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safaiagemwritingCase Closed
Yusuf Sajeev
After barely sleeping Nathan woke up and looked over his list. The next person was Saito Hiroshi but he needed more time to look into the businessman. Yusuf Sajeev seemed a little more interesting. Nathan booked a flight to Kenya and almost laughed at the business expense list he had racked up thus far. No one was going to complain though, because he was going to get these people one way or another. He had a few hours to kill so Nathan used the LA office to look into Yusuf’s background. There was not a lot to go on, however, as he did not seem to have much of a paper trail. This was not something that most people could do these days so either he was very private or someone was very good about covering his tracks. Either way he was the most suspicious one he had investigated thus far.
Yusuf was originally born in England and had lived the majority of his life there. He had gotten a Masters in chemistry and taught for exactly one semester before leaving. From there things seemed to get a little hazy. There was evidence of him being in the America's, Asia and finally Africa. There did not seem to be any logical reason a man with a chemistry degree would be in Mombasa but that was where Yusuf was currently. If he was sending out for any chemicals he was not doing it anywhere that was apparent. There did not seem to be a lot of activity in Mombasa or Kenya as far as illegal dreaming went, but that did not mean that Yusuf was not a dream share chemist.
Nathan stared out the window as he made his way through the Los Angeles traffic toward the airport. The cabbie had made some attempts to speak with him but had long since given up. Nathan was not in the mood to deal with any small talk, not when there were two players out there that he could not arrest, but he did not let himself lose confidence. He was still sure that once he caught one of them the others would follow soon after. Even more so if he managed to catch someone like Cobb or Saito who had the most to lose. For right now Nathan focused his attention on Yusuf and the easiest way to capture a chemist. They were notoriously the hardest to find but the easiest to convict. They were the only group that tended to have the most in the way of hard evidence. All Nathan really had to find was proof he was creating somnacin and that would be the end of it.
There were several messages on his phone when Nathan arrived at the airport, most of which were telling him that he should look into these people more before traveling all over the world but that was just the money talking. After a last minute ticket to Kenya he was not surprised to see that expenses were starting to catch the eyes of his superiors but a quick message back assured them that he knew what he was doing. The flight to Kenya was long but it gave Nathan time to gather his thoughts. He was not going to let Ariadne and Cobb get to him; if he got distracted now there was no way he was going to capture this group. He wished he knew who they had performed inception on so he could interview them. Maybe they could at least place some of the players in the same city.
The heat of Mombasa was intense and it made the suit that Nathan was wearing feel like too many layers. The mass of people that were moving around was going to make it hard to find a single person. Even more so because Yusuf did not seem like the kind of person that would be found easily. Nathan also had the trouble of there not being an office in Mombasa. It meant he had to make nice with the local police, and as much as IDCA might brag about being able to use any department in law enforcement, the locals could make his life hard if they wanted to. That did not mean it was going to happen that way, but judging by the way people were looking at him, he decided that while this was a tourist town that did not mean people like him were welcome. The first person Nathan asked for directions ignored him straight away as did the second, third and fourth. There was not a lot of trust here for a white man in a suit who looked like a government agent.
By the time that he managed to get to the office the sergeant was not there to approve his use of their equipment and Nathan was sent on his way. Hot, hungry and frustrated, Nathan decided that drinking in his hotel bar sounded like a good idea.
“Having a bad day?” the bartender asked after his third drink in less than an hour.
“Just hitting a lot of roadblocks,” Nathan replied. He had since changed out of his suit and into just a button down with a pair of slacks since it was way too hot to wear a full suit and he was not really working right now anyway.
“Things aren't nearly as fun without them though,” the man replied, setting the drink down in front of Nathan.
“Have to keep life interesting,” a voice next to Nathan said and he blinked to see a man sitting next to him. The man was a few years older than Nathan, five at the most, with sandy blond hair and a gray suit with a light pink button down. “Whiskey on the rocks and surprise me with the brand, mate, thanks.”
“Interesting isn't always a good thing with my line of work,” Nathan grumbled without even realizing that he was replying to this stranger.
“I hear that,” the stranger said and toasted the bartender when he came back with his drink. “Toast to jobs that should remain uninteresting?” The man raised his glass and Nathan raised an eyebrow but conceded and clinked their glasses together. The stranger did not say anything else and the next time Nathan looked up he was gone as if he had never been there to begin with.
