He was holding Princess’ hand. They were walking side by side. Princess looked so troubled and she was crying. He was about to hold her when she let go of him and walked away. He heard her whisper ‘wake up, my love’ and she was no longer with him.

Ardeth came around slowly. At first he couldn’t see anything but his eyes adjusted to the dark slowly and began to see shapes. He was in some kind of a cave. He felt his hands and feet… they were not tied and saw ropes scattered around him. Some how Pu’un must have succeeded untying them. He tried to get up and suddenly felt a bang on the left side of his head. He groaned and lied back down. He touched his head, it felt sticky. Blood, he thought.

"Slowly Habib, I will help you up."

He heard Pu’un’s voice and a firm grip pushed him back up. He felt his head spinning and closed his eyes. He was sitting now, one hand still holding Pu’un’s arm.

"They must have hit you pretty hard."

"Yeah, I guess so." He said. "Thanks, Pu’un. I’m OK now." He looked around him. The cave was dark, but there was a fire a few feet from the entrance. They could hear the guards chatting. He turned to Pu’un, "Do you know where we are?"

"Not exactly, Habib. But from the sound of the running water and the fact that we are now in a cave, I think we are somewhere around the orangutan reservation."

Ardeth lifted his eyebrows, "You amaze me, Pu’un. The river is very long and there must be hundreds of caves in this forest. Yet you recognize this place." He shook his head in amazement.

"I only listen to the water current, Habib. If you listen carefully, you will know that the current is not as wild as in the uphill, the river flows slower. The only place in Randara Forest that has caves near slow river is the reservation, because the river that is flowing through this area is a small branch from the main river. If you live long enough in the forest, Habib, you will know the difference. Iwan is not a Randaran, he was born in the big city, Pontianak. But he grew up in the forest, his father taught him how to become a real ranger. He too, knows how to find a way home in the darkest night. So, Habib, this is not an amazing thing. Every man can tell which way each door leads inside his home. Randara forest is my home."

Ardeth smiled, "You remind me of Iwan. What do you think had happened to him?"

"Oh, don’t worry about that boy, Habib. He can take care of himself. He might even save us, who knows?"

Ardeth didn’t answer him, for he was suddenly felt seasick. His head spun around.

"Habib, are you all right?"

"I’ll be all right, Pu’un. I think I have a mild concussion. It will go away, don’t worry."

"You better lie down, Habib."

"I will just sit here, OK Pu’un. Just don’t worry too much about me." Ardeth smiled and moved closer to Pu’un.

They sat in silence for a while, then heard somebody coming in to the cave. Three men were walking towards them. When they were close enough, Ardeth could see that one of them was a white man. He stopped in front of them and looked down to Ardeth, "I see that the rope was not tight enough." Suddenly he kicked Ardeth in the stomach and did the same with Pu’un. They both crouched in pain.

He spitted on Ardeth, "You are not going to tell one soul about this whole mess, Mr. Bey. You will die."

Ardeth looked up in disbelief.

"Oh yes, I know what you’re thinking Mr. Bey. How do I know your name. Oh I know everything about you, Ardeth Bey. You are a photographer hired by the ministry of forestry to take pictures, not of the animals and orangutans, but of evidence of environmental damages." He laughed and swung his right foot towards Ardeth’s stomach one more time.

This time Ardeth was prepared. He caught the man’s foot and pulled it to the left. The man fell down in front of him. His action made the two other men came and hit Ardeth with the bottom of their guns. Ardeth fell down to the floor but he was still conscious. He grimaced in pain and started to sit. Before he could fully sit, the white man kicked him and sent him on the floor again. This time he went after Ardeth, squatted in front of him and grabbed his long hair. He slapped his face twice before pulling his head close.

The man spoke under his gritted teeth, "My cousin may like you a lot, but I tell you that by now she had destroyed all the pictures and negatives in your room and is on her way to this place to see your death."

He let go of his hair, stood up and shouted to his comrades, "Tie them up!! And this time make sure it’s tight enough to stop their blood veins, you idiots." With that, he left the cave.

OOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOO

Danny Soputan sat on his bed thinking. He ran the scenes over and over again on his mind. He knew he missed something. He remembered clearly leaving the lab. He remembered vaguely being called by Dr. Malik to comeback to the lab, though. He was half asleep then. He went back to the lab, performed autopsy on Robin. Mark Hollis was there helping them. He remembered meeting someone on the hall. Nope, not on the hall…. Damn it, he thought. I did meet somebody on the way to the lab, he thought desperately.

