Stunned from the impact with the front seat, Rollie struggled to reach Abdul, who was slumped, unmoving, over the plane’s controls.  He grabbed for the man and tried to pull him up, but gravity and the wildly moving aircraft were making it nearly impossible.

“Angie, help me!” he yelled.

Angie dove forward and reached around the back of the seat, grasping for the Arab’s clothing.  With her help, Rollie managed to get the man off the yoke.

“Try to hold him there, Ange.”  The Aussie helped her wrap her arms around the man’s chest and lock her fingers together in front of him.  With Angie acting as a human seatbelt, Rollie climbed into the seat next to the pilot and grabbed the yoke.  Instinctively, he started pulling the yoke back, but words that had been spoken to him over a year ago leapt into his mind.

“Our speed is increasing.  Spiral dive.  We’re in a spiral dive.  Don’t pull back on the yoke,” he muttered to himself.  Trying to remember what he’d been taught, Rollie began slowly turning the yoke to the right in an attempt to level the wings and roll out of the turn.  At the same time, he reached for the throttles and reduced the RPM of the engines.  With each passing second, the ground grew closer and closer.  Finally, the plane’s spiraling leveled out to a straight dive, and the nose started coming up of its own accord.  They were soon flying straight and level.  The pitch then started angling up too high, so he pushed the yoke forward until they were again flying straight and level.  He then reopened the throttle.  Closing his eyes and breathing a sigh of relief, Rollie then started checking the gauges, grateful to see that they had both Arabic and English text.  “Airspeed . . . I guess that’s okay.  Altimeter . . . damn, we’re low.  Autopilot.  Please let there be an autopilot. . . .  Yes!”  He dove for the switch and flipped it up, then cautiously removed his hands from the wheel.  He met Angie’s gaze.  “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, but what about Abdul?”

Rollie put a finger to the man’s neck.  “He’s alive, but he doesn’t look good.  I think he might have had a heart attack, Ange.  We need to get him out of this seat.”

Between the two of them, they managed to get the unconscious Saudi out of the pilot’s seat and stretched across the back seats.  Rollie took his place, and Angie sat in the front passenger seat.  She watched Rollie check the airplane’s gauges again.

“That was amazing what you did earlier.  When did you learn how to fly a plane?” she asked.

“Remember the technical consultant we had for Wings of Gold?”

“The ex-navy pilot?  Yeah.  I remember that you pulled him out of a bad situation when he accidentally got too close to that explosion.”

“Well, after we wrapped, he took me up sightseeing in his plane, sort of as a thank you.  He let me take the controls for a while.  Afterwards, he told me that I had a natural aptitude for flying and asked if I’d like some lessons.  It sounded like fun, so I took him up on it.”

“How many lessons did you have?”

Rollie squirmed in his seat.

“How many, Rol?  Three?  Four?”

“Uh . . . one.  He, um, got an unexpected call and had to fly back home right away.  He told me to look him up if I was ever in Florida, and he’d finish my lessons.”

“One lesson?  And was landing the plane included in that lesson, Rollie?”

Rollie smiled at her sheepishly.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Angie muttered.

“You know, it’s kind of ironic,” Rollie said.

“What’s that?”

“Well, pulling out of that spiral dive.  When Mike took me up for my lesson, he asked me if I got scared off easily.  Like an idiot, I said no.  Well, all of a sudden, he deliberately put the plane in a spiral dive and told me to take over.  I was scared out of my mind and started yanking up on the yoke.  He yelled at me not to do that, to just level the wings and retard the throttle.  I did, and the same thing happened as what just happened now.  After I’d managed to peel my hands off the yoke and stopped shaking, he explained that pulling back on the yoke was the wrong thing to do, though, instinctively, you would think it would be right.  He said that even most flight training books teach the wrong thing.”

“So, what would have happened if you’d kept pulling back on the yoke when we were in that dive?”

“Well, as fast as we were going, we would probably have ended up with the nose coming straight up and the plane looping right over on its back.”

“Oh, lovely.”

“Yeah.  He ended up saving our lives with that stunt he pulled.”

“So, what are we going to do now?”

“Not crash would be my first choice,” Rollie replied.  “We need to contact the estate and tell them what’s happening.  Maybe they can do what they do in the movies and have a pilot talk me down.”

“Does that ever happen in real life?”

“I sure hope so.”  Rollie picked up the headset, which had fallen to the floor, and put it on.  He pressed the mic button.  “Mayday, mayday, mayday.  This is Rollie Tyler calling the Alafa estate.  Is anyone there?”  A terrible silence came from the other end.  “We’re in trouble.  Please, is someone there?”  Still nothing.

“Could you be on the wrong frequency?” Angie asked.

“I don’t know.  It wasn’t touched, unless something happened when Abdul fell over the controls.”  He tried again.

“Hello, this is the Alafa estate.  What is your problem?” came the sudden reply.

“Hello?  Yes, this is Rollie Tyler.  Our pilot has collapsed.  We need help.  Is the sheik there?”

“He is in his quarters, but I will send someone to get him immediately.  Stay on this frequency.”

Rollie and Angie waited anxiously for Hashim to come.  After a few minutes, they heard his voice.

“Rollie?  What happened?”

“We’re not sure,” the Aussie said.  “We think Abdul had a heart attack.  He’s alive, but his condition isn’t good.  I’ve got the plane on autopilot, but we can’t stay up here forever.  I don’t really know what I’m doing, Hashim.  Is your other pilot there?  Do you think he could talk us down?”

“I have sent for him.  He will be here momentarily.  I pray to Allah that he can help.”

There was a moment of silence, then another voice came over the radio.  “Mister Tyler, this is Jamaal.  First, please give me your airspeed and altitude.”

“We’re at one hundred fifty knots and twelve hundred feet.  We lost a lot of altitude when the pilot collapsed.”

“Your speed is a little low, but we will leave it there for now.  Do not worry about your altitude.  There are no hills in your area.  Now, find the engine gauges, and tell me what they say.”

After a moment of searching, Rollie found the gauges and gave Jamaal the readings.

“Your oil pressure is low, but not enough to be concerned with.  Now, we must find out exactly where you are and what direction you are heading.  I will call the tower at King Khalid Airport and see if they can detect you on radar.  Please standby.”  The radio went silent.

Rollie stared out into the darkness beyond the windows.  He had to get them out of this.  He had to.  If they crashed, and Angie died. . . .  ‘Stop it!   If you start thinking about that, you won’t be of any use to anyone,’ he rebuking himself silently.  ‘We are all going to get out of this.’

“Mister Tyler?  The airport has you on radar.  You are much closer to us than to the airport, so I am going to have you land here.  You are presently heading east.  Can you find the compass?  What is your heading?”

Rollie read off the heading.

“You will need to turn the plane to the right,” Jamaal told him.  “I will help you do this.  First, please locate the artificial horizon gauge and the turn coordinator.  Do you know what these look like?”

“Um, I remember the artificial horizon--yeah, there it is right there--but I’m not sure about the turn coordinator.”

“It is below and to the left of the artificial horizon.  In the center of the gauge is a shape that looks like an airplane heading toward you.”

“I found it,” Rollie said.

“Good.  Beneath the airplane on the gauge, is the inclinometer.  Do you see it?”

“Yes.”

“These gauges are important.  You will need to watch them as you turn.  You are going to be making a shallow turn to the right.  I believe it will be better if you keep the bank below twenty degrees, though it will take longer to complete the turn.  The turn coordinator will show you the degree of your bank.  As you turn, you will want to make sure that you do not climb or descend too much.  Keep the plane in the center of the artificial horizon as best as you can.  Do you see the ball in the center of the inclinometer?”

“Yes.”

“You want it to stay there.  You will also need to keep track of what your compass says.  Is there someone there who can help you watch these gauges?”

“Yeah, just a second.  Angie?  Could you keep an eye on this gauge here?  That’s the compass.  I need you to read off what it says.”  Rollie briefly explained how the gauge worked.   “Maybe you’d better put your headset on so that you can talk directly to Jamaal.”

Angie found the headset and slipped it on.  “Where’s the mic button?  Oh, I see it.  Okay, I’m all set.”  She looked at Rollie’s expression.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.  The stuff I learned is coming back to me now, but I sure wish I’d had more lessons.”

“Me too.”  She gave his arm a squeeze.  “You’ll do fine, Rol.”

Rollie laid his own hand on hers, and their fingers clasped for a moment.  “All right, I’m ready, Jamaal,” the Aussie said.  “What heading do you want me to come to?”

Jamaal told him the desired heading, then, “Please take hold of the yoke and turn off the autopilot.”

His body growing tense, Rollie flipped the switch to manual.  He was now flying the plane.

“Now, begin turning the yoke to the right.  Watch the turn coordinator and keep it below twenty degrees.  As you turn, press down on the right rudder a little.  Keep your eye on the inclinometer.  If the ball moves to the right, use more right rudder.  If it moves to the left, use the left rudder a little bit.”

