Straightening Ali (23 page)

“
I have an idea,” Derek said with a big smirk on his face. He raced up the stairs, pounding the steps with his big boots as he went. Ali and Haseena heard the sound of wardrobe doors being flung open and then the noise from his boots as he came back down the stairs.

“
I’ve found a disguise for you to wear,” Derek said coming back into the room with several items in his hands. “Here, put these on.” He handed Ali a large Afro wig, a baseball cap and a beige trench coat.

“
Clever idea,” Haseena exclaimed, kissing Derek on his cheek lovingly.

“
They’ll know it’s me,” Ali said, feeling unhappy at the thought of wearing such a ridiculous disguise.

“
Put it on, Ali, and let’s see how you look,” Derek said. “It’s not meant to be a proper disguise, just something that’ll make them doubt it’s you.”

“
Okay,” Ali grudgingly agreed. He put the wig on with Haseena’s help and then pushed the baseball cap down onto the wig. He then tried on the trench coat, which was far too big for him. The bottom of it even touched the floor. Ali turned round to face Derek who immediately burst out laughing.

“
I look stupid,” Ali said. “It’s never going to work.” He went and peered at his reflection in the mirror above the mantle piece and found himself laughing at the absurd disguise. “I look like Krusty the Clown!”

“
That’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh in weeks, Ali,” Haseena said smiling. “If it doesn’t work, at least it’s made you laugh.”

“
Let’s go for that drive then. You will walk with Ali, Haseena. Hold his hand, walk him to the back seat of the car and then get in the front passenger seat. Ali, when you walk make sure you keep your head down to the ground and walk fast. When you’re both in the car remember to lock the doors behind you. It doesn’t have central locking,” Derek instructed militarily. “Right, let’s go.”

Derek opened the front door and stepped outside. Haseena gave Ali a quick kiss for comfort and followed Derek out holding Ali’s hand tightly. She tried not to look at him again in case she laughed at his disguise and shut the house door behind her before locking it.

Ali kept his head stooped and followed Haseena. The wig was uncomfortable and made his head itch. They walked past the taxi to Derek’s car, which was parked right behind. Ali expected someone to spot them but was surprised that they were not noticed. Haseena opened the door for him and shoved him into the back seat.

“
Lock the door,” she whispered to him and got into the front passenger seat.

Suddenly, there was pandemonium. The door of the taxi was flung open, and a fat Pakistani man came racing out of it. They could hear him shouting incoherently at them before lurching at Derek’s car with a baseball bat.

“
Start the car Derek! Start the car!” Haseena screamed in panic as the man battered the baseball bat against the windscreen.

“
Bastard! Bastard!” Derek shouted as he started the car up quickly. He reversed it and then drove out avoiding the man narrowly as he came hurtling back at the car with the baseball bat raised.

“
They’re going to get me,” Ali yelled in fear. “I don’t want to go back.”

“
It’s okay, Ali. Calm down. They won’t get you,” Haseena said reassuringly.

“
The bastard’s cracked my windscreen,” Derek muttered angrily. “I’ve a good mind to get out and give him a good hiding.”

Ali watched from the car as the man got back into his taxi and raced after them. The other taxi that had been waiting joined it in pursuit.

“
What are we going to do, Derek?” Haseena asked, trying to hide her dismay from Ali.

“
Let’s take them for a long drive. What do you think? Through the back streets of the Jewelry Quarter first, then Aston, then down to the Spaghetti Junction. If we manage to lose them by then, we can head back to Anne and Mick’s in Newtown,” Derek said.

Ali sat back in the car feeling relieved that Derek had a plan. He was shocked by the brutal attack on Derek’s car. It had been so close. How far was his family willing to go to get him back?

Derek drove the car speedily out from the estate and onto Ladywood Middleway, the dual carriageway that split the estate into two. The two taxis followed in pursuit. Derek headed for the Jewelry Quarter trying to lose them in the badly lit back streets, but they continued to keep pace.

“
You need to do something to lose them, otherwise we’ll be driving around forever, and I don’t think my nerves can take it,” Haseena warned.

“
You got any ideas?” Derek asked.

“
Yes, go out of the Jewelry Quarter and over into Aston. There are some speed bumps there, so that should slow them down,” Haseena said.

“
I’m onto it,” Derek said crossing over the traffic lights at the junction, leading out of the Jewelry Quarter and into Aston.

“
When I give you the signal, turn quickly into the next street,” Haseena instructed. “Now!” she yelled a couple of seconds later.

Derek immediately swerved his car. Its wheels made a squealing noise as he turned the steering wheel suddenly, driving the car into the narrow side street. “Quickly turn in between those two trees and switch the lights and engine off,” she instructed pointing to a pair of trees masking the entrance to a small industrial unit.

Derek followed her instructions and entered the small driveway leading to the industrial unit. He then turned the headlights and the engine off and sat back in his seat.

They all waited patiently for the taxis to arrive, and it wasn’t long before the first taxi flashed past in its hunt for Derek’s car. Moments later, the second one went by, too. Ali sighed in relief.

“
That was very close,” Derek said mirroring Ali’s own thoughts. He counted five minutes on his watch as they all sat silently in the car. He then started up the car and raced out from the small driveway and back along the route they’d previously taken. He kept checking the mirror to see if they were being followed, but it seemed that Haseena’s plan had worked.

“
I think it’s safe for us to take you to Anne and Mick’s,” he said, sounding relieved.