Suddenly his eyes widened as he remembered the face. He got up from his bed, and went to his papers on the desks. He checked all of them, one by one very carefully. Suddenly he opened his door and ran to Dr. Richardson’s room then banged on the door.

Dr. Richardson’s face showed up, "What the hell…. Dr. Soputan!!"

"Sorry Doctor, I need to speak with you. Now! Can I come in?"

Dr. Richardson closed the door behind him, "Can’t this wait till morning, Doctor Soputan?"

"Danny. Just call me Danny. Listen to me, Jack. I think I know how to track the killer, but to be sure, I need your full cooperation."

"What? Who? How can I help you, then. You are serious, right?"

"Do I look like a person who’s playing you for a fool? Of course I’m serious, Jack. The killer is one of your assistants. This is my record of the duty roster to attend Kevin. Look at this chart, Jack."

Jack Richardson studied the chart, "This doesn’t prove anything, Danny."

"What if I tell you, I met Doctor Hetfield on her way out of the lab yesterday night. Just after I received a call from Dr. Malik to go back to the lab. It was around eleven thirty when I received the call. I told her that there was a new development on Robin. And you know what she said to me? She said she was too tired and needed some rest. I didn’t think it was strange that time, Jack. But look at the chart once more. She told me you made her work harder than the others. Can you confirm that to me?"

"I did ask her to finish up at the lab. Only minor works though, it wouldn’t take that long. But Danny that doesn’t prove that she killed Kevin."

"No, Jack. But this is one way to find out why she stayed longer. She either collaborated with the killer, or she could be the one who destroyed our works, or she could be there accidentally seeing someone who actually did it. At least, we now have a lead. I didn’t tell Dr. Malik because this morning he already told me that this matter is not in our hand anymore. But I can’t just sit and wait. And I know you can’t either, especially because Kevin was one of your assistants." He stopped there and waited for Jack to reply.

"All right Danny. You got a point there. So what do you think we should do now?"

"Call Dr. Hetfield and let us pay her a visit. What do you say?"

Jack Richardson nodded and reached for the phone. He dialed the extension number of Catherine’s room and waited for someone to pick up. Jack waited a little longer. Still no answer.

"There’s no one in the room, Danny. Maybe your suspicion is right after all. Let’s go seek her, if we can’t find her then we go to the navy."

"OK then. Let’s go."

They both hurried walked along the corridor towards Catherine’s room. Danny knocked on the door. Once, twice… no answer. He tried turning the doorknob, it was not locked. He opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was dark, so he turned on the light. Everything was on its place, very neat. The room was amazingly clean.

"She’s not here" Dr. Richardson said. He checked out the bathroom and found that it was also empty.

"Let’s go down and report to Lt. Subagio."

With that they left the room in a flash. While they reached the bottom of the stairs, Dr. Richardson turned his head left and grabbed Danny’s shoulder.

"Look Danny, that room is wide open." He pointed to a room by the stairs.

"That’s Ardeth’s room. Let’s check it out."

They turned on the light with fear of finding more dead bodies, but the room was empty. It was messed up. Papers and clothes were scattered around.

"Hey, Jack. Look over here!" Danny pointed down to the garbage can.

"Somebody had obviously burned something there. Look here! These are remains of photos and negatives."

"Put them back, Danny. I think we better let Lt. Subagio deal with this. I don’t want to end up as a suspect."

"OK, OK. Let’s get out of here."

Iwan peeked from a bush. He saw a white man walking inside a cave followed by the two Indonesian men who were guarding the entrance.

This is a good time to sneak in, he thought. He followed the three very carefully inside the cave, maintaining a safe distance. Iwan walked slowly under the shadows with his back against the wall of the cave. When he found a small gap between the walls, he slid in and kept himself hidden. He was amazingly close that he could hear all that was spoken. He waited silently and patiently until all the three men had gone before approaching Pu’un and Ardeth.

He walked slowly towards them. They were both tied up together, with their backs against each other. Dried blood was on Ardeth’s head and his lips looked swollen. But he was wide-awake. Iwan admired his strength. He would’ve probably been knocked out after being beaten that way. Pu’un saw him coming and whispered to Ardeth. They both looked at him smiling. They didn’t look surprised at all.

"I told you he’d be coming, Habib." Pu’un whispered.

Iwan cut the rope with his blade and they all sat making plans. Iwan informed them the situation outside the cave.