The plane began to turn as Rollie followed the instructions.  Angie started telling Jamaal what the compass was reading.  Rollie kept his eyes on the gauges, correcting with the rudders and the yoke when he needed to.  The excitement he had experienced during his lesson a year ago began to return, but was dampened by the thought that there was no pilot sitting beside him, ready to take over if he screwed up.  As they drew close to the desired heading, Jamaal told Rollie to start straightening the plane out.  Finally, the turn was completed, and they were now heading in the right direction.

“Excellent,” Jamaal said.  “What is your airspeed now?”

“The same.”

“Make sure that you are flying straight and level, then you can engage the autopilot.”

Rollie gratefully flipped on the autopilot, happy to let it take over for a while.  He looked over his shoulder at Abdul.  The man didn’t look at all well.  Fortunately, Hashim had a personal physician at the estate.  The Aussie’s eyes then met his wife’s.

“Angie, sooner or later, we’re going to have to land this thing, and if . . . if things don’t go well, I wanted to tell you that--”

Angie put her fingers over Rollie’s mouth, silencing him.  “No, Rol, don’t say it.  I know that we’re going to make it out of this.  After all that we’ve been though, after finally finding each other, there is no way that we’re going to die in this plane.  No way.  Besides, you still owe me more than three weeks of honeymoon.”

Rollie smiled and kissed her.  “We’ll make it for sure, then, because there’s no way that I’m going to let a little thing like a plane crash get in the way of fulfilling my obligation to my wife.”

“You’d better believe it, buster.”

Jamaal’s voice came back on the radio.  “Mister Tyler, you are about fifteen minutes from us.  I would like to take you through the landing procedures now so that you will be prepared when the time comes.”

“Fifteen minutes?  I didn’t realize that we were that close.”

The Saudi pilot began going through the landing procedures.  Rollie attempted to memorize everything the man was saying about airspeed, pitch, flaps, runway position, and a dozen others things.

“I will be at the runway and should be able to tell by your lights if your angle of approach and altitude are correct, but I will not be able to see if your nose is too high or too low, so you will have to judge that for yourself.  One thing to remember is that if your nose blocks your view of the runway, then either your pitch is too high or you are going to land too long and overshoot the runway.”  Jamaal then gave Rollie some pointers on how to determine if his approach was correct.  By the time he was through with everything, the Aussie felt as if his brain was going to explode from the overload of information.

It seemed like only a couple of minutes later when the man was telling Rollie to reduce airspeed and begin his descent.  As Rollie reached for the throttles to reduce power, a red light on the instrument panel flared to life and a warning buzzer filled the cabin.

“Rollie, what is it?” Angie asked, suddenly very nervous.

“I don’t . . . the oil pressure!  It’s too low!  An oil line must have been damaged when we went into that dive.  Jamaal, we’re losing oil, fast.  Pressure’s down to . . . it’s down to zero.  We have no oil left.”

“Reduce the RPM some more.  We have to keep those engines running as long as possible.”  The Saudi rattled off a list of things to do.  A short time later, two things happened simultaneously: Rollie saw the lights of the runway ahead of them--and the left engine began making a horrible racket.  Seconds later, the right engine joined it.

“They’re not going to make it, Angie!  We’re not going to make the runway!” Rollie cried, fear in his voice.

“Flaps, Rollie!  You need to apply flaps!” came Jamaal’s voice.  He was beginning to sound frantic.

Rollie dove for the wing flaps switch.  The engines were now making coughing sounds, as if gasping for air.  Rollie stared at the runway.  It looked miles away, an impossible target.

They continued to descend, their destination seeming to approach with agonizing slowness.  Rollie applied more flaps.  Seconds later, the left engine made a final wheeze and stopped.  The right engine battled on for a few seconds longer, then it, too, died.  A terrible silence filled the cockpit.

“They’re gone, Jamaal.  The engines are gone!”  Rollie yelled into the mic.

The Saudi gave Rollie some more instructions, attempting to sound calm, but the Aussie could hear the fear in the man’s voice.  Rollie knew that he was too low, that he was coming down too fast, but there was nothing he could do.  Lowering the landing gear, he grasped the yoke tightly, trying to will the plane into reaching the runway.

“Rollie, the fire truck and the doctor are at the runway.”

Hashim’s quietly spoken words sent a chill through the Aussie.  He reached for Angie’s hand.  “I love you, Angie.”

“I love you too, Rollie,” she whispered.

Then, all of a sudden, they were out of time.
 

CHAPTER SEVEN -- SUSPICIONS

They were coming down fast, the runway mere yards away, when, suddenly, a dark shape loomed before them.  At the same time, two voices screamed in Rollie’s ears.

“Rollie, the tree!”

With reflexes developed from his time as a stuntman, Rollie wrenched the yoke to the left in an attempt to miss the date palm that had appeared before them.  The wing slid by the tree with only inches to spare.  Tilted at a dangerous angle, the plane hit the runway on one wheel, the force of the blow bending the landing gear.  The plane bounced high into the air, then came back down, hard.  The overstressed left landing gear collapsed with a screech of twisting metal.  Traveling at over seventy miles per hour, the plane keeled over.  Sparks flew up from the wing tip as it was dragged across the asphalt.  The aircraft wrenched violently to the left, the tail slewing about, spinning the plane like a giant top.  His heart frozen with terror, Rollie fought desperately with the yoke and the brakes as they slid and spun down the runway.  The right tire abruptly blew out, the rubber ripping off the wheel rim.  The sharp edges of the rim dug into the asphalt.  With a sickening jerk, the airplane was suddenly thrown back into the air, and, for one horrible moment, Rollie thought that they were going to flip over.  Then the plane came down on the right wing.  The wing crumpled, and the aircraft slammed back down on the runway.  The right landing gear gave way.  The nose smashed into the asphalt, and the plane slid sideways down the runway until finally grinding to a halt.

Dead silence descended, broken only by Rollie’s and Angie’s gasping lungs.

“Are you all right?” the Aussie asked, his voice shaking so badly that the words came out as a stutter.

“I . . . I think so.  Are you?” Angie replied, her voice shaking as badly as his.

“I’m okay.  What about Abdul?”

They both turned to look at the unconscious pilot.  Fortunately, Angie had strapped the man down with the seatbelts before they came in for their landing.  Thankfully, she and Rollie had also had the presence of mind to strap themselves in.

Rollie saw lights racing toward them down the runway.  He released himself from his seatbelt and opened the door.  His legs shook as he got out of the plane.  The Aussie went around and helped Angie out.  That’s when he saw the blood.

“Angie, you’re hurt!” he cried in alarm.

Angie lifted her fingers to her head and brought them back covered with crimson.  “I hit my head on the door.”  She saw the wild look in her husband’s eyes.  “I’m fine, Rollie.  It’s just a bump on the head.”

A small fire truck and two jeeps screeched to a halt nearby.  A very pale Hashim Alafa got out of the jeep and rushed over to them.

“Praise be to Allah that you are alive!” he cried.  “Are you injured?”

“I’m all right, but Angie has a head wound, and Abdul is in bad shape.  He needs to get to a hospital right away.”

A tall, thin man with a case in his hand moved past them and climbed into the plane.  Rollie assumed that he was the doctor.

“Mister Tyler?” said a familiar voice.

The Aussie turned to see a stocky man of medium height come up beside Hashim.  “Jamaal?”

The man smiled.  “Yes.”  He shook his head in amazement.  “I did not think you would make it when the aircraft hit the runway.  Allah must have been protecting you in those moments.  I owe you an apology, Mister Tyler.  The tree was my fault.  I was too focused on the airplane and did not see that you were going to hit it.  I must tell you, though, that an experienced pilot could not have done better than you did in avoiding it.”

“Thanks.  I guess my days as a stuntman paid off yet again,” the Aussie said.  “Please, keep calling me Rollie.  I never did much care for Mister Tyler.”

The doctor was climbing out of the airplane.  “I cannot be certain at this time, but my initial diagnosis is that Abdul did have a heart attack.  He is weak, but his vitals are stable for the moment.  We will need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible.”

Hashim turned to Jamaal.  “Get the helicopter gassed up and let the hospital know that we are bringing a patient in.”  The pilot immediately hopped into one of the jeeps and took off back in the direction they’d come from.

“You have a helicopter, too?” Angie asked.

The sheik turned to her.  “Yes, but it is seldom used.  I bought it on a whim.  Now, I am glad that I did.”

The men who drove the fire truck helped the doctor get Abdul out of the plane and gently loaded into the back of the jeep.  The doctor climbed up beside him, and Rollie, Angie, and Hashim got in.  They headed over to where the helicopter sat.

“Rollie, you and Angela should be taken to the hospital as well,” Hashim said.

“I’m fine, but I’d like to go with Angie,” the Aussie said.

“I don’t need to go to the hospital, Rollie,” Angie insisted.

“Nevertheless, you’re going,” her husband declared with finality.

Angie sighed and gave up, knowing that there was no point in arguing with him when he was like this.