The next morning he had a fight with the local sergeant, who insisted that there was no dream activity in his city, and Nathan had to threaten to call the main Africa office before they would even let him use their computers, not that it did any good. Yusuf was in the city; he had found credit card records and other things, but no address. When Nathan confronted the members of the general service they all said that they did not know who Yusuf was. There were a few that were lying, and Nathan knew it, but the sergeant had not wanted him there in the first place, so Nathan didn't push the issue. The streets seemed like the next logical progression, but Nathan had a feeling that it would tip off Yusuf that he was coming toward him. The last thing I need is for him to dump all of the chemicals if he hasn’t already. The others probably already told him about me but there might be a chance, he thought. He drummed his fingers on the table and stared at the information in front of him. The only thing he could really do at this point was wander until he found something. There had to be someone somewhere that knew Yusuf, and maybe he would get lucky if he just listened in public places .
Nathan went back to his hotel and changed into the most touristy outfit he could find. He had to blend in with the locals and that also meant purchasing a map while looking lost half the time. The first day was a bust as was the second and third. By the fourth day Nathan was almost ready to just give up and move onto the next person on the list when a conversation caught his ear.
“So I told Yusuf that his cat probably wouldn’t survive another incident like that,” a man said from several tables over in a coffee shop. “I don’t know what the bloody idiot is dealing with but I don’t think pets should be around it. I gave him a vet lecture and moved on.” It was the only break he had and now he just had to find some way of getting the vet to reveal where Yusuf lived. He listened for a little while longer until he had a name to go on and decided that hacking into the vet’s database was probably his best bet.
If anyone asked he would deny it, but by the time he had an address, Nathan was almost giddy. This was the first time he felt like he was really onto something. Ariadne and Cobb were both too clean cut for anything to be glaringly obvious. While they had more to lose, it was going to be harder to catch them. Yusuf, on the other hand, was a chemist and all he had to do was find some evidence that the man was dealing and that was all it would take for an arrest. He was sure he could get Yusuf to turn in at least one of his teammates with the right pressure applied.
It was late afternoon by the time Nathan was standing in front of what looked like a normal house. People were pushing by him but he really did not care. Wandering in seemed like a bad idea but it was not like he could just stand here either. Nathan shoved his hands in his pockets and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” an accented voice said. The room was littered with various multi colored vials and there was a man who looked like he was of Indian descent sitting at a desk on the far side of the room. Nathan smiled sheepishly.
“I’m a little lost; are you Yusuf?”
“Depends who’s asking,” the man replied slowly.
“I’ll take that as a yes. I was wondering if you could help a stranger out?” he asked.
“I can certainly try,” Yusuf replied standing. “What are you looking for exactly?”
“The time zone change has really messed with me and I was wondering if you had anything to help me sleep?” Nathan asked.
Yusuf raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes. “How did you come across my name exactly, Mister...?”
“Johnson, Reggie Johnson. Just word of mouth from a few people around town,” Nathan lied, shrugging. “Can you help me out?” Yusuf stared at him, as if trying to get a read on him, and Nathan knew he was not someone who looked threatening. If anything he thought he played the part of a tourist fairly well and many people underestimated him for it.
“I might have something. Wait here.” Yusuf turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Nathan knew that the man could be getting a gun to kill him right here but that was a chance he was willing to take. There was too much at stake right now; someone out there had been incepted and he could not let that stand. A cat hissed at him the moment he stepped closer to the desk but all of the labels on the vials were legal. All of the ingredients for somnacin were here, that was obvious, but they could be used to create legal compounds as well. He had nothing, yet again, but Nathan also had a strong feeling that there was more to this place. He needed a look around, an in depth look around, without anyone watching.
Yusuf returned moments later with a small box.
“This is a strong herbal tea and it will help you sleep,” Yusuf explained. “You’ll want to be in bed when you take it.”
“Thank you so much. How much do I owe you?” he asked, suddenly panicking because he had almost no cash on him.
“A hundred US dollars,” Yusuf replied. Nathan did not have to fake his surprise as he dug through his wallet and found the last of the cash he had on him. Yusuf was watching him carefully and did not hand Nathan the box until after the cash was in hand. The man flashed a smile.
“Nice doing business with you, Mr. Johnson. Sleep well.”
