by Bill Brewer
“We’ll see.”
“We could’ve paid for school with the bounty from Ozinwa,” said Felix as he glanced into the rearview mirror.
“You knew there was a bounty on that guy?” asked Diegert.
“Yes, of course, everybody knows, but I did not know he was in the back of the truck.”
Diegert snorted.
Kashani tugged extra hard on his suture.
“Ouch!”
“It was Felix who told the police that the dead man was Ozinwa. He saved your life,” scolded Kashani.
Diegert’s expression turned sheepish.
Felix exclaimed, “It would have been nice to get rich off that bad man, but the greed of the police gave us the true prize of freedom.”
Diegert reacted under the admonishing glare of Kashani. “Thank you, Felix.” His words were not enough for her. She narrowed her eyes and threatened to tug on another suture. Diegert responded, “Your quick thinking was very impressive and saved all of us.” Kashani began to smile but did not take her gaze off the less than gracious white man. “I will always be grateful for what you did.” Kashani’s face blossomed into a beautiful smile that impressed Diegert with its radiance.
Klaus Panzer waited at the Ikeja Air Service Terminal with Tiberius and Nikea. Earlier, when they had returned with the drones, the devices were loaded onto the cargo plane upon which they arrived. The Crepusculous-owned plane immediately took flight, getting the drones out of the country and away from scrutiny. A lack of evidence reduced the effectiveness of any accusations, but of course accusations came. The man was of normal height and stature with a gradually receding hairline and spectacles with circular lens. Dressed in the gray uniform of the Nigerian Police, he conducted himself in a thoughtful, understated manner. “I’m Colonel Nathan Izwali, I am an Investigative Officer with the Nigerian Police,” said the man extending his hand as he introduced himself.
Panzer clasped the hand of the shorter man, power pumping it. “I’m Klaus Panzer, pleased to meet you.”
“Yes indeed,” replied the soft-spoken officer as he reset is shoulders and his glasses. “I am seeking information about sightings of aerial drones with people flying within them. Do you have any information to share?”
A hardy laugh erupted from Panzer before he said, “My good man you seem to be playing a joke on me. Certainly, there is no such thing as drones that can fly with people. Do you have any evidence?”
“We have reports from several reliable sources.”
“But no pictures or video?”
“Not that have come forward.”
“Well, I’m sorry but I have nothing to add to the speculation that has fostered your imagination… I mean investigation. I would wish you all the best in your search, but I am not a man who wishes fools well on fruitless endeavors.”
Letting the sting of the brush off subside, Officer Izwali asked, “May I inquire as to the nature of your visit here to Lagos?”
“You may inquire, but as you know, I am not required to comply, nevertheless I am here to reunite my colleague,” Panzer gestured to Tiberius standing beside Nikea, “with his sister.”
The officer gazed at the two young people. Tiberius gently put his arm around Nikea’s shoulder.
“When are you due to depart?”
The question made Panzer realize he did not want this officer around when Diegert arrived. The presence of another traveler with another group, who would arrive in who knows what kind of condition, all spelled trouble for their departure.
Extracting his phone, feigning a schedule check, Panzer texted Diegert. “ETA for Airport?”
“Tomorrow morning,” responded Panzer.
Nodding slowly, the officer replied, “If I want to reach you for more questions, how can I contact you?”
From his pocket Panzer produced a business card. “The globe is fully integrated, you contact me wherever I am, from wherever you are.” Handing the card over Panzer sought conclusion. “Have a nice day, Officer Izwali.” He shook the man’s hand as vigorously as before.
Having his upper body again rattled by Panzer’s powerful arm, the bookish investigator regretted accepting the man’s hand for a second time. Nevertheless, he smiled as he said, “You enjoy your day as well.”
The quiet, curious man walked back to the terminal, taking a seat in a waiting room chair.
Diegert’s text reply came back, “ETA 20 minutes.”
“Good” replied Panzer, “Be prepared for immediate departure.”
