Chapter 9 Deceptive Paths

Chapter 09: Deceptive Paths

Two days later, the police received information that the body of a woman who had been brutally murdered was found on the beach. Her head was missing, making it very difficult to identify the body. The police collected the remains and took them to the hospital, where they were preserved so that any relatives of missing persons could come to identify them.

Later that evening, President Daniel was speaking on the phone with Diana, who was in Egypt.

"I've already finished my work, Anneth is in the afterlife, my men did a good job. I'm waiting for you to come finish your part so we can get married. The trips to Egypt have become really limited, I can't travel as I used to. I've put the editors of City Newspaper in jail because of their provocations."

"Let those journalists you locked up go, otherwise, people will point fingers at you."

"I'll do that tomorrow!"

"Okay, and about the issue of getting rid of Damian, why not do it here in Egypt?"

"How do you mean?"

"I'll ask Damian to come here. I'm sure with the way he loves me, he will agree. What you need to do is send me three of your men to help finish him off!"

"Alright!"

The plan was set right there and then, Diana was supposed to call Damian through phone, convince him to travel to Egypt and discuss their differences. Diana managed to reach Damian through a landline phone and spoke with him.

"Damian, I regret everything I've done. Please forgive me, Damian. I still love you, and the truth is that everything that happened wasn't my choice, I was forced to do it by President Daniel, he threatened to kill me. I am ready to get back to you and leave President Daniel."

"Really? I'm so sorry, Diana."

"I deeply regret everything, Damian..." (sobbing)

"Diana, if you're serious about what you're saying, I'm ready to forgive you. Please, come to Bentaz and let's talk about this, my wife."

"I can't come now, Damian, because of my work, but I ask that you come to Egypt, let's talk, if possible, even tomorrow, get on a flight and come."

"Diana, my financial situation is really bad. My businesses have been closed for almost a year and on top of that, my passport was taken, don't you remember?"

"Don't worry, I will do everything I can. Tomorrow, your ticket and passport will be delivered to your home. Okay? I LOVE YOU, DAMIAN."

"I love you so much, Diana."

They ended the conversation that night, and for Damian, it felt like a dream. He couldn't believe he was talking to Diana after such a long time. He went to bed with great joy and peace in his heart.

The following morning, Damian received a package and when he opened it, he found his passport along with a ticket for Egypt Airways. The package was accompanied by five hundred-dollar bills, and Damian was very happy.

The plane was scheduled to depart from Miami airport at 3:30 PM, and Damian was supposed to be at the airport two hours before. He didn't want to call his friends to inform them of his trip, knowing how much they disliked Diana.

"I just want them to be shocked when they find out Diana is here, they will be so surprised!" he thought to himself.

The seconds and minutes of that day moved slowly for him. He was eager to see Diana.

While sitting in the passenger area waiting for the flight, Damian heard his name being called by someone he didn't recognize. The person approached him and greeted him along with two others who also greeted him. When the time came, they all boarded the plane together.

"Dear passengers on board, our plane EC334 for Egypt is about to take off, you are requested to fasten your seat belts and keep your seats upright! Thank you!"

The voice of the flight attendant was heard through the speakers in the plane.

It was a pleasant voice that made Damian wish to meet this flight attendant. He called over one of the attendants who was standing near him.

"Excuse me!" Damian called out.

"How can I help you!" the attendant asked.

"Can you please do me a favor?"

"Yes, please go ahead, I'm listening."

"I would like to see the girl who gave the instructions?"

"Oh! Okay, I will show you, she will be here in a minute!"

After the conversation, the attendant left and returned to her seat. Damian and the young man seated next to him didn't talk for a while. He was one of the young men he had met at the airport.

"Sorry! I don't think I know you, although you seem to know me. May I know your name?"

Damian broke the silence after about five minutes of the plane having taken off.

"Aah! It's not easy to recognize me, I'm not famous in Miami! But briefly, my name is Hanson."

"Okay! Hanson. And your friend sitting by the window seat?"

