Chapter 120

Chapter 120
It was already evening when Catalina and Ahmed arrived at the central office gates. She knew this place very well and both were welcomed with the utmost respect.

As if they weren’t going into the lion’s den. Several buildings away was the place where Ricardo’s office had been and since Ahmed wanted to go first to the interrogation place, Catalina did not want to leave him alone. She wanted to make sure no punishment or anything at all would happen to Ahmed because of her.

\-“Hello, I am here for the report. The leader, mister Ricardo itself asked me to be here.” Ahmed said in their language to the woman at the reception. She was in her mid-forties and with a pair of glasses on her head, she turned her attention to him and later to the girl behind him.

\-“Well, you already know the way. You may go in. What about the lady with you?” she asked sternly.

Ahmed turned his head at Catalina and asked her in unsure voice.

\-“Um, you want to wait here, or at the cafe in front of the building? I don’t know how long it will take.”

\-“What? Nonsense! I will be there with you!” Catalina ensures him.

\-“I am afraid things do not work that way miss.” The receptionist said to her in the same stoic face, but in English this time.

Catalina thought that maybe it was a custom there that all the people showed no emotion on their faces like many people she had interacted with so far.

\-“Well, I am here and I would not let my friend inside there alone.”

\-“Apparently you don’t know the rules. It is not allowed to anyone.” The woman said slightly irritated now.

\-“I am not her to give info…” but she was cut short.

“Do you have any information with great value to us?” the woman pressed.

\-“Well then, call mister Ricardo, he will make an exception for me.” Catalina said, trying to return her with the same or even worst infuriated smile.

\-“Young lady, we speak with our leader with the utmost respect, not like you are mentioning your next-door friend. Is this how you respect your leaders in your country?” – she fired back, ready to call the guards on her, but Ahmed was fast to intervene:

\-“She meant no harm; she is just worried for me. Please let’s forget this like it never happened.” he said to her in their language, in a polite pleading tone.

\-“Well, she should know her boundaries.” – she answered him proudly.

\-“Yes, she will. Thank you!” he said and took Catalina away from the reception in order not to stir further problems.

Just as Catalina was about to pretest against him, a figure approached from the other way of the hall findling with some files in his hand.

-“Ali.” Catalina beamed at him.

Even some of the guards turned their heads seeing her speaking to their second in command with such causality. They sure knew that the foreigners in their country were not educated and respected people in power same as them did.  

Ali from the other side was bewildered to see her there. Never did they see a foreigner here to begin with, but her there was not a good sign.

\-“Miss Catalina, what are you doing here?” He asked her curiously as he approached them.

\-“Well, we are here…” she tried to dramatically explain but Ahmed said:

\-“Just please, don’t shout for all the people here to hear us.” And he made a sign with his eyes at her to point at the earlier receptionist.

She tried to maintain her anger and put on a forced smile and then started again with a bit of a hushed voice.

\-“Well, I am here to accompany Ahmed as required by Ricardo to do the reporting for our last trip without formal permission from the local authorities. That was a decision I made and want to make sure no harm comes to him because I was the one to lead the expedition.” She tried to hide any details where they went in case Ali or anyone else would not speak so freely of the topic in public.

\-“But the receptionist forbidden me for accompanying him further and ….”

But Ali cut her also short:

\-“Miss Catalina, this is not a place for you to be here.” Then he turned his head to the other and said: “Ahmed, go find Akbar and he will know what to do with you.” And Ahmed deed so, no question, nothing at all. He just left in the direction Ali pointed him with his head.

Then Ali accompanied Catalina outside of there.

\-“Ali, what is the meaning of this? I hope this does not mean you are taking me out to wait at some coffee shop until Ahmed is done?” she asked him in an accusing voice, but he chuckled only.

\-“Oh please, I would not dare do that. My boss would have my head before I even thought about something like this.”

But that intrigued Catalina even more and she smiled widely as if testing him.

\-“Why? It is not that I am engaged to your boss and if you happened to be as single as I am, I might really love the idea to have a coffee together to get to know each other.”

\-“I am not as single as you are indeed.” And they both laughed at them joking with each other. “I am more single that you might be, you on the other side?... How do you guys say nowadays? Complicated but still on?”

No Catalina was serious: “I’m serious now. I am single.”

But Ali chuckled again and shook his head: “Tsskk,, right as you say my lady.” And Catalina showed her victory smile at him while walking to other side of the building.

Unfortunately, they were not aware that another shadow was seeing their interaction with a keen interest. He waited at the entrance stairs until both headed to the other side of the building and thought how interesting this was.

He went inside and they all greeted him respectfully as ever and the first thing he did was walk to the reception.

\-“Miss Bovari, was maybe here a brunette girl, long wavy dark hair, brown eyes, wearing a sky-blue outfit? A foreigner.”  He explained to her.  

\-“Mister Kane, a pleasure to greet you. Yes indeed, I just had a similar girl just some minutes ago. She was accompanying Ahmed, the guy who work at the Spanish embassy, probably she too was a Spanish.” And then she went on describing in detail to him what had just happened before he came in.

Interesting piece of information, Kane thought to himself. He went there to handle some errands for his brother, Omer, only to find a foreign girl inside the central office of intelligent information.

This surely will come in handy to my big brother, he thought to himself while smirking.