The Iranian slipped out of his clothes and slid under the blanket, huddled next to Kalila’s warm body and covered both of them. Now it was his turn to relax and think over what was going on until sleep took him over. But the pressure that had built up throughout the day put him to sleep quickly and imperceptibly and his mind got carried away with something that was yet to uncover interesting worlds . . .
Often times dreams reflect the everyday life of humans, their secret desires and thoughts as well as things to which the eyes stay closed, but the consciousness does not. Little moments sealed inside of us, subconsciously stirring up others which strengthen their impact even more. Maybe some would call them sixth sense, others would say they reflect the routine and add to its desire. But at the same time the consciousness is so complex that in the majority of cases dreams are based on imagination and accompanied by the assimilation of information that had entered the mind in the waking hours. That was the secret recipe cooked up differently by every brain, yet always leading to the same thing . . .
Like any other normal person Omar often had dreams. Some of them he did recall, others he did not, but they were all related to his everyday life and posed in no way any interest to his existence. They left small fragments in his mind and usually had to do with his family and work, both refracted through the prism of a dream. That night, though, it happened differently. In the early hours of the morning, in one of the stages of deep sleep, the story of a dream began to forge itself in his mind like a Samurai’s sword, a dream so vivid that he would remember it until the last day of his life. A dream that was not only going to help but also to change him and the entire human history.
In the morning he woke up before everyone else, precisely at seven o’clock. Omar went to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He looked himself in the mirror and saw he had gone prematurely aged. Yet, he had the strength and energy to start something new and last night’s vision began clearing up more and more. After he washed, he went to get dressed, he slipped on his uniform and got himself fully prepared. The Iranian did not have breakfast, but headed straight for work. He arrived at 8:00 a.m., as usual. His secretary made him a sandwich and a coffee. He devoured them in a hurry, leaned back in his presidential chair, put his hands behind his head, looked up and closed his eyes. He stood like that, in peace, for an entire hour, oblivious of his surroundings. His dream was playing like a record in his mind, he knew it was of too great of an importance. At first glance it did not make much sense, but only Omar knew what it could bring to him. What he could not shake off, though, was the fear of the unknown. Even if the plan was followed step by step, what came next? He was going to be a wanted terrorist in spite of the fact that he was prepared to do anything to see through the exodus of those who deserved it as well as to ship resources back to the Earth. It was impossible for such a monumental and ambitious plan not to inspire fear in Omar; added to that, he did not trust Milev completely, he still had considerable doubts. But he had already made up his mind, for the sake of his children, for the sake of his family . . .
Suddenly he heard a knock on the door. Milev was standing at the door exactly at the appointed time.
‘Good morning, General, how are you?’
‘May it be good, I’m fine, even perfect,’ the Iranian said and approached the situation with a smile.
‘Well, are you ready for the conversation? I suppose you have made your decision, since you summoned me here.’
‘Yes, I have and my answer is positive.’
‘Good, we can get started then,’ the Eastern European smiled and settled into the chair across from Omar. I want to give you something first,’ the Lieutenant said and reached over to hand Omar a cell phone with a coded SIM card. ‘From now on we’ll be talking only on this phone, so we don’t get tracked. Now I’m your right-hand man and it’s time for you to make your move.’
‘Haha, you’re making a good start, but will you end well, I don’t know,’ Omar laughed and went on. ‘I want to tell you something, it’s the dream I had last night. It breathed a lot of courage in me this morning on the way here.’
‘I’m listening,’ Dimitar leaned back and readied himself to hear the account.
