The Intern Affair (13 page)

“Unfortunately, or fortunately for us, no.
Carl
has his hands full with the two projects in
South America
.
They’re going through very difficult times down there right now.
He won’t be able to spare a minute with us.
He’s already
taken
back all that documentation from
Jim
.”

“Anymore?
Maybe I should go home and come back again when the dust settles?”

“Oh no you don’t; there is no escape from the mess which you have created, Kiddo.
Not this time.”
They laughed.

“Well then, what’s next?” Talya asked.

“
Mali
is next.
Thomas
is talking to
Francis
—he’s back working, by the way—and they’re having some problems with some of the nomads at Kankoon, digging holes on the property.”

“But these people are harmless.
By the time we get on the ground they’ll be long gone.”

“Maybe, but all of the holes these people would have left in their wake are not only dangerous for the crew but they may be falsifying our geophysical readings. Anyway, I think you should have a chat with
Thomas
and see what he wants done.”

“Is that it?
Or is there more?”

“There’s more all right,”
Charles
replied as he crossed his legs one ankle over one knee, making himself comfortable.
Obviously, Talya was in for a few more minutes of this. “We need to obtain permits from the
Senegal
government to start the dismantling of
Ousmane
’s plant, and to start getting some sampling done. However, we won’t get anywhere until
Ousmane
gets his nose out of our government relations. Our permit applications need to be
channelled
from this office. He needs to realize that he’s dealing with foreign investments now.
That’s where you’re going to have to make him understand what’s at stake here.
We need him out of the way. He’s becoming an absolute pest.”

“Well, you have to keep in mind that he’s the reason behind our success.”

“What are you talking about?
He’s just decided to squat on the land one day and put his obsession to work for a few years to end up with a near disaster.
So, how does that make him the
reason
for our success?”

“
Charles
, you may not like what I’m going to say, but it’s a fact that
Ousmane
forced the issue.
He forced everyone to look at what was staring us in the face all this time.
The difference was that he did something about it. However obsessed he’s been while pushing his idea through, he did what no one would have dared doing, and since we have picked up the ball, so to speak, we are going to succeed
because
of his obsession
.
”

“I hate when you talk like that.
I hate it because I have to admit you’re right.
But what I want to know is if you’re going to be able to handle him?”

“That’s not a problem.
I just have to put him to work.”

“Is that all?
Why didn’t we think of that?
You’re definitely back to your old self, I can see that.”
Charles
was grinning.

“Yes, but we haven’t talked about our Chief Financial Officer, strangely enough. Or is it because our dear
Terrance
hasn’t got any problems?”

“Well, I didn’t mention him because he took the bull by the horns and hired a lady to help him.
She should be starting next Monday, as I understand it.
She’s got a lot of expertise in take-over accounting apparently, and as far as
Terrance
is concerned she’s a God-sent.”

“Good! And now that we’ve passed everyone in this morning’s review, was there anything else I should look at?”
Talya gazed at her boss with some impatience.

She wanted to start organizing this mess.
Too many people needed help and none had any idea what they would be facing. Africa is still a far, far away continent for many, and a totally unknown part of this world for a few, and it seemed that they had a ‘few’ of the few people in their midst who didn’t know anything about the Dark Continent.

“Yes, unfortunately.
There is
Kareef
’s trial.
What do we need to do for that?”

“Nothing!
You leave it to Samir and me.
Since you have so graciously invited him to ‘visit’ with me, as you put it, we’ll work out that problem by ourselves.”

“Okay then, I think that’s it, but I’d like a report on my desk by tomorrow night—please—before your
teacher
arrives on Thursday.”

“Yes, sir!”
Talya said with a grin.

Charles
got up and walked out, laughing and shaking his head.

16

“Monsieur
Gilbert
?”

“M
r.
Karim
?”
Francis
could not believe it.
Isn’t he in jail?

“Yes it is, Monsieur
Gilbert
. Surprised?”

“You could say that, yes.”
Francis
was more than surprised—uncomprehending was more like it.
Abdul
Karim
, from what he had heard, was supposed to be facing a trial for embezzlement and fraud. How could he be on the line?

“
Let’s just say that
I had a good lawyer and
I
promised to make good on returning my niece’s estate when the mine is in production, so they released me—that simple.”

To
Francis
, ‘simple’ meant ‘corrupted’. He knew that corruption ran high amid the justice system in
Bamako
, and that the only way the man could be free and roaming the streets again, was to have paid someone to turn a blind eye on his long list of crimes.

“Yes, I see, but what is the reason for you calling me now, M
r.
Karim
? I was not here when it all took place, so I don’t see
—
”

“But you were at the mine site—”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“What did you see, M
r.
Gilbert
?”

