Rigged by Ben Mezrich

Author:Ben Mezrich [Mezrich, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Biography, Non-Fiction, Business, General Fiction
ISBN: 9780747596356
Publisher: William Morrow
Published: 2007-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

The minute he slung his carry-on bag over his shoulder, stepped out of the jetway, and walked into the ultramodern airport, David knew it wasn’t just hyperbole: this place was going to blow his mind. Any grogginess left over from the fourteen-hour flight immediately disintegrated as he moved into the bright, high-ceilinged terminal. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but the eye-watering glow from the enormous windows and glass-paneled domed roof made it feel like high noon on the surface of the sun. And the sun, from the looks of things, was immaculate, forged of equally shiny metal, steel, and stone and furnished by space aliens by way of some futuristic interpretation of Ikea.

And the people, David thought, my God, the people. It seemed like every ethnicity, nation, and sartorial preference was ac counted for: Persian-looking men in tailored suits walked next to women in brightly colored burkas; African men in tribal outfits traded business cards with Asian women wearing Chris tian Dior; a trio of young Arab men, in flowing white robes with colored sashes at the collar, smiled at the Americans and Europeans streaming out of the jetway—

And then suddenly David realized that one of the three Arabs was holding a cardboard sign with a name written in calligraphy across the front: david russo, new york mercantile exchange.

David nearly dropped his carry-on bag. He had assumed that someone would be meeting him at the airport, but he had figured it would be by baggage claim—and he had certainly not expected to be greeted by three men in robes who looked like they had stepped right out of a Hollywood movie. He felt an irrational burst of fear as the men spotted him—the one with the card waving, smiling, and pointing—and quickly chided himself for the stupid, unwarranted emotion. He knew, to some extent, that he had been brainwashed over the past year by the TV news; any American since 9/11 who pretended not to have preconceived notions about what young Arab men in robes thought of the U.S. was lying to himself. But there was no reason to think these three particular Arabs had anything but the best intentions. This was Dubai, not Afghanistan. And from everything David had read over the past couple of days, it was just plain racist to confuse the two.

He hurried over to the three men and held out his hand. “David Russo. Great to meet you.”

One of the men took his carry-on bag, despite his protests,

and the other two ushered him forward through the terminal. All three looked to be barely out of their teens. Two spoke with fairly heavy Arabic accents, but the third—who seemed to be in charge—spoke perfect English. He introduced himself as Anwar al Sheman and explained that he was a senior at Dubai University, in the midst of an internship with the Ministry of Finance. He intended to go into business when he graduated, he told David with a grin, because, well, in Dubai there really wasn’t any other choice.

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