‘Didn’t you see a man going out of here a while ago? A private detective. He’s good, but he’s also a great pain in the neck, he wants to know everything, yet things don’t work that way. All these scattered sheets are what I showed him earlier, but he went overboard. I’ve been dealing with him since this morning and I barely managed to drive him away so I can free myself to see you,’ the General gave an exhaustive account of the situation.
‘Thank you for collaborating with me. We’ll do everything in our power to solve the case,’ the Major said, getting out of the chair and heading for the door.
‘Don’t worry, my men will figure everything out first’ Klaus smirked and sent the investigator off to the door who in his turn did a 180 degrees turn at the exit, stood still and saluted Klaus again.
‘Stand easy, Major,’ the officer said and watched the delegate walk away. After he left the building and climbed down the stairs that led him out onto the sidewalk, he saw the same young man who flew out of the General’s office. Hans Leckerman came to a halt and lit a cigarette at the smokers’ area as he tried to calm himself down and decide what to do about the self-initiated investigation he had started. The Major got closer to him.
‘Excuse me, do you have a lighter?’
Ben opened the briefcase he was holding and pulled out a squashed pack of cigarettes, visibly unused for a long time. He would rarely light a cigarette because he thought smoking an extremely bad habit as, fortunately, did most people at that age. But his goal was not to simply provide himself with a dose of nicotine, but to worm something interesting out of him. His unabating curiosity made him have a smoke with the young man and make an acquaintance of him. Hans handed out a lighter to detective Robinson silently. While the two men were smoking side by side they saw six people run down the allay fifty feet away from them, five tough men of different descent and an exquisite young blonde lady–all in marathon training and dressed in uniforms. A medical team and a car tagged along after them. Ben recognized the people. The saviors, the heroes, the last hope–people called them all sorts of names, but he preferred the simple “the lucky ones”.
‘Look at them–tireless like the wind and prepared to do anything to help all of us,’ the Major spoke up.
‘Don’t be fooled, it’s all money. Even though they may really want to help and give their best, there’re a lot of means behind them, part of them are pretty dirty and muddy.’
‘Detective Robinson, pleased to meet you,’ he hastened to introduce himself once he managed to strike up a conversation.
‘Pleased to meet you, too.’ The young man held out his hand shyly and the two shook hands.
‘May we drop the formalities and speak freely?’ the delegate asked.
‘Of course,’ Leckerman answered politely.
‘You are the man the General shooed away from his office. Why, what did you tell him?’
‘Nothing. It’s just that some people can’t handle uncomfortable questions.’
‘That’s true. Still, why do you think that dirty money and graft are behind all of this? I’m a representative of this class.’
‘You, military people, investigate only the ones like you and they are already well aware how to cover their tracks. The need for power and territory is ever rising in all institutions. Why do you think that now everyone works with rings of firms? It’s because an air base like this one has no more space to expand itself, that’s why it’s given chase to the private sector. Just picture Eisenhower and all of the largest companies in Europe that provided it with their services. That’s an entire country with countless weapons. Not to mention that it is possible that they act in accordance with the interests of some prosperous people.’
‘True, indeed, but that’s life, there’s nothing I can do to prevent the satisfaction of these interests that probably have long been developed. And yet what uncomfortable questions did you ask him, you can tell me, I’m on your side,’ Ben asked, encouraging him.
‘I wanted to know why the ring of firms has been changed and why after he received financing from Helios, the base works only with Konrad-Radeberg-owned firms. Then I requested to see how much money have been transferred to the base’s bank account so I can make a cross reference because I have been personally hired by Konrad to keep an eye on his account–he had been robbed as well. A large sum of money had been transferred to that same bank account and I wanted to compare the receipts and see if there was money missing from that account, too. The General went berserk and chased me away on the grounds that I had been taking up all of his time. Something doesn’t smell right, I’m telling you,’ Leckerman expressed his doubts.
‘Radeberg is my friend, I recently interrogated him about a theft of military property. Part of it belongs to his firms for machinery manufacturing. Comparatively new. Such expensive technology has been in production for a few months now. The older one had to be transported because it took up too much space,’ the Major clarified, dragging from the cigarette.
‘It’s funny how we’re investigating two different cases which at the same time cross paths. There’s something that isn’t quite right here,’ the private detective expressed his doubt.
‘I’d say the same thing. And when I give it a thought, everything seems so entangled and twisted so as to pass for immaculate. It will be hard for me to deal with everything alone,’ Ben contemplated. ‘Do you want us to work together, I can see it’ll be of mutual help,’ he asked politely and Hans got taken aback by the proposal.
‘Why? Why would you need me, aren’t you, the military, the best in this department? I don’t understand,’ he countered.
‘Look, you said it yourself a while ago. We investigate only the ones like us. Maybe I’m failing to see the bigger picture. Help me! Your young and unencumbered mind might help us crack the case,’ the Major pointed out sincerely. Hans gave it a bit of thought before he answered, but what he said was what Robinson expected.
