A Place Far Away

by Vahan Zanoyan

  “Kurig jan,” said Avo. His voice was composed, deep and in control. “Where are you? How did you find me?”

  “I’m fine,” said Lara, deliberately not answering the ‘where are you’ part of the question. “I cannot talk for long. Tell me, how are you, how is Mama, how is everything at home?”

  “Mama’s not fine,” said Avo, again using a mature matter-of-fact tone. “Everything else is fine. We are receiving what you send. Thanks. But I am very worried about you, Lara. Where are you? In Greece?”

  “No,” said Lara quickly. “It is a long story. Don’t ask any more. Tell me more about home.”

  “I think I know some of the story,” said Avo, sensing the caution in Lara’s voice. “I am very worried that you may be in trouble. I have seen things here, about the people who took you away.”

  “Avo, as I said it is a long story. Please don’t dwell on it now. I will try to come see you soon. Would that be okay with you?”

  “Kurig jan, why do you have to ask that? Of course it would be okay. We are all dying to see you again. We want to make sure that you’re safe. I don’t trust these people. Not at all. Have the people who took you been treating you well?”

  “Avo, listen, forget that now. The important thing is that I am fine and I now I have a way to contact you. Keep this phone next to you all the time. All the time, Avo, you understand? You can never tell when I’ll need to call you next. Do you understand, my little brother?”

  “I understand kurig. But can’t you tell me where you are?”

  “No. Don’t ask again. Tell me about Mama.”

  “She won’t make it through the winter. She has cancer. There is no cure.”

  “Have you tried everything? I can send more money if that’s what you need.”

  “We don’t need more money. There is no cure. Lara, I want to ask you something else. Did you know that Papa rejected Ayvazian when he asked to take you the first time?”

  “No. Don’t say that name on the phone again. But no, I did not know. Are you sure?”

  “Yes. They came with a proposal when Papa was alive. He said no. Then he went to see the man in his hometown, I am not giving any names anymore. And that is where he had the accident. Then they came back after a month and Mama said yes. And then they took you.”

  “I did not know,” said Lara and Avo could tell from her voice that she was crying. “Papa was wise, Avo jan,” she said sobbing, “wise and decent. Maybe too decent.”

  That was the most revealing thing that she told Avo in that conversation. The man who rejected Ayvazian’s proposal was wise. If it was a bad decision to reject them, would she say that? Avo’s worst fears about what may have befallen Lara seemed to be coming true.

  “Lara,” he said, “can you really come home?”

  “I’ll try,” she said. “I promise to try. Now I must go. I’ll try to call again when I get a chance. Kiss Mama for me. Take care of her. I don’t want her to die before I make it back home.”

  “I’ll take care of her,” said Avo, doing his best to suppress his tears. “But hurry up, Lara. There isn’t much time.”

  “Goodbye, Avo.”

  And the phone went silent.

  In two different worlds, there had been two different witnesses to the phone conversation between Lara and Avo. Sumaya in Dubai and Laurian in Vardahovit. And they both had sat there mesmerized. Sumaya, without understanding a word, had felt the power of Lara’s outpouring of emotion. She had seen her tears and witnessed her heroic effort to suppress them and keep calm while she talked. This was no ordinary nostalgic call home, she had thought, and wondered what else was involved. Laurian, who heard and understood the other end of the conversation, felt so much at the center of the unfolding drama that he could not hold back his own emotions. He stood up from the bench and gave Avo a long hug.

  “Don’t worry about the details now,” he said. “She is alive and well, and that’s all that matters right now. We’ll find a way to rescue her, I promise. Don’t think about the dark possibilities now.”

  XVI

  “Kiz şimdi nerdedir?” asked Apo Arslan. “Where is the girl now?”

  “The same place I am,” answered Farah. “We are, well, what you would call colleagues, I guess.”

  “Ve Müdür bu konuda biliyor? And does the director know about this?”

