by T. M. Deans
“Is that why you’re all armed?”
The Arabs shrugged his shoulders and said, “This can be a dangerous country. These two have proven to be dangerous. I would not want my men hurt.”
“And you believe these two are here in my town?”
“Yes. We know for a fact they have been here. If you have information as to their whereabouts we would gladly pay. The sooner we find them and retrieve our belongings, the sooner this will all be over and we can leave.”
“I have already told you I expect you to leave by tomorrow. However, two of you may stay. I like to know what is happening in my town. Now tell me what the two people look like and what is it that was stolen?”
“I can tell you what they look like, but I cannot tell you what was stolen. It would not be for me to say.”
“Well I may be able to help you but I’m a businessman. When you say pay?”
The Arab put a small case on the desk. It had already been checked out as they had. He opened it and handed Albert a large stack of hundred dollar bills. There was still another stack in the case.
Albert looked at him, “You insult me. Look around you.”
The Arab handed him the other stack and closed the case. Albert motioned to bring in the old man. An old man was shown in. It was Delbert, but you could hardly recognize him. He looked even older and a lot poorer. Albert said that the old man spoke some English.
He looked at the old man and said, “Tell this man what you told us.”
Delbert declared, “I didn’t know. I hope that I haven’t broken the law. I’m sorry. I had no way of knowing but they offered me a lot of money for my car. Please I don’t want to go to jail.”
Albert replied, “You haven’t broken the laws. You’re not going to jail. Just tell the man what happened.”
“A man and woman came up to me and said my car is a good old car. The man had one just like it for a long time. He wondered how mine ran. I told him that I keep my car in very good condition and it runs very well. He asked me if I would like to sell it. I said no. I would not have a car then. He said he would give me $500 right then. He pulled out another $500. $1,000 right now he said. How could I say no? I took the money but didn’t have the papers with me. He said it wasn’t necessary. They were in a hurry. So I gave him the keys, took out a few things, and they drove off.” The Arab questioned what the vehicle looked like and what direction they went. Did they say where they were going, and what day was it?
Delbert replied, “It is a white Volkswagen bug. They didn’t say where they were going but they asked where the road going south out of town was. Maybe they went to the north I don’t know. It was about four days ago.
Albert asked, “Is that all?”
“Yes that’s everything. I can give back most of the money if you can get my car back. I don’t want any trouble.”
Albert said, “No you can keep the money except for $100 tax. Give it to the man who takes you home. Go on. You can leave now. Leave.”
Albert questioned the Arab, “How many men exactly do you have here?”
The Arab said, “Twenty four in all including me.”
“Well then four of you can stay, but 20 of you go. Good day.”
I told Jada, “My compliments to Albert and Delbert. They should’ve been actors.
Lana asked, “What about the staff? Can everyone here be trusted? Not be bought?”
“That is a fair question Lana. The answer is yes. No one that works for our family would betray us. The people who know you are here have been warned.”
I asked Lana that night how long it would be before I was completely healed up.
She said, “As long as you stay in bed, a week should do it. 10 days would be optimum. It shouldn’t be too hard to do. This is pretty comfortable, and the longer we stay out of sight the better it will be.”
“What about how long before we can make love again my little chickadee?”
“Chickadee. Where did I hear that Jack?”
“I stole that from the great W.C. Fields.”
“I like that. It’s cute. Probably in another three days if you think you’re strong enough to satisfy me in the manner to which I’m accustomed.”
“Oh yes Dr. I’m sure your exam will find me more than ready, willing, and able to satisfy you above and beyond whatever it is that you’re accustomed to.”
“My, my sir, you are a braggart.”
“Surely you don’t think a couple of small bullet holes would diminish my ardor for you do you?”
“Let’s not forget I am your surgeon amongst other things. You were only shot once, so don’t exaggerate.”
“True Dr. But I do have two holes in me. That should count as two bullets holes.”
“So are you suggesting that if I allow you to have your way with me, I could not expect you to perform to my satisfaction?”
“Au contraire. If this is a challenge I accept in spite of my enfeebled condition. You could mount my head. I could pay my doctor’s bill. Or would you prefer a couple of chickens or a goat?”
“No your head would suffice. But what would we do with that thing sticking up in the air?”
“I am sure that as an adroit doctor in the medical profession, you will find a remedy.”
“Alright. As your punishment I think I shall only take pleasure without returning any.”
“Good God woman. Why am I being punished pray tell?”
“Why obviously for carelessly allowing yourself to be shot, which interferes with my daily need to have sex with you. Now be quiet and get to work.”
When it was all said and done, I do believe we both were well satisfied. She crawled into my arms and we both fell fast asleep.
The Arabs seemed to have taken the hint about leaving, and the bait as well. They all pulled out. We hoped they were on a merry goose chase tracking down a white nonexistent VW bug. I jokingly started to think of the Arabs as my friends. If it were not for them, I would not have met Lana. I was becoming fond of her. I would never have known the truth about the night raid either, and never gotten to know these wonderful people. So even out of adversity can come good. Of course it wasn’t over yet with the Arabs.
