Chapter 4

It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.

-Buddha

8:46 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time

3:46 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Ari Haswari would do whatever he needed to do, however he needed to do it, by any means necessary. Violence and bloodshed were of no consequence to him, as long as his objective was achieved.

He did hold to the concept of overkill, though.

Shooting dozens of people just to be the only one to get to use the public transporter – contrary to popular perception – wasn't something he was apt to do. He wasn't the Joker, after all.

Why go to those extremes, anyway, when there was always someone who would help him in exchange for money?

Thanks to old-fashioned bribery, and a disguise as a British businessman, traveling from Arabia to the U.S. wouldn't be a problem.

Ra's al Ghul had many ways out of the compound to the outside world, and Haswari had his own that he used on occasion for the various legends – complex cover stories for false identities he had developed – which allowed him to operate in public outside the compound without being recognized. Although he still topped the most-wanted lists of virtually every intelligence agency on Earth, Haswari's legends had held up well over the years.

Casting a spell, he disguised his face and his features to match the favored legend he had built for himself: Mr. Chaim Benjamin, an Israeli-British sales representative who lived in London, Tel Aviv and Dubai and worked for a Dubai-based company that manufactured Tamaranean cancer medication. It was the legend he used to make his living and help fund the various investments that made him worth 600 million British pounds, if you counted the other 26 legends he used.

"Jeddah, sir?", Jamaal, the driver said pleasantly as he held the door open for his guest.

"Of course. Business."

"You are, of course, impeccably dressed, Mr. Benjamin," Jamaal looked over Haswari and his bespoke, jet black suit and the open collar silk shirt he wore underneath the jacket.

Haswari noticed Jamaal's admiration went beyond the outfit. He knew that despite the aliens and costumes and the progressiveness of the Western world, Saudi Arabia was still maddeningly conservative and very unfriendly to people like Jamaal.

Haswari could have cared less, personally about Jamaal's sexual orientation, but it was something useful to hold over the younger man – if circumstances warranted.

"Thank you," Haswari said. "Saville Row is one of the best places on Earth to purchase a good-looking suit. In fact…you should come with me to London, soon. I will take you to my preferred tailors."

Jamaal's eyes lit up. "Sir, I could never impose on you like that—"

"Nonsense. We are both single men, and we are like family, yes?" Haswari said. "I will even show you my estate." Specifically, one of Ra's al Ghul's estates. "Not now of course – I would not be so rude as to make such an offer without giving you advance notice. Perhaps next month?"

"I…I would be honored, Mr.—"

"Think nothing of it, Jamaal," Haswari said as he reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. "Here is your pay. Please look it over. I believe you will find it sufficient, yes?"

Jamaal took the envelope, opened it and his eyes widened. "Oh…this is…"

"Ten thousand British pounds," Haswari said. "For your pay for the drive, and for your service over the years. And before you ask, I will cover all expenses for our trip to London."

"Thank you. I…I…do not know what to say—"

"Say nothing more and continue to do the fine work you have been doing for me," Haswari said, flashing the charming smile that had swooned many a man and woman over the years. Jamaal was spellbound, then willed himself back into the professional demeanor he took great pride in having. He closed the door for Haswari after the man climbed into the limo, then drove off a minute later down the highway towards Jeddah.

The limo was allowed the use of the highway's high-speed lane, and Haswari sat back as it sped towards the city. Haswari was fond of Jamaal, and he intended to spoil and have his fun with the young man…as soon as his business was completed.

Arriving in Jeddah 40 minutes later, Jamaal drove to the King Abdulaziz International Airport and then to the entrance for the South terminal. Haswari got out, grabbed his luggage from the trunk, and made his way inside. He checked in and verified his ticket like any other traveler, but unlike most of them, he wasn't headed to his destination on an airplane.

He took the travellator to the nearest gate reserved for business and first-class users of the airport's public transporter station.

One of the greatest advances in travel in the past three decades was the development of the transporter and, like many technological advances in the last three decades, its origin was extraterrestrial – specifically, Rann.

It worked exactly like the transporter in the Star Trek fictional universe – it disassembled the atoms of the object it was transporting, living or otherwise, from one destination and reassembled them at its destination. The technology had been approved for transport of foods, liquids and other inert objects in 2003. Continuous testing insisted upon by the major Earth governments had postponed its approval for public use to 2010, but the public system could boast of an 0.000000000000000001 fatality rate. Still, the bandwidth was too limited and the prices too high to keep the general public from making use of the public transporter system, and even corporate customers still limited their trips to VIPs or time-sensitive meetings.

The Rannians helped develop the public system along with similar systems for national government and United Nations use; use by the various national militaries; networks used by intelligence agencies; the systems used by the Justice League, the Global Guardians and the Great Ten superheroic teams; corporate networks; and private networks used by only the wealthiest of people. President Luthor had his own network that he hadn't given up after entering the Oval Office (although he currently used the network reserved for the President of the United States for security reasons); Luthor was one of the so-called 'Transporter Twelve', along with the likes of Bruce Wayne, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett.

Haswari wasn't in that league, although he had connections who could hack into one of the 'Transporter Twelve' networks if he needed to use them. Instead, under his guise as Chaim Benjamin, Haswari would travel as a preferred business customer to the Mediterranean Orbital Transporter System Hub 22,500 miles above Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The actual experience took about 10 seconds and felt like a tingle. Unlike most users who kept their eyes shut (based on a urban legend of a user having their eyes explode during the beaming process), Haswari kept his eyes open, noticing his surroundings fading to grey, and new surroundings coming into view.

Orbital, Earth-bound and lunar stations always had medical personnel on hand in case users felt nauseous or ill after the beaming process was complete; if a user was in reasonably good shape, though, side effects were virtually never an issue. Haswari kept himself in impeccable shape, and so he briskly walked off the platform and to the baggage claims area 25 meters away; he then took another travellator to the platform that would take him to the transporter platform at London's Heathrow Airport.

At Heathrow, Haswari decided to have a short meal – even with the powers he received from his god, he still needed nourishment – and give himself a short rest before proceeding to the final leg of his trip. His reasons for being in America would still be there when he arrived in Washington.

He took stock of his surroundings – he had perfected the art of spotting potential and real threats to himself to the point where he thought he was perfect at it – and saw nothing to be concerned with. The duck noodle salad at The Sophie restaurant in the transporter terminal was a favorite of his, and he could relax a bit while watching BBC and Sky coverage of what the media had labeled 'The Event'.

Haswari therefore was confident he could relax a bit, before attending to his business.

He wasn't perfect, though.

He didn't notice the Sundollar Coffee barista watching him out of the corner of her eye as he walked into The Sophie for his meal, and didn't hear her pull out her phone to text the woman who was her real employer.

Stavro has just arrived and is having a pint

Watch him. When he leaves, let me know if and when he goes to the Kennedy or to the Lincoln to enjoy the show