  Farah was not sure how to answer that, because she was not sure who he meant by ‘the director,’ Al Barmaka or Sumaya. Of course the logical thing would have been to assume that he meant Sumaya, because Al Barmaka couldn’t possibly be helping one of his women escape. But Farah was very careful not to appear as if they had misled Apo in any way.

  “Büyük olani bilmez,” she said. “The big one doesn’t know. Ikinci bilir. The second knows.”

  Apo Arslan was clearly intrigued with the second phone call from Farah. Her request had changed considerably. Farah was no longer offering him the girl, but was now asking him to meet her at the airport in Istanbul and send her off on a flight to Moscow, with an escort. Apo was generally against saying much over the telephone, so he could not ask many of the questions that he wanted to ask. Even what they already had said was beginning to make him nervous.

  “When is all this expected to happen?” he asked.

  “Within the next two weeks. We don’t know the exact day yet. When we know, we will have a window of only a few days to make all the arrangements.”

  “We cannot plan this over the phone,” said Apo. “Either you or someone else has to come here so I can discuss everything properly. Something like this will cost a lot of money. Who will pay all the costs?”

  “That’s all arranged,” said Farah confidently. “The second director will take care of everything.”

  “Someone still has to come in advance to discuss this, and make a down payment. This won’t happen without a down payment.”

  “I’ll have to get back to you about the advance visit,” said Farah. “How much is necessary for the down payment?”

  “Twenty thousand US.”

  “That’s just the down payment or the total cost?”

  “The total cost depends on how complicated this is. I can say only after I find out the details. But it would be at least double that, and probably more.”

  “I’ll have to get back to you,” said Farah, giving Sumaya a concerned look and waving her hand back and forth rapidly, as if to say she could not believe what she had just heard.

  “Call back in an hour.” Apo hung up.

  Apo Arslan sank in his armchair and lit a cigarette. He was in his mid-fifties, but looked younger. A thin and wiry man, with a wide forehead and a full head of dark wavy hair, he had an eagle nose, large dark eyes, and an enormous mustache, which had turned yellow from years of smoking. His business manager and associate of many years, a younger man who knew most but not all of his secrets, was in the room as well. Apo had a very large operation in Turkey. He started by exporting all types of Turkish products to Armenia, from textiles and electronic goods to fresh produce and chocolates, and then expanded his trade into Georgia, where he stumbled almost accidentally on the human trade and trafficking. He started bringing young girls from the Ukraine, Georgia and later Armenia into the Turkish market. His biggest competitor in the latter was Ayvazian; their competition turned so intense that it led to personal animosity between the two men.

  The most vicious clash between them was over control of the Dubai traffic, where Ayvazian was by far the most powerful Armenian operator. He had on numerous occasions successfully undermined Apo’s efforts to penetrate the Dubai market, not only with traffic from Armenia, but also and to Apo’s great dismay, from Turkey.

  It was a spectacular afternoon, and from his wide front window Apo counted more than fifteen ships sailing on the Bosporus. Some were large container ships, an oil tanker or two, several smaller ships, and a few leisure vessels. In the distance he could see the full display of the minarets and crowded buildings of the eastern part of the city.


  “Let me ask you this, Timur,” he said to his associate, keeping his eyes on the ships. “What would you think if I told you I can make an easy twenty grand US and open up the Dubai market for us at the same time?”

  Timur was all too familiar with Apo’s obsession with Dubai, so at first he took the comment with a grain of salt.

  “One of Ayvazian’s top prizes is ready to be snatched from him,” said Apo, taking a deep drag on his cigarette. “What makes it even more interesting is that she is already sold to a Dubai big shot, and probably for a lot of money. We can end up having ‘custody’ of the snatched beauty.”

  “I’m not sure I follow you,” Timur said, but his interest was heightened. This did not sound like another of the many futile attempts that Apo had engaged in in the past to bribe an officer in Dubai who was already in Ayvazian’s pocket.

