Infected

7: ☣Villa Rosa☣

SHE nearly jumped from her seat when the pilot's voice came through the speakers from the cockpit, announcing that the plane would be landing soon.

Tamana Minajri had stayed awake all through the nine hours of the Air India flight, her thoughts snapping back to the present following the pilot's announcement.

A flight attendant called to everyone to buckle up and Tamana finally got her first view of her destination from through the window as the plane touched down at the runway of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

The passengers began to alight, with Tamana getting a hearty "Welcome to Kenya" from the flight attendant before getting off the plane.

At the arrivals section, Tamana had to pass through a vaccination check where two armed agents, much similar to those back in India-same hard visored helmets, riot armor, utility belts filled with weapons. They stood from either side of the entrance. One of them passed a scanning device over her bracelet, confirming that she had been vaccinated and was free to pass through.

She then noticed how everyone seemed to know where they were going and those who did not had other people waiting for them at the pick up. She saw a man holding up a placard with bold letters after which a young woman, a passenger, rushed over and the two embraced in a hug.

Tamana was all alone. Nobody was coming to pick her up and she had no idea where she was going; her only belongings being the black leather satchel hanging over her left shoulder.

Feeling the satchel, she remembered the last moments with her uncle back in India. She opened the satchel and found one of the documents he had given her and read through it.

Hotel reservation booking for one Tamana Minajri, 20, at the Villa Rosa Kempinski, Westlands, Nairobi.
Duration: Two weeks.
All services and privileges fully catered for under Mr. Richard Patel.

Tamana had not realized that she was standing in the middle of the arrivals section when an officer approached her.

"Can I help you, Miss?"

Tamana gasped a little, silently cursing for having apparently become so alert at the slightest touch ever since the incident back at campus. But who could blame her? It's not everyday that an assassin shows up at your doorstep disguised as a maintenance man.

"Miss?"

"Y-Yes," Tamana turned around to find a dark-skinned woman in camo attire, with a cap bearing the Kenyan flag on her head.

"Are you lost?"

"Yes, actually," Tamana said, regaining her composure, "I just arrived and I need to get here."

She showed the officer her reservation letter.

"You'll need to take an uber. Follow me."

Tamana hurried after the officer, maintaining as much close contact with her as she could manage. They passed through several arcades, lanes and parking lots before finally stopping at a section filled with tourist buses and sedans.

"First time in the country?" the uniformed officer asked.

"Yes."

"Tourist?"

"Y-," Tamana was about to say yes but for some reason decided to say, "I'm a student, actually. I came here to meet up with my international class group for a project. "

She winced a little, hoping she hadn't oversold it.

"Oh, okay, " the officer responded, fortunately uninterested before hailing down one of the sedans, "do you have money?"