Tess Awakening (11 page)

The apartment was located on Millet Street,
which was within 10 minutes to major city sights and ideally
situated to take advantage of two metro stations nearby.

“If we find the time, we will see some of the
great attractions in the city,” Jake volunteered. We can go to the
Sultanahmet
District; this area is fantastic if you are
interested in history. Tomorrow, we can go see the Blue Mosque, the
Cistern, and
Hagia Sofia
, wander around and have a snack and
a break. After that, if you’ve got any energy left, we can go see
Topkapi
Palace, the Hippodrome, and the mosaic museum.”

Tess smiled. “History can be exhausting.”

Jake tried to contain his enthusiasm. “When I
am in an interesting place, I become obsessed, and can go on being
a tourist until everyone else drops.”

“Please don’t count me in,” Tess said while
hanging her clothes. “Don’t forget what we came here for.”

“Darn,” was his reply.

Jake grabbed Tess by the waist and kissed
her. “I promise that I will not exhaust you, at least not in that
way. Let’s go get something to eat.”

On the way down to the street, Jake explained
that Istanbul is famous for its street food. “The local
restaurants, called
Doner
, are always good for fast and
cheap food. If we go to the right places, the food can be quite
good.”

Tess smiled again. “And Mr. Vickers always
knows where to go.”

Jake sensed a slight dig, but he did not take
it to heart. “I can’t help it. Wherever I go, I am compelled to
sample the local food, and there is an amazing variety here.”

The entrance to Istiklal Street contained
dozens of small
Doner
restaurants that served almost around
the clock. As usual, Jake’s enthusiasm prompted the display of an
encyclopedic knowledge of Turkish food. He started to point at the
various offerings of the shops and street vendors.

“We have tons of choices:

“
Balık-Ekmek
is a sandwich with one
small fried fish, slices of tomatoes and onion.

“
Hamsi
. In fall and winter, the Black
Sea Anchovy migrate through the Bosporus. A classic serving is a
handful of deep fried fish with raw onion and bread. Eat the fish
whole, it’s a winner.”

“
Patso
is a sandwich consisting of a
hot dog and French fries. These are very popular and are usually
served in small buffets along the coast. This food is cheap, and
you would think it’s not very good, but it is actually tasty. These
places are open 24/7, and they serve around one thousand sandwiches
per day. The profit margin is low, but they make a fortune on
volume sales, so they don’t have to lower the quality too much.
Hamburgers are sometimes a problem, don’t touch those in
Uskudar
, but definitely try the spicy hamburgers in
Taksim
).”

“Here we go again, the Encyclopedia at work.”
Tess was working hard to keep up.

“You can also have
Kumpir,
which is a
snack or a full meal. It originated in Albania, but today it is
unique to Istanbul in its present form. Basically, it’s a baked
potato with various fillings such as grated cheese, mayonnaise,
ketchup, pickles, sweetcorn, sausage slices, carrots, mushrooms,
and Russian salad among others, any of which you can add to or omit
from the mix.”

Tess interrupted him. “Wow, slow down! I am
getting dizzy.”

“Sorry,” said Jake. “If you don’t mind I will
order for you!”

Since Tess had no idea of what to choose, she
agreed.

They sat for dinner. Tess had to admit that
the exotic fare was tasty. In between bites, she inquired “I didn’t
know you could speak Turkish.”

Jake started to provide the usual exhaustive
exposition of the subject but desisted. “I can learn languages in
one or two weeks, enough to speak functionally, anyway.”

“You really are dangerous,” Tess observed
between bites.

“No worries, my dear, I am on your side.”
Jake responded. “I find the study of languages fascinating. One
interesting fact of the Turkish language is that in 1928, as one of
Atatürk’s Reforms in the early years of the Republic of Turkey, the
Ottoman script was replaced with a Latin alphabet.”

“I guess that the CIA finds you useful,” Tess
noted.

Jake jokingly responded, “Yes, but I can’t
talk about how useful. I would have to kill you afterward.”

