Welcome to Dubai (The Traveler) (21 page)

As soon as he stepped out of the stairwell and turned right toward the camera room, the butt of an assault weapon crashed down on the back of his head.

The security man stumbled forward and fell face down to the floor, knocked out cold.

“That was a good hit, Akil,” one of the invading soldiers told the other. They had both been stationed strategically behind the door, waiting for the security guard.

The two men grabbed up the fallen guard and quickly carried him away to tie him up and lock him with the other security men and hotel staff.

Inside the surveillance room, the assailants continued to watch everything inside the hotel, including Ramia at the information desk.

“She is a beautiful girl,” one of the eager men commented.

“Yes, I wish Heru would allow us to lock up all the doors now instead of later.”

The men laughed, all impressed with the attractive, young Jordanian.

“Nooo, she’s leaving,” the first man whined.

“Habib, I’m sure there will be other attractive women inside the hotel, including Americans and Australians.”

“Americans and Australians?” the man named Habib protested distastefully. “I am much more interested in Spanish and Brazilians.”

“Ah, yes, yes,” another one of the men agreed with him. They continued to watch the many cameras inside the room as their militia of men continued to make it to their stations around the hotel.

But as the men continued to tease and joke about the many foreign guests inside the International Suites, none of them noticed that their leader had appeared inside the room with them.

“Do you all believe this is a joke?” Heru asked his men sternly.

They turned and were startled by his sudden presence.

“No, no,” Habib answered nervously for them all.

They eyed Heru’s lethal blade in the holder at his side and understood how dangerous he was, even while they all held guns.

“In a few more hours you will see how serious we are.”

The men did not deny it. They had all signed up to help carry out the plans, and they knew that some of them might lose their lives for it. But it was the chance they all took to make a historic stand in the tourist haven of Dubai.

Heru monitored the surveillance system to check particularly for the UAE police who guarded the front door and lobby area. He had no idea that his men were already inside the hotel.

Any minute now, and we will make our move,
he told himself.
And the police have no idea that we are right under their noses.

*****

Across town in the area of Jebel Ali, Mohd finally received the call on his cell phone that he been waiting for all morning. But he did not recognize the number on his screen.

“Hello,” he answered tentatively. He remained upstairs at the warehouse in his private office.

“I’m calling for Mohd Ahmed Nasir,” the gruff voice of Saleem thundered from the line.

“Saleem,” Mohd responded, “this is Mohd.”

“I was told to call you,” Saleem said, cutting to the chase.

“And I am glad you have. Have you settled in downtown with the money you were given?”

“Yes, I have. And thank you.”

“Good, good. Well, I have a very important mission for you. I know you are an excellent military man and highly intelligent. And I need for you to follow your longing for justice.”

There was a silent pause over the line.

“Are you there?”

“Yes, I am here,” Saleem answered.

“I am making sure, because there is not a lot of time,” Mohd commented. “In a life of justice, one must execute swiftly, even against our own when what we choose to do is wrong. Do you understand me?”

“Who is it who has chosen wrong?” Saleem asked.

The question forced a pause from Mohd. He admitted, “It is my only son, Ra-Heru Nasir. He has chosen a mission that has severely troubled me. And I am now too old and too deficient of zeal to deny him. But I cannot deny the pain that he felt in losing his mother when I could not be there for them.”

Mohd told Saleem all about the struggle he had years ago with the young
Emirati
developer Abdul Khalif Hassan and how it had caused an unforgiving vendetta, not so much from the father, but from the son.

“Initially, Heru’s pain was misdirected, causing him to stray into negligence and anti-social behavior. Then he began to blame me for what he considered a lack of vengeance, until finally, he was able to inspire a following of like-minded men on a mission here in Dubai.”

“May I ask what it is?” Saleem questioned him respectfully.

“Yes, you
must
ask. You and several other men are my only allies. And it is the International Suites hotel downtown. They are now in position to take hostages. How far are you away from it?”

“I am not far from it at all.”

“Good. Now I must tell you. My son is one of the best in paramilitary combat training. He has learned from instructors in Egypt, Britain and Russia. So he is a very dangerous man, and I would not hold it against you if you were to decide to walk away. But as I now reach out to those who I believe can foil his plans, we must all have courage in times of need to overcome the greatest of our fears.”

There was another long pause over the phone as Mohd waited patiently for a response.

Finally, Saleem answered, “I know what it means to lose loved ones in the constant war of life. But to bring that war against innocent people in our individual designs for vengeance is cowardice. Forgive me for my honesty.”

Mohd nodded with the phone to his ear. “You are forgiven.” Then he added, “It is also cowardice to love your son more than you hate his injustice.”

“Well then,” Saleem responded, “there are a billion cowards all around the world. A father’s love for an only son is natural. But yet, you have now allowed yourself an option to correct the deficiencies of the heart.”

“Indeed, I have,” Mohd uttered. “May Allah be with you to day.”

As Mohd ended the call, one of the several men who remained at the warehouse to protect him quickly turned away from the top of the stairs to the office. It was as if he was confused about coming or going.

Mohd caught him and immediately suspected that the man had eavesdropped. But he was not concerned. He had one of his best protectors there with him. And when the time was right, they planned to dispose of the other man.

*****

When Saleem hung up his cell phone at an inexpensive downtown hotel, he had all of his answers.

So the Egyptian son has used the father to rally sympathy and support from groups of angry and impressionable immigrants, who now seek revenge against the Emirati developer,
he told himself.
This same Egyptian son was a professional murderer, killing several men in Dubai an evening ago. And now his plan is to take over the International Suites hotel of Abdul Khalif Hassan.

