The morning after Naseem and Dodi met in the former's residence, Dodi went to see his friend, Murad Al Shehi at the Immigration Department. Dodi gave Ibrahim's full name and told him everything Naseem relayed the night before about Ibrahim's demand and threat. Investigation showed several people of the same name in the country alone but they will look into each of the names, Murad promised. And they'd go through the entries and exits in the country of the same people. Murad assured Dodi of his department's full cooperation on the matter and will get in touch with him as soon as the department finds something helpful. He will also inform the police force should something suspicious come up. Dodi thanked Murad and likewise assured him he's free to call him any time of the day or whenever. He felt a little relief, but not quite.
He was really worried about Yasmin. He wondered how she is faring in Kazakhstan. Her face and Jamil's had already graced the local paper on the announcement of their engagement. Yes, it would indeed be easy to identify her should anything happen to her but, the people wanting to harm her will know her as well. He hoped Murad can help them in this matter.
Then he'd thought of Zora arriving tomorrow. He will have to pick her up from the airport and take her to her hotel. Maybe they could have dinner before he leaves her alone in the hotel. He'll try to call Yasmin and tell her about her mother's arrival in Dubai, but for sure, Zora had already spoken to her. Should he open up about this problem? But she'd be worrying, and he didn't want that. He let out a heavy sigh.
***
Mona is arriving today, Naseem remembered. He asked if he would pick her up from the airport when he called her, but as always, Mona dismissed his offer and insisted on taking a cab straight to her accommodation. No need to bother, she told Naseem. She'll wait for him at the apartment. Naseem closed his eyes.
This will be the first time he won't be sleeping with her on her first night in Dubai. He can't because he won't be able to perform to her satisfaction. How can he? He was anxious over Ibrahim's threat. And she might suspect that something is wrong. But he would like them to have dinner at least. He's missed her for a long while now and he's feeling guilty for her and Jamil.
But he can't tell Mona about this problem. What if nothing happens or they could avert the threat? He could just be worrying her over nothing and causing her anxiety. He would very much want her to stay in the Abdallah residence, but knowing Mona, she'd say it is not appropriate, especially as Fayed and Layla live there too. His ex-wife might hear of it from her kids, she'd surely say.
Jamil lives separately, and if Yasmin arrives, she'd stay with him. Mona wouldn't want to impose on her son. He's an adult now and they both respect his privacy. Perhaps Naseem could ask Jamil to consider his request that they all stay together in their family residence during this odd time, just to set his mind at ease.
Zora just arrived at Dubai airport, and Dodi will pick her up. She's anxious, especially after hearing Dodi tell her he'd missed her. It's been too long. He can't still be feeling the same way for her, she tried to convince herself. That would be impossible, she thought.
For him and Yasmin to connect, that's okay. Yasmin deserved to know her father, and it would be nice to have Dodi at her wedding. That was one of her wishes for Yasmin. For her father to hand her over to Jamil in marriage. The thought alone made her smile.
But for her and Dodi? It doesn't seem right anymore. He has a daughter too from his marriage. What will his daughter say about her and for his dad to marry again? And if they will live together, it will be in his house where his wife once lived and where his daughter still lives with him. She won't feel comfortable, she thought. No, no, they're not young anymore. They can stay as friends for the rest of their lives for the sake of their daughters.
She was glad and proud of Yasmin for having accepted her dad so easily despite his long absence in her life. She's happy for them. She called Yasmin before she left Manila for Dubai to tell her that Dodi had asked her to be present in Dubai to meet with the Abdallah family.
It's good that Yasmin is fine and happy, even if she's far from Jamil. She's heard from Yasmin about the day she baked cookies with Dodi's daughter and Jamil's sister. She's pleased that Yasmin knows how to handle them well. She has matured.
Thank God she and Jamil are back together. There's nothing else she had wished and prayed for all these years but for them to find each other again. She knows the feeling of loving someone and missing the person. She's been there too, and when Yasmin had cried so much for Jamil, her heart would almost burst. She cried for them, too.
But what happened to Jamil? If he didn't get married, then why didn't he call Yasmin or get in touch with her during those years? And now, they're suddenly engaged. It surprised her. She didn't know that they had met again. She'll hear from Yasmin when they would meet again. Yasmin has promised her she'll tell her all about Jamil during those five years.
But right now, where's Dodi? She was about to take her phone from her bag when Dodi started picking up her luggage and asking her to follow him to the parking lot. There was silence from then on until they reached her hotel. It was only after he had checked her in and carried her luggage into her room that Dodi asked if they could dine at the hotel. Zora agreed. He left her in the room to freshen up while he waited for her in the hotel lobby.