Back on the street, Jake reenacted his
exposition of food options.

“The street stands sell the local ice cream
dondurma
. We don’t want to miss this. It has orchid root
extract, which gives it an incredibly chewy and stringy texture.
Try it!”

They purchased cones of the delicacy and
continued their survey of food offerings.

“Jake, I don’t feel so good,” announced Tess.
Actually, she was perfectly fine; she just had enough of lectures
about exotic foods. Jake was perceptive enough to detect that Tess
was nowhere near sick, so he ceased talking about food.

On the way back to the apartment, Jake
retrieved a message from the reception desk. It was a sealed
envelope from his contacts. They now had a confirmed address of
General Alkan al-Saadi in Istanbul; time to get to work.

Chapter 15

A cab dropped Jake and Tess on
Yeniköy
Caddesi
, one of the loveliest streets in Istanbul. Two long
lines of tall Platanus trees graced both sides of the street.

The neighborhood is known for its
Yalis
, houses or mansions most of which were built the
seaside, on the Bosporus strait. About 620 waterside residences
remain, comprising one of the city’s landmarks.

They found the large handsome house that
according to Jake’s contacts belonged to General al-Saadi. Finely
worked wood decorated the exterior, and a pleasant garden enhanced
an inviting, peaceful environment.

Tess and Jack had discussed some strategies
and decided that a low-key frontal approach might work. Using no
subterfuge, they decided to seek a meeting with al-Saadi.
Hopefully, they might be able to persuade him that it would be to
his advantage to let the little girl go. At this point, they could
not think of any alternatives other than breaking into the compound
and kidnapping the child, a very dangerous approach.

They approached the gate of the house and
rang a bell. A uniformed guard appeared.

“Good day. We would like to see General Alkan
al-Saadi,” Jake said in Turkish, his newly acquired language.

The guard looked at them quizzically. “The
General only sees people if they have an appointment.”

“Tell him that Tess Turner would like to
talk,” said Tess. Jake translated.

The guard was still suspicious. “Wait here,”
he said and went back inside the house.

Five minutes later, four guards spilled from
the house and opened the gate. They surrounded the couple and led
them to a large reception area.

A man that appeared to be a butler approached
them and pointed at Jake. “You wait here. The General will see Miss
Turner only.” The guards dropped their weapons from their shoulders
to stifle any potential disagreement on Jake’s part.

“Jake, do what they say. I can handle this”
Tess admonished. The guards seized Jake and made him sit. Jake’s
face changed into a stony, menacing stare, his body ready to uncoil
and strike like a snake. “Jake, it’s okay.” She turned around and
followed the man.

Tess was led to a large office full of
precious period furniture. The General was at the desk. He slapped
both of his hands on the surface.

“Tess, what a pleasant surprise to see you
again! Have you come to apologize for giving me an awful headache
that lasted for days?”

“I am sorry I had to do that, General, but I
am sure you are aware of the circumstances that made that
necessary.”

“No problem, you are forgiven. Sit, and Tess,
please call me Amir.”

Tess felt herself shuddering, recalling the
unpleasant events that she had experienced at Amir’s house in
Iraq.

“General, the war in Iraq is almost over, and
I came to discuss how we can deal with an important issue in a
civilized manner.”

Amir was not in a hurry to talk business. “I
see that you are still very beautiful, but I miss the dress you
wore for me last time. It displayed your virtues splendidly.”

“Tess, may I inquire on who is the gentleman
that is with you?”

“He is just a guide to help me get around the
city,” she explained.

“Very wise; Istanbul can be a challenging
city.”

Amir pointed at a platter full of delicacies.
“May I offer you a peace offering? Some tea, perhaps?”

“No, thank you General; I am very pleased
that you are talking about peace. It gives us an opportunity to
discuss what I came here for.

Amir looked disappointed. “All business and
no play; disappointing. I was hoping you would reconsider my
offer.”

Tess came to the point. “General, I came here
to discuss the release of Kejal’s little girl.”