‘I think that’s exactly what we must do. Help each other out. What I want, though, is to have access to the information you possess on the case so that if I need something, I can find it. And don’t lie to me, I know you have enormous database,’ the young man cornered him.
‘I’ll do what I can, the same applies to you, but in order for me to pass information on to you, you need to have NATO detective license, do you have one?’
‘Yes, that’s why I’m here, my pass allows me to; if I were an ordinary private eye, I wouldn’t be here having this conversation with you,’ Hans replied, smiling.
‘Let’s start now and not waste time, I suggest we go have a bite and discuss what we know and what we don’t.’
Said and done. The two men set off for the nearest city so they could sit down and talk undisturbed. Their acquaintanceship was destiny or maybe something much more. The combination of circumstances and accidents, frequent visitors in their line of work, were a small step towards that union. Two heads are better than one, hence Ben as the older of the two decided to unite the information they both had and to use it for the sake of justice . . .
On the other end of the world, Northern Tehran, which was at the time the heart of the large-scale conspiracy, General Saadi would not stop perfecting his plan of action. He could feel that due to the amount of work and the long hours spent in considering almost impossible scenarios his family suffered in the absence of his attention. Over the previous few months his wife Kalila needed her husband more or less and the children wanted to feel their father closer to them. The need for a man in a family is always essential. But it cannot be any sort of man, but a benchmark, a role model. A male human being which apart from nursing bravery, confidence, manliness and intellect, should manage to pass them down in his family. Genetic code is easy to transmit, but it is far more important for one to be able to leave something in their wake, a one-of-a-kind print of their existence–a key print to both his family and to the other humans. That same thought crossed Omar’s mind soon before he had finished working o
n the plan of attack. On April 10, late into the night, when there was nothing more he could do except to resort to action, the General decided to take some rest from his work in the Ministry of Defense. Not long ago he had written an application for a leave of absence starting on April 11 and ending on May 1. Thus he could spend more time with his family and while the children were at school and his wife was carrying out her family obligations, he could keep under control the situation with Phillip and the tasks he had entrusted him with earlier on. The police and the military had to be weak and then he was going to rise on the horizon without anyone standing in his way. But until that moment came, Saadi did his best to spend as much time with his wife and children as he could . . .
At the end of that same working day in which he worked until late he felt the sense of freedom under his feet. The many duties he had for the military and the preparation of the mind-blowing plan made him crave for rest. A well-deserved leave from all obligations would recharge his batteries for the events to come. After he got to the place where he had parked his car, he set off for his home. Slowly and calmly, with smile threatening to break across his face, he was driving towards his flat. Minutes after midnight he arrived home, knowing that everyone had already gone to bed. He walked into the dark apartment, took off his clothes and lied down next to his beautiful wife. She was fast asleep and did not feel him slipping under the sheets. He was soothed by the fact that he was going to be with her in the morning, he had forgotten the last time he had had breakfast with Kalila and their children. He embraced her warm body, huddled by her side and fell deeply asleep, just like her . . . In the morning he woke up in apparently good mood at 7:30. It was early, still, but he happily did without the nasty sound of the alarm clock that got him fully awake and up and ready for work. At that time the children were preparing for school and having pancakes for breakfast–Kalila had made them, their scent was incredible, stronger and more palpable even than that of the morning coffee.
‘Is there breakfast for me?’ Omar said cheerfully and teasingly, appearing at the kitchen, still sleepy.
‘Daddy, daddy!’ the children started calling one over the other and hurried over to hug him. He hugged them back and gave each one a big kiss on their tender cheeks.
‘Of course there is,’ his wife replied. She got out of her chair and went over to serve him cutlery, jam and pancakes.
The General sat at the table next to his children who were already finishing up the breakfast. The little ones were overjoyed to see him with them at breakfast. The dark-haired beauty interrupted them and served him the meal.
‘Kids, it’s time for school, we’re leaving in five minutes.’ The nippers began grumbling and voicing their discontent because their father was there, but they could not miss the classes.
‘Calm down, dear my, I’ve taken a 20-day leave of absence. We’ll have time to see each other. Now do as your mother says.’ Without any objections the children went into the vestibule to put their shoes on and their mother stayed with Omar to exchange a few words quickly.
‘I’ll drive them to school, then I’ll go to the grocery store. I’ll see you no earlier than noon.’
‘Do you want me to help you with something? I can come give you a hand with the groceries.
‘No, you’d better stay here and get some rest, I know you work a lot. Besides, you’ve taken a leave of absence, we’ll find time to be together.’ The dark-haired housewife gave his husband a kiss and left him to eat his breakfast undisturbed. She headed for the front door, opened it and took the children by the hands.
‘See you!’ the woman called out to Saadi and closed the door behind her.
On the one hand, Omar felt a bit sad after he saw the other members of his family leave their home and set off to do their daily chores. He felt useless and forgotten, but he knew that the world did not revolve around him and calmed down, holding on to the hope of spending some time with them. On the other hand, he was left with some time to enjoy a delicious breakfast, to drink his coffee . . .