The sheik also insisted on going.  Fortunately, the helicopter was a large one, so there was room for all of them.  They landed on the roof of the hospital, where medical staff waited to take Abdul.  As the pilot was rushed away, Hashim’s doctor going with him, Rollie, Angie, and the sheik made their way downstairs.  Forty minutes later, they were all sitting in the waiting room, waiting for news of Abdul.  Angie had been examined and her wound treated.  Besides the injury to her head, she had also sustained a nasty bruise on her right shoulder from her impact with the door.  All in all, though, it could have been a whole lot worse.

“Did Abdul have trouble with his heart or blood pressure?” Rollie asked Hashim.

“No, he has been perfectly healthy.  He has always taken good care of his health.  This is all a great shock.”

“Is he married?” Angie asked.

“No.  His wife died several years ago.  There are no children.  He has a brother in Jeddah.  If things do not go well, I will have to call him.”  The sheik looked as if he did not relish making that call.

A short time later, they were approached by Hashim’s doctor and another physician.  “Mister Hamal is out of danger at the moment, but we are monitoring him closely,” the hospital physician said.

“Did he have a heart attack?” Hashim asked.

“The EKG seems to indicate that.  We will be able to confirm it in several hours when we check his CPK levels.”

“Is he going to be all right?” Rollie asked, concerned for the man who had been so helpful to him and Angie.

“There was damage to the heart muscle, but I have seen far worse.  His prognosis at this time is good.  Doctor Habib here told me that this happened while he was flying an aircraft.”

“Yes,” Hashim confirmed.

“Was CPR administered?”

“No, when I checked him, he had a pulse, though it was weak.  Maybe two or three minutes had passed by the time I could get to him,” Rollie said, wishing that there had been some way he could have attended to the pilot sooner.

“It is good that CPR was not needed, very promising,” Doctor Habib said.  “There is no evidence of heart disease or previous warning signs of impending trouble in his medical history.  I did not see him at all today.  Did he show or express any discomfort while in your presence?”

“Not that I know of,” the Sheik said.  “As you know, I was gone throughout most of the morning and afternoon, but, when I saw him, he appeared to be well.”

“He seemed to be fine when he flew us to the city and when we came back to the airport for the return flight,” Rollie told the doctor.  “It happened very suddenly.  He seemed to lose control of the plane for a few seconds, then he just let out a groan and collapsed.”

Both doctors nodded.  “It is not unheard of for a seemingly healthy person to suffer a heart attack, but I would like to check into this more thoroughly,” the hospital physician said.  “Finding the underlying cause of this will help prevent it from happening again.”

“By all means, Doctor,” Hashim said.  “Do whatever you feel is warranted.”

Doctor Habib decided to stay at the hospital to keep an eye on the pilot, so it was just Rollie, Angie, and the sheik who headed back to the estate with Jamaal.  During the flight back, Rollie remained silent.  Angie could tell that something was preying on his mind, but she decided to wait until they were alone before asking him.  Just then, though, he asked a question that roused her curiosity.

“Hashim, what are you going to do about the plane?”

“The damages to it are extensive.  It is doubtful that it would be worth repairing.”

Angie studied her husband’s features.  “What’s on your mind, Rol?”

“It’s just a suspicion I have.  Hashim, would you be able to get an expert to take a look at the plane, especially the cause of the oil leak?”

Angie’s eyes narrowed slightly.  “What are you thinking?  That this wasn’t an accident?”

The sheik’s eyes widened.  “Sabotage?”

“I don’t know for sure, not yet,” Rollie said.  “There are drugs that will cause heart attacks, and some of them leave no trace in the body afterwards, and an oil leak would be an easy thing to arrange.”

“But if someone did this on purpose to get rid us, then why didn’t they just put a bomb on the plane or kill us when we were roaming around Riyadh?” Angie asked.

“Maybe because they wanted it to look like an accident so that there would be no investigation,” Rollie replied.  “David told us that the people who were behind the assassination attempt wanted us dead.  They’ve had plenty of chances to kill us, but they held off.  When we went to Riyadh tonight, maybe they decided that it was the perfect opportunity for them to get rid of us and make it appear accidental.”

“But that would mean that they’ve been keeping track of us all along, Rollie,” Angie said, alarmed.

“I know.  That’s what has me really worried.  They might already know about our plans.”

“What would you suggest that we do?” Hashim asked, his voice full of concern.

“Well, we can’t really do much of anything until we have more facts.  It could be that I’m just being paranoid.”

“I will call someone first thing in the morning to examine the plane,” the sheik said.

Back at the estate, the newlyweds went straight to their quarters.

“Angie, what if this wasn’t an accident?  It would mean that what happened is my fault.  It was my idea to go to Riyadh.  I’m the one who thought it would be safe.”

“Rollie, you couldn’t have known they’d do this.”

“But I should have known.  I should have guessed that they might try something.  I really screwed up, Ange, and you, Abdul, and Hashim are the ones who are paying for it.”  Rollie walked out onto the balcony.  His hands gripped the railing tightly as he stared angrily out into the night.

Angie came up behind him and rubbed her hand up and down his back.  “Rollie, you’re not the only one who made a mistake.  I could have said no.  I could have insisted that it was too much of a risk.  But I figured the same thing you did.  I thought that they were waiting to make their move.”  She looked up into his face.  “There is one good thing that came of this.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, we now know that they’ll try to kill us at any time if they can make it look like an accident.  Now that we’ve been warned, we’ll be more on our guard.  We might end up preventing something worse from happening, something that would threaten more people.”

Rollie gazed at her, a slow smile spreading across his face.  “Why Angela Tyler, when did you turn into an optimist?”

Angie returned the smile.  She put her arms around her husband’s waist.  “Love can do that to a person.”  She gave Rollie a squeeze and noticed that he winced slightly.  “Rollie, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.  I’m fine,” the Aussie said, avoiding direct eye contact.

“Rollie.”  There was a note of warning in Angie’s voice.

Her husband shifted his gaze downward for a moment.  “It’s nothing, really.  I just hit the door kind of hard during the landing, that’s all.”

“All right.  Let’s take a look at it.”  She led him over to the bed, sat him down, and ordered him to lift up his shirt.  Her breath hissed inward when she saw the huge bruise on his side over his ribs.  “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I was more worried about you and Abdul.  The ribs aren’t cracked, Ange.  I know what that feels like.  It’s just a bruise.  It was more important for you and Abdul to be attended to.”

Angie leapt up and strode away a few steps.  She then spun around and faced him.  “Why do you keep doing things like this?  Sometimes, you can be the most obstinate, aggravating, pig-headed man I’ve ever met!”

“And you love me for it,” Rollie said with a faint smile.

“No, I don’t, not one little bit,” Angie declared emphatically.

Her husband just kept looking at her, that soft smile still on his lips, those warm, brown eyes melting into her.  Angie sighed silently.  How could she stay mad at him when he looked at her like that?  She sighed out loud.  “You’re just not going to let me stay mad, are you.”

“Not if I can help it.  I like making up too much.”  A mischievous sparkle frolicked about in his eyes.

“Well, Mister Tyler, how would you like it if you slept alone tonight?” Angie said, her arms crossing over her chest and her nose tilting up a notch.

The Aussie’s face fell dramatically, but Angie saw the tiniest of smirks cross his lips before it was quickly wiped off.  ‘Oh, so he thinks I’m playing with him, eh?  Well, I’ll show him!’  Angie strode over to the head of the bed and grabbed one of the pillows.  She threw it at Rollie.  “Off!  I’m getting this bed all to myself tonight.”

Rollie laughed, but it was cut short when he realized that she wasn’t joking.  “Come on, Ange.  You’re not serious.”

“Oh, yes I am.  You can sleep on the couch.”

“Angie.  Look, I’m sorry, okay?  The next time I get hurt, I’ll tell you.  Can’t we kiss and make up?”  The pleading note in Rollie’s voice and in his eyes made Angie’s determination waver, but she stood fast, dead set on showing him that he couldn’t always charm her into, or out of, things.

Not saying a word, she kicked off her shoes, climbed under the covers, and turned her back to him.  Rollie stood where he was for several seconds, then she heard the balcony door open.  “Rollie, you’d better . . .” the door closed with a click behind him, “take a blanket,” she finished to the empty room.  With a sigh, she shut off the light.

Angie lay alone in the darkness, feeling guiltier by the minute.  She wasn’t really angry with Rollie, certainly not about him keeping his injury a secret.  She had just wanted to show him that he wouldn’t always get his way with her, that she could be just as stubborn as he was.  But, now, she felt rotten.  His guilt over what happened was making him feel bad enough as it is.  She should go out there and bring him back in.

Angie made it another five minutes before throwing off the covers and walking to the balcony.

Rollie stared up at the stars as he sat on the floor of the balcony, his back against the wall.  “I have never understood women, and I never will,” he muttered.  Why was she so mad at him?  ‘This is ridiculous,’ he thought.  ‘I should just march right in there and tell her that I’m sleeping in the bed regardless of what she says.’  No, he wasn’t going to do that.  If she wanted to be difficult, then he would just stay out here until she wanted him to come in, even if he had to stay here all night.  ‘I should have brought a blanket.’  It was too late now.  He was not about to go back in to get one.

