The Desert Lion's True Colours

by Ikechi Hayden

  Leon gave the universal head-nod, to which the guy replied with the identical gesture before pointing to the Jaguar behind them.

  ‘Get in.’ He said.

  Before Leon could reply the window rolled back up to reveal his own reflection in the tinted glass.

  Looking over at Jay, he tilted his head in the direction of the Jaguar and said ‘I guess this is us.’

  The Jaguar’s windows stayed closed so Leon pointed to the bags on the floor and then to the trunk to show the driver of the car his intentions. A second passed and the trunk opened, revealing more than enough space for their expensive luggage. Holding onto their own gear they loaded the 5 Gucci bags into the back. As Jay closed the trunk, the right rear door of the Jaguar opened and out stepped another well-dressed Middle Eastern man. He was wearing black leather shoes, beige pants, a plain white shirt and what looked like the butt of a Glock handgun in the front of his waist. Its black boxy frame was unmistakable. He approached Jay first and with a large smile on his face he shook his hand. ‘Jay… !’ He said warmly. ‘. . . I’m so glad to finally meet you.’

  Weary of the situation Jay simply replied ‘Yeah, you too.’

  Moving in closer, the guy reached in for a hug and whispered ‘I need to search you.’

  Knowing what was coming, Jay relaxed his body and the fake hug transformed into a close quarter body search, - minus the space between the legs and ankles. They had already calculated the chances of being searched, so they decided against carrying any weapons on their person.

  The guy then turned his attentions to Leon and gave him the same welcome, hug and search. After retrieving Leon’s phones and was relatively satisfied with his body-check he pointed to the bags they were holding and said ‘What’s in them?’

  ‘Personal effects’ Leon replied.

  The guy kept silent for a moment then looking directly at Leon said, ‘I insist you let us carry all your luggage.’

  The guy made a motion with his hand and the trunk of the Jaguar XJ reopened. After taking their bags and placing Leon’s phones into one of them, he through both bags into the back and then pointed to the Range Rover at the back of the three vehicle procession.

  ‘You two ride in the back.’ He said.

  ‘Sure. No worries.’ Leon replied.

  Casually, they entered the rear doors of the high class SUV and made themselves comfortable in the back seat. There were two other persons in the car, the driver and another man sitting on the front passenger seat.

  ‘What’s good gentleman? You our chauffer’s for the day?’

  Jay questions were spoken in jest but neither of the men replied.

  Like their partner who sat in the back seat of the first Range Rover, the men sitting in front of Leon and Jay wore wide framed sunglasses. They both had full beards and they both wore black and white Keffiyeh’s around their necks. From his position behind the passenger seat, Leon could see the driver was carrying a gun. - Held to his waist by a fancy gun holster that had space for two extra clips on the side. As Leon looked up at the rear-view mirror to catch a glimpse of the driver’s reflection he quickly realised the driver was already looking back at him, - smiling.

  Leon cleared his throat and casually asked ‘Are you guy’s security?’

  No reply was given. The driver just hit a button to his left, which caused the rear door latches to sink down onto their little holes, locking them inside. Jay knew there was no way out but he instinctively tried the door handles anyway. Nothing happened. Looking at what Jay was trying to do, the guy in the front passenger seat smiled to himself.

  Still parked behind the Jaguar, they all sat in silence waiting for the Range Rover in front of them to move forward into the flow of traffic. A couple minutes passed and they had not moved an inch, so Leon took the time to analyse their current situation. They were locked in, the money was in a different car and the guys occupying the front seats were armed. Things did not look good but they were not bad either. Leon looked up at the specialty air-freshener dangling by a piece of string from the mirror. It was rectangular in shape - like a book mark, yellow in colour with bright blue writing in the middle. Leon could not understand what it said because the words were written in a different language however at the very bottom there were words that were written in English. It said: (Surah al-Anfal 8:10).

