Ordinary Lives: Deniz

5

*************

"You asked me, sir."

Ivan nervously entered the commander's office, knowing full well that being summoned was not a good sign. Ivan was lost in his own thoughts as he studied Commander Michael's face carefully.

"The headquarters doctor reported that you were showing signs of anxiety and paranoia, and your bunk mate reported that you were experiencing frequent night terrors. What's the matter, Ivan? There's a mission for you, and you know I can't send you there unless the doctor approves. Now explain."

"Commander, I have no serious health problems, I've just been suffering from night terrors for the last few weeks, which naturally makes me nervous, but I'm clear-headed and ready for duty, sir."

''Good, I believe in you. You know that I trust you the most in this team, so you better not disappoint me. Now take this file and study it immediately, it contains information about your target. You are at war here legally, so you cannot leave the country through official channels, the usual smuggler has been contacted, in five days you will be on the Syrian border. Whatever you do in these five days, convince the doctor that you are healthy. Your comrades-in-arms will know that you are in the medical unit, so be careful.''

Ivan thought about his last few years in the army as he took the file that Commander Michael had handed him. Although he had studied accounting in college, he had joined the army as a mercenary right after graduation to save his mother Mirem and sister Katherina from their father, thus saving him from housing, food and other expenses and buying a small house for his family in Florida with a mortgage. He had one year left for the house payment and in one year he could finally escape this hellish life and be with his family. He had no experience outside the army but he could work as a carpenter or a bartender, he had lost all interest in the world of finance in recent years, so he wanted his civilian life to be ordinary and simple.

These thoughts warmed his heart, but Ivan became increasingly restless as he read the information in the file. Although he joined the army as an ordinary mercenary, he was sent to Afghanistan in his first year, then he got under Commander Michael's radar, and after special training, he joined the assassination squad called "Prometheus", which was known only to the highest-ranking officers. Outside of his special assignments, while he was actively fighting on the front lines on normal days, he had to go on assassination missions in the Middle East at least three times a year, and he could not stand it anymore. Still, he had to be patient for his family. No matter what, his contract was ending in a year and a half, and he had no intention of renewing it...

''Abdurrahman F., is 49 years old, a jeweler, married and a father of four. Although he seems like an ordinary person, he is the most powerful man who financially supports the terrorist organization and the most suitable person to be the second in command in the organization. We have received intelligence that he will be on active duty in a few years. Code name: Silver Finger.''

Commander Michael’s briefing pulled Ivan from his thoughts. He now turned his full attention to the file in his hands and his commander: “But why ‘Silver Finger’? Interesting code name.”

"According to the intelligence we received, seven years ago he fell under suspicion due to discordant voices within the organization and cut his own finger to show his sincerity to the leader. Then he chose silver as a prosthetic finger. That's why his code name is this. This time it will be difficult, this man is very careful and dangerous, don't be fooled by his family man image. You have one month, you must complete the task and return within one month, otherwise we will be in trouble."

" Sir, yes sir." After saluting his commander, Ivan placed the file in his hand on the table and quietly left the room. He had a lot of work to do.

***********

"So you are the man who wants to marry my daughter. A weak, baby-faced, feeble man who looks more like a woman than a man. Is that the man you have chosen as your potential husband, Katherina?"

Deniz looked at the old man sitting sprawled out on the couch. He was a man of medium height and overweight, so he didn't have the physical features to criticize Deniz, plus his face was red from alcohol all the way to his neck, it was obvious that he was extremely unhealthy. Deniz couldn't help but laugh: "Yes, it's me. If you let me, Katherina and I will get married in three months."

The old man laughed loudly: "If you have so much courage? Marry my daughter and we'll see. I have no intention of marrying off Katherina, so get out of here before you anger me any further."

"Rahul, leave Katherina alone, our daughter is old enough to marry, let her start her own family." Mirem was trying desperately to get her daughter out of this house. She had made the wrong choice decades ago and married this man, her children should not have to pay the price for her mistake anymore.

Rahul, who got angry with Mirem's whining, suddenly threw the vodka glass in his hand at Mirem. Fortunately, Mirem, who was used to Rahul's angry outbursts, quickly stepped aside and saved herself from that blow, but Deniz felt like he was going to drown after this scene. He could never leave these women to the mercy of this maniac.

Before the situation could get any more tense, Deniz quickly intervened: "What will it take for you to let me marry Katherina?"

Rahul thought for a moment, he had a gambling debt of around two thousand dollars and needed money urgently. This weak man probably didn't have that much money but he still wanted to try his luck: "If you have five thousand dollars, you can do whatever you want with my daughter." Rahul was sure this weak man wouldn't have that much money so he asked for extra, his intention was to end this nonsense.

When Deniz heard the ridiculous amount Rahul was asking for, he felt extremely relieved and let out a deep breath. He was ready to give this greedy man thirty thousand dollars, but fortunately this visionless man had set his own price: "Of course, if you come with us to the lawyer's office early tomorrow morning and sign an agreement that you will not bother Katherina again, I will give you eight thousand dollars."

Rahul was overjoyed to hear that he would get more than the amount he had requested. Frankly, he didn’t care about Katherina and no contract could bind him, this weak man probably wanted to marry Katherina to settle in Bulgaria, this was an opportunity for Rahul to earn more money whenever he wanted. This marriage request was probably a typical attempt to get citizenship and Rahul could make the most of it, he had finally found the third i***t who would bring him income. “Great, then we will leave early tomorrow morning.”

**********

Rahul, thinking he was being clever, drank too much after securing a large sum of money and passed out. Seeing this as an opportunity, Mirem silently went to the door and called Deniz and Katherina into the garden with a hand gesture, wanting to tell them what was on her mind...

''Deniz, you are like a son to me now. I am very grateful to you for saving us from this trouble. Katherina said that you want to help me. Normally I would not ask you to do this but if you can find me a job in your country for a year I would like to come with you and divorce this man. My son Ivan is a mercenary, he bought a house for us in America, there is a year left for the mortgage installments. If possible I would like to help him and share his burden. Rahul does not know that you are going to Turkey. He is a complete devil, he is sure that this marriage took place so that you would become a Bulgarian citizen, he was speaking all this in Bulgarian. So please hide the truth from him until the last day.''

"Don't worry, Mirem mother. From now on, you are both entrusted to me. I will do my best to help you until the day comes when you can live with your son Ivan. If you don't mind living with us, you won't have to worry about the rent. What do you say?"

The mother and daughter hugged Deniz tightly, taking him between them. Deniz was very happy, he had spent his whole life among women and had been raised with love and respect for them, he knew how strong but also how fragile women could be. His mother Handan had kept Deniz away from her husband, the only man in the family, because she felt she had to protect him from the erratic and angry moods of her husband Kemal, a police officer. On the other hand, Deniz had grown up safely among women thanks to his mother, so Deniz could get along much better with women. He was finally starting his own family, he was excited and hopeful about what the future held for him...