Chapter Nine
“Touchdown at 0700 hours gentlemen. There’s no scheduled traffic at the strip, so I expect a straight approach and land. Ernie, I believe Aggie has already alerted the Ministry of National Defence of our presence?”
Ernie replied, “All taken care of Captain; the Ministers for Energy, Mines and Security have also been briefed; and so far we have no problem with entering Algerian airspace. There will be some official to meet us and check us out – they’re no fools and probably already know exactly who we are. Well, this will be my first visit to the mighty Sahara; how’s the weather out there?”
“Overcast, low clouds, winds; slight gusts between 10 and 20, temperature outside 46 degrees, sunrise in about 30 minutes, expected maximum temperature today.56 degrees.”
“Shit; that is damn hot; you did say 56 degrees?”
“Yes, that’s 56 Fahrenheit. If you prefer Celsius it would be 13 degrees.”
“Er, oh yes of course it is.” His mind was frantically checking out his inventory of clothes packed; nothing even close to thermal-ware. “Umm, the local township Jade, would they have a clothing store or market?”
“Yea they sure do, but not open today; a culture thing.”
Ken could not prevent a hearty belly laugh. “Thought of everything have we Mister Ernie Tonges?...at least your pith helmet will keep the snow off ya ugly head.”
-oOo-
Abdulmalek Belkhemha watched the Gulfstream approach and land as the sun was coming up. He followed its progress as it taxied to the Reggane Terminal. The high pitched and powerful whine of the engines decreased as the aircraft came to a stop. He saw a ground attendant race over to the plane and positioned what looked like old fashioned World War One wheel chocks onto this state of the art twenty-first century, aeroplane. Abdul was the official, the man, who held a surprising amount of power in this vast area of the Sahara.
As he saw the fuselage door swung down to become a stairway, he re-read his notes, picked up his briefcase, and strode to the plane to meet and greet the visitors from Kellor Resources. He had two armed guards directly behind him. “Ah Captain Kellor, Sabah el kheer.” He shook Jade’s hand vigorously.
“Salam Abdul, kaifa haloka? Did I say it right?”
“Jayed, bon, yes good; did you have a pleasant flight?’
“Perfect, we had a tail wind most of the way. May I introduce these men to you; they are in the employ of Kellor Resources. This is Mister Ernie Tonges, he is Aggie’s security chief, and this is his assistant Mister Ken Kain. Abdul shook hands with them both.
“Molasharefon; so pleased to meet you Mister Tonges. So, Mister Kain, how is it with your goddamn sons of bitches rookies back in Fort Bragg? still spitting in your face with the language training?”
Ernie was more than amazed when both went into a hug. “Ahlan sadiqi, maljadeed” replied Ken “and your family?”
“Ah, yes yes, good good. You look surprised Mister Tonges – yes, I have known Ken from the days of the non-existing black ops of the TSCTP, when, er, certain undesirables had to be shown the error of their ways. My government owes much gratitude to this warrior from the West; but of course, diplomacy is fickle and we cannot openly apply the laurel of heroism upon his head.”
“I obviously selected the right man for this job sir.”
“Please; it is Abdul. I fear it will take much effort to find our missing professor; I myself cannot find a trace of him.”
“It would be an honour if you call me Ernie...Abdul. Mrs Kellor has asked for us to assist you and the Algerian authorities in any way we can; er, should we move inside the terminal? I fear we’ve been far too comfortable in the Gulfstream for the last few hours.”
Ken gave Abdul a wink and said “This is Ernie’s first experience of the Sahara; it’s a shame it’s winter so he won’t get to experience the warmth and sunshine.”
“Would you care to inspect the aircraft and our documents Abdul? I can assure you everything is in order.”
“No, that will be not necessary Captain – I just need a few of your signatures, but we can do that in my office in the terminal. Ernie, have you ever partaken of Arabic coffee? Very enjoyable, I have it boiling on the hotplate inside, just need to add some cardamom and saffron and you will swear that it is a taste meant only for the gods.”
“Anything, as long as it’s warm.”
