Santa Claus was dead and Rick knew who had killed him, but he
needed proof.
The sun was shining brightly as Rick walked down the steps
of the plane. He smiled at the pretty young flight attendant and asked
for her phone number. She smiled back and refused. Rick was
in Tripoli. It was December 18th, one week before Christmas.
He was walking through customs with a bottle of Jack Daniels and
600 Malboro under his arm when he saw The Fat Man who was wearing a
white suit, white tie with a white shirt and a white hat. He looked dirty
in spite of the clothes.
The Fat Man was famous in Tripoli. He was known as Mr. Ten Percent,
and he could get anything illegal-for the right price; guns, drugs, girls,
Eminem CD’s.
‘Rick’, said The Fat Man, ‘It’s been a long time. Welcome back to
Tripoli.’
‘Hi Fats’, said Rick, ‘What are you doing here, are
you waiting for a suitcase of Cocaine?’
‘He He He, Rick, always joking. I see you haven’t lost your sense
of humour. Come with me my friend, my car is outside and there’s someone
who wants to meet you.
Rick wasn’t stupid. The Fat Man knew all the criminals, thieves,
prostitutes and politicians in Tripoli. He got into The Fat Man’s
Ford Fiesta. It smelled/smelt of beer and cigarette smoke. Arabic
music was playing on the radio as they left the airport.
‘So where are we going Fats?’ asked Rick, ‘We’ve been driving for
nearly an hour.’
The Fat Man didn’t answer. They had left the city and were
driving through Libya’s brown countryside.
The Ford Fiesta stopped outside a cave. Two men were standing
outside, smoking. They were holding Kalachnikov semi-automatic
rifles. Rick smelled danger and lit a cigarette.
The cave was comfortable inside. There were Persian rugs on
the floor, electric lamps from Bloomingdale’s, sofas from Harrods and a
selection of paintings from the ‘El Corte Ingles’ Christmas Collection.
Suddenly Rick saw a tall man walking towards him from the back of
the cave. He had a long beard and a white cloth on his head. The
Fat Man stepped forward.
‘Rick, may I introduce the world’s most wanted man, Mysummer-bin-London |