Defeat the horizon "The tale of Mr. Ell"

Defeat the horizon "The tale of Mr. Ell"

A novel by Ahmad Isa

Introduction

Well, there is no way to deny. The truth, that I was avoiding as a young boy, is more evident now. I am a man not meant to do what he wants, not a shortage of me nor vulnerability; but simply because I am not the protagonist.

Tiny details, which the author didn’t notice, led me to be sure of that. At first, the author wanted a multi-protagonists story, which enables him to simply dispense with any of them, As he excludes a little ant by treading with his pen, so no small comppars, like me, could have noticed that all this life is part of a novel.

Then, the events became complicated, main heroes die, event’s setting expands despite the narrow space.

I am part of this novel, so it revolves around me and my world. Each novel does that, all batman’s adventures happen in the fancy city “Gotham”, as there are no criminals on earth but in it, all super heroes have a city to defend, the events might be in a tiny neighbourhood as in the novels of Najeeb Mahfoud, or extended to three countries like the Dickens’s works.

Anyways, there is a spatial setting from which the text will not diverge. I used to live in a less uproar but much chaotic city, today, I find myself in the capital in some way, and tomorrow I don’t know where it will end.

I feel that the writer is obsessed with killing his heroes as George Martin does in the song of ice and fire.

What is my real role inside the novel?! Am I just a problem that everyone is looking for solving it? Or a narrator of the events that take place between several cities.

The novel is shared by me and my friend Daniel or Mr X, as he likes to be called, who really has the heroism characteristics; he is handsome, tactful speaker, intrepid, initiator, while I look ordinary, boring, and dull.

I have two brothers: George and Christian, I killed them at some moment, and then escaped the punishment in weird way, although I am used to fear hurting a fly.

You will pass by many names in this journey, my first love: Nancy, and the second: Carla, and friends of them along it, Marla, Mayra, Leonardo, Anna, Daniel, George, Christian, and Noah.

So confused, lost in the search for god, love, drawn by stronger powers than me, so I said surprisingly: God, I wish that you gave me two hearts.

Our father left us at the middle of the journey, my relatives are all secondary heroes exactly as I am. In this complicated relationship, how do I breathe out of the novel?! How can I change my predestined path? And overcome the obstacles the writer deliberately planted within me, how can l be the hero? In an unexpected coup of events.

Chapter 1

Complete crime

Look around you...

Have you been accused with something?

Did people notice the absence of your brothers?

You did what you did and you got away with it.

***

Let me be no nearer

In death’s dream kingdom

Let me also wear

Such deliberate disguises

Rat’s coat, crow skin, crossed staves

In a field

Behaving as the wind behaves

No nearer-

T.S. Eliot

The Hollow Men”"

Sometimes we forget and miss enjoy the pure air, the smell of flowers, the colour of trees, and our ability to dream.

I remember every insane journey I have gone, every mountain’s summit I have reached, every plane carried me to the ends of the earth.

As I remember every story that I have been one of its heroes, how I became the protagonist of my novel, how I adapted my dreams, and how I transformed to a pulse; to live the life with every potential possibility.

What is the life without a dream?! I think, while I see my whole life broadcasted in front of me, my hard childhood, adventures with Nancy, my rebellion on Noah, friendship with Mr. X, submitting to my tranquil devil, failing and successful projects, the successful crazy experiments, the journey to nowhere, true repentance, Carla, Marla, Daniel, Leonardo, the coffee of space’s needle, Paris, the both sickness and cure journeys, the records of phones and surveillance cameras that I broke into, very real friends, my broken heart… finally… my peaceful death, without pain, alone …

Sometimes we forget, but we console ourselves by remembering the sweetness of the experiments no matter how much the farewell inevitability rose. When I swim in the space river, I naturally, realize that reaching its bank doesn’t necessarily mean survive it.

It was really an easy mission. All what I am required to do is passing the intensive security in front of the CIA building, that we spotted its secret location and the surrounding security procedures. There I will find Nancy, my disguised girl among them for months, after she managed to penetrate their lines and convince them of her amazing ability to dive in hacker world and deep web. She looks like a girl who knows very well what to do; she was planted in a regular American family after we picked her a new name, Ashley, in which it is acceptable for her taste so that she would not sabotage the whole process, as we made her deliberately refuse our attempts to recruit her, so she would have to accept it when she had to choose between working with them, or going to jail for using internet without authorization, electronic theft, the invasion of individual’s privacy by hacking their male and PayPal accounts.

While I disguised in a form of an intelligence officer with the same tall and prettiness, I had visited him at night and knocked him out. I made a largely similar mask to his face and wore his clothes and watch. Here I am entering the building yard quietly. The space was a multi-story building; it seems quiet as if it was human free. In front of the building, a young and thin man whom I greeted said:

Hello Mr James.

