Lara scribbled a number. That is all that she needed for now.
XV
“She’s not as naïve as we’ve been assuming,” Sumaya told Natalia and Farah. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to keep her in the dark and simply send her away to someone in Turkey.”
Farah understood what she was talking about, even though she did not know all the details. Natalia understood much less. She waited in expectation of a more complete explanation. They were in Sumaya’s living room. Sumaya had perched on the side armchair and taken the unusual liberty of putting her bare feet up on the ottoman. The other two were seated on the sofa, all three in their usual black abayas, ornate with beads and crystals around the collars and the cuffs. The living room was bursting with the colors of several large bouquets of flowers, a gesture of gratitude from Manoj, no doubt paid for by Al Barmaka’s general budget for flowers in his own house, for her help with the various travel arrangements.
“She’s smart,” continued Sumaya. “Her family is a conservative peasant family in some primitive village and knows nothing about where she is and what she does. She is very attached to them and does not want them to know what has become of her. I let her contact her village and she had a chat with her oldest sister and her brother. The whole thing was quite dramatic, especially the chat with her brother.”
Farah was not aware of this but was not surprised.
“Does she want to go back home?” she asked.
“She did not tell me as much, but, crazy as it may sound to us, yes, I think she’d welcome a chance to go back.”
Natalia was noticeably uncomfortable with the conversation, in part because she did not know what had happened.
“Ms. Sumaya,” she said at last, certain that unless she started asking some questions, no one would volunteer the facts to her. “I personally wouldn’t count on her wanting to leave this behind and just go home to some primitive village. Sorry to be so skeptical, but it just doesn’t make sense. Aside from that, don’t you think it would be unsafe to let her go back home?”
“What do you mean, unsafe?” asked Farah.
“She can be easily found if she goes back home,” said Natalia. “She was recruited here in Dubai, if I recall correctly, right?” Both Sumaya and Farah nodded. “Sir bought her from her manager, who is from Armenia. Obviously, the manager runs an operation in Armenia. Do you think he wouldn’t find out that Leila had returned home to her village? Especially since Sir would launch a search for her, contact her manager and demand that he return Leila to him?”
Sumaya had thought about that, but Farah had not. She had assumed that their mission was to get Lara out of Dubai, without being implicated themselves. And she still argued that point.
“Look,” she said, “I think we’re complicating this. If Lara escapes to her village, her future here is finished, regardless of whether she is found or lost. Do you think Sir will trust her again after that? Or that he’ll decide to marry a girl that ran away from him?”
Sumaya had to admit that Farah had a point. Letting Lara return home might in fact be simpler than arranging for her to disappear. Knowing Lara, she did not believe that anyone could make her disappear for long anyway, unless they killed her. She’d find a way to contact home, now that she had the experience. But would she escape? And how could they help her escape without inviting any suspicion on them?
Natalia was not convinced. Having Lara escape to her village was not the safest strategy.
“Farah, maybe you’re right, but do we want to take that chance? Let me describe a different scenario for you. She escapes and returns to her village. Her former master finds her and brings her back. He has to, because if he does not he’s all but finished in Dubai. Okay so far?” Farah nodded. “Okay, now imagine our seventeen-year-old beauty, who has won his heart, and imagine her whispering all types of sweet nothings in his ear, blaming everyone for her disappearance, and crying her beautiful eyes out and apologizing, telling him how much she missed him while she was away, how she’d never, never try anything like that again, how she has fallen in love with him, and so on. Can you be sure that he won’t forgive her? Can you honestly tell me that her future would be really finished here? In fact, if I know anything about men and relationships, their bond might grow stronger after an episode like that.”
Sumaya and Farah were quiet. They actually had envisioned the scenario Natalia was talking about. Could it happen? Sure. But Farah was still very skeptical.
