Project Sabertooth

the person standing there. When I approached closer, I seen that it was Ishmael who was in hiding, and my frazzled nerves quieted down a little. “Morning Ishmael! Why are you and I meeting and hiding around like a couple of spies?” I asked. “Marcus my friend, I'm so glad that you took my warning to heart and stayed away from my father’s restaurant yesterday.” He was acting very nervous and was constantly looking around him, as if there might be anybody around but us two dummies in the cool morning air. “Okay.” I said. “Just what is going on? Explain why I should not come around to the restaurant anymore.” Or has it have something to do with the murdered terrorist in the salt mine?” Ishmael then told about the events which had happened in the last two days.

  Ishmael started with congratulating me; “The man from the salt mines was apparently the main bomb expert. And with his untimely death, which none of us will mourn, his victims souls should find retribution. He was the one that orchestrated the trains to crash into each other in Muhlhausen, while his accomplices robbed the bank during the confusion and the police were busy. My uncle wishes me to give you his thanks. But, two nights ago, two men died, due to your quest. One of them would have been a sanctioned kill for anybody. “Who died?” I interrupted him, “and why?” “Let me explain first and you ask later, okay?” He said. “My uncle and his friends are always drinking tea by us, which you know. My uncle is the only one who knows your full name, which for him and his good contacts, is not a hard thing to find out. None of us even know what your full name is! Since you started your quest, one of his best friends would sometimes ask who you are, which my uncle always rebuffed by saying he should ask you himself. When my uncle gave you the photo package, he had seen the scared and worried look coming from his friend at the table. That was when his friend started to aggressively ask about where you live, your name, or if you own a car. The warning siren went off for my uncle, because after forty years of doing what he's done, it still comes automatically for him. His friend got very angry come evening time, for all he knew was the name of your cat, Sabertooth. He passed bad words with my uncle and stormed out of the restaurant. My uncle slowly arose from the table and whispered over the counter to my father and me that he had something very important he had to take care of. Then he walked out the door, and left me wondering what a retired man has to do which could be so important.”

  Ishmael coughed, so I took my plastic joggers drink bottle from my belt and gave it to him. Which he almost emptied before returning it to me. “Thanks, I needed that. So, yesterday morning my uncle shows up and tells me what to print out for you, and to make absolutely sure you get it before you leave your apartment and come to the restaurant. He is afraid that others would follow you to us and endanger our lives. Naturally, after torturing us to find out who and what you are.” “But..” I started. “I said ask later!” He said in a not too friendly tone. “My uncle did what he always did best, following and spying on people. They both boarded the train and were headed towards Heilbronn, and his friend was scared, always looking around. But as he never seen my uncle, that shows how good Micah was in his job! Anyways, they departed the train in a town not too far from here called Bietigheim. He followed his friend down the street till he took a left turn into a parking lot, where at the rear of the parking spaces is a small snack bar, which is closed for the summer season. He waited, and his friend was also waiting, but my uncle could see he was very scared now. That is when Mali Aschwan appeared. The first thing that happened after a few words were exchanged was that Mali slapped my uncles friend in the face, and then he spit on him. That is when my uncle crept up from the side of the parking lot and burst through the bushes towards the two men. Mali is quick, and he turned with a knife already in his hand, which my uncle twisted backwards and into Mali. Then he turned to his friend, who started to run. That he was meeting Mali and then running away, was proof enough for my uncle. He caught him as he tried to go up some stairs to cross the train tracks. My uncle has never had to kill in his whole life, and now he had killed two men in a matter of minutes, one of which was a very good friend to him. He is now full of agony because his friend had betrayed and destroyed their friendship and ergo, he had to kill him. You are now not only hunting my friend, but they are now hunting for you too! So be careful, and if you need me, tie a piece of cloth to one of these metal posts. I will see it because I drive by here every morning from Remseck. A piece of cloth, and I will meet you the next morning. Now you question me?” “I have one question just now.” I said. “Do all of those men whose pictures I have really deserve to die?” “Yes, all of them. Including my uncles friend!” He loudly answered. “They have all of them killed many people, and will continue to kill more in the name of Allah. It's wrong what they do. Allah preaches love, not senseless killing of innocent people for stupid ideas!” “Okay, I have to think this all over. It's a lot to handle. Thank you Ishmael.” “I believe you have a saying which fits to you Marcus” Ishmael said. “Happy Hunting Sabertooth!” And with that, Ishmael walked off towards the road, and that was when I wondered where his rusty Volkswagen Beetle was parked? One could not miss that thing driving around! It hurt the eyes just to look at it! I started to jog my routine run, and as what he told me sank into my brain, I put everything I had into it and ran at full speed. I needed to somehow clear my head and my heart. As I walked into the little store to get us something to eat, I still couldn't get it out of my head that his uncle killed his friend. One would think that after so many decades in his job, he would have a propensity for killing! But apparently they function different than our CIA or FBI. Having to go to the extreme and kill your friend, that was as cold blooded as life could get!

