Right now Carina wasn’t so sure anymore and she asked herself for the 100th time whether it would turn out to be one of her "short-circuit-ideas“ that had caused her to get into trouble in the past.
Finally the guard called out to another man, talked in a low voice to him and sent him … where? She did not dare to think about it.
They were standing around for a while, the guard did not say anything but made it clear only with this body language that he had no interest in talking and definitely would not let them take even one step further. The minutes felt like an eternity, when finally the second man came back. He signalled to them to follow him.
Carina could not understand his words, but she derived from his gestures that he would lead them somewhere. Her mind was working overtime. To whom would they be guided? She found it frightening not being able to understand anything, and Hatem could hardly talk to her in English now, after all she was officially his nephew Hassan.
The man brought them to one of the bigger tents and as they already guessed from the outside, it was big enough for a tall man to stand easily upright.
Carina could hear the sound of her heart beating when she slipped inside through the drapes. Who or what would wait for her there?
She felt full of excitement about the discussion she had had with the Sheikh in the plane on their flight here, even without recognising him. He seemed to have a sense of humour after all.
That was how she tried to calm herself down. Yet out of the deepest part of her mind crept the grisly picture of the tortured man beside the road and she asked herself again: "What kind of man does something like that?!“
As soon as her eyes had adjusted to the darkness inside, she realised that the tent was empty. Their guard told them to stay there and wait and then left them alone. Hatem took advantage of the situation and updated her in a low voice: "I told them that I have an important message for His Excellency – the guard will now get the second man in command, the Sheikh’s “right hand” if you like. He is the leader of the warriors whenever the Sheikh is not there. They would not tell me if His Excellency himself is actually here. They were not talking a lot anyway and, honestly, I have no idea what they will do to me as soon as they realise that I have lied …” The worried look on his face made Carina’s heart pound. She had not thought about it that she might put Hatem in danger. Her new friend wanted to say something else, but at that moment the curtain was pulled to the side and their guard held it respectfully open for another man.
She could understand his greeting and introduction, that much Arabic she had learned. “My name is Hanif al Hamid – I am the leader of these warriors and I am speaking in the name of the honourable Sheikh, His Excellency Rayan Suekran al Medina y Nayran.“
Hatem bowed very low and spoke the common words of greeting with special reverence. His voice was shaking. Carina also bowed but did not say anything. When she stood back upright, Hanif looked her directly in the eye for a moment and she knew instinctively that he had seen through her masquerade. He directed his question to Hatem and asked with a suddenly icy voice: "What is going on here?!“
1990 - Rabea Akbar – All dams burst
The threat was a great limitation for Rayan in the following days. No matter if it was inbound or outbound, there were strict controls when entering or leaving the premises. This went for people as well as for vehicles.
For example, controls for the Humvees, with which they normally did their excursions, were installed using mirrors to see the vehicles from underneath.
Additionally there were sniffer dogs that were sniffing for explosives.
Furthermore, the general controls were intensified within the city and also into the surrounding desert, so he was on duty almost every day.
About three weeks after his visit to Clara’s parents the first car bomb exploded, right in front of the General’s house. It was obvious that he had been the target and it was only thanks to the extra guards that were put in front of his house that no one was hurt.
From this day on Clara was only allowed to go out accompanied by two personal security officers, which reduced their time together even more.
Therefore it was a great relief and Rayan was happy when Clara sent him a message some days later. She informed him that she was planning to leave the base right after mass on Sunday to visit the bazaar and she would be pleased if he could join her.
As he was a Muslim and he did not attend the service inside the base, they agreed that he would go ahead and meet her later at the fountain on the eastern edge of the market.
The bazaar of Rabea Akbar was one of the highlights in this otherwise very quiet town and took place every Sunday morning. The date was a result of the American soldiers who usually all went to church and had some free time afterwards. This was a good opportunity to spend part of their pay in the bazaar. Normally the holy day of the week for the local people was Fridays, but they had adapted to holding the market according to their customers. The square was rectangular and one stand was right next to the other. The smell of spices, herbs and all different kinds of food were mixed with the odour of animals and a lot of people.
Carpets, lamps and garments were offered, as well as chickens, camels and jewels.
Those who did not haggle over the price had themselves to blame if they were cheated.
Also the sounds were typical for a bazaar: there was total chaos in the cheering of the merchants who tried to compete with their neighbours, mixed with animal sounds and car horns. It seemed that someone was always trying to drive right through the market in spite of the prohibition of vehicles.
Visitors were either on foot or came with rusty old cars from far away; some even came with donkeys like in the old times.
Rayan was sitting on the edge of the fountain. He had already roamed through the market and admired the different goods.
He loved that kind of turmoil. Even though he usually preferred the quietness of the desert, he liked the colourful action, which was so similar to the same kind of bazaars in the oases. This reminded him of when he had joined the merchants from Zarifa as a little child.
The basin of the fountain was only two meters long and went in a semicircle to the nearest wall of one of the houses, which was why the water was in the shade. Rayan took advantage of that because it was already becoming hot again.
He looked at the mosaic of little tiles, but he had to admit that it did not really tell him anything. It was Clara that usually remarked on these features and berated him for always being “a typical man” when he was not impressed by them. He was just about to put his hand playfully into the water, when an explosion made the market shake.
The blast’s power was so strong that he was thrown backward from the fountain’s pond onto the ground. When he tried to get up again he had to shake his head several times to get rid of the dizziness that had taken hold of him. He had a ringing sound in his ears but fortunately after some time it disappeared. It seemed like he had been far enough away. He tried to comprehend from which direction the explosion had come. Thanks to Allah the market had not been the target, because everywhere people, who had also been dragged to the ground by the blast or had thrown themselves there in panic and hope for cover, started to get up again. .
There was chaos everywhere. Horses bolted and ran around the stands, chickens and other poultry were fluttering around wildly. Rayan could hear single cries, but he was not sure from which direction they were coming. He supposed that some just gave vent to their fright, without really being injured.
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