Rollie drew the pillow in tightly against his chest, wishing that it was Angie.  With a sigh, he resumed his stargazing, using one of the techniques Mangela had taught him for quieting his mind.  As he watched the stars, they began to move.  A shape started to take form.  A great lion lifted its head and roared silently.  The glowing eyes fixed upon him.  With a snarl, it sprang at him, its claws and fangs seeking his blood.  He threw his arms up to ward it off, and it vanished.  Relieved, he relaxed.  But a sudden feeling of danger made him turn around.  Horrified, he saw a cobra rear up behind him.  With a hiss, it struck. . . .

Angie opened the door quietly, just in case Rollie had fallen asleep, though she doubted he had.  He was probably sitting in the corner, stewing.  Yes, there he was against the wall.  She was about six feet away when she realized that something was wrong.  Rollie’s eyes were open, but they looked strange.  They were distant, glazed.  His respiration was alarmingly slow and shallow.  Suddenly scared, Angie dashed to him and knelt before him.

“Rollie?  Rollie, what’s wrong?”  There was no response.  The fear turned to terror.  “Rollie!  Please wake up!”  Angie grabbed his shoulders and shook him.  For a moment, there was still no response, then her husband blinked.  The blink was very slow, as if performed in slow-motion.  “Rollie?” Angie whispered.

The Aussie looked up at her, confusion in his eyes.  His brows knit.  “Angie?  What. . . ?”  He drew a hand across his eyes.  “Wow.  That’s never happened before, not even when I was a kid.”

“What’s never happened before?  Rollie, you scared me half to death.  I thought you were dying or something.”

Rollie seemed to really see her for the first time.  “I’m sorry, Ange.  It just sneaked up on me.”

“What sneaked up on you?!”  The words were spoken a bit louder than she had intended.

“The Dreaming.”

“The. . . .  You mean you just. . . .”

“Yeah.  And, as usual, I have no idea what it means.”

“Rollie, come inside,” Angie said, pulling his arm.

“Aren’t you still mad at me?”

Angie sighed.  “No, I was never really mad at you.  I just. . . .  Never mind.  Just come inside, all right?”

Being careful not to smile, Rollie followed his wife into the bedroom.

They got dressed for bed and crawled under the covers.  Rollie curled in behind Angie, curving his body tightly against hers.  He wrapped his arms about her waist, and, with a contented sigh, snuggled his face into her neck.

“Ange?”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s make a promise to each other, okay?”

“What promise?”

“That we’ll never go to bed angry at each other, even if we have to stay up all night discussing things.”

Angie turned in his arms and gazed at him, barely seeing his face in the darkness.  “I promise,” she murmured.

Rollie smiled and kissed her.  “Now can we make up?” he whispered against her lips.

With an answering smile, Angie took possession of his mouth.
 

CHAPTER EIGHT -- TRAITOR

The next morning, as they sat down to breakfast, Rollie passed Hashim a note.  The sheik read it, nodded to him in understanding, then passed it to his mother.  Conversation was deliberately kept to small talk, no mention being made of the shipment that would be arriving that day or Rollie’s suspicions of sabotage.  After the meal was finished, Rollie, Angie, and Hashim went outside.

“You think that there may be listening devices planted in the house?” the sheik asked.

“It’s possible.  If I’m right about the sabotage, they had to know somehow that Angie and I were going to Riyadh.  There are only two ways I can think of that they could find that out: there are bugs in the house or they’ve got someone on the inside.”

“A traitor?  I did not find any evidence of a traitor among my staff before.” Hashim said.  “I hope you are wrong about that, Rollie.”

“So do I, Hashim.”

“So, how are we going to sweep for bugs without equipment?” Angie asked.

“We’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way, with our eyes.  But we’re going to have to do it so that none of the staff or guards get suspicious, just in case we do have a traitor in our midst.  I’d say that we should start in the sitting room, since that’s where we’ve had most of our conversations.”

In the sitting room, they kept up a steady stream of unimportant conversation while they searched for listening devices.  As an added precaution, Hashim had turned on the stereo.  Sounds of Arabic music filled the room.  They checked everywhere, but found no sign of anything.  Next, Rollie and Angie checked their quarters while Hashim searched his.  Again, they came up empty.  The last place they checked was the dining room, the only other place where it would be useful for their enemies to plant bugs.  After checking all the phones, they came to the conclusion that there were no listening devices.

“Okay, so there aren’t any bugs,” Rollie said as they gathered back in the sitting room, the music again on.  “That can only mean that we’re dealing with an informant--that is if I’m right about all this.”

“What if the bugs were removed?” Angie asked.  “If they had some in our rooms, they’d know that we suspect sabotage.  We talked about it last night.”  The thought that people might have been listening in on their lovemaking and intimate conversations upset Angie tremendously.

“If they did, then it still means that they have someone here on the inside.  No one but staff members have had access to this place since we got here,” Rollie pointed out.  He knew that Angie was upset about the possibility that there had been a bug in their quarters, and so was he.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.  Hashim opened the door and let in a somber-looking man.  The sheik introduced him as the expert he’d called in to examine the plane.

“There is definite evidence of sabotage.  The oil line linkage in both engines was apparently loosed so that it would come free from the vibrations of the aircraft.  The pressure would have spewed the oil out quickly, leaving the engine without oil in a matter of minutes.  But the oil system was not the only thing that they sabotaged.  I examined the landing gear and found evidence that they weakened both the right and left gear.  The damage was done where it would not be noticeable.  Whoever did this wanted to make sure that the airplane was not going to land safely.  The sabotage was done in a way that, if you weren’t looking for it, you would think that it was damage sustained in the crash.”

“That’s what they were counting on,” Rollie said.  “They probably figured that when it was discovered that the pilot had a heart attack, no one would think to examine the plane thoroughly.”

After telling him that he needed to keep the information confidential, Hashim escorted the man out.  When he returned to the sitting room, he looked at the couple.  “What now?”

“We find out who the informant is,” Rollie replied.  “He must be contacting his cohorts when he has something to tell them.  The phone would be too risky, so I’d say he’s got a radio stashed somewhere.”  A smile spread across Rollie’s lips.  “Let’s give him something to report.”

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them left the sitting room.  “Are you sure you feel up to visiting Abdul?” the sheik asked.  “You both suffered a tremendous ordeal last night.”

“We’re fine, Hashim. We’d really like to see him,” Rollie answered.

“All right, then.  I will tell Jamaal to get the jet ready for us.  Since we are going into the city, perhaps we could make a day of it.”

The three of them discussed detailed plans for the day, then Hashim walked off to tell the pilot about a flight that was not really going to happen.

Rollie and Angie waited a couple of minutes, then slipped into a sheltered alcove, making sure no one saw them.  Rollie pulled out his PDA, and they watched the screen closely.  Another two minutes passed.

“There it is,” Angie said.

“Yep, now let’s find out where it’s coming from.”

They quickly moved through the estate, attempting to track the signal they had detected.  They eventually arrived at a storage closet.

“This is the place,” Rollie whispered.

They hid around the corner and waited.  A few seconds later, a man whom Rollie recognized as the sheik’s personal assistant crept out of the closet.  Rollie and Angie immediately stepped out of hiding.

“Looking for paperclips?” the Aussie asked.

The man froze, staring at them, the color slowly leaving his face.  Then he spun on his heels and ran.

“Great,” Rollie muttered, then took off after him.  He chased the man down the hallway until it came to an abrupt end.

His back against the wall, the man glared at the Aussie for a few seconds.  He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife.  Rollie paused, studying the man.  It was clear that the Saudi was not an expert with the blade.  His grip was too tight on the handle, and his stance was wrong.  But anyone with a knife could be dangerous if the other person didn’t have a weapon.  The Aussie considered staying where he was and calling for help, but then something happened to change things.  A little boy came running out of one of the rooms.  The man, seeing his chance, snatched up the child and pressed the knife to his throat.

“No!” Rollie cried, taking a quick step forward.

“Stay there!” the man yelled.

“Please, just let the boy go.  This isn’t going to help you,” the Aussie pleaded, fear for the child clear in his voice.  The boy was crying piteously.

“Get back!  I am going to leave here, and this child is my protection.”

Just then, Hashim, Angie, and ‘Mister Tank’ came barreling around the corner.  They all slid to a halt when they saw what was happening.  The child cried out a word in Arabic that Rollie recognized.  It was “Papa”.  The Aussie looked at the man he had labeled ‘The Tank’.  The Saudi’s face had grown pale, and there was fear in his eyes.  He spoke a few words to his son in a comforting tone.  Rollie returned his attention to Hashim’s assistant.

“Look, you’re just making things worse for yourself.  Please put down the knife.  We’re not going to hurt you.”

“No.  I am going to get out of here.  You will have the airplane take me to where I want to go.  After I am safe, I will release the boy.”

The edge of panic in the man’s voice worried Rollie.  A man driven by fear wasn’t using his head and could do something stupid at any time, something that might result in the child’s death.  He had to calm the man down, make him feel safe.

