Convoluted Journey (The Mercury Black Authority Book 1)

by Finian Blake

  “As I remember your English was excellent.” Noah tried to start all of his conversations with a positive statement.

  “Thank you, I practice every chance I get. A woman over at the Embassy helps me with my grammar. She asked me to give you this.” He produced an envelope from his shirt. Noah took it from him as quietly as possible holding it to the side as he opened it as if there were something to hide. The guard politely looked away to allow Noah some privacy. He slid a single photo out examining it briefly. A naked man was sitting in a chair with a naked boy over his knee and the naked man was beating the boy with a switch. There was no doubt that the man was Frank, Angie’s husband. The picture was quite clear. Noah held up the envelope presenting the guard with the picture of Frank and the young boy. The look of recognition on the guard’s face was evident not only did he recognize Frank, he recognized the boy too. It was a boy that he occasionally escorted to school.

  Noah shrugged, “This is about a crime and I can do nothing about the criminal, since he works for my government.” Noah removed the photo from the envelope letting the guard handle it.

  “This is a sin against Allah. This barbarian must be punished our laws say that he should be beheaded.” The combination of shock and disgust were apparent. The guard being a religious man was completely outraged.

  Noah pressed, “You know who this is. He is a diplomat and cannot be touched.”

  There was no hiding the guard’s outrage, “This man must be punished. He is an abomination.”

  “I will tell you how.” Noah proceeded, “Make copies, and post them all around the Embassy. Everyone must know the extent of this man’s sin so that he cannot hide his crime. It is the only way to stop him and he must be stopped before another sun sets.

  “Allah will reward you. Praise be to Allah.”

  “Allah, be with you.” Noah was satisfied that this young man would do what Noah intended. The fuel truck pulled up to the wing. Within thirty minutes the Ark was serviced and ready to go. The guide man waved the Ark off the spot.

  The guard left the secured area quickly telling his sergeant that he was ill, and needed to go home. The envelope with the revolting picture was just what his group needed to ferment a major protest. They needed something to unite the will of the people and this was a man that the people did not like.

  The Ark flew over the same terrain that it had done the last time. This time all five pilots were trying to spot landmarks. It was doubtful that their contact would be there for the next run and the beacons would probably not be available. They paid strict attention for the whole run up noting landmarks and time elapsed making their turn spotting the smoke at the beginning of the road. The Ark touched down smoothly and did a much longer roll out than was necessary taking the plane all the way to the end of the hardened surface. Noah did not want to tip his hand as to how much room that the Ark really needed. Noah powered up the bay preparing to unload. He opened up the door lowering the steps for the general. The general brought his driver, who was a stern looking woman with her hair rolled up in a tight bun pinned to the back of her head and a young female aide looking very much like the driver only much younger. Both women wore ill-fitting military uniforms and no makeup.

  “This is my driver Ekaterina and my aide Tanya. We must talk first. Have you checked the possibility of keeping your promise?”

  “I have and the answer is yes. On the next run I will have papers, documents and histories.” Noah noticed the stern face of the driver brighten into a warm smile. “It will be expensive, $150,000 American.” The general was about to say something. Noah held up his hand to stop him.

  “There is also another change. Instead of bringing the drugs, I wholesaled them and brought the cash.” Noah picked up the map case and handed it to the general.

  “Here is your one million dollars.” The general instantly brightened. His driver and his aide were hopping up and down losing all pretense of their dower appearance.

  “This is my wife and daughter. Judging by their unbridled enthusiasm they think your proposal is a good one, but I must question the price of the documents. $50,000 each seems exorbitant. I can get a set on the black market for three people at a cost of ten thousand.”

  “That is right and I would say possibly for less than that. Mine come with a complete history, education, degrees, former address and former employers. These will pass any inspection. You will even get a passport issued by the State Department. It will be just as if you were born there. These bribes are expensive, but everything will be part of your record fully documented in every respect. It is up to you whether you accept the offer or not. You may take the case with you or I can deposit it in an account under your new name. The choice is yours.”

  “You can do all of these things just as you described including our transportation?”

  “Yes, exactly as described. I can even have a home waiting for you ready to move in to furniture and all. Give me your sizes and you will have some clothes in the closet, food in the refrigerator, a car in the garage and cash in the bank. General Smirnov, talk it over with your family. I need to know before we leave.”

  “What if we cannot make up our minds?”

  “In that case I give you your fee, leave and we will not see each other again. I will buy my arms somewhere else, but right now I need to unload this cargo.”

  Noah went to the rear of the aircraft. He adjusted the ramp and unloaded the first pallet, which was produce. He called the Major over indicating the cigarettes and booze. They were unloaded instantly. The first truck was heading for the border five minutes after unloading began, followed by the next four pallets soon after. Noah started to load as soon as the Ark was empty. After each truck rolled its pallet on to the Ark, the empty truck wasted no time heading for the border. Noah locked down all the pallets and walked up to General Smirnoff.

  “It is time to go. I need an answer.”

  Ekaterina answered for him, “We have a deal.” Noah walked to the wall of the cargo bay. He pulled a large silver colored suitcase off the wall. It contained a variety of woman’s blouses and men’s shirts.

