Proof of Life by Daniel Levin

Author:Daniel Levin [Levin, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

As soon as I reached my room, I locked and bolted the door and sat on the edge of the bed. The adrenaline rush of my bluff with Mike, fueled by the fear of getting called on it by this thug and his two bouncers, started to drain from my body. My shoulders slumped, and I slowly slid from the bed to the floor. I closed my eyes and tried to regulate my breathing until I regained my composure. I needed to get my act together quickly and contemplate my next steps, so I sent Khalid a text message, asking him to let me know when he was available to Skype. Five minutes later, Khalid replied that he was ready. He picked up in a good mood. I told him about the events of the day, from the breakfast encounter and morning conversation with Imad to the pool meeting with Mike a few minutes ago, and why I had not been able to answer his last call. When I finished, Khalid laughed.

“All in all, I’d say it has been a fairly productive day,” he said. “You’ve received a fair amount of free information, though now your reputation is in tatters. We’ll have to find a way to fix that. Ten million dollars! You could have at least offered to share some of that plunder with me.”

“Very funny, Khalid,” I said, not quite as amused as he seemed to be.

“Oh, take it with a sense of humor,” he said. “This Mike guy sounds too dumb to see through your recording bluff. I would have been more worried if this had happened with the other fellow, Imad. But, then again, he sounds too smart to threaten you with that silly rumor to begin with.”

Khalid’s words were balm for my soul. “So what do we do now?” I asked. “After the pool scene, I’m starting to feel a little paranoid.”

“Remember, it’s not paranoia if they’re really after you,” he said with a chuckle.

“Thanks, Khalid. You’re in rare form today.”

“Relax. It seems that you have accomplished everything there is to accomplish in Amman,” Khalid said. “Time to skip town, the sooner the better. Try to move up your flight to Dubai. I’m sure there’s one every few hours.”

I was relieved that Khalid was too much of a gentleman to bring up the fact that I had missed Anas because I hadn’t traveled to Amman quickly enough. He reminded me to call Fuad before I left so that he could take me to the airport and through security. I promised Khalid to keep him posted.

I called the airline and rebooked my scheduled flight to Dubai to one that would leave in just over two hours. Cutting it close, perhaps, but feasible with Fuad’s help. I rang the front desk to inform them that I was checking out early. Then I called Fuad, who told me that Khalid had just texted him. He would be at the hotel entrance in ten minutes. I hopped in the shower, barely dried off, packed my bag, and left the room.

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