“An hour after the World Cup Trophy went missing here at the Lusail Iconic Arena, the Qatari authorities in a desperate countermeasure to apprehend the thieves and retrieve the World Cup Trophy have ordered the total lockdown of the city of Lusail.” Liam began from a close-up. Right now, the snow had let up some, thus allowing for clearer visibility. “The order, which we have reasons to believe was issued by the Director of the Qatar State Security has come into full effect throughout the districts of Lusail as I speak.”“The lockdown which came after police roadblocks were set up across every district of the city some fifteen minutes ago has been said to have caused a ripple effect throughout Lusail and has brought traffic and all activities within the city to a standstill.” He paused for a moment to catch his breath before he continued. “News coming in from across the city indicated the heavy presence of Police and Al Fazaa units throughout the streets of Lusail, which has brought ab

Chapter Eleven Commander Ali strode briskly out of the control room into the adjoining hallway. Ignoring the nods and subtle greetings from his agents and police officers alike, he listened to the brassy voice of the Minister of Interior from the other end of the call.“Have you anything of worth on the robbers of the World Cup as yet, Director?” the hectoring voice of the older man boomed through the phone’s speaker. Commander Ali was hesitant, contemplative even in his response. “We have nothing of worth, for now, Mr. Minister,” he said and quickly added. “But we will have something pretty soon, I promise you.”“You better do, because this is dragging for too long, and it’s becoming a sort of a menace and disgrace for us all.” The voice returned over the sound of indistinct noises in the background.“I understand, sir,”“No, you don’t, Director,” the voice refuted, “because if you do, you will have an answer for me already. And will be raining hell as we speak on those SOBs—S

Chapter ThirteenI am super late for work!World-famous TV personality—Layla Naseer—knew this even without ever daring a glance at the digital clock on the air-smoothed dashboard of her Ford Escape Hybrid 2022 Edition, as she rounded a corner in the western part of the Wadi Al Sail district of downtown, Doha, Qatar. Ignoring the incessant buzzes of her cell phone mounted on the car phone holder atop the dashboard, and at the same time trying hard to keep herself from being nervous any more than she already had, she put her foot down on the gas. And stared rather absentmindedly at the needle on the speedometer dial as it shifted to 120km per hour.The Director would be madly crossed at me, she concluded in her mind at the thought of his several calls she had decidedly ignored today. This recent one, of course, would make it fifteen in total.As if not arriving at work one hour after she was due to resume, as well as ignoring the Director’s calls and that of her secretary a couple

Chapter Fifteen Forty-five minutes after the call and a rather steaming hot shower.The tall, trim black man, now prettied up in a smoky black three-piece suit climbed into the backseat of a New York’s hallmark yellow hybrid taxicab he had flagged down on 21st Street. “Brooklyn Heights,” he said to the squash-faced Caucasian driver the minute he was fully settled in, catching the subtle nod of acknowledgment from him. Dropping the brown leathered briefcase he carried on his person beside him on the seat, he brought his hand up to his neck in a vertical motion. To carefully loosen his knotted striped necktie for comfort at the same time the cab pulled gently away from the curb into the busy streets of Queens, New York.Done with that now, he sagged into the seat. His left and right arms sprawled gingerly over its top in a striking regal-like pose.Now seated in this manner, he caught the smug look on his reflection in the car’s rear-view mirror. At that, he managed an inconsequ

For seven years, Mr. Josua Hermann had lived in Qatar. Six out of that seven years, he had spent as the General Manager of one of the biggest hotels in the oil-rich country—the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Since becoming a naturalized citizen here in Qatar, he could scarcely recall for once a scenario where he had seen on the part of any organs of her executive branch the willful exercise of force or aggression on her citizens. Let alone claim that he saw with his own eyes any form of human rights violations on many of his cruises across the capital city in his stable of sports cars. Or while eating in one of the high-end restaurants in Lusail. Nor when shopping at the big malls across the country. Unfortunately, he was bearing witness to all that presently. All the GM could do as he momentarily stood at the end of the long, axminstered hallway on the hotel’s third floor, was gape pie-eyed in startling disbelieve at the clutch of men across from him in the hall. The men, a baker’s doz