"It’s pretty easy getting out. This place is not highly secured. The only problems are those two men outside the caves. But I know how to handle them without a sound." He said smiling, showing them his tulup. "Daim gave this to me."

"Then, what are we waiting for, my friend? Let’s get the hell outta here. It’s almost dawn." Ardeth encouraged him.

Iwan sneaked slowly and shot out his tulup real fast. One guard down, and a moment later the other followed without a sound. They positioned the unconscious men as if they were sitting asleep.

One moment later, the three of them were on their way back to the compound with Pu’un leading the way.

OOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOO

Lt. Subagio received the Randaran women in the middle of the night with surprise. He was shocked reading Iwan’s letter and before he had any chance to neither examine the sticker attached to the letter nor brief his men, these two doctors were already in front of him asking a search for a missing Dr. Catherine Hetfield. He put down his letter on the desk in front of him and sat listening to the doctors’ stories and then called out one of his men. He briefed him about the letter while at the same time explaining to the doctors of the hostage situation.

Dr. Richardson saw the sticker, "Excuse me, Lieutenant, is that the sticker?"

"Yes. Do you recognize this, doctor?"

"Of course. It’s A&H Corp. Stands for Andrews and Hetfield. Catherine’s father is one of the owners. They own hospitals and conduct medical researches."

"Are you saying that they are conducting illegal researches in this area?" Danny asked.

"That is one possibility, gentlemen. I want you both to go back and have some sleep. My men and I will take care of the matter now. Thank you very much for your information, doctors." Lt. Subagio asked his man to show them out of the building.

When the dawn was breaking, three quarter of the navy were already gone inside the forest. The compound was dead quiet.

OOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOO

"What have you done! You screw up!" Roger Andrews shouted at his men.

"Now go out there and find them!! And when you do, kill them where they stand. You hear me? If after fifteen minutes you don’t find them, go to our meeting point. Those men don’t have any solid prove against us." The men followed his orders at once.

"What happened, Roger. Is there something wrong?" Catherine came behind him.

"I think you’d be happy to hear this, my dear cousin. The men escaped. Oh yeah, your favorite guy too." Roger looked at her cynically.

Catherine looked at him sadly and shook her head.

"Why do you think I’d be happy? I have never killed anyone in my life before, Roger. For God sake, I should be saving lives, not taking them. This is all your fault. Who authorized them to inject the Randaran men with the untested formula? All this mess is just to cover it up?" She was so upset now.

"Well my dear Cat, what about you? You were so sloppy that he saw you tampering with the blood sample. So you killed him because you had to, and because of your own fault. Don’t you dare blaming it on me. And as far as those five primitive men, it was necessary to kill them anyway. I’ve done this job for all my life. You knew nothing about family business, Cat. Here you are complaining about one man’s death. It’s laughable. Do you know how many people got killed in the line of our business? You have no idea!"

"What are you talking about? What.. what …" Cat was afraid for the answer she might hear.

"What am I talking about? Hun, where do you think you got all the money, eh? Do you think my dad ever loves my mom? No. He married her in order to be able to merge the company. Hadn’t your mom told you about this? Your dad, and mine, both were the sponsor of illegal medical and chemical researches. They did researches on the patients in our hospitals. No one suspects one or two more deaths caused by acute diseases. And here, in the middle of nowhere, was the perfect place to conduct researches, until the damn fire burnt half of the forest and destroyed years of our works. Yes, Cat, years. We’ve been here for a looong time."

He smiled, and continued with a much calmer voice, "Why do you think your dad suggested you study micro biology? Everything is planned carefully, my dear. And you are going to be a VIP when the new project starts. You, and your brother. And I will still be doing the clean ups. That’s my field of expertise. I guess I just don’t have the brains to become a scientist." He laughed, and held Cat in his arms.

Cat looked pale as she was beginning to grasp the reality. All this time she was too preoccupied with her new career. When she thought back, she remembered her father suggesting that she should try micro biology instead of following her mom’s track in virology. All the conversations with her brother were so obvious that they both had steered her. But she only understood now. VIP…. New project….. Biological weapon? New drugs? More researches on humans? She couldn’t stand thinking the possibilities.

"Don’t worry, my dear. All will be OK. I promise you. After all, you are my dearest cousin. No one will be able to prove your involvement in Kevin’s death. C’mon my dear, our fifteen minutes are almost up. We better leave this place before the damn navy found this place. They must have been alerted by now."

"You don’t really want them dead, right? You said they don’t have anything solid against us." Cat asked him.