Nathan took that as the hint he was supposed to and left. He briefly contemplated throwing the tea away because there was a good chance that it could be drugged or poisoned but decided to keep it simply because he had paid $100 for it. He did make a mental note to get it tested before he even touched it.
Nathan hung around the area for the better part of the day save for a quick run back to his hotel to get his supplies for gathering evidence. No one seemed to pay him any attention, and by the time the lights went out in Yusuf’s lab and there was no movement for a while, he decided that it was time to get inside. There was no back door so he had to pick the lock while trying to make it look like he was not up to anything. Fortunately it was a residential area and was generally abandoned at this time of night. The lock turned and Nathan grinned as he pushed his way into the lab. The vials were all still present but there was still nothing illegal that he could pin on Yusuf. Nathan quietly began to go through the desk but did not find anything there that caught his eye either, save for a set of large, rusted keys.
He smiled to himself as he took the keys and walked toward the large door on the far side of the door. As quietly as he could, Nathan turned the key and made his way down the stairs, and what he found made him stop dead in his tracks. He had never seen a real dream den before and the sight of so many people hooked up to so many machines made his heart pound. He had heard rumors of people who would spend years in the dreams and it made him a little sick to his stomach to think of how these people were manipulated into thinking a dream was reality.
“Do you like what you see, Agent Burman?” Nathan turned around and found Yusuf standing at the top of the stairs. Surprisingly he did not appear armed.
“How did you know who I am?” Nathan asked as he reached for his gun. Yusuf, however, seemed to have other ideas in his mind and moved much faster than Nathan was anticipating a chemist to move. His gun was knocked out of the way and skidded a few feet away. I’m going to die.
“I have my sources. Contrary to what you might think, there is some loyalty in the dream crime business.” Yusuf crossed his arms across his chest looking extremely annoyed. “I really wish you hadn’t come down here. I don’t want to do this.”
“If you’re going to kill me you should know that my superiors know where I am and will know when I don’t report in,” he warned.
“Oh, no, I’m not going to kill you. Far too messy. I just don’t want to waste this.” Yusuf raised his hand and a brief puff of smoke came out of a small mechanism under his sleeve. Nathan coughed violently as he struggled to get his breath. The world around him was already starting to fade to black as he collapsed to the ground. Yusuf stood over him and shook his head.
“What a shame,” he said and the world went black.
Nathan sat up, gasping for breath, completely disoriented. A hand gently rested on his shoulder and pushed him back into a bed. The world around him slowly came into focus and he looked up to see a nurse.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“What happened?” Nathan managed to ask as she handed him a glass of water.
“You passed out from the heat. Apparently you did not drink enough water, and when you tried to walk back to your hotel, you collapsed in the street,” she explained but that did not seem right. The last thing he remembered was that he had had some sort of lead on Yusuf but nothing from most of the afternoon.
“Blood work, did you do any blood work on me?” he asked panicking a little because the prospect of being drugged terrified him.
“We did and nothing came up. You were dehydrated, Mr. Burman, and we’ll release you once you get some more fluids in you. Now get some rest.” The nurse turned and walked out of the room. Nathan stared at the ceiling and struggled to remember what had happened the day before but nothing came to mind. He looked through his things and did not find anything that could help his memory. The only thing he had on him was a blank notebook and his gun. He could not remember anything from the day before, where he went, what he did, and that was not from the heat. Yusuf had drugged him somehow, he was sure of it, but he did not even know where the man was. Nathan closed his eyes and drifted back into sleep.
After he was released from the hospital Nathan wandered the streets for some sort of hint of what had happened. A landmark, a person, something that would jog his memory. No one around him seemed to pay him any mind either and that was just as frustrating. He made his way to a residential area where he saw a house that looked vaguely familiar. The door was unlocked and he walked inside, suddenly hopeful that he had found something. Instead there was nothing but a thick layer of dust over everything in the small house. It looked like it had been abandoned for a long time, not a sign of life, and it was the only lead he had.
“Fuck,” Nathan muttered as he closed the door behind him. There was nothing left in Mombasa. He had no leads, and he wandered back toward his hotel to book a flight out of the country. The prospect of another failure had him far too distracted to notice that he was being followed.
Yusuf set the tea he had sold to Agent Burman back in the cabinet and cracked his neck. He was still getting settled into his new home and everything was still disorganized. He had to dig to find his phone when he heard it chime. Yusuf smiled to himself when he read the text from an unknown number that simply said ‘clear.’ He did not respond.
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