50
LANA NEEDS TO LEAVE
Convalescing with Lana in the mansion, with the protection of our new friends, was very pleasant. After the fourth day, I thought I would broach the subject about our future. We seemed to be getting closer all the time and not just on a sexual level. In our short time together we had gone through experiences that most couples never even come close to. Those kinds of experiences if you survive, bond you forever.
The problems we would have had not changed, such as her line of work. People that didn’t like us would now be times two. On the other hand, she was a lot of woman and would be a hard act to follow. I toyed with the idea of asking what she would think about being together. Then I remembered the mistakes I had made with Misha.
When the right moment came, I took a deep breath and said, “Lana I have grown very fond of you. I could love you if I thought that I could make you happy. I own two homes that are paid for, and I have enough cash for a good life. I think we could probably make an excellent hit team, but it’s not something I would want. Do you think you could be happy with just a normal exciting life? Could you love me? We could make our own adventures, not the kind we’ve both had before professionally, but new ones in the great outdoors.”
“Jack I have been thinking the same thing. I’ve never met anyone like you before. You’ve restored my faith in magic and mankind. You’re a man’s man Jack. You’re beautiful. You’re a gentleman. You are funny and you’re a warrior. You’re smart and a great lover. I adore you.”
I thought, “Oh God here it comes the big but.”
“I might want to kill you for something to do. No I’m joking. I would get restless. This is the life I know I was born for. I would never want children. I don’t think you would either. We would just be doubling the amount of people who would
like to see us dead.”
“You’re right on both of the last two counts Lana, but there’s too much luck involved in lifestyles like ours.”
“That doesn’t matter to me. It’s the adrenaline, the excitement. I know you’re going to make me say it. Yes, it’s the doing away with men that think that they can do whatever they want because they’re men. There I said it.”
“Was it your experience in the military or some terrible thing from your childhood that brought you to this way of feeling? I am a good listener if you want to tell me.”
“Do you mean was I gang raped by 20 men? No nothing at all like that. Sure the military had something to do with it, probably more than something. There wasn’t any heinous experience in my life, just an accumulation of seeing it and watching it. I know it’s not right and maybe someday I can change that. You’ve helped because you are wonderful. You have been terrific for me. I’m crazy about you Jack, but I know myself well enough to know that I would only hurt you in the end.
“I would have to leave you. There have only been two times in my life when I’ve been truly happy. The first time was when I dropped out and started my career. I knew that this was what I wanted in life. The second time was with you. Even as nice as this is with these good people, I’m already getting restless. The best time with you was when we were traveling through the jungle, the boat coming in from the plane, going up the river in the canoe, not knowing if we were going to live or die, but doing it together. That was as good as it gets for me. It was everything. I was being tested in survival, but I was doing it with this man who was sweeping me off my feet. I was falling in love. At first it scared me but then I realized it’s what I thrive on, being scared.
“Those four men on the road were bad men. They would’ve killed you and raped me I am sure. We didn’t have to kill them. We could have easily gotten the drop on them, tied them up, beat them up, taken their shoes, whatever. We killed them because I wanted to kill them. I would never hurt an innocent person, but when I know a person is bad or evil, I want to destroy them. And if I get paid for doing it even better. Therefore my love, I would never want to hurt you. I would end up leaving you. And it’s not because you’re not exciting. You are the most exciting man I ever met. It’s just that I’m crazy I guess. Please forgive me. You have given me something that I never thought I could have. I will always cherish that.
“Now if you don’t want to see your kick ass killer girlfriend start to cry, tell me you understand and fuck me half to death.”
The next morning I went downstairs to talk to Albert. I told him that Lana wanted to get back to Europe as soon as possible and wondered if she could be flown out of here? He was surprised. He said somehow he thought the two of us were a couple. We had gone through so much and seemed so close.
I said, “We have a lot of feelings for each other, but our roads lead us in different directions. She is a warrior that loves and thrives on her profession. I am a man who would like to find some peace and normality.”
At that moment, Jada entered the office. Albert explained what we were talking about. She had a kind of strange look on her face, which I didn’t quite understand.
He asked me where Lana would like to go. I told him if it was possible, to Italy or France. He thought about it for a moment and said, “Yes we can do that. It will require fuel stops but it shouldn’t be a problem. I will combine the trip with a shopping list to bring back. When does she want to leave?”
“I’ll ask her again, but she said as soon as possible.”
“Then tell her that tomorrow after dark would be fine.”
I went back to our room and told Lana what Albert had said.
“It’s best Jack. The sooner the better.”
“I hadn’t thought about losing you this quickly, but if you’re sure it’s what you want, I better go back down and tell him, so they can make the arrangements.”
The plan was for her to leave the next night. That evening we just stayed in our room.
I asked her what her plans were. She decided to regroup and find some new employment.