“Guess I’m flying out as soon as we get to the airport,” said Diegert looking up from his phone.
Felix looked into the rearview mirror. Kashani, having completed his stitches, finished dressing the wound with clean gauze bandages.
“Thank you so much,” said Diegert. “Felix saved my life, now you’ve saved my leg. I’ll be grateful to you with every step I take.”
Kashani smirked as her skeptical eyes reacted to the cornball nature of Diegert’s remark.
“Where will you go next?” she asked.
“I don’t know, back to London I guess. What will you do? Is there other family you can stay with?”
“Felix and I will find a home and get our lives back. We will be part of the best generation Africa has ever known.”
“Wow, I can’t wait to see that.”
“You will see it. Africa has a young population. We are educated and eager to make our countries and our continent so much better. We are a huge market and the world wants to sell us their products. We must become wise consumers so our people can grow and our economy is sustainable. Africa is poised for greatness, and I will help make it happen.”
“Cue the violins and the cymbals, it’s a wrap, and a star is born!”
“Fuck you, Mr. David White Man, you may think it’s funny, but you will see the change is coming. Africa will rise and take a prominent place in the world.”
“I didn’t mean to make fun of you. You’re just so pumped after spending three years as a prisoner, yet you see Africa with so much potential. It’s amazing that there are so many people, who have so much right in front of them and they see no hope in their future, let alone expect to change a whole continent. You are a very impressive person, Kashani.”
Scrunching up her nose as she smiled a beguiling grin, Kashani turned her face away from Diegert, yet he could hear her say, “I just know that without hope there is no future. The last three years taught me that.”
Diegert looked out the window as buildings started to get larger and more frequent approaching the metropolis of Lagos.
Panzer spoke to Tiberius, directing him to carry out a plan to facilitate the departure of the plane as well as the truck.
Tiberius found a thick limb and broke it between two closely spaced trees. The pieces broke along a spiral fracture creating two pointed pieces. Moving to the rear exit of the terminal building, he shoved the two pointed ends between the bottom of the door and the threshold. With these in place, the door could not be opened from within.
With a length of strong rope, he tied a loop with a slide knot that would cinch up tightly when pulled. He moved to the set of double doors, which functioned as the front entrance of the terminal. Only the right-hand door was unlocked, accommodating ninety-nine percent of the passages into and out of the building. Tiberius’s nonchalance and seemingly innocuous act of placing a loop of rope on a doorknob as if he were tying up a goat, was largely ignored.
As Felix and the yellow truck pulled into the airport’s driveway, Panzer signaled Tiberius with three full rotations of his arm at the shoulder. Tiberius circled the rest of the length of rope around both doorknobs, securing the length with a cinch knot that only got tighter as pressure was placed upon it. With the door tied shut, he had denied everyone inside from exiting the building.
Tiberius ran to the truck, parked next to the Gulfstream. David Diegert stepped gingerly out of the truck’s cab, limping quickly under Panzer’s insistence over to the airplane, and
struggled up the stairs. Tiberius joined Nikea and the others in the truck. At the plane’s doorway, Diegert and Panzer looked back. Panzer saluted the group and moved inside. Diegert stayed at the door, waving at Felix as he watched the rest of the group arrange themselves in the truck’s cab. Kashani’s smile appeared out the window and she blew him a kiss, which he caught with a smile as the stairway folded up, turning the entrance into a smooth section of the jet’s fuselage.
The truck wasted no time leaving the airport. Panzer’s jet taxied to the runway and was airborne within minutes. Both vehicles made their escapes, while the Investigative Officer had to wait for someone to come and cut the ropes before he could exit the building.
CHAPTER 24
The two tired men remained quiet during the rapid take-off and ascent to cruising altitude. When they leveled off and the twin jet engine’s locomotive like roar subsided into a gentle hum, Diegert turned to Panzer. “Why isn’t Tiberius coming back with us?”
“Now that he’s united with his sister, he wanted to stay and see to it that she is safe and well set up. Besides he was never going to go with us to Nairobi.”