  “He has this seventeen-year-old beauty from Armenia,” continued Apo, “and he has sold her with a year’s contract to someone very influential. I am not sure of all the details, but there seems to be a palace coup of sorts against her, and they want to ship her here to me. They’re asking that I then ship her to Moscow. It sounds to me like someone is trying to get rid of her. Crazy as this may sound, it smells like she is threatening the balance in the harem. It’s the only way I can explain it right now.”

  “A threat to the harem?”

  “There could be only a few possibilities,” said Apo, as if speaking to the ships in the distance. “First, Ayvazian himself may be behind this, in which case my plan will blow up. But what is the probability of that? Why would he steal his own girl after selling her to this hot shot? It makes no sense to me. Second, the big boss himself is trying to secretly smuggle her out of Dubai. Again, why? She is now living in a house on his estate, is his property, and he can take her anywhere he wants. Why smuggle her? Third, the young girl herself wants out, and has convinced the manager and the others inside to help her. Once again, why would they help her and take such a huge risk, and pay for the cost on top of that? So we agree that none of these three options are very likely?”

  “We agree,” said Timur. This was far more analysis than he had ever expected from Apo.

  “That leaves us with the fourth possibility, namely, that the manager and others in the harem want her gone. What I don’t understand though is why they at first offered her to me, but then came back after just one day and said I had to ship her to Moscow. That is a mystery which we cannot solve unless we talk to them face to face.”

  “Let me see if I am getting this right, Apo agha,” said Timur, giving Apo the traditional title of respect. “If I’m not mistaken, the only way you can use this to open up the Dubai market for us is to get the girl here, and then instead of shipping her to Moscow, trade her back to Ayvazian for an entry visa into Dubai, right?”

  “You’ve been with me too long, Timur,” said Apo affectionately. “Now you’re reading my mind. You see, if what my gut is telling me is correct, Ayvazian will be in a whole lot of trouble when his little canary flies away from the new master. The guy has probably paid a fortune for her and will be understandably furious. He will go after Ayvazian with a vengeance. He will even suspect foul play by Ayvazian himself. He will threaten to destroy his entire operation in Dubai, and Ayvazian will know that he can make good on the threat. So now you tell me. In that state of mind, he gets a call from his old friend Apo, offering him the girl as a peace offering, in return for a piece of the Dubai market. What do you think he’ll do?”

  Apo was now smiling ear to ear and the ships look particularly beautiful that afternoon.

  “Apo agha,” said Timur thoughtfully, “you mentioned something about meeting these people face to face. Given this plan, do you think that’s wise?”

  “You’re right, Timur,” said Apo, again impressed by his associate. “When I asked them to come and see me, I was actually still thinking of doing the job they were asking. The thought of trading her hit me after I hung up. Obviously, a face-to-face meeting will not be necessary anymore. She will call back soon, and I’ll sort that out. I had asked for a twenty-thousand dollar down payment, but I’ll raise that now to thirty; we won’t get more money from them once we hand the girl back to Ayvazian.

  Sumaya had checked the flights from both Dubai and Muscat to Istanbul. There were more options from Dubai, but she was leaning increasingly toward the Omani route, as it provided an added measure of security to the operation. She wondered at first about Apo’s quick change of heart about a face-to-face meeting, but was also relieved that the requirement had been waived. Sending Farah over to negotiate details in advance would have increased her risks significantly; so she did not dwell on the reasons for the change. She was also suspicious about the demand for a larger down payment, but did not dwell on that either. She agreed to wire the thirty thousand dollars and, based on Al Barmaka’s likely travel schedule, she even sent Apo three different possible flights on which Leila could arrive in Istanbul.

  In the meantime, Apo went through the motions of planning the operation as prescribed by Farah in great detail. He in turn sent them flight details to Moscow based on Leila’s three different arrival times, and demanded that he be told in advance who would be meeting them in Moscow. He gave Timur’s name as the companion, and told Farah that the person meeting them in Moscow should have a sign with Timur’s name on it. Farah said that there could be more than one Timur on the plane, and asked for a last name. Apo refused. He said the sign would just read ‘Timur K.’. They even discussed where exactly at Moscow airport they would meet in case they missed each other upon exit from customs. Apo did not want to give Farah any reason to doubt that he’d follow the script.

