Monday, February 25, 2013

Questions


Neither Jean nor Hamid said a word for the first fifteen minutes in the car after leaving Bob and Jeanette.

Not able to remain quiet any longer Jean says, “Did you enjoy the lunch?  I thought you would enjoy talking to some regular islanders besides all of the tourist hype.”

“Lunch was fine.  Bob and Jeanette seem to be nice people.  I learned about working on the charter boats.  It will be in my book.  I wonder though how the two of them can make a living working the way they do.”

“I’ve known them a long time and I know Bob has a lot of connections he seems to be able to come up with almost anything.”

Hamid thinks a few moments before answering Jean’s statement.  “What do you mean by connections and able to get anything?”

“You know like if you want some weed or maybe some pills or a woman?”

“How long have you two been working together?  It looks like a nice fit where you move the tourists around and he supplies their desires?”

Before he replies Jean thinks about his response.  “We don’t work together I merely want happy customers.  Customers who can go home saying they had the best vacation.”

Sure-Sure, thinks Hamid.

“Well I’m not into weed or pills nor do I want to rent a woman.  I might need another kind of service but I’ll have to think about it before we discuss it.”
 
“What kind of service?”

Monday, February 18, 2013

Jean Boris


Hamid rose from the lobby chair as Jean Boris entered the hotel.  Jean was prompt.  He was dressed in a multicolored shirt hanging out over his khaki shorts.  His sun glasses were positioned on his head for easy access.  He recognized Hamid very quickly and they shook hands.  Jean asks, “Where do you want to start?’

“I thought I would leave that to you, since you’re the expert here,” states Hamid.

“Is there anything special you want to see first?”

“Not really I need to get a good feel for the island and its people.  I rode around on a moped for a couple of days but felt I wasn’t accomplishing what I need to do.”

Turning around towards the entrance doors, Jean says, “Okay I’ll play it by ear and as we talk I will have a better feel where to take you the next two days.”

They exit the Comfort Suites and Jean directs Hamid to a new model Lincoln Town car.
Hamid thinks to himself, it appears this guy’s business must be good, looking at the car.

Monday, February 11, 2013

On the Island


Following the early evening meal, Hamid heads into George Town to find a bookstore. Remembering seeing the sign he heads towards the main square.  There is a parking space directly in front.  He checks the sign on the door for evening hours.  There are two hours left to find what he wants.

The first item must be a current world atlas.  One of the clerks directs him to the proper aisle.  Hamid stands in front of the shelves and looks up and down the aisle. On the third section of shelves he finds exactly what he wants.  Pulling the book from the shelf he takes it to an area set aside to browse books.  Hamid checks over the European coasts and the Middle East coasts and finds the atlas has detailed information.  He brings the atlas to the counter and asks the clerk to hold it while he continues to browse.
 
Next item must be maps of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Seas.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Late Sunday Afternoon


Early the next morning Allison McDonald asks her secretary to call Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv to speak with Ariel Wattenberg.

When Ariel is on the line, he says, “I received a message you called previously.  I’m sorry I was unable to return your call.”

“No problem, actually I’m glad you didn’t return my call while you were probably away from the office.  Do you have some time?  I need to discuss a very interesting incident?”

“Right now I’m about to head into a meeting, let me call you back in say about an hour.”

“Thank you, I’ll wait for your call.” 

*     *     *   

At nine in the morning Hamid is standing outside of the bank that his funds are deposited in.  He patiently waits for someone to open the doors.  The front door is unlocked and the five individuals waiting outside enter the bank.  Hamid walks over to the information desk and asks to meet with a bank officer.  The receptionist tells him someone will be with him momentarily.  She asks if he would like coffee.   He declines and takes a seat.

Hamid’s wait is only five minutes.  A young man approaches him and invites him into his office.  Hamid is impressed the employees of the bank are all dressed in colorful outfits.  This is totally different from banks in Iran.

The young man directs Hamid to a seat in front of his desk.  “What may I do for you, sir?”
 
Hamid hands him the account number.  The young man brings it up on his monitor.  Hamid can tell the officer is impressed with the balance by the look on his face.  “May I see some kind of identification, please?”  Hamid passes over his passport.