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"Are
you all right, Kahil?" Madari said, handing Jahni a glass of fruit
juice. Jahni
looked around the marquee under which they stood, erected beside the Bedouin
camp outside the capital. The tribal conference was over and the people would
be leaving soon. But tonight they celebrated, and had invited some guests to
help them do so, including one special one, who should arrive any moment. "Kahil?"
Madari prompted. Jahni looked back at him and Halais, both watching him,
waiting for his answer. "Sorry."
Jahni shrugged. "Just thinking about the mission. Kind of an
anti-climax." Despite all the valuable intelligence Madari said the
examination of the camp would bring them, still Jahni felt a touch of
disappointment that there hadn't been an enemy there to fight. Halais
sighed. "If only I had been able to get the information to you sooner." "I
don't think that would have helped," Madari said. "I believe they
were tipped off that the raid was coming." "That's
a worrying thought," Jahni said. "None of our men could be
responsible, of course. But even a highly secretive mission like that,
there's still too many people who know about it." "Or
Saifullah has well placed spies," Madari said, making the other two nod
at his conjecture. "But we're picking up a lot of valuable intelligence
from the search. The fingerprints may give us names." "You
make it sound like a victory, but we didn't even fire a shot," Jahni
said. "That's
very impressive," Halais said, making Madari and Jahni look at him in
surprise. "The fact that despite the darkness and the excitement, none
of your men fired at shadows, or a piece of cloth blowing in the breeze,
shows excellent discipline." Jahni
laughed. "I never thought of it that way. I'll pass that on to the men,
Halais. I think they'll appreciate it." "Also,
we've deprived the enemy of a valuable resource," Madari said. "You're
right," Jahni said, appreciating their efforts to cheer him up and ease
his disappointment. "Aside from the prisoners we hoped to take, every
other part of the mission was a complete success." "And we had no casualties," Madari
pointed out. "Something I'm always willing to use as a measure of
success." "True,"
Jahni agreed. He glanced up as the babble of voices from another part of the
marquee increased. The guest of honour has arrived. "The
King must be here," Madari said. Jahni
finished his fruit juice and put his glass down. "Excuse me, I'll be
back later." Before they could answer, he hurried away in the direction
of the King's entourage. ~~~~ Madari
watched with some surprise as Jahni left, heading for the people clustering
around the King. "Mr
Jahni is keen to climb the social ladder?" Halais said. Madari
shook his head. It seemed unlikely. The King may have come and spoken to them
tonight, but Madari would leave that to His Majesty's discretion. He couldn't
imagine why Jahni would be so keen to get close to him. "How
are those horses of yours?" Halais said, making Madari turn away from
trying to puzzle out Jahni's odd behaviour. "Oh,
they're fine. Quite well since I came back from the mission. If you have time
to stop off on your way home, you're welcome to come out riding with
me." "Perhaps
I will. You were right before, Faris. I covet those animals." "If
you intend to try to steal them, I must advise you that I keep weapons in the
house." Madari kept his face as straight as he could when he said it,
and Halais laughed and slapped him on the back. "I
want to buy them. I know you said you're not ready to sell, but I'm in no
hurry. Here." He took something from a green bag that hung from his belt
and put it into Madari's hand. A piece of cloth, with something small and
hard inside it. "Consider that a down payment against the day you decide
to sell," he said, as Madari unwrapped the cloth. It was a
diamond and Madari gasped and looked at Halais. "This is..." "The
last we have of the gold and diamonds you used to pay us with, back in the
old days." "Sergeant
Baracus's jewellery." "And
even if you refuse to ever sell the horses, well consider it a gift." He
leaned in closer, with a conspiratorial look on his face. "If you are as
clever a man as you seem to be, you'll have it set in a ring and give it to
your charming Sophia." Madari
stared from the diamond to him. It was about the right size for that. But
still... "Halais,
I can't take this from you, really. You need it more than I do." He waved
a hand at that. "Nomads need only useful items, not baubles." "Then
sell it. People find money to be useful." "I
intend to feel mortally offended if you say one more word," Halais said,
and Madari had no choice but to stop his protest. He looked down at his hand
again, amazed. "And it's a down payment on the horses," Halais
reminded him. "Send me a message when you're ready to sell." With a
sigh, he put the diamond in his pocket. Sipping his drink again, he looked
around for Jahni, who he saw talking to one of the Kings entourage. This was
turning into a very surprising evening. ~~~~ "Sir?"
