An Iranian Story

Prolonged_Debut10

A NOVEL

A Story of Life, Living, and Death in A Restrictive Society.

Iran had lost control of itself. It was in the throes of an election, with five parties competing against each other for the top prize. No one party had a clear path to victory, and 50% +1 vote was needed to win. A runoff election was in the making, and the ruling Military party was sure to win again. However, it was three weeks until the election, and the contenders were bargaining amongst themselves to see who would become king. There was one who was not bargaining to be king, because he was already a king; Ali bin Sultan King. He had no royal ties and made sure to say so in every public, and private appearance he made before the people. He told them he was one of them, a private citizen who had made his fortune selling rugs, just as his father, and grandfathers had done for generations and generations before him.

Because of this, the people loved him. The press checked on him minutely, and found out he was telling the truth, which in Iran, as with many other nations, this was not the usual order of business for a politician, or a political newcomer. He told the people if they elected him it was going to be very tough for him to put through the many changes he was going to make. They were going to have to help him by changing the Consultive Electors and get rid of the Ayatollahs in Qom. They charged at the stage wanting to touch him, and greet him, and tell him they supported him with everything that they were. The soldiers were hard-pressed to keep them back. When his speech was over and they had to get him back to his limousine, safely. It was bedlam. 10,000 people were like ants crawling over his car. The driver slowly moved out of the arena attempting not to hurt anyone, but not stopping for anyone to hurt Ali.

Fannale said, "Boss, your wife is not at home. There were so many people outside your house, she did not feel safe. She had her protection detail take her to a hotel, where she entered by the back door. The detail signed her in under a false name, and she is in a suite on the top floor."

"Fannale, I am sure she is suffering."

"If you say so, boss."

The days and weeks leading up to the election were more harried than any day so far, but all of them were thrilling. According to the polls, Ali had a fighting chance to pull off this miracle, and capture the overall inclusive 50% +1. It would take a great out pouring of public support, and the counting of the votes would have to be publicly scrutinized.

With the military controlling everything, at the behest of the ayatollahs, that was a problem that could not be solved easily. The Ayatollahs said jump and the military asked "how high?"

The Western press was getting beaten continuously, because of their coverage of Ali, before the election, and they were totally barred from publishing in Iran, during the last few weeks before the election. It did not mean that the people could not hear what was said over the airwaves or on the Internet, even though it was heavily censured. The ayatollahs had this country tied up in knots, but not in a death grip. The people still had some freedoms and they took full advantage of them.

Iran has the fourth largest telecom industry in the Middle East. 34 people out of 100 had a cell phone. This is more than Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and any other Arab nation in the Middle East.

Amazingly, Iran has more than 340,000 Christians, and 200,000 Jews living, without restrictions, inside its borders. They practice their religions, and work in every industry in the country, including the aerospace industries. They attend their colleges and universities which were ranked among the best in the Arab world, and attend their religious institutions.

The morning of the election, the polls opened after morning prayer. There was a massive wave of humanity pouring out of mosques and places of worship, towards polling booths throughout every city in the nation.

Ali left his mosque, went directly to the poll, and naturally he and his wife voted for him. The local press took pictures of him and Ava doing so, and the people around him cheered. He left immediately under close security and went to his limousine. As soon as he entered it, it was riddled with automatic gunfire.

There was return gunfire immediately, and a loud anguished cry from the public. "They got him, they got the guy on the motorcycle."

"Fannale, get us out of here, now."

The driver started the limousine, pushed the throttle to the floor, scaring everyone around him. He put the car into gear, and left the area at a high rate of speed. With the big engine purring, the tiny police cars could not keep up with it.

Fannale asked, "Where to boss?"

"Somewhere that no one knows me."

"I am sure NASA could send you to the moon."

"You are not being funny, I need a safe place for my wife and me for the next few days, while they count the votes."

"I am sure my ex-wife would not mind having you as a houseguest."

"You must be kidding me. You would take me to your ex-wife and have her kill me instead of you."