  “The Quran” Leon thought. He did not belong to any particular religion, but Jay on the other hand had been hit by a sudden belief or spiritual awaking after he got shot three years ago. He decided to find some sort of fulfilment and ended up reading the Quran. After a few months he put the Holy book down and returned to his old ways however during that time of enthusiasm he would read scriptures to Leon at every opportunity. Eventually Leon’s interest was piqued and he ended up obtaining a Quran of his own. Leon looked over at his friend and smiled to himself. Because of Jay, Leon was 90% sure the men who had picked them up were Muslim, which meant they were more than likely speaking in Arabic.

  Leon was going to ask the driver another question but decided against it as they began to pull away from the curb. They stayed tight on the Jaguars tail until they exited the one way system out of the Airport and onto the Nassau Expressway. After several minutes they turned off and took exit 19 onto Belt Parkway West. They had been sitting in silence for a while so Jay decided to speak again.

  ‘I didn’t get y’all names…’ He said smiling. ‘. . . The name’s Jay and yours?’

  No reply was given.

  ‘Well suit yourself…’ Jay said into the silence. ‘. . . I was just trying to make conversation.’

  The guy in the front passenger seat raised his right hand and pointed to the next exit. The driver nodded and manoeuvred into his right lane and exited north onto the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Leon noticed the space between them and the white Jaguar in front had increased by a fairly large distance, - allowing other cars to get in between them. Leon thought to himself that if these guys were supposed to be securing the rear of the Jaguar, they were not doing a good job.

  Seconds after that thought crossed Leon’s mind Jay said ‘so where we heading?’

  Again, neither of the guys answered.

  ‘Yo, what’s up with that? It doesn’t take much to acknowledge a person, I’ma tell your boss that your hospitality skills suck… !’

  Jay was midway through his sentence when the tone of a mobile phone cut him off. The guy in the front passenger seat retrieved the phone from his pocket and answered. Leon could tell by the guy’s timid and respectful reply that whoever was on the other end was someone in charge, someone who had relative authority and power. The call ended and the guy who answered the phone signalled to the driver to indicate left. The driver did as he was told, manoeuvred into the far right lane and took the next exit, heading north towards Manhattan. It was then Leon realised that from the moment the cars pulled up at the Airport, he had read the whole situation wrong. He assumed both Range Rovers were serving as security for the white Jaguar XJ. However it was becoming very apparent their drop off for Black was just that - A Drop Off. Black never had any intentions of allowing them to actually meet his contact. He just wanted them to get the bags to New-York on the government’s dime. ‘But why’ Leon thought. The bag Black had given him two nights before held nothing but money – he had checked it himself, - and the four bags he received from Perry were no different. ‘I most have missed something’ he said under his breath.

  As Leon went over the different scenarios that could be coming their way, the shook-look appeared on his face. Noticing his friends change in attitude Jay asked ‘What’s good dawg?’

  Almost whispering Leon replied ‘We just might have a problem.’

  Jay frowned for a moment then said ‘You think? These guys have already got what they wanted.’

  Leon was going to reply but the guy sitting in front of
him turned around in his seat and from out of nowhere, pulled out a gun.

  ‘Did anyone say you could talk?’

  His tone clearly made the question a rhetorical one but Jay couldn’t help but reply.

  ‘Yo, is the gun necessary?’ Jay said it with the same rhetorical sarcastic tone.

  ‘You listen to me…’ The guy replied. ‘. . . There is nothing you can say that I want to hear. So shut up.’ He paused, raised the gun towards Jay’s face and then while looking at his bruises said ‘Or I’ll finish off what looks like someone else started.’

  Jay looked over at Leon and started to chuckle.

  ‘I said shut up!’ The guy repeated.

  ‘Yo! Who do you think you’re talking to… ?’ Jay said calmly. ‘. . . This is America baby. This is my home. You can’t tell me to shut up. You know who I am?’

  The guy shrugged his shoulders to show he did not care, straitened his guns aim, released the safety and said ‘No, I don’t know. Who are you?’

