Chapter 3
904 Words
Chapter 3An hour into the flight, Khalid took off his earphones and beckoned to his passengers. “If you’re not sleeping back there, would you mind handing me something to drink from the fridge behind me?”
Mohammed, who was closest to the cockpit, opened the cooler they had put on board before take-off, and handed their friend an ice-cold soda.
“Hassan, come and join me here.” Khalid said, after drinking a long gulp. “You’ll be much more comfortable. I promise I won’t crash while you’re beside me, Allah would never forgive me if I did.”
Almost reluctantly, Hassan went to join the pilot and sat in the navigator’s seat. He soon realized Khalid was right. He began to feel the tension subside.
Mohammed was also a little more relaxed now. They were at cruising altitude and the little plane seemed to be floating in the middle of the sky—no more sensation of acceleration—it was as if they weren’t moving.
“We’ll be over the Falémé in about forty minutes.” Khalid said, brushing a quick glance in Hassan’s direction. “If you like, I can fly a little lower to show you some of the sights. It’s a beautiful country, you know.” Hassan was looking out the window at his elbow. “There is a mine ten minutes past the border. The owner is quite mad apparently.”
Mohammed, who had seen—rather than heard—them talking, got up and went to stand behind them at the cockpit’s door.
Khalid was saying, “...he’s hired a jet last month. It was still there on the tarmac in Bamako an hour before you two showed up.”
Startled by this revelation, Hassan turned to stare at Khalid.
“Do you know the owner?” Mohammed asked from behind Khalid’s shoulder.
“No, I don’t, not personally, Monsieur Fade. People talk, you understand, especially when someone hires a Lear and practically never travels with it.”
Hassan’s impatience resurfaced. “Did you see them take off?”
“Yes, sure, it’s always a beautiful sight to see that bird taking flight.”
“What I meant was: did you see the people leaving with the plane this morning?”
“That’s a roger.” Khalid replied, keeping his eyes on the clouds and the sky stretching ahead of them. “There was a woman with them. I had seen her going to the passengers’ lounge as I came in myself. I only saw her from the back, mind you. She has blond, almost white hair. I noticed her because she was rushing after the pilot. It looked funny; she had a hard time keeping up the pace following him.” Khalid turned his head and met Hassan’s worried gaze. “Oh. I see. That’s the lady in distress, is it?”
Mohammed, who had been listening to the conversation, began to understand what could have happened. “Tell me, Khalid; is it possible for the Jet to land at the mine site?”
“Oh no—not yet it isn’t. Those babies have to have solid tarmac, a real runway, to touch down. None of these stretches of dirt will do for these toys.”
What may have happened to Talya became clearer. Mohammed had to confirm his suspicion. “If they were to go to the mine site, where would they land then?”
“I’d say Kedougou. That would be the closest strip they could use.”
Hassan couldn’t keep still or quiet anymore. “Will you contact the tower in Kedougou and ask them if they have seen the Jet today, please?”
Khalid’s eyebrows shot up. “No, Hassan, I can’t. Do you know what you’re asking? This isn’t a phone booth. I can’t just call them and ask, ‘Oh, by the way did you see that plane and can you tell me where it’s going?’ That’s against the rules.”
“Can’t you just break the rules then, or bend them a little? This is an emergency. We’ve got to find out where she’s gone.”
“And you have got to tell me what this is all about. I thought the lady was going to Dakar, and—”
“Not here.” Hassan flared, irritated by Khalid’s queries. “When we get to Dakar, whenever that’ll be, I’ll tell you. Just trust me.”
“We know what we’re asking may be quite irregular,” Mohammed put-in, “but we have reasons to believe the lady, whose name is Talya Kartz, by the way, may be in serious danger.”
“Monsieur Fade, you just had to look at Hassan’s face a moment ago to know he wasn’t joking.”
At these words, Khalid put on his earphones and started talking in an incomprehensible gibberish used by pilots the world over. A few moments later, he took off the headset again. “The jet landed in Kedougou all right. They stayed on the tarmac for a couple of hours and then took off again. Their final destination is still Dakar.”
“You mean they dropped her off and continued on to Dakar?” Hassan shouted. Shaken to the bones, he couldn’t contain himself—he wanted to get out of this darn plane. He unbuckled his belt.
“Hold on, Hassan, there is nothing to worry about, I’m sure.” Khalid said. “They probably went with her to the mine for a short visit and they’re on their way to Dakar now. Maybe this was planned ahead of time.”
“But why would they do that? There must be something wrong...”
Mohammed had to intervene again. Hassan was becoming a pest.
“Please don’t mind Hassan, Khalid, he hates to be sitting here all tied up and powerless. Talya means a lot to him and he just gets out of control when she’s away and possibly in danger.”
“I understand. Hassan will pay for this later, believe me.” Khalid looked at the latter, grinning.
Hassan couldn’t help but return the smile although he felt utterly miserable. Defeated in his purpose he buckled up again.
Mohammed regained his seat. His legs were stiff from kneeling. After a few minutes, letting his thoughts wander, he dozed off.
Hassan, on the other hand, was far from feeling drowsy. His mind was navigating amid a sea of anger, guilt and misery. He wanted the plane to land this very minute. He checked his wristwatch—two more hours, before he’d see Talya again. The waiting had become intolerable.
- Writer
