"I left to follow my own path. It led me back to you."
Red was sitting in the living room of one of his safe houses nursing a glass of merlot. A noise from the kitchen reminded him that Dembe was there with him. He said the Townsend Directive is in play.
He watched as Dembe reentered the room holding his own glass of wine and sat in the easy chair. He reached for the remote and began to flick through the channels. He could feel Red's eyes upon him as he settled on a soccer game. He knew Red desperately wanted to speak with him. He sighed and turned off the TV. "You wish to ask me something, Raymond?"
"I do. When you walked out of your apartment that night, I thought I might never see you again. I thought I had done the impossible, or what I thought was impossible: That I had broken the bond between us; that you no longer cared about me or my feelings towards you. And yet, there you were today, saving my life again. I know what you said when I asked why you returned, but why are you here? Really?"
Dembe took a sip of his wine and put the glass on the coffee table. Quietly, he seemed to be searching the floor for answers. After a few moments, his gaze rose to Raymond's face and he said, "When I left, I did not know where I would end up; I only knew that it was time to go. I decided to go to Paris and then from there, Tunisia."
"I decided to fly out of Miami, frankly because I thought if I flew out of DC or New York, you might try to stop me. I bought a non - stop ticket on a flight leaving the following Thursday. The day before my departure, our friend in Miami was eating dinner in a diner when I walked in to do the same. He said he was about to contact you, but since I was there, he told me about the Townsend Directive so I could tell you."
"You could have called," Red responded. "You know there's no way I wouldn't take your call. You could have called to tell me about the Directive and gotten on your flight. What made you decide to fly back to DC?"
Dembe leaned back in his chair. "Raymond, I walked into a diner I had never been in before and bumped into someone who not only knew me, but had vital information for me to give you. I joined him for dinner and he told me that it was his first time in that diner, also. When he said that, I thought, perhaps Allah is telling me that you and I need to walk the same path a while longer. So, I came back…"
"Just in time to save my life. Again. How did you even know where I was?"
Dembe smiled enigmatically. "That is a conversation for another time, Raymond."
Red nodded and finished his wine. "You say you were on your way to Paris?"
"Yes."
"You might be right, Dembe; Allah knows we are still walking the same path. I am heading to Paris. Perhaps, we can go together."
Dembe smiled one of his rare, true smiles. "Perhaps, my brother. I am going to bed. Goodnight, Raymond."
Red stood and stepped into Dembe's path. He opened his arms and the younger man stepped into them. He kissed Dembe's cheek and whispered, "Thank you for coming back, my brother. Thank you for saving me." They stood that way for a few moments, both thinking about how close they had come to losing each other before Red released his grip so Dembe could go upstairs. "Good night, ya akhi*"
*my brother