The Switch

Flash Fiction by Steven James Foreman

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Abdul bin Khaled

Abdul bin Khaled, landed at Heathrow Airport, eased through Passport Control, and quickly grabbed his brown, non-descript suitcase from the slowly rotating carousel.

When he passed through the green, ‘Nothing to Declare’ exit, he found it a pleasant change not to be pulled to one side for a security check under the ‘passenger profiling’ that the Customs and Border Protection Force guys typically carried out.

He was in a hurry to get out of the airport; his legs were trying to break into a run, but his brain forced him to slow down, so as not to bring any undue attention to himself.

The suitcase he was carrying rubbed against his leg, but he managed to walk steadily out of the glass automatic ‘Arrivals’ doors, cross a service road and enter the huge car park opposite.

He was breathing easier, now he was clear of the airport, and with a confident stride, meandered his way through the grid of parked cars to the far side, where Aziz was waiting for him in a white, unmarked panel van.

When he saw Abdul approaching, Aziz jumped out of the driver’s seat, took four or five big strides to reach him and grabbed him by the shoulders. He pulled Abdul towards him, and kissed him on both cheeks, as was customary in Muslim culture.

Abdul returned the compliment, and Aziz released his grip on his jacket.

“Asalaamaleikhum!” Azis said, smiling through his thick black beard.

“Wa’aleikhum salaam,” Abdul replied, handing over the suitcase to Aziz.

Aziz opened the side door of the van and placed the suitcase inside, on the floor.

Abdul opened the passenger door, and jumped in.

“So, obviously no trouble with airport security,” Aziz said, climbing into the driver’s seat once more.

“No, all cool” Abdul said. “What now? I am actually hungry. That airline food is crap!”

Aziz laughed, as he turned the key to start the engine. “It’s ok, we are meeting Yusuf and Rashid at Yusuf’s Cafe. They serve great Sajji kebabs!”

With that, he drove out of the car park, followed the directions to the exit of the airport complex, tuned right, and headed into London.

***

Shanine La’belle Winston

When Shanine La’belle Winston walked through the green, ‘Nothing to Declare’ exit at Heathrow Airport, carrying a brown, non-descript suitcase that she had collected from the carousel, she was surprised, but not worried, to be pulled to one side, in a random security check.

It had never happened to her before, but Shanine knew that the Customs and Border Protection Force guys frequently made these random checks, and she had no real concerns… although in the back of her mind, she had a niggling thought that, because of her colour, she may have been stopped, due to what they called, ‘passenger profiling’. 

She was, however, very concerned – indeed, shocked – when the officer examined the contents of her suitcase.

For instead of a large selection of prototype samples of ladies’ lingerie, of which Shanine was an established designer, the officer found, under a layer of neatly folded men’s clothes, a hidden compartment.  

In this concealed space, he discovered a set of architectural blueprints, which, upon further examination, turned out to be those of the headquarters of the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building in London. These were accompanied by marked street maps of the area directly around Vauxhall Cross, where the MI6 building was located.  There were also some notes found, handwritten in Arabic script.

Within minutes, Shanine found herself in an interrogation room, surrounded by armed Border Force officers, several armed Counter-Terrorism Police, and two nasty-looking men, wearing suits and crew cuts.

During the Interrogation, where Shanine could hardly answer, because of her uncontrollable crying, an Arabic translator from AVSEC was brought in to interpret the handwritten script.

As the woman translated the Arabic into English, it became clear, to the attending officers, that the maps and blueprints were part of a plan to gain entry into the basement of the SIS building, with the intention of planting explosives to blow it up.

There was also a note found, bearing the name and address of Yusuf’s café.

***

Abdul bin Khaled

When the SWAT team of Counter Terrorism police raided Yusuf’s café that same night, and crashed their way upstairs and into the living quarters on the top floor, they found explosives, bomb-making supplies and various Jihadist propaganda, all strewn around the flat, on various tables.

Also in the room were three Arab men.

Two of them were obviously angry, half-stoned out of their minds on hashish, and with sore and bleeding knuckles.

The third man, Abdul bin Khalid, was found tied to a chair and severely beaten. He was dressed, incongruously, in a blood-stained, lady’s nightdress, and blindfolded with a pair of black lacy knickers.

All three were arrested under the Terrorism Act, and, although Abdul had been severely punished by his fellow terrorists, for losing their crucial plans in the suitcase, it did not prevent him from being further severely punished by the British judicial system.

***

Shanine La’belle Winston

After her initial interrogation, Shanine was arrested by the Counter Terrorism officers and placed in a secure holding cell in the Airport Security wing, until she could be transported to a Police custody centre, situated not far from the airport.

She remained there for two nights, while detailed background checks were made on her, her extended family and her business associates, by officers of MI6.

After the two nights, she was released without charge.

Shanine never got her designer lingerie returned, but vowed to buy a much more distinctive and unique suitcase for her future business trips.

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Bio: Steve Foreman is British, an HM Forces Veteran (Army), and a recently-retired security contractor/advisor, who lived and worked for over 30 years in Africa.

As a freelance writer, his non-fiction articles have appeared in BBC Wildlife, Soldier magazine, Combat & Survival magazine, SCUBA magazine, Church of England Newspaper, African Travel Review, Land Rover World magazine, Your Dog magazine, Travel News and Lifestyle magazine (Kenya), The Dar es Salaam Guide (Tanzania), and the Daily Mail newspaper (UK).

Steve’s fictional work has appeared in The Yard Crime Blog,  Close to the Bone, Twisted Dreams, Aphelion, Siren’s Call, and Hellfire Crossroads, and he’s been published in two “Amok”; anthologies, and two “James Kirk Ward” anthologies. You can find him at his website, HERE.

Cover Photo by Pexels/Palu Malerba

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