Dangerous Deception - A Short Story (3 page)

“Do you like kids?”

Gwen glanced up at Jack’s question and met his warm smile. “Doesn’t everybody?”

Though she hadn’t thought about it lately, she’d always hoped for a big family.
With three brothers and a sister, she had never lacked for friends growing up as they were all within a year or two in age.

“Come on and I’ll show you where you’ll be staying
.” Robbie led them up two flights of stairs.

Their apartment consisted of two modest bedrooms
; a parlor with large overstuffed cushions as furniture; a kitchen with a gas stove, small refrigerator and sink; and a bathroom with a shower stall. The toilet consisted of a hole in the floor with cement on each side to position your feet on. After its use, she was told; you were to manually flush it by pouring water down it. Though the accommodations were meager, she had seen worse.

Since Jack
would be staying in the Harrison’s guest bedroom, Gwen would be sharing a bedroom with Celeste. After agreeing to meet with the Harrison’s for breakfast at seven-thirty they bid each other good night and went to unpack.

Gwen and Celeste’s
bedroom consisted of two metal beds with a single dresser positioned between them. An assortment of religious pictures hung on pale blue walls.

“Do you mind taking that bed?”

Gwen followed her gaze to the bed directly below the only window in the room. “Fine with me.” She dumped her stuff on top of the gray bedspread. A cool ocean breeze blew through the open window, along with the sound of a barking dog.

Gwen turned to the three-drawer dresser and glanced
over at Celeste. She had twice as much clothes. “You can have the extra drawer. I’m use to living out of a suitcase.”

“Thank you.”

Gwen left her jeans in the suitcase and placed her cotton knit skirts and blouses, along with her undergarments, in the drawer. Though a large Muslim society she knew the majority of the people living in Lerato were casual dressers, evidence of heavy American and British influence.

Once
her clothes were put away Gwen grabbed her equipment bag and took out her camcorder. Leaning back against the wall, she aimed the camera at her roommate who was still busy putting away her things.

“So Celeste, tell me why you have traveled half way across the world to the lovely country of
Dewana?” As the woman turned to face her, Gwen adjusted the focus. The expression she saw wasn’t one of amusement.

“
Stop it.”

“
Oh, come on. Tell the people why you’re risking your life to come to a country embellished in war and poverty?”

“I’m serious, Gwen.
I don’t want any part of this goodwill mission so turn it off”

“Relax
, it’s not on.” Gwen lowered the camera as Celeste sank onto her bed.

Long locks of
brown hair framed a taut, pretty face.

Gwen had seen that look often in the field.
She was scared out of her mind. “I’m sorry, I was just fooling around. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I shouldn’t even be here.
I have a husband and children at home.”

“You came to persuade your sister to leave, right?”

“Yeah. I promised our folks I’d at least try. I doubt she’ll leave though. Candice loves it here. She’s obviously a lot braver than I am.”

“How many kids do you have?”

“Two. Ethan is seven and Angela is five.” She removed her billfold from her purse and held it open for Gwen to see a photo of the siblings.

“They have your likeness.
Ethan looks a little ornery.”

“Oh
, he is. He loves to terrorize his little sister.” She glanced over at Gwen’s hands. “I take it you’re not married?”

“No.
” And she hadn’t given marriage much thought until this last year. The more she took stock of her life the more she realized how tired she was of living out of a suitcase.

“Sorry I snapped at you.
It’s just... I really don’t want to be here.”

“We’ll be all right, Celeste.
I doubt the fighting will ever breach the city limits.”

She gave Gwen a brief nod before she stood and walked back to the dresser
.

Gwen left her to her unpacking and
cleared off her own bed, then climbed between the sheets. She fell asleep to the sound of distant gunfire.

Chapter Four

Gwen
woke to the persistent crowing of a rooster right outside her window. Tossing back her sheet, she glanced out into the predawn light to find the culprit sitting on the cement wall below. She turned over and was about to cover her head when she noticed the empty bed across the room. It looked as if it hadn’t been slept in.

She pulled
on the pajama bottoms she had discarded during the night because of the heat, and walked barefoot to the bathroom. Finding it occupied, she continued on to the kitchen and found Tom, Evelyn, and Celeste sitting around the kitchen table already dressed.

“What are you people doing up so early?”

Tom stood and offered her his chair. “We were just discussing how you could sleep through all that racket outside?”

“I spent three months in
Afghanistan. If you can sleep through mortar attacks you can sleep through just about anything.”

“Morning
, sleepy head.”

She turned to find Jack standing behind
her. An amused expression flashed across his face. She followed his gaze to the Scooby Doo pajama bottoms she wore. “I’ll be right back,” she said and ran to her bedroom as they all joined in laughter.

After slipping into a pair of cotton slacks and shirt
, she rejoined them in the kitchen. Two more chairs had been placed at the table. Jack sat in one of them. Sitting next to him, she accepted the cup of coffee he offered.

“You were in
Afghanistan?” he asked.

“Three months for the BBC.
Instead of Scooby Doo pajamas, I wore a bullet-proof vest to bed. That’s one place where I don't want to go back.”

“How long have you been a journalist
, Gwen?” Tom queried.

“S
even years. I worked for the Washington post for three years before moving to London.”

“Jack said you work for the London Times now?”
Celeste joined the conversation.

“I do a column for them, but I’m mostly freelance
, which usually doesn’t pay as well.”

