Sorry for the delay folks. The next chapter should be posted Saturday 4th Dec (website permitting)

Happiness

The sound of running water was coming from the bathroom. John rolled over in bed so he was facing the other way and lifted his watch.

"John calling Gordon. John calling Gordon. Come in Gordon."

His brother's face appeared on the screen. "Hi there, John. I didn't wake you when I called earlier, did I? Dad told us you were staying on a few days more, so I wondered how your trip was going."

John shook his head, a smile on his lips. "No, but there was someone with me. She's taking a shower now, so I can talk."

Gordon's eyebrows rose as he digested this information. "That's quick work for you, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" answered John, somewhat sharply.

"You can't have known this girl more than a couple of days. You're usually the cautious one. 'Think first, act later', isn't that what you always tell me? What's she like? She must be something really special."

John smiled again. "You'll never believe this, but she's the image of Tin Tin! I thought she was Tin Tin the first time I saw her!"

"Ah, now I understand."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" John was finding his brother exceptionally irritating this morning.

"Look, bro', I know this is none of my business, but are you really being fair to this girl?" Gordon was the only one who knew how John really felt about Alan's wife.

John bristled. "You're right, it is none of your business. The fact that Phin Li looks like Tin Tin may be what attracted me in the first place, but there's a lot more to it than that. She's a lovely girl, she's delightful company and she makes me laugh."

"OK, calm down. I didn't mean to upset you." He paused and looked at his brother. "This doesn't sound like you at all, John. Are you all right?"

"I'll tell you why it doesn't sound like me." John was still keeping his voice low, but now his tone had a bitter edge to it. "That's because this is the first time you've ever seen me happy. I've been happy for all of you, but this time I'm actually happy for myself. You've all got partners now, why should I be the only one left on my own?"

"What was that, John, did you say something?" Phin Li walked into the room dressed in a bathrobe, rubbing her hair with a towel. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were on the phone."

At the sound of her voice, John's mood changed abruptly. He looked round at her. "Hey, Phin Li, come and say 'hi' to my brother Gordon."

Gordon was startled at this. The fact that their watches doubled as phones was usually kept a secret from those outside the family.

Phin Li climbed on the bed and leaned over John's shoulder, putting her arm around his neck. "Hi there, Gordon. So you're the one who is always playing tricks on poor John?"

Gordon nodded. "Yup, that's me." Gordon noticed the way John's expression had changed with Phin Li's arrival. He started to get the feeling he was intruding. "Well, I'd better go now. Lots to do here, you know. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Paris!"

As Gordon's face was replaced by the watch dial, Phin Li looked closer. "So your watch is a phone? That's a neat trick!"

"Yes," said John, "it was something a friend and I designed." He turned and put his arms round her. "Do you want to go down to breakfast?"

"On the other hand," she said as she kissed his neck, "maybe we could get room service to bring something up."

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John couldn't remember ever having been so happy. When Phin Li suggested that afternoon during a trip to the Louvre that they cut short their stay in Paris and leave that evening to visit her father in Algeria, he was happy to agree. He was content to let her make all the travel arrangements, and handle all the tickets and passports. So happy that when they checked in at the airport he did not even notice that the passport she was handing over for him at Customs had a red cover instead of the usual navy blue.

However, as the plane was climbing into the skies Phin Li noticed that John wore a pensive look on his face and that he was rubbing the fingers of his right hand across his left wrist.

"Is something the matter, John?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. You know when you get that feeling that there's something you've forgotten to do, or forgotten to bring?"

Phin Li turned to face him. "I shouldn't worry about it, John. If there's something we need we can always get it later." She smiled and leaned closer. "After all, we've got each other. What more could we possibly want?"

John looked into her dark eyes and smiled. She was right, of course. Nothing else mattered but the smell of her scent, the silky touch of her hair, the sweet taste of her lips…..

"John," then in a firmer tone, "John, we're in public here."

John sat back, then nestled down so his head was resting on her shoulder. He was happy.

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They had left Paris in the early evening but by the time they had landed at Algiers, cleared Customs and picked up the 4x4 vehicle that Phin Li had arranged for them it was after midnight.

John had offered to drive, but Phin Li assured him that it would be better if she drove. After several hours they were travelling across the Sahara and just as the sky was beginning to turn pale in the east they pulled up in front of a grey, forbidding stone building. A gate opened in the wall in front of them and they drove in and parked in a courtyard.

In the dim light John could see a man barring the gate behind them. He crossed the courtyard towards them, his arms flung wide. "Welcome, my daughter! Welcome John Tracy! Please come in to my humble home."

One side of the courtyard was lined with buildings, and John followed Phin Li and her father into a room at ground level. The room was sparsely furnished with a couple of large tables, scarred from much use, some benches and a large cupboard with the door hanging askew. Some cartons of food stood on one of the tables, but the whole place had an air of neglect and dilapidation.

"I must apologise for the surroundings. One tends to live frugally in the desert and I did not have much warning of your visit. But please, have something to drink. You must be thirsty after your long drive." He picked up a jug that had been standing on the table and poured a glass for each of them. "I think you will find this juice quite refreshing."

John sipped the juice gratefully. He could not identify the fruit, but the flavour was sweet, and cool on the parched tissues of his mouth and throat. While he drank he looked at his host. He was not at all how John how imagined Phin Li's father would be. This man was quite stocky, with greying hair and bushy eyebrows. Dressed in a loose fitting shirt, khaki trousers and boots, he wore a knife stuck in his belt. The most striking feature was the patch that covered his left eye.

The man raised his own glass to his lips then lowered it to speak. "I trust you had a good journey?"

John waited for Phin Li to reply but she remained silent. He guessed she must be feeling tired after the long drive. "Yes, thank you," he answered. He looked around him. "This is an interesting place. It looks quite old."

The man laughed. "Old by your standards, my young American friend. It was built by the French Foreign Legion nearly two hundred years ago. It has been standing empty for the last fifty years, so I have adopted it for my own use."

"Phin Li tells me you are studying the insect life of the desert?"

"Yes, many people think the desert is devoid of life, but it is not. It is simply devoid of people, and that suits my purpose well."

John suddenly realised how tired he was feeling. The long journey must be starting to catch up with him as well. He rubbed a hand across his face, and felt himself sway slightly.

"Ah, I see the drug is starting to take effect," said the other, a note of triumph in his voice.

Drug? John was suddenly aware of the sweet taste of the fruit juice in his mouth. He'd been drugged? He turned to Phin Li for support, but she stepped away from his outstretched hand and went to stand beside her father. Her face remained devoid of expression as she watched John topple senseless to the floor.

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