Amir took a small sweet from the table and
pulled a chair next to Tess. He took a sip of tea, put the cup down
and looked at Tess with intensity. “What possible interest could
you have on a child that you have never seen? And what makes you
think that I have her here?”

“She is Kejal’s child, and when she died, I
promised that I would make her safe.”

Amir’s face visibly reflected a mounting
anger. “Kejal died because of you! I was fond of her.”

“Kejal was killed by your men!”

“It would not have happened if you had
cooperated with me. I had offered the world to you!”

Tess looked at Amir with an icy stare. “All
you offered was to rape me!”

Amir took another sip of tea. “There are many
ways of interpreting events. You look at things in black and
white!”

Tess stood up. “Where is the girl?”

“That is my business, and I am still
searching for a reason for why you would want the child. What would
you do with her? Put her in an orphanage? She has no family left,
thanks to you!”

Tess sat again and tried to turn hostility
into a dialog. “General, once the war is over, there will be people
looking for revenge. Saddam Hussein and his key people will be
forced to account for their crimes. You don’t want to be a target
as they are. We can help you return to Iraq with honor if you do
the right thing and let the girl go.”

Amir laughed. “You don’t really understand
who I am. I have friends in high places here and in Europe. I
own
politicians that will protect my interests. In any case,
there isn’t much of an unsavory nature that they can pin on me.
There are too many other people that have committed terrible
things. Some may pay the price, but not me!”

Tess gave him an icy stare. “You used poison
gas on Kurdish villages! That’s how you captured Kejal in the first
place!”

“Is that what you think?” Amir shook his
head, incredulous. “Where did you get your facts? It seems that you
are too quick to believe whatever is said by your press and
propaganda.”

“Are you saying that the massacres did not
happen?”

“Oh, they did, but not the way you think. I
don’t have to explain my actions to you, but I will lend a measure
of clarity to dispel some science fiction.” Amir retreated to his
seat behind the desk and started to talk.

“Your President Bush invaded Iraq citing as
one excuse that Kurds in Halabja, a town close to the Iranian
border, had died due to Iraq gassing them in March 1988. This
atrocity took place near the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.
But the truth is that no one can prove that Iraqi chemical weapons
killed the Kurds.

In a battle, Iraq did use chemical weapons
against Iranians troops that had seized the town. The Kurds who
died had the misfortune to be caught up in that exchange. But they
were not Iraq’s main target.

“Immediately after the battle, the U. S.
Defense Intelligence Agency issued a classified report. They
circulated the information to the intelligence agencies on a
need-to-know basis. Their conclusion was that it was Iranian gas
that killed the Kurds, not Iraqi gas. The Kurds had been killed by
a blood agent, a cyanide-based gas — which Iran was known to
use.

The Iraqis did not possess blood agents at
the time. People in the know have been aware of this fact, but they
rarely mentioned it because it is was not convenient, since the
plan was to start an unjustified war against Iraq.”

After a moment of silence, Tess spoke. “What
you said may or may not be true. The problem is that the Allies
have been led to believe that Iraq is responsible for that event,
which means that there will be accusations against anyone that was
involved at that time. You can reduce the risk to yourself, General
if you agree to cooperate and release the girl.”

The General smiled. “So, you, a junior
officer, would use her nonexistent influence to exonerate a top
Iraqi Officer for the sake a child that nobody cares about. Well, I
say that this is a non-issue, because, as you Americans say, they
have bigger fish to fry. Frankly, I am offended that you believe I
would be so gullible.”

Tess stood up. “So, your answer is no?”

Amir approached Tess. “If the answer is
‘maybe.’ will I see you again? I don’t hold any grudges. Visit me
again and we can talk about it.”

Tess was incredulous at the man’s
persistence. “Are you suggesting that something could be worked
out?”

“It’s possible if you are willing to visit me
again.”

Tess looked at the General. “How can you
possibly want to be with a person that loathes you?” She instantly
regretted the outburst.

Surprisingly, Amir did not seem to be
offended. “Tess, I make it my business to change people’s minds.
Think about it. Have a good day.”