***
Although the danger was looming ahead and hovering near, Jamil couldn't help but immerse himself at work. He's got a lot to attend to.
But he meets with the CSA Team so often now. He had asked his staff to come up with suggestions on how they could reinforce security around the department. At the moment, only allowed personnel in CSAT can access any equipment or property in the department. All documents are under lock and key. No one can remove a document from the department without the head's permission. Everyone should log their incoming and outgoing calls. They had to adhere to the new rules and regulations, the restrictions, and the procedures. Jamil had apologized for the inconvenience but claimed it was necessary; not only for the car shipment but also for their lives. He asked them to keep abreast with the forthcoming changes in the department, as there will be additional security from the police intelligence in the days to come before the shipments' arrival.
***
Maha, the female INTEL of TG, had now arrived and settled in Bur Dubai. She came ahead of Taher and the new team of Ibrahim for a purpose. TG had given Ibrahim's home address in Dubai and she stayed close to the predator as she calls Ibrahim. She scouted for an apartment she can lease for this assignment close to Ibrahim's flat, as they call it in the United Arab Emirates as it was once a British Residency in the Persian Gulf. She found one, small and bare, but she didn't mind because she's not here to stay. She's here to tail Ibrahim before the operations will start and this is the best time. She could gauge if he had prepared well for the operation by now. Maha bought the pieces of equipment and the things she will need like a binocular, bugging devices, tiny cameras, and even two sets of the abaya.
Her flat overlooked Ibrahim's on the opposite side of the road; she can see his movements in the living and the dining rooms but not in the bedroom. The curtains were quite thick. But it's okay, it will do, she thought.
It surprised her yesterday that he went to the airport, to the Astana counter. Is he flying out somewhere? At this point of the preparation, does he still have time to travel? Or is he waiting for someone to arrive? Someone who would help him succeed in this assignment? If not, then why bother at this point? There's a lot to do, and it seemed to Maha he hadn't even started anything yet. So, what was he doing at the Astana counter?
Maha was wearing the abaya and sipping coffee at a stall just a short distance from the counter. Ibrahim seemed to know the guy he's talking to, and the guy was showing him a document. What could that be? She wondered. Her back was facing the men, but her small mirror allowed her to observe what's going on behind her. Finally, Ibrahim bid the man goodbye. Now, she will know. She moved to the counter and took the seat Ibrahim vacated.
"Oh, hi! I wonder if my brother's been here already. He was in this black printed shirt and blue jeans. Our mother asked me to know what he's up to again," she said.
The man immediately nodded. "Yes, yes, but he didn't book a flight. He was just asking if he could check whether his wife had finally booked her flight home. He said their kids are waiting for her."
"Oh, I see, and has he known if she is coming home soon?"
The man apologizes, but they can't divulge the information Ibrahim needed. The passenger manifest is supposedly confidential.
"Oh my, no wonder he's out of his wits these days. My nephew and niece must miss their mother," she said.
She put on a sad, concerned face that would elicit pity from the man. The man smiled, moved his chair a little closer to the table between them.
"I helped him still. I confirmed she is coming home four days from today," the man whispered.
And he folded the manifesto to show only Yasmin's name to her and hid the others on the list.
"You're so nice. Many thanks for your help indeed," she said.
She asked for the day, time, and flight number of Yasmin. and thanked the man again. Yasmin Barbosa, she thought. Who is she? She laughed, remembering Ibrahim's excuse that their kids were crying for their mom to come home.
"Nice one. The man is very creative," she smirked.
She has to find out about her. Maha went back to her flat. She hadn't seen which direction Ibrahim went, so she'll see if he's back in his flat.
Meanwhile, she'd like to know about the woman Ibrahim is so interested in. She'll check the internet if there's something she could read about the woman. Yasmin Barbosa, Yasmin Barbosa, Yasmin Barbosa. She kept repeating the name on her lips soundlessly so she won't forget it until she arrives at her flat. She can't risk writing it, though.
***
Ibrahim was now wondering why Naseem hadn't called him yet. Just three days left of the one week he's given him to consider his demand. He'll give him until tomorrow before he will call to remind him and should he still refuse to appoint him, he'd start mobilizing his team to Dubai for this operation. He's hungry, and the heat was giving him a headache, he'll go home, nap, and go out later again.