“
Can I take my disguise off now?” Ali said remembering how ridiculous he still looked.

Haseena looked back at him from her seat and laughed. “No keep it on. It suits you.”

Ali took the Afro wig off, flung it at her, and joined her in hysterical laughter.

“
We’re here,” said Derek interrupting their laughter. Ali looked out of the car window to see that they were parked in a car park of a large tower block.

“
You wait in the car, Derek. I’ll just go up quickly with Ali,” Haseena said giving Derek a kiss before opening the car door and getting out.

“
Thank you,” Ali said gratefully.

“
That’s okay, lad. I’m just glad I can help,” Derek said gruffly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ali got out of the car and followed Haseena to the tower block entrance. She pushed the button on the buzzer to one of the flats. “It’s Haseena,” she yelled loudly into the intercom system, but there was no response. The intercom looked broken, and this was confirmed when Haseena tried opening the security doors to the building to find that they were already wedged open.

Ali followed Haseena into the building and recoiled immediately at the smell of urine that greeted them as they entered the lobby. The walls were covered in graffiti, and broken lights dangled from the ceiling.

“
I used to live in this very block when I first arrived in Birmingham. It seems to have gone down hill since then, though,” Haseena commented.

They went to the lift and got inside, pressing the button for the fourteenth floor. Haseena knew from Ali’s silence that he was shocked by the state of the place. Ali had led a somewhat sheltered existence in her eyes and had probably never been inside a council tower block before. She wondered what he thought of the smell of excrement in the lift as it hurtled shakily to the fourteenth floor.

The lift jerked noisily to a halt, and the doors opened, allowing Ali to follow after Haseena.

“
It’s not the best tower block to live in, so they’ve added their own security,” Haseena explained as they reached the flat. She reached a hand through the black iron bars of a large security gate that had been added to the front of the doorframe and rang the doorbell. It chimed to the theme of
Star Trek
noisily.

“
That reminds me. Mick’s a
Star Trek
fan, so just pretend you like the bloody stuff,” Haseena advised him.

A very gaunt and pale looking man opened the door. He beamed happily through his thick spectacles upon seeing Haseena. “Come in, Haseena” he said, embracing her happily.

“
Derek’s waiting for me in the car, so I can’t come in,” Haseena said apologetically.

“
No problem,” Mick said. “Say hi to Derek from me and remind him that we need to arrange the tickets to the record fair in Grimsby soon.”

“
I’ll let him know,” Haseena said. “This is my friend Ali by the way.”

“
Ah, Ali, so pleased to meet you,” Mick said, shaking Ali’s hand vigorously.

“
Don’t forget that I need your car keys, Ali,” Haseena said reminding him.

Ali fumbled in his pockets worrying that he might have dropped them somewhere, but was relieved to find his keys in the pocket of his jeans and handed them to Haseena.

“
I’ll double check your suitcase for your passport, and I’ll try to get someone to drop off your wife’s suitcase with your family,” Haseena said sorting out the things that were niggling Ali. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She gave him a kiss and hurried off.

“
Come in and sit down,” Mick said inviting Ali into the flat.

The lounge was in surprising contrast to what lay outside. It resembled a penthouse suite. It was immaculately painted in shades of white and had wooden floors throughout. The walls had various original pieces of art on display illuminated with special halogen lighting. These were suddenly disrupted by one wall that was covered with plaques and photographs from
Star Trek
.

“
Do you like the artwork?” Mick asked, noticing Ali’s appreciative gaze at the paintings. “It’s all original.”

“
It’s really nice,” Ali said, admiring an oil painting of a figure trapped in the middle of a pirouette. “They must be very expensive.”

“
Not really. It’s all Anne’s own work,” Mick told him. “She’s an artist. She’s even had some of her paintings displayed in a London gallery recently.”

“
Wow,” said Ali sounding impressed.

“
She’s been having a difficult time with the pregnancy, so she hasn’t painted for a few months,” Mick said, opening a door at the far end of the lounge that led into a sumptuous bedroom.

A four-poster bed draped in lilac stood in the center of the room. A large, black pregnant woman lay in the center of the bed, surrounded by numerous scatter cushions. Mick went over and sat next to her on the bed and held her hand lovingly.

“
It’s good to see you, Ali. How are you bearing up?” Anne asked, her voice sounding tired.

“
I’m fine,” Ali said. Anne’s sympathetic and caring voice nearly threatened to bring tears of self-pity and anguish to his eyes again, but Ali bit them back. He felt embarrassed and hoped that she hadn’t noticed.

“
That’s good to hear. It must be a terrible time for you. I’m just glad that Mick and I could help you out,” Anne said kindly. “You’re free to stay here for as long as you need to.”

“
Thank you so much,” Ali said gratefully.

“
It’s nothing,” Anne said, her eyes flickering tiredly.

“
I’ll get Ali sorted out for the night, and then I’ll come to bed,” Mick said to his exhausted wife.

“
Nice meeting you, Ali,” she said tiredly before closing her eyes to sleep.

“
I’ll get the sofa ready for you,” Mick said taking Ali back to the lounge and shutting the door quietly behind him. He pulled the coffee table that was in front of the beige sofa out of the way. “It turns into a bed,” he demonstrated before pushing down the back of the sofa and unfolding it into a small bed.

“
It’s perfect,” Ali said.

“
I’ll grab some bedding for you to use,” Mick said as he left the room. He returned loaded with a duvet and pillows. “Here, I’ll leave you to put these on the sofa,” he said handing them to Ali.