Hello my friend Ethan, how is your dog Lucy, is she back from Tokyo? I quietly said with confidence.

Ethan smiled, and said quietly: she came back; and waiting for you at home sir... Welcome back.

I smiled back after the password exchange with the guard, it wasn’t hard to get; Officer James phone was in my pocket, as usual the password was sent to the building employees at morning through private application, a password within every 12 hours.

A brilliant mean for security specially that the phone doesn’t open without James fingerprint, that finger which I put in my pocket just in case.

I thanked god that the phone doesn’t work by bio measures, it can’t differ a dead finger from alive one.

As I entered the building, everything was different inside, with bulged arms and breasts and their fully armed vests. I passed by a small reception office until I reached the elevator where I put James finger on the call button, the board turned on green and the doors of the elevator got opened. The hewn finger played its role for the second time, I seemed very confident entering the elevator and pushing the sixth floor button. In front of the elevator door, Nancy/Ashley was waiting for me.

Hello Mr James, she said shaking my hand with her soft one, keep walking toward the opened elevator. I shook her hand hoping not to let her hand go ever. You foolish, this time is not good for this nonsense. I moved on to James office, I passed by the WC before I got there, I opened the paper that Nancy put in my hand, then read:

“The second from the right, goodbye”

Did that crazy think that I will leave her and go? It did not and will not happen. She argued with cleaning the toilet facilities, took advantage of the guard naivety after giving him a charming smile to guarantee the access to this floor. I entered the second toilet to the right, and then opened the siphon cover to find an attached flash drive within inside, so I put it in my pocket and got out while thinking …

Now I have the access keys to enter the US central protection program, access to reach the CIA’s privet grid, and a list of secret CIA detention places, now I can know where are they holding my father and finally release him, I still have to bring Nancy back before they discover their systems penetrating from within and before arresting her.

I walked out the toilet towards the cleaning storage. I used a cleaning fluid, some tin, and a blank Pepsi case.

Cut tin into small parts, roll it like cigarettes, place it inside the Pepsi case, put some cleaning fluid, close the case as soon as possible and put it aside. This was the first bomb.

Then I used some salt, lemon, yeast, and oil, with some water and flour. All that was in the kitchen, the second bomb was made. I put the two bombs in my bag and went out and dust my suit off after finishing the job. Then I found Max Johnson, the director of the intelligence service personally, before me… Face to face.

“James! What are you doing here?” He said and looked at me surprisingly.

“Nothing” I said and held his hands, approached his ears like I am telling a secret to complete:

“I need you in a dangerous matter MR Max.”

“Ok, let us go to my office” he said, we walked to gather after his invitation until I sat on a chair in front of his office and made sure that the door is closed.

“What is up James? You look different today. Are you still annoyed by yesterday issue?” He said.

I felt that I am about to be exposed so I said slowly to add importance to my speech:

“Forget about me now, there are serious things on steak.”

“What is it? Tell me quickly.” He said with care.

“It is Ashley” I said.

Max began to pay close attention, saying:

“Do you mean Ashley? The dark girl!”

The dark girl was the name they call Nancy; so I shook my head with a consensus and Max looked at me as if he says go on.

“I have great doubts about her, I think she is planted in our midst, perhaps belonging to the intelligence service of another country, or one of the gangs that sell information to those who pay more. My doubts are up to the degree of certainty” I said.

Max said with great alarm: “James! You have thrown serious accusations. The system is not a fool to hire a spy, we have carefully looked at her, and we sought her not the other way around.” I said with indifference: “Well, send for her.”

He entangled his fingers in front of his face and said: “send for whom?”

“Ashley the dark girl. Send for her so I confront her with my doubts, and you will see that she will fall apart for my arguments.”

“You know that she is working at floor B2, and she is responsible for delicate information, leaving the floor is considered as a punishable offence” max said.

“So review the cams. 9:15 Am, in this floor, in front of the elevator” I said.

Max pressed the computer buttons to review the hall way, when he saw Nancy I told him to pause…

“Nancy was in front of the elevator waiting for me, then the elevator got opened, I got out of it, and she shook my hand with the morning greetings.

If she is not allowed to leave B2, then what was she doing in the board floor?” I said with a victorious tone.

“that bitch”, he said holding the phone to call the security, I stopped him, with a hand gesture, saying calmly: “not now… send for her, and let us know who is behind her before it becomes a great scandal to the service.”

He looked to me carefully, and seemed to be convinced, at last he said: “I will send for Ashley, to know who is behind her, so be careful of any dodge because I will kill her at any sign of doubt.”

To be continued...