Chapter 39
"Daddy!" She cheered, running towards him at Heathrow airport arrivals.
He dropped his bag and held her, the familiar scent of coconuts in her hair made him feel like he could breathe again.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, as she pulled away she laughed and said "I don't know why I'm crying. I am so happy to see you. Really. So happy."
"Oh kiddo." He said and pulled her back into his embrace. She was really safe. He could finally rest knowing that she really is safe. "Let me see." He said eventually. Looking into her eyes as if he's looking into his own filled him with awe. "How are you doing?" he asked softly.
She smiled and nodded. "I'm okay." She said taking in a deep breath as if she too was relieved to be safe. "Oh daddy," she sounded far more cheerful as she turned "this is my best friend in the whole wide world, Hana."
"Hi." Hana said almost inaudibly, her eyes a fascinating mixture of light brown and dark green, hiding in some mysterious way behind her shy smile.
"Hana. It is such a pleasure to finally meet you." Steve said extending his hand. When she mistook his gesture for a hug, he simply went with it. He was family to this strange creature.
On the underground train to Paddington station Sofia spoke the whole time. She told Steve how much she wanted to call him, but they both agreed that it was better to stay silent until the dust settled. She told him how they made a start on her new passport even before she came back to Bosnia, so everything was ready in time for them to reach Cambridge and start their lectures. The university was even better than she imagined. Hana sat silently, listening, nodding in confirmation and spoke only when Sofia needed help remembering something.
In the crowded large space of Paddington station Sofia asked Steve about Khalid.
"As far as I know, he's still missing. He just took off." Steve replied.
"Do you think they'll catch him?" Sofia asked, her face sad and sympathetic. "Daddy, he's such a lovely little guy. Honestly, he looks more like a boy than a man. And he so sweet. So innocent. I really hope he's safe. And his mum. He told me about his mum."
"Is that what you two talked about?" Steve asked.
"Mostly, yes. Apparently his father died before he was born. He has no brothers or sister, only his mum." Sofia said.
"He didn't tell you anything about his work?" Steve focused on her face letting her know the question is really important.
"Only that he had a terrible accident." Sofia giggled. "When he told me that, I thought he had a car crush or something. But then he said he accidently neutralised uranium. I didn't even know what that means."
"He didn't explain?" Steve said.
"No. We did look it up later." Sofia said glancing over at Hana.
"Okay, no more looking into that. It's got nothing to do with you. Understood?" Steve said.
Sofia said that she understood. She and Hana shared a look that made Steve wonder, but he chose to believe that the girls were just confused why all that is such a big issue. The truth was much bigger than that. Sofia told Hana all about the little notebook Khalid gave her. The girls spoke about it at length, at night, sharing a bed and a torch under the covers. They never thought something so exciting could happen to them.
"He gave this to me to keep me safe." Sofia whispered to Hana in the shadow of her duvet. "He said I should burn it when I'm safe. Am I safe?"
"I don't know that you'll ever be truly safe again Sof." Hana whispered back.
"So what do I do?" Sofia asked. "I thought, maybe I should make a copy?"
"No, don't do that. Someone might find out. I think we should put it in a plastic bag and then into a plastic bottle from a shampoo. And then we burry it someplace safe. Someplace where we know no one will dig." Hana suggested.
"Great idea. Maybe you should memorise it before that, just in case?" Sofia said.
Hana agreed, memorised the whole notebook and the girls carried out this part of the plan without a problem. But then they thought that it might be a shame if someone found it and just threw it away. It was very important. So they made an additional plan. Hana wrote out the whole note book five times while the girls were still in Bosnia. Four of those had a number of mistakes in them, only one was accurate. They hid each copy in a different place. Once they came to the UK they decided to expand the plan, make more such copies to leave wherever they go. Some places would have the accurate notebook, while others would have the ones with errors. The girls figured that way they did their part to keep themselves safe, while also sharing this important information. It was then up to fate to keep the world safe. And they decided that they wouldn't tell a living soul about it because anyone who knows would be in danger.
