==Bab El Hara, Haret Hreik, South Beirut== South Beirut felt like a different world to the more western areas Nano and Antoine had been to. Men were far more often dressed in thobes - the long ankle-length robes many people associated with Arab dress in the Middle East.
Bab El Hara was located in a back alley, away from prying eyes. The place seemed to be open 24/7 based on the sign and looked more like a restaurant than a café at first glance. Nano could see from the outside that the walls were decorated with rifles, swords and more traditional Arab decorations. The couches and cushions had woven pillows and covers on them. A group of Arab men in traditional garb were sitting on a bench and smoking from a tall shisha pipe while having tea. Nano was getting angry looks as she got closer, at which point Antoine started to act a bit more aggressive and postured defensively in front of her.
This seemed to be a rather traditional Muslim neighborhood. It seemed like they weren't very happy with Nano's more western appearance. Nano glanced around her, noting that what few women were out were heavily garbed in black. It suddenly dawned on her that she stuck out like a sore thumb. Thankfully she dared not wear shorts, but culturally speaking, her jeans were probably just as bad.
She bit her bottom lip and clenched her fist as she walked closely to Antoine. If anything, she assumed that men would likely not speak to her, but Antoine was fair game for insults. Her fighting instinct was kicking into gear, her spidey sense tingling with danger. Being quite obviously a foreigner let alone a woman made her moreso the target of a good stoning.
She'd be damned if she was going to lose this target. If it meant getting Isabel home, then by god, she'd find this Black Hyena. Civil war in Lebanon, if she remembered correctly, was 20 years and ended a year after she was born. This guy would be no spring chicken. She kept her eyes sharp, looking for the old man that fit the brief description that Ramy had given her.
A traditionally dressed middle-aged Arab man stared at Nano as he passed by, before he suddenly sneered and spat on the ground next to her before continuing on his way. Antoine's shoulders tensed and he was about to turn around to punch the man, but managed to control his temper. He'd get an earful from Nano if he caused a ruckus. Clenching his fists, he stepped into the restaurant first and nodded sharply at the white-robed man who came to greet them. The proprietor handed them two laminated menus that had English and French text along with the Arabic and then made a gesture for them to find a seat to their liking in the relatively empty restaurant. The proprietor bowed his head and clasped his hands before withdrawing back to behind the desk, making a gesture that indicated they could wave him over when they were ready.
Antoine picked a spot where he could see the entrance and the rest of the room and pointed at a seat that was facing the wall. He looked around for a bit and then nodded affirmatively, seating himself. All clear. Nano could walk around and look for her contact, use the restroom or whatever she needed to do. Antoine would keep guard. The Black Hyena - or Sabirun, these days - was not too hard to find. He was sitting by the wall with a plastic travel chess board opened up in front of him on the table. There was a pitcher of tea on a tray with him and two cups, one of which was still empty.
As Nano got closer, the man stood up and put his hands into his pockets. For someone who must've been in his sixties, the man's posture and physique were impressive. He took three calm steps away from Nano and looked over to Antoine before settling down into a relaxed standing position. Nano couldn't see his hands from under the hem of his white shirt. Sabirun didn't say anything, just standing there and giving Nano and Antoine alternating, calm looks. Antoine was clearly nervous and his hand had gone under the table as well. It seemed like the old man had picked up on it. Nano did her best to walk with has smooth a stride as she could muster. Shoulders back, chin up. She released her clenched fists, reveal the little crescent moons carved into her palm. She cleared her throat, hoping to get the old man's attention. "Sabirun? I'm Nano. I was sent by Ramy with hopes that you could help me."
Sabirun kept looking at Antoine while Nano spoke, his stance relaxed and breathing calmly. Antoine seemed to get even more agitated, shifting in place at his seat. Sabirun took calm two steps to the side, positioning himself so that Nano was between him and Antoine. The bodyguard grit his teeth and started to push up to stand, clearly threatened by the way Sabirun was moving. The old man didn't respond to Nano, focusing on playing a game of cat and mouse with Nano's bodyguard.
