The Desert Lion's True Colours

by Ikechi Hayden

  Leon looked at her for a moment longer. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ He said, ‘Let’s just see where they lead us.’

  No sooner was that said, Na’talia’s phone started to chime loudly. Leon looked down at the screen and noticed the map on display had magnified on its own and across the middle appeared the words ‘SUBJECT FOUND’.

  Motioning to Leon Na’talia said ‘Handle that please.’

  Removing the phone from its hands-free cradle, Leon tapped on the phones screen with his thumb putting an end to the unnecessarily loud alarm. He tapped the phones screen again and the map returned to its regular size. Leon looked up through the windshield and back down to the phone to assess the distance between them and their target.

  ‘There, that’s our ride.’ He said.

  Leon was looking at the back of a Black Nissan Maxima that had just moved into their line of traffic. Leon took a mental note of the cars registration then said, ‘Fall back. You’re too close.’

  Following Leon’s order Na’talia eased off the accelerator and the three of them watched as the Nissan continued eastward. Whoever was behind the wheel, made sure they stayed well within the speed limit and unlike the white Range Rovers with their 22' inch rims, the Nissan’s unassuming shape brought little attention to itself.

  Jay reached forward and gently tapped Leon on the shoulder. ‘This doesn’t feel right.’ He said.

  Leon nodded in agreement. He was about to say something to Na’talia but his personal phone started to ring.

  ‘Who is it?’ Jay blurted out.

  Leon looked down at the screen and said ‘Don’t know. It says unknown number.’

  Keeping a close eye on the Maxima ahead of them Leon took a deep breath, hit the call button on the phone and said ‘Hello.’

  Nobody answered. The line was completely silent. Leon checked the screen to verify the call was still active. It said ‘Connected’.

  Placing the phone back to his ear Leon said, ‘Yo! This is a private number. Who is this?’

  Finally a soft, quiet voice replied ‘Nathan,’

  Leon recognised the feminine tone immediately.

  ‘Kerry… !’ Leon said warmly.

  There was no reply, just three short beeps and then complete silence. Leon checked the screen again to verify the call was still connected and then pressing the phone up closer to his ear he said

  ‘Kerry. Are you still there?’

  A second passed before Leon heard a clicking sound and then from out of the silence came Kerry’s voice, halfway through a sentence. She most not have realised the phone went dead on his end so Leon respectfully interrupted her.

  ‘Shorty, I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that. My connection is bad.’

  Leon thought he heard her let out a sigh so he quickly said ‘Babe, are you ok?’

  Kerry went over the words Leon obviously did not hear her say and decided she would not answer the question.

  Leon allowed a few seconds to pass before he said, ‘Babe I’m sorry. I never wanted you to find out this way. I’ve been killing myself trying to figure out a way to tell you the…’

  ‘Don’t you dare say it,’ Kerry interrupted. ‘I don’t think you even know what the truth is.’

  Leon started to feel sick and awkwardly aware he was not alone. However he quickly reasoned it did not matter who was around, he loved Kerry and he desperately yearned for her to listen to his explanation. He was about to give a defence for his actions but Kerry’s voice cut him off.’

  ‘I do thank you though. You made it possible for me to finally have a relationship with my father. I never thought it would happen.’ She paused to let her statement sink in and then said ‘But as for everything else. The lies, the fact that you used me! I don’t think anything else needs to be said.’

  ‘Wait…’ Leon said urgently.

  ‘No Nathan. It’s over.’

  ‘Kerry, wait…’

  There was no reply. She was gone. Leon was about to move the phone away from his ear when someone else came onto the line.

  ‘Leon? It’s me.’

  Hearing the Chiefs voice made Leon realise he had not been paying any attention to the Maxima they were following and immediately checked the GPS on Na’talia’s phone, looked up through the windshield and quickly located the Black Nissan Maxima four car lengths ahead of them.

  ‘Leon… You there?’

  ‘Yeah, I got you Chief.’

  ‘You ok?’

  Leon thought the Chief genuinely sounded interested, which actually made him feel slightly better.

