Abigail – The Avenging Agent: The agent appears again (39 page)

“I also found something inside,” he
said. I found a camera, but it was focused on the wall.”

Abigail raised her hands to her cheeks
in dismay.  She pointed to her jug and whispered:

“If that’s the case, it filmed me
meddling with my jug.”

Abigail went to him, picked the shirt he
had taken off and put it back on him, then pulled his sleeve and led him to the
eight steps that went up to the prayer hall.  She was so adamant that he kept
quiet and followed after her, listening to her speaking, with her back to him.

“Like fools, we walked into the trap
they set us.”

“At the moment, there’s no trap, right? 
Except for this, we don’t have to talk about anything there.”

“Yes, but we almost starred in a blue
movie, screened to our viewers on the other end of the line.  We almost acted
in the show of our lives,” she said and quickly walked outside into the yard
with Karma groaning as he followed her.

“Listen, I’m telling you again, we’ve
already put the cameras and the sound recorders out of action.  So, what
bothers us about spending the night there?”

“Come on, really, Karma, of that’s what
you think, then I have a better offer for you.  Come let’s contact the people
who placed the cameras and listening devices in the jugs and ask them exactly
what they are interested in finding out and what their plans are for us.”  He
was silent and closed the opening behind him.

All at once, she stopped and spoke
thoughtfully.

“I have a little question to ask you. 
Was that room prepared for us in advance or did you decide spontaneously to go
down there today?”

“The truth is that I knew about it and
spent a few nights there, but I didn’t imagine that they were documenting
things and following me.”

Abigail could not suppress her thoughts
about what he had been doing there in the days he spent here, but she didn’t
dare ask him.  He laughed and said:

“Perhaps they recorded me talking to
myself or they have a reader of thoughts, like you.”

Suddenly, he stopped and his eyes opened
wide.

“What happened?”

“Oh, the drawing on the jugs! Do you
remember what was painted on them?”

“Flowers, I think, and perhaps some
decorative stripes, why?”

“Naima, there was a snake in the drawing
crawling on flower stems!”  He almost yelled.

“That’s right, so what?”

“That’s the tattoo I saw on the
motorcyclist’s arm, there in America.  He was the assassin on the motorcycle.”

“What motorcycle assassin?  Who did they
attack?”

“They attacked San when he came to
recruit me and…”

“San?!” She screamed and her face
reddened.  “Are you serious?  Are you sure?  The guy with slanted eyes, who
wears spectacles?  San?!”  She grabbed Karma’s arm.  “Tell me, speak!  When,
and what happened to him?”

“I don’t know what happened to him.”  He
tried to extricate his arm from her grasp.  “I flew out two days later.  I was
frightened that the attack was directed at me and I thought it wouldn’t be
smart of me to visit him in case I was being followed.”

“Please tell me it’s not true,” she
begged.
  
 How was he when you
left the place?”

“He was injured and an ambulance…”

“But, he was alive, right?”

Karma raised the palms of his hands in
the air to indicate that he didn’t know and when he turned away to move on, he
found himself facing Abigail.  She folded her arms and opened her mouth,
intending to tell him about the house awaiting them in Azerbaijan.  Suddenly
she decided not to say a thing about it to him.  Something held her back from
telling him. The matter of San had upset her cool.

“Yes, what did you want to tell me?”

She pulled his arm and began to chatter
and babble.

“I dream of living in the mountains with
a river running near the house, a small stream, beside large trees with gardens
beneath them. In one garden, I would cultivate vegetables and in the others, I
would grow flowers.”

“Enough, stop, I know you too well. 
You’re not a chatterbox and you don’t dream of things like that.  So, speak up,
what’s the problem?”

“Karma, you know I hate surprises.”

“Fine, then I’ll reveal the plan to you,
without any surprises.”  He saw that she was staring at him without curiosity,
and he continued.

“You said you want to live in the
mountains, right?”  When she looked at him, he added:

“We are expected at a house that has
been prepared for the two of us. It is not far away, about half an hour's walking
to the East of this mosque.”

“Is that so?  They set up a home for us?
” She asked excitedly.

Right then, she thought that perhaps she
hadn’t understood how much he cared and was being too hard on him with her
suspiciousness.

A broad-winged dark bird hovered over
them, borne on wafts of warm air and Abigail knew that somewhere below there
was carrion.  She pointed in its direction just as the enormous bird began
flying in descending circles till it disappeared behind the hill.  Seconds
later, it flew back up and they both saw a lamb grasped in its talons
and the thin sound of its bleating was lost and carried
away by the wind.

“Oh, Karma, it’s got a lamb!” cried
Abigail.

“Sheep? There’s no chance of that. 
Nothing grows there, nor is there any water.  I don’t believe that someone
would come there with herds.”

“So what was the bird clutching in his
claws?  Wasn’t something bleating like a lamb?”

Abigail remained pensive, then asked,

 “How are we to reach the house where we
are awaited?”

“Don’t worry, as I have told you, it is
not far away, and they also prepared a vehicle for us.”

“Did you say something about an
automobile?”

“Yes, a special four-wheel drive SUV.”

“Especially for us?” she inquired and
all her instincts were aroused by her sense of imminent danger and when she
stared at him, he added:

“Don‘t worry, trust me.”

Abigail drew in her breath to calm
herself, but felt she could no longer continue playing her role of following
him and she stopped.

“Listen here, Karma, it’s enough and I
won’t move another step from here,” she said and sat down on the sand.

“What are you doing?” he asked, and an
angry tone entered his remarks.  “I don’t think we should stay here in the sand
and I also feel rather stupid now with all these arguments.”