“We better
get going,” Evelyn said. She stood and rinsed her cup in the sink before turning back to Gwen. “There’s a plate of scrambled eggs warming here on the stove for you. There’s also fresh fruit in the fridge.”

“Thank you.”

“Would you ladies care to join us for devotions?” Tom asked.

“I think I’ll pass,” Celeste said.

Gwen smiled at Tom. “I’ll keep her company.”

Tom
returned the smile. “Another time, maybe.”

Jack moved ahead of them to the door.
“We’ll meet you downstairs in half an hour.”

“Sounds good.”
Then, recalling the meeting Michael had set up for today, she said, “I need to be back here by 4:00. I have a meeting in Chizoba.”

“I’ll tell Robbie.”

*
* * * *

Jack was a little disappointed Gwen had turned down their invitation. Normally, he didn’t care much for reporters. The ones he had met would do just about anything for a great story. People like Michael Garrison. He had a hunch Gwen was different, though. He hoped those instincts were right and that she had come here to help bring change to Dewana.

Her relationship with Garrison was
of some concern. According to the PI he hired to check into her background, she had severed all ties with the man last year. Yet, here she was doing a story for his paper. Had she taken the assignment out of financial need, or did she have another agenda?

“I don’t like the idea of having a reporter tagging along with us, Jack,” Robbie said as the group gathered
for devotions. “She could bring us a lot of unwanted trouble.”

“Gwen’s a well
-respected journalist, Robbie.” Jack had always trusted his instincts, he wasn’t about to stop now. “We need her to help tell the world what’s going on here.”

Tom took a seat in one of the chairs.
“Jack is right, Robbie. The Lord has brought her into our path for a reason. We need to trust Him, and we need to trust Jack.” He glanced up with a smile. “Besides, I think Jack is a tad smitten with her.”

“What?”
Jack chuckled at the ridiculous notion. He and Gwen were about as different as night and day. It took more than a woman’s beauty to peak his interest.

Evelyn grinned.
“We saw the way you were taking up with her at the airport and on the plane.”

“You only saw what you wanted to see, little miss-match-maker.”

“Hey, you can’t blame me for trying. Your momma’s going to be real disappointed if you don’t settle down soon and give her some grandchildren.”

“Even if I were interested, which I’m not, Gwen doesn’t seem the mothering type.”

“You’d be surprised how much a woman, or a man for that matter, can change once they meet their soul mate,” Kay added with a mischievous grin. “And she does seem like a very nice lady.”

“Well
, I don’t trust her,” Robbie argued. “Reporters have gotten people killed around here for talking to them, and I’ve seen all the death I wanna see.”

Jack
understood the man’s apprehension. With the imminent threat of another invasion, Lerato was like a ticking bomb ready to go off at any minute. “As long as we keep our senses and don’t take unnecessary risks, we’ll be fine.”

* * * * *

Downstairs, Gwen and Celeste only had to wait a few minutes before the others joined them with Robbie leading the way. “I thought I’d take you on a daylight tour before we head over to the hospital and refugee camp.”

“Who watches the children while you’re gone?”
Celeste asked.

“We have a couple who live
s here as house parents and the older kids help to look after the younger ones.”

“Is there much chance of these children finding homes?” Gwen asked as she took her notebook from her backpack.

“We’re hopeful, but most of our children have been categorized as special needs children. They have emotional or physical handicaps to deal with.”

Gwen
jotted down her answer and then went on to describe the sights and sounds as they drove through the capitol city.

M
uch of the city’s infrastructure showed signs of past rebel activity. Buildings were bullet-riddled or blackened and scarred by artillery blasts. In the neighborhoods, people lived in shack-like lean-tos, shanties, or blockhouses with peeling paint and drab yards littered with trash and a few shrubs and wandering goats. The goats foraged in the garbage, eating scraps and paper.

Cars raced along the road
, darting back and forth to miss the many potholes and pedestrians that cluttered the roadway. A lot of the women she saw were dressed in brightly colored clothing and carried baskets of food or clothing securely on their heads. Most everyone she saw wore sandals, except for some of the children who were either barefoot or wore tattered tennis shoes.

“What is that the women are wearing?” Celeste asked.

“They’re called
hijab headscarfs
, a long, lightweight fabric that is used for a number of things,” Robbie answered. “They can be wrapped around the body and head as clothing, wrapped around the head to help cushion and secure heavy loads, or used to fasten a child to its mother.”

“It’
s the customary dress among Muslims here,” Kay added. “Arms, legs, and hair are to be covered completely when out in public. The more devout Muslims veil their entire face.”

Gwen was tempted to asked Robbie to pull over near the market place so she could do some filming, but didn’t want to interfere with their day’s schedule.
There would be plenty of time for that later.

Driving toward the outskirts of the city, Robbie gave a brief history of the area.
“Lerato is the country’s main port on the Dewana peninsula. Founded in the late 1700s by former slaves it handles the country’s main exports; from fish and rice, to petroleum and diamonds, and the manufacture of cigarettes, paint, shoes, and beer. Most of the exports have been halted due to the rebel activity in the area.”

“
How did all these building get damaged?” Celeste asked.

“
Eighteen months ago, after the election, an armed campaign was launched by the RFAGC to overthrow the government. The Dewana army was able to push them back almost immediately, but many lives were lost in the process.”