Jahni said to one of the men who surrounded the king, and now and again
whispered things in his ear. Messages, or the name of the man he was about to
be introduced to, Jahni assumed. "Can
I help you, Captain Jahni?" the man said. Jahni blinked at being
addressed by name when he hadn't introduced himself. Of course he wouldn't
even have got this close if the King's bodyguards didn't know who he was. "I'd
like to have a private word with His Majesty, if he has a few minutes to
spare." "Can
I ask what you wish to discuss with him?" "I just want to thank him for his assistance
with a personal matter." He tried to talk the way they did, hoping it
would help. "Of
course," the advisor said, with a smile. He probably knew exactly what
the personal matter was, Jahni realised. "Give him a few moments." "Thank
you." Jahni
moved away, but not too far. He strolled over to where a group of musicians
played and waited there, the music taking him back to nights in Halais' camp,
so long ago. Or when the Bedouin warriors had finally joined them, stationed
men with them. He could almost smell the distinctive aroma of their cooking
pots. Actually,
he could smell that aroma, wafting over from cooking fires outside. His mouth
watered, though after what he saw at Saifullah's camp, he hoped it wasn't
goat or mutton in those pots. "Captain
Jahni." The King appeared at his side, and Jahni quickly turned, and
bowed his head. The King shook Jahni's offered hand. "Thank
you for agreeing to see me, Sir." "I'm
always happy to make time for you, Captain. Walk with me," he said,
slipping his arm into Jahni's and steering him away from the band, to where
they could talk more quietly. Jahni gave him a quick glance, interested to
see that he wore more traditional clothing tonight, rather than the Western
suits he usually favoured. His head was still uncovered though. He wants to show
respect for traditional people, Jahni thought, but he doesn't want to appear
to be trying too hard. "Sir,
I just wanted to thank you for helping with the situation over my father's
money." "No
thanks are needed, Captain. I was glad to set that right. I'm only sorry it
took so long. You should have raised it with me sooner." Jahni
tried to picture doing that, but his imagination failed him. "You
actually have my wife to thank for bringing it to my attention," the
King went on. The Queen.
Suddenly he knew exactly who had put things in motion and a second later, the
King confirmed it. "Your
friend Signora Giordano raised the matter with her. They're old friends, you
know." "Yes,
Sir. Please convey my gratitude to Her Majesty for her help." He was
getting good at this diplomatic small talk. "I
will." A man appeared at Atuallah's side and whispered in his ear.
"I must go, I'm afraid. I'll see you next week at the palace. I'm eager
to hear about your recent mission." "Yes,
Sir. Thank you for your time." He stepped away and the King left with
his entourage, heading for another group of tribal elders, Halais among them.
As Jahni watched him talking to them, Madari appeared at his side. "I
was just thanking His Majesty for his help over my inheritance," Jahni
said. Madari nodded. "I
guessed as much." Should he
tell him the rest? That Sophia had essentially made it happen? Perhaps not
yet. Perhaps he should ask her first. She had no reason to conceal it from
Madari, but she wasn't the sort of person to boast of it either. "Let's
get another drink," Madari said. "And some fresh air. It's
sweltering under here." He glanced up at the ceiling of marquee, where
smoke from dozen of cigars and cigarette lingered on the warm, still air. "With
ice," Jahni said, "definitely have to have some ice." "Yes,"
Madari said, an odd smile on his face, that Jahni didn't understand.
"More ice." ~~~~ "Ah,
Colonel Madari. I was beginning to think you weren't coming." The
jeweller smiled at him as he held the door open. "I'm
sorry, Mr Osman, I was delayed." A meeting at the barracks had overrun.
Jahni had been just as eager to get away, and Madari briefly wondered where
he was now. He'd call him later. "That's
fine. Please come through, I have your order ready." He led
Madari through to the back room and had him sit at a table that held a desk
lamp and a glass topped box. A young man appeared with a tray covered with a
piece of black velvet and gave it to Mr Osman, who dismissed him and laid the
tray on the table. He took away the black cloth to reveal a gold medallion,
with a diamond in the centre of it and fine engraving in a circle around the
stone. "May
I?" Madari reached for the medallion. It felt heavy in his hand. The
light shone through the diamond in the centre. "Here."
