The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari (31 page)

J
EN
pushed into the suite an hour later, looking dusty and frail. She dumped three old backpacks and a satchel on the table. “This is what we’ve got,” she said. “We’re gonna have to make do.”

Abdullah was up off the couch. “Where’s Kim?”

She rubbed across her skull. “He’s next door, throwing up. They made us a couple of blocks from the hotel. Bahktar and his men. We had to run for it.”

Abdullah made for the door. John put a hand on Jen’s arm. “Are you okay?” Her eyes looked enormous in her face.

“Yeah, I’m good. Fine. It scared us, is all.”

“Did you get to wipe the memory on the netbook?”

She nodded. “Youssef said thanks for the computer gear, especially the Kindle for his son. He’s going to send everybody away. They’ve got some relatives down south, one of Amira’s sisters. Just till things quiet down.”

“You look beat. We saved some supper for you.”

She nodded, sat at the table. Eli came over, passed the backpacks to Daniel. “You okay, baby girl?”

John put a plate with some vegetables and couscous in the microwave to heat up. He was going to give Abdullah about another ten seconds head start, then he was going next door to see his baby.

“We got careless. We thought we were home free, you know? Everything had gone so well, and we let up our guard there at the end.”

“What did you do?”

John brought her the plate of food.

“We were talking. In English. They were parked in the entrance to an alley behind the coffee shop, so we walked right by them before we saw them. When he heard us, they climbed in their car and started after us. We cut through the alleys, but Bahktar nearly caught us. It was a little scary.”

John went next door, knocked quietly, and pushed the door open. He could hear the shower running, and he looked in the bathroom door. Kim was in the shower, and Abdullah was sitting on the sink, holding a towel. They stopped talking when he stuck his head in. “Kim? You okay?”

“I’m fine, Uncle John. Nothing to worry about.”

“You want to stick you head out so I can see your smiling face?”

“Not right now, okay? Give me ten, Uncle J?”

“Okay, kiddo. Come find me when you want to talk.”

Eli and Daniel didn’t have anything to carry out of Tunisia. Their luggage was gone, and trying to retrieve it was low on John’s list of essential tasks. They each had a passport. Jen needed one of the backpacks to carry her tablet and a couple of netbooks she didn’t want to leave, and Sam was going to share that backpack to put his skivvies and a change of socks. Eli had the books, the two about Ibn Battuta Kim had brought, and asked John if he could fit them in one of the bags.

“I think so,” he said. “Always room for books. Plus books are good for cushioning the computers.” One of the backpacks was going to Kim and Abdullah, and one for his and Gabriel’s computers. He would have to wear the new suit, and the beautiful yellow shirt. A brand new pair of John Varvatos Derbys was going to be left to Mr. Aziz’s staff. John forced himself to not add up the cost of the unworn and expensive new clothing he was losing on this trip.

“He didn’t eat much,” Gabriel said. “I stood over him until he had a few bites, but he wasn’t feeling up to it, John.”

“Where is he now?”

“Abdullah wrapped him up in a bedspread, and they’re laying down in one of the bedrooms, nose to nose, like a human burrito, talking things over. Kim might be rethinking if he wants to go back to being a photographer and leave all this world-saving to you.”

“Is he going to be ready for tomorrow?”

“I think so. Eli said they’ve finished what they can get done. So tomorrow we transport everything to the museum, we go do our happy dance, and then we slide like fog right out of Tunis.”

“Have we forgotten anything?”

“Not that I can think of. We’ll know about two seconds before the shit hits the fan.”

J
OHN
opened his eyes when the chime on Gabriel’s watch told them it was time to call their boys. Gabriel groaned a little, then rolled over until he was splayed on top of John, all sleepy warm skin and long legs and whiskers. John wrapped him up, wrapped his legs around Gabriel’s hips. “I’ve got you. Now you’re mine.”

“Better or worse,” Gabriel agreed. “Hi, honey.” He reached down, nuzzled into John’s neck a bit, taking his time working his way up to the angle of the jaw.

“How’s my baby? Ready to rock and roll?”

“Affirmative.” Gabriel moved across his chin until John felt his sweet mouth, and he opened to the unspoken demand, to the heat and urgency in his hands. He’d always opened to Gabriel, his mouth and his mind, his body and his heart. This was where he felt safe and whole. This was home, in Gabriel’s arms, anywhere in the world.