Meantime, he had to prepare a blueprint of Dubai airport and plan where to grab Yasmin by force if she will not cooperate willingly; he said. It would have been more convenient to have his three friends with him right now so he could plan this with them. He can't be at the airport at all; they will have to bring Yasmin out of the airport and into his car. They have installed cameras around, they could catch him. Should he ask TG now for permission to mobilize his men earlier? He's spending more time planning how to take Yasmin rather than the shipment.
Without Ibrahim knowing, Maha knows that Yasmin completely distracted him. And she won't hesitate to report this to TG so they wouldn't have to expect much from Ibrahim's operation. She might as well spend her time planning for a backup plan.
Ibrahim thinks he needed to put his plans detailedly on paper. So by the time his friends arrive, he can just walk them through his blueprints. He took his drawing pad, pencil, ruler, and phone, pushed the curtains in the living room to the side, and sat by the window to start with his plan. He called it, "Operation Yasmin."
Meanwhile, across the street, Maha had already been sitting behind her glass windows' curtains with her powerful binoculars. It had the best magnification, and she can see from where she's hiddenly seated what Ibrahim is writing now. The man is a lunatic; she thought. He even wrote on his pad, "Operation Yasmin."
TG was right. Ibrahim can't let go of any woman he wants. The man had moved from the country into the city but he had never changed; she thought. What was the famous proverb? She tried to remember.
"You can take the boy out of the country, but you can never take the country out of the boy," she thought. She squinted as daylight met her eyes on the binocular's lenses.
It wasn't hard to find out about the woman. "Oh, my," she thought. She's been in the local papers with her fiance lately. She's soon to be the daughter-in-law of Ibrahim's boss, Naseem Al Abdallah, and this man has lustful desires for the woman.
"I had better let TG know about it this early."
The men might arrive soon, and Maha had to move in with Taher and pose as his wife. She will continue to rent this flat opposite Ibrahim's, but she can't come here as often, without Taher suspecting. Taher doesn't know what she and the TG had prepared as a backup plan for this operation.
She has to visit the Al Abdallah showroom and see for herself where Yasmin's fiance works and how she will approach him in the future.
When this shipment interception operation fails because of Ibrahim's inept planning or because he has once again deviated from the primary plan because of a woman, at least she and TG could still have another source of funds for the organization.
Yap, she'd better move on. Every second counts now. And she has to visit the port area and the nearby peripheral areas too. She has to think ahead of Ibrahim. She's not in INTEL if she is not one of the best minds in the organization, if not the very best, as TG once said. She was going to prove this to TG once again. After this operation, she might take the post as the second-in-command in the organization.
Maha changed into a decent dress and topped that with her abaya. She'll pose as a buyer for a new car, ask about the company, and perhaps try to see where Yasmin's fiance is holding his office. She will need his mobile and office phone numbers. If she is lucky enough, even his home phone number, and home address or addresses. Everything she can learn from a friendly and gullible customer service assistant.
So, Yasmin Barbosa works in Kazakhstan and flies to Dubai from time to time, or her fiance, the other way around, Maha thought. And Ibrahim knew of this, and just like with the car shipment, he planned to intercept Yasmin as soon as she landed in Dubai.
Where does Ibrahim plan to take her? Will he be taking the plane with her? For sure, not. By that time, the family had reported to the Police department that Yasmin had not reached her intended destination in Dubai. By then, the police had already sealed all exits in the entire Dubai airport and radioed all the other airports in the other emirates.
So, if not by plane, possibly by boat or ship. As soon as her mind thought the words, boat or ship, she suddenly had that eerie feeling of a déjà vu! She was open-mouthed for a while. She shook her head, realizing that Ibrahim was not thinking straight at all.
It doomed the operation from the onset of planning; she thought. She now knew what Ibrahim had in mind. The car shipment and Yasmin will happen simultaneously. He was going to hide Yasmin inside one car after knocking her out. He'll put her inside the trunk of the car while she is unconscious. What if she won't make it? She'll be out of air! Unless there's an air vent that will be open. But he's risking her life. She could die of suffocation if she's not out of the trunk soon. They will load the cars into containers.
With all these thoughts suddenly attacking her nervous system, she took a seat. How can she take her out of the trunk without Ibrahim or his cohorts knowing? If she takes her out of the trunk, where can she hide her if they are in the waters? She needs someone's help from the outside.
There are fishing boats around. What if she arranges with one of these boats to take a body bag with them and put this along with their fish catch in a man-size container? The body bag was the only way she can think of now as Yasmin's means of escape. Never mind if she will smell of fish, at least she won't die of that. She can clean up as soon as she's out of the eagle's claws.
