Cristal - Novella (13 page)

His response was, “Stall until I get
there.”

From the corner of her eye, she could see
that the agent had stood up. He was walking towards her.

“Ms. Hernandez,” a woman’s voice called from
behind her.

Cristal turned, expecting to see someone
from the hotel staff. “Yes?”

Standing in front of her was the full-bodied woman
who had sat beside her on the airplane.
What was she doing
here?

The woman was holding up her identification,
which read, “Yaffa Bauer, National Security Agent.” The photo on
the ID displayed an expressionless version of the woman.

“My name Yaffa,” she said, putting her ID
into her pocket. “You remember me?”

Cristal couldn’t figure out what this lady
was doing here. “Sorry, but what do you want from me?”

Yaffa Bauer motioned for her to follow her
to a room off the side of the hotel counter.

“We talk in private,” Yaffa replied loudly
with a strong Hebrew accent.

Cristal glanced over to the hotel entrance,
relieved to see Harry walking inside. She noticed that since he had
come to Tel Aviv that his looks had changed somewhat. Perhaps it
was the Middle Eastern sun that painted his hair with gold
highlights and warmed his skin color from a pale white to a copper
bronze. Was it the same sun that made his blue eyes appear bluer
and deeper than the ocean?

“Ms. Hernandez,” Yaffa prompted, as if
impatient with the delay.

“Just a minute. My boss is here. Can he join
us?” Cristal asked.

Yaffa turned to look at Harry who now stood
beside them. Cristal noticed that Harry was much taller than the
agent. Yaffa had to stretch her neck to look up at him. Quickly, as
if on cue, Yaffa put her pudgy arms on her wide hips and glared at
Harry.

“Shalom,” Harry said, stretching his hand
out to shake her hand.

The agent gave Harry a quick nod in
acknowledgment of his greeting. She eyed him suspiciously and then
shifted her attention to Cristal.

“Better we speak alone,” she said in a firm
voice.

Cristal crossed her arms over her chest.
“Have I done anything wrong?”

Yaffa’s nostrils flared slightly before she
responded, glancing briefly at Harry.

“No, I have questions.”

Harry said, “Do you have a warrant?” He
stepped closer to Yaffa.

“No, no warrant,” she sneered. “This is
Israel, not episode of
Law & Order
.”

Harry chuckled. He responded to her
switching from English to Hebrew. His voice had softened as he
reached into his back pocket to take out his wallet. He showed her
his Israeli ID. Yaffa took a look and nodded her head, her body
relaxing as she listened. They spoke with each other in Hebrew for
a few minutes, while Cristal stood and watched.

Yaffa began to smile as she faced Cristal,
and said in broken English, “Okay, we speak like friends then. Just
tell me the truth.”

She motioned to the people sitting in the
lobby chairs to get up, at the same time that she flashed her ID at
them. The man and woman looked at each other, obviously frightened
that an agent was in their presence. They quickly gathered their
things, got up, and left.

“Sit,” she said as she sank down onto the
couch.

She flashed a dirty look at another couple
who were about to sit beside her. When they ignored her, she waved
her ID at them. They apologized in hushed voices and walked
away.

Cristal glanced at Harry, unsure of what to
do next. Harry gave her a small and comforting smile.

Yaffa opened her handbag and rummaged about
until she pulled out her smartphone. She swiped the screen and
tapped icons before turning the phone towards them.

On the screen was a photo of the inside of
an airplane. The people visible in the photo were screaming, as if
fearing for their lives. Cristal felt Harry’s hand cover hers. Her
stomach was twisting into knots.

Yaffa swiped the screen to display another
photo. In this one, Kerim was reclined in his seat, and Cristal’s
head was resting on his shoulder. Cristal bit her bottom lip,
wondering what Harry was thinking.

“Look closer,” Yaffa said as she pinched the
screen, zooming into a close-up of Kerim’s head.

As the photo sharpened, Cristal saw
something odd. Surrounding Kerim’s head was a soft white glow,
almost like an aura. Were her eyes playing tricks on her?

“Who is this man?” Yaffa asked.

Cristal cleared her throat before answering,
and replied, “That’s Kerim Ilgaz.”

“How you know him?” Yaffa inquired.

Cristal paused. Her insides were shaking.
Part of her was afraid to lose control and cause another
event
.