“Nairobi?! You mean we’re not going back to London?”
“Oh my dear son, let me tell you of the real purpose of this trip. You and I are going on a hunting safari.”
Although astonished, Diegert appeared impassive. He recalled the time Tom Diegert took him hunting for frogs. As a young boy, it was an emotionally traumatic experience. What would this be like, with this man?
Panzer was excited, “We are going to Kenya to hunt with one of the world’s best guides. I’ve hunted with James Kabeela several times. He is simply the best big game tracker in the world. He will help us locate, so we can kill, the big African animals of our choice.”
“You mean this was the real reason we came to Africa?”
“Yes.”
“The last thirty-two hours was not our mission?”
“Killing Ozinwa was, of course, a mission but it was primarily for the benefit of Tiberius.” A happy smile leaped upon Panzer’s face. Diegert shuddered at the unmistakable similarity to Batman’s nemesis, the Joker. “We are going to have some good old-fashioned Father-Son fun.”
Slowly forcing his cringe into a smile, Diegert braced himself.
“When I was about your age,” began Panzer, “my father took me hunting. We got several antelope, a wildebeest and in one of the most thrilling nights of my life,” Panzer stretched his words for effect. “A black panther.” Catching Diegert’s suspicious look, Panzer persisted. “All the trophies are in my office in Innsbruck. You haven’t seen my home in Austria yet, but I will have to have you visit soon. Years later, on a trip with Dean Kellerman, I shot a lion. The king of a pride, a fully maned adult male in his prime. He was magnificent and now resides in my office above my desk. Truly an outstanding animal and a tremendous trophy!”
Diegert could feel Panzer’s pride in his accomplishments, and he had to admit African animals were the most fascinating. Having been summarily excluded from all Minnesota hunting trips while growing up, he longed for the inclusion and camaraderie which formed when men banded together to hunt and kill animals. It was a fulfillment of the primal testosterone blood lust wired into the human male. Diegert was excited but hesitant.
“Have you been hunting before?” asked Panzer.
“I told you, my father hated me because of you and he never took me on family hunts.”
“Right! That ruddy little bastard.”
“No, I was the bastard because you were my father. Tom Diegert was an asshole.”
Panzer leaned back in his chair and brought his hand to his chin in a thoughtful gesture.
“So your mother loved you, your father and brother hated you, casting your family into constant conflict. Growing up was difficult, but you survived it and now you are stronger for having faced that adversity.”
“I’m not an advocate for the experience.”
“Nevertheless you are a benefactor because you’ve grown up in the backwoods of poverty, outside the world of wealth. You’ve developed tenacity through hardship, and perseverance through adversity. You appreciate the value of things and you recognize that life goes on even if its comforts are lost.”
Panzer paused, Diegert nodded slowly. “You’re one tough bastard, aren’t you?” said Panzer.
Diegert smirked. He snorted, and a chuckle broke from him. Panzer’s Joker smile spread but warmed. He too chuckled, then laughed. Diegert laughed, and they looked at each other and both started laughing out loud, hale and hearty. They cracked up at Panzer, the absent father, calling his abandoned son a bastard. As improbable as it seemed, the two men found humor in their deplorable situation. The mutual guffaws bridged a divide and broke down a barrier between them.
“You see,” said Panzer, “although your life sucked because I wasn’t there, we are now together at this fortuitous time. You have re-entered my life right at the point in which I need to begin preparing an heir.”
Diegert held eye contact.
“I’m not going to die any time soon,” said Panzer, “but Crepusculous and Omnisphere are complex organizations that rule the world. You have to know what you’re doing. You must see the threats and the opportunities and strategically take action to maximize benefits while minimizing loss. Blah, Blah, Blah. But we’ve got time so I can prepare you. Like we discussed earlier, I need to know you, I need to build a relationship with you and we need to trust one another. We have billions of dollars in cash, even more in assets and we will soon own all the money in the world through Digival. We’re in our own jet streaking across Africa to stay at a fabulous lodge and hunt the world’s most magnificent animals. I wouldn’t want to share all this with anyone other than my own son.”