Nano stepped back, not interested in being the meatshield in the middle whilst the boys played. Her face was cool and collected, patiently waiting to have a conversation. Inside, she tried to quell the panic rising in her chest.
Antoine cracked his neck and glared at the old man, hand held just behind his leg and flexing his fingers in a way that the old man could tell he was holding something from the way his forearm tightened.
Sabirun lifted one eyebrow at that, impressed, but the glanced away from both of them toward where the proprietor was. Antoine panicked and followed the old man's gaze, starting to blade his body pre-emptively to reduce his silhouette. The proprietor was reading a newspaper, oblivious to what was happening. When Antoine realized that he had gotten tricked, he quickly swiveled back around and swallowed in shock.
Sabirun had pulled his hand out from his pocket, pointing his index finger at Antoine from around his hip. The message was clear. You'd be dead if I wanted you to be. The older man then nodded - the situation concluded from his side - and seated himself to his table. His voice was surprisingly soft and calm, gesturing to the seat opposite to him. "I am he. Take a seat. Have some tea. Let us talk."
Antoine was sweating and pale, slowly lowering himself down to his seat and putting his hands on the table and in clear view.
“Thank you,” she said calmly. Nano swallowed unconsciously, but did what was requested of her. She sat opposite of Sabirun’s place, eyeing the chessboard. She’d seen the boys’ display back in the states, but this was the first time in memory she’d seen Antoine back down. She prayed that she was smart enough for this conversation.
She prayed that she wasn’t in over head yet.
"How is Ramy? Is he still cutting his scalp while shaving his head?" Sabirun asked while pulling up the cup and pouring her tea. His demeanor was jovial, his question clearly checking if Nano actually had ever met the man who had supposedly sent her.
Nano couldn’t help but smile. “The man is still allergic to shaving.” It was her way of saying the long hair and beard was what she remembered. Sabirun nodded at that and extended out the tea cup in front of Nano before refilling his own and taking a sip. He was demonstrating that the tea wasn't poisoned and that he was willing to drink from the same pot. Antoine had calmed down a little bit, which made the old man lean back in his chair while letting his gaze rest on the small woman in front of him. "If Ramy thinks I can help you, then perhaps I can. What is it that you need?" Nano took a sip of the offered tea and sighed a bit of relief. She wasn't out of the clear yet though. "A dear friend of mine has gone missing with the.... wrong kind of people, and i want to get her back and safe." The old man took another sip of his tea, showing no emotion or reaction to the woman's worry. He set his tea cup down and gave Nano an evaluating look before responding. "Help one another to righteousness and piety, and do not help one another to vice and hostility, and be pious to Allah; surely Allah is strict in punishment." Sabirun quoted from the Qur'an. "Is your friend undeserving of her fate?" The question was sharp, though Sabirun's countenance remained cool.
Nano looked at her lap, still holding her cup. "Is anyone deserving of such a fate?" She didn't want to admit that Nano herself had made the bed that Isabel was likely sleeping in, and it showed on her face.
"I am not a charity." Sabirun stated calmly. "If Ramy sent you to me, he must've thought there would be a good reason for me to help you. What is it?" The old man gave Nano some time to think, pulling his travel chess board closer to himself. He didn't seem to be in a rush, moving the pieces around on both sides - taking turns against himself while waiting for the younger woman to come up with a satisfactory answer. Nano pondered the concept that Isabel went willingly into that 4x4 with tinted windows. Was she still working on the deal? Had she been sold into slavery? Did she get in over her head, or did she have everything handled and just hadn’t called home?
