Mack

"Hello"

"Majal, its Pete. How are things."

"I am fine and you."

Pete chuckled in to the phone. "I am good. Did you get a chance to tour the facilities?"

"I did. It is an impressive place. I am looking forward to getting to Namibia."

"Good. Melissa squared you away with tickets?"

"She did."

"OK, the equipment is on its way and the workers have been hired. I want you to personally hire your team."

"Very good. I know some people that will work." said Majaliwa

"OK, with that I bay you farewell. I will be down in a couple of months to see how things are going."

"OK, I look forward to it and good bye."

"Bye"

Majaliwa sat in the bar talking with Paul. He enjoyed the polite conversation. He drank a few more Carlsburg before deciding to leave.

He walked out of the bar and started to walk back to the tube station that would take him to his hotel. It was dark now but surprising there were still a lot of people out. He saw a group of young men ahead and recognized the boy he had briefly met in the pub.

"ya, thats him" said one of the members in the group.

Majaliwa continued to walk, ignoring the comment.

"Oi....you...black bastard. You never said sorry for spilling my beer."

The group started to circle around him as he walked. Majaliwa slowed down seeing no clear exit as he took a count of the group. There were three walking on either side of him and probably another four behind him.

Majal turned around to face the rest of the group behind him as he set his bag on the ground.

"I told you before that you bumped in to me."

"You don't have the right to tell me fuck all, mate. Who the fuck do you think you are?" Tom spat into Majaliwa's face.

Majaliwa knew that real fights never lasted that long. He had been in enough to know that there was a difference between a fight where people were trying to hurt each other and ones where you were defending your right to live. He had never been in any fight other than that type.

Majaliwa unleashed the anger he kept bottled inside himself for just such occasions; ramming his head into Tom's face causing blood to spew everywhere, he used it as a stop block to support the kick he sent to the face of the adolescent behind him. He then grabbed the hair of the kid next to him and dropped to the floor throwing the boy in the air . While on the ground he kicked the kneecaps out of two more that were still standing. He rolled again allowing him to get to his feet quickly. He jumped in the air sending a punch downward on one of the kneecapped boy's faces.

There were two left uninjured. He looked at one of them in the face as he slammed his foot into the head of the boy he had previously thrown in the air; breaking his nose as well. One of the boys threw a punch at Majal's head. Majal dodged the attack as he grabbed the boys fist, sending his other hand into the boys elbow causing the bone to snap at the joint.

He had broken the noses of four out of seven of the group, shattered two kneecaps, and broken one arm. As they stood there gushing with blood and screaming, Majal looked at the single boy that was left with cold and piercing blue eyes.

"Your move."

The boy decided his best move was to head in the opposite direction. Majaliwa picked his bag off of the ground and headed for the tube station.

Zula

The forest floor was covered with many years worth of orange and yellow colored leaves. The forest was thick with trees; large trees that rose at least 20 feet in the air before the first branches grew out. It was so thick that it drowned most of the sun out by the time it reached the forest floor. Something seemed wrong though, it was the smell. The smell around him was wrong, he noticed also that there were no birds in the air either. Mack stood there taking the surroundings in when the first noise he had heard came from behind him. Mack turned quickly around and found that whatever had made the noise was gone. Another rustling of leaves came from behind him again. Mack turned again and saw the culprit of the noise. In a distant patch of woods where the sun was being allowed to come in he saw what appeared to be a shadow walking towards him. The shadow never fully took any shape but shifted where a face would normally be it changed to the faces of people that he recognized.

He awoke slowly from his slumber curious about the dream he had just had. The sun slowly sneaked in through the window, changing the colors of the curtains and furniture in the beautifully decorated room from black to the greens, reds, and blues they were actually made of. Without light there was no color. He enjoyed the thought of this as he laid there contemplating getting out of bed. The warm body next to him had not stirred yet which gave him a chance to admire the beautiful shape of it from above the single sheet that was being allowed to touch it. Her dark wavy hair ran lusciously over her shoulders, back and arms. He knew he had to leave before he lost his resolve to. Mack gave her a single kiss on her shoulder before getting up silently and walking out the door.

