Catalysis

Chapter 2: Fatih

Zeki woke up the next morning to his phone vibrating in his coat pocket. Ahmet had given him an extra SIM card which had some Euros in it to make local calls. He took the phone out of his pocket and it was Ahmet's number that displayed on the screen.

"Günaydın Zeki," he greeted with his voice sounding like he was underwater. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Like a baby," Zeki answered, as he sat up and looked around the living room, "but I don't think Umut's going to be too happy when he sees the apartment in a mess." He looked around the room and started to put things back where he last saw them before he went to sleep.

"I do have some good news for you," Ahmet said. "Fatih says he's willing to meet you."

"Wow, that soon?"

"Yes. Emre offhandedly mentioned that you were alive and not long after I dropped you off he called me back saying he wanted to see if you're really alive."

"That's, that's great," Zeki said after putting away the final item that fell off the shelf. "Where's he living now?"

"If you're thinking of seeing him alone you can't. He specifically told us he wants us to be with you. He hasn't been much of himself lately and I've on occasion have had to stop him from trying to kill himself."

Zeki understood a bit of what Fatih was experiencing. He too had tried to kill himself to escape torture but there was always someone there to make sure that did not happen. Luckily for Fatih, he had someone to tell him to keep on living because he had a reason instead of being a necessary tool in a failed plan. "Understood. When are we meeting with him?"

"I can pick you up in about an hour or two if that's alright with you. Priya is making breakfast and wants me to deliver some to him after taking the kids to school."

"Sounds great, I'll see you then."

After Zeki had hung up Umut returned to the apartment. He was dressed wearing a tracksuit and a toque as he had returned from an early morning run. "Oh hey, you're awake," he greeted as he unzipped his jacket and hung it on a peg. "Have you heared anything?"

Zeki turned around and leaned against the back of the sofa. "Ahmet just called to inform that he's taking me to see Fatih in a couple of hours."

"Fatih," Umut whispered multiple times as he tried to recall one of Zeki's friends. "Fatih Ersöy right?"

"That's him."

Umut placed his hands on his head. "I remember now! There was something about him in the news earlier this year." He reached into his pants pocket and took out his phone. He looked through his bookmarks on the phone's web browser and once he found what he was looking for he handed the phone to Zeki.

Zeki skimmed through the article which had the headline "Wife of State Police Inspector Body Found." From what he read he learned that his friend was working for the Landespolizei, the German state police. He could not say to Fatih what happened during the time he had been assumed dead as he would and could arrest him. He decided that he would have to use the same story he used with Emre and Ahmet. He scrolled down further to see a picture of Fatih's, Busra. She looked somewhat familiar to him but he could not quite place where and when he had seen her lookalike.

"It's a tragedy," Umut commented. "I'm not sure why someone would kill her or if she had a hidden mental illness but I felt that it's something you should know before you visit Fatih."

Zeki handed back the phone. "I'll keep this in mind."

Umut placed the phone down on the kitchen counter and said, "Shall I make you some breakfast or can you make it yourself?"