“All right.  We’ll get the plane ready for you.  We’re not going to do anything to endanger the child.”  The Aussie turned to Hashim.  “Is the plane being readied?”

“Um . . . yes, it is being fueled now for the trip we were going to take,” the sheik lied.

“Good.”  Rollie turned back to the assistant.  “See?  It will be ready for you in just a few minutes.”

The man nodded, his body relaxing a bit.  The knife pulled away from the boy’s throat slightly.

‘Okay, so far, so good,’ Rollie thought.  Now, he had to figure out a way to get the child away from the man.  Not so very long ago, he had been faced with another situation very much like this one.  What he’d done then, he would now have to try and do again.

“Look.  Whoever these people are that you’re working for aren’t going to be very happy that you’ve been found out.  Do you really think that they are going to let you walk away from all this?”

The look of panic flared back into the man’s eyes, and his grip on the knife tightened.

“Rollie, what--” Angie began, but stopped when Rollie raised his hand.

“There is a way, though, that you could redeem yourself to them.  Take me instead.”

“Rollie, no!” Angie cried.

“They want Angie and me dead, right?” the Aussie continued, ignoring his wife’s cry.  “What if you could deliver me right to them?  That would please them.”

A hopeful look had replaced the panic in the man’s eyes.  But then, his brows lowered in suspicion.  “Why would you sacrifice your life for this child you do not even know?”

“I would do the same for almost anyone.  I couldn’t live with myself if that boy died because I didn’t do all I could to stop it.  This is the only way I can think of to stop it.”  As he spoke, he pressed a couple of icons on the PDA, which he had hidden behind his back. Hoping that he’d hit the right spots on the screen, he waited for the man’s answer.

The sheik’s assistant spent several seconds thinking about Rollie’s offer, then, “Yes.  I will take you instead.  Come closer and keep your hands where I can see them.”

Rollie slipped the PDA into his belt, then dropped his hands to his side.  Slowly, he moved toward the man.

“Stop there,” the assistant said when the Aussie was about three feet away.  “Now, turn you back to me.”

Rollie did as he was told.  A couple of seconds passed, then the child ran past him.  A hand grabbed his arm.  The Aussie immediately reached for his PDA.  With unerring precision, he hit an icon on the screen.  A deafening shriek made everyone instinctively throw their hands over their ears--everyone except Rollie.

The Aussie spun around and grabbed the assistant by the wrists.  The man fought against him, trying to cut Rollie with the knife.  It was then that a moving mountain rushed passed the Aussie.  Mister Tank snatched up the assistant and lifted him off the floor by his throat.  There was a look of murder in the bodyguard’s eyes.  The assistant’s eyes bugged out.  He dropped the knife as he clawed at the hand imprisoning his throat.

Hashim’s voice cried out in rapid Arabic.  The bodyguard looked at the sheik, then reluctantly lowered the man to the floor.  Once he’d released him, the assistant collapsed, gasping for air.  Rollie kicked the knife out of his reach, which was then picked it up by Hashim.

The sheik made an intercom call on a nearby phone.  A couple of minutes later, a woman came and led away the little boy.  Hashim’s eyes then focused on his assistant.   “Bring him to my quarters,” he ordered Mister Tank.  There was a look on his face that reminded Rollie that Hashim was an expert in several forms of martial arts and probably knew how to inflict a lot of pain and still keep a person alive.

Mister Tank hauled the assistant up by his arm and fairly dragged the man to the sheik’s quarters.  Not really sure that they wanted to be there for the interrogation, Rollie and Angie nevertheless went with them.

When they got to Hashim’s quarters, the sheik made a show of rolling up and setting aside an expensive-looking carpet, then placing a chair in the center of the bare section of floor.  He then got several lengths of cord.

“Put him in the chair and bind him to it,” he told the bodyguard.  The man immediately did so, looking as if he derived great pleasure from tying the cords as tightly as he could.

His hands and feet bound to the chair, the assistant was beginning to look more than a little frightened.  He babbled something in Arabic.  Hashim’s hand whipped out and gave him a backhanded slap across the cheek.

“Silence, you dog!  You have no right to ask for mercy.  You have betrayed me and attempted to harm people who are guests in my house.  I should gut you and feed your entrails to the jackals.  But you have information that we need, so I will let you live.  Who are you working for?  What have you told them?  Do they know of our plans?”  His assistant remained silent.  “Answer me!”  Still no response.  “Very well, then.  Perhaps Kareem here can convince you to talk before he kills you.”  The sheik turned to Rollie and Angie.  “I believe it is past time for lunch.  Shall we see what the cook can prepare for us?”  He stepped past them and headed for the door.  At the same time, the bodyguard took a step toward the bound man, a terrible light in his eyes.

The assistant shrank back in the chair, cowering, his eyes wide with terror.  He shrieked something in Arabic.

Hashim spun around.  “In English!”

“I-I do not know who hired me!  They came and offered me a lot of money.  They said that they wanted to know everything that you and the foreigners were doing, when you had plans to leave the estate, your daily schedules.  I told them.”

“What do they know about the telephone call that came in for Rollie?”

“Only what I could find out.  They know that it was someone from the United States and that Mister Tyler called the person back.  They also know that you have made arrangement to get something that is being shipped from the States, but they do not know what it is or exactly when it is coming.”

“Is that all?  Speak truthfully or I will have Kareem use this knife of yours and cut your fingers off one by one.”

“Th-they have a complete list of your planned itinerary and where you will be each day.”

Hashim’s eyes narrowed.  “A complete list?”

The assistant nodded.  “Everything that you have told me.”

The sheik said something in Arabic that sounded like a curse.

“Are you going to kill me now?” the assistant asked, his voice trembling.

“No, but you will remain a prisoner here until after this business is settled.  Then you will be handed over to the police.”  Hashim looked at the bodyguard.  “Lock him in one of the empty storerooms and place a guard outside the door.”  The sheik turned to leave.

“Wait.  I have a couple of questions,” Rollie said.  “Are there any other spies at the estate?”

“Not that I know of,” the assistant replied.

“Did they have you place listening devices or any other kind of device in the house?”

“No, nothing.”

Rollie nodded and left with Angie and Hashim.  Once they were well away from the room, they stopped.

“I am glad that he ‘bought it’, as you Americans say,” the sheik commented.

“Bought it?  Wait a minute.  You mean all that stuff in there was an act?” Rollie asked, shocked.  “All that talk about feeding his entrails to the jackals and having Kareem cut the guy’s fingers off one by one?”

A slight smile curved Hashim’s mouth.  “Your American movies have some delightfully excessive stereotypes and portrayals of Middle Eastern men in them.  I especially enjoy the old Arabian Nights movies.  I found them quite useful in there.”

Rollie and Angie started to laugh.  “Hashim, any time that you want to take up a career in acting, just let me know,” Rollie said between chuckles.

The sheik’s smile grew to a grin.  But then he grew serious.  “I am afraid, though, that Kareem was not acting.  He would quite happily kill my traitorous assistant if I gave him leave to.”

The comment instantly sobered the newlyweds.

“Shall we get some lunch?” Hashim asked.

The three of them went to the kitchen and had the cook fix them something quick.  As they ate, they discussed what they were going to do next.

“Well, at least we know that whoever is behind this doesn’t know about what David told us and about the equipment,” Angie said.

“So, this means that we can continue with your plan,” the Saudi commented.

“Yeah, though I still wish I knew what this was all about.”  Rollie studied the sheik for a moment.  “Hashim, does a lion or a cobra have any special meaning to you?”

“No, not that I can think of.  Why?”

“It’s just. . . .  Let’s just say that I have reason to believe that there is something about those images, or animals, or maybe what they represent that has a bearing on this thing.”

The sheik looked at him closely.  “Perhaps this is something that you should talk to my mother about.”

The Aussie stared at the man, surprised that the Saudi had guessed what Rollie hadn’t said.  He wondered if Hashim might not have inherited something from his mother besides physical appearance.

“Maybe I should,” Rollie admitted.  “The plane with our equipment will be coming in at five o’clock, right?”

“Yes,” Hashim replied.

“Is there a room where we can set the stuff up, someplace out of the way where the staff doesn’t go often?”

“Actually, the quarters next to yours could be used.  There is an access door between them.  You could move freely to and from it.  Since it is empty, the staff does not go in there except to dust once a week.  The door can be locked from the inside so that no one can get in.”

“That’s perfect.”

They finished their lunch in silence.  Hashim gave Rollie a key to the connecting door, then went to ask his mother when would be a good time for the Aussie to talk to her.  The newlyweds went to check out the quarters next to theirs.  In the rooms that would become their temporary F/X workshop, Rollie and Angie began discussing where each piece of equipment should go.

“Rol, what was that question about the lion and the cobra all about?” Angie asked as she moved a chair back against the wall.  “Does it have something to do with the Dreaming you had last night?”

“Yeah.  I saw a lion and a cobra in it.  They were both representing some kind of threat, but I don’t know if they have any connection to each other.”

“What did you mean last night when you said that it had never happened like that before?”

“I--” Rollie was interrupted by a knock on the door of their quarters.  He opened the door to find Hashim.