Ibrahim has no qualms at all about the woman's circumstances. She could die and he wouldn't even care one bit. It's his dick that's dictating his norm of conduct in this operation. No wonder TG is hell-bent on disposing of him if he will commit another grievous mistake. Maha knows, he's bound to make one again.
To help Yasmin out of her forthcoming doom, she'll need Taher's help. Maha will have to go with the fishing boat and hide Yasmin somewhere on land. But what if she'll have no chance to leave the boat or the barge? Will Ibrahim mind at all if she disappears during the transit? She has to pay someone to hide Yasmin. Someone she can trust to do it for her. The person can't allow her to escape or make a call. She will need Yasmin for their Plan B. She'll have to see her when it will be possible for her to leave her post. She can't risk being suspected by Ibrahim or his men.
The rescue has to happen in Dubai. But what if a problem arises to make it impossible? Where could it possibly happen? It would be harder if it involved another country in this. But she has to consider the possibility that rescuing her may not happen in Dubai or anywhere in the United Arab Emirates. Her passport and phone would be very helpful, but surely, Ibrahim will certainly have confiscated them first as soon as she gets a hold of her so she can't make calls and she'll have no identification documents at all when she crosses borders. Ibrahim might dispose of her phone or her entire bag in one of the airport's garbage bins.
How can she talk to Taher before they will meet Ibrahim and his three men? Perhaps she could ask TG to delay the mobilization of the three men? She'll ask him to send Taher earlier than them. That way, she'll have time alone with Taher to plan before Ibrahim starts with the operation. She looked at her watch. It's not 3 p.m. yet. She still has time to go to the Al Abdallah car showroom. Maha drove as fast as she could.
Maha took time to look around the surroundings of the Al Abdallah showroom from the parking lot. Even when she had parked the car, she stayed inside for a long time, looking through the glass walls of the building. She's carefully scrutinizing the people inside, picking who to approach. She would want to find someone who is bubbly, talkative, and friendly. Someone she could ask a single question and who would answer a mile-long, volunteering a lot of information. She had a lot of experience gathering information as part of her job. Chatty people make mistakes, they don't realize that they're spilling valuable information. Observing from outside, she can see that one woman, the youngest one, seems to fit the bill. She went inside. She sought her and indeed she was so happy to serve her.
Maha asked her what car she would recommend that will be easy to navigate in Dubai, especially during the day when there was such heavy traffic congestion? The girl showed her the cars; she opened the first one and started enumerating several features the car has, until later on, Maha started asking her about the owner of the business. And it wasn't long before the staff gave her what she wanted to know.
She had mentioned the names of the owner's children, but her thoughts were somewhere. She can only remember the last name she mentioned, Layla. She was saying they are the children of the owner. She knows where Yasmin's fiance now holds his office; his contact numbers, office, mobile phone, and email address. Even the couple's engagement came up, but anyway, that is already public knowledge. She hadn't known the fiance's home address though, but the Al Abdallah residence had once graced a magazine according to the staff and she was about to show it on a double-page spread on the magazine when Maha looked at her watch.
It's getting late, and she still had to see the port. Maha asked her if she can just have the magazine, she'll look it up when she gets home, she said. Satisfied with what she had accomplished for the day, Maha thanked the staff and took some of the offered brochures.
On her way to the parking lot, she seemed to remember a sickly girl by the name of Layla. She used to live opposite an enormous villa where three siblings lived, two boys and the sickly girl taken outside for a breath of fresh air in a wheelchair. The eldest was such a doting brother to her. He would carry her on his shoulder to take her inside the house when she falls asleep in her wheelchair.
She doesn't see him for the entire year; he goes home during school time. They have said hello several times when she throws the trash in that big trash bin by the road. He was handsome. She was beautiful, too. They would smile at each other and say a few greetings. Although he looked Arabic, he seemed to have some Asian features too; she thought then.
She admitted then that she not only had a big crush on him. She was falling in love with him. She watches him from her bedroom window behind the curtains. He caught her once and waved at her from in front of their villa.
He was around 17 years old and she was a year younger, she'd known from his sister Layla of his age. She knew he liked her, too. He would look up at her window sometimes. He saw him do that twice. Did he like her? How could he like her then?
She was just a household helper in the smaller villa opposite theirs. Her aunt from the southern part of her country took her to Dubai after a militant group in their province recruited her. The group took her after burning their house, trained her to become a militant, and she had served the group, cooking their food and washing the men's clothes. She was leaving for Libya for further training when at the airport she sensed a commotion. Soldiers were checking the passports of the passengers bound for Qatar via Qatar Airways, and she's on that flight. From Qatar, she will fly to Benghazi, Libya. Someone will pick them up to take them to the training camp. But this passport checking had unnerved her. She can't show her passport, they'll catch her. She had to get out of the airport fast.