  Nodding to himself Leon took a deep breath before replying ‘I’ll be cool Chief. How is Kerry’s father?’

  ‘I’m guessing he’s doing better than you right now. I’m sorry Nate.’

  ‘It’s cool Chief. I shouldn’t have gotten so close in the first place.’

  Taking into account what he said to Leon just two days ago, the Chief allowed Leon’s last statement to pass. The phone was silent for a moment before Chief Edwards said ‘I just got off the phone with your father and he told me about what happened at the drop. I’m glad Na’talia is as good as Aaron says she is.’

  Leon flashed Na’talia a glance and then directly into the phones receiver said ‘Yeah. She’s good at what she does.’

  ‘Good. Glad to hear it,’ The Chief replied. ‘Are you still following the money?’

  With his eyes trained on the rear window of the Nissan Leon replied with a simple ‘Yes,’

  ‘GOOD! Don’t let them out of your sight.’ The Chief paused for a moment and then said ‘Nate… I need you to act and think like Leon on this.’

  Confused Leon replied ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘It means, I… I mean we, need you to do what you were trained for. I need you to do whatever it takes for this plan to work and for you to stay alive. Nathan is too emotional right now. I need you to be an agent.’

  Leon was about to reply but the Chief continued ‘Now put me on speaker phone. I need to make sure you all get this.’

  Reluctantly Leon did as he was told and then said ‘You’re on speaker Chief.’

  ‘How are you guys doing?’ The Chief said.

  His voice was crisp.

  ‘We’re still alive, if that’s what you’re asking.’ Jay retorted.

  ‘I’m sorry the drop didn’t go as we would have liked, but that was a risk we had to take.’

  Jay laughed to himself and then under his breath said ‘This nigger said WE.’

  Not hearing Jay’s comment the Chief continued ‘Na’talia.’

  Breaking her silence she replied ‘Yes Chief.’

  ‘Nice work.’

  ‘Thank you Chief.’

  ‘If it wasn’t for you, those two would be dead.’

  Na’talia caught Jay’s reflection in the back-seat and wisely decided not to reply.

  They all heard the Chief clear his throat before someone else in the background called the Chief’s name. Recognising the voice, Jay tapped the side of Leon’s chair and said ‘Isn’t that Carter?’

  Leon nodded. It was not possible for them to hear what exactly was being said but they could tell it was urgent. Leon noticed the Chiefs tone was agitated. The muffled conversation went on for a few seconds longer before the Chiefs voice returned through the receiver.

  ‘Na’talia?’

  ‘Yes Chief.’

  ‘What’s your location?’

  Without hesitation she replied ‘Where currently on the Cross Bronx Expressway,’ she paused to look down at the map on her phone and then said ‘He’s changed lanes and it looks like he’s going to exit at Castle Hill.’

  ‘Ok,’ The Chief replied. ‘Stay close to them. Now I need you all to listen carefully as I can’t stay on the line
very long. I don’t know how but the Agency knows. How much, I’m not sure. But right after I spoke to Aaron I received a call from Upson.’

  ‘What?’ Leon exclaimed.

  ‘It seems Black has a direct link to the Superior,’ Chief Edwards replied. ‘I’ve been ordered to use everything at my disposal to find you guys.’ He paused for a moment and then said ‘The theory is you two were helped by your father and now your hiding somewhere in Manhattan.’

  ‘Shit.’ Na’talia retorted.

  ‘Exactly…’ The Chief replied. ‘. . . My hands are tied. I won’t be able to keep my cover for much longer. A rumour of Pyro’s disappearance has already made its way to the top. Those bastards are going to be all over me within the next few hours.’

  ‘So what are we going to do?’ Na’talia enquired.

  Leon sensed her worry increase. Fear was coming off of her in waves. The Chief cleared his throat again and then with even more urgency to his voice said ‘I’m sorry Na’talia, but if you have not been made aware of what has been going on, then we all need to assume your cover has already been blown and they are looking for you too.’

  ‘How?’ Na’talia replied.