"My ex-wife and I are on very good terms. She left me for a very good-looking brunette. I am often asked to be a third in their couplings. Please do not mention this to the ayatollahs, they may become upset with them, and I may lose some very delicious pussy."

"Fannale, I am very glad that you are so open-minded. It is the way I would love this country to become in the future."

"Ali, they killed a young lady because she did not have her head covered. It would take a miracle to get enough freedoms for the people to become as free as I am with my women."

"I will work on it, if I win the election. I will put it on my first 20 things to do list. It will not move from that position until I get it done. I swear to you as Allah is my witness."

"Thank you, Ali, I know you are a very good man, and you may make a very good president, given the chance."

"How much of a chance do you give me of taking the oath of office?"

"Since I am the eternal optimist, I would say someplace between five and six percent."

"That high, really, I do not think I have a snowballs chance in hell."

His wife hit him so hard he nearly hit his head on the front seat. She yelled at him, "I am not prepared to become a widow yet. You will stay alive until I am 75 years old, and you will fuck me to death in our bed. Is that clear, Ali, or do I have to make it any plainer."

"No Ava, you have made it as plain as day. When I get you alone at our destination, I am going to explain a few things to you, and you will find them very enlightening."

"I am not sure I enjoyed the intonation that went along with that sentence, Ali. It sounded like it might be threatening."

"If it only sounded like it might be threatening, then there was no harm done, Yet. You will have to wait and see what becomes of that sentence to find out for sure."

"Husband, I am going to pull that pointer of yours out, by its root, have it bronzed, and display it on our mantle."

"I might have something to say about that indiscretion, like shoving my fist up your vagina, grabbing your lungs, and squeezing them. I know I will be in great deal of pain, but you will not be able to breathe."

"I was not going to kill you; I was just going to emasculate you."

"If you emasculate a man, you may as well kill him. A man is nothing without his penis, at least that is the way he feels about himself."

"Is that the way you feel about yourself Ali?"

"Ava, an Arab boy is born, his umbilical cord is cut, and he is handed to his father, not his mother. His father takes him outside to look at the universe, totally naked and his father says "This is the only thing that is greater than you are."

Meanwhile, his tiny Dick is expanding into an erection, because of the cool air. It is not because he is sexually aware, it is just because it happens naturally. A man follows his dick around all his life, even to his own detriment."

Fannale said, "Ali, we are here. I will go inside to make sure my ex-wife is dressed appropriately. I will be out in a moment."

Moments later, Ali returned. "Come inside sir, my ex-wife, and Aviva, will be out shortly."

"Ava, it is my opinion that we interrupted something."

"Gee whiz, I did not believe you with that astute."

Fannale returned and asked if we would like tea?

They both answered "Yes, please."

Eight minutes later, he approached them with a steaming pot of boiling water, two large mugs, and loose teas, in multiple varieties. He began listing them in alphabetical order. When we got to the ones we liked, we pointed to it he placed it into tea cozies, put it into the cup, and pour the boiling water into it. We let it steep for five minutes, before removing the tea cozy, and we began drinking from it heartily.

Ava said, "This is marvelous Fannale, where do you buy it?"

"It comes from Costa Rica, sir. They have some marvelous exotic teas there. Some are much better than the teas that comes from China, and Vietnam."

"If you say that on the Internet, you are going to get killed. The Chinese will lose a fortune in sales, and so will the Vietnamese."

"I very rarely tell people where I get my Tea, for that reason. There are so many things in this country that can get you killed, or sent to prison, and I do not want to say something that will put me there."

"Fannale, I knew you were smart, now I think your brilliant. If you can navigate around the ayatollahs, and the military all the time, and make a living in this country, you deserve a medal."

"Thank you, Ali, it is harder than you may imagine, but my sister, my ex-wife, her friend, and I, make a living at it."

As if Fannale ordained it, the bedroom door opened at that moment and out came his gorgeous ex-wife, and her very gorgeous girlfriend. Fannale was not bad looking, but his opposition was a knock out.

