was washed up at Ayancik four weeks later. The discovery of the Turkish ship coincided with the 2012 Olympics and was largely overseen by the global media.
Case Nr 12-104
Dyson and Hahn Europe are contacted by an exceedingly beautiful lawyer who calls herself 'Monica', and who tells Team B2 that she is working for an anonymous client. With her, Monica has a video tape from the Patra Reis which shows the 'dead man' suddenly coming to life as he examined by the ships doctor, and there after killing the doctor and three other men in the room, with uncommon speed and agility. The tape continues, and seventeen minutes later, Miss Fatima Kaya is seen running through the room, mouth and eyes wide open, as if screaming (there is no audio on the tape), clutching her right arm at the elbow, with her right hand missing. Monica says her client is seeking to discover the where abouts of the 'dead man', and preferably without any interference from national authorities. No motive is given for the client and the once the man has been found, B2 are only expected to send an e-mail to Monica with his location, preferably with map coordinates if necessary. B2 are not asked or required in any way to carry out illegal activities, and Dyson and Hahn's own lawyers have given the brief a green light, provided the team stay within the parameters of the law.
Crew of the Patra Reis.
1 Captain: Altan Erkekli - Hacked to death with a fire axe on the bridge of the ship. Autopsy examination revealed several smaller wounds about the face and shoulders indicating mistreatment prior to death, possibly torture.
2 Navigator: Deniz Akkaya - The fourth victim, as seen on VHS recording. Killed by a broken neck.
3 Doctor: Achmed Cekic - The first victim, as seen on VHS recording. Killed by a broken neck.
4 Engineer: Haldun Dormen - Body washed ashore at Ayancik four weeks after attack. Autopsy examination indicates death was probably from blunt force trauma to the head
5 Engineer: Özkan Uğur - The second victim, as seen on VHS recording. Killed by a broken neck.
6 Engineer: Yılmaz Güney - Beheaded with a fire axe on the stern deck.
7 Diver: Fatima Kaya - Identified by police report as the woman with the missing hand, as seen on the VHS recording. Her body was later recovered from the sea in the vicinty of the Patra Reis. Autopsy examination indicated Kaya had been raped.
8 Diver: Güven Kıra - Hacked to death with a fire axe in the ships galley.
9 Archeologist: Cem Yılmaz - Missing.
10 Archeologist: Güven Hokna - Hacked to death with a fire axe on the bridge of the ship.
11 Archeologist: Memduh Günsür - Hacked to death with a fire axe in the ships galley.
12 RV-Technician: Çetin Tekindor - The third victim, as seen on VHS recording. Killed by a broken neck.