There were three of them on the flight as trainees and saw her two co-trainees moved towards the other end of the airport. She went to join them. Someone's waiting for them at the other end to help them.
After separating from her co-trainees, she went to find a relative of her aunt in Manila who got in touch with her aunt, who was then working in Dubai. Her aunt took her to Dubai. That was how she ended up in Dubai. How she joined the organization is another story.
She'll see if she can still go to Dubai port where the shipment will arrive and have a look-see around the port area. So far, so good. She can see that there were a few fishing boats, but they were a distance away. But can they approach the barges or the bigger ships that will carry the shipment? She wondered. She had to ask a lot of questions from the local fishers and port workers. It will be dark soon. She'll note all her observations in her small notebook and make some plans on the hurdles that could arise on that day. Time to go back to the flat. Ibrahim will go out again. She'd like to know his nightly routine as well and his friends.
***
It was around 7 p.m. when Naseem arrived in Mona's apartment. This is where Mona stays since the start of her relationship with Naseem. She isn't comfortable staying in the hotel, especially as everyone knows Naseem in the business circle. It is not surprising to meet one or two people who would know Naseem and Mona finds it humiliating always being introduced as Jamil's mother. The other person wouldn't even know how to react sometimes. Although they were polite to offer a handshake and she would accept them, it didn't erase the fact that she will always be Jamil's mom. What is she to Naseem must be the question in the other person's mind?
Naseem found this place for her, and she likes it. He had rented the apartment for Mona to stay in whenever she arrives in Dubai. It's near the sea, there's a walkway and a park which is near to the place. She can easily drive to the city center or the supermarket if she needs anything. It's a quiet place and quite secluded. She likes it. Mona had started a small garden and decorated the pathway with stones and gravel. There are a few date trees too. The apartment owner included ground and building maintenance in the payment so she does not have to worry about her plants dying.
And whenever Naseem comes, he can just drive through the parking space at the back. There's a black iron gate they will have to open to park their cars. The surroundings are clean. Mona loves to look at the waters in the morning while sipping a cup of coffee. She can see some residents walking their dogs by the seashore.
Sometimes, she'd grill some meat or fish in the garden over her portable griller and sit on one of the garden lounging chairs. Her life would seem lonely for some, but Mona is used to this kind of life when in Dubai. She'd bring a pocketbook to read by the seashore sometimes.
Naseem brought a bottle of red wine for the evening. Mona had prepared the table. She unlocked the door as soon as she heard Naseem parked the car below. When Mona opened the door, Naseem kissed her on the lips, closed his eyes, and hugged her tightly, his right arm caressing her back while the other held the bottle of wine. That was a long kiss. When Naseem ended the kiss, Mona kissed him on one cheek and greeted him while taking the wine bottle from his hand to put it on the kitchen countertop.
He told himself that he won't be able to touch Mona this evening because he's anxious about his problem and may not sexually perform to her satisfaction but after kissing her, he couldn't help it. He can feel a strong, lusty stirring in his loins and it needs to be satisfied. Mona must have felt his erection when he hugged her earlier. It can't even wait after dinner. It has to be now.
Naseem hugged her from behind while Mona opened the wine bottle. He's missed her so much; he said. He can't seem to take his hands off her. He cupped both her breasts with his hands and squeezed and kneaded them, pinching her nipples while he kissed her neck, cheek, and lips. Mona closed her eyes. He made her face him again and took her mouth for another long kiss while his hands rubbed her back and bottom. He asked if she's already hungry.
"Why?" Mona asked.
Naseem whispered in her ear while he kissed her cheek that he won't be able to stay for the night, but if it's okay with her, he would like to have a quick one with her before dinner. Then he kissed her again, squeezing her left breast with his right hand while his left hand cupped the back of her head. Naseem was trying to arouse her so she would give in, but he didn't have to because Mona put her hand around his waist and pulled him with her into the bedroom. Naseem has finally asked Mona what he wanted to know for a long time. Mona needed no words. She showed it in action. He understood. It wasn't a quick one, as he promised. He lied. Their dinner followed two hours later.
***
Zora didn't take long to freshen up and change. She was down just fifteen minutes after Dodi left her in the room. He led her to the dinner buffet of the hotel and seated themselves at the far end table overlooking the people who were having their dinner outside on the lawn. Dodi kept on assisting Zora, filling up her glasses with water and wine before he filled his.