  ‘I wish I knew. But I’m going to try and find out. In the meantime, stay close to the package. Get in contact with Aaron and we will all meet up soon.’

  ‘What?’ Jay interrupted. ‘You mean you’re coming to New-York too?’

  ‘Shortly - yes. Pyro and I agreed it with Aaron on the phone earlier. Carter will be coming also.’

  Leon decided to cut in. ‘Is that going to be wise? All of us in the same place.’

  ‘Right now we have no choice.’ The Chief replied. ‘The net is closing in and so we all are going to have to fight back as one.’

  Leon hit a button on the side of the phone changing its settings from speaker to handset and then with the phone back to his ear said ‘Chief. What about Kerry?’

  Chief Edwards let out a sigh and then said ‘If we can’t find anywhere safe enough, she will have to come with us.’

  Leon was about to reply but was interrupted once again by Carter’s voice in the background. The phone went quiet for a minute before the Chief returned and said. ‘Ok guys. You’re all in good hands. I trust the three of you will look after each other. Be safe and I’ll be in contact soon.’

  With that, the call ended and the interior of the Yukon fell silent for a couple seconds before Na’talia blurted out, ‘Why didn’t you tell him about the papers?’

  ‘Why didn’t you?’ Jay exclaimed.

  Out of frustration Na’talia hit the steering wheel with the palms of her hands.

  Leon wanted to reassure her that not saying anything was the right decision, but again he decided to keep his thoughts and reasons to himself.

  CHAPTER 18

  The three of them sat quietly for several minutes as they followed the Black Nissan off of the Cross Bronx express way, onto the service lane and then left onto Castle Hill Road. Trailing a safe distance behind, Na’talia followed the Maxima until the driver turned onto Ellis Avenue and pulled into the parking lot of an unmarked warehouse - opposite a buss garage. Na’talia drove straight passed the parking-lot and parked on the other side of the intersection. The front of the Yukon was facing away from the warehouse, which meant Jay had to turn around in his seat to look through the back window.

  ‘Good thing this ride got tints.’ He said smiling.

  ‘Well, we know where they are now.’ Na’talia followed.

  Taking her phone out of its cradle on the dash, Na’talia removed the map on the screen with her thumb and then started to dial a number.

  ‘I’m calling Aaron.’ She said.

  ‘Wait. Not yet.’ Leon replied. ‘Let’s just see what happens first.’

  ‘Why… ?’ Na’talia retorted. ‘. . . Why does everything have to be a secret with you? We’re a team right?’

  Leon looked at her blankly.

  ‘What is with you… ?’ Na’talia exclaimed. ‘. . . We’ve been given a direct order. Why don’t you just be real and tell me what your problem is?’

  ‘You wanna know what my problem is?’ Leon replied

  ‘Yes,’

  ‘You really wanna know what my problem is?’

  ‘Yes, I really wanna know.’ Na’talia replied.

  ‘My problem is…’ Leon stopped mid-sentence because like Jay, his attention was drawn to the two cars entering into the parking-lot of the unmarked warehouse. Jay chuckled to himself and then said ‘Dang! Look at the whips these guys be driving.’

  Being a car and motorbike fanatic, Jay could not help but feel a little envious of the cars these so called terrorists had at their disposal. The two cars were identical, both of them had four doors, white in colour and with tinted windows they carried an air of power and elegance. Leon could not make out the name of the vehicles so he asked ‘What kinda car is that?’

  Before Jay could answer, Na’talia - who had been watching the cars in the reflection of her left wing mirror - cut in and said ‘They’re both Maserati Quattro Porte Sport GT S. 440 Brake-horse-power, MC-Auto shift and a 0-60, in less than 5 seconds.’

  Surprised with Na’talia’s answer, Jay flashed his head around and with his eyebrows raised said, ‘How’d you know that?’

  Na’talia refused to respond. She just shook her head and wandered why men were always surprised when a woman knew something more about a car besides the fact that it looked good.

  ‘Pig!’ She said under her breath.