  When Micah had returned to the restaurant and had told Gúney, Ishmael had overheard parts of the conversation between the two brothers. They had both, till that moment, kept their operations in Germany covert. Not even Micah's sister-in-law knew exactly what the two of them truly were. But Ishmael was a young man with a very high intelligence quotient and started to add all of the tidbits and things which had happened throughout the years together. As his uncle left the restaurant, he had followed him out to the BMW and had presented him with what he had deduced as the facts about his father and uncle. “How long has my father been working for you and helping the Turkish Secret Service?” Ishmael asked. Micah was hit with a blunt mental shock at the question and turned from his car to look at his nephew. “Please uncle Micah”, Ishmael said quietly. “Don't attempt to deny it because I've heard enough over the years to basically figure out that my father is some sort of James Bond, and with his computer blocked with so many passwords, he isn't just using it for shopping on E-Bay!” Micah was at first very quiet and Ishmael gave him the time to digest what he had just put upon his uncle, then Micah told him the truth.

  “Your father is not Bond, rather that synonym pertains to me. My brother is on one hand just a dumb Kebab restaurant owner, but he is also one of our best hackers in our Intelligence Service. You young man, are going to live a normal life here in Germany, for that is what your father wishes most. He could have already begun to teach you all the tricks of our trade, but our family's servitude to the government needs to end somewhere and it will end with your father and I. More you should not know, to protect yourself from harm.” “And what about those two you killed in Bietigheim?” Ishmael asked. “Is that a normal days work for you and my father?” Now Micah was somewhat furious and said; “Your father is only a computer genius who works for us and has never hurt anyone in his life!” “As for me, I have hurt many people, but never killed before. For death resolves no problem!” That was the first lie he had ever told his nephew, but if it kept him on the right road to a good life, then it served its purpose. With that he got into his car and had left.

  The next morning Micah was in the upstairs apartment over the restaurant with Gúney. Hunched over the computer monitor, they were distracted and hadn't noticed Gúney's wife had come back home from shopping. When they heard the kitchen cupbo
ards opening and closing, and the canned goods being shelved, Gúney quickly hit the F10 button on the keyboard which blackened the monitor immediately. He then went in and helped his wife with the distribution of the various goods, and then told her to leave the apartment and go somewhere. Where she went he really didn't care, just as long as she left immediately. With her now gone, the two of them proceeded to research the true identity of Micah’s supposedly good friend, which had met his demise a few days ago along with the other one, Mali. They failed to find any additional information about him, so they gave up the search. “I cannot understand why he would fall in with Mali when he has no background as a radical!” Micah said. “Brother Heart”, Gúney said, “one has no choice in choosing his family. But all the choices he needs in choosing an acquaintance! Do not see the failure in your part, for he made the mistake on his own free will.”

  After his brother told him two days later about his nephew chastising Marcus