Zora told Dodi that she had talked to Yasmin and knew about the weekend she had with her sister and Jamil's sister.
Dodi admitted not to being home because Naseem came for him early in the morning. They went to the mosque before meeting up with some of their friends for lunch, which lasted until dinner, followed by shisha smoking later in the evening.
But Amina filled him in, he said. She was all praises of Yasmin; he told Zora. She was just too happy to have a big sister. Dodi said he had never seen Amina that happy for a long time. She even told him she had kissed Yasmin on the cheek and Yasmin kissed her back. To Amina, Yasmin is such a loving sister.
It was Yasmin who had advised her to admit to him her feelings for Fayed. Likewise, Jamil had advised his brother as well. That's why Dodi told Zora that after Jamil and Yasmin, they will look forward to another marital union from the same family again after a year or two. Dodi said he can't ask for more. He knows that his two girls will be well-loved and taken care of by their spouses.
Should Amina marry, he will be by himself in his home, he said. Will she accept his offered love and marriage proposal? He would love to grow old by her side if she would accept him again. He still loves her. He has never stopped loving her. Zora didn't reply. She was silently listening to Dodi. She hasn't even touched her food yet. Then, Dodi held her left hand with his right on the table and asked her not to rush answering him that night. She'll be in town for a week, he said. She has enough time to think about it. Zora nodded, and they continued to eat almost in silence aside from the one or two questions Dodi asked and she answered.
***
It was 9 p.m. when Maha saw Ibrahim finally drive out of his parking space. She was already waiting at the curve. It took him too long to get ready for a man, Maha sighed. She had waited for too long. But anyway, where is he going? She thought.
When Ibrahim finally took a turn and parked, she saw it was a bar. She parked a distance away from his car and entered after she was sure that Ibrahim had already passed through the main door. So, she has to pass the man by the door. Could this be for members only? She bowed her head in greeting to the doorman; he asked nothing, just smiled at her. Okay, so it is not. Where did Ibrahim go? She saw him by the bar, and he seemed to have friends waiting for him. So, is he a regular here? Maha thought. She sat at a table near the bar with her back exactly to Ibrahim's, who was sitting on a high stool. Maha reached for something inside her abaya. He was laughing with the other men. Then a tall, equally bulky guy patted Ibrahim's back.
"Kamal!" Ibrahim greeted.
"So, how are you these days?" Kamal asked Ibrahim.
"Same, same," Ibrahim replied with a laugh.
"Are you still with Naseem?" Kamal asked.
Ibrahim hesitated for a while. But later, replied, "Yeah, of course."
"I heard a new shipment is arriving. What cars do you have this time?" Kamal asked.
Ibrahim answered that those were repeat orders. Those were bookings from clients earlier that were not delivered. And the conversation went on.
Then, Maha was about to go to the restroom when Kamal whispered to Ibrahim.
"So, are you okay now? Jamil and Yasmin finally announced their engagement in public. Time to move on, man. Find yourself another woman," Kamal jested.
Maha remained seated and waited for Ibrahim to reply.
"They are just engaged, aren't they? And even if he had married her, can't the woman change her mind? Does that mean, Jamil owns the woman just because they are engaged?"
Kamal frowned and was indignant.
"Of course! Hey, find your own woman. There is someone out there for you. You can't force yourself on a woman who is already engaged to marry someone," said Kamal.
Ibrahim stood up from the stool and faced Kamal. They were nearer to Maha now, and she could hear them well.
"Kamal, I told you something before. I can have any woman I want by any means," Ibrahim warned.
Not wanting to discuss with Ibrahim further, Kamal patted his shoulder and nodded. Kamal moved away from Ibrahim and turned his attention to his other friends seated at the bar.
A while later, Kamal was laughing with the others while Ibrahim sat back on his stool, mulling over what he'd just said to Kamal. He's regretting having said that to Kamal. Should something happen to Yasmin, Kamal will be quick to pinpoint him to Jamil or anyone.
Maha had been recording Ibrahim's conversation with the group since she sat there that evening. She was glad she followed Ibrahim tonight. She has enough evidence to nail the man down when needed. She can go home now and call TG. And she saw the other man's face, Kamal. She has a witness she can name.
