THE BROTHERHOOD (26 page)

Sam took a glass of water and skulled it down, dismissing the man contemptuously.

The flight itinerary was meant to fool authorities by scheduling to land in Dubai, but instead the plane would divert to a small airfield in Syria, close to the Iraqi border from where they would drive to the northern Iraqi town of Mosul. Sam had chosen this staging point to unite the many fragmented Islamic groups and create an army of their own, one that would march to Baghdad and drive out the occupying forces. From there a caliphate would take shape and embolden the rest of the Islamic world to follow.

Sam’s eyesight became hazy. He was finding it difficult to concentrate and a feeling of overwhelming drowsiness was taking hold. Reduced to seeing shadows and outlines of objects, his muscles refused to cooperate and the glass slipped from his hand. He could just make out the figure of the flight attendant standing in front of him.

‘What did you …’ He slumped in his seat as the drugs took hold.

Aazim hugged his father as though they hadn’t seen each other in years. Tears ran down his cheeks and he squeezed the man’s arms as if to make sure it was really him. In turn his father fussed over Aazim’s wounds and checked that he was in one piece.

‘Let’s sit down and eat, son, we have much to talk about.’

But Aazim had no appetite. He needed answers. He needed to understand the madness that had gripped his family. Pushing his plate aside, he looked at his father and said, ‘Explain this to me, Dad.’ He slid across the table the piece of paper and photo showing Ilias Elkhoury’s involvement in The Brotherhood.

Ilias set down his fork and knife and wiped his mouth. ‘Son, there are a lot of things you don’t know about, but yes, I am, or was, a member of The Brotherhood.’

‘And Mum? Was she one too?’

‘Yes, she was.’

‘You kept all of this from me? Have you got any idea what I’ve been through over the last few days?’

Aazim had never raised his voice at his father before but he couldn’t contain himself and let loose. He told him everything, from the discovery he’d made at Aust Global fund to the horrific fate of Mrs Sparrow, the death and destruction at the hands of Sam and Barry and finally, the most shocking moment of all, the file on his own father linked to terrorists.

‘Son, the past few days have been traumatic for you, but please understand, everything I did was for the right reasons.’

Aazim shook his head in disbelief.

‘Please let me explain,’ Ilias said, his sincere eyes pleading for understanding.

‘You went away to Lebanon and I haven’t heard from you in God knows how long. I thought Sam’s men had killed you!’

‘I know, Aazim, but it’s all right now. We’ll be okay,’ his father soothed. Sitting back in his chair, he began.

‘Your mother and I did a lot of charity work for The Brotherhood. She did the books at Aust Global Fund because of her accounting skills and I went out in the community to help with charity funding. In a way, we oversaw the company for a sheik based in Egypt.’

‘You two were the Australian partners?’

‘Yes. We oversaw the distribution of donations from the company. We go way back to our days in Lebanon with the sheik and it was he who helped us come to Australia when our lives were in danger. We owed him a dept and gladly helped when he asked us to do charity work for the Muslim community here. When a business-savvy fellow called Saeed came from The Brotherhood we took him in with open arms. He promised the company would run as normal and explained he was there to oversee the operational side.’

‘The technology infrastructure?’

‘Yes, that’s right. Over time your mother discovered that odd things were going on. I didn’t take note at first; I was hardly there. Books were unbalanced, there were hidden funds and money either disappeared or came in from nowhere.’

Ilias paused and sighed before continuing. ‘She convinced me to take a closer look but I had to be careful. Sam had brought some odd-looking men with him. I asked one of the server technicians to do an audit on equipment and data in the server room, but something happened to him soon after and he disappeared without a trace. Sam picked up on my activities and warned me to back off. I discussed it with your mother and we both agreed to inform the sheik but first we needed evidence.’

‘Was Kareem trying to do the same? Just before he was taken away by Sam’s men he said something about telling someone … Was that you?’

‘Yes, I advised him to be careful but he was sure he could do it without being detected. Your mother and I confronted Sam about the unexplained transactions but got nowhere. Kareem helped her access the server and Sam found out about it. Her death was arranged to show what happens to those who opposed him and I’m sure there are others who have suffered the same fate.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me, Dad?’ Aazim moaned. ‘We could’ve handled it together.’

‘I couldn’t, Aazim. I had to protect you. He was watching my every move. You would have been in greater danger had he seen even the slightest change in you,’ Ilias explained. ‘Bringing you closer to him was a way of controlling me, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he disposed of both of us. Sam was well connected and only the sheik could stop him.’

‘So your holiday in Lebanon wasn’t really to catch up with old friends,’ Aazim stated flatly.

‘I lied and I’m sorry, but I had to make sure he believed it. It didn’t stop him sending thugs after me. There, no one would get suspicious if I ended up dead. I did everything to evade them and from Lebanon I made it across to Cairo. I told the sheik everything about Sam and I only had my word to back up my claims. He didn’t seem surprised. The Brotherhood had him sent to strengthen the company and keep him out of trouble. They were trying to distance themselves from a violent past, but Sam had other ideas. He used The Brotherhood for his own interests and respects no one.’

