Dark Destiny

Chapter Eight - Courage, Althea, and Isaac

Denpasar is a medium-sized city in central Indonesia, and the capital of the Bali province. Having a rapidly-growing population of approximately 500,000, the city thrives on the tourist industry, but still struggles to maintain its cultural history. While the merchants are pleased with the increase of capital flowing into the area, thanks to the tourist boom, many lament the explosive population growth (which tripled in size between 1970 and 1990) and infusion of new cultures and new ways into an area that was virtually unchanged for many centuries prior to its discovery by the outside world.

Walking outside of the Denpasar Inn, Jeremiah, Althea, and Isaac all converge near the front door of the hotel. It is a medium-sized hotel, having two floors of rooms. The front door of the hotel faces the street, located only fifteen feet from the door, and separated only by a sidewalk. Cars pass by in front of the inn, located in an under-developed section of the town, which is avoided by tourists because of its high crime rate. The inn is fifty years old, and does not have many of the advanced amenities found in the four-star hotels nearby. It is owned by a native family, which has lived on the island for many generations. Because of the lack of amenities, many tourists avoid the hotel, but it is known by the locals to be a good value, and a location known to be friendly to the terrorist element.

"I spoke to my contact here last night," Jeremiah comments. He is carrying a bag across his shoulder, and Althea is carrying a purse, as well as a small carry-on piece of luggage. "And this is where the lieutenants are staying. Althea and I will go in and see what we can find out." He turns to Isaac. "Isaac, do you think you can locate their car and rig it to stay in place for a while? I want to get some time with the lieutenants and see how much I can learn from them."

"Oh yeah," Isaac replies with a shy grin. "I can make it tough for them to leave in a hurry." Jeremiah smiles at his friend. Isaac has always been enthusiastic about this kind of work and does it as well as anyone Jeremiah has ever met.

"Are you sure you're up to this, Isaac?" Althea asks with concern, looking down at Isaac's leg, still covered by his jeans. There is a slight bulge in the area around his cut, which is covered by a few layers of gauze she administered there a short time before they came into town. She then looks back to Jeremiah. "Jeremiah, I think we should have had Sammy come along to help out."

"No you don't!" Isaac retorts with mock anger in his voice. "If I can't handle a little mission like that, you might as well put me out to pasture."

"I don't think anyone's suggesting that, Isaac," Jeremiah tries to smooth things over. "And if I didn't think you were up to this, you'd still be in your villa at JimbaranBay."

"Sorry, Isaac," Althea offers. "I just don't want that cut to get infected."

"I appreciate the concern, Althea," Isaac returns, shaking his head. "Really. But it'll be fine."

"Do you have the description of the car I gave you?" Jeremiah asks.

"Sure do," Isaac replies, patting the right pocket of his button-down shirt. "And don't worry," Isaac adds, looking over at Althea. "I'll keep an eye on it."

"Good," Jeremiah replies. "We're going to check into this hotel and try to get close to some of the lieutenants, see what we can find out. Just catch up with us when you're done out here."

"Will do," Isaac replies, nodding, and tipping his baseball hat, as he turns to leave.

Jeremiah and Althea then walk into the front door of the hotel. Althea looks around, unimpressed by the worn look of the place. There is some furniture in the lobby, but it is old, having passed its point of being fashionable twenty years earlier. The windows look like they could use a good cleaning, and she spies dust caked on the blades of the ceiling fan rotating near the front desk. Along the top of the ceiling are water stains, that dot the ceiling at various points. Along the perimeter of the ceiling, some spots trail off along the upper wall, making their way down several inches from the ceiling. Looking at the wood floor, it is dull and likely hasn't been shined or polished, or perhaps even mopped, in quite some time. Sliding her arm around Jeremiah's waist, she looks up, smiling. "You bring me to the nicest places, honey," she offers, loud enough for others to hear.