“Natalia, this is the Middle East,” she said. “Remember that Sir has bought her from the market here in Dubai. Let’s not forget that she’s a prostitute, like us. She may not be as professional, but she is one nonetheless. Granted, she may be young, pretty and unassuming, but let’s not forget the basics. I see your scenario, but I just don’t think it’s very likely. I could live with that risk. The risk we couldn’t live with is getting implicated in any of this.”
“Why live with the risk if we don’t have to? I understand taking calculated risks when we have to, but why do we have to in this case? I think that we’ll all be safer if once Leila leaves Dubai, she never returns and never sees Sir again. And arranging that might not be any more difficult than arranging her escape and return home.”
“Maybe, but I still say that it would be much easier to get her out of here if she believes she’s going home,” said Farah.
“You’re both right,” said Sumaya, who had been listening to the exchange between Farah and Natalia with fascination.
“What do you mean, Ms. Sumaya?” asked Natalia.
“She should leave thinking she’s going home, but she should never make it home and never return to Dubai. She should disappear. Until now we’ve been going about this all wrong.”
The girls were impressed. Sumaya had not only skillfully resolved their dispute, but what she was saying made a lot of sense. No wonder she is the boss, thought Farah. They saw Sumaya thinking, and did not want to interrupt by asking questions, even though they both were curious to know why she thought they had been going about it all wrong.
“As I said,” went on Sumaya, “she’s not naïve. We can’t take her for a fool and just send her away. She has to be the main mover of the process, not us. She has a lot of personal baggage, which only she can maneuver around.” Sumaya shifted her weight in the armchair, re-crossed her feet on the Ottoman, and looked like she was staring at one of the vases of long-stemmed red roses sent by Manoj. She was rubbing her forehead with her index finger.
“She does not fully trust anyone,” continued Sumaya. “She definitely does not want Farah involved in any of this, and she has not met Natalia yet, so that’s not an issue, at least not so far.”
Natalia controlled her burning desire to ask how and when she had met Farah; this was not the time to interrupt Sumaya.
“So we need to keep the two of you out of the picture. She’ll feel safer that way. She’s beginning to open up to me. If what she wants is something that breaks the rules, then she obviously will assume that she cannot trust me.”
Sumaya shifted again and re-crossed her feet, scratching the sole of one foot with the big toe of the other. Her abaya had moved up a bit, and the girls could see the heavy varicose veins above her right ankle.
“You two, on the other hand, are in this together and have to work together. I want to see you as one, as a team, and no more mistrust between you when it comes to this mission. Is that clear?”
They both nodded, even though they still did not understand exactly what the mission was.
“Here’s what we should try to do,” continued Sumaya. “Leila should go to Turkey first, with the expectation of continuing to Armenia via Georgia. But from Istanbul she should be diverted to Moscow. Staying in Turkey is too dangerous. She will eventually find a way to contact her family. So now you understand why the two of you have to cooperate?”
They both nodded again.
“Farah, your friend Apo has a critical role to play. He should take over in Istanbu
l and put her on a plane to Moscow almost immediately. Natalia, your folks have to meet her at the airport in Moscow and take her away. Apo may have to send someone with her on the plane, just to be safe. She is a minor after all, even though her Russian passport says she is twenty-two. All this will cost a lot of money, which I will cover. But the two of you have to handle almost all of the logistics outside of Dubai. So, to be very clear, here is how the tasks are divided: I cover all costs and am responsible for putting Leila on a plane from Dubai to Istanbul; Farah is fully responsible for her from the minute the plane lands in Istanbul to when she lands in Moscow. Then Natalia’s folks are in charge, to make sure that she ‘disappears’ in Russia. We’ll discuss and agree on details, but I want you to understand and accept these responsibilities, subject to sorting out of the details.”
Natalia was impressed. “I agree,” she said, “subject to all of us agreeing on the details. It is important that we all know all the segments, even if they fall outside of our responsibility. And I also want to be clear on what ‘disappear’ means.”