  There wasn’t a lot more they could do other than wait for the finalization of Al Barmaka’s travel plans. This was the time of year that he made a tour of their Asian offices and operations. It usually was his longest business trip of the year and could last as long as ten days. The tour took him to India, Singapore, Malaysia, and sometimes Hong Kong. The Al Barmaka Group had not yet started operations in China, even though there was talk of it in the family. If they decided to open a base in China, Al Barmaka could be gone even longer than ten days, as opening new operations and bases would require several extra days, possibly in both Beijing and Shanghai.

  Every day that Al Barmaka was in Dubai, Sumaya’s determination to send Lara away increased. He spent more and more time with her. He had started going there earlier in the evenings, and had even had dinner with her on a couple of occasions, which also was a first. One night, he had taken Leila a bottle of champagne, which was another first. Everyone knew that Al Barmaka liked to drink wine, and was even known to get pretty drunk once in a while in his youth, but he had never taken alcohol with him when visiting one of his ladies. The rapid blossoming of the relationship with Lara simply reconfirmed to Sumaya that she was doing the right thing.

  There was another piece of information that she did not share with Farah and Natalia. The wife of Al Barmaka’s older brother, with whom Sumaya had been close for many years, had told her that the family was putting a lot of pressure on the young renegade to get married and settle down. They even had a couple of candidates, both first cousins and a few years younger than him, and both from rich families. In the traditional system, either would make a perfect wife. Spouses for each of his brothers had been selected in this manner. That was the accepted custom, largely because it kept the wealth and the power relationships within the extended family. Sumaya was convinced that sooner or later Al Barmaka would have to succumb to that pressure and marry one of the two cousins, which would secure the future of her job as manager of his other relationships. Secure it, that is, as long as he did not spring a surprise on the family and marry the seventeen-year-old Leila first.

  Lara, on the other hand, was finding it more and more difficult to keep her mind on Ahmed Al Barmaka. Her first conversation with Avo had changed everything. She had asked Sumaya the next day to make one more ca
ll. Avo was still in Vardahovit, which had disappointed Lara, because she had hoped that she could talk with her mother as well. She had explained this to Sumaya, and Sumaya had agreed to let her call back when Avo returned home. The second conversation was less rushed and less emotional, but also more informative.

  “What are you doing in Vardahovit?” she had asked, with a hint of disapproval in her voice. “Is everything in order back home?”

  “Ha, Lara jan, don’t worry about that. This visit is very important. I wish I could explain more.”

  “When will you go back home?”

  “In just a few days. I’ll return before the week is over. Any news about when you’re coming home?”

  “I’ll let you know when I know, Avo. How is Mama?”

  “The same. There is nothing we can do. Martha is there every day.”

  “Avo, stay away from the people we talked about last time. I don’t want you to get involved with them.”

  “But you’re involved with them, right?”

  “That’s different. Promise me you won’t get involved with them.”

  “Lav, kurig jan, I promise. But are you still with them?”

  “Yes and no,” said Lara curtly. “Don’t ask more. Stay away from them, whatever it is you’re doing up there.”

  “Eghav, kurig jan,” said Avo, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise. Lara did not know what he had learned in Vardahovit.

  “And under no circumstances can you tell anyone that I’m planning to come home, Avo. No one. Not even the family. We cannot have the word get out.”

  “I understand,” said Avo, and realized that his sister was planning something dangerous. How he wished he could just go to her and rescue her. “I’ll wait for your next call.”

  Al Barmaka was being extremely charming. He had started talking to her in Arabic to check her progress, and was very complementary and encouraging. That week there were signs of uncharacteristic intimacy from him: he had asked her what her real name was. Lara had told him, even though she knew that he must have known all along.