They all gathered around the large table in Abdul’s office. A large sentry, holding an AK47, took post outside the door. “Gentlemen, shall we get down to business? Firstly, Jade, how is young Miss Aggie feeling at this unfortunate time?”
“She’s naturally upset of course; Professor Lien is very dear to her. She wanted to personally come here to be of any assistance; but as you would know, she’s been hobbled by both governments. I have documents of authority from her, giving Ernie a fair degree of autonomy in relation to seeking the return of the professor.”
After more discussion, Jade stood up and said, “Gentlemen, I have to leave you all now. I need to fly to Lucerne because of other business. I’ll be in constant contact with Aggie, so if I’m needed, I’m on standby.” He looked out the office window and added, “all your gear has been loaded onto the Bushmaster out there...and I can see my lovely other-half standing at the plane’s steps...with hands on hips. Can’t keep a woman waiting can we?”
Jade shook hands with them all and added, “Oh yes Ernie, Aggie was wanting me to give you this...it’s an Abenaki charm to keep in your pocket. It’s been specially blessed. I might add that you should feel very honoured; this medicine has never been given to anyone outside the tribe before.”
“Well thank you; I do feel honoured Jade, thanks very much.”
“And Abdul; ma’a salama, bellawfeeq.”
“And blessings on you and your house young Kellor.”
Back in the Gulfstream, Phoebe had begun her check list of procedures to fire-up the aircraft, which she loved dearly. Jade came aboard and pushed the airstep retractor button. He called out to her, “honey, I’m home!” She was a little impatient; after all, there was shopping to be had in Lucerne and those stores would be opening in an hour or so.
“Doors locked. Now, my little squaw; let me take you away from the Kasbah.”
“Check; and keep your hands on the controls captain; well at least till Hal has taken over.” Hal was the automatic pilot.
“Jade, do you think those men will find Professor Lien?”
“I really hope so honey, he’s such a wonderful man; I lived with him for a while when we were setting up a plant in Mongolia. He’s getting a bit frail. If we lose him, we may well lose Kellor Resources; he’s that important to us all.”
Back in the terminal, the three men sipped the wonderful warm and strong coffee as they watched the Gulfstream taxi away; they again sat down and resumed their discussion.
-oOo-
With eyebrows raised, Edna looked up at Aggie as she returned from her office, “Any more news sweetheart?”
“Ernie is in Reggane and he’s met up with the local authorities, I presume that means Abdul. All we can do now, is to wait and let him do what he does best.”
“And Dwarg?”
“Still looking as well aunt. More coffee Alex? As you can see, we have some drama involving the family business. In a nutshell, one of our people, a very close friend, has gone missing in Algeria. He’s working for Kellor Resources setting up a power unit in the Sahara, and we’re thinking that he may have been kidnapped.”
“Kellor Resources? That is you guys? holy crap, er beg your pardon, but that bit of info came out of left field as well as the other stuff I’m trying to come to grips with.”
“I was telling Alex about the strange things that have happened to him in the last few weeks; and he still hasn’t run away. Your car is just outside Alex, and you should know we can’t stop you from leaving.”
“Er, oh yes, sorry, I saw it outside and didn’t think any more about it; oh
you’ve gone to a lot of trouble to rescue me, thanks so very much guys; I’m still in utter confusion though; to be honest I don’t know where to turn...and I see you’ve got problems of your own as well.”
Aggie and Edna bumped into each other in reaching over to put a calming hand on him.
“Aggie...you were explaining about my entity, please tell me more?”
Aggie picked up his hand then held it between hers. “We were talking about parallel worlds; the seventh dimension stuff. Imagine for a minute that such worlds exist but instead of everything being an exact reflection of ours, there may be differences. Those differences may just be minor ones or huge. Maybe the creatures of each world have no knowledge of the other...maybe they do.” She stared into his eyes looking for a hint of understanding. A little nod would do darling, I know this is so hard for you to accept.
“So you think my entity, and yours, is from another world, an ET, a gremlin goblin from planet ZitherDeltaTwo?” He was smiling as he said it but quickly realized, by the expression on the women’s faces, that he had come close to, or had even crossed, a line.
Aggie simply replied.“Yes.”