  “Pick a top and comb out your hair. I need some photos for ID’s.” He pulled out a small make up kit from the case. “Put on some make up. What we need is an American look.”

  Noah passed out some papers having them list interests, schooling, and preferred first name. He asked the general what family names he would like to use. He asked Tanya what family name she would like to use. It would be easier to use a different family name. Noah took some clothespins from the case and started to adjust some of the clothing from the back so that it would have a more fitted look.

  “I will have both the FBI and Interpol check the names that you pick so that you are not a criminal as soon as we return. The general was finished first. Noah hung the first background and started taking pictures. As he finished the first set, he instructed them to change clothes and comb their hair again. “Nobody looks identical on all of their ID photos. We need a slightly different look for each picture. Within the hour Noah had everything he needed. Noah arranged to make the next delivery in eleven days. He was assuming that he would lose his contact when Frank developed problems back in Tehran. General Smirnov and family started to leave.

  “General, don’t forget your luggage?” Noah laughed.

  “Ekaterina wants you to start a bank account for us in America,” he said handing Noah a sheet of paper. “These are our sizes. Ekaterina would like an ocean view in California.”

  “Some place warm please, I am tired of Russian winters,” She smiled at Noah. Her voice was much softer than her appearance.

  As the general drove away from the Ark, a Chevy Suburban rolled up to the Ark sliding to a stop just short of the wing with Frank hopping out and running up to Noah.

  “What in the hell is going on? I thought you were in a hurry to leave.”

  “The general thought that I was light, so we needed to work out the differences and his proble
m took longer than I allowed. We do need to leave now. Do you have anything else?”

  “Not that I will mention now.” Frank climbed into the suburban and drove down to clear the road. He was sure now that he would make that phone call to Creed when he got back to the Embassy. Noah wondered what kind of reception Frank would receive when he got back to Tehran. The General and family cheered as they crossed the border. One million dollars, they had figured that the drugs would clear half a million in Moscow and there was one more run that would make two million in their retirement account. Added to the million and a half that they already had in their run fund, life in America would be good. Life was always better when padded with cash.

  Once again the Ark used the whole roadway to takeoff only lifting off at the last possible second. It was good to be in the air again. They climbed slowly until they came near the Turkish border when they then popped up to cruise altitude. Their first stop was Adana, Turkey for fuel with the Ark landing at dusk. A Turkish immigration official met the aircraft requesting to inspect the cargo bay. Everything was crated so Noah had no problems with a quick peek. He walked through the bay. “All of the writing is in Russian.”

  “Yes we have a shipment from Tehran to Washington DC. It is Russian machinery.”

  “What kind of machinery?”

  “The kind they want in Washington DC. I just read the paperwork and don’t look in the boxes.” He handed the paperwork to the inspector. “Here you tell me.” The inspector took the paper work from Noah’s hand leafing through it briefly handing the documents back to Noah.

  “Alas, I do not read English very well. We will do this another time.”

  Noah led the way out of the bay saying, “I must attend to my job.” The fuel truck was positioned at the wing. Noah did not want to show any excitement at his request for an inspection. They were clear for this trip.

  The Ark climbed slowly out over the Mediterranean heading west. Noah did not like the way that this trip was shaping up and he did not like the comment that Angie’s husband made after they were done loading. He also did not like the pressure from the inspector. Was it a boring evening or was there something else? The next run would require a different fuel stop plus Noah would have to increase his level of vigilance. The degree of difficulty was increasing. He was wondering what was happening in Tehran. They were on their way back to Manchester and it would be five hours before they could get any real information. That guard seemed to be very anxious to stop the abomination. He was sure that Allah would punish this fiend. Noah was sure that something would happen, but he was hopeful that he would not have to do anything personally. The flight brought them down the Mediterranean Sea. They crossed over Sicily, flew over France, the Bay of Biscay, and the Irish Sea. The Ark was on final approach to Manchester before ten o’clock and they were on the ground and parked by ten thirty. The guide man waved them to a stop. Susan was there waiting with customs when Noah opened the door.

  “There is one big shit storm in Tehran. Several thousand protestors are surrounding the U.S Embassy. They want Frank’s head and I am not speaking as a figure of speech either. The Iranians literally want his head! I have a television in my office. Come have a look at what you have done and bring the crew.” They grabbed their bags following Susan up to her office.

  The television was on. The BBC news was presenting a special program. Lynn was in a chair watching the glowing eye as thousands of protestors were circling the U.S Embassy with signs demanding that Frank be turned over to Islamic Justice. U.S flags were burning every twenty yards. A third of the pictures were of the abomination spanking, a naked child. Another third were of the Shah demanding his abdication. A final third were of an Islamic cleric, the Ayatolla Khomini, demanding his restoration. Susan was livid, but Noah was fascinated.

  “Jesus Christ, Noah what the hell did you do?”

  “It was Allah not Jesus Christ.” The pun failed with Susan who was still pissed. “This reaction was a thousand times over what I calculated. It was an unintended consequence.”