The city of Casablanca was decidedly different from the view of Dakhla. The run down buildings and desperate people of Dakhla were a complete 180 degrees from the green grass, colorful buildings, and happy and well dressed people of Casablanca. Mack flagged down a taxi that would take him to see Zula.

"Rabat, Min Fadlak" said Mack as he got in the cab. He hardly had a chance to close the door before the driver put the car in to motion. The city began to pass quickly by the window of the cab changing from specific outlines of shapes to blurs of color. As the memory of the city became a distant Mack's focus came back to him. Alex, although beautiful was a distraction he could not afford.

The city started to diminish now and become the barren countryside that connected all parts of Morocco. It was roughly an hour to Rabat where he would collect a passport and a few other items from Zula. He had passports already from Germany and Italy but he was worried that they were tracked now. Mack drifted off to sleep watching the countryside pass by. The cab came to a halt in the center of Rabat as Mack awoke with a start. He handed the driver 300 dirham then exited to the capital of Morocco. Mack made his way along the shopping boulevard to a small women's clothing boutique. As he entered the shop a tall African woman smiled warmly at him from behind an old Singer sewing machine. She took her glasses off, paused, then laid them on the table. She stared at him for a moment, looking him over before getting up and coming to meet him. They gripped each other in the friendly embrace of two people that don't need words.

"How are you, Zula"

"I am good and it is good to see you again after so long. You have been in Morocco for how long and could not find the time to come see me?"

"I know, and I should have come. It took me a while to get myself together."

"I know"

"I knew you would understand. Can you close up, I was hoping we could get some food."

"Of course. Take a seat over there and give me a few minutes"

Mack sank in to the chair in a tranquil bliss as Zula busied herself hanging up the dress she had just finished. Zula truly was gifted with a needle and thread having made some of the most luxurious dresses Mack had ever seen. Of course, Mack was no expert but he knew what he liked and Zula had owned this shop for around 15 years now which was testament that she did well. Mind, she did have her other income as well which he was sure she did very well with as well. See, Zula was truly gifted at forging documents; any documents. Mack had known her since his time in the SAS when he was having to sneak in and out of countries on passports other than his own. The UK government did not make fake passports themselves, but people in the SAS always knew how to get something accomplished, however they had to. Zula finished hanging the dress and locked the back door of the shop.

"OK, Lets go!" smiled Zula.

They walked about a hundred yards down the boulevard to a small cafe. They sat down and ordered some food. Mack noticed that although it had been two years, Zula had not aged much. He thought that she must be at least 40 by now and still held the earthly beauty she had 15 years earlier. Very tall and slender she had light brown eyes that almost matched the tone of her skin. She had been his friend as long as he could remember.

"So what kind of trouble are you fixing to get yourself in to?"

Mack sighed slightly before answering, "I only ever get myself in to trouble that I have to. You know that. I have to finish what they started and I will finish it."

Zula stared at Mack trying to search inside him. He was the same Mack she had known before, but he was much colder now and seemed unhappy. "I will pray for you to find peace."

"I'm afraid that there is no peace, ever. There is just life, I suppose that sometimes that is a peaceful place but mostly it is just challenges and hardship and how you overcome them. I'm afraid I have found it difficult to overcome them of late." "There is peace my friend and you find that peace inside yourself. Regardless of what hardships have been thrown your way. The Mack I remember knew this."

Mack signed slightly, "I am not the same person you knew, Zula"

"I suppose not. You have locked doors that you have to open and maybe you will not find happiness until you do. But I can tell you that you will only truly be happy when you accept what has happened and learn to forgive yourself and the rest of the world."

"I know, I just......I just ........I'm angry, I was upset before and could have accepted it. But now that I know that it was not an accident. I can not get over this until they know how much I hurt."

Zula remained silent while she watched her life long friend. They sat and ate their food for a while and the silence felt good. Mack finally broke the silence.

"How long will you need to complete the documents and were you able to get the other items I asked for?"

