Approaching the private gate, Dr. Abo finally unbuckled her seat belt and rose to her feet scanning the children, whose eyes were still wide but borne by faces that were quickly calming, relieved at the brevity of the plane’s harrowing gyrations and landing.  Their faces were now beginning to return traces of their previous smiles and excitement over their journey.

When the plane came to a stop, Abo spoke loudly to them and signaled them all forward.  “Please unfasten your buckles, children, and come to the front of the plane.”

Behind Abo, the larger Badawi opened the door from the inside with his two powerful arms and waited for the built-in metal stairway to be lowered.

When everything was in place, the doctor motioned the children to follow her and exited through the hatch and down the stairs.

One by one, each child paused at the sight from the doorway before stepping out, gazing eagerly at the blanket of dark sky overhead and miles of city lights in all directions.

They descended the metal steps with soft echoes beneath their feet until reaching the black asphalt and falling in behind Abo, who had now been joined by another man and woman waiting on the tarmac.

Multiple women present always kept the children calm.

Abo waited patiently, studying each child for any last signs of anxiety or ill reactions before turning back to the two adults and following them to a pair of silver SUVs parked nearby.  Together, in the darkness, they opened the rear doors of both vehicles and ushered the children inside.

Each child was thrilled as they slid across the soft seats and into position, pulling seat belts down and clicking them into place as if trained to do so.  They then examined the luxurious interior softly illuminated beneath a series of tiny overhead lights.

Five of the six children sported grins from ear to ear.  It was unlike anything they had ever experienced except in pictures or stories.  Expensive cars and airplanes immaculately adorned with leather upholstery and doors, and awash in cool and refreshing conditioned air.

In all of their excitement, none of the children except Eshe noticed the man Badawi exit the plane behind them and turn in the opposite direction, toward the rear of the aircraft, where another vehicle, a white Land Rover, sat idling.

In one smooth motion, Badawi opened the passenger side door and slid into the black leather seat, not giving the children so much as a second glance.

49

49

Less than two kilometers from downtown Cairo, Dalilah Baraka’s gaze remained fixed upon her glowing laptop monitor, her eyes scanning document after document looking for more connections.

The only two assets specifically registered under Mido Saad’s name seemed odd, prompting her to dig deeper.

Why would Saad protect all of his other assets under offshore corporations except just two—his residential estate and a large expanse of empty desert near the Libyan border?