‘I haven’t had such an odd and pointless dream in a really long time. I’d say it was even stupid, but not everything is as it seems at first glance. Now listen and try to interpret it as I did. Here it is . . . God knows why, I found myself in a dense forest. I roamed around it for quite some time until I reached a more or less vast field with a house standing at the center. The chimney was smoking so I headed towards the house. When I got to it, I saw through the window that the fireplace was loaded with blazing logs. That was all, as though there were no people inside. I walked to the door, knocked, but there was no answer. I went to the back and to the sides, looking for an entrance, but there wasn’t one. I paced away and sat on the grass by the house. The night was beginning to close in and a storm was on the way. Thunders were splitting the sky and you could hear how the raindrops hit the leaves of the trees from afar. It poured down in torrents like a universal flood, I was out, soaked to the skin, and then something bizarre occurred. All sorts of animals flocked to the house and stopped right beside me. It looked like they were waiting to go in with me. But that wasn’t really what was going on. They regrouped and some of them took odd actions. The ones I remember were three types: small monkeys, pelicans and pigeons. The monkeys started pelting the windows with chunks of soil and even though they didn’t really accomplish anything but to smear the windows, they stood up proudly right next to me and waited. Then a few pelicans flew over the house and spewed down into the opening of the chimney the water that they had gathered in their beaks. Right after that the light began fading away slowly. A second wave of birds followed. Small pigeons thronged together. They dived and shot down straight through the chimney into the house. Seconds later the door slid open and a few wolves I hadn’t noticed waiting behind me plunged headlong into the house and headed for the bedroom. A shriek came from that direction and a half-awake man fled through the rear window of the house. The other animals and I went in to warm, dry and feed ourselves. This is the weirdest dream I’ve ever had and now everything got clear to me, but is it clear to you?’
‘It’s weird indeed,’ Milev said, looking stunned and trying to analyze what he had just heard. ‘I understand some of the things, but there’s nothing I can say about most of them.
‘Which are the things that you’ve deciphered?’ the Iranian asked.
‘I grasped the part about the house–it manifests the air bases I was telling you about yesterday, you’ve probably dreamt about them, and the different animal species are the people under your command. But I can’t fathom the rest.’
‘You’re doing great. Smart as you might be, you can’t possibly know everything; if you had fathomed it all, you wouldn’t need me. Is that right?’ Witty as usual Omar hinted that his interlocutor was not the only one in the room who could think. ‘I’ll explain the rest of it another time, just make sure you remind me about it. For now I need you to give me the locations of the things we need and to tell me the names of the people who can help us get these things. And we shouldn’t forget the most important thing. You need to be in the clear as to what we’re dealing with: weapons, manpower and so on and from then on we can proceed to drafting the plan. There’s just one problem, a rather big one I’d say. Even if we manage to convince people and mercenaries to help us in exchange for places for their families on the ships, we’ll still need a great deal of money to buy the machines and the equipment we need,’ Omar said, again touching upon the financial side of the story.
‘Don’t think about that, I’ll provide enough money. It’s all been well thought-out in advance,’ Milev said, beaming, and patted the General on the shoulder. ‘You don’t really think I would’ve come to you and told you “Let’s go to war!” without considering this matter first. You’re yet to get to know me. We’re not so diffe
rent. I also think a few moves ahead, even farther than you can imagine. Now I have to go conduct a little investigation and in three days’ time I’ll be back here at the same place, at the same time. If there’s anything we need to talk about, give me a call,’ he said and winked at Saadi with his left eye and left the office without giving a backward glance.
‘Smart boy, that one,’ Omar said aloud and smiled. A combination of circumstances or fate–everyone would define the meeting of those two characters differently. But how was it possible that everything was falling into place? It would be somewhat deceptive of the higher powers to enhance everyone’s prospects of success equally. The balance of life reigns in nature. If something is happening in one place, it is the exact opposite in another. Some will win, others will lose. Two mutually completing factors that cancel each other out similarly to the particles that make up matter and anti-matter. How much longer would the scales keep on tipping in favor of our heroes? It was still difficult to predict.
The anticipated guest appeared on February 23. The knock on the door caught the attention of the Iranian who was immersed into sifting through the equipment that had been launched freely onto the market by dozens of arms and ammunition manufacturers. The market was flooded with them and there was no one to take control of things, as there was overproduction through the years and they had to be stored in warehouses, waiting to be sold out.