  “This is way beyond that. Do you realize that you may have personally toppled a government? The Islamic Jihad has gotten hold of those pictures. The Shah has put his secret police to work protecting the Embassy. People are being shot, arrested, and tortured. They are blaming the U.S for everything. They are saying that the CIA trained the Shah’s Secret Police. Is there any comment that you have to offer to soften this disaster?”

  “At least it wasn’t the British Embassy and Canada is still good too.” That pun missed too. Susan shrieked uttering no intelligible words she just let out a pained shriek. She circled her arm in the air finally pointing at the quartet.

  “You four go out to the van. You will be staying at the Inn.” She pointed to Noah, “You can camp out on the Ark.”

  Noah knew that it was time to shut up. Susan led the quartet out to the van while Noah made his way back out to the Ark as a heavy fog started to settle in. He left the stairs down, but closed the door pouring himself three fingers of Scotch, lighting a smoke, and flopping in one of the recliners. There was no getting around it. This was a major cluster fuck. He was hoping that they would ambush Frank and administer Islamic Justice leaving his body in a ditch. The idea of triggering a revolution was totally unimaginable.

  Noah was contemplating his glass when he heard a tapping at the door. Cracking the door, he found Susan standing on the step. He opened the door for her so that she could storm in. Susan lifted his drink off the counter downing it in one pass slamming the cup on the counter fracturing the plastic.

  “You are a lunatic!” She held up a hand to stop his comment. “I don’t need more than five fingers to count the men that I have loved: one was my father, the other was my grandfather and I am trying to figure out why I love the biggest lunatic I have ever met in my life.” She grabbed his head fiercely kissing him hard on the lips. “What the hell do we do now?”

  “Two things, tell Angie not to say anything, and have your driver get some extra help from his friends until Angie’s husband’s fate is known. If they do not get him, I believe that he will come here. Frank needs to be on his toes.”

  “I do have one other problem.” Noah held up the Russians case. “I need a British citizen to buy some property for me.”

  Susan did not want him more involved in her business. He wanted her to take a chance at nailing down this land. They argued, stormed and finally they agreed to go ahead with the purchase. He would loan the money to the corporation interest free until it could pay him back. Securing that property would turn the public road into a private road moving the gate to the main road. Susan would put up a few staff houses close to the road turning the rest into an equestrian property.

  “I have a request to make of Lynn. I need her to take these trunks out to Los Angles.”

  “You are not going to have her run drugs!” Noah opened both trunks. They held only clothing, a few rolls of fabric and some cameras. None of the contents looked remotely compromising. I need to have these delivered personally, from hand to hand, after that she can come back or stay a while, that would be her choice. I will pay for her first class ticket.”

  “I need Lynn. She is my expert for negotiations. I will have her work the deal on the property across the road. I will send Terri and Suki. Was that two first class tickets?”

  “Yes it was.”

  “Come on then, I will take you out to the Inn. Lynn will be glad to hear that you are not in exile. She was worried about what I would do since I took an hour to cuss you out when the BBC first came out with the story two hours ago.” They drove up to Founder’s cottage with Susan entered the cottage first slamming the door open.

  “Oh, that man is impossible!” Susan stomped in the room in her high heel boots. “He has to go.” Lynn looked upset. Noah walked in a few seconds later.

  “You witch,” Lynn did not appreciate being baited.

  “Do you see that Noah? She does care about you.” Noah gently lifted both
of Lynn’s hands to his lips kissing both of her hands. He did the same for Susan.

  “Thank you my ladies. Goodnight.”

  Noah stepped out into the fog, walking down to the Quiet cottage. Terri was in the same position as when he left her this morning, stripping off his clothes he turned on the shower thinking that he had not awakened her. The shower took only seconds to warm up. As he stepped in he felt Terri step in behind him gently holding his genitals.

  “When Susan left she was going to cut these off. I’m glad she didn’t.”

  “So am I, since I am attached to them.” They enjoyed an intimate wash and climbed into bed. The sheets felt crisp despite the humidity. Terri curled into his arms. The bruises were fading. She still had the scabs from her ordeal, but they did not seem to hurt when he stroked them. He fell asleep massaging her. She knew that he was married, but she wanted him. He was a certifiable lunatic, but she knew he would give everything to protect her. Terri felt safe in his arms and she loved that feeling. This mad man had a heart. Who else would start a revolution to save her?

  Terri started to massage Noah. For the first time, she noticed a variety of small scars. There was a cluster of scars the size of pinheads over his shoulder and down his arm. She found a blotch of scar tissue on his shoulder blade. Terri could detect a six-inch scar on the front of his thighs. She found a three-inch scar just below his right nipple.

  All of her gentle explorations woke him up. She ran her hand over his shoulder. “What are these?”

  “That was a blast from a shot gun.” He could feel her fingers stiffen. She went through each scar and he told her the origin of the scar. She finally reached under his right nipple.

  “What about this scar?”

  “I broke a rib, and it pierced my lung. My wife never asked, even when we were married.”

  “What about these scars?” She ran her finger over his left nipple. He was about to tell her that there were no scars there when she bit him firmly on his nipple.