He moved uncomfortably on his chair; thank God she’s holding my hand, I think I’ve got the heebie-jeebies.
“Tell me all about your... your Dwarg, was it?”
Edna patted him on his back. “This will take some time sweat pea... Aggie why don’t you show Alex around the house and the guesthouse while you tell him. I have slab of venison to cut up for tonight’s dinner anyway...off you go...shoo. Alex I would love for you to stay with us for a while.”
“Thank you, I’ll go put on my expensive Chinese imitation moccasins. Er, Aggie?”
“Oh sorry Alex,” she said as she let go of his hands.
They strode into the lounge room, she sat down beside him while he tried to wriggle into his high legged moccasins. “My father was Robert Kellor, an astronaut, you may have heard of him...”
She tried very hard to keep her story clear and in chronological order. She wanted to be particularly precise in explaining how she and Dwarg had met, literally on her deathbed; how he had instantly cured her of the leukaemia, had given her heightened intelligence, and a wonderful life.
She told him of Dwarg’s ability to travel via a human’s DNA, his strengths and weaknesses, his difficulties with the digital technology of our age and his clumsy efforts in understanding emotions. Aggie told of the amazing things they did together, and that after seven wonderful years, he had to return to his own world. She did survive without his presence, but always had a shadow of emptiness.
After looking around the homestead, Edna’s garden, the huge lawn-locker and the variety of bird boxes that Edna had created, they walked along the path to the guest house. “Holy cow Aggie, this is quite the pad. Wow.”
“I’ll just switch the power on, it’s a bit cool in here. Normally we have someone or other come stay here. Our last guest was the Algerian Ambassador and his wife. He was a real nice person and he loved fishing in the Connecticut River, down past the weir, with Ed who’s a close friend of Aunt Edna. We took Faa’na, the Ambassador’s wife, around the country-side looking at yard sales. It was so funny seeing this fabulously wealthy woman, haggling for things that were only worth a few cents. She had such a wonderful time and had us in stitches when she proudly presented her husband with a pre-loved, near new, black Texan Stetson. She had bargained for a long time with old Wanda from the trailer park for that hat and finally they settled on a price. The Ambassador absolutely loved it; so much so that he even wore it travelling back to Washington and then to the chamber within the UN building. When he asked how much she had paid for it, she replied ‘twenty-five’. He happily passed over $2500. It only cost her a quarter...she was so happy and looked so triumphant.”
“Aggie, your smiles make me feel warm inside.”
“Ah, if you like, you can stay in here until you work everything out; you’ll find it has everything you may need.” He raised his eyebrows and Aggie thought to herself Oh heavens Aggie watch what you say girl.
“Aw what? Even a sauna and spa? yeehaw! Aggie, I’m going to burst if I don’t touch you do you mind?” He didn’t wait for a response as he reached out to touch and caress her hair, and then gently stroked her cheeks with the back of his trembling hand. She moved his hand away; to her lips and kissed it.
“Alex, at this point, the time’s not right. I do have..feelings for you, believe me, but there are things that have to be sorted out first. It’s important that you understand what’s going on.”
“I’ll go along with anything you say lovely lady. Now then; this is the master bedroom? hmm love the mauve colour scheme and a..nice..firm mattress.”
Aggie was blushing, “And further down this corridor..the entertainment centre, it has an en-suite as well, and we managed to salvage and restore those old fashioned theatre bench seats from Brattleboro. Phew, I think the thermostat needs adjusting, it’s getting too warm don’t you think.” She waved a hand in front of her face and strode back to the kitchen, Alex followed like a puppy.
“The refrigerator is well stocked Alex and over here is the food larder. Here’s the microwave, the coffee machine and the dishwasher. The water may take a while to heat up, just let it run; do remember that before you jump under the shower.” For a fleeting moment, Aggie pictured him standing there naked, holding the shower curtain open; his arm and hand were outstretched. towards her.
She shook her head. Hell’s Bells Dwarg; I’m getting weak; get your ass here quick.. I need you..now!
The Goomeri Pointing Bone : Sequel to Dwarg in the Seventh Dimension Page 9