She managed to say, “Kerim is a
subcontractor that Harry hired. Maybe you should ask Harry.”

“Ah, yes, Harry told me. Excuse, my English
is not so good. I want to know who is Kerim to you? Lover?”

“What?” Cristal asked, trying her best not
to sound defensive.

Yaffa pursed her lips, and her nostrils
flared even more than before, as she said, “We were on same flight.
Two of us agents are always on flights from New York to Tel Aviv.
After the plane stop shaking, I check to see that passengers are
safe. When I come back, I saw you with this man. I took the
picture. Submitted it with report.”

Cristal crossed her arms.
She is driving me
nuts.

“I still don’t know what the issue is.”

“You see the halo around him?” Yaffa said
gruffly.

Harry took the phone from her hand and
examined the picture more carefully.

“Very good Photoshop job, Yaffa,” he said
with a grin.

“Hmph!” Yaffa snorted and grabbed the phone
back.

“This is photo I took. No Photoshop.” She
swiped the screen quickly and more photos of Kerim and Cristal
flashed before them. The same weird light was around Kerim’s head
in each photo. The last one was a video. Yaffa tapped the “Play”
button.

In the video, the glow surrounding Kerim’s
head was more obvious. Harry’s gaze met Cristal’s briefly. Yaffa
snorted, pleased that she had finally gotten the attention of both
Cristal and Harry.

“So, you want to answer my questions now?”
she asked, facing Cristal.

Her other hand waved for Harry to keep his
mouth shut.

“Kerim is a friend, a good friend. It was my
first time flying on an international flight. He was helping me
relax and keep calm.”
It was true.

Yaffa scribbled notes in her notepad, while
mumbling to herself, “Hmph…friend.”

Cristal looked at Yaffa sideways and asked,
“Why do you say
friend
that way? It’s like you don’t believe
me!”

Yaffa’s pea green eyes met hers. Her smile
widened, which pushed her chipmunk cheeks aside.

“When Ilgaz asked me to give my seat to him,
he tell me you are his half-sister and you are afraid to fly in
airplanes.”

Cristal choked back her laughter. “I’m not
laughing at your English, Yaffa, really. I’m not good at languages.
But I think Kerim pulled a fast one on you. Maybe he thought you
would give up your seat if you thought we were brother and
sister.”

Yaffa’s eyebrows raised as she spoke. “Ah…is
that so?”

She scribbled again in her notepad. Putting
down her pen, she raised her head and focused her eyes on
Cristal.

“Okay, I want to know more about Kerim. Who
he is, his past, who his friends are, and why he is in Israel. From
our investigation, we do not have much information on Kerim Ilgaz
before 2009. No family, no friends, no lovers, no work history,
shvm dbr
–nothing.”

Harry said, “I told you everything about
Kerim. He is here as a subcontractor for Global Nation. He provides
security for Cristal, myself, and the staff at the GN office in
Haifa. You can check this with our head office. Cristal does not
know much about him because I was the one who hired him.”

Yaffa sighed, giving him a polite smile
before standing up.

“Yes, yes, you tell me this. It is time now
for me to go. Take my information. You remember more, contact me.
Like I tell Harry in Hebrew, Kerim Ilgaz is considered threat to
national security. Here, we say someone is guilty until he proves
he is innocent.”

She gave them a grunt and then motioned to
the other agents who were scattered around the lobby that it was
time to leave. Harry gave Yaffa a smile, tapping Cristal on the
foot to signal for her to do the same. Cristal gave her a forced
smile. Yaffa returned the fake smile, turned around and walked
towards the hotel entrance, the agents tailing behind her. She
glanced over her shoulder briefly before leaving the hotel.

“Shalom,” she said before walking out the
door.

HARRY PACED BACK AND FORTH in front of her.
He glanced at his watch while mumbling under his breath.

“Sit down,” Cristal demanded, pointing to
the chair beside her. “You’re making me nervous.”

“I’m trying to figure out what to do next,”
he said quietly.

“Kerim is going to be here soon,” Cristal
stated in a matter-of-fact way. “Are you going to tell him what
happened?”

Harry whirled around and pointed a finger at
her. “Don’t say a word! You got that, Cristal? Until we find out
more about him, consider him a hostile.”

