Whoever Kills The Innocent

by Lothar Birkner

  She thought back to the oath that she made when she decided to embrace the fight against terrorism, and she prayed:

  “Oh my Lord, you know why I chose this way to fight for the good and against terrorism. My daddy taught me to pray when I was a very little girl. Now he's with you. I still would need him. He told me everything you create or allow makes sense, even if this is not often visible to our human mind. So I trust that my part of the anti-terrorist fight makes sense and I will fulfil my duty as a daughter, Christian, and citizen with your help. Amen.”

  Finally, she felt better and went to bed. She had a premonition that she should rest because she would need all her forces soon, maybe the next day.

  The search for Bruno

  Bian relied mostly on her intuition. Better that she had followed her intuition this day too!

  If she had, she wouldn't have let Bruno to go to work in the morning. A feeling told her something bad would happen that day. But if she had told Bruno, he would have laughed at her and said she was crazy. So she remained silent. And now it had happened.

  Bruno disappeared!

  In the morning he left as always for his taxi job. Two hours later he wasn’t answering the phone. Even later he didn’t. No one had seen him. Bian realized Bruno had disappeared and no one knew anything. Bruno seemed to be swallowed up from the ground!

  Among the drivers of the taxi companies the news spread around like wildfire. Bruno had disappeared, together with the taxi. Of course, at first many thought of a robbery. But in the morning during rush hour? That was rather implausible. There had been no suspicious trip Bruno had received from the taxi headquarters.

  An accident?

  In this case ambulances and police were already on the way, they were not in the middle of nowhere. A car accident would have been noticed and would have caused passersby to call the police. And information about this would have been known to all drivers soon.

  No, they knew nothing.

  An official missing report to the police? It was still too early and if it had turned out to be harmless, it would be embarrassing and Bruno would probably really be pissed. But everything seemed to tell them that it was actually not at all a harmless story. All the drivers and colleagues discussed it in detail when they met for a cup of coffee at the Central Office.

  Ali and Armin, Andrea and Beate, Christoph and Errol, Harry and Mehmet all wanted to know again and again from Bian what could have happened.

  Few of them were good friends. The envy and the competition were too big. Their income was low, and it depended on their sales. For that reason, some of them often tried to take away a fare from a colleague. This created bad blood, of course.

  But now, it looked as though something could have happened to one of them, they all wanted to stand together.

  The interest and sympathy of her friends comforted Bian. But at the same time, her anxiety grew bigger by the strong general concern. Slowly but increasingly she felt a vague uncontrollable fear rising up.

  What if something bad happened to Bruno? Perhaps she would never see him alive again? She had sometimes been angry about Bruno, and wished him to hell. But there had been many other moments that they both understood each other quite well and now she knew more than ever before that she had always loved him. Her love was so strong. While the fear slowly runs through her body and her mind, she undeniably feels so much love for him.

  But this was no time for feelings, but for action.

  “Stop to make yourself mad, stupid cow you are,” she said to herself. “It is time to keep calm and think about a plan.”

  She spoke with the radio operator Yvonne and her friend, the driver Andrea.

  The three spoke with other drivers to ask if they’d seen anything, an effort coordinated via radio. Each driver, wherever he was, would look around, sometimes even leave the roads and control lanes with little traffic and any known shortcuts in the respective area.

  “We can do little at the moment, but more than the police. The police wouldn`t do anything for now. At least no red alert trigger. And there are more cabs here than police cars. Finally, the police ask if they are looking for someone, also us, whether we can keep our eyes open. For they are well aware of the fact that that there is rarely anything taxi drivers will not notice. If we get to know nothing about him this way, we at least know that Bruno is no longer in our wireless area. And if he has so far not logged and doesn`t even on radio or cell phone calls, then we should make a new plan,” Bian said.

  Bian was asked repeatedly about Bruno, whether he had already answered in any way, if she had any idea where he was now, whether she knew what had happened to him?

  But she had no answer to all these questions.

  She told only Yvonne and Andrea about Sandy and the listening microphone. Bruno really seemed to have gotten into in a very hot thing without realizing it. Bian knew she would have to keep fighting to ensure that he came out of all these troubles without any harm. But she didn’t even know who are their enemies were this fight.

  Her two friends asked her about remarks Bruno had made, where he was going to this day. Yes, Bruno told her about his plans. He would drive Mr. Gerster today, this young manager, who sometimes made longer trips. And he probably had something to do with nuclear power plants.

  "Tell me,” asks Yvonne. “You said Bruno had a businessman or someone like this, whom he had to drive today. Do you have a phone number or his exact address? Then could you ask perhaps there, if he has picked him up at all?

  But unfortunately, Bian did not know details. She only remembered that he went to pick him at eight. His name was Gerster and his home must be somewhere between their home and the Wanloer cross. From there Bruno mostly went to the highway.