“I’ve come from America to find her.” She took a deep breath as she prepped herself from some truth. “I fear an arrangement here in Beirut might have gone sour, and they could possibly have made mince meat of her. She didn’t deserve to be sent here, and i take responsibility for that.” She set her cup on the the table and put her hands in her lap, her eyes down for a second before setting them on the old man. She didn't think it was all that satisfactory an answer, but it was the truth. "I do not care about you or your friend, miss." Sabirun stated calmly and matter-of-factly. His voice remained calm, but there was a nonverbal indicator that he was not going to listen to Nano's self-centered requests. "I will repeat myself only once. Why did Ramy think I would help you?" Nano took another moment to think, remembering the conversation."He said that you wouldn't escalate the situation out here to another civil war," she breathed between sentences, "So you might be sympathetic. If i handle it myself, i could make things worse. However, i feel like i've wasted your time." She began to rise from the chair, signaling to Antoine that they were wrapping up. If she felt nervous at men spitting at her, then how was she supposed waltz into Hezbollah looking to clean up her own mess involving her best friend? She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed again. Sabirun stared at the woman standing up and pointed a finger down to make her sit back down. It wasn't an a request, it was a command. His brows furrowed slightly and then he calmly but sternly reprimanded the woman. "I am not a spineless American man who runs after a woman blackmailing him with her childish behavior. You will now explain. What is your friend involved in that could escalate to civil war?"
Antoine had gotten up, but wasn't quite sure if he should jump to Nano's aid or not. His hand was hovering near his thigh, looking at her with a restless expression. Nano pulled out her phone again and made Isabel’s picture her lock screen. Ramy had known enough about Isabel to feel her plight, but she doubted that would be satisfactory enough an answer to the Black Hyena. She froze at the command, and slowly lowered herself back down to the chair, shifting her leg so she could be comfortable. “There was a gun deal that i’ve heard nothing back on, which is bad news. She was seen ‘partying’ with unsavory sorts with power that she shouldn’t have been dealing with. She was last seen getting into a 4x4 with tinted windows, and she’s been missing ever since.” The chessboard caught her attention, and she eyed the current spread. Her slender fingers hovered over a pawn, and she looked him in the eye as though she were asking permission to enter the game. "Power comes in many forms. Tinted windows means official permit or a gangster. Which do you think it was? Who was she dealing with?" The old man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brown case, flicking it open and pulling out a pair of glasses. He put them on and adjusted them by the bridge of his nose, taking the phone and tilting his head to take a good look at Isabel's picture.
Nano relinquished her phone so he could get a good look. “I wish I knew for sure. I have more legwork to do on that front. “ Something dawned on Nano. “Ramy called them the Zuama, and that she was involved in shady business in the Baalbeck-Hermel governorate in the North-East of Lebanon.”
"Baalbeck-Hermel, and she was working with the za'im? That is, indeed, something I care about." Sabirun gave the phone back and throught about the situation for a moment. "What we need is confirmation on regarding the side she is dealing with. If she works with the Shiite, I believe I could get her back to safety without much trouble. If she works with the Lebanese Forces, that will complicate things significantly. We need to find who she was associating with before we travel to Bekaa Valley. I will help you." Sabirun stated calmly and finished his tea. (edited)
Nano abandoned the pawn and smiled with relief. "Thank you." She popped her knuckles in her lap. "Where do we start?"
"I've got a lead at a bar, so i can look into that."
"Leads are good, but in these cases friends are a better starting point. I have good friends who keep track of foreigners in Lebanon. I will ask them about her. I will need her full name and date of arrival and a few hundred US dollars to bring them gifts to show my appreciation. Do you have cash on you?" He waited for Nano to hand over the money, folded the bills and tucked them into his pocket. "We will reconvene outside the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut in four hours." Sabirun stood up, folded his travel chess board, clicked the latch shut and put it in his pocket. "Don't be late. I am very punctual."
Nano nonchalantly handed the money over, but inside was cringing. She needed a source of income soon. She rose from her seat a second time, nodding to Antoine that they were leaving for sure. She turned back to Sabirun. "See you then." She bowed her head subtly with her gratefulness, letting him leave before she moved to meet up with Antoine and exit the way she came in, only this time with a feeling of resolve that progress had been made.
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