The Intern Affair (61 page)

“None of the above and you know it.” He was looking straight ahead to the turquoise sky endlessly stretch
ing
before them.
“But tell me why?
What triggered your feelings?
I was so sure that you wouldn’t be able to feel this way until we went to
Conakry
.”

“Last night, when you raised your knife to kill the man behind the container; when I saw the blade, something snapped, and I suddenly realized that if you had killed him, I would lose you forever.
The thought of that happening was unbearable.
In a moment, I understood what it meant to lose somebody you love. If the hurt could be so intolerable, the love must be so deep.”
Talya was almost screaming from joy.

Samir lifted his eyes to the cockpit’s ceiling. “
God
, please help me to control this plane until our destination.” He turned his head to her, “Talya, I beg of you stop talking, now. Otherwise, I will have to land this plane,” while smiling and pleading for mute mercy.

100

Samir lowered
the landing gear to put the plane down on
Bamako
’s runway two hours later.
When the aircraft came to a full stop in front of the airport’s private lounge—that old shack painted in disgusting green Talya knew so well—Samir put both his hands around her face and kissed her gently.

“Princess, I adore you!
But for now, we need to get to a hotel.”

“But I thought you had a house or an apartment here?”

“I do. I have a house, as a matter of fact, but we can’t go there, or we’ll be dead by morning—”

Talya’s heart sank. They had to finish the job. Now, however, she had something to live for. “I hope this hotel of yours serves some food, because right now I can think of nothing else.”

“Oh yes it does.
It’s not as
grand
as the Grand Hotel, but it serves some of the best food in town and the rooms are immaculately clean.
It’s on the edge of the
Niger
, which makes it cool and comfortable.”

“Well that’s sounds very nice, but does the owner know you?
Because if he does, you know, we’ll be as much at risk there as we would be at your house.”

“Yes,
she
does know me, in fact.
However, because the lady lives in
Switzerland
, she practically never comes near the place.
Originally, the hotel belonged to her father who was a friend of our family.
Now that both fathers have passed away, we never see each other. And her hotel is run by a couple of young men who have absolutely no idea who I am, and they wouldn’t recognize me if I came within two feet of them.”

All the while they were talking, they had started gathering their belongings and shutting down the plane.
Samir filled out his flight report and took his desert garments off to pack them in their backpack.

The airport attendant and the mechanic came running when Samir pushed the door opened
,
and greeted him warmly, as they recognized their patron. As for Talya, she had donned her full black gear once again, although it smelled of sweat and dust, and pulled the veil completely over her face.

As they were walking toward the green shack, Samir said to the attendant, “I have brought this lady to
Bamako
for a funeral.”
He’s right about that!
“She will be waiting in the lounge until I get back from the tower. So if you don’t mind, Joseph, seeing that she is comfortable until I get back, I’d appreciate it,” and turning to Talya, he added, “I will see you in a few minutes, Madame. I will get your passport and all your documents in order.”

Talya only nodded in reply.
Opening her mouth would have given away her identity in a flash.

Driving through town in a black Mercedes with tinted windows—
desert carriers must make a bundle
—the thought of not being able to change clothes annoyed Talya.
What she was wearing was in desperate need of a thorough wash, and what they had in the backpack was smeared with the red of the
Sahel
’s dirt.

Samir was probably thinking the same thing when he asked, “Do you want me to go and buy some fresh clothes for you and me, at the market?”

“That’s a great idea, Samir.
I was wondering how long I was going to be able to stand myself smelling the way I do.”

“I’ll get you some bathing salts if you want to take a bath tonight.”

“A bath in
Bamako
?
You’ve got to be kidding!
They haven’t had baths here since the colonial days.”

“At the Djenné they do,” Samir said, turning his head slightly to look at her.

“All right, you win. You get me what ever you think is best. After seeing what you chose for me in
Paris
and what you can do since you came to
Vancouver
, I give up.”

“That’s the way I like it; to be able to lay the world at your feet.”

“You’re impossible, Samir!” She was laughing and giggling with happiness.

101

The five men
were sitting in the living room of
Charles
’s apartment at the Meridien.
Sir Reginald
had joined them that evening after leaving his
two
exhausted agents,
Thomas
and
Charles
, to rest for several hours after their return from Sabodala earlier that day.
They each had their favourite drink in front of them.

“Gentlemen, I came to visit you this evening for only one reason,”
Sir Reginald
began, “and that is to say thank you.
You have done a tremendous job and it should be congratulations all around.”
He lifted his drink in a toasting gesture and drank a little of his scotch.

Charles
was incensed. He didn’t want to be congratulated nor receive any accolade when he knew—what they all knew—that the job was not even completed and that Talya and Samir were still in the thick of it.

“Sir, I’m sure you can appreciate that none of us here can accept any congratulation, when Talya and Samir are in
Bamako
, as we speak, trying to finish the job and risking their lives to see our projects through.”