“My mother will see you as soon as it is convenient for you.  She seemed quite anxious when I told her what you said.”

“We’ll go right away, then.”  Locking the connecting door, Rollie and Angie went with the sheik to see Kamilah Alafa.
 

CHAPTER NINE -- A MOMENT OF PEACE

“I got a call from the pilot of the plane,” Hashim told the newlyweds as they approached his mother’s quarters.  “He will be arriving sooner than expected.  He believes that he will get here a little after four o’clock.”

Arriving at Kamilah’s quarters, the sheik excused himself to go make some telephone calls.  Rollie knocked on Kamilah’s door.  It was opened by a young veiled woman.  Silently, she motioned for them to come in.  The couple saw Hashim’s mother, who was holding her veil up across her face, standing near the balcony.  She spoke something in Arabic to the woman.  The servant bowed, then left through the door.  As soon as she was gone, Kamilah let the veil fall aside.  She came toward them.

“I thank Allah that you were not seriously injured because of what was done to the airplane.  You were in great danger for a while.”  She focused her attention on Rollie.  “My son tells me that there is a question you have about a lion and a cobra.  Did you have another dream?”  There was concern in the woman’s voice.

“Yeah, but I had this one while I was wide awake.”

Kamilah nodded, apparently not the least bit surprised by Rollie’s revelation.  “Let us sit,” she said.  The newlyweds sat across from the woman on a settee.  “Now, tell me what you saw.”

The Aussie recounted the dream to the Saudi woman, being careful to mention all the details.

“Do you recognize the importance of this dream, Rollie?” Hashim’s mother asked.

“I know that it’s a warning of some kind of threat.”

“Then you know that you should not ignore it.”

Rollie sighed.  “Yes, I know.  Kamilah, can you tell me what the dream means?  I think I know what some things mean, but it’s mostly guesswork.”

“I can help guide you toward understanding, but it is you who must uncover the truth.  This dream came from you, Rollie.  It is your gift, not mine,” the Saudi woman told him.  “What do you believe it to mean?”

“Well, obviously, the lion and the cobra both represent some kind of danger toward us or toward me.  I’d say that the lion is a big threat, something we can see, the most obvious thing being this stuff connected to the assassination attempt and the sabotage of the plane.  But I’m not sure about the cobra.  I saw it after the lion, and it was behind me, so I think that might mean it’s something we don’t know about yet.  It’s a second, hidden threat that either has to do with the same thing as the lion or could be something completely unrelated.”

Kamilah nodded her head.  “Yes.  These are the things most easily perceived, that which is most obvious.” Kamilah said.  “But what do the details of the dream tell you?”

“The details.”  For a moment, Rollie felt like he was a kid again with Mangela.  “Um, it was strange that, when the lion roared, it made no sound.”

“And this would mean what?” the Saudi woman prompted.

“Maybe that whomever it represents is a person or a group who is keeping their presence or their existence secret.  They’re not making a lot of noise or putting on a big show.”

Kamilah nodded again in agreement.  “A silent threat.  Very good.  What else?”

“Well, I guess that the type of animals have some special meaning.  Lions are big and powerful.  They’ve been called the King of the Beasts.  They’re native to Africa.  They’re often used to represent strength and courage, even though they are actually lazy and spent the better part of their lives sleeping.  Um, I can’t really think of anything else.  I guess it could also be that the lion has some special meaning to them.”

“And the cobra?”

“I don’t know.  I think it was a king cobra, but I’m not sure.  I believe that king cobras are found in southeast Asia and the East Indies or something like that.”  Rollie turned to Angie.  “Is that right?”

“Yeah, I think so.  I know that they have them in India.”

“Uh, let’s see.  What else?  They’re highly poisonous.  They usually give a warning before they strike.  The snake charmers in India use cobras in their act.”  Rollie shrugged.  “I don’t know.  It could mean a lot of things.” He paused.  “There is one other thing, though.”

“What’s that?” Angie asked.

“Well, when the lion attacked, it didn’t reach me.  It just faded away.  But, when the snake attacked. . . .”

“It did strike you,” Kamilah finished.

“Yeah.  Does that mean that it’s the second threat that’s going to be the one to get us?”

“That is possible, but you must understand that, in having this vision, you now know things you did not before.  What you do because of that knowledge may change the outcome of things.  The future is not unchangeable.”

“I know.  A while back, I had a Dreaming in which Angie died.  Because of the dream, I was able to change things so that didn’t happen.”  He paused.  “So, what this means is that I might act upon this dream in such a way that it could totally change things around.”

Again, Kamilah nodded.  “You must not ignore the lion for the cobra.  If you do, it may devour you.”  She looked directly into Rollie’s eyes.  “Have you thought of trying to bring a dream on consciously?”

Rollie suddenly looked very uncomfortable.  “I . . . I can’t.  I can’t do that.”

“You cannot or you will not?”

The Aussie stood abruptly.  “I can’t.”  He walked away a couple of paces, his back stiff.  Finally, he turned around, but he did not meet Kamilah’s eyes.  “Thank you for your help.  I appreciate it.”  He looked at his wife.  “We’d better go.  We’ve got more stuff to move in the room before the equipment gets here.”  Without waiting for her answer, he headed toward the door.

Puzzled, Angie looked at him, then at Kamilah.  There was concern and a strange kind of sadness in the woman’s eyes.  Not knowing what she should do, Angie said goodbye to Hashim’s mother and followed her husband back to their rooms.

“Rollie, what was that about?” she asked once they were in their quarters.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Rollie replied, his voice tight.

Seeing that this was something she should leave him alone about, Angie nodded and said nothing more about it.  They spent the next couple of hours in the quarters next to theirs, moving furniture and putting away decorative items that they were afraid might get broken.  Rollie remained quiet, speaking only when he had to.  Angie could sense the tension in him, whether it was about what they planned on doing or about their conversation with Kamilah, she did not know.  The Saudi woman’s suggestion that Rollie attempt to bring on a Dreaming consciously had clearly hit a nerve in the Aussie.

Right from the start, Rollie had displayed a reluctance to use or even acknowledge these abilities that were within him, despite all of Mangela’s attempts to get him to openly accept them.  By what Rollie had told her, it hadn’t always been this way.  When he was a child, he had apparently willingly accepted Mangela’s tutelage.  Angie knew that there was something in Rollie’s past that had caused him to reject his gifts.  Was it a combination of his mother’s death and Cale’s betrayal that had driven Rollie to hide from his paranormal abilities or was there something else, something that she and Mangela knew nothing about?  It was clear that Rollie feared using his abilities.  What had caused that fear?  Would he ever tell her?

“Do you still want to go to that party tonight?” she asked her husband, deciding that it wasn’t doing her any good to dwell on this secret of Rollie’s that he was not willing to tell her.

“I forgot about that.  Considering everything that’s happened, we probably shouldn’t.  We wouldn’t want to give these guys another crack at us.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.  It would have been nice to spend an evening just having fun, though.”  Angie couldn’t quite manage to keep the sigh out of her voice.

Rollie looked at his wife, suddenly feeling very guilty.  This was supposed to be their honeymoon, yet, instead of enjoying themselves, they were hip-deep in some kind of international intrigue and had people trying to kill them.

The Aussie put his arms around Angie’s waist.  “How about if I see if there’s a way that Hashim can smuggle us out?  Once we’re on the base, we’ll be safe.  It’s just the trip to and from that we have to worry about.”

Angie smiled up at him brightly.  “Thank you,” she murmured.

“You’re welcome.”  He tightened his hold on her.  “Ange, when this is all over with, I promise that we are going to go someplace where no one will bother us, even if we have to hike up some mountain in Tibet.”

It was five minutes after four o’clock when they heard a large plane come in for a landing.  Rollie and Angie went with Hashim to the airstrip.  The cargo plane taxied up to them and came to a halt.  In a surprisingly short time, the airplane was unloaded and the crates full of equipment deposited in the quarters where it would be set up.  With the doors locked, the couple quickly unpacked the F/X equipment.

“Well, everything seems to be here,” Rollie commented once they’d finished.  “We’d better hurry up and get ready for the party.”

They took a quick shower together to save time, then hurriedly got dressed.  They then donned Arab garments over their other clothes, the first part of their plan to sneak out.  Keeping his face hidden, Rollie went with Angie outside to a waiting car.  Since Angie was wearing both the Arab overgarment and the veil, all she had to worry about was not letting anyone see her blue eyes.  During the long drive into Riyadh, they removed the Arab clothing, then sat back and watched the countryside pass by.

It was just after seven o’clock when they pulled up to the military base’s gate.  The guard checked his list for their names.  After finding them, he told the couple that their driver would have to wait for them outside the base.  The Saudi man pulled the car over just inside the fence and let them out.  Rollie told the man to return for them at eleven o’clock.  Just before the man left, Angie took off the wraparound skirt and long-sleeved blouse she was wearing to reveal a snug black dress that ended well above her knees and revealed a good deal more of her neckline than the blouse had.  They were now under U.S. jurisdiction and didn’t have to worry about Saudi clothing restriction.  She almost laughed as the young driver quickly averted his eyes from her, a blush coming to his cheeks.  She laid the clothing on the back seat.

