Interlude (40 page)

“It's a Harrier. They can take off and land
vertically. Nobody really buys them, except for airshows and
collectors. Why?” She asked.

“Just curious,” Cal said.

Karen had downed her drink in one shot. He
knew she could hold her liquor, but he didn't want to have to
babysit her the whole night while she threw up behind a fighter
jet. She tossed the cup behind her and walked over to him. She
motioned him to crouch down so she wouldn't have to yell.

“Let’s dance!” She said to him, as he leaned
into her lips so she could say it in his ear. She took his hand
again and led him into the throng of bouncing people underneath the
DJ scaffolding. Cal shrugged, finished his can of Red Bull and
threw it over his head.

The dance pit was unlike anything Cal had
ever seen. He had seen nightclubs, and been to the occasional rave
in his college days, but this was much different. There just seemed
to be something, off, about the whole thing. The DJ seemed like a
normal DJ. The music was as loud and bass-driven as it usually was
for this kind of event. That was it! Cal stopped in his tracks when
he finally got a good look at the other party goers. They were much
more international than you would expect. That made sense, as this
island was a sort of hub between Europe, Africa, and the Middle
East. The mix of different cultures wasn't what put Cal off though.
It was the maniacal tension that strung its way through all of
them. As the men and women bounced and gyrated, they emitted a kind
of devil may care energy that made it feel like it was the last
night on earth. These people could have been preparing to watch the
world end, and it would feel no different.

As Cal swiveled his head to take in his
surroundings, he saw a couple of girls making out while a circle of
people filmed it with their phones and cheered. As he gazed at them
while they rounded second base, he felt a hand on his hip. Puzzled,
he looked back and was shocked to see Aamina smiling up at him with
her piercing gold eyes!

“Hey bad boy, I hope you don't wander off
here! I might have to take you to lost and found!” She yelled to
him over the din of the music. She glanced over to the two girls
and ran her tongue along her bared teeth.

Karen turned at the recognition of her voice.
“Aamina! What's up? Are you buying anything here?” She asked
jovially. Aamina and Karen embraced like old friends. Cal couldn't
help but blush like a teenage boy. The last time he had seen this
little woman, she had forced him to make love to Karen at gun
point. Now, the two girls seemed to be acting like best friends as
Cal watched on. Their oddly joyful hugging was making him flashback
to the girls he just saw making out, as they switched from their
hug to a grinding, naughty girl-on-girl dance that left him looking
around to make sure guys weren't filming them too! Cal merely
shrugged and joined the two in a bouncing, swaying dance.

Cal watched his surroundings, as Aamina and
Karen alternated between dancing, and trying to hold their outfits
up. Aamina had dressed in a gauzy mini dress with slumped
shoulders. Cal couldn’t help but notice her eyes. She had changed
her topaz eye color for a shade of unnatural green. It only made
her gold eyes seem more energetic and powerful. He leaned over to
Karen and yelled, “Don't you have some transacting to do?”

She moved over to him and thrust her hips
against him. Aamina did the same, and began grinding against his
other side. All he could do was shrug and smile, as some guys
looked over to him and gave him a thumbs up. Karen threw her head
back and laughed as she and Aamina continued to make him more and
more uncomfortable.

“I'm having Soren and Ethan take care of it.
It turns out there's not much here worth buying anyway.” She yelled
back to him. Aamina stood behind Karen and made mock, hip thrusting
motions while she smiled at Cal. He couldn’t help but laugh, as
Karen finally turned around and caught her. The two embraced and
began dancing again as Cal watched on with his aching rock hard
manhood.

“How about I get you girls some drinks?” He
shouted. Just then, the music stopped. As everyone stood around,
the DJ announced the need to get “drunker”.

“We'll come with you. It looks like the DJ
needs a break.” Aamina said.

As they stood with cocktails in hand, Cal
pondered how many energy drinks one could consume before having a
heart attack. Aamina and Karen talked shop, while Cal continued to
try and process the events unfolding. There was a group of guys
dressed similar to him standing by one of the old tanks. As they
celebrated and laughed loudly, one of the guys threw down his
bottle of Smirnoff and climbed into the driver's cockpit of the
large machine. With an earth-rumbling growl, it roared to life and
groaned like a giant rusty robot. Cal looked to the girls waiting
for someone, anyone, to say something about these joyriders. The
tank just cruised around the standing crowds as everybody watched
casually and cheered. As it cleared the last big throng of people
it throttled up, increasing its speed as it shot off into the
desert night.