Steve used Malina's return ticket to get from London to Cambridge since no one asked if the same passenger was using both tickets. He also stayed in Malina's room at a local hotel, since there was no point checking out one parent and then looking for another room for the other parent who was scheduled to come only hours later.
Steve took the girls for late lunch, early dinner and listened to more of their stories, before he went to their dorm to examine their lodgings. He made a detailed plan of what needs doing.
That evening, when the girls went to bed Sofia said to Hana "We'll have to abort the plan. My father sounds like my mother now. I don't know what happened. He was really chilled out in Hawaii. Even after that crazy event with the ship, he was cool. Now… I mean, I was the one kidnapped, why are they freaking out more than me? Seriously, Hana, I think he'll have us followed at all times."
"Really?" Hana asked. "Even your mum hasn't done that?"
"Exactly. I think he's become more psychotic than her." Sofia said angrily.
Hana giggle "Is that even possible?" she said.
Sofia giggled too "My parents, the most accomplished psychopaths the world has ever seen."
"On the bright side, we will be safe." Hana said knowing that Sofia hoped for more freedom, even if it meant less safety.
Steve popped into a pub for a quite drink on his own, thinking about his own life in light of all the new information that he had received during the last few days. He wondered if his life would have turned out completely differently if the war in Bosnia didn't end like it did, 'political whoring around' as Dragan called it. It was so pathetic that Amir needed time to just accept the facts and get on with life. If it wasn't like that, if politics didn't get involved and Bosnian army liberated their own country, made it all the way to Banja Luka as they almost did, and then to the rivers Sava and Drina that stand as boarders of the country, would Amir have gone to his house in the woods sooner, would he have found Malina and Sofia there sooner, would she have felt safe to contact him sooner? He wouldn't have missed out on being a father to that amazing young woman.
Steve always disliked politics, but never as much as he did in that moment. There were very few armies Steve knew of who faced as much as the army of Bosnia, yet very few accomplished as much as that army. Like Nedim said, imposing the arms embargo on them at the beginning of the war wouldn't have been such a problem if they disarmed the enemies of Bosnia. But politicians imposed an embargo on the legitimate army, while they knew the country was being attacked by one of the strongest armies in Europe. Against all odds they survived long enough to become strong and get a shot at liberating their country completely, only to have politicians block them and impose the most ridiculous peace agreement Steve ever heard of. Steve felt a strong influence of some politicians on his personal life for the first time in his life and it made him furious. He even wondered why did he thought that voting was enough political involvement on his side, when the politics were clearly far more involved in his life.
"Fancy bumping into you here?" Steve heard a familiar voice. He knew it was Langford before he even turned to face him.
"Let me guess, you spend your spear time checking everyone who comes in and out of Heathrow?" Steve joked.
Langford laughed "I wish I was that good, but the bastards keep expanding the airport making it almost impossible."
"This isn't a coincidence, is it?" Steve asked taking a sip from his half full glass.
"I'm here for the same reason you are?" Langford said taking his own full glass.
"Malina?" Steve said.
"Who? Is that the psychotic mother?" Langford guessed.
Steve smiled "You haven't met her?"
"No, I haven't had the pleasure." Langford smiled back. "I'm talking about your daughter."
"What about my daughter?" Steve frowned.
"Why would a guy, well connected, very wealthy, ask about the likelihood of securing protection from his royal buddies in case something happens to Sofia, your daughter?" Langford asked. "He feels his safety would be greatly compromised if your daughter finds herself in danger. I thought of you first, of course."
"Of course." Steve raised his glass in the cheers manner.