Diegert nearly choked on the lump in his throat.
Panzer said, “Without family, life is rudderless. It’s blown by the winds of circumstance into the constant unknown. Actions, endeavors, investments, they serve no purpose and carry no meaning.”
Diegert didn’t nod, but he did tilt his head.
“I believe a father’s love is demonstrated through practical, supportive measures that allow children to grow and flourish,” said Panzer matter of factly. “Personal growth is not always, easy, comfortable, or even safe, but a father must prepare his son for the demands of the challenges that await him. Since I wasn’t there for your past, I want to be there for your future and share with you everything that is ours. I cannot change the past and although I regret all the lost years, I can provide opportunities for a future that will be the envy of every man on the planet.”
Diegert didn’t want to choke up, but deep inside a small boy longed for what was being offered. His defenses cracked. The protective internal walls David had constructed were high and formidable, but not impenetrable. They were susceptible to the right application of emotional force. Panzer’s words were striking the panels with deft sledgehammers, creating fissures in the emotional fortress behind which Diegert lived. The idea that money would never again be a problem was enticing, but more importantly his life would have purpose and meaning, he would be part of a family. This thought brought shudders to Diegert’s emotional walls. He could no longer resist the wobbling and crumbling of his inner citadel.
Panzer sensed the wavering of the young man. He too felt emotions he was not fully able to control since, for him, his words about the value of a son were true.
“When I saw you riding on top of the van, with the gun truck firing upon you, I just went into action. I didn’t want to see you die and lose all the hope for the future that you give me. Possessing so much is great, but a legacy that will be carried on by one who shares my blood, my genes, my dreams, matters more to me than anything.”
Through a thicker than normal layer of water over his eyes, Diegert dared not blink as he said, “What do you want me to say?”
“There’s nothing you need to say. Just let me be part of your life.”
CHAPTER 25
The Gulfstream touched down on the Nairobi Wilson Airport where private aircraft are received. An AgustaWestland AW 169 helicopter awaited them and they transferred to the chopper for the one-hour flight to Ololaimutiek Village. The AW aircraft is an Italian design powered by two Canadian Pratt & Whitney turbojet engines with a maximum range of 820 kilometers. With a spacious, comfortable interior, it was ideal for traversing the mid-range distances of Africa. Ololaimutiek Village is located in Kenya not far from the border with Tanzania and the Serengeti National Park. The village is known for its luxurious tourist safari camps. For well-heeled patrons, no expense is spared. All manner of comforts are made available to ensure that guests on safari thoroughly enjoy themselves. The Serengeti is the world’s most popular destination for wilderness safaris, on which all the big African animals can be found.
Panzer and Diegert were billeted at the Juma Juomo Resort. The facility’s design incorporated the tradition of African hospitality with an architecture that felt rustic while being comfortable and secure. Guests felt like they are “roughing it” in their khaki safari garb, while they ate sumptuous meals in the dining hall and at night, slept in cotton sheets surrounded by sturdy canvas walls providing each guest their requisite privacy. Guide driven vans used radio and drone trackers to locate animals for the tourists to watch in their “natural” habitat. The truth was that, in the Park, every daylight hunt undertaken by the big cats was attended by no less than six to eight vans. For the animals it had been this way for decades. Many of the hunters had never known it any other way. As sure as the vultures showed up once a kill was made, the vans showed up when a hunt has begun.
Panzer was greeted by the staff of Juma Juomo with a warm recognition from his earlier visits. James Kabeela hugged the distinguished man with his great arms nearly lifting Klaus off the floor. When David was introduced as Klaus’s son, the surprise was not well hidden. The big African was astonished to have never heard of this young man before. Sensing the awkwardness, he recovered quickly shaking hands and shifting his excitement to tomorrow’s outing. He directed the staff to deliver Panzer and Diegert’s luggage to their cabanas and led the two men to the dining hall.