‘Come in, it’s open,’ Saadi called out, sitting behind his desk. The door slid open slowly and what was he to see: a young, slightly swarthy lady, extremely beautiful, in the dawn of her thirties, eyes and hair as black as the night, reminding him a bit of his own wife. She slipped into the room timidly under his amazed look, followed by the already familiar character.
‘I’ve brought you here, General, someone I deserve you to give me a kiss for, or, if not me, at least her,’ the Bulgarian joked.
‘I’m not in the mood for jokes, so introduce yourself, please,’ the Iranian said indignantly.
In a gentle and tender voice the woman picked up.
‘My name is Alice Springer and I believe I can be of assistance to your endeavor. Or to be more precise, my skills can be of assistance.’
‘What skills are you going to demonstrate, what are you talking about? Milev, we need to have a word in private,’ visibly angry, Omar tried to figure out what was going on.
‘There’s no point, she knows everything so you’d better sit down and relax. I brought her here because I’ve known her for a really long time. Years ago the two of us were part of a NATO project. I was representing my country and she was representing hers. I want her to tell you the rest. Just give her a chance.’
‘All right, I want to know what you’re doing here, keep it short,’ he turned to Alice and waited for the details.
‘I was born in England, but my grandmother is of Arabian descent, that’s why my skin color is different than the typical for Great Britain. I have graduated from the Royal Military Academy a captain, 3rd grade, and until a month ago I worked for my country. I’m ready to help with whatever I can.’
‘Why did you quit? Don’t you like working for your country?’ Omar asked, interested.
‘I liked it, but I got convinced in the unpleasant reality. There’s no justice among the military. A little before I left, I participated in a competition for a place on the research team which is currently training in Eisenhower. They cut me off, but it should’ve been me in the place of the Russian woman. Such losses are hard for me to swallow,’ shared the English. Milev was standing in the back, following how the conversation between the two was going.
‘Wait, are you telling me you could’ve been one of the chosen ones and you were one step away from it? Why didn’t they choose you, what happened?’ The fighter for idealism started asking his questions one after the other at a dazzling speed.
‘I was there and I can help you with information as well as with the organization of the event Dimitar mentioned to me. And I’m not there now because of Professor Zanev, the one and only, who sees no further than his glasses. He didn’t pick me because he preferred his compatriot to form part of the team, but we were both equally good,’ the dark-haired lady bitterly recounted her story and the examination continued.
‘Let’s assume that’s true. What else can you do for us?’
‘Organizing is my forte, tactics, as well. The most important I can give you is, as I emphasized, the information I have. While my exam was in progress, I noticed them take out prototypical tactical landing suits. They were followed by a convoy of trucks loaded with unique arms that cannot be bought anywhere else as they’re one of a kind. There was an inscription in German on them: “Shipment to Warehouse No 1”. I know where it is located. We need precisely the weapons stored there to take over the bases.’
The Iranian sensed what the young woman was getting at.
‘Why do you think I’ll do something like that?’
‘Because you have no choice. We’ll organize it together and we’ll be successful.’ The fair sex approached shrewdly, but was that going to be enough?
‘Even if we organize it, we still don’t have the means to go there with enough people and skilled manpower to carry out what we have to. We need money!’ the General raised his voice and Dimitar eventually decided to intervene.
‘In a few days’ time you’ll see another of the tricks I have up my sleeve. I will pull them out one after the other like a magician so you can get convinced everything is as it should be. All you and Alice need to do is draw up a plan. To this is end I intend to leave you two alone, I shall be off on other duties,’ he concluded and sneaked out as fast as he had slipped into the office.
‘This boy astonishes me every single time. I hope he doesn’t break my trust in the end,’ the Officer voiced his concerns.