They made love like every slow, sweet minute was drenched in honey, sticky heat and magnolia blossoms, and when they finished, Gabriel rolled over, pulled John up on top of him. In their bedroom at home, they had a ceiling fan. Gabriel had noticed that John liked to feel the fan on his skin after they’d made love, liked to let the breeze dry the sweat on his back. So he rolled John over, held him in his arms, kissed him as sweetly as the first time, like something in the taste of John’s skin was his milk and honey. And every time, John told himself to remember, to feel every sensation, every moment, because he knew what it was like to watch Gabriel walk away.

Gabriel sighed, his big hands moving down John’s back. “I guess I better call my boy.”

“You don’t sound too excited about that, my friend.”

“I think you just sucked every bit of excitement out of me.”

John laughed, rolled off of him. “Oh, surely not?”

Gabriel sat up on the side of the bed and picked up his cell phone from the bedside table. He punched in the numbers Jen had written down for him, the various country codes that would allow a call to America.

“Hey, buddy! How’s life in the wild west?”

John could hear Juan’s excited voice through the phone, sounding like a little kid again, something about a horse named Jenny and a red saddle blanket. Gabriel climbed off the bed, went to the window and pulled back the curtain. The moon painted a bit of silver in the deep blue sky. “What? What do you mean?” John walked over to him when he heard the alarm in his voice. “No, Juan. I’m fine, buddy. We’re not in any trouble.” He listened again, then, “You did? Listen, hang on one second, okay? John, he said he saw something on YouTube, a video.”

“The one where I got punched in the gut?”

Gabriel shook his head. “No, he said this one was me and I was choking the guy who punched you out.”

“Oh, shit.”

John went for his tablet, pulled up YouTube and started scrolling. Gabriel was still talking to Juan. “Oh, you think it was badass? Well, of course I’m going to defend anybody…. You or your mom or Martie. Yes, of course I would. But it doesn’t seem likely, does it?”

John could see the video now. That cabbie must have taken it when Gabriel got out of the taxi and reached for Ali Bahktar’s throat. It was linked to the video of him getting punched out, and, oh, good! Even a copy of the cover of
Out
. The strident voice in Arabic painted a picture of a gay American conspiracy of violence against the stalwart Salafist defenders of Islamic virtue. Fucking hell.

Gabriel sighed, handed him the phone. “He wants to talk to you.”

“General Mitchel?”

“Hi, Juan. How are you enjoying Cheyenne?”

“Oh, man, it’s the best. I mean that literally, the best time of my life. Listen, are you okay? I saw you getting beat up. You looked like you were going to puke or something.”

“I nearly did. But I’m fine.”

“Is my dad okay? He looked really mad. But he was protecting you, right? He was protecting you from the guy who beat you up.”

“Correct.”

“Because he loves you, right?”

“Yes, he does. And I love him, too. But he would never do anything to keep from coming home to you and your sister, Juan, or your mom. Don’t worry about that.”

“Oh, I know. It’s just, I’ve never seen him mad like that. It was like he was scared and mad at the same time. And Mr. Dial, he said love is strange and it takes you in ways you aren’t expecting. And you don’t always have a say in it. But it’s always a blessing to have love in your life.” He sighed, then, “I fell in love, a couple of months ago. My mother won’t put up with it, though. She’s still treating me like I’m a little kid.”

“Parents are like that.”

“That’s what Mr. Dial said. That mothers are like grizzly bears when it comes to their cubs, and best to just stay out of their way. Cha Cha won’t even answer my calls. But Mr. Dial said best to just play it cool.”

John wondered what would happen if he pulled Cody Dial into a bear hug and kissed him right on the lips. “I think he’s right, Juan. I’ll bring your dad home, I promise.”

John gave the phone back to Gabriel and listened to him tell Juan how much he loved him, how proud he was of his son. When he hung up, he stayed by the window, staring at the moon. “Well, I’m not the coolest dad in the world anymore.”

“Nobody can beat the famous bull rider Cody Dial, world champion 1992 to 1998, for coolness. The man has a beautiful wife and a ranch in Cheyenne, for God’s sake, and a horse named Jenny. Can we focus here?”

“On what?” John stared at him. “John, it’s bullshit. Nobody’s going to pay attention to that.”

“I agree, it’s bullshit. But I also think it’s dangerous, Gabriel. Things are more volatile than we realize.”