‘What did the sheik do?’

‘He sent a cleric, his right-hand man, to confront Sam personally. Even though the sheik’s in Egypt he has ears and eyes everywhere. Hanif, one of Sam’s men, is the sheik’s devoted follower. Hanif was his inside man and kept him informed of everything that was happening at the mosque. Sam was training hundreds of men in preparation for a war with the West, with a notion of a caliphate and him as the leader.’

‘He got away, we couldn’t stop him,’ Aazim said regrettably.

‘Don’t worry about him, he won’t be bothering us anymore.’

‘How do you know?’ Aazim asked, his face a question mark.

His father looked his son in the eyes and embraced him. ‘I just know, son.’

Still hazy from the drugs, Sam was struggling to adjust to the bright light directed at him.

‘
Assalamu alaikum
, brother Saeed,’ said a familiar voice.

‘Where am I?’ Sam’s vision returned and he recognised the man before him, the cleric who’d paid him a visit at the mosque. He realised he was strapped to a cold steel chair in a dark underground room resembling a cellar, only there were no bottles of wine. It was empty except for a stainless steel table with what looked like surgical implements resting on top. The cold air was damp and musty and lighting was to a minimum. Two shadowy men stood beside the cleric, staring stonily ahead, waiting for orders.

‘You are in Egypt.’

‘What am I doing here? How dare you do this to me?’ Sam shrieked. He thrashed and struggled in vain, wasting his energy and leaving him breathless.

Patiently the cleric waited for Sam to calm down before speaking. ‘You have conspired against the entire Brotherhood, Saeed. You have betrayed the sheik and desecrated the oath you took in the name of Islam. You’ve been observed for a long time. It’s truly unfortunate you caused much damage but the time wasn’t right to alter your course.’

‘This will not end with me, brother,’ Sam retorted, anger and hatred burning in his eyes. ‘My death won’t stop what I’ve begun. My men will carry on with the struggle, Islam will be united and the Khilafah will be restored whether you like it or not.’

‘Islam will unite without you. The Khilafah has already taken root and in time it will mature. Your impatient obsessions and selfish ambition have made you blind. Perhaps we’re all to blame: we placed our faith in the wrong man. And as for your men … They no longer walk this earth.’

‘No!’ Sam roared and jumped around violently, blood seeping through the seat from his torn skin. His dream had been crushed at the hands of ignorant fools. It couldn’t end like this, not like this. He screamed out to the cleric but his pleas were as futile as his predicament.

Unmoved, the cleric turned his back and instructed the men beside him. He left and they went to work.

Bill came home to find his office trashed: Barry’s men had given it a thorough going-over. He took out a half-empty bottle of scotch and sprawled on the couch. There wasn’t a muscle in his body that didn’t ache. He poured himself a shot and lit a cigarette, but he could feel a cough coming on so he decided against it and stubbed it out. He drifted off to sleep as the empty bottle fell on the floor and rolled away.

He was awoken in the morning by the phone. ‘Hello,’ he croaked as he stretched to pick it up, pain coursing through his muscles.

‘Mr McKane?’

‘Yes, speaking,’ he said, rubbing his forehead.

‘Bill McKane, the private investigator?’

‘Yes, that’s me,’ he said wearily.

‘I require your services. Is this a convenient time? I can call back later if you like.’

‘How can I help you?’

‘Well, it’s about my wife …’

While the man rambled on, Bill suddenly realised that for the first time in years he’d slept through the night without waking up from a nightmare.

Steve Jovanoski is an Australian born writer who lives and works in Melbourne. At the age of one, his parents took him and his older brother back to their native country of Macedonia (then Yugoslavia), where the family lived for ten years before returning to Melbourne. He was enrolled in primary school without any knowledge of English, but like all children he quickly mastered the language. Through exposure to a wide range of literature he developed a love of books (and soccer), and as his vocabulary improved so did his writing skills. As he grew older, and as computers became more affordable, the internet became a new medium to explore, and what began as a hobby later turned into a successful career. Steve’s twenties were a journey of exploration. With the attitude of giving anything a go, he took to exotic locations. One memorable adventure was trekking 170 kilometres through the Annapurna range in Nepal, and another was a trip to Cuba, where he embedded himself in the local population to glimpse the strength people took from faith and music. On his visits to over twenty eight countries, he has put pen to paper whenever the chance has presented itself. Today, his incessant appetite for reading has almost become an obsession. With a number of books on the go at any one time – six piled up on the bedside table, four in his study, one in his living room and one that goes wherever he goes – there’s never a moment when Steve’s not reading.

First published in Australia 2010 by Sid Harta Publishers Pty Ltd

This electronic edition published by PocketRocket Press

PocketRocketpress.com Copyright © Steve Jovanoski 2010

www.stevejovanoski.com

Cover design, typesetting: Chameleon Print Design

The right of Steve Jovanoski to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to that of people living or dead are purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

The Brotherhood

Jovanoski, Steve

ISBN: 1921642521 EAN13: 978-1921642-52-4

pp242