  Jay was surprisingly quiet. Focusing his attention on Jay but clearly speaking to Leon the guy holding the gun said, ‘Since your friend here has a problem with me telling him to be quiet. Would YOU mind giving him a message from me? The windows of this car are double paned, bullet proof glass. So if he doesn’t keep quiet, I have no problems with putting a bullet through his head. No one will see or hear a thing. Am I making myself clear?’

  Looking at the loaded gun a few feet from Jay’s face, Leon replied ‘Crystal. However I do have a question.’

  Unimpressed with Leon’s apparent stupidity, the guy switched his aim towards Leon and said, ‘I already told you. No talking. That means no questions.’

  ‘I get that,’ replied Leon. ‘. . . It’s just that if we’re not there to hand the shit over to your boss personally.’ he paused for a moment then said, ‘then how are we going to be able to tell him what’s wrong with it?’

  ‘What do you mean? What’s wrong with it?’

  Leon smiled. ‘Ahh, if you knew who we were, you would already know we’re not going to tell YOU that.’

  Leon could tell he had him hooked. He was genuinely going over the B.S he had just been fed. A few seconds passed and the guy eased back a little to look at his partner behind the wheel. Once again they spoke in Arabic. The conversation lasted only a few minutes but Leon was sure he heard Black’s name mentioned more than a couple times.

  The driver pulled up at a set of traffic lights and his partner went back to his phone and dialled a number. Someone answered and without introduction the guy said ‘They’re saying there’s something wrong with the package.’

  The rest of the conversation was a mixture of English and Arabic. Leon could only pick out words like yes, no and the phrase ‘Ana fahim’ which he knew to mean ‘I understand’.

  The conversation ended, followed quickly by the traffic lights turning green. The guy who was on the phone said something to his partner and pointed left. Defiantly, the driver mumbled under his breath but made the left onto 44th Street as he was told. Turning back around the guy sitting in the front passenger seat said ‘Well it would seem you have gained yourself a few extra hours. My boss is going to check the bags to verify nothing is wrong. However if nothing is found…’

  ‘Then what?’ Jay interjected.

  Smiling, the guy replied, ‘Then I guess we go back to plan A.’

  Before Jay could come up with a witty come back the guy returned to his proper seated position without another word. With the immediate danger averted Jay finally decided it probably would be best to keep his mouth shut.

  CHAPTER 15

  Within 15 minutes the white, bullet proof - Range Rover sport, had pulled up in front of the Sofitel Hotel, located in midtown Manhattan overlooking 5th Avenue and Times Square. From the outside it was easy to see why it was 5 stars. The driver killed the engine and the guy in the passenger seat dialled a number on his phone. Judging by his one word answers and the occasional yes in English, Leon figured he was being given orders. Leon watched him end the call, exit the Range Rover and wait for his partner to do the same. With their guns hidden underneath their black leather jackets they both motioned to Leon and Jay to get out of the car slowly.

  Leaving the Range Rover behind, they all walked past the porters, through the main entrance of the Hotel, through the spacious foyer and over to the penthouse elevator located to the right of the reception desk. The elevator did not take very long to arrive and within a few minutes all four men were standing inside, heading up to the top floor. Leon casually stood next to Jay on the right side of the elevator scrutinising there captures through his PRADA sun glasses. They were identically dressed in the same jeans, timberland boots, and t-shirt and leather jacket. At closer inspection Leon deduced they had more in common than just their clothes. He was pretty sure they were related. Brother’s maybe or some other close relative for sure. They were both round about the same height and build but the shape of their jaw; cheeks and lips were a dead giveaway. Leon figured the one who did most of the talking was the one in charge.

  With 3 more flights before the Penthouse floor Jay looked over at the guy who had been driving and said ‘Yo man, are we gonna order room service?’