Farah was less enthusiastic. “Is all this really necessary?” she asked. “I mean all the phases, all the trips and the ‘disappearing’? Are we exaggerating the threat in the first place?”
“We’re not exaggerating the threat,” said Sumaya. “Sir has now started bringing Armenian music to her. Has he ever brought you Turkish music? And he even listens to the music with her. Every day the risks increase. I’ve seen no signs of ‘growing cold’ yet; on the contrary, every day they grow warmer. And knowing Sir, and how he likes to be different, he may decide to marry this seventeen-year-old Armenian girl to make a statement. It’s been done before. And then there won’t be any room here for either of you, I promise you that.”
“Okay,” said Farah, still showing some skepticism. “But isn’t he going to marry someone sooner or later? Aren’t we better off with this inexperienced kid than someone else?”
“Not really,” said Sumaya, a bit tired of Farah’s questions. “If he does not marry soon, his family will arrange something for him and force him into it. Probably a cousin, whom he does not care for, nor she for him. There will be no passion there. None of this will be at risk then,” said Sumaya as she swept her arm widely, covering Farah, Natalia and the living room at large.
“Okay,” said Farah again. “How do we sort out the details?”
“We don’t have everything yet, but here is what I am thinking. There are a few trips coming up for Sir. One of them is for a week in Asia, which may even get extended. During that week, I’ll offer Leila a five or six day home-leave, but it will be strictly our secret. She will leave Dubai with her face covered. I’ll arrange for a driver from outside the compound. No one here will know anything about it. She will go to the airport and check in alone. That is a risk we’ll have to take. The driver can help her through to passport control, and then she’ll be fine. If she believes she’s going home, she won’t create any problems. She’ll do exactly as instructed. Another option is to drive her to Oman and have her fly from there, to add an extra layer of precaution. That way passport control and customs officials here won’t be involved. Also, I know an Omani driver here in Dubai whom I trust. So that could be a safe option. I’ll check the flights and Sir’s schedule, and decide. But this will happen in the coming two weeks. So we need to be ready with the other parts of the plan.”
“Okay, so she lands in Istanbul,” said Farah. “Then either Apo or someone he sends meets her at the airport, I presume with a sign, and takes her to one of Apo’s safe houses. She’ll believe that her next destination is in Georgia, probably Tbilisi. I’ll check the flight details. I suggest that they also promise her a cell phone, so she can contact her family. So far it’s easy. But now they need to put her on the next flight to Moscow, right? How? The only way is to have her drugged, which may arouse a lot of suspicion at the airport. So Apo has to use his contacts at customs and passport control. It can be done, but it will take a lot of bribes. That increases the cost. Ideally, she should be drugged and have an escort caretaker, plus have the airport officials alerted and bribed. Then we can get her on the plane and off the ground. Then God help the escort if she wakes up before they land!”
“How long is the direct flight to Moscow?” asked Sumaya.
“Around three hours,” said Farah.
“That’s manageable,” said Sumaya. “There are other risks in your plan, but we’ll discuss those later.”
Then she turned to Natalia. “So what happens when they land in Moscow?” she asked.
“We have many options,” answered Natalia, “but probably the best bet is for me to contact my old manager, Anton. He can take her over, and move her out of Moscow, if necessary, even though if this Leila is as beautiful as you say, he’ll try to work her into the Moscow market.”
“That wouldn’t constitute ‘disappearing’,” said Farah.
“That won’t do at all,” said Sumaya. “Leila probably knows her way around Moscow much better than Istanbul. The reason we’re sending her to Moscow is to take her out of circulation.”
“Out of circulation?” asked Natalia.
“You said it is easy to make people disappear in Moscow.”
“Are you saying that we want her dead?” Natalia’s question was deliberate, but cold. She wanted to be very clear about what her instructions were. She would not be shocked or surprised at all if they decided to have her killed.
