Aahil had held his peace. Patience was the attribute of a Tuareg, a man of the desert. But the engineer no longer spoke. “I must show you one thing from my cousin,” Aahil said after the silence.
Brad nodded.
“A sandstorm blew into the Ayăr Mountains from the east,” Aahil said. “One day past when you flew as a bird. My cousin captured the rain that comes before the storm, but Aksil has also found a balloon that does not fit. At first one of his shepherds told him of the balloon that was tangled on the rocks, above his pasture. He believed, ah, only another balloon and he would get the rewards for a return. But a foreign look comes with this one.”
“Not all our balloons are stitched together identical,” Brad said. “Flight specs yes, but appearance not always. Foreign how?”
“Please.” Aahil handed his cell phone to Brad. “See these shots.”
“Looks like our design,” Brad said. “What?”
“You check out the words written.” Aahil pointed. “One language is Arabic; that can be known from the alphabet. English and French too.”
Brad zoomed in on the photo and the message marked on the balloon cleared, showing enough English letters to get the gist.
Support...Clima…Stabilization
He stared. “Arabic?” He pointed and Aahil nodded.
“Chinese?” Aahil took his turn tapping at other script.
“C’mon. I only know English.” Brad smiled. “So, what country is east of Niger?”
“Chad. As Niger, Chad stretches to the north, across the Sahel into the Ténéré and to the middle of the Sahara.”
“Chad, yes, what’s the city in Chad?”
“N’Djamena.”
Where Tamanna flies to next, Brad was sure. They were not the only team with a project. And a very similar project.
“And further east from Chad?”
“Sudan”
“And Mali is to the west of us, right?”
Aahil nodded. “Burkina Faso also.”
“Gotta tell Vince.” Brad thumbed text into his cell phone. “This balloon has implications to our project.”
“Our ministers make agreements with Chad.” Aahil said.
“I dunno.” Brad half smiled. “But our HICCC project administrator may not have been telling us everything.”
Aahil knew there would be too many concerns. Yet, he thought, all was not bad. Other balloons would make things easier for the president of Niger. And for him, though he would gain no pocket credit. His thoughts of betrayal could be washed clean. The president’s extra cooling would come from the neighbouring Sahel countries. To make friends with neighbouring countries, as they together brought back the Green Sahara, yes, that could bring more rain and more election votes.
As he pulled them up beside the storage entrance, Aahil found the way blocked by a transport truck backing in with a container to offload. He parked the Nissan at the side and got out with the American to walk into the yard.
AÏR MOUNTAINS
What if Terrorism ‘was’ the only way? Kuzyk provides a fascinating and thoughtful insight into the hearts and minds of technology driven scientists and engineers swept up in a plot of Eco-Terrorism. The technology is here today. Is it simply a matter of time?
Michael Gillett
President of IFWA, The Collection of Jacqueline Melrose