  The guy shook his head in reply. The elevator stopped on the 30th floor and the guy who was sitting in the passenger seat, the one Leon thought to be in charge used a Key-Card to open the elevator doors. From the elevator Leon and Jay were led down a single corridor towards the penthouse, which had a lone man standing outside. He was dressed in the same leather shoes, pants, shirt and gun ensemble the guy from the Jaguar was wearing earlier. He acknowledged his associates in their Arabic tongue and then in English gave the order for Leon and Jay to be searched again.

  Looking at the guys clothes Leon asked, ‘So you’re the one in charge… ?’ Leon paused turned to the guy who had been sitting in the front passenger seat and said ‘I thought HE was the one in charge.’

  None of them replied. The men just moved in closer and began to search Leon and Jay as ordered. This time the search was thorough. From the top of their shoulders all the way down to their ankles. When they were done the new guy ordered Leon and Jay to remove their sunglasses. Seeing the bruises on their faces his expression changed from one of seriousness to one of suspicion. Leon was half expecting him to ask them what happened but after checking the time on his watch, the new guy turned around and opened the Penthouse door. ‘Follow me.’ He said.

  ‘Cool,’ Jay replied. ‘I thought you was gonna have us chillin outside dawg.’

  Not impressed with Jay’s comments and general jovial attitude the guy brandished his gun and started waiving it from side to side. Looking at Jay he said ‘You are not allowed to talk.’

  Under his breath Jay replied ‘Whatever.’

  As they walked through the room’s reception area, Leon took a quick inventory of the suite’s dimensions. Apart from the guy in the nice pants and the two guys who had brought them, the suite seemed to be empty. Pointing to the beige leather couch at the far end of the living room, the guy said ‘Go sit over there.’

  Without hesitation both Leon and Jay did as they were told and sat on either end of the three seat couch. The same guy who ordered them to sit down took a mobile phone out of his pocket and hastily dialled a number. The line was picked up and for the next three minutes he was engaged in a heated conversation with someone who obviously held a different opinion. The call ended and the guy looked over at Leon and Jay with anger in his eyes.

  ‘You say there is something wrong with the package?’

  They both kept silent.

  ‘You refuse to talk to me?’ shouted the guy on the phone.

  No reply was given.

  The new guy smiled, placed the phone back into his pocket, his gun back into the holster his waist and simply said ‘Ok. Suit yourself.’ He
then paused, turned to the other two men and said something neither Jay nor Leon could understand.

  However the driver replied in English, ‘Why? Where are you going?’

  Frowning, the guy with the nice clothes walked over to the driver, grabbed the back of his neck to bring him closer then whispered into his ear. It was not possible to hear what was being said but Leon could see the driver’s facial expression changed from defiance to reluctant acceptance. The new guy in charge then walked over to the driver’s partner, tapped him on the shoulder and left the suite.

  As soon as he was gone Jay blurted out ‘Yo, where’s your man going? Something wrong?’

  Neither of the men replied to that however the one left in charge approached Leon and in a low voice said, ‘In about ten minutes the package would have reached its destination. Are you sure there is nothing you want to say before it is checked?’

  ‘Not to you.’ Leon said daringly.

  The guy chuckled. ‘Why do you Americans always try to play the tuff guy? You always want to be the cowboy, the gangster.’ He paused to tell his partner to come in closer and then turning his attention back to Leon said ‘. . . This is not the Wild West. And you are not John Wayne.’

  Both Jay and Leon started to laugh.

  “This is not the Wild West and you are not John Wayne.” They repeated mockingly.

  ‘Yo. You guys are a joke.’ Jay said smiling.

  ‘Really… ? Well in eight minutes we will see who will be laughing.’

  The guy looked down at his watch, smiled and was about to say something else but his phone started to ring. He answered; ‘Yes…’

  The person on the other end was speaking very loud, almost shouting. However, midway through their rant, the call dropped. The guy who was standing in front of Leon lowered the phone from his ear, turned to his partner and said ‘Stay here and watch them while I go find Jafar.’