An impulsive decision

A short excerpt of my 12th book "ON BOTH SIDES OF HE ABYSS".

After three hectic days of continuous harassment, in which he almost got involved in several car accidents on his way to the airport; Ayoub Shakra was sure that some prominent member of the internal security service wishes his death, without being responsible for it by a staged car accident for example. It could be the haughty one that he had flown to Beirut and Jbeil, or even his mighty boss General Jaber; but he should not wreck his head who could be behind that sophisticated scheme to get him killed. He had to stop it in some way he thought in despair, not knowing how he is going to do it.

On Monday morning he left home on his way to work with pockets full with all the cash money he kept in his apartment, his Makarov pistol and with his pilot license plus his identity card.

It suddenly dawned on him that they may break into his apartment, in his absence.

Although he met this morning with the usual harassment procedure just like in the previous days, it seemed to him as the worst time he had up till now. He was terribly frightened and nervous; he was cursing and thumping the steering wheel with both his hands, all the way up to the airport. After having parked his car he kept sitting inhaling and exhaling air in and out of his lungs slowly with shut eyes, doing efforts to calm down as much as possible.

When he entered the hangar he took pains to appear as cool as anyone else. He was on stand-bye this morning and he sat with his few friends and passed the time joking and playing Shesh-Besh just like in any other day, to his own surprise. At lunch break he went to the airport restaurant, which he rarely visited and had a very satiating meal. On returning to the hangar he felt much better and appeared as calm as anyone else, while much earlier when he just left his parked car he feared his boss would discern his shaken state and he might be grounded.

He was briefed by captain Azrak his boss, took his helmet and went out with the mechanic on duty to check his chopper's airworthiness.

Right after he took off and was airborne he reached his dramatic decision with a sudden insight, he swerved the chopper northward and left the Damascus periphery behind him.

He had enough fuel for four hours flight, and could cross the border without difficulties. He flew as low as the terrain beneath him allowed him, but kept away from the several military airports on his way. He knew that in one and a half hours he will cross the border and in four hours flight he will reach Ankara. He had no intention to turn to a consulate in one of the Turkish cities near the border; he needed an embassy to get a political asylum, to ensure his freedom and safety.

After a flight of three hours fifty three minutes at five forty three pm, at dusk he landed his chopper between the Ankara high road and Ankara's eastern suburb, on the bank of a small lake. A grove and a tall thicket that hid the chopper extended between the lake and Ankara's eastern suburb. He took his documents and maps and got off with a throbbing heart extremely excited, and started to walk in the direction of Ankara's aura as night began to fell.

It took him two hours to cross on foot the grove and the thicket and to reach the eastern suburb houses, and the road leading into town. It was a slum neighborhood with small houses and a narrow road, without the slightest sign of traffic. He walked along that road another hour till a passing taxi saw his raised hand and picked him up. He did not know a single word in Turkish but the driver's question was quite clear to him

'Israel embassy' he told the taxi driver in Arabic.

© Haim Kadman December 2013 " all rights reserved.