***
Ibrahim awoke to another day, and he was getting closer to the end of Naseem's seven-day period to decide. Either he appoints him to the post he wanted or risks his shipment being diverted to the organization, he thought. But he doubts if Naseem will appoint him. The man revealed his true colors at the spa. He hated him. If looks could kill, he could have died that day. Naseem simply abhors him now. He's of no use to him now that Jamil is running the company well and his other son, Fayed, would soon follow. With the two men steering the company's wheels, Naseem could sit at home and relax.
He'd drafted his plans for this mission. He's heading it, so it should go according to his plans. At the time of the car shipment interception at the location marked on the blueprint, they should have already taken Yasmin from the airport and brought her to that point at the same time. She has to be unconscious so she won't cause any attention, and they can load her quietly in the car. He'll remind the guys to leave a small air vent for her source of oxygen.
Although the sensible move is to continue on their journey uninterrupted until they reach the shipment destination, he has to remove Yasmin from the car inside the container or she'll suffocate; he said. He'll ask his three men to continue with the journey as soon as he and Yasmin had disembarked at a certain port. He'll just take Yasmin to his already prepared room at a warehouse, handcuffed both her hands and legs, and will join them fast before they reach the destination. But he'll make sure that drinking water and biscuits are available near her so she can drink and eat when she wakes up.
But he has one problem. What about the Libyan guy, Taher? He shouldn't know. But he won't be able to hide it from him. He will know when they will stop the barge and he would wonder why they are stopping because it is not on the plan. He will see them unload Yasmin. Unless he takes him into his confidence, can he get him to his side and not report him to TG?
There is no problem with the woman. She can go wherever she wants. He doesn't care at all. Why did TG even give him a woman on the team when he does not need her at all? She can cook but the food is the least of his worries. He just wanted the cars delivered to the destined port, get paid his huge commission as promised by TG, and let him go his way because what he wanted to do right after was to take Yasmin with him to another country and live with her.
If he isn't just so pressed with time to rejoin the barge after disembarking Yasmin, he would like to have a quick taste of the woman. He is dying to ram his dick inside her. But then, she will be unconscious. He doesn't like that. There's no thrill in taking a woman with no action or response from her. He would rather take her screaming, cursing, clawing at him, and fighting him than motionless and conked out. That would be like making love to a comatose, and there is no thrill.
***
Ibrahim called Naseem's office. He changed his voice and pretended to be someone else. The secretary told him he was in a meeting and that he would be back after lunch. If he could call around two in the afternoon.
"Okay," he replied.
He grinned. For sure, Naseem will not be back in the office. He might just go home straight. What if he meets him right outside his home? He'd block his way into his car garage so he'll stop. His reply is important to him. He can't move forward until he's very sure that he had denied him the position, as TG said. He needed confirmation. Just that. Then, he'll ring TG to send in his men.
Meantime, he'd stay somewhere close so he can see his car before he can enter his car garage. It was a long wait. Maybe Naseem had a long meeting with his CSA Team since he has only two days to go after today, he said. Sorry, Naseem, but you can't renege on your promise just so easily, he smirked. He certainly didn't know a thing about Ibrahim when he hired him.
Ibrahim had never expected Naseem to be so cruel to his son, who's his right hand in managing the business. The guy is so obedient to his father. He would have liked Jamil more than Naseem hadn't they wanted the same woman. Not him. He wasn't the type who would give in to a fight when it's a woman involved. He is so perverted with women.
If her older sister hadn't been that bad. If he hadn't seen what happened to her that night, he wouldn't have turned this way, his memory returning to that day.
Ibrahim was the younger of two children. He had an older sister, two years older than him. He was 15; she was 17 years old. Their parents were traders of farm animals and vegetables. They were farming people in the mountains of Syria. Their parents weren't home that day and into the night. Ibrahim was anxious.
Militants were raiding houses, taking everything they want, and the worst, even raping their women. Their mothers, aunts, sisters, nieces, and daughters. He feared they would come into their house and rape her sister.
He was out in the fields that day tending to their farm animals. But as soon as he entered their house, he saw his parents lying dead on the floor, but he couldn't believe seeing his sister that night. Six militant men surrounded her. She was naked and pleasuring them all. Men ravaged her, but she was enjoying it. She's opened her legs for them. They were taking turns doing her from the front and behind. She's sucking one and holding another. Men were standing above her, ejaculating their semen on her face. Then they were exchanging places with one another. He can see that her sister could hardly breathe anymore. It exhausted her. He cannot believe it. She was so shy. His sister was still a virgin. What did they do to her?
