Written By: Randy Zuniga
A man with the looks of a retired medical doctor is in the middle of a dusty desert deep in the Sahara. He digs what appears to be a grave about the size of a child. He sticks the shovel in the pile of dirt next to the hole and wipes the dripping sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief. He then cleans his prescription glasses and places them back on his face. He's definitely guilty of something, but his kind face shows no remorse.
Barry Sams is a young American Diplomat in Khartoum, Sudan. He has his laptop opened up in front of him as he sits in the posh lounge and modern architecture of the Corinthia Hotel. He sips his drink, then punches a few last keys and slams his computer shut.
He dials his cellphone. "Flights are booked. You have ten minutes to get down to the lobby. This is the seventh time. I'm going to make sure you get into that car."
Sometimes when an American goes to another country and gets into trouble for partaking in illegal activity -- they ask for help from the American Embassy. That's when Barry Sams is called in and the first thing he asks that person, "Are you really an American?"
Unfortunately, this person really was an American. His name is Mitch Foster, a medical doctor from New York City. He came to Sudan for missionary work in medical clinics across the countryside. He was picked up by the Sudanese Army for the suspicion of having his way with young children. During one of his encounters, he ended up killing a young girl and was trying to bury her in a small grave deep in the Sahara. That's when the Sudanese Army jeep rolled up on him. They wanted to shoot him on site but he said he was an American, and asked for the embassy.
The Sudanese government didn't want to waste their time trying an American citizen. They felt it was a waste of money and didn't want to do anything to strain any relations with the U.S. They decided to turn him over to the U.S. Embassy.
Now he's Barry's problem. Normally when someone gets pinched in a foreign country for vandalism or any other minor crimes -- Barry jacks up their hotel bills and flight costs then sends them home. Because the crimes weren't committed in the U.S. and that person isn't charged in the country where the crime was committed -- they can just return home. But, in order for them to travel again, they have to pay off their debt to the federal government for their hotel room and flights while they were in the embassy's custody. A person's passport is put on hold until that debt is paid. Hence, Barry is putting Mitch up in the chic Corinthia Hotel and buying him first class tickets.
Mitch has missed the plane six times. He doesn't want to go home. Even though there are no criminal charges, he still has his wife and state medical board to which he has to explain these accusations. He also still owes the cost of all six of those flights to the federal government.
Barry decided that wasn't enough punishment. He also has a young family stateside and knows that releasing this man back into American society could be lethal. He would view himself as an accomplice to anything Mitch would do and Barry couldn't live with that.
The elevator pings and the doors open. Mitch enters the lobby. He's a middle aged ginger man. Barry hands him his printed itinerary. "A car is waiting for you out front." With his suitcase in one hand, a nervous Mitch grabs his itinerary. He sees the black SUV in valet.
He enters the passenger side of the SUV and it drives off. Mitch looks to the backseat and sees a man sitting there. Mitch smiles. Behind him sits Meyer Bernstein, the "retired looking doctor."
Meyer Bernstein is an old enforcer for the Jewish Mafia out of Cleveland, Ohio. He ran deep with them until the late 1990s when the Russian Mob was squeezing them out and he decided it was time to take cover with the federal government in exchange for any information he had regarding the Russians. The federal government found a job for him and Barry called him for help.
Meyer's sweet retired looking face smiles back at Mitch. Mitch turns back around.
Meyer pulls a knife and grabs Mitch by the hair, pulling his head back. Mitch screams with his legs kicking at the dashboard.
Back deep in the Sahara Desert, Meyer throws dirt over Mitch's body in a shallow grave. Barry comes up behind him and puts his hand on Meyer's shoulder. "Make sure you bury his suitcase."
Meyer digs a small grave the size of a small child and throws the suitcase inside of it...