Saleem had to contemplate it all as he paced through his hotel room while looking out at the downtown skyline. It was a view that he had never been able to afford. And since he despised the practices of the
Emirati
developers, he was conflicted. Although he would never go as far as to take a hotel full of foreign tourists and families hostage to make his point, he acknowledged that the tactic was indeed a radical one.

“If he pulls this off, he will go down in history as one of the biggest terrorists in the world,” he mumbled to himself.

But it seemed almost inhumane to terrorize a tourist hotel in Dubai, a city of peace and grandeur.

“But grandeur for
who
, only the rich?” Saleem grumbled.
The poor can only stare at it,
he told himself.

Nevertheless, he considered it an atrocity to involve innocent tourists in the gripes of immigrant workers with the
Emirati
developers.

“There has to be another way to settle this.” He stopped and spoke toward the window. “But first I must stop Mohd’s son from his insanity.”

He took a deep breath and thought about his preparations.

They will have guns and access to all of the surveillance cameras, I am sure. But most of the men will not be as good with their weapons or with combat as Heru, so I can pick them off one by one. However, the cameras will expose me. So I will need to take the cameras out as I go along. I can buy a box of dark trash bags and tape to do just the trick.

But his real challenge was Heru himself.

Saleem started to pace the room again, imagining their battle, and it excited him.

What if I were to wear Mohd’s son’s blood around me like cologne when I greet him again? How would he be able to take that? Then again, what if Heru was to wear my blood? I guess now we will see.

Chapter 23

By the time Gary had showered and gotten himself ready for breakfast that morning, he was far too energized and curious to stay put for room service. Why travel halfway around the world just to eat inside of a small hotel room? So he decided to get dressed for the dining room buffet that was being served downstairs.

I’m in Dubai. Socialize,
he told himself as he left out of his room. Gary rode the elevator down into the lobby with the other guests, wearing a tan button-up, short-sleeved shirt, while the tourists all discussed where they were from, how long they had been there, and what they had all experienced so far. And there were fewer children at the Hilton than he imagined; it had more business travelers and older couples.

At the buffet downstairs, the food options were plentiful, including the normal serving of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, potatoes, Belgian waffles, French toast, yogurt, bagels, fruit and pastries that any American would be used to, including orange juice, cranberry juice, apple juice, low-fat milk, tea and coffee. On the side, they had chefs cooking personal omelets.

Wow, this is just like home,
Gary thought as he grabbed a large white plate to collect what he knew. He hadn’t eaten yet at the breakfast buffet since he arrived in Dubai on Thursday, but on a Saturday it looked like the thing to do. Everyone was there to eat, the lines long. He found a lone, small table in the corner of the room to people watch.

Different cultures of people but the same ritual of humans eating, meeting and greeting at breakfast,
Gary told himself in his chair, watching.

He took the opportunity to relax and reflect on his life and his trip for a minute. It felt good to be able to travel again for leisure. He had been locked into focusing on finishing school, getting trained in marketing and business, before committing himself to years of military survival skills training under the watchful eye of Jonah. And he had quickly lost track of time. Five years had flown by him in a blink.

With no family, job or major responsibilities, Gary saw no reason not to travel more. He wanted to see the world, to visit its most exotic corners, to understand its various cultures, to experience its foods, smells, sounds and people. There was only one major obstacle: a new girlfriend.

Maybe it won’t be a good idea to settle down with Karla. Would she allow me to travel wherever I want without her? Or would I take her with me sometimes?

He still had a lot of thinking to do, but first he owed her a catch-up phone call.

By this late afternoon, she should be up,
he mused.
Maybe I’ll call her around six, which would be around ten in the morning DC time.

As he thought about making the call, his cell phone rang and startled him again. He looked down at the screen and read Johnny Napur’s local number. He hesitated.

“Do I really feel like hanging out with this guy again?” he mumbled out loud. He had a long day of sightseeing ahead of him, and outside of another tour, who would know Dubai better than Johnny?

“Hello,” Gary answered.

“Hey, man, good morning. I’m back in business at the airport, and I’ve made over five-hundred
dirham
already. What are you doing, up eating breakfast?”

Gary looked down at several plates of mostly finished food. The cold eggs and potatoes had fared the worst and were still there.

“Yeah, you’re late. I had breakfast already, but I’m still sitting here.”

“Well, after around three or four, I can take you out to the Dubai malls today. They’re packed on the weekends. But I have to make some more money out here first. Unless you could pay me a tour fee,” he added.

Gary thought about it and didn’t have a problem with Johnny as a tour guide, especially since they had gotten away from the recreational women and drugs talk. Johnny was just a fun-loving, fast-talking normal guy.

“All right. I’ll pay you … I don’t know, a thousand
dirham
for the day.”

That was roughly three hundred dollars. Johnny jumped at it.

“Okay, that’s a deal.”

“But don’t pick me up until after two. I might go and hang out at the pool today, or take a walk along the waterfront or something.”

“Go do it. Enjoy yourself. I can make another four-hundred
dirham
by then.”

“Knock yourself out.”

Gary hung up the phone and exhaled.
Another day with Johnny. What did I just get myself into?

*****

Ramia walked into the revolving doors of the Hilton Dubai Creek with anticipation and excitement.

What if I actually see him?
she asked herself of the handsome, green-eyed American.
And what if he’s with a woman?

She thought about it quickly and concluded,
I’ll just walk on by then.

After nine in the morning, the breakfast room was the obvious place to look. After that, she planned to check the swimming pool.

*****

As soon as Gary stood up from his chair to leave the dining room, he spotted the same young Jordanian woman with the magnificent hazel eyes from the desert tour.

“Oh, shit!” he responded, but he couldn’t remember her name.

She stopped her walk halfway through the dining room and noticed him as well. They stared at each other for a few seconds as if both hypnotized.

“Hey, aren’t you from the ah—”