The Intern Affair (57 page)

“I guess you know that we can’t condone your actions,”
Thomas
said with some annoyance, “when it comes to attacking anyone.
Only if our lives were in danger would we be grateful for the
measures
you’re prepared to take.”

“And that’s what we’ll be doing. I’ll knock a man unconscious before I’ll fire one shot, especially when I am surrounded by explosives, believe me. And using a gun when you want to pass unnoticed is not a recommended course of action.”

86

Talya lifted her head
slightly to look over the side, trying to orientate herself. In a glimpse, she noticed that the rear window of the cab was now covered with dust, which would prevent the driver from seeing her until they reached their destination, for which she was grateful.
She raised her head a little more and looked behind her.
In the distance, she saw the two Landrovers approach at great speed, although that meant only thirty to forty miles an hour over this unlevelled track.
She was happy that Samir hadn’t ta
ken
any time to leave Kedougou.

From the sun’s position to her right, Talya knew they were nearing the fork where the driver would go either to the right behind the third hill toward the back gate, or to the left toward the front gate.

When they reached the fork, without hesitation, the driver veered to the right. That meant that for the next fifteen minutes, they would be hidden from view under the hillside’s brush and trees lining the roadside. The Landrovers were almost upon them.

The man in the cab must have noticed that someone was on his tail when he turned onto the track, because he slowed down and came to an abrupt stop, skidding on the side of the sandy track. Talya quickly pulled the tarp, under which she was hiding, tighter over her head.
She heard him get out of the cab and walk toward the back of the pick-up. She also heard the Landrovers come to a halt behind them, and a door open and slam shut.

Samir walked slowly toward the man waiting for him behind the truck.
He noticed that the latter had a shotgun in his right hand, the
b
arrel
of which was resting against his thigh.
With his left hand, he was lighting the cigarette in his mouth.

“Hello, my friend!” Samir said, salaaming to the man. “I am driving some friends to Guinée and I thought this was the road to the border. But when I saw you stop, I thought maybe something was wrong with your truck, and I stopped to offer assistance.”

“I don’t know you ‘friend’, and I don’t need any assistance.” His voice was gruff. He puffed on his cigarette while resting his gaze on the Landrover, over Samir’s shoulder. “Just pass me and be on your way.
The border is only an hour away once you’ve passed the hill behind me.”

Samir didn’t comment, but in one swift movement, he used the man’s distracted attitude, to grab him by the throat and apply the point of his knife
next
to his jugular vein.
The shotgun fell to the ground at Samir’s feet. He shoved it under the truck. “Now, my
friend
, I am the one who needs assistance from you.” Samir spoke into the man’s ear.

Christian
had come out behind Samir when he saw the latter pounce on his victim. He had his gun out, which he pointed at the driver’s legs.

“You see the man in front of us,” Samir uttered.
“He won’t hesitate to shoot your kneecaps to bits if you don’t answer my questions.
Or if I am faster, I might slice your vein and let you bleed to death. It’s your choice actually.
Before we do any of that, however, I need you to tell me how many men are expecting your return and how many women are cooking dinner for you?”

“I . . . don’t . . . I don’t know . . . how many.” The words were dying in his throat under Samir’s tightening arm.

With the point of his knife, Samir nicked the man’s neck. “Oh, you don’t, do you? Well, that surprises me.
Because with all the provision I see in the back of your truck, there is enough there to feed a hundred men for a month.
So, how many are there, and make it quick, because Allah is expecting me for prayer time.” The blood started trickling down to the victim’s shirt collar.

“Maybe three or four . . . I don’t know,” the captive relented, feeling Samir’s knife carving his neck ever so slowly.

“What about the women, how many?” Samir tightened his grip yet again.

“I think two . . . I’ve seen two . . .” He choked on the words.

“That’s much better.
And now let’s put you to sleep for the night, you deserve a good night’s rest after such a long drive.” At these words, Samir applied pressure on the right spot at the base of the man’s neck until he fell senseless in his arms. Samir let the man drop to the ground and pushed him off his feet in a disgusted manner.

“Talya? Are you asleep back there?
I’m waiting for you to come out,” Samir yelled from over his shoulder, quickly replacing the knife in its sheath under the mishlah.

87

Talya smiled
from under her cover and she popped out like a jack out of a box.
Samir grabbed her by the waist and put her down on the ground beside him where, lying unconscious, she saw the man who had been driving her for the past hour-and-a-half.

Christian
came toward them, putting his gun away at the back of his belt.

“Well done, Talya!
We should tell
Sir Reginald
to save you a spot in the agency.
That was brilliant planning and execution. And it will prevent us from walking three miles in this miserable country.”

“Thanks,
Christian,
but you can keep your job at the agency. I don’t like deceit.”

As
Christian
was about to question her statement, Samir said, “Let’s leave it at that, shall we?” looking at
Christian
pointedly, “and let’s get to our destination during prayer time as we planned.
Just watch the sun,
Christian,
and you’ll know when to enter the gate.
We’ll go ahead with the pick-up and wait for you at the last hut.”