Ava jabbed me in the ribs ferociously, and said, "You can close your mouth now."

I said, "Ladies, it is not often that I see two women, at the same time, as beautiful as you are."

To butter my ego, they said, "Thank you, Mr. President."

I blushed, and Ava hit me hard, again. She said, "You know you deserve that one."

"No comment."

"I do not care whether you comment or not, you know you deserved it."

"Ali, we cannot take you out to dinner, as we wanted to, so we are going to order in. What would you two like to eat tonight."

I said to them, "As long as you three do not argue over who is paying the bill, let us have a ball and order everything anybody ever wanted to order in your lifetime."

They called their favorite restaurant and told the owner, to sit down and get a long sheet of paper, because they were going to order more than what he had on the menu, and he better make it for them personally.

The owner said, "Camel Dung."

Fannale said, "If this bill does not come to more than 500 Rial, you can double it and add a tip for yourself."

Suddenly, the owner was interested. It took nearly 45 minutes to place the order, and they forgot to order dessert. They called back instantly and ordered the entire dessert menu.

He owner screamed, "You are going to leave me nothing for my other customers."

"Do you really care, as long as your food items are sold?"

"No, I guess not. We will be at your place in 21/2 hours, and all your dishes will be either hot, or cold, as the dish requires."

One hour and 45 minutes later, the owner of the restaurant called with the tally of the bill.

"Go ahead, hit me with it."

"I do not know how you missed this, but you did. It was 879.98 Rial."

"I guess you do not get to double your bill, or add a tip for yourself."

"Trust me my friend, with all the cooking I did tonight, I will make a hefty Rial."

Avi said, "Please give me the phone."

"Sir, it is not necessary."

"I know. Hello, is this the owner of the establishment?"

"Yes, it is, who is this?"

"The person paying the bill."

"How may I assist you, sir."

"I did not like the bill. It was only 879 Rial. It was much too low. How many employees are working at your establishment tonight?"

"23 sir, including the kitchen staff."

"Do you pay each of them an hourly wage?"

"Yes sir, it is the law."

"Do you pay each of them the minimum wage, or something above it."

"Except for the kitchen staff, my staff is mainly part time workers, and they get paid the minimum wage."

"You know you cannot live on the minimum wage."

"I do not make the law, sir."

"Yes, but you are a human being. You should be paying these people a living wage. It will be making their lives better. It will be making our system of government better. It will be making our country better. When I become president, you will be paying your employees more money, they will be wearing better clothes to work, you will be increasing your prices to cover your costs, and more people will be attending your restaurant, because they will believe it is more upscale. It is a never-ending cycle."

"Thank you, Mister President."

They could not find the man, so they followed the food. Someone was having a big party tonight, but no one else seemed to be invited. They kept their lights off and followed the three delivery vehicles. The two trucks and the car drove slowly out onto the perimeter of the village and stopped in front of a moderately upscale apartment building. They watched intently to see what apartment they went into, and fortunately it was on the first floor.

The men got out and prepared their weapons, not knowing how many people were inside. There were seven in the assault team, with fully automatic weapons, and sidearms. They had extra clips of ammunition, hand grenades, flash bangs, glow stick, deadly pills, and extra ammo. Basically, they were ready for war.

After several trips back and forth from their trucks delivering food, it was over. They received a large tip for their efforts, as well as a great thank you. As they turned their vehicles around to drive back to the restaurant, they saw the seven men moving stealthily towards the apartment. One of them called Fannale.

He screamed, "Get out, get out of there now, a kill squad on its way to your apartment. There are seven of them and they have automatic weapons. Get the fuck out of that place."

Fannale said to his ex-wife, "Hurry, open the bedroom window, and get back here. We must get into the safe room."

"Where is the safe room?"

"You are standing on the door."

"I guess I should move."

Fannale put his hand flat on the wall next to the bookcase, and pushed a book in further than any other book. The floor rose on an angle of 45°, and light emanated from the bottom.

"Ladies time is of the essence, get your asses down there now."