"But then I hear that she has a psychotic mother who will use any opportunity to attack Serbs." Langford raises his eyebrows. "Now, this particular guy has been a bit of an enigma for me for years. At the beginning of that blood bath in Bosnia, he claimed that Serbs were in danger in Bosnia, and simply fighting back. We believed this, at least we did back then. Then we had refugees who claimed quite the opposite. This guy claimed they were lying. We believed him. Then the war ended and we find dead bodies. He still shouts about the dead Serbs that, according to him everyone is ignoring, who were killed in the war in Bosnia. I'm not buying. His attempt to make Serbian victims more important than any other is beginning to really annoy me. Like their current president said openly during the war: for every dead Serb they will kill a hundred Muslims. So the whole 'we are victims' campaign isn't working for me, not any more. However, we do have your kid here. I'm inclined to use this guy to ensure her safety. I'd like to tell him that keeping her safe, would make him safe. But… I would consider it my personal failure if something happened to her, or her friend, on my turf."
Steve smiled "I would also consider it your personal failure if something happened to my daughter, or her friend, on your turf."
Silent agreement was reached. Steve was pleased to have a friend who offered help without even being asked. Especially since he was becoming increasingly aware that the 'enemy' is everywhere. According to Langford, they have been taking positions all over the world for over a century. There were ideas, the Balkan was always that mysterious region of Europe that attracted all kinds of theories and ambitions from those with more time and money than sense and sensibilities. But then there were people of the Balkan, his daughter included, who just wanted to live their lives.
Steve spent the rest of the week with his daughter and her best friend. He left nothing to chance. Their room was equipped with sensors in all the hiding places which were strategically placed so that they couldn't be set off accidentally, yet they were easy to reach in case the girls found themselves in danger. The girls were instructed to always hide and call for help, rather than fight.
No one at the university had a problem with the locks being changed as long as they give the university the new keys before they leave. Steve also made sure that the girls stay in the same place throughout their time in Cambridge.
The windows were secure. The electrics were checked and fixed. The pluming worked fine. Aunty Esma was there to make sure the freezer was always stuffed with food and in case either of the girls needed a doctor. This was arranged before Malina went to Hawaii, but Steve wanted to meet Esma himself. She was also from Prijedor, knew Malina's father when they were kids. Later she got married and moved to Eastern Bosnia, Bratunac. She managed to escape the war with her life, but not her nervous. She developed a twitch and a compulsion to repeat everything at least twice. However, she seemed extremely dependable.
When he asked them about finances, the girls explained that they have an expense account and if they stick to their limits, there should be no problems. Steve would have argued, but he knew that was not the right audience. He gave them an additional card and told them that money will be paid into the account on monthly basis and that he will sort it out with Malina.
"Plus… This is an emergency card." Ha said handing them another card. "I know I can trust you with this, especially when I tell you that the moment you use this, I come running. Do you both understand?"
"Shall we hide it in the floor board?" Hana suggested.
Sofia looked at the card. "Yeah, why not?" She said taking out a floorboard and pulling a little draw out of it. She placed the card inside the board and then put the board back on the floor.
Steve laughed. By that stage he was surprised far too many times to keep asking 'what is that', so he just brushed it off accepting that there will always be surprises.
Steve had a panic button fixed on their phones. He explained that if anything happens to their phones that he will be alerted immediately, so if they are safe, but their phones got damaged, that they must call him right away. He also made sure that the emergency phones they both kept were fully operational.
"Alright, I'm going to need the code to you shy bug." Steve said.
"Hana." Sofia called out. "That's you babe, I don't know the codes."
Hana started writing the codes.
"Sofia, honey, how do you not know the codes?" Steve said.
"Oh daddy, now you sound just like mummy. Why would I know the codes, when I have this genius with me at all times?" Sofia replied.
Steve laughed nervously. He didn't know what to bring up first; the fact that Hana is not always there, or the idea that he is officially a father to a teenager who seemed appropriately annoyed with his decisions.
Steve took the piece of paper that Hana wrote on. "Alright, let's get some dinner. You two are starting your long journey tomorrow and you need to be well fed." He said referring to them starting their lectures and seminars, while he was going back home to make it to Malina's first lecture.