Zula laughed slightly, "I already completed the documents and I was able to get the other items that you asked for. How is your French?"

"A French passport is fine. It has been a while, but it will come back quickly."

"I was unable to make a UK passport. They have started putting biometric chips in them now. I don't have the facilities to make these, yet."

"Thats fine. French is fine. You mind if I crash at yours tonight."

"You know I don't mind."

Abeeku

The brown colored boxes were symmetrically and religiously stacked to the ceiling. The large warehouse was located in eastern Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth was a bustling city with a large harbor that handled much of the exports for the lower continent of Africa. Abeeku worked long hours in the warehouse monotonously moving boxes into the warehouse and out of the warehouse. He was an older black man; he had come out of retirement a couple of years ago and relocated to Port Elizabeth. He liked this city although he had always preferred the country. The work that he did now almost seemed therapeutic to him. The repetitiveness of it kept his mind focused and allowed the days to pass by quickly.

The foreman came out of his office and shouted down to the crew, "We close up in 30 minutes!"

There came a small cheer from the employees as they started making preparations to go home. The employees shut down the machinery in the warehouse and started to lock the doors. Abeeku went to his locker and took off his overhauls. He grabbed his lunch pale and headed for the bus stop located just a few feet outside the front of the large building he worked in. He sat there for a moment reflecting as a tear came to his eye. He pushed the emotion back as he saw the five o'clock bus coming.

The bus came to a stop at the designated area and several employees from the warehouse got on. Abeeku took his usual seat and prepared for the half hour ride to his apartment. He watched the streets of the city pass by as he slowly sighed to himself.

The bus dropped him off outside of his apartment complex. He walked down to the local shop that he visited every evening to get his groceries. The radio played a local pop song in the background. The shop was small but carried the staples that every kitchen needed. He went around the various isles picking up bread, cheese, and other items that he needed. He came to the checkout and stood there calmly waiting behind a mother and her child. He listened to the song playing and thought how different it was to the music he was used to. The song finished and a news caster came on.

"Authorities are investigating an outbreak in Angola that killed nearly 1000 people. It is unknown at this time where the virus came from. The investigation has shown that the virus had a quick incubation period; killing almost all inhabitants of the large town within a matter of days."

Abeeku dropped his basket on the floor of the shop and stood motionless for several moments before promptly leaving the shop.

Deceptive

Alex awoke slowly from her deep sleep. She stretched like a cat arching her back as the sheet hugged her body as if it was a second skin. She didn't expect to still see Mack lying next to her and was not surprised when she looked and saw that he had gone. He was a loner and she knew it. Never having been modest she got up from bed and walked nude to the room's phone. Her slender fingers picked up the phone and dialed; on the other end a man picked up.

"Hello"

"Hi, its Alex" She says.

"Miss Williams, How is Africa?"

"Hot. He has gone to see the African lady today. I expect within a couple of days he will be on his way to Europe. I should be coming back soon."

"You're not done yet. I need to know what flight he is on and to where, OK?"

Alex breathes heavily in to the phone then answers, "OK."

"Do you trust me?" Asked the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Of course I do."

"Then know that you are doing the right thing. Report back when you know where he is going."

"OK, Goodbye."

"Bye"

Alex hung up the phone and stood there for a few moments thinking. She looked at her watch while figuring out her next move.

If I show up in Rabat it will seem odd. I will have to wait for him to come back to Casa.

She checked her notes she had written down yesterday then picked up the phone again to dial another number.

"Ahlen," answered a male voice.

"Hasan, this is Alex, how are you?"

"I am fine, Alex, how are you?"

"I'm fine. I need you to do one last thing for me."

"What do you need me to do for you?"

"I need you to hang out at the Hotel Riad Salam and let me know when the man I had you follow before comes in."

"OK, I will do this and call you when I see him. How much will you pay me?"

"Same as before?"

"This is good. I will call you. Bye now."

"Good bye, Hasan, and thank you."

"Good Bye, you are welcome."

Alex hung up the phone before getting dressed and heading down for breakfast.