Gabriel sat down next to him on the bed. “Okay. But on the positive side of the equation, Juan falling in love with some trashy Conchita had absolutely nothing to do with you or me or our coming out. This was the sort of fuck-up we could reasonably expect from any kid at fifteen. Martha actually told me she was sorry for saying I was a shitty father and always gone when they needed me most.”

“She said that?”

“Yeah. First time she’d ever said anything like that to my face. I knew she didn’t mean it. She said it, then she stares at me and her eyes fill up and I start to cry and then she starts to cry. It’s crap getting divorced, John. I keep wondering if I’m fucking up, if I’m ruining everything, them, you and me. How much is this going to cost us? I feel like it’ll be worth it in the end, but right now I’m just running as fast as I can, and I’m scared. About the endgame. About the kids and Martha and you and me.”

“I’ve noticed. I wasn’t sure what I could do to help.”

Gabriel reached out for him, buried his face in John’s hair. “You’re doing it. Just staying calm. Staying the course. A peaceful harbor where I can come to sleep. A place where we can make love like we have all the time in the world, not five stolen minutes. I’m really starting to like taking my time, John.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that too. And I like it a lot.”

“Oh, you want to hear something? Then she said screw it, she was going to law school herself! I mean, what the fuck is that about?”

“Does Martha want to go to law school?”

“News to me. What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know. Extra careful, and I’ll call Greg Mortimer at the embassy, ask him to keep an ear to the ground. Maybe you better stick close to me.”

“I need to stay with Abdullah. He wouldn’t see trouble coming if it had bells on and a pair of wings. And Daniel’s been through enough. He doesn’t need any more grief. And you are going to have your hands full with the young Jedi Knights.” He held up his hands, then put his palms flat against John’s chest. “Every piece of inflammatory rhetoric on YouTube is not going to incite somebody to violence.”

“I do not want you in a filthy stone prison under the power of that sadist prick Ali Bahktar. He would hurt you, Gabriel. And I would not be able to walk in and walk you out again.” John thought he was keeping his voice very calm, but Gabriel wrapped him up in his big arms, rocked him a little against his chest.

“Hush,” he said, his breath soft as silk against John’s cheek. “I’ll walk through hell to get home to you, John, if that’s what it takes. But we’re going to get on a plane tomorrow and eat spaghetti for supper in Italy. Your brilliant plan is going to work. Kim and Eli’s brilliant plan,” he corrected himself. “The entire Arab world is going to be amazed at the power of love and we’re going to climb on the plane while everybody is singing ‘Kumbaya’ and holding hands. You’re a genius. You’re a genius tactician like Hannibal but you have bigger balls. You…. Is that enough?”

“Yeah, I think you’re about to drive that bike off a cliff, my friend.”

“As long as you’re in my sidecar, General.”

Billy was out saving the world or making art, so John left him a message, then got in the shower and got dressed, put on his yellow shirt for good luck. It was too early, and he was probably going to regret it, but no way would he be able to go back to sleep now. He wasn’t the only one up. Out in the kitchenette of the suite was a new pot of coffee, and Kim was sitting in the darkness with his computer turned on, the light from the screen painting blue shadows across his face.

“Hey, kiddo.” John’s voice was quiet. “You couldn’t sleep?”

“I thought I would practice my Arabic for tomorrow.”

“I’ll practice with you if you want. You okay?”

Kim was carefully studying the tabletop. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I’m glad you got to see him.”

Kim looked up at this, a line running down between his eyebrows. “Really? Why? He chased me down with his car and nearly ran me over, Uncle John. It was my fault. Jen said we were speaking in English, but it was really me. I’m the one who started talking.”

“I’m happy you saw him, because you’ll recognize him tomorrow. There’s safety in a crowd, and I’m going to have your back. But you have Eli’s back. So if you see Bahktar or one of his thugs moving in, you get near Eli so they can’t separate you. You know what I mean?”

“Like the way lions separate a gazelle from the herd.”

“Exactly. You don’t let them get near him under any circumstances. Keep him safe at all cost.”

“He told me about prison.”

“So the way we look at that is not ‘I wonder how I would have reacted if that had been me?’ You think,
‘
I will do whatever I have to do to keep him safe, so nothing like that happens to him again.’ What we’re doing, our mission, is him. He is worth your life, the life of everyone on your team.”