A Desperate Paradise by A. D. Davies

Author:A. D. Davies
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A. D. Davies

Chapter Twenty-Six

Emiliana moved first. She pressed a finger under my chin and closed my mouth. Then she sashayed away from the table, flashing a metal tube in her palm. She dodged hawkers with the grace of an aging ballerina, and found herself browsing a stall selling hookah bongs. While she flirted with the mustachioed vendor, she aimed the tube at Shahbal and Robin.

Hugo handed me an earbud and inserted one himself. The tube was a radio mic, transmitting to a device in Hugo’s satchel and out through the wires into our ears.

He said Robin was ostensibly visiting Tunis as part of his company’s audit of security measures to prevent stowaways, and had left his schedule free this afternoon. However, there was no record of him entering Tunisia; he was either here covertly, or Robin Pace was not his real name. Add to that Shahbal vacating the town he pretty much ran single-handedly and heading to the city the previous night, it didn’t take much adding up to conclude the pair’s meeting was arranged in advance.

The pair spoke English for stretches, as Robin knew little Arabic and Shahbal spoke even less Greek, so it was their common language. Hugo translated the bits I didn’t catch, but other than that neither of us made a sound.

“I can’t,” Robin said. “I have another son. I have a daughter.”

Shahbal raised a finger. “And a wife. Do not forget a wife.”

“It’s too hard for me. You have to understand—”

“But the escalation is still on course.”

Even Nouri Zandi’s enemies call it “the escalation.” Why not “the expansion” or “the step-up”?

“Yes,” Robin said. “That’s what I heard. Nouri is going ahead, despite a setback this week.”

“Setback?”

“He lost a couple of men.”

Hugo winked and fired a finger-and-thumb-gun at me. I set my gaze on the camera and chose not to respond.

“Another interested party?” Shahbal asked.

“No, just a private detective. My wife hired him to look into Kai, but … he got in deep. He’s disappeared, so I assume they killed him.”

“A pity.”

“Not really, he seemed like an idiot.”

Charming.

Hugo snorted a laugh, clamped a hand on his mouth, then used that same hand to eat a date biscuit.

“Don’t worry about the PI,” Robin said. “He’s nothing.”

Even more charming.

“Okay,” Shahbal said. “But you must stay the course.”

Robin leaned forward, his back almost hunched right over, utterly supplicant. “Please. These people killed Kai. They will come for me, and my family.”

“They will not. We will not allow it.”

“You can’t protect them.”

“We cannot allow their escalation.” Shahbal held up his finger again. “Think of the other families, not only yours. Think what it will do to all who will suffer.”

Robin sat up straight. Shook his head. Made a noise like he was struggling to speak. A stutter.

Shahbal rested a hand on Robin’s. “Keep the faith, Robin. Keep the faith, and I will deliver. I promise.”

A pause, and Robin nodded rapidly. They talked details. Shipping dates, times, locations. They discussed a possible new migrant route through Turkey, one that passed between two mountain ranges, but was feasible only in summer.

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