The Teacher [Watty Awards 2013] - COMPLETE

XIII - All Good Things Must Come to an End

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, 2001

Special Agent Derek Benson waited anxiously for his next instruction in the government car he drove to Michigan with his partner, Special Agent Mark Finn. Ever since the attack on Washington and New York, Muslims in the United States of America were seen as threats. But those who lived in Dearborn were lucky. The Muslims population here was high. It’d be untrue to say that discrimination did not exist, but it was suffice to say that it was not as horrible as other cities.

Suddenly, Benson’s phone rang. He picked up the call, “Hello!” Then, he muttered the word such as yes, okay and understood with his head nodded every now and then. He grabbed the file he brought from the FBI headquarter. He flipped through the documents in the file and a photo slid from one of the pages to his feet. He then clumsily reached out his hand to try and grab the photo.

Finn, unlike Benson, was calm and only stared at Benson apathetically. Then, he took another sip of coffee as Benson finally hung up the phone. Benson handed the photo to Finn and said, “This is the guy. We need to take him in for questioning.”

“Okay! So this is where he lives, right?” Finn replied.

Benson was staring straight at the house in front of them. It was made of brick and wood and painted in white. There were big trees on each side of the house. A dream catcher was hung at the veranda of the house where two rattan chairs were situated. Through the transparent glass window, Benson saw a tall Arab man in his mid thirties talking and laughing with his family members. He was the man in the photo. A photo taken at Logan Airport of him conspiring with the man who was responsible for the hijacking of Flight 11. It was so impossible for Benson to digest. How a man who had just plotted a terrible crime could be so unattached to the guilt of killing hundreds of innocent people.

Finn waited for Benson to answer him. But Benson was lost in his thoughts as he stared at the white-painted house and the people in the house. Finn couldn’t care less about who the man was or what he did. What was most important to him now was doing his job. He didn’t like to get emotionally attached to the case or the person involved or even the victims. He believed that God had His own way with everything that happened. For Finn, it wasn’t his job to judge a person’s action or to punish. That was God’s job. Life wasn’t always fair and that was the fact that will never change. His job now was to take this guy in, bring him back to the headquarters and then, get back home to his family. He didn’t care what will happen to the guy. He didn’t care if the guy was guilty or not. He would only do his job.

Then, Benson said, “Yes. Let’s get him!”

Benson and Finn walked out of the car and stepped towards the house. They knocked the door and waited for it to open. A woman in her early thirties opened the door. She had a beautiful brown eyes and thick straight black hair. Finn then said, “I’m Special Agent Finn and this is Special Agent Benson, FBI. We’re here to speak with your husband.” They knew that she was the man’s wife from the file given to them. She eyed them suspiciously as she called for her husband. A few minutes later, the man showed up at the door. “You’d like to see me?” He asked.

“Mr. Ahmed Al-Zarafi?” Benson asked.

“Yes. I am.” Ahmed answered.

“We’d like you to come with us for questioning regarding the hijacking of a passenger flight from Logan Airport.” Benson said.

Ahmed eyed them in confusion. “I don’t understand. What does this have to do with me?”

“We believed you may have spoken to one of the hijackers on that day. We need as much information as we can. It will not be long. Just some routine questions at the headquarters.” Finn explained according to what his superior briefed him earlier.

“Okay.” Ahmed said as he went to grab his coat. Before he could walk out of the door, his wife stopped him. “You don’t have to go.” She said.

“I won’t be long, dear.” He said, trying to assure his wife.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” She said, reluctant to let go of Ahmed’s arm.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be home before you know it.” Ahmed said. Then, he kissed his daughter and his wife and walked out of the door with Benson and Finn. He never came back.