“Fine, I am not prepared to continue
with you to where you’re going. It doesn’t suit me to get in the car that has
been prepared for the two of us and I also feel stupid now.”

“What is this all about!?  I don’t
believe this is happening now!” then blurted out.

“Listen, I’m going ahead and if you wish
– you can join me.”

Abigail stared at his back as he moved
ahead and almost decided to disappear, but then he returned to her and said:

“Come, that’s enough nonsense.”

She got up and shook the sand from her
clothes and joined him hesitantly.

 “Karma, I ask you again.  Who left the
vehicle for us?”

“The people, who took Abu-Rain away after
he was injured; believe me, they are fine and they are also with us.”

“Sure they’re fine, but it’s not certain
they are with us,” she said and stopped walking again.

“Karma, I’ll make a deal with you and if
I’m wrong – I’ll keep my mouth shut forever.”

“Wow, now that would be worth making an
effort for,” he chuckled, “Yes, what deal are we talking about now?”

“It’s like this. If we find a flock of
sheep behind this hill, or if the car is harmless and has nothing wrong with it
– I’ll know that it’s all in my imagination. Then I will try and rely on you in
future.”

“It’s a deal!” he replied at once,
extending his hand and when Abigail shook it, he pulled her close to him,
embraced her and kissed her forehead that was moist with perspiration.

They carried on and reached the hill
when they suddenly heard a horse neighing joined by dogs barking.  Abigail
thought she heard chickens clucking and looked at Karma and screwed up her eyes
in amazement.  Around the bend, they saw tall ears of corn that were planted in
a crowded row that surrounded a field of golden wheat.  When they finished
going round the hill, she saw a sheep corral fenced with wooden pickets.

Karma threw her a victorious glance.

Bales of hay were dispersed around and
brown chickens roamed among them, picking in the sand.  Abigail heard the
clanking of iron chains and began looking for the dog that was apparently
attached to them when suddenly a fearsome Alsatian tied to a long rope appeared. 
The dog bared its fangs, growled threateningly and its barking made her
shudder.  Abigail glanced up at Karma and noticed that he was also surprised as
he looked around at it all.

Abigail noted the clean corral and the
amazingly tidy yard.  She was looking for the neighing horses when all at once
her attention was drawn to a man in a wide-brimmed hat, who stood up inside the
sheep corral and came out of the wooded gate.

A young fellow followed him and it was
clear from the resemblance between them that he was his son. A mangy puppy
followed them and wagged its tail at Abigail’s heels.   She crouched down to
stroke the animal and Karma went to speak to them, extending his hand in
greeting.  He turned to Abigail and called out to tell her they had been invited
to tea, ignoring the tentative expression of doubt that spread on her face.

The wooden hut they entered was meager
and simple though it was clear that an effort had been made to keep it clean. 
The aroma of stew filled the room and a heavily-built woman peered inside,
bowed slightly and immediately went out.

Abigail stared at the family photographs
hanging on the wall, all taken against the background of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and
she wondered at the order and cleanliness of the place.  Even the wooden floor
looked almost new.  A few minutes later, the woman came to the entrance and the
man, who was still wearing his hat, took a round tray with a steaming kettle
and empty glasses from her.

“Aha’lan, I’m Abu Bachar,” he said and
poured the tea with neat and experienced movements.  Abigail watched the thin
stream of liquid being poured into the glasses and smiled when the man raised
and lowered the teapot, without spilling even one tiny drop.  The bleating of
sheep and the neighing of horses were heard from the outside in the yard
together with clucking chickens and barking dogs and she heard Karma describing
how the eagle had carried away the lamb.

“Yes, it couldn’t be helped, the lamb
escaped from the corral to the fields.  It happens sometimes.” Abu Bachar said
and sucked his tea noisily.

“What does the farm produce?” Abigail
asked gently, trying not to sound investigative or pressuring.

“It’s all still uncertain.  To tell the
truth no one here is keen on agriculture. I’m experimenting with cultivating
wheat because the soil is fertile, but the conditions are hard.”

“For experimenting?”

“Yes, the plan is that if I succeed,
investors will be willing to sow fields of wheat between the hills.”

Abigail made polite sounds of admiration
and when the men continued talking, she got up and went out into the yard.  She
looked around, trying to shake off the feeling that the whole scene was a
temporary set-up that had been planted there.  She shaded her eyes, searching
for a well or some source of water and noticed that not one single tree was
growing on the whole farm.  In the distance, fields of seasonal crops were
visible and she walked over to them.  She walked past the wooden fence of the
sheep corral and looked in the stable, in which two horses waved their tails to
chase away flies.

On a whim, she entered the back door of
the kitchen and was surprised to find two women inside.  When they saw her, the
heavy-set woman was standing by the sink with no faucet, holding a bucket of
water.  Abigail hurried to help her pour the water into a giant saucepan and
with a combined effort they put it down on the floor.

“Can I help you put it on the gas
burner?”

“No thanks, ma’am, Fatima will help me.”

“Where do you get the water?” she asked
and pointed to the almost empty bucket.  “I’d be happy to help you pump water
and carry the bucket.”

“Ah, it’s fine, Abu Bachar takes care of
the water every morning, doesn’t he? The young woman asked Fatima and the
latter nodded in confirmation.  Now, it was clear to Abigail that everything
happening around her was a temporary arrangement.

”Does anyone drive the car?” she asked,
not expecting a positive response.  To her amazement, the young woman answered
proudly that she had a license and was a good driver.

“Great, so I understand that you’re the
one who drives to purchase food and run errands.”