THE BLACKMAIL El-Zaki welcomed Alfred in his private chambers upstairs. It was the second time in recent memory he had asked the lawyer to sit with him up there. He was downing the second glass of whiskey from a bottle of Tequila Ley he took from his wine cellar. "Join me, barrister, let's drink away the doom that is about to implode and consume the El-Zaki household. Including its friends and business associates," he said in a drawl. It was obvious he had been drinking all morning since after Pablo brought him the empty portfolio. "My son has finally opened the door for my enemies to get at me. If they come for me, I want to go down a happy man," he went on as he belched. Alfred knew he had to do something. "You haven't yet told me what the issue is. Maybe I might still be able to help you," he said as he removed the bottle of whiskey from the table. El-Zaki stared at him as if he was talking nonsense. "Help me how? Haven't you seen the news? Now look over there," he pointed to
NAME YOUR PRICE "That's not the right question to ask, barrister," Madam Rebecca said, slyly curling her lips. She was a drama queen obviously but the barrister was worried."You know what your husband would do to me if he found out we met secretly behind his back.""Who will tell him?" she tilted her head backwards and the mass of auburn wig she wore over her dark brown natural hair twirled in the evening breeze. She had used a fez cap to further mask her face, however, when she raised her face, Alfred could see her dull blue-coloured eyes. "Unless you do, I don't see how a man holed up in his room can know anything happening many miles away.""It still doesn't answer the question, ma'am. Why did you summon me here?" The barrister repeated looking over his shoulder as the waiter who showed him to the wine bar came back to take his order. Madam Rebecca brightened up. "Please ask the gentleman what he cares for. I'm not ready to order yet," she said dramatically as though he was doin
AT YOUR SERVICECaleb waited until it was dark before slipping out of the house. He needed to do this alone and discreetly. He had tried several times to reach Bella but her line was still switched off. "Maybe she wants to be left alone," he thought to himself. He could have sent Abhi to find out but decided against it. The less people knew about his involvement with the girl, the better for him, he reasoned. As he got to the hospital, he prayed to meet the kind lady who attended to him that day in the bleeding room. Adriana had travelled back to Madrid for her professional exams otherwise he would have asked her to get the woman's data from her daughter's hospital chart. The lab attendant was just coming out of the bleeding room carrying a pint of blood. She recognised him by herself. "Hey, you're back to donate for another patient?" she teased him. Caleb smiled. "Oh, no. But I could if you treat me nicely," he jokingly said. The young lady smiled back. "Will running a free BP
DANGEROUS MOVE"Turn around slowly and don't scream," the voice said.Then the realization hit him."Mia?""What are you doing sneaking around the hospital at this time of the night?" she said as Caleb swirled around to face her. He couldn't make out her features in the darkness but she looked thinner than her usual self.Caleb didn't know what answer to give her. If Adriana was still around he might have lied that he came to see his doctor friend. But from nowhere a crazy idea popped into his head. "What I'm doing here is none of your business, Mia." "How can you say that when you haven't been around to see me since I was discharged?" She said and started coughing in pretence to evoke Caleb's sympathy. Caleb narrowed his furrow. "Have you been stalking me?" Even though it was too dark for him to see Mia's face, he knew she was startled at the question especially when he added, "And if you've been discharged, why are you in the hospital by this time?" "I came to collect my lab res
ANOTHER CONFRONTATION Caleb called the number the next day and the voice that answered at the other end was that of a little girl. She said, "My mother is not around. Who is on the line?""I am a friend," he said. Then he thought to spice it up a bit. "I am someone very important in society. I want to meet with your mother."He heard voices in the background but couldn't make out what they were saying. "If that is the case, can you tell me your name?" "Caleb. My name is Caleb Dezani," he replied. There was a pregnant pause. Then he heard the little girl scream, "You are the man whose name was mentioned on TV?" Caleb chuckled. "I guess so." "You are a very great man. I will tell my mommy to call you back." "Who are you talking with?" a female voice echoed in the background. That must be Bella's mother, Caleb thought. The little girl answered, "You won't believe it, Mama, the great man we saw on TV wants to speak with you." Caleb listened and heard muffled voices. Then the female
THE FACE-OFFThe other three men knelt down in front of Caleb and began to plead. The one he cracked his forehead had blood dripping into his eyes. It caused those who were queuing to get gas to wonder who he really was. One of them was a lady alongside her teenage daughter sitting in front of the car. She whispered as the mother wound down her side window to speak to the pump attendant, "Is he a taekwondo trainer, Mom?""Hush," the mother cautioned. "He looks like a Mafia leader," she mouthed. Caleb ordered them to stand up and get into their vehicle. They scrambled to their feet and ran to the car. Their dramatic shuffling of feet made the pump attendant chuckle quietly. Meanwhile, he was still holding the driver by the collar. The guy choked and coughed, he was struggling to say something."You will take a message to whoever sent you to stalk me but, before then, I'm going to make you pay for daring to accept such a bad deal," Caleb said. He folded his hand and punched him hard i
DREDGE UP THE PAST"Now this is getting more intriguing," thought Caleb. "If the story goes the way I'm thinking it might, then I'm going to enjoy watching El-Zaki and Madam Rebecca engage in a slugfest."The thought made him feel lighter. So many odds were against the former don and his family. And at this rate, he didn't need to do much to get his revenge. Circumstances were already aligning themselves to deal them a hard blow."Would he recognise you if he saw you today?" was the next question that popped out of Caleb's mouth. Hannah shrugged."I really doubt that. I was a young, naive, and impressionable young girl. He might not even recall my face. We were more than 9 of us working as domestic staff at that time." "I see," Caleb sighed. "Please continue." Hannah's face had turned red and Caleb didn't know whether it was due to sadness or embarrassment. "I'm sorry if this is a little bit hard for you," he empathised. Aunt Regina drew closer and placed a comforting hand on her
UNPLANNED VISIT "So, Miguel El-Zaki is not just a murderer; he's also a rapist!" Lord Dezani exclaimed after Caleb got home and narrated what he learned from Bella's mother to him. "And only God knows how many other naive girls he has taken advantage of in his capacity as a don," added Caleb. Then he said, "Grandpa, we have everything we need to go after him now."The old man considered his statement and replied, "Yes we do. However, we must make certain that the said woman will be willing to testify if the case gets to court.""I'm sure she would," he echoed. But another thought crossed his mind. He remembered Aunt Regina and Mama saying that Hannah was having a hard time letting go of her past even when she married her late husband. That might be the only little challenge he has to deal with. "Although I may need to persuade her to come forth when that time comes."His grandfather too seemed to be having something on his mind. "By the way, have you heard from Mr Ramirez since you