  ‘Oink, Oink.’ Jay replied sarcastically.

  ‘Aight guys, chill.’ Leon interrupted.

  Motioning Jay’s attention back to the cars over in the parking-lot Leon said ‘Look.’

  With their sights all set on the two white Maserati’s that had now pulled up behind the black Maxima, they watched a short, stocky looking guy exit the black Nissan and walk over to the warehouse door. The guy had a shaved head but sported a full grown beard, that started from the side of his ears and covered the whole bottom half of his face. On first impressions he looked as if he was from the same part of the world as their earlier captors. From the Yukon they could see he was wearing black shoes, black cargo pants and a black jacket. As the guy walked up to the main door of the warehouse, Leon noticed the break-lights of the two new arrivals were glowing bright, which told him the engines were still running. Whoever was driving the two cars was not planning on staying.

  From their position the three of them watched the guy bang on the warehouse door repeatedly. He looked impatient, shifting from one foot to another. Jay noticed it too and said ‘Either this guy needs to take a piss or he got a twitch.’

  The guy kept on hitting the door until someone finally answered. Before the door was only a quarter the way open, the guy burst through, slamming it behind him.

  ‘What do you think that’s all about?’ Jay asked.

  Leon shrugged his shoulders. Na’talia removed her stare from the wing-mirror’s reflection just in time to see a black Mercedes S Class make the left onto their road and make its way up the street towards them.

  ‘Guys, look. I think we might be having a little party.’ Na’talia said.

  Both Leon and Jay turned in their seats and watched the Mercedes drive passed them, over the intersection and then make a right into the same parking lot as the Maxima and two Maserati’s.

  ‘We need to call Aaron now!’ Na’talia urged.

  Frowning Leon barked ‘No!’

  A little surprised at the tone in Leon’s voice Na’talia replied ‘Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.’

  It took Leon half a second to come up with at least 5 reasons but he decided to point her attention to just one.

  ‘Look Miss Na’talia. May be you didn’t notice but those two Maserati’s are not
sticking around. In fact look.’

  Pointing to the rear of the two white cars Leon directed Na’talia’s attention to the cars illuminated break lights.

  ‘See what I’m saying… !’ Leon stated. ‘. . . Their engines are still running. They haven’t even taken their foot off the break yet. You know what that means?’

  ‘They’re looking to be out in a hurry.’ Jay interjected.

  ‘Exactly’ Leon replied.

  Turning his attention back to Na’talia he said ‘There’s no point in calling the old man now. This is not where they are planning to drop the money and I doubt very much Karim is going to be caught dead in an area like this.’

  Before Na’talia could reply Jay blurted out ‘What the fuck is he doing here!’

  Instantly Leon and Na’talia turned their attention back to the cars in the parking-lot. To Leon’s surprise both rear doors of the black Mercedes were open and standing on either side was Black and Perry.

  ‘Wasn’t he in Miami when you spoke to him?’ Jay blurted out.

  Leon thought about the conversation he had with Black and tried to remember the sounds he heard in the background. However apart from Perry and Black’s rough voice, he heard nothing.

  ‘They must have been on a plane too.’ Leon said finally.

  Na’talia turned her attention back to Leon and said ‘I don’t care what you say. I’m calling Aaron now.’

  Na’talia started to dial but before she could hit the third digit Jay reached over her shoulder from the back seat and snatched the phone from out of her hand.

  ‘Why did you do that? You IDIOT! You’re going to let them all get away and you’re going to get us killed.’

  ‘Whoa! What have you been smoking?’ Jay replied. ‘Nobody’s gonna get killed. Leon’s old man ain’t here, so if my partner says we’re just gonna lay in the cut and chill, then We’re Just Gonna Chill… ! Aight.’

  Na’talia refused to reply. Leon could sense her fear. She knew something and she was doing all she could to hold it in. Leon was sure of it. Gently, Leon rested his hand on her arm, smiled and said

  ‘Look. I know what the old man told us. And believe me. We will call him. But we need to know what’s going on. We have the money, the papers and Black all in one place but no Karim.’