As soon as the women were down, Ali went down followed by Fannale. He put his foot under the bottom step, and his hand on the wall below hip level. The door to the safe room began to close. Within 30 seconds, it was closed, and Fannale safed it, by turning off the pneumatic pumps that lifted the door. No one could get to them now.

Ali said, "Isn't it fun being a presidential contender?"

Ava hit him again for being sarcastic. He looked at her and asked, "What did I do wrong this time?"

"You were just being your normal, obnoxious, self, darling."

"Oh, is that all, you nasty bitch."

They looked at each other, and the battle lines were drawn.

Laleh said, "If I may interject in this family matter, this is not the time to tear each other's heads off."

Ava said, "But Layeh; his head looks so good on my desk, with his body hanging outside the apartment."

"Wouldn't you like your desk to be in the capital, and the window to be on the fourth floor?"

"Now I must deal with a woman who gets all logical with me."

"He could always run the country with his mistress on his arm."

"No, he could not; because I would kill him first, and her second."

Their heads turned upstairs, as they heard chairs being forced across the floor. There was no sign of them in the apartment, and no sign of them leaving it. That meant they had walked along the side of the building to get away somehow, they had climbed upstairs, or they were still in the apartment. They were leaving nothing to chance. They checked every nook and cranny. They looked in every closet with flashlights burning. They moved every garment, shining their flashlight in to see any cracks in the walls. They moved the refrigerator to see if there was a room behind it. There was none. After an hour, they gave up. No one had called the police. Apparently, these men were the police, and they had orders to kill.

Ava said, "We should have brought some food down here with us, I am hungry."

Ali smacked her behind her head. "You had to say that! Now everybody is going to be hungry."

Fannale said, "I have been hungry for the last two hours, but we have to wait at least another hour, before we dare go upstairs."

Ali said, "They are after me, I will go up first to see if anyone is still waiting for us. If they are, he will kill me, take his pictures, and leave. He will not wait to see who else is here. We have no weapons, we cannot put up a fight, we must do it this way, or we will all die."

Ava said, "They better not kill you, the pleasure of doing that belongs to me, and me alone."

Layeh said, "You two would die without each other. One of you breathes in, and the other exhales. I have not seen anything so wonderful since I got together with Azar."

"I knew if I waited long enough you would mention my name in conversation, Layeh."

"Listen to me my dear, I know how shy you are, and I did not want to put you into the middle of all this violence unless you wanted to be there. Those were the first words you have spoken in almost 2 hours. You could have been asleep for all we knew. I am happy that you said something. I would like to know your feelings on the things that are going on around us. Should Ava kill Ali, and how? Should she mount his head on her desk, and if so, where should her desk be? These are all very important questions darling, and I will take you on any desk, in any city, in any suburb, in any house, in any lot, on God's green earth."

"Azar, you have nothing to worry about in this life, or the next. Layeh will be wherever you want her to be, by your side, one step in front protecting you, one step behind watching your back, or underneath you, eating your pussy. She will adore you, where ever you put her. She may be the stronger personality, but you are her life. I threaten to kill my husband at least five or six times an hour, and he deserves it, at least I think he does. I threaten him with emasculation, I tell him I am going to bronze it and put it on the mantle, and it does not faze him at all, because he tells me what he is going to do to me in return, and it is not at all pleasant. It was not until the darling Layeh said to both of us, we could not live without each other that a bell was rung. I do not believe either one of us wanted to hear that said out loud, because we loved fighting with one another. However, here she was saying to us that it was all an act and it had to end. I was not happy with her, and I told her so. She said to both of us, that she did not give a shit, we were going to love each other, because we already did and that love would never end."

How do you argue with logic like that. We could not, so we stopped arguing and continue making love ferociously to each other. I do not take birth control pills, because I cannot conceive children. A birth defect took that possibility away from me, but I am giving it a heck of a try. Avi puts enough sperm into me to float a mountain, and if perchance God gives me the opportunity to have a child, the baby will have parents that will love it above all else."