‘He won’t, there’s too much at stake for him, too. He’s been like this ever since I’ve come to know him–he speaks little, but always to the point and works diligently. I don’t have a shadow of a doubt as to his success. We have to do as he says and he’ll do his part,’ Alice said and headed towards Omar’s desk; the Iranian was not exactly pleased with the prospect of having to obey Milev’s orders, but he wanted to see what the Bulgarian had in mind for the future of their mission.
‘All right, so be it, here are the papers on the available arms and the people we could hire. Let’s begin,’ he said and they sat next to each other and started devising the plan for the robbery of one of the largest military warehouses in Germany.
Little by little the Iranian was seized by the feeling that he was not the one in charge of the mission, but that it was instead resting in the hands of his assistant. Somehow that proved not to be of such value as long as everything went according to plan.
‘I need satellite pictures of the place, otherwise the attack will be a mere shot in the dark. That could be the end of the mission. Is there a way to get a bird’s eye view?‘ Ms. Springer chimed in after twenty minutes of skimming through folders bulking with loose leaves.
‘There is. We have an Iranian satellite in the Cosmos. The good news is I have access to it. All I have to do is dial a number,’ Omar said, stood up and started pacing around the room nervously.
‘What is it, aren’t you going to call?’ Alice asked bewildered.
Omar kept striding around the house even more nervously. Suddenly he stopped dead, facing his guest, closed his eyes and froze into that posture. The English woman got a bit startled by the Officer’s strange actions, but dared not utter a word. A few seconds later he put against his ear the phone he had been squeezing in his hand.
‘Farooq, hello, I need you urgently.’
‘At your command, General Saadi!’
‘I have information that Iranian rebels are attempting to steal weapons from German and French warehouses. I want you to send me up-to-date satellite pictures of all of their large warehouses and the surrounding areas. Do it right now if you can. I’m worried about the possible out
comes,’ he made up a genius last-minute tale to provide them with a cover story.
‘Good, I’ll send them over in a few minutes. We have satellite photos of the whole of Europe from a week ago. I think they’ll give you what you need.’
‘I’ll be waiting then,’ Saadi smiled a tiny smile and looked at his partner.
‘One more thing, General. Do you want me to notify NATO about your concerns?’
‘NO! I’ll do that in case something worrisome comes out. The information is unconfirmed. Come on, quickly,’ he hung up and took a deep breath after the intense conversation.
‘Why did you get so worried, they’re your people after all?’ the beautiful lady asked him.
‘These guys in particular aren’t among my trusted ones, they take orders from me, but if they sense something, they might betray me. Iran is not part of the GCN–the Global Cosmic Network and the one I spoke with is our representative there. I had to lie to him a bit so he doesn’t go asking questions–why do I need the pictures and so on and if I don’t give him any logical expiation . . .
‘So he may expose us? What are we going to do if he does?’ the military lady panicked a bit.
‘Yes, but he won’t. I’ve known him for years and I know he respects me. He wouldn’t think I’m lying. You’ll see. Everything’s fine,’ Omar said confident in himself. He took a gulp of air and sat at his desk next to his new associate. While they were waiting the arrival of the images Ms. Springer began arranging the scattered papers diligently so everything was put in the right order; in the meantime the Iranian had fixed a contemplative look on a toy plane set right before his eyes. Little Samir had given it to him after participating in an air show in China that the entire family had attended. The boy dreamt of becoming a fighter jet pilot together with his father. Flying in the big blue sky and chasing each other, performing aerial pirouettes. A beautiful child’s dream, supported by tremendous will for realization. For that reason, a few days after the show, the little pilot chose that same toy in a toyshop and decided to give it as a present to his idol–his father. Gazing at the miniature figure, apart from the memories of those moments spent with his family, a thought flew through his mind, fast and almost as elusive as the sound of his son’s supersonic dream plane. Fast as it was, he nevertheless managed to catch it like a spider catches his flying victims in his web.
Dawn of Hope- Exodus Page 13