In the meantime,
Charles
,
Thomas
and
Jerry
had joined them to hear the last of Samir’s recommendation.

Thomas
asked, “Do you mean, you and Talya, are going in
before
prayer time?” while staring at Talya once again.

“Yes,
Thomas
, we need to clear the path for you to enter the camp with the Landrover,” Samir replied, looking into the worried man’s eyes, and to
Christian,
“Actually, if you want to come with us, I think we can find you a spot among the provision at the back of the truck.”

Talya looked up at Samir. She didn’t want anyone with them when they entered the camp.

“Hush, Talya,
Christian
will be fine,” Samir said quietly but firmly, while returning Talya’s questioning gaze.

All the while, Talya
noticed
that
Charles
was watching
her. Although she had wished to tell him how she felt at that minute and not to worry about her behaviour, she couldn’t.

“Shall I leave your Landrover here then? Or maybe
Thomas
could drive it up the hill?”

“No,
Christian,
it’s better if we leave one vehicle out here, just in case we need to retreat in a hurry later on tonight.”

“Okay then, let’s go,”
Christian
said in a commanding manner, as he climbed onto the flat bed of the truck and took Talya’s place amid the provisions.

88

When the three men
were back in the Landrover waiting for the sun to reach the brim of the horizon,
Charles
could no longer contain his puzzlement at Talya’s change of attitude. “It’s unbelievable,
Thomas
!
I can’t even recognize her. I look at her and I see someone I don’t know. What’s happening to her?
Has she been brainwashed by this
Charos
fellow?”

“No, I don’t think that’s the reason,”
Jerry
said. “As Samir explained, the ordeal she went through for almost two weeks has put vengeance in her mind. But, let me assure you that once this is over, she’ll be relieved and she’ll return to being herself … unless she gets killed in the process.”

“I can’t help feeling that she resents anybody’s presence,”
Charles
remarked. “Did you see how she reacted when Samir changed his mind and invited
Christian
to ride with them?”

“Yes, I noticed that,”
Thomas
agreed. “But that only goes to show that I was right about the distrust I noticed and felt at the hostel, when I first talked to her.”

“But she was all right when she was lacing these shoes, which by the way are like gloves; she was smiling, happy … I don’t know what to think….”
Charles
sounded defeated.

Thomas
turned to look at him. “She was happy then, because she was taking care of you.
She has nothing but admiration and respect for you.
She only wanted to prevent you from any discomfort.”

“And now that she knows I’m okay, she’s back on her destruction track again, is that it?”

“You should quit asking questions and just be the observer and give her the helping hand she dearly needs right now.”

“I’m afraid that’s asking a bit too much of me.
She’s like a daughter to me. How would you feel if you saw your daughter transform into an avenging angel before your eyes?
Tell me,
Thomas
?”

“Now, don’t get excited. I can understand how you feel, but there is nothing, absolutely nothing,
we
can do about it.
Samir is the only one who can control her.
She won’t respond to any of us at the moment.
You’ll see when we’re on site.
She’ll follow the plan to the letter and we’ll be back at the hostel in the morning with what we need—”

“I can’t wait to see that,”
Charles
said with resentment in his voice.

89

As they left the side
of the road in the direction of the back gate, Talya had just one question in mind that needed an answer. “Samir, why did you allow
Christian
to come with us?”

“Because, the man has the instinct of a feline; he has been trained to make no noise, to surprise his prey and to kill when necessary. He’s cold-blooded and extremely calculating.
There is no impulse left in him.
Everything he does or says is well planned and executed to perfection.”

“So what you’re saying is that we may need him to watch and take care of any opposition, while we do our job?”

“Yes.
He’s what Ishmael should have been, but as it is, my brother hasn’t got the polished mind yet to execute a plan such as ours, without straying or being distracted by his surroundings.”

Twenty minutes later, they were entering the mining camp. No one stopped them until they were in sight of the last hut on
Main Street
.

Samir slammed on the brakes at the sight of the three men running toward the truck. “Princess, cover your face and don’t say a word, I beg of you.”

Talya did as Samir asked, and kept silent.

He climbed out of the cab and took a few steps to meet the men. They stopped when they saw her.
Talya knew why they did.
A veiled woman is not someone they wanted to offend with violence or undue outbursts.
They knew better than to come near her or even glance at her.

Talya saw Samir salaam to the three men without saying a word. They didn’t know what to make of this Arab fellow, dressed in
full desert gear, driving their friend’s truck—with a woman aboard.

“Young men, I have brought back your friend’s truck.
He has become sick by the side of the road near the fork, so I thought I would get his truck back to you, and you could go down and fetch him.
I didn’t want to leave all the provision unattended. Thieves you see, they’re all over the place
—
”

“And what about your car?” the shortest of the three men asked aggressively.

“I left it with my wife’s father who’s watching your friend—”

If these three were buying that story, their brain must have left their skull at birth.
But they did—completely.

“Okay, just have your woman step out and we’ll get down there and see what’s going on.
You’ll stay here with Abdul,” the shorter fellow said, pointing to the man presumably named Abdul, “until we get back and if everything is the way you say, you’ll be on your way when we return.”