The guard called for a jeep to come pick them up and take them to where the party was going on.

“Rollie!  Angie!” Chuck called to them as they stepped in the door.  “Glad to see you.  I was beginning to think that you weren’t coming.”

“We were delayed by some stuff,” Rollie explained.

“Well, no problem.  There’s still plenty of food.”

The newlyweds looked about at the other guests, happy to see so many carefree people laughing and having a good time.  It was going to be nice to just relax and chat for a few hours.  They helped themselves to some food, then Chuck began introducing them around.

“So, you guys are in the movies?” one woman asked.

“Special effects,” Angie replied.

“That must be really interesting.  Do you get to meet a lot of stars?”

“We’ve met a few big names,” Rollie admitted.

The newlyweds spent a couple of hours just getting to know people.  Most of the guests were either military personnel stationed at the base or people from the embassies.  There were a few people who were in the country on jobs for international corporations.  Rollie and Angie were the only ‘tourists’.  As one would expect, there were a lot more men than women.

It was around ten o’clock when Chuck got Rollie and Angie away from the other guests and off into a quiet corner.  “Okay, now it’s my turn to pester you with questions,” the young lieutenant said with a grin.

“Uh oh.  I’m feeling nervous already,” Rollie said with an answering grin.

“How in the heck did two special effects artists get involved in an assassination attempt on a sheik?”

“Do you want the short version or the long one?” Angie asked.

“I don’t know.  How long is long?”

“Five months,” Angie said, her tone serious.

“Five months?  You got involved five months before it happened?”

“Well, it all started one night when I was driving home from a shoot,” Angie began.  She and Rollie then proceeded to tell Chuck about the events that ultimately changed their lives.  There was a lot that they skipped and other things that they glossed over, but, by the time they were finished, the lieutenant’s eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open.

“Wow!  That’s some story.  No wonder the sheik feels like he owes you.  So, the guys who were behind the whole thing were caught?”

The newlyweds looked at each other.  How were they going to answer that?  They couldn’t tell the lieutenant what was going on now.  “The man who hired the assassin was caught,” Rollie told him.

If Chuck suspected that there was more to the story, he chose not to say anything.  “So, what are your plans for the rest of your stay here?”

“We’ll be remaining at the estate tomorrow.  Next week is still a bit up in the air.”

Angie almost choked on her drink at the amazingly casual way that Rollie had spoken.  ‘Up in the air?  Yeah, sure, that’s one way of putting it,’ she thought to herself.

“When are you heading home?” Chuck asked.

“Well, we’re leaving Saudi Arabia next Thursday, but we won’t be going home for another three and a half weeks,” Angie told him.

Rollie looked at his watch.  “We’re going to have to get going, Ange.  The driver will be waiting for us, and it’s a long drive back to the estate.”

The couple wished everyone goodnight.  They were driven back to the gate.  Their Saudi driver was waiting for them just inside the fence.  Angie put the skirt and blouse back on, and they got into the car for the long drive back.

As Angie slept, her head pillowed on his shoulder, Rollie stared out at the darkened desert beyond the window.  His conversation with Kamilah and the memories that it had brought back to him came unbidden to his mind.  It had been so long ago, seemingly a lifetime, yet the pain and fear was still almost as fresh as the day it happened.  He’d told no one, not even Mangela.  He couldn’t.  No.  He could not go through that again.  He couldn’t leave himself open for what he might see.  And, most important of all, he could never return to the things that Mangela had taught him.  Never.

Rollie closed his eyes, trying to push the disturbing thoughts from his mind.  He was just starting to dose off when they got back to the estate.  Yawning hugely, Angie followed her husband inside.  They got dressed for bed and crawled under the covers.  It had been nice, their moment of peace, those few brief hours when they could stop worrying about what was going to happen tomorrow.

They went to sleep, wondering what the next day would bring.
 

CHAPTER TEN -- PIECES OF THE PUZZLE

Rollie and Angie got started early the next morning.  They had a lot to do that day.

“I guess we should call David and tell him that we got the stuff okay and let him know about what happened,” Rollie said.  “Besides, I want to see if he finally talked his bosses into giving us some pieces to this bloody puzzle.”  He glanced at his watch.  “Hmm.  It’s almost midnight over there.  I hate calling him this late.”

“Well, he did say any time, day or night,” Angie pointed out.

“Yeah, you’re right.  I guess we’d better scramble the call just in case.”

As he was attaching the scrambler to the telephone, there was a knock on the door of their quarters next door.  Angie opened it to reveal Hashim.  She led the sheik into where Rollie was.  The Saudi’s mouth dropped open as he caught sight of all the high-tech equipment.

“Amazing,” Hashim murmured, awe in his voice.  “I feel as if I have stepped into one of your science fiction movies.”

Rollie grinned at the comment.  “Wait until you see what some of this stuff can do.  I was just about to call David.  Perhaps you should stick around, just in case he can give us any more information on what we’re dealing with.”  The Aussie dialed the FBI agent’s cell phone number.

“David Rain,” said a sleepy voice over the scrambler’s speaker.

“Hi, David, it’s Rollie.  I’m sorry to call you so late.”

“No, that’s okay, Rollie.”

“We got our stuff yesterday, and everything looks good.  Um, something’s happened here that you need to know about.”  He told David about the sabotage to the plane and the traitor they’d uncovered.

“Damn!  This isn’t good.  Rollie, you and Angie need to get out of there.  We can protect you back in the States.”

“Not a chance, David.  We’re on our honeymoon.  We’re not going to spend it under federal protection.  As long as whoever is behind all of this is out there, we’re going to be in danger from them.  The only way that we can be safe is if we catch them, and we can’t do that locked in some safe house.”

There was a pause on the other end.  “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right.  I just wish that I could be there to watch your back.”

“Thanks, David.  We appreciate that.  Were you able to talk your bosses into giving us some more info?”

“I’m afraid not.  I haven’t told them about your plan yet either.  I’m afraid that they’ll refuse to let you do it.”

“David, without some kind of idea on who we’re dealing with or what their motives are, this plan has a good chance of failing.  Isn’t there anything that you can tell us?”

There was a longer pause.  “This line isn’t secure.”

“Yes it is,” Rollie said.

“What?”

“I’ve got the phone attached to a scrambler.  It’s one of the pieces of equipment you shipped to us.”

The FBI agent gave a laugh.  “I should have figured that you’d think of that.  All right, I’ll give you as much as I can.  We suspect that an extremist group is behind this.  The problem is that it appears to be an as yet unknown group.  We have very little information on them.  All we know for sure is that they are based in the Middle East.”

“Are we talking about terrorists?” Angie asked.

“No, not in the usual sense.  In a way, they are much more dangerous.  This organization isn’t going to bomb a building full of civilians or hijack a plane loaded with tourists just to make a statement.  They appear to have no interest in making a name for themselves or proving their cause to be righteous.  These people are deadly serious, and they have one goal in mind: to destroy all Western nations, especially the U.S.”

Rollie sat down, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.  What had he and Angie gotten into?  “Do you know what their present plans are?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t say anything more about this.  As it is, my superiors would have my hide if they knew I’d told you this much.”

“What does this have to do with me and my country?” Hashim asked.

“That’s also something I can’t talk about,” David said, regret in his voice.  “We might not even have known about this group’s existence if it wasn’t for informants and agents we have placed within other anti-West organizations.  This group is working in complete silence, keeping their plans and actions secret.”

The FBI agent’s last sentence hit Rollie like a lightning bolt.  All at once, the meaning of a part of his dream became clear to him.  Suddenly, he just knew.

“Rollie, what’s wrong?” Angie asked.  “You look like you just figured out the secret of life.”

“David, I want you to check on a name,” Rollie said, not responding to Angie’s question.  “If I’m right, it’s the name of your secret organization.”

“How could you possibly know their name, Rollie?” David asked incredulously.

Rollie paused.  “It would probably be best if I told you later.”

“Um, all right.  So, what’s the name?”

“Silent Lion.”

Angie’s eyes widened as she stared at Rollie.

“All right, I’ll check on it.  If you’re right, this could help us tremendously.  But my superiors are going to want to know where you got this info.”

“Tell them that, as long as they insist on keeping their secrets, I’ll keep mine.”

David chuckled.  “Cute, Rollie.  That just might make them reconsider.”

“I have one more question for you, David,” Rollie said.  “These people have already attempted to kill Angie and me, but I think they struck at us when they did only because they thought that they could make it appear accidental.  Do you have anything on this group’s timetable?  Do we have to worry about them attacking us in the next couple of days?”

“This is something that I can tell you.  From the information we’ve gathered, it appears that they don’t intend to carry out that end of their plans until next week.”

“Thanks.  At least we now know that we have a little breathing room.”  Rollie said goodbye and hung up.

“If you’re right about that name, Rol, his superiors are going to be pretty anxious to know how you found out,” Angie commented.