Osman placed the medallion back on the tray and slid it into the glass topped
box. The glass was magnifying and fine details of the engraving showed up
more clearly. Madari turned the medallion inside the box, checking both
sides. "This
is fine work, Mr Osman, beautiful engraving." "It
was a pleasure. It's not often I have to make a gold piece for a man." "It's
for an American friend." Madari felt a little bad that he hadn't
included a gold chain in the order, but he wasn't able to afford quite that
much gold to get a chain of the size BA liked to wear. But BA had plenty of
chains he could put this on if he wanted to. Or display it in a case, if he
preferred. But it seemed right in the end, to send his diamond back to him. Madari
could have done as Halais suggested and had it made into something for
Sophia, which would have earned him a million points, as Karen might say. Yet
he'd feel that was cheating. That he hadn't earned those points, not really. Halais
might claim he wanted to buy Madari's horses and that the diamond was a down
payment, but he wouldn't insist on having it back if Madari didn't sell. It
was just his way of giving him a gift. And of course, as he said, as a nomad
he had little use for gems or even cash. The trading they'd done years ago,
the money from that had probably lasted until now, and would into the future. Satisfied
with the medallion, Madari settled up with Mr Osman and left with it nestled
into a black velvet-covered box. He had to arrange to get it to BA now. He'd
have to make sure the shipping cost included very good insurance against
loss! ~~~~ "Kahil,
this is a nice surprise. Come in," Sophia said, opening the door to him
and gestured for him to enter. "I
hope I'm not disturbing you." He came inside, following her into the
living room. A table looked set for a buffet and a servant came in from the
kitchen then to put out some glasses. "You're entertaining
tonight?" "Ladies
only," she said, with a smile. "Though I'm sure some of them would
be delighted to see you here, looking so handsome in your uniform. Will you
have a drink?" "No,
thank you, I won't keep you," he said. "I, um, just stopped in to say
thank you. I know you told the Queen about my inheritance and she raised it
with the King, so it's all down to you that it's been sorted out." "I
hope you don't think I was interfering," she said. "But the
injustice made me quite angry and I had the power to help you, so I
did." "I'm
not angry," he said. "The money's in the bank now. It's all left me
a little bit unsettled, I'll admit. But I'm grateful to you." He bowed
his head and, surprising himself and her, he took her hand and brought it to
his lips to kiss it. She looked flustered for only a moment and then smiled.
When he let her hand go, she touched his face briefly and spoke in a soft
voice. "You
lost so much that nobody has the power to give back to you." "I've
regained some of those things, thanks to my friends." His soul. Hope. A
reason to go on. "Please accept this." He held out the rectangular
parcel he carried in one hand. "Just as a token of my gratitude." "You
didn't need to." She tore off the paper to reveal an art book, the price
of which had shocked Jahni when he picked it up. "Oh, the new Manet
retrospective. How thoughtful of you." "And
this is a donation for your charity." He handed her an envelope. Far too
discreet, she didn't open it to look at the cheque inside. "Thank
you. So generous." He looked
around at the servants laying out food and drink on the tables. The party
must be an early one, so he'd better take his leave, before any of her women
friends showed up and giggled at him while whispering to each other in Italian.
Probably plotting to introduce him to their daughters. "I'll
let you get on," he said and she accompanied him to the door. "Have
you made plans for the money?" she asked. "Faris wants you to buy a
house, doesn't he?" "Yes.
But I think I'm just going to keep most of it in the bank, for now at
least." He shook his head. "And given what happened before, maybe a
numbered Swiss account where nobody else can steal it." "So,
you're going to save it?" "Yes,
I think so. I think that's for the best." She looked
at him, when they stopped at the door, her expression thoughtful. Did she
suspect his motives? The 'just in case' scenario, he had in his mind? But her
expression softened and she suddenly stepped closer and to his surprise,
hugged him. "I'm
glad we're friends, Kahil. And I'm even more glad that Faris has you. I know
you'd do anything to protect him." Somewhat
shocked, Jahni held his arms awkwardly for a second, but then put them around
her. "That's
my job," he said, stepping back. "And I'm glad we're friends
too." The
doorbell ringing, her guests arriving, told them it was time for him to go.
Negotiating his way past two elderly Italian ladies, smiling and bowing, he
left and decided to walk home in the cool evening. Was
protecting Madari his job? It had been a long time ago and he'd never really
stopped thinking that way. Not a job, more a role. Or a calling. Or even
something he should have stopped believing in, along with the rest of his
religion. Destiny. Protecting
Madari wasn't just part of the past. He'd have to do it again, he felt sure. His cell
phone rang in his pocket and he groaned. But it wasn't the duty officer, it
was Madari. "You're
not home yet, Kahil?" "No,
just heading there now. Are you still in the city?" "Yes.
I wondered if you'd like to meet for dinner?" "Of
course." "Good,"
Madari said, sounding smug about something, intriguing Jahni. "I've got
something to show you." "Oh?
What?" "You'll
have to wait and see. Let's just say it's going a small way towards repaying
an old debt." end |
© E Charles 2009