And he saw the bags of hashish and the raw poppies on the table. They drugged her with those plants, that's why she's acting so weirdly. He cried so hard. He can't allow this to happen to her. He can't let them take her to make her their sex slave. He can't. He quietly and secretly took their guns and hid them. Then he waited for them outside in the dark. Satisfied, the men put on her clothes and carried her sister with them, for sure to use her again another time.
Ibrahim finished all the bullets in their guns on them that night and he killed his sister with them, too. His sister has lost consciousness because of the amount of drug they had forced into her system and the fatigue in pleasuring those lecherous animals.
The following morning, neighbors helped him bury his family. That was the last time the neighbors saw Ibrahim in the mountains of Syria.
Ibrahim joined the group of those animals he had killed and from then promised never to take mercy on any woman in sex. Ibrahim had never been the same person again. The good lad turned into the devil he loathed.
And although he knew it wasn't his sister's fault that she turned into a crazy sex slave, prostitute, wanton in a matter of hours, he despised her still and was now taking his revenge on other women. He was doing the same act he loathed from those men that night.
He was at that thought when Naseem arrived with his driver. He immediately blocked the garage door and got out of his car. He abruptly opened the passenger door and went inside. The driver could do nothing but just listen to the men talk.
"Naseem, tell me what you have decided," Ibrahim said.
Naseem could not move for seconds. He looked at Ibrahim.
"I will give you the money you want, but not the position," he said.
That was Naseem's last offer. Ibrahim would have taken the money, but it wasn't his call, he said. He serves a higher-order, men who want more than the money. Then he looked at Naseem.
"Whatever will happen from this time and onwards, is no longer in my hands," he told Naseem.
He said that they had removed him from his organization. They're taking over from him. And he bid him goodbye. He left in his car and drove away fast.
As soon as the driver had moved the car inside the garage, Naseem nodded his head to the driver and urged him to leave him in the car. Naseem knew Ibrahim will make a dreadful move in the next few days. What or how he will do it, he could only guess, but he feared for his family and his company.
He has to go inside the house now and call Dodi. They need to involve the police and the military. He'll have to make several calls to the people he knows. This is his punishment. He'll have to reap his karma for the atrocious things he'd done to his sons, Jamil and Fayed. For the first time in his life, Naseem wailed.
"Forgive me, Jamil. Forgive me, Fayed, Forgive me, my sons," he sobbed.
***
Yasmin had invited Naira and Anya for a cookout. She was smiling so widely and happily grilling meat and seafood with her friends when Naira shook her head.
"Yasmin, you are a rollercoaster of emotions," Naira said. "You were crying on this day last week, and laughing and smiling so much now. I'd better be wary of your next actions. I hope you wouldn't hack us all when you become furious," she teased.
Yasmin laughed aloud. She hugged Naira. She promised her she will smile on this day and the day after, as she will soon leave for Dubai on the next; she said. Finally, she'll see Jamil again.
Anya was inside the house cooking rice with Yasmin's rice cooker. Yasmin and Naira carried the grilled meat and seafood inside the house to join Anya in the kitchen. Anya was setting the table, but she said they will have to wait until they have cooked the rice. Meanwhile, they could watch a movie or something.
Then Yasmin showed them the new phone Jamil gifted her. The girls took turns trying the new phone. Yasmin told Naira to remind her to leave the company phone with her in the office. She had copied most of the numbers she needed on her phone; she said. She'll use the company phone until the last day before she leaves.
She said she will surprise Jamil on her arrival. She'll turn on the new phone as soon as she arrives at the airport. She would surely surprise Jamil that her phone will signal her location as Dubai. She giggled.
"How vicious can you be," Anya complained.
"Jamil might want to pick you up and he might be in an important meeting. Then you will have to wait until he could. Then, he will have to weave his way on the roads because of the traffic jam, and unfortunately, a vehicular accident happened on that narrow road he turned into. He can't move now. He's in a fix. So, instead of having reached Jamil's flat sooner, you will wait until late evening at the airport. You can't have dinner together because all the restaurants have closed for the night when he has finally picked you up. That will be your karma. You will wait for a long time at the airport," she completed.
Yasmin and Naira cracked up.
"Sometimes, we wonder what kind of imagination you have, Anya. You can think of all the scenarios. You must have been a writer in your previous life," Yasmin said.
"No, I think I was more of a fortune teller, a gypsy. I can feel that in my bones. I can see myself peddling my skill from town to town, carrying my crystal ball," she said.
Her two friends can't help being in fits.
"There, she goes again," Naira joined. "She's genuinely imaginative."
The rice was ready to serve, and the three had a story-filled dinner that night with grilled meat, seafood, and vegetables.