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” the Aussie said with a smile.  “We need to know more.  Since they won’t tell us willingly, then we’ll have to resort to Dad’s old method of getting things.”  At the puzzled look on Hashim’s face, Rollie’s smile broadened.  “Give them what they want only in exchange for what we want.”

“You do realize that they’re not going to believe you when you tell them how you learned the name,” Angie pointed out.

“Since I don’t intend to give them mine until we get theirs, that’ll be just too bad.”

“You could be in big trouble when we get back home.”

“If we succeed in stopping this group, I don’t think that David’s bosses are going pursue anything against me.  If we don’t succeed. . . .”  Rollie left the rest of his statement unspoken.  They all knew what failure would mean.

“What if the feds still refuse to tell us what this whole thing is about?” Angie asked.

Rollie shrugged.  “Then we’ll have to work with what we know and hope it’s enough.”  He looked at Hashim.  “Do you have any idea at all what’s going on?”

“I fear not.  Until your FBI friend called that first time, I had believed that the assassination attempt was simply an act of revenge.”

“Wait a minute.  We thought it had to do with your business dealing in the U.S.,” Angie said.

“Why did you believe that?”

“That’s what we were told when we got involved in this thing,” Rollie explained.

“I have no enemies connected to my U.S. business dealings, at least none who would resort to murder.  Why would your people lie to you like that?”

“I don’t know,” Rollie said, wondering where the lie had originated from.  “What were you really in New York for?”

“One of the organizations that I am involved with was holding their annual meeting.”

Rollie grew thoughtful.  “What kind of organization?”

“Its primary goal is to promote peace and strengthen relations between the Middle East and the Western nations.  A part of it has to do with the human rights issues in my country and neighboring nations.  We are also involved with counter-terrorism and efforts to keep nuclear armaments and biological weapons out of the hands of governments and factions who would seek to use them against other countries.”

“That sounds an awful lot like something that would make you a target to this extremist group,” Rollie said.  “Did anything special happen at the meeting?”

“I do not know.  After what happened, I chose not to attend the meeting.  I was more interested in finding out why someone would try to kill me and who was responsible.  I did talk to one of the other members a couple of days later, however, and he did not say that anything unusual happened.”

“Hmm.  Was there any other reason why you went to New York?”

“While I was there, I was going to take care of some business involving a couple of the corporations that I have dealings with.”

“And there’s nothing about these corporations that could have any bearing on this thing?” Rollie asked.

Hashim shook his head.  “I do not see how.”

Rollie stood.  “Okay, let’s assume for now that the attempt on your life had something to do with this organization or the meeting.  There’s something that’s got me puzzled.”

“Only one thing?” Angie asked doubtfully, a small smile on her face.

Rollie flashed her a quick grin.  “All right.  This whole thing has me stumped, but, right now, there’s one thing in particular that I’m wondering about.”  He focused his attention on the sheik.  “The hit on you was arranged at least five months before it actually went down.  During those five months, were you under constant protection?  Was your trip to the U.S. the only time that you were vulnerable?”

“Not at all.  I had no reason to suspect that my life was threatened during that time.  I never had more than one or two bodyguards accompanying me when I went somewhere, sometimes, not even that.”

“But you had a virtual platoon with you in New York,” Angie pointed out.

“That was my mother’s doing.  She told me that she sensed that my life was in danger and begged me to take the extra bodyguards.  I learned a long time ago not to doubt her when she says such things.”

“She didn’t try to talk you out of going?” Rollie asked.

“No.  In fact, I got the distinct impression that she wanted me to go.  I have tried to talk to her about it since then, but she will not say anything.”

“So, if they could have easily killed you at any time here, why did they wait until you got to New York?” Angie asked, seeing what Rollie was puzzled about.

“I do not know now.  Up until a few minutes ago, I believed that I did,” Hashim said.

“What do you mean?” Rollie asked.

“When the man who was named as being responsible for the assassination attempt finally began to confess, he said that he arranged for the killing to be done in the U.S. so that suspicion would not fall upon him.”

“You said that you thought this had to do with revenge.  What’s that about?” the Aussie asked.

“Years ago, my father was accidentally responsible for the death of Mahmud’s father.  He has hated our family ever since then.”

“But your father is dead.  Why would this Mahmud go after you?” Angie asked.

“Some believe that blood guilt does not end with the one originally responsible, that it is passed on to each generation until the slain person has been avenged, sometimes even beyond that.”

“Sort of a sins of the father type thing,” Angie commented.

“Yes,” Hashim agreed.

“It looks as if Mahmud got involved somehow with this extremist group, and they used his grudge against you as a way to get rid of you,” Rollie said.

“I would agree.  But we still do not know exactly why they want to kill me or why they have not tried again.”

“And why they waited five months to make the first attempt,” Rollie added.

The sheik stood.  “Perhaps I should ask some of my friends in my government a few discreet questions.”

“Um, I don’t know if you should,” Rollie said.  “David said they were afraid that this extremist group would find out that they knew of the plans.  Since we have no idea who’s involved, I think it would be best if we didn’t give any indication that we know something’s happening.”

“You are probably right,” Hashim admitted.

“Um, what about your assistant, Hashim?  Aren’t these guys going to know something’s wrong if he doesn’t report in?” Angie asked.

“I didn’t think of that,” Rollie said.  “We need to come up with something that isn’t going to make them suspicious.”

The sheik thought about it for a moment, then a slight smile came to his lips.  “What if poor Rabi has something unfortunate happen to him that will make him unable to speak for several days?”

The couple grinned.  “What do you have in mind?” Rollie asked.

“Well, perhaps a nasty illness that will render him unable to move about or communicate, but is not serious enough to warrant a stay in the hospital.  I am sure that my doctor can come up with something that will work.  I could then make sure that several people know of Rabi’s ‘illness’, making it likely that this group will find out.”

The Aussie chuckled.  “I like the way you think, Hashim.”

The sheik’s smile grew.  “I will call my doctor now.  He is still in Riyadh.”  He moved toward the door, then paused and turned back to look at Rollie.  There was an odd expression on his face.  “My mother would not talk to me about what it was that made her fear for my life, but she may talk to you.”

“Me?” Rollie asked in surprise.

“She feels an affinity with you.  I believe it is because you and she share a common gift.  Perhaps because of that, you will be able to convince her to reveal things that she would not to anyone else.”

After Hashim left, Rollie just stared at the closed door for several seconds.

“Are you going to talk to her?” Angie asked quietly.

“I don’t know.  I’d feel kind of funny trying to get a woman I haven’t even for known for a week to tell me something that she couldn’t even talk to her son about.”

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go to her and at least ask about it.”

“I suppose not,” Rollie agreed.  “Right now, though, we’d better take care of getting that equipment set up.”

Rollie and Angie spent the rest of the morning and into the afternoon setting up and testing their equipment.  It was just before one o’clock when a knock came on the door of their quarters.  The couple came out of the quarters next door and shut the door to hide what was in there.  Then Rollie went to see who was knocking.  He was surprised to find Kareem, ‘Mister Tank’, standing before him carrying a tray laden with food.

“The sheik knew that you would be hungry and had the kitchen staff prepare you something.  I offered to bring it to you,” the man explained.

Nodding, Rollie stood aside, letting the bodyguard in.  Kareem laid the tray down on a table, then turned back to Rollie.  He looked slightly uncomfortable.  Straightening his shoulders and lifting his head, he looked the Aussie in the eyes.

“I wish to thank you for the life of my son, Mister Tyler.  I now owe you a second debt of gratitude, the first being when you saved the life of my sheik.  I also owe you an apology.  I have been entrusted with protecting Sheik Alafa since he was sixteen years old.  I gave an oath to his father that I would protect him with my life.  I nearly failed in my duty when the assassin attempted to kill him in your country.  I was . . . angry that a foreigner had stepped in and done my job for me.  I was even less pleased when the sheik invited you to be his guests.  I did not want to be reminded of my failure.  But I had no right to feel that way.  It was wrong, and I apologize.  You are a man worthy of respect and honor.  If your life is ever again threatened while you are in my country, I want you to know that I will protect it--in whatever way that may be necessary.”

Rollie stared at the man, speechless.  He knew what Kareem was saying.  The bodyguard had just told him that he would sacrifice his life to protect the Aussie.  How do you respond to something like that?

“I . . . I don’t know what to say.  Uh . . . thank you.  I’m honored that you would offer such a thing.  I really hope that it never comes to that.”

The bodyguard inclined his head, then silently left.

“They really take owing someone a debt of gratitude seriously around here, don’t they,” Angie commented.

“I guess so,” Rollie agreed.

The newlyweds ate their lunch, then got back to work.  Fortunately, everything had survived the trip in working order.

“Now, I guess we wait and see if David’s bosses agree to tell us what’s going on,” Angie said.  “What did you decide about Kamilah?”

“I guess I should talk to her,” Rollie replied.  “We might find out something that will help us.  I’ll tell someone to give her a message that I want to see her.”

An hour later, he stood in front of Kamilah’s door, trying to decide exactly how he was going to ask her what he needed to.  He remained there, unmoving, for several seconds, then, sighing softly, knocked on the door.

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