Tomented

In other news Magmus Corporation's stock soared today after news that after only 3 weeks of investigation the UK Government has dropped its antitrust suit against the Energy Giant. During a press release Magmus stated that "They were pleased at the outcome of the investigation and remained dedicated to providing their customers the best service at affordable rates.

Pete wondered how much time he had. All the terrible things that he had done to make money in his life surly had to come back to claim his soul eventually.

Your not an evil person, You have done some things that your not proud of but you are not evil, am you?

He emptied the Glenfiddich down his throat.

"Tom, another please." The bartender came over, gave Pete a once over before filling up his glass.

Why do you play games with yourself.

He takes another small drink as he lights a cigar. He looks at the mirror that is behind the bar and stares at himself for a long while. He stares at his own eyes, trying to see into his soul.

Do you feel sorry for the people that have died because of you?

You didn't cause those deaths. You didn't personally kill anyone.

But you didn't prevent their deaths either.

He took a long drag from his cigar, let the smoke fill his mouth and soak into the inside of his cheeks. He let the smoke out slowly from his mouth, swirling his scotch in its glass. He finished the last of the scotch and looked into the mirror again.

"I'm tired, so tired."

Pete stood up and staggered. His driver came over promptly and grabbed him under his arm.

"OK, sir. Lets get you home."

"You're a good man, Brent. Call Melissa for me. As ser to come over. No...No.... lets go pick ser up. I want to see her.

"OK, sir. Lets get you to the car."

The driver walked Pete to the car which was parked in its usual spot. Pete fell immediately to sleep when he got in the car as Brent drove the black limousine to Melissa's house.

Pete felt the car slow down as he drifted in and out of sleep. He heard the driver's door open; Pete opened his window to let some fresh air on his face. Melissa was waiting at the curb for him. The driver opened the door to let her in the back seat.

"Melissa! How are you, gorgeous?"

Melissa giggles before answering, "I'm good, I see you are good too. How much did you have to drink?"

"Not much; enough."

"I see," she said again as she let out another giggle.

Melissa pulled Pete's head on to her lap. She played with his hair as she loosened his tie and shirt. "I'm going to make you feel good tonight." She paused. "If you can manage to stay awake."

Confrontation

Mack ran; he ran as hard as he could but he was not gaining any ground. He was so frustrated because he knew he was a fast runner but no matter how fast he ran, the ground was not moving below his feet. The leaves in the forest slowly fell from the sky. They fell slower than what he knew was normal and occasionally stopped moving all together causing Mack to run into them. Mack looked up and saw that the sky that was visible appeared to be passing by like he was actually moving. What was odd though is that the trees were moving, they were moving opposite of him; they were actually moving on the ground.

The shadows were moving with him also, never catching up; but always behind him. He looked behind him in fear and saw that more shadows started to appear; they shifted in and out. As he made eye contact with where one of there faces would be, it's face changed. It started as the white face of an old man, but shifted, gnarled. The eyes became large and elongated. Its teeth grew pointy and long as they gnashed at him. He tried as hard as he could but was unable to run away from it.

Mack jumped up and hit his head on the roof of the cab.

"Fuck!"

He had pins and needles all over his limbs and was sweating profusely.

The cab driver glanced in his rear view mirror at Mack as he pulled the car in front of the Riad Salam. Mack paid the driver quickly and got out.

People came in and out of the hotel lobby busying themselves with their daily tasks. Hasan watched them intently. He took a drink of his water as the man he had been looking for came in through the front door. Hasan grabbed his water and started walking for the door. As he walked he pulled his phone out of his pocket to call Alex; he made eye contact with the man as he walked out of the hotel door. He headed for the passage next to the hotel.

"Hello."

"Its Hasan."

"Hi Hasan. Has my man appeared?"

"Yes, he just turned up."

"OK, good. I left you an envelope at the lobby of my hotel."

"Thank you and goodbye."

"Bye"

Hasan heard something behind him. He turned around in time to see a fist make contact with his face. This knocked him off of his feet and sent him the ground immediately.