Christian
looked directly at his boss. “Sir, Mr.
Durant
is right. We have brought back the evidence we needed to erase the West African drug operation from the map, but that’s only thanks to Talya and Samir who have been one step ahead of
Charos
all the way.
If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t be talking to you right now.
You would be preparing for our funerals.
We, as in
Jerry
,
Thomas
,
Charles
and I, we have done nothing but lend a hand.
We didn’t know before we left what to expect, nor did we know if, in fact, there were any drugs at the mine.
Alhassan
made a suggestion based on his knowledge of a few facts.
But as soon as we arrived on site, Talya drew us a picture, which she demonstrated to be true to life when we followed her to the campsite and discovered the cocaine.”

“I guess there are many factors that have escaped my notice thus far,”
Sir Reginald
said. “I would like to hear the full story, as soon as possible, but for now, and based on your comments,
Charles
, I guess we are not out of the woods yet.”

“We’re not, not by a long shot,”
Thomas
said, after taking a sip of his whiskey. “
Talya is convinced t
here is a traitor in the bunch
and she believes
he’s still operating from
Bamako
, and would continue to do so even after
Charos
is out of the way.
She knows who he is, we don’t.
Actually, she hasn’t revealed his name to anyone, not even to Samir.
And once she’s rid of him, she’ll probably come back to
Dakar
—”

“What do you mean by ‘once she’s rid of him’?
Does she plan to kill him?
We can’t be part of any—”

“
Sir Reginald
,”
Christian
interrupted, “she’ll get ‘rid of him’ as
Thomas
said, but she won’t kill him.”

“And how is she going to do one without resorting to the other?” The ambassador was puzzled.

“She’ll have him caught red handed, with his hand in the till, if you like, so that someone else will eliminate him.”

“Is she capable of doing that?
Wouldn’t that be like playing a cat and mouse game;
Ms.
Gilmore
being the mouse?”

Everyone in the room smiled except for
Sir Reginald
, who looked more confused than ever.

“As for being capable of doing it, Sir,”
Jerry
began, “we have seen her in action and she’s more than capable of doing it, believe us.
In regards to ‘playing a cat and mouse game’, she will.
She’ll bait her enemy, clamping
his
paw in the mouse-trap.”

“Can we do something to help her, because this sounds like a job for a dozen agents to me?”

Charles
said, “I used to think as you do now, until I saw what she did last night. Samir is the only one from whom she will accept any help.
She even rejected
Christian’s
assistance at first.
She doesn’t trust anyone.
She only spoke to
Thomas
and me to tell us “to put the projects on tracks,” to quote her words.”

“I see.
And, I understand what you’re saying, but I still don’t like to have one of my citizens lost in the
Sahel
at the mercy of drug traffickers—”

“Sir, if you’ll permit me to make a suggestion”—
Christian
deposited his empty glass on the table. For a moment he seemed undecided—“I would like to leave tonight and join her and Samir by morning in
Bamako
.”

“Tonight?”
Sir Reginald
shouted. “But you haven’t even been back for twelve hours yet.
I would prefer to involve our Canadian Consul in
Bamako
, and get another agent to take over for you—”

“—and have him killed?”
Christian
retorted hotly. “Talya will know, or better, she will sense his presence and she’ll be distracted at a moment when she may be in need to save herself from a real killer. Sir, with all due respect, I don’t think involving Mr.
Brightman
at this time is a good idea.”

“And why tonight?
Can’t you wait until morning?
You are aware of the regulations
—
”

“Stuff the regulations, Sir!”
Christian
was red in the face with anger. “Talya’s life may depend on whether I go or not. Samir can handle her all right but will he be able to protect her if she’s assaulted?
I don’t think he can do both.”

Clearly distressed,
Christian
went to the terrace to cool off.
He knew he had spo
ken
out of turn, but that didn’t concern him as much as the fact that
someone
somewhere was tying his hands and barring his freedom with a book of regulations.

“There is only one commercial flight for the rest of the week,”
Jerry
said, “and that’s why
Christian
suggested taking it tonight
.
And if I may say so,
Christian
is absolutely right, Samir is extremely powerful, in more ways than one, I might add, but he can’t stop a bullet meant for Talya or him.” He reclined in his seat and shook his head.

“
Thomas
, what do you think?”
Sir Reginald
asked, looking at the latter enquiringly. “You have heard what has been argued, so what’s your opinion?”

Thomas
smiled. “Based on what I know of Talya and what I’ve seen during the past twenty-four hours, I can’t oppose
Christian’s
proposed move.
She
has accepted his presence and his assistance last night.
Yet she wouldn’t have anything to do with the rest of us.
She would have preferred
we stayed
away all together, because she was worried for our safety.
However, with
Christian
it was different.
She wanted to
use
his skills and she knew that he wouldn’t become a burden that she would have to protect somehow.”