  They about all directions and at last the three came to the conclusion that Bruno was likely outside of reach of their wireless radio. Whatever happened to him, it didn`t happen in the immediate surroundings. This was also very logical because the intensive observations of the taxi driver didn`t find the slightest hint.

  “Crazy,” says Christoph at the moment on the radio. “We noticed each dead rabbit but by not a hair of Bruno is to be seen.”

  "He's probably right. So there is not a hint at all. But, what to do?” Yvonne asked. “Do you have at least an idea, Bian, where Bruno's tour should go?”

  “Yes, definitely to Belgium, and to a nuclear power plant. I think its name is Tihange.”

  “Wow, it seems to be out clear that our good Bruno is in something very hot,” Andrea said.

  "But anyway, we will help you, Bian and we will find Bruno somehow. So at five p.m., when work is over, I will pick up my car and you guys are coming. We will drive along the whole route, in the direction to Tihange, where Bruno has probably gone. and I bet we`ll find him! A taxi is, after all, no pin. We have no reason to give up; we have a chance and we can use it. Yes, we can.”

  Bian and Yvonne feel relieved that Andrea so emphatically took the initiative and immediately agreed.

  *******

  Mike was angry.

  Sandy looks to the ground as she would be looking for a hole to creep into.

  “Yes, I am surrounded only by amateurs?” Mike grumbles.

  “The taxi driver Bruno, including his taxi and these two Arab terrorists, suddenly disappeared. Though we have been monitoring them, we have absolutely no clue where they might have gone. I can't believe it! And not only three people, but the cab has disappeared, too, from the scene. Of course there are no GPS monitored taxis here in the German countryside. And you, Sandy, apparently were not smart enough to attach a hidden transmitter in Bruno`s car.”

  Sandy was silent, not knowing what Mike would accept. She felt unable to express her feelings with the right words, and certainly she wouldn’t talk with Mike about it.

  Mike continued, “No telephone calls of suspected persons could be noticed, no emails, no money transactions, absolutely nothing. And your colleague Bill, who should have shadowed the apartment of
the two terrorists, seems to have slept well. And the whole thing happens exactly at the time when each one of you knows that we have a chance to catch a very high leader of Al-Qaeda here. I'm also not so sure whether this Bruno is as harmless as you always say, Sandy. Maybe he only successfully tricked you.”

  Mike couldn’t hold back his anger. He hit the table with the palm of the hand and finally he continued, “You should be trying anyway to find this Bruno again. Try hard and leave no stone unturned. I myself need take care of something else. Thank God I have a wildcard. Perhaps that’s a way to turn things around. But this is my business! You would probably screw that up again.”

  Sandy was relieved to go. She wondered what the wildcard could be that Mike talked about. But she didn’t want to ask. She would have gotten no reasonable response, as angry as Mile was.

  She knew she must do something to find out where Bruno and the other two were now. Of course it was annoying that she lost the track. But still she saw everything a little bit different than Mike. The guy spoke in a way as if she were the only person who was responsible for everything that had gone wrong. There were many silly coincidences and others who had been in this job made mistakes too.

  She asked herself whether Bian knew, or at least had a clue, where Bruno was now. She would like to ask her, but she could no longer have direct contact with Bian. Actually, she was sorry for this. She understood very well why Bian was so pissed about her. The trick to come in contact with Bruno and the thing with the micro was normal routine, but now Sandy felt it was not nice because she had taken advantage of Bian’s trust. But Sandy called for order again. Such thoughts were unprofessional. She had learned with people in her job for the Secret Service, in this case only one thing counted, the major goal to protect the homeland from terrorists. Interpersonal feelings were totally forbidden in this job, only the great aim was important.

  But, but then she thought again, “I couldn't do that actually. People aren’t chessmen. The human being should be always in focus. A person should never be abused only as a means for a purpose.” She remembered how she had passionately justified this opinion as a student in a discussion. But a few years later her whole world perished in the rubble of the Twin Towers collapsing in New York. Then she wanted to do nothing else but combat terrorism. The main thing was fighting effectively; nothing else mattered.

  But can this really be okay?

  “Enough of philosophizing.” She called herself to order. “I have a job to fulfill and that must take precedence.”

  As a matter of a fact, Bruno, Anwar, and Saleh had totally disappeared from the scene. She thought they were together, or at least Bruno knew where the other two are staying. Who was obviously still there was Bian.

  Sandy assumed that Bian knew where Bruno was or had at least a clue. In this case, looking for Bruno meant Sandy should monitor Bian, and try to find Bruno by spying on her. Of course, it was clear that Bian was upset about Sandy, because she`d abused her trust. Direct contact or anything like it was not possible. No chance. To shadow her and intercept messages was the only way.

  "Really bad,” Sandy thought, “that I can`t openly talk with Bian. Because the mutual sympathy was real, and Bian isn’t definitely up to something bad.”

  But now Sandy wanted to focus first on doing their job professionally.

  *******

  Bian met up with Andrea and Yvonne at the taxi headquarters near the train station. Andrea sat in her car, Bian and Yvonne stood next to the car. Her colleague, the taxi driver Mustafa, briskly came closer to them.