“What about the Arabs Lana? They could still pose a problem for you.”
“Oh I don’t think so. It’s you they really want. If they catch up with me, I’ll try to eliminate as many of them as possible for you.”
“I would rather you just stayed safe. Albert fleeced the Arab for $10,000 for the information about us leaving. He very generously gave it to me. You never told me how much money you had on you, and I didn’t ask. I’d like you to take $5,000 of it. I want to be sure you have enough.”
“Jack you are truly a saint and a gentleman. Actually I was going to tell you the same thing. I have the $25,000 the Arabs paid me. We really haven’t spent very much of it, I wanted to give you half.”
“$25,000? Is that all I am worth? I use to get at least $30,000 for a hit. I see wages haven’t increased very much.”
She laughed and said, “It was only for drugging you. A hit would’ve cost them more of course.”
“They seem to have spent a lot of money on all of this. If they throw it around that easily, maybe I should try and get a job with them myself.”
“Seriously Jack.” She handed me a stack of hundreds. “You’re going to need operating money and I have quite a bit saved back in Europe. I’ll be fine. I also have a surprise for you, your passport. I grabbed it the night we left Cape Town. I meant to give it to you before, but with everything happening it slipped my mind.”
“That’s really great. I completely forgot about the need to have one. I tell you what. Why don’t you just give me $5,000? That’s plenty. I’m going to give you a way to get in touch with me if you ever need money or help. You know you can count on me.”
“I suppose I should do the same for you. I’m going to tell Albert that if they ever need my professional services, it’s on the house.”
“What will I do without you Lana?”
“Well I suspect you will have a replacement before long. You are the kind of man who attracts women wherever you go. Jada’s very interested in you. Can’t you tell?”
“No I can’t. Anyway how would you know that?”
“Because my darling Jack, we girls talked. Don’t tell me you would turn her away. She’s beautiful. I might even want to sleep with her.”
“Christ Lana you really are one bad girl.”
“Yes I know. That’s what makes me so very much fun to be with. Seriously darling, she really does like you. You’d be a good match. She can take care of you. She’s not the head of security here for nothing, and I don’t think she’s as serious about shooting people as I am.”
“Well I must say that is comforting. It would be nice to have a girlfriend who doesn’t shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Why you cad, look who’s talking!”
That was our last night together. Our lovemaking was slow and passionate. Lana left the next evening. An hour after her departure there was a knock on the door and Jada just stuck her head in. “I just wanted to tell you that she left without any problems. Good night, Jack. See you for breakfast.”
I had a lot of events to digest. I hoped I had convinced the hotel in Cape Town that I wasn’t kidnapped. It was just a lark some close friends had come up with to celebrate a special event for me, and my lady friend. It took some convincing and a couple bribes, but in the end they were satisfied.
I needed to find out the answer to why I was so popular with the Arabs. I didn’t have a clue where to begin to try and find out what it was the Arabs wanted with me. If I couldn’t come up with something, I guess all I had to do was wait for them to find me again. Not exactly a good prospect but maybe the only one I had.
Then there was Lana. I knew I would miss her. It wasn’t just the sex. She was so damn tough. It didn’t take long knowing her, before you realized she could handle just about anything. Besides being smart and funny, and a great lover, it was like having a super sidekick. Maybe I should just say par
tner. I was the sidekick. Now she was gone. Considering how our relationship started, I suppose that really says something. She, Sophia and Misha were so completely different. But they all had one thing in common. All three of them told me they loved me. Yet I managed to lose all of them. What a jackass I am. The question is, to be or not to be, that is to be a jackass or to not be a jackass.
What was happening to me? Where was this road taking me? It seemed that I was being drawn to some conclusion. Maybe it was my death. All I know is I made a decision to lead a quiet nonviolent life. Then George reentered and I ended up killing his enemy. Next it was two Algerians. I killed practically everyone on the plane, then on the road, and then in the village. Christ! What’s next?
All-knowing George once told me it’s better to not know who you are than to think you know who you are, and you are not who you think you are.
My stepfather Frank who in his own field was certainly all knowing, once said to me, “It is not always easy to know what you want in life, but it is easy to know what doesn’t work for you. So start there.”
51
THE PHOTOGRAPH
The next morning I came downstairs for breakfast. After we finished, Albert said that it was time for a family meeting. I said I’d go upstairs and lay down for awhile.
Albert said, “No, you are family. Let us all go into the office. As far as we know all the Arabs have left, I do not doubt they have spread some money around and should an informer see you they would make contact with the Arabs. However, I took the liberty of leading them on a false trail in one of the towns where I knew they were searching for you. It is my hope that they will find your trail has gone cold. Nevertheless, you should not be seen. Now tell me how your wound is, my friend?”
“Fine, Albert. It hardly bothers me at all.
I was sitting in a chair in his office when I noticed a photograph.
I inquired, “That photograph, is he your uncle or father? Is that an old French uniform?”