Cristal couldn’t believe her ears. She leapt
out of her chair, and stood facing him eye-to-eye, as if daring him
to challenge her. “Hostile? This isn’t a game, Harry. You said you
checked him out before inviting him to the Truth Seekers. Just
because some crazy agent shows us some weird photos, now you think
that Kerim is a hostile?”

Her voice echoed in the lobby.

She followed Harry’s gaze to see where he
was looking. She noted that he was peering at the main entrance of
the hotel. She sucked in her breath and gasped when she saw Kerim
standing between the opened glass doors. His olive-colored skin
contrasted his white unbuttoned long sleeve shirt and black jeans.
But what made her hold her breath was the bright blinding light
that blazed around him like angry flames.

He moved away from the door, and the light
behind him flooded into the lobby. She realized that the setting
sun had played optical tricks on her. Or so she thought.

He stood motionless.

“Kerim,” she called out, walking over to
him.

He looked past her, as if not seeing her.
His grey eyes were fixed on Harry. “What’s this about?” he
asked.

Harry moved in closer, but he didn’t
volunteer a response. Cristal sighed, knowing that she would have
to be the first person to speak.

“An agent was here asking questions about
you,” Cristal said.

The heat from Harry’s glare could have
disintegrated steel.

“Agent?” Kerim asked.

“Let’s go somewhere else to talk,” Harry
demanded, glancing at the group of hotel guests that were entering
the lobby.

“Sorry,” Kerim announced, “but I’m not going
anywhere with anyone who thinks I’m the enemy.” His jawline was
tense, his voice quiet. He gave Cristal a look.

She reached out for his arm. He pulled it
away from her, turned and walked back towards the hotel entrance.
The doors opened and he marched outside onto the street towards his
motorbike.

“Kerim, please,” she called out in a loud
voice, while running after him.

“Cristal, let him go,” she heard Harry say
as he followed behind her.

“Leave me alone, Harry,” she snapped.

Kerim was already on his bike with the
engine roaring.

“Wait for me, please!”
You can’t leave me
here
.

Kerim turned around and looked at her. His
eyes met hers.

Please, don’t leave me here.

He paused for a moment and then tilted his
head for her to climb on. Without hesitation, she grabbed his
shoulder and jumped onto the back of the bike. This bike wasn’t as
flashy as the Ducati—a matte black color, shorter in length and not
as shiny.

Kerim looked hot on any motorcycle as far as
Cristal was concerned. He revved the engine and glanced over his
left shoulder to check the traffic.

Cristal saw Harry standing on the sidewalk,
his shiny blue eyes stabbing her a hundred times with his piercing
stare. He shook his head as Kerim pulled out into the street.

***

Although there was a breeze, the evening air
was heavy and her sweat clung to her like a heavy coat. Kerim
weaved in and out of the chaotic traffic like a seasoned local.
Plumes of black smoke from the tailpipes of cars and trucks as they
rode past filled her lungs. She could taste the diesel fuel in her
throat. When he turned off onto a side street, she marveled at how
many homes could be squeezed onto one street.

She watched rows and rows of short,
three-story buildings pass by them; they all seemed to have the
same crumbling alabaster, sand-colored stucco with splashes of
spray-painted graffiti angrily emblazoned here and there.

Air-conditioning units stuck out from
windows and grey satellite dishes pointed their noses in a
south-easterly direction. But regardless of the passing terrain,
Kerim adeptly swerved around the narrow streets with motorbikes,
scooters, and cars half-parked on the sidewalks and on the
road.

Teenagers and twenty-something adults hung
out around shops and small grocery stores, apparently unmoved by
the warm temperatures of the season. She saw soldiers walking by
and thought of how safe she should be feeling. But what she
couldn’t see were all the seniors and families who were tucked into
their private residences. Presumably those people were probably
trying to cool off with what little relief their window
air-conditioners could provide.

As Kerim leaned into a corner, wafts of
hashish hit her sense of smell. A loud group of young men were
horsing around in an alley lane. From a boom box, a rap-style song
played
Shalom
Shady
, loudly. It was a wildly popular
rap star whose Hebrew/English rap songs played day and night on the
TV music video channel and on the radio stations. The boys jumped
around, dancing and mimicking the rapper’s moves.