“Hey wait, that's my car!” Cal said in
astonishment. As the tank sped off he could just make out his
sleek, black rental car in the edge of the light. Seeming to have
sensed Cal's words, the tank changed its course and plowed right
over it. As the giant metal war machine smashed down on his car, it
groaned and creaked as all the windows shattered. Karen and Aamina
pointed and laughed like it was something that happened every day.
After a period of silent shock, he felt a hand on his side.

Karen handed him a tall cup that was filled
with Vodka. “Here, I don't think you can be our designated driver
anymore.” She said evenly. Aamina was still busy jumping up and
down and cheering with the other onlookers as the tank made its way
back around to ramp off of his smashed car one more time.

Cal was trying to process all that was
happening. His high dollar rental car was gone. Now, he would have
to deal with that snotty little dick of a rental clerk back in Sant
Antony. His defensive apathy washed over him once more. Cal held up
his mystery cocktail and said, “Here's to full coverage insurance.”
He downed the drink and tossed the cup over his shoulder, as the
girls cheered and did the same with theirs. “So, what now?”

Aamina spoke up, “Hey Cal! Have you ever had
knives thrown at you?”

Cal looked at her like she was crazy.
“What?!”

“Knives, like, as in throwing knives? I
brought my throwing knives from when I was a kid. You know, in case
things got boring.” She said. Her statement was punctuated by a
small explosion off in the direction of the joyridden tank, as it
made its way around the desert floor.

Yeah, boring...,
“Nope, never. Is it
safe?”

“Meh, it depends.” Aamina was already
motioning him to a nearby overturned table. The large plywood sheet
was propped up vertically against another tank, and she was gauging
her ability to throw knives at it. As she lined him up in front of
it, she reached into her purse and pulled out a little velvet
pouch. The contents clinked and made metallic noises as she pulled
the little steel daggers out one by one. She comically paced
footsteps back away from the makeshift backdrop, as a group of
onlookers gathered to watch them. He looked to Karen, who was still
busy trying to get a signal on her phone. Perhaps to locate Soren
and Ethan? His attention was brought back to Aamina when she
finally spoke.

“Cal?” She said.

“Yeah?”

“I'm gonna need you to hold real still.” She
dropped her purse at her feet. She had wedged the throwing knives
into the tan belt of her little white dress. Now, looking ever the
part of the slightly mad circus performer, she wiggled her feet
into the sand and took a meaningful stance. She held up the knife.
As it glimmered in the light she sighted down it like it was a
weapon.

“Oh shit...,” Cal's heart was now hammering
in his chest. He saw the little knife as she held it up at eye
level. What had he agreed to? How good was she at this? His panic
must have been written on his face, as Karen looked up from her
phone and gave him nonchalant thumbs up signal.

Out of nowhere, the little knife came hurling
at him! He could hear it slicing through the warm night air, making
a thrumming noise like a tiny helicopter. As it stuck in the
plywood right next to his head, it made a comical “boing” noise as
it wagged to and fro. Cal stared at the knife right next to his
face, as the onlookers cheered raucously. Cell phones flashed away,
as the onlookers snapped pics of the shocked look on his face.

His eyes widened as he exhaled, “Holy shit
Aamina! Can't you start lower?!” The panic in his voice had turned
his response into a near shriek.

Aamina just gave him a quizzical look and
said, “That was supposed to be low. I guess I'm a little rustier
than I thought.” She shrugged to herself and lined up her next
throw.

Before Cal knew it, another little knife had
embedded itself right in between his legs! This one seemed to have
more power behind it, as it buried itself deeper in the wood. He
looked down at the glimmering little knife, resting only two inches
below his crotch. This seemed to charge up the girls in the crowd,
as they all laughed and pointed at the near amputation of his
manhood.