Roger laughed, "You really like him that much? Well, my dear, frankly I don’t care if they’re dead or alive. They don’t even have solid prove to sue Indo Chemicals Ltd. And if they can’t get to Indo Chemicals, they can’t get to us. Will you trust me, and relax a little bit?"

They started walking out of the forest, together with many others in an opposite direction where Ardeth and his friends were heading. Soon the place was quiet.

OOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOO

Pu’un walked fast in the front with Ardeth following him and Iwan behind Ardeth.

"Why are we taking this route, Pu’un? This is a waste of time and energy. This route is much longer than the usual." Iwan protested.

"If you do not want to waste your time you should walk faster, my boy. This route maybe longer, but safer. Those people know we are heading back to the compound. If they pursue us, they will take the usual route." Pu’un answered him without stopping.

"But this route circled back to the cave where they held us." Iwan protested still.

This time Ardeth commented, "Iwan, we have agreed that Pu’un will be the one to lead us back to the compound. So will you let him do it? If you keep shouting like that, they will hear us from a mile away." Ardeth’s voice was of a sharp tone. He didn’t mean to be rude to Iwan, but he was just not in a good mood. Knowing that somehow Catherine was involved with this mess broke his heart.

"All right, all right. I’ll keep my mouth shut now. But if we got captured once more, I’ll kick Pu’un’s butt and yours next." He said and went quiet for the rest of the way.

They walked fast in silence. Suddenly Pu’un stopped dead on his track. This caused Ardeth to bump him and Iwan bumped Ardeth’s back.

"Ssshhh." Pu’un motioned them to get closer to him and lay low.

"What’s up?" Ardeth whispered.

"I hear someone’s talking in a distance." Iwan said. His trained ears also picked up the distinct noises.

"Hurry up, will you!!" Voice of a man sounded closer now.

The three of them hid behind trees for there were no bush around them. This spot was quite open and the sunlight reached the ground. If only the man who talked looked to his right, he might have seen them hiding.

There were total 7 men and 1 woman walking. Ardeth held his breath when he recognized Catherine. Unfortunately the last man walking turned his head and saw them.

"There they are, Mr. Andrews!!" He shouted.

All of them stopped and some picked up their guns.

"No! Don’t shoot. Someone might hear us. Just get them quickly!"

Three against seven did not look promising, still they took their stand. Five men started their move. Two men against Iwan, one against old Pu’un.

A man jumped on Ardeth, one went behind him. Unlike inside the cave, this time Ardeth was ready. He swung his right arm and hit the man on his face. Before he could do anymore, the other man kicked him from behind. He fell on the ground, but quickly rolled over, lying on his back. He saw the man came back to get him. With all his strength he kicked him in his stomach and sent him flying. The man landed hard on his back. His head hit a something that made him fell unconscious.

Before Ardeth could stand up, the other man rushed towards him with a knife. Ardeth lifted his right leg and made a circle kick to tackle him. Unsuccessful, the man was able to maintain his attack. Ardeth quickly rolled to his left side. Yet, the man was too quick. His knife missed the chest but cut through his right shoulder. Despite his injury, Ardeth made a surprising move and he was now sitting on top of the attacker hitting him hard on his face rendering him unconscious.

Ardeth looked around and saw Pu’un was having trouble with his attacker. His left hand was bleeding. Iwan was not doing well either, but he apparently had sent one of his attackers down. Ardeth could see that he was cut deep on his left thigh and blood was running down like water. He was about to help Pu’un when he heard the shout.

"Stop this now!! Leave them and let them go. We have no time. Let’s go, are you deaf!! Roger Andrews barked his orders and resumed walking, followed slowly by the others. Cat was still standing looking at Ardeth. She walked towards him and looked at him. She was surprised to see his bruised face and bleeding shoulder.

"You’re hurt." She said worriedly.

Ardeth looked at her without answering. He stepped closer to her with his left hand cupped his bleeding shoulder. "Do you love me?" He asked softly. His eyes were so cold. Looking at them was like looking into the abyss. Cat was shocked to meet the gaze and saw the same man she met on her second day in this place, the cold and bitter man in the cruiser.

"I…." She avoided his gaze. She hesitated. "I’m sorry. There’s nothing you could do to bring us down. You have nothing against us, and you’ll find nothing. You better go before my cousin changes his mind." With that she ran to catch up with the group.