  “Tell me Bian, have you heard already anything about Bruno?”

  When he heard there was s no new information at all, he said: “I just wanted to tell you, something's up with the Islamists. I have some information that might be interesting for you. My uncle told me a few days ago two people had joined our culture club. One of them is a student who comes from Yemen. The other is like an Arab, is but he actually is from Germany, although he is a Muslim and speaks Arabic very well. The two have tried to incite the people in our Culture Club.

  “It is strange that they often had contact with Bruno, though he is definitely not a Muslim. I was raised by my parents to believe in Allah and his Prophet Mohammed. But I'm not a believer in the strict sense, as most people in Germany aren’t neither, neither Muslims nor Christians.

  “I think these medieval thinking idiots are terrible and they are dangerous. Hopefully Bruno has not admitted to that. I think this would not be his normal way. He is a fine man, but otherwise I am not sure what’s going on. Anyway, I wanted to tell you the two foreign Islamists suddenly disappeared this morning at the same time as Bruno did. Is this more than a coincidence? In any case, you have to be careful.”

  The three women thanked Mustafa for the information. But they didn’t tell him what they had in mind and what their plans were now. He was nice, but they didn’t want to discuss their plan to find Bruno with anyone.

  “Isn’t it actually stupid, what we hope to see?” asked Yvonne.

  “So we drive along the Highway 120 km from Grevenbroich now and hope to find a note where Bruno is hidden at the next junction? Actually, totally stupid, isn't it? Or what do you think? We must have some better idea. You, Bian, do you have any indication, if it's only the slightest idea, where we can start? Did he tell you something maybe about his strange friends or tell about his past, which could further help us now? Bian, please think about everything. At this moment, the smallest note may perhaps help us and put us on the right track. Just even think about when and how Bruno did usually ring you up or send you a message?”

  "Most of the time he has sent me a short text message if he could not speak on the phone, for example, I love you, Bian, now on the A46, but nothing like that came up.”

  "And when did he mostly send a message like that to you?”

  “Till 8: 30 at the latest. So we have to assume that about this time someone or something restrained him and he couldn`t do so. I'm sure otherwise Bruno would send a message to me.”

  “So suppose he has picked up this Gerster and drove off with him. Then, he would have gone by on the highway perhaps half an hour later. Within this time something must have happened and he`s in a predicament, so that he can’t send a message. Probably unexpected things happened to Bruno during the first half an hour of his ride. Think about this, Bian, anything that comes to your mind might be useful.”

  Suddenly an idea hit Bian like a blow.

  “Immerath, this ghost town between Wanlo and Erkelenz. Nobody actually lives there. But the excavators that are ordered for the demolition of the houses have not been there yet. Bruno has told how he went through there. All empty houses. A real ghost town. An ideal place to hide."

  "Yes, that would make sense," all three agreed.

  “Bruno was probably still not so far away when his problems started and he no longer could give any message to Bian. He was surely no longer within the area of the radio, otherwise we would have found out where he is now. And this ghost town Immerath, Yes, that could make sense. It is of course not sure, but at least a reasonable approach, where we might be able to find him.”

  They agreed to go to Immerath. Bian and Yvonne entered Andrea`s car and the ride began. They would be there at least after half an hour. They were optimistic about finding out something about Bruno, at least a little hint.

  They didn't notice that on their ride a silver-grey car secretly followed them.

  ******* -

  Sandy had been watching the three from a distance. As they drove off, she followed them in the rented car at a great distance. As they probably wouldn’t expect that someone would follow them, being noticed was not a big risk.

  The journey began on the highway, then a short distance on the Autobahn and soon afterwards they left it and used country roads. Then they come to a lonely place. Sandy ha to keep very large distance, because she didn’t want them to notice her.

  She spoke to herself: “if they know where Br
uno is hiding and realize that they are shaded, they will do everything to remain unobserved. If necessary, they will cancel the meeting.”

  Now they reached a town. Strange, no people on the street, the windows were often nailed. Actually, it was a ghost town. But it didn’t look like some ghost towns in the West of the United States, the abandoned gold mining towns in the desert. This was in the middle of a populous area in Germany, located just a few minutes’ drive from the major cities.

  Sandy remembered now that Bian had explained to her during the taxi trip that huge tracts of land, including villages and even small local towns, were destroyed to gain brown coal in opencast mining. It was a strange feeling to drive through empty roads between abandoned houses, which now seemed to be totally empty and had been recently full of life and to know that soon a massive crater would swallow them.

  Sandy must be attentive. It was lonely here; the danger of being discovered as a secret follower was much bigger. She kept a large distance and was looking now from far away and noticed the car stopped and the three women got out. It seemed better to go to this place by foot, and she abandoned the car.

  Suddenly the three women were no longer visible. Where had they gone? Their car was still there, but no hint of the three. Sandy walked faster now. Soon she reached the abandoned car.