Karen laughed and yelled over, “Hey Aamina!
Be careful with the fun parts!”

As everyone laughed, Cal's mind went into
overdrive. If she threw one more knife, he was dead. He just knew
it. He had to step away, but his fear had him cemented in place
while Aamina lined up her next throw. He closed his eyes and forced
his feet to move. As he stepped away from the plywood sheet, he
heard the telltale noise of the knife taking flight. His foot
hooked on a large box and he fell before he could catch himself.
During his ungraceful trip to the sandy desert floor, he felt a
sharp pain in his side. His head bounced off the tank's hardened
steel armor as he fell.

His world went dark.

“Cal? Cal? Are you awake?” Voices came to him
like they were shouted through a tunnel. He felt like he was being
shaken around. His face stung, as someone slapped him repeatedly to
get him to come to. Finally blinking his eyes open, he saw Aamina
sitting back on her knees as she crouched with his head in her lap.
The little knives that were in her belt were gone, and she was
cradling his head as she slapped his cheeks gently to get him to
focus. The look in her eyes was more consoling than apologetic.

“Wha, where..., what happened?” Cal finally
managed to stammer out.

“I threw a knife, and you tried to run. You
hit your head on the way.” She said, holding his head close so she
could speak quietly in his ear. “I think we may need to call for
help.”

“Where's Karen?” As he become more coherent
he tried to move, but Aamina held his shoulders down gently. Just
then, he finally noticed the excruciating pain in his side. “Damn,
why does my side hurt?” When Aamina only responded with an
apologetic smile, he lifted his head up to glace down at his hip.
Sticking out of his tight black shirt, and ringed with a wet
crimson circle, was one of Aamina's little knives. As Cal moved,
the knife shifted in his side, causing him to cry out in pain. The
onlookers had dispersed, except for a small group of morbidly
curious ones. “Oh my God! You stabbed me?!”

“Well, if you hadn't moved it would have been
fine.” She said defensively. She reached into her purse and placed
a few pills in his mouth. While she held his head up, she brought a
plastic cup full of liquid up to his lips and helped him wash them
down. The cup was filled with straight scotch. “There. That should
help with the pain.” She said soothingly, as she stroked his
hair.

“What did you just give me?” He asked
groggily. Before she could answer him, Karen came walking up, and
she had Ethan and Soren in tow. They looked down at him with an
appraising gaze.

“What do 'ya think? Flesh wound?” Ethan asked
calmly.

“Yeah, just muscle and soft tissue. Nothing
important,” Soren agreed.

“You hold him, I pull?” Karen said, standing
between the two. She was already crouching down to gingerly grab
the knife in his side. His shuddered at her touch, as she placed
her hand on his chest to steady herself. He felt a weird calm
spreading over him, as the drugs and booze Aamina force fed him
started to swim in his bloodstream. His ramped up heart rate sped
the reaction to the drugs.

“Wait!” Aamina spoke up. Cal was relieved
that she was going to talk some reason into this crazy idea. “He
needs something to bite down on.” She grabbed her purse, and forced
the carrying strap into his mouth. His eyes went wide with panic as
he struggled to speak over the leather strap. Ethan and Soren bent
down to hold his arms.

Amidst Cal's muffled protests, Karen leaned
on his knees and pulled the knife out of his side. As the blade
came free from his flesh, his world began spinning once more. His
last visions were of Aamina holding his eyes open to look at his
pupils as he faded out.

Chapter 2

Cal awoke in the back of a car. By the looks
of it, a large SUV. The sun glinted in, as he bounced and bumped
around like a sleeping dog in the very back. He sat up, shielding
his eyes from the morning sun. The motion caused a sharp pain in
his side. As he winced, he lifted up his torn and bloodied shirt to
find a clean, white bandage over his injury. As he gingerly
attempted to peel the dressing back to look at his wound, a voice
startled him.

“Hey sleepy head,” He heard Karen say from
somewhere up front. “You were out for a while! We were almost going
to take you to the hospital.” She said.

“Oh, glad I put a stop to that crazy plan.”
Cal mumbled sarcastically, as he peered at his new injury. Lined up
in neat rows were a dozen stitches, holding his mended flesh
together.