“We want her out of circulation,” repeated Sumaya. “Out of our circulation. Maybe she could end up as a maid in some remote village in Russia. Or the wife of a peasant in Siberia. I don’t care. If all else fails, maybe she could be the victim of an accident. But that wouldn’t be my first choice.”
“The wife of a peasant in Siberia,” repeated Natalia. “Now there’s a thought.”
“Well, I’ve read that that’s where people generally disappeared during Soviet times. I don’t know these things. What is the safe thing to do? But I do know that we can’t have her go to work in Moscow.”
“Then Anton won’t do,” said Natalia. “I better contact my uncle Arkadiy in Krasnodar. He runs a different operation than Anton. He is a recruiter; Anton is a manager. We need Arkadiy in this case.”
“Where is Kras..what?” asked Farah.
“Krasnodar. It is a town in Southern Russia, on the Kuban river. Picturesque and attractive to tourists. A two-hour flight from Moscow. My uncle runs his operation from there. I grew up there. He can take care of Leila just like we want.”
“Are there direct flights from Istanbul to Krasnodar?” asked Sumaya. “Connecting flights in Moscow may not be the most convenient, under the circumstances.”
“I’m not sure, but that’s easy to check. And even if there aren’t, my uncle has a lot of contacts both at Moscow airport and in Krasnodar. He can handle the situation easily once she lands in Moscow.”
“Okay,” said Sumaya. She sounded tired. “That’s all we can agree on right now. We have made the overall plan, and we’ll have to regroup for the details. There are still a lot of risks involved. The key ones are related to these people: Apo and the uncle in Russia. Why should they do as we ask? That is a huge risk. Even if we pay them what they want, we have no guarantee that they’ll deliver. So we need to plan this very carefully.
“We need to talk to them,” said Farah. “How can we arrange that?”
“You both must come back here this evening,” said Sumaya. “I will have a safe cell phone. Farah will call Apo and Natalia will call her uncle from here, on that cell phone. There can be no other communication overseas whatsoever. We’ll do everything from this house, is that clear? No conversations in your houses are safe, as you may have guessed by now.”
Natalia knew that her place was bugged, but Farah did not. They both agreed to return later and left.
Avo was with Laurian at the westernmost tip of his property, at the edge of the spectacular ravine where his property ended. Boundless valleys, rivers,
lesser plateaus and meadows spread before them as far as the eye could see.
This was only his second day in Vardahovit, and he was already overwhelmed with the new information about Ayvazian and his operation in the region. Until now, he had not given any of this much thought; he had assumed that his parents knew what they were doing, and that they would never have agreed to anything that put Lara in harm’s way. Even his father’s initial rejection of the Ayvazian proposal had not rung any alarm bells until Laurian had brought it up. Then his accidental death, right there in Sevajayr and subsequently Lara’s departure. And now the breathtaking view, which reminded him of one of his father’s readings from the Bible, where the devil took Jesus to the mountaintop to tempt him. It must have looked something like this, he thought. Imagine being offered dominion over everything your eye can see. That’s what that story Papa used to read must have been all about.
Avo could not decide whether to focus on the awesome scenery or what Laurian had just shown him in Sevajayr, after showing him some of Hayk’s most telling photos. That’s when the phone call came. He did not hear it at first, and when he did, he was tempted not to even bother answering, thinking he could always return a missed call, which could only have been from home. But then he thought of his sick mother, and wondered if this could be the dreaded call summoning him home, and reached in his pocket in a panic and answered.
“Avo jan, kyank, du es? Avo, my life, is it you?” It was unmistakably Lara’s voice. He froze for a moment. He felt the perspiration in his palms and forehead. He looked at Laurian, who could tell that this was no ordinary call, but could not be sure yet whether it was good news or bad. Avo had not said a word, other than his initial ‘alo.’ He waited for a few seconds, then mouthed the question ‘ov e?’ who is it? without saying anything out loud.
Meanwhile, Lara came on again. “Avo, du es? Mi ban asa. Avo, is it you? Say something.”
A Place Far Away Page 26