While many parts of the country were experiencing severe weather problems, such as an inordinate amount of rain, flooding, and tornadoes, it was warmer than usual in New York City. The two men carrying a long, heavy brown leather travel case down 68th Street walked close to the buildings to remain in the shade.
When they reached the intersection with Columbus, Rana Saleem stepped to the corner and looked in all directions, searching. “This is where Leena was supposed to meet us, but she is not here.”
“You don’t see her coming down the street?”
“No, Kamran.” He shook his head. “She is not here, anywhere.” Turning back to Khan, he added, “I think we should wait.”
Khan agreed. “Yes. There might be a problem with traffic. We will wait, but only for a few minutes. It is not safe here.”
Both men moved back beside the building to wait in the shade. Khan carefully placed one end of the case on the ground and leaned it upright against the building. He moved to stand in front of it, using his body to shield it from obvious view of anyone who might walk or drive by them.
He leaned back against the building himself, breathing hard. “This thing is heavy. Too heavy to carry very far.”
The long brown leather case contained the sniper rifle. The Savage Model 110BA by itself weighs over 16 pounds and is more than 50 inches long. Then add the weight of a bi-pod, 6-24x50 tactical super-telescopic sight, over six pounds of ammunition, plus the weight of the case itself, and you have a package weighing well over 25 pounds.
While both men wore blue jeans, they each had a loose, baggy shirt because of the weather. “It sure is hot and muggy today,” Kamran uttered. He used the long sleeve of his green shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. “It gets hot back home, but not like this. Not very often.”
“Kamran,” Saleem started. “Why did you change spots where you shot from? The first building seemed good.”
“It was, Rana. But that is where the police would search for us. It was too obvious.” He wiped his face with the other sleeve. “The other place was farther away and not quite in a direct line. But we still had a good view to shoot from, and a smaller chance of getting caught. This was much better.”
“We did not see any police, Kamran.”
“Because they looked in the wrong place. By staying in the first building we chose, we would probably be in jail.”
“Or dead,” Saleem added.
“Yes.” He paused, then spoke with urgency. “Turn away. A police car is coming. Lean back against the building and light a cigarette. That will make you look normal.”
The blue and white patrol car containing two uniformed officers approached the intersection and slowed. The two officers inside the car were constantly turning their heads, searching everywhere.
“It’s okay to look at the car, but then look away slowly, like you are disgusted with them. They will ignore you.”
Reaching the intersection, the patrol slowed almost to a stop. The two officers continued looking in all directions. The car crawled through the intersection, turning south on Columbus. As the patrol car inched its way down the street, the officers looked directly at Khan and Saleem. The car hesitated as the officer on the passenger side pointed at them and said something to the officer driving. He leaned over and looked out the window at them, then shook his head and continued driving as the car gradually moved away.
Whew! thought Khan. He shook his head.
“They were looking at us, weren’t they, Kamran?”
“Yes. They must be looking for the snipers. They did not know it was us. I guess we must not look guilty. They did not see the case behind me, or I think they would have stopped.”
Saleem’s questions were not over. He inquired about the shooting. “Kamran, I know why you shot the man from Israel, but why the others? Why did you try to kill the Palestinian?”
“I did not try ─ I did kill him.”
“Yes, I know. But…but why?”
“I don’t know. I just felt like it. I missed the American, so I shot the Palestinian. It felt good.”
“Well, he was not important, anyway. And a good thing.” Saleem stood up straight. “With both Ambassadors dead, no one will know who did the shooting ─ or why.” He shook his head. “One Israeli and one Palestinian.”
“Yes,” Khan said. A large smile spread across his face. “Now that’s a pair. And I did it, didn’t I?” He slapped Saleem on the shoulder. “I did that.” He stood up straight, tall and proud, nodding his head. “Me!”
“Yes, Kamran. You did that.”
Suddenly Rana Saleem felt very nervous. He looked at Khan, studied him, and wondered what else might happen. He remembered Saboor Rajput, on the boat they rented in Cuba. Khan had shot and killed him when no one else was there. Now this. The way he was acting, Saleem wondered, would he shoot anyone else? Will he shoot me?
Saleem understood from the beginning that he might die on this mission. He was prepared to give up his life for Allah’s sake. But until now, he never thought his friend Khan might be the one to do it. Would he actually do it? Saleem would like to be alive to see and know that he was part of the group that killed the President of the United States.
Khan interrupted his thoughts. “I think we’d better go.”
“What about Leena? There’s no sign of her.”
“I think she would be here if she was coming. Something happened. I don’t know what.” He checked his watch and turned to face Saleem. “Something must be wrong. There has been enough time to get the car and come here.” He shook his head. “We need to go.” He picked up the leather case and slung the strap over his shoulder. "This thing is so heavy." He motioned to Saleem. “Hurry. Look for a taxi.”
“Will we go back to the motel?”
“No, I don’t think so. It would not be wise to stay there. Already we have been at the motel too long. Someone may have seen us. They could tell the police, and they will think we might be the killers. They will come after us. We’d better not go back.”
“Where will we go? How will we get home?”
“We will take a train. There are lots of them here. The taxi can take us to a station where we can catch a train.”
“What about Leena?”
“She will understand. She will know that we went ahead and returned to Baltimore. She would do the same.”
“Will we meet her there?”
“Yes ─ if she’s not dead.”