Tears falling down her cheeks as she walked beside Roger. She could barely hide the sob from Roger. "I love you so much, Ardeth." She thought and sobbed softly. Roger put his arms around her to make her walk faster.

He whispered, "You’ll find someone else back home, my dear. That man doesn’t even deserve your attention. No use crying for him. There are our rovers. We’re getting out of this miserable place.

She didn’t answer him. Her thoughts wandering to the first day they met and to where her future might end up. She felt like suddenly she was living under the shadows of her father, brother, uncle, cousin, and the family business. But mostly, she would live her future hunted by Ardeth Bey’s shadow.

"Are you OK, Pu’un?" Iwan limped towards Pu’un.

"Yes, just a scratch, my boy. Come here, let me take a look at your thigh. It looks bad." Pu’un quickly tended Iwan’s wound and tore part of his clothes to bandage it. As he was bandaging he saw Ardeth stood like a statue with his hand still holding his right shoulder.

"Habib, are you hurt? Are you OK?" Pu’un called him.

Ardeth stared blankly as the sight of Catherine Hetfield faded away from his mind. He sighed heavily and smiled at both of them, "Yes, my friends, I am OK."

"You really love the woman, eh, Habib?"Iwan asked as they resumed the journey.

Ardeth turned to him and smiled, "You don’t have to ask a question that you already know the answer, my friend. You might piss people off."

They continued walking for 15 minutes when they heard noises.

"That’s the sound of the search & rescue team." Ardeth said.

They came closer and closer to the source of the noises and heard the clicking of guns.

"Don’t shoot!! It’s just us!!! Iwan shouted.

A moment later they were escorted back to the compound by five ensigns to receive medical treatment. The rest of the navy continued their journey to the cave, and some followed Roger’s group.

OOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOO

Princess and David were with him, in Cairo. Ardeth looked around and found that he was standing in the middle of the living room of his apartment in Cairo. Princess and David were talking to each other and laughing. He walked to them, smiling at them. Princess looked up to him, smiling, while David held his hand. They were all looked so happy.

"We have to go now." Said Princess softly.

"No. Please don’t leave me alone." Ardeth said and grabbed her arm.

Princess touched his hand and softly let go of her arm from his grab.

"You are not alone. You have friends, my dear. If only you look around, if only you open your heart, you’ll find friends everywhere you go. It is time for us to leave now." She started walking out of the room.

"Wait, Princess. Wait." Ardeth stood by her and held both her hands.

"Just let me kiss you….. Let me hold David."He whispered.

She looked at him, smiling. Then she nodded and moved one step back.

Ardeth kneeled down and held his son tight. With tears running down his cheeks he let go of him and put his hand on David’s head.

"Take care of mom for me, OK?" He whispered softly.

David looked at him, smiled and ran away. His body disappeared into thin air, leaving him and Princess alone in the room.

Ardeth stood up and held her tight for a while. She was his Princess, yet he couldn’t smell the scents of her. The scent of her skin, her hair…. Nothing. Yet he was holding her so close to him. He kissed her tenderly. He was lost for awhile. When he let her go, he realized that he was crying.

"Please don’t cry, my dear husband. You are a free man now." With that words, she started walking away from him.

Ardeth tried to catch her up, but she was already gone, so fast that his eyes could not follow. A bright light engulfed her body and took her away from him. He felt his eyes hurt staring at the light. He rubbed them and opened his eyes to find that he was on his bedroom in the compound.

He sat on his bed. He thought about the day before, watching the Americans leaving the compound with an oblong box. Dr. Danny Soputan had told them about Kevin Ryan’s mysterious death and his unproved suspicion of the killer.

He thought about his nightmares. Princess looked sad and often shook her head. Did it mean that he shouldn't have fallen in love with Cat? Were all his dreams more than just nightmares? Were all his dreams meaningful? His dreams used to be frightening or sad. Yet tonight Princess and David came to his dream in a different way. They were happy and he was too. Although he cried, he let them go with gladness. Would this mean that he was free from all of his nightmares? Had he made peace with his past? Had the shadows of their deaths that surrounded him for years been lifted up somehow?

Above all the doubts he felt, he sensed something new. It was the first time he could recollect his dreams without feeling guilty. It was the first time he was able to analyze his dreams. He had been feeling lonely, empty and guilty after Princess’ death. Cat had brought back the sparks in his heart and for a short while she had wiped away all the loneliness, emptiness and guilt from his heart. And now she was gone and left him with a new hole in his heart. He was hurt, definitely, yet he did not feel the feelings he previously had. He did not feel guilty, nor empty, nor lonely. No, he felt…. FREE. He remembered Princess said that he was a free man. If he looked around, he would find friends everywhere…. That was what Princess said in his dream.

