The bus departed from Aden in a heavy silence, as if the road itself felt what had been lost.
Eight long hours passed as Ahmed's mother and the family traveled the distance to Sana'a. No one spoke much; her gaze was fixed out the window, as if she were waiting for the return of something that would not come back easily.
Upon their arrival, Abu Ahmed said to his wife, Fawzia, in a calm voice masking a deep anxiety:
"I will rest for a while, and at noon, I fly to Russia... I promise you, I will bring Ahmed back safe."
She nodded silently and took her children to their rooms. As for him, he unloaded the luggage with weary hands, then lay beside her for a brief, restless sleep. At the call for the noon prayer, he rose, performed his ablutions, prayed, and returned to pack his bag.
Before leaving, he told her:
"If I am delayed, the emergency money is in the safe... take care of the house."
"Do not worry, God is with you," she said, holding back her tears.
He drove to Sana'a airport, and from there, a long journey began. The flight from Sana'a to Moscow took nearly nine hours; to him, it felt like an entire eternity. He didn't close his eyes for a second; every image in his mind was of Ahmed—as a child, then a young man, then lying motionless with an unknown fate.
Facing the Past
He arrived in Moscow in the early hours of the morning. He did not go to a hotel, nor did he rest. He went directly to the large company building, standing for a moment before the entrance, staring at the name hanging there... a name he knew all too well.
He entered, and the moment the manager raised his head, he froze for seconds, then slowly stood up.
"Mohammed...?"
"Yes... it has been a long time, Alexei."
They shook hands—a heavy handshake, filled with incomplete memories. They sat, and Abu Ahmed wasted no time. He recounted everything... from Socotra Island to the tranquilizer bullet, to the aircraft that snatched his son away before his very eyes.
Alexei said in genuine shock: "I swear... I know nothing of this."
At that moment, a man entered the office. As soon as Abu Ahmed's eyes fell upon him, his face transformed.
"That's him... he was on the plane!"
Alexei turned toward the man with a sharpness no one was accustomed to:
"What did you do in Socotra?"
"If you do not speak now, I will report you for kidnapping!"
The man broke down.
"We were only executing orders..."
"Your daughter... she had been watching Ahmed for over a month."
"There was a hacker... tracking his movements through the cameras."
"We didn't know who it was... we only obeyed."
He pulled out his phone and opened a photo. Abu Ahmed looked... it was Ahmed.
Alexei held his head in his hands and whispered:
"My God... what has Irina done?"
The Explosive Call
He called his daughter. The phone rang for a long time... then her voice came through.
"Where are you?"
"In the basement of the house, Father."
"Why did you kidnap Ahmed?!"
She was silent for a moment... then her voice emerged broken, fractured:
"I saw him, Father..."
"I saw him with someone else... smiling as if I were never a part of his life."
"My heart couldn't bear that injustice... it couldn't take the sadness or the feeling that I was left behind without a goodbye."
"I felt as if something inside me broke forever."
"I didn't want to hurt him... I only wanted to see him... to ask him why."
Alexei shouted: "This is madness! What you have done is a crime!"
She said with a painful calmness:
"I will see him... no matter the price."
Then she hung up.
Alexei stood, looked at Abu Ahmed, and said in a heavy voice:
"Come with me... now."