Read Online WASHINGTON DC: The Sadir Affair (The Puppets of Washington Book 1) by Lavina Giamusso - Free Book Online
Authors: Lavina Giamusso
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to their rosy colour already.
Aziz sat down across from her at a table near the picture windows. He couldn’t stop staring at the woman he loved. The past seven months’ ordeal was fading from his memory very quickly. He didn’t want to think about it. Tonight they were closing the book on the Ben Slimane Affair. Or were they?
“I got a call from Fred Gibson last night,” Aziz said when their entrees were on the table.
Talya looked up from her plate, wondering if she wanted to hear this. “And what did the man have to say for himself?”
Aziz smiled. “He was very happy to hear that you’re making good progress and he’s invited us to Ottawa whenever you’re fit to travel.”
Talya dropped her fork. “What for?” she blurted, peering into Aziz’s eyes. “I have no intention whatsoever to travel anywhere near that agency. You can tell him so, next time he calls. And what did you say?”
“Nothing.” Aziz picked up a prawn from his dish and bit on it with gusto. “I mean…, I didn’t say yea or nay. I just told him that travelling was not in the cards for you yet. That’s all.”
Talya grabbed hold of the fork again and stabbed a couple of pieces of calamari on her plate in the same manner a snorkeler would stab a fish for his dinner. “Good! And it won’t be in the cards ever again. I’ll be going back to work next week and if there is any travel to be done, it’ll be to Paris…” It was Aziz’s turn to stop eating. Their eyes locked. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to get involved with the prince again, no, I’m going to get him to fly us down to Bamako to go and pay our respects to Hassan’s father. The man deserves that much from Khalid and from me. His son died because of us, and going to see him is long overdue. Besides, I want to see for myself what’s been done with the Kankoon permit and have a nice long visit with Chantal.”
Aziz didn’t know what to say. He had known Talya wouldn’t have forgotten the events of the past year and knew that she would have wanted to return to Africa someday, but he tried to put that thought out of his mind. He couldn’t accept seeing her leaving for a continent that was at the origin of all that happened to her. The only solace he took in the whole idea was that Talya proposed to visit Chantal Gauthier. He had never met the woman, but from what Talya explained after her return, she had always steered her in the right direction and hadn’t taken no for an answer when it came to protecting Talya from making unwise decisions.
The troubled lines of his face finally receding into a happier expression, Aziz nodded. “But let’s get to Bowen Island first, shall we?”
Not really knowing what came over her, Talya giggled and began tittering uncontrollably. The contagious laughter soon took hold of Aziz and he started chuckling. The two of them had tacitly decided to leave the past behind, for a while anyway.
Chapter 17
As Khalid cleared the gangway leading to the arrivals’ lounge, two men—one tall and muscular, the other a head shorter than his companion with mousy-looking features—came to stand on either side of him. They were both dressed in the regulation-blues.
“May we see your passport, sir?” the short one of the two demanded.
Khalid didn’t know the procedure in this foreign land and didn’t flinch when asked to show his travel documents to an official-looking fellow. “Sure, by all means.” He put down his laptop case and fetched his passport out of his breast pocket.
The mousy officer opened it and flipped through it. “Welcome to Australia, Professor. Would you follow us, please?” He handed the document back to him.
By then Khalid had realized he was the only person, thus far, that had been stopped upon exiting the aircraft. He turned his head, hoping to spot Sylvan among the economy class passengers who were now coming out of the gangway.
“Don’t worry, Professor, we’ll get your friend to join us in a
Aziz sat down across from her at a table near the picture windows. He couldn’t stop staring at the woman he loved. The past seven months’ ordeal was fading from his memory very quickly. He didn’t want to think about it. Tonight they were closing the book on the Ben Slimane Affair. Or were they?
“I got a call from Fred Gibson last night,” Aziz said when their entrees were on the table.
Talya looked up from her plate, wondering if she wanted to hear this. “And what did the man have to say for himself?”
Aziz smiled. “He was very happy to hear that you’re making good progress and he’s invited us to Ottawa whenever you’re fit to travel.”
Talya dropped her fork. “What for?” she blurted, peering into Aziz’s eyes. “I have no intention whatsoever to travel anywhere near that agency. You can tell him so, next time he calls. And what did you say?”
“Nothing.” Aziz picked up a prawn from his dish and bit on it with gusto. “I mean…, I didn’t say yea or nay. I just told him that travelling was not in the cards for you yet. That’s all.”
Talya grabbed hold of the fork again and stabbed a couple of pieces of calamari on her plate in the same manner a snorkeler would stab a fish for his dinner. “Good! And it won’t be in the cards ever again. I’ll be going back to work next week and if there is any travel to be done, it’ll be to Paris…” It was Aziz’s turn to stop eating. Their eyes locked. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to get involved with the prince again, no, I’m going to get him to fly us down to Bamako to go and pay our respects to Hassan’s father. The man deserves that much from Khalid and from me. His son died because of us, and going to see him is long overdue. Besides, I want to see for myself what’s been done with the Kankoon permit and have a nice long visit with Chantal.”
Aziz didn’t know what to say. He had known Talya wouldn’t have forgotten the events of the past year and knew that she would have wanted to return to Africa someday, but he tried to put that thought out of his mind. He couldn’t accept seeing her leaving for a continent that was at the origin of all that happened to her. The only solace he took in the whole idea was that Talya proposed to visit Chantal Gauthier. He had never met the woman, but from what Talya explained after her return, she had always steered her in the right direction and hadn’t taken no for an answer when it came to protecting Talya from making unwise decisions.
The troubled lines of his face finally receding into a happier expression, Aziz nodded. “But let’s get to Bowen Island first, shall we?”
Not really knowing what came over her, Talya giggled and began tittering uncontrollably. The contagious laughter soon took hold of Aziz and he started chuckling. The two of them had tacitly decided to leave the past behind, for a while anyway.
Chapter 17
As Khalid cleared the gangway leading to the arrivals’ lounge, two men—one tall and muscular, the other a head shorter than his companion with mousy-looking features—came to stand on either side of him. They were both dressed in the regulation-blues.
“May we see your passport, sir?” the short one of the two demanded.
Khalid didn’t know the procedure in this foreign land and didn’t flinch when asked to show his travel documents to an official-looking fellow. “Sure, by all means.” He put down his laptop case and fetched his passport out of his breast pocket.
The mousy officer opened it and flipped through it. “Welcome to Australia, Professor. Would you follow us, please?” He handed the document back to him.
By then Khalid had realized he was the only person, thus far, that had been stopped upon exiting the aircraft. He turned his head, hoping to spot Sylvan among the economy class passengers who were now coming out of the gangway.
“Don’t worry, Professor, we’ll get your friend to join us in a
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