Ardeth thought of the events in the compound, of Cairo, of everything. He sighed heavily and smiled. He looked at his watch and he did his Dawn Prayer. At the end of the prayer he said, "I’m coming to see you Princess. I’m going back to Cairo. I will visit your grave. Please forgive me. I was blinded by grief, by guilt, that I abandoned the only thing left that reminds me of you. Please forgive your daddy, David. Daddy’s coming to visit you."

OOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOO

They gathered in the hall having breakfast. They all would be transported back to Pontianak. All the Namru scientists and the US navy had left the day before. The police came three hours after Ardeth and Iwan arrived at the compound. As they have predicted, the police were not able to build a case against Indo Chemical Ltd due to lack of evidence. Furthermore, the factory was located in West Java. The police in West Java must have been bought by the company to let the goods shipped to West Borneo. And so did the police and custom officers in Pontianak. As Iwan said, this was a well organized crime. A very rich and powerful businessman in Jakarta who had international connection must have been behind it.

Iwan ate slowly remembering the last words Pu’un said to them before leaving the compound, "If we keep on sacrificing our natural resources for money, we will end up having nothing. We should not destroy what we cannot create. We, Randarans, are living in the shadows of fear. We fear that one day there will be no more orangutans to show to our grand children, no more plants to cure our diseases.….. no more land for us to live in….. Leaving the forest means leaving our tradition, and all the things we believe in…… Who will take care of our own forests if not us, Indonesian people?"

Iwan thought about the Randaran people. They were safe for now. But he knew that the environmental damage were hard to avoid. The menace will come back from other companies, he knew that for sure. One shadow has been lifted off this forest, yet more would fall down upon it.

"Why, aren’t you hungry?" Danny’s voice broke all his thought.

Iwan startled.

"Not really." Answered Iwan.

"I don’t blame you. You and Ardeth had been through a lot. By the way, how’s your leg, Iwan?"

"It’s getting better, thanks to you." Iwan said.

"And your shoulder, Ardeth?" Danny turned to look at Ardeth.

"As good as new, my friend. Thanks to you." He smiled, still finishing his breakfast.

"So, are you going to spend some time in Pontianak? You are welcome to stay at my house."

"Thanks, Danny. But, I am going back to Egypt." Ardeth answered.

Iwan was surprised to hear that. "Habib, I thought you’re going back to Jakarta. You said there’s another job waiting for you."

"I change my mind. I need to go back to Cairo." He smiled and patted Iwan’s shoulder.

"But why, Habib? You said that Jakarta is full of good opportunities for you. And I think you need another adventure in the wild." Iwan teased.

"Why?" Ardeth echoed him. "I guess because I am a free man, Iwan. I’m free to go anywhere I want. After Cairo, I’m going to America to visit my parents. I haven’t seen them in years."

Suddenly an idea came to him, "If you want to get out of the jungle, you can come with me. I guess I need someone to accompany me for the trip." He smiled and continued, "I’m tired of traveling alone. You, my friend, have showed me the beauty of your country. It’s my turn to show you the wonders of Egypt. What do you say?"

"Go to Egypt, Habib?" Iwan laughed out loud.

"If I had that much money, I wouldn’t have become a ranger in the first place." He added.

"My friend, you don’t have to worry about money. It’s my treat. I will take you to America too, if you want. My parents are going to love listening to your wonderful stories about the forest. Well?" Ardeth kept trying to tempt him.

"Just go with him, Iwan. Take your vacation. This is your chance to see the world outside your precious forest." Danny encouraged him.

"We can go to the forest too, if you want. Subtropical forests in America are different from the rain forests. And I know you never visited any of them, you only saw them in the pictures." Ardeth added.

Iwan smiled and nodded, "OK Habib. You’ve got yourself a company."

"Don’t forget to write, Iwan." Danny teased.

"I’ll write to you, Doctor. Don’t worry. Oh, are Egyptian women beautiful, Habib?" Iwan asked.

"Yes, Iwan. But you must promise me one thing if you wanna travel with me."

"I can’t see the women?" Iwan asked worriedly.

Ardeth laughed, "No. You must stop calling me Habib. My name is Ardeth Bey."

"All right, Ardeth. Do you have beautiful girl friends in Egypt?"

They walked out of the building, laughing.