While he was rolling the last jam-filled pancake in his plate he remembered a long-buried moment he had shared with his mother who also made him pancakes early in the morning when he was a child. The difference being that his mother had departed this world and the pancakes did not taste the same way as those in his childhood. Maybe it was because they had a special taste for he ate them together with his brother, Heffer, and he was gone now. Gone were, too, the days of childhood innocence and tranquility when he could play to his heart’s content and amble around all day long in the summer holidays. They were all beautiful moments, but were clouded by something in the present–the memory of his brother with whom he had grown apart in his teenage years. The thought of him remained alive, although bathed in blood and cruelty. The things that the scarred man did as an expression of defiance were cruel and completely unnecessary. Heffer’s misdeeds were punished, but in his wake he left a grain of dolefulness in the General’s heart. How was it possible for two brothers to be so much unlike each other and at the same time to have transformed with time into something different, even though they both had fostered abhorrence of the same kind? Perhaps Heffer’s goodness was superficial and his cruelty was deftly concealed. The same went for Omar, but these qualities had done a 180 in him . . .
Despite his reserve, after the final gulp of coffee, he bowed his head towards the table and felt upset not only because he would never see his brother alive again but also because of the impossibility to bury him and to have a last goodbye with him. A tiny teardrop threatened to come to life in the corner of his left eye, but right before it had the chance to grow larger and trickle down his cheek, a sound was heard in the silence of the morning. That was the ring tone of his cell phone. It was Phillip. Sad, Omar pressed “cancel”–that was the awaited signal that they were soon to meet. The General did not have time even to grieve for a while. The Iranian got himself ready and drove off towards Al Nadir’s shooting range.
He reached the agricultural airport at eleven in the morning and headed for his appointment with Phillip. Saadi was escorted by bodyguards before he had even gone through the entrance. He noticed something unique as he was nearing the barn where the control room was housed. It was the hundreds of people who were scurrying to and fro, buried in errands up to their necks. The place had started to convert into a small high-tech military base. It was ultramodern, entirely fitted with developed technologies and operated on by the best personnel in the world. It was slowly turning into a powerful weapon, a tool in the hands of the Iranian. He received exactly what he wanted, that was an army with which he could prove he was worthy to be a General. He was particularly pleased of the development and after throwing a swift glance at everything around he headed for the control room.
‘Greetings soldier! How are things going, is everything all right?’
‘Everything goes according to plan, Sir,’ Phillip got up from his seat at the table where he was examining the papers concerning the recruiting of more manpower, he stood easy and saluted the officer.
‘You’ve done quite well, keep up the good work and try not to make yourself conspicuous. If you have to, put twice as many jamming devices so that the satellites don’t intercept the signal we emit here.´ he gave the man extra instructions with a tiny smile.
´Thank you for the advice, I’ll do everything in my power. I’m doing my best to serve you and to keep us under the enemy’s radar until the attack, Sir,’ the Croatian replied like a robot created for the sole purpose of listening and following orders. Omar was pleased–maybe that was the perfect man for the job: he did not ask any questions and complied with all of his instructions without questioning them.
‘The news panels broadcast that the extremists won’t stop their attacks and also that the demonstrations have grown into a global discontent. I think the matters there will take a bit more work, our interference will be definitive at that moment.’
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ the mercen
ary said.
‘What is our financial status, what do the reports say?’
‘The accountants checked up today and told me that we’ll have steady resources until the end of the month, but around May 10 we expect to encounter a shortage and we will need more money,’ Mirkovich said.
‘All right, notify me a few days in advance so I can arrange a new transaction,’ were the General’s last words before he left.
On the way to his car he saw the place was bursting with life. They were building transmission towers that were to establish a better connection to the satellites in case a stronger one was needed; they were also erecting fortifications around the base. They set up rifles and rocket launchers as though they were going into war against an omnipotent adversary. Cars and people were scattered everywhere and everyone was working on something. The affairs there were tense, but that meant more tranquility for the General. He finally felt free to spend his leave with his family undisturbed; he would come to the base every now and then to keep things under his watchful gaze. . .
At the same time, far away an investigation was going on full speed. Hans was working tirelessly on Konrad’s case. He settled comfortably in Ben Robinson’s office and the two men quickly became partners after they were granted permission to work together and help each other. They split up the work so they could go in the right direction and in case their findings crossed paths that would come as a sign that not everything about that affair was a mere coincidence. Hans took it upon himself to research the space and air equipment market and to track how the firms of the prominent businessman Konrad had attained their ultimate cosmic uptake over the previous two years.
Ben followed the leads of the stolen weaponry and its points of contact with the theft where everything boiled down to the fact that it was Redeberg’s property. Robinson questioned General Müller’s authority and suspected that maybe he also received a piece of the insurance claim pay-out pie and presumed that the man might also be involved in the organization of the theft itself. That was a good start, but not enough. Everything was yet to come to the surface. The affair that the two investigators had to untangle lied on the bottom of an ocean of nefarious deals and unscrupulousness and the men had to dive and reach those hazardous depths . . .
Dawn of Hope- Exodus Page 21