"The big guy is called Regan and the one with the cap is called Lava."

"Ah, I see! Well, I'm happy to meet you guys," Damian said with a smile. He felt lucky to be traveling with fellow countrymen to a foreign country!

At that moment, the drinks trolley came by. When Damian turned, he locked eyes with the flight attendant he had spoken to earlier.

They both smiled, and with a look, the attendant silently showed Damian that the girl handing out drinks was the one he had asked to see.

Damian raised his gaze to look at the other attendant and felt like his mind had stopped working for a moment.

"Ha! So Diana wasn't much beautiful after all!" Damian thought as he stared at the flight attendant.

"Bro, I see you've taken a liking of her!" Hanson commented.

"Yeah! Black beautiful girls are my weakness," Damian said laughing.

Suddenly, Damian and this flight attendant locked eyes, and they both smiled.

"Man, I see you like her a lot."

"Well, I'm just looking for someone to be with, you know, I was left by my wife?" Damian said with a chuckle.

"Sorry, bro. We all heard about your situation, and it upsets a lot of people. So how are things going with the Ambassador?" Hanson asked.

"I won't hide anything from you. The Ambassador is the one who called me to Egypt so we can sort this out, and if everything goes well, we'll get back together."

"Well, what about this girl, if she agrees, what will you do?"

"Ah, for this one, I'm not serious, it's just a joke! I love my wife so much."

They had a long talk, with Hanson asking many questions about Damian's life. He inquired about his plans, though he knew Damian didn't have long time to live. The place Damian was headed was one where he was going to die in a brutal murder.

Hanson, Regan, and Lava were the young men sent to help Diana in the mission to eliminate Damian. Lava was the one assigned by the TUM (The Unidentified Men) group to carry out the murder of Damian. Hanson and Regan were merely escorts.

The payment for this job was one and a half million US dollars, which President Daniel had promised them. By the time they were leaving Miami, they had already been paid half of their fee; they just needed to kill Damian to collect the remaining amount.

Hanson had been placed close to Damian to establish a friendship and make their task easier.

Indeed, after spending some time together in the plane, Damian and Hanson became close friends.

****

Three hours after the plane had departed from Miami, Diana got a call and she was informed about the three men who were to arrive around 10pm Night. She was asked to pick them up. But since she had a tightened schedule she promised to send a driver around 9:30pm to be ready at the airport for picking them up.

The plane had landed at Alexandria airport ten minutes ago, and people started disembarking one by one. Hanson, Regan, and Lava were the first to disembark. Damian stayed inside, talking to the attendants.

When he got off, he found all three of them waiting for him. Damian had a small piece of paper in his hand.

"Everything's set," Damian said.

"Set for what, buddy!" Hanson asked.

"He gave me her business card and told me she's connecting to Paris, and tomorrow she'll return and stay here for a week for a break. She'll contact me when she returns. She asked me to call her later to inform her on the hotel I'm staying at."

"Man, you're lucky with good things!" Hanson told Damian.

Damian laughed, unaware that the people in front of him, whom he thought were his friends, were not friends but assassins, and ones who would soon take his life.

They continued talking as they walked toward the exit of the airport. Before they exited, they saw an elderly Arab man holding a sign that read "Hanson, Regan, and Lava Follow me."

They shook hands with Damian and said goodbye to him. As he turned to the other side, Damian saw another young Arab man holding a sign that read "Damian welcome to Cairo." Without delay, Damian followed this young man, introduced himself, and they went straight to the car, where they got in, and their journey to the city began.

The driver of the car was cheerful and tried to get to know Damian as much as he could to make him feel comfortable.

"My name is Khalid. I have been the Ambassador's personal driver for ten years!"

"Even before Ambassador Diana, right?"

"Yes!"

"Oh! I see, that's cool."

Their journey took about ten minutes to reach Ambassador Diana's house. The gate was opened, and the car was driven in and parked inside the compound.

What made Damian amazed and confused was seeing the driver who had carried Hanson and his friends standing outside!!!.