“Nothing of relevance—not to you anyway—so what is this all about?”

“Oh but it is relevant, in fact, it is very important to me.”

“Why is that? Actually and from what I heard, you spent a lot more time than I did at the mine
—
”

“Yes, I did. But, when you’re locked up and tortured you don’t have time or inclination to look around you, do you?”

“Just tell me what you want to know—I’ve got work to do—I don’t have time for reminiscence right now. So what is it?”

“What did
Sergio
tell you about his work at the mine?”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing.”

Francis
didn’t see where this questioning was leading.
Sergio Mendez
was dead—murdered—and what he did at the mine had no relevance to
Karim
as far as he knew.

“Didn’t he talk to you and to
Mr.
Durant
while you were on site?”

“Of course he did, but what he said had all to do with the installation of the ball mill and crusher at the plant, and I don’t think you would be interested in any of these details.”

“You’re right, I’m not, but didn’t he say anything about the adits?”

“No, he didn’t! Now you’ll have to excuse me but I have to get back to work.”

“Yes, yes of course. Good day, M
onsieur.
Gilbert
. I’ll be in touch…,”
Karim
said and hung up.

Francis
shrugged and replaced the receiver.

However, this conversation began to pry on his mind. Why was
Karim
asking questions about the adits in Sabodala’s hillside, in
Senegal
? Before his arrest,
Karim
had been working in
Mali
as far as
Francis
knew. Moreover, by now, everyone knew that these adits were only the first step to the mine
tunnelling
into the mountain, and only served the purpose of testing the gold deposits. So why would
Karim
, of all people, be interested in their presence?

17

Alhassan
was leaning against the back of his chair. His mind was abuzz with questions.
He was wondering what the reason was for Talya missing a term during her third year in Junior High.
She must have been only fourteen to fifteen then.
Alhassan
’s conjuring thoughts brought him back to
Mansur
’s remarks about that period, and Guinée being under the reign of Sékou Touré.
He asked himself if this whole affair could have been political, somehow.
He shook his head dismissively. He kept on thinking about Talya’s incessant desire for being alone.
Why, why was she pushing him away?
She had proposed the objection of him being Muslim. That made no sense.
She used the pretext of her being Jewish and yet she embraced the teachings of the Koran.
Alhassan
was still lost in his wandering thoughts when the phone rang on his desk.

“Maitre
Sangare
here
.”

“Maitre, this is your friend, Samir.” Instantly
Alhassan
brought his chair back to the desk. A call from Samir was always unusual.
The man didn’t particularly like to use modern means of communications.

“Samir.
I’m glad you’ve called.
I was about to come and see you.
What’s up?”

“Many things, my friend, many things.”

“You’ve found out something about Talya?”

“No,
Alhassan
, not yet, but I have news nonetheless. I’m flying to
Paris
in the morning and then on to
Vancouver
.”
If
Alhassan
hadn’t been sitting he would have sat down at hearing that announcement. “You what?
How’s that?
Why?”

“I knew you would be upset at the news, so this is the reason I decided to phone you instead of visiting you.
It’s better to keep you at arms’ length under such circumstances.”

“You’re right.
I could have bound and gagged you before you’d say another word.”

“Then since I am still free to speak, would you like to hear the rest of my news?”

“You can be sure I’m not going to hang up...
Let’s have it.”

“
Charles
phoned me a little while ago and he asked me to get one of my aircrafts ready to do some flying as soon as possible. Since I needed to do an overall on the turbo-jet anyway, I decided to fly to
Paris
tomorrow and put it in for servicing.
That will take about two weeks.
When I told
Charles
how long the job would take, he told me to get on the next flight out to
Vancouver
.”

“I’ll go with you…,”
Alhassan
offered with anxiety and decisiveness in his voice.

“You’ll do no such thing. I don’t want you anywhere near me or Talya until I bring her back.”

“You mean it? You’re going to bring her back no matter what?”

“Yes, I am, but to do that I need to be alone with her.
Charles
is a very wise man and he considers Talya like a father would consider a daughter.
He sensed that it was the only way she would accept to come back.”

“I am very happy for you. But that doesn’t resolve any of her problems, or mine for that matter.”

“You can be such a jerk sometimes,” Samir reproved with fluster.

“Why?
What did I say now?
Am I not right in saying that bringing her back will not resolve the situation?”

“First,
Alhassan
, this jealous trait of yours will get you in trouble. Second, you’re not thinking clearly. Didn’t we agree just yesterday that the only way Talya could ever love anyone is if she goes back to the past and makes light of what happened to her?”