Page 86 of The Presidents Shadow

MADDY AND BELINDA are locked inside a luxury suite in a luxury hotel in what is perhaps the luxury capital of the world.

They are in Dubai.

Maddy sees from the tourist information on the multiple television screens in their suite that they have been imprisoned in the most expensive hotel in the world—the Burj Al Arab, a wonderland of fountains and restaurants—and surely plenty of people looking to buy drugs.

Maddy and Belinda both realize that they have likely been recruited to provide exactly that service.

Damnit. Just damnit.

Maddy is still weak and deflated after being unable to tap her powers earlier.

Belinda, however, feels fine. And although she is tough and jaded by her days working the streets of Manhattan, she is naive enough to think they might be able to escape.

“Shape-shift, Maddy. You can do it. Remember when you became a squirrel? You could become a lion or something, right? Eat everybody and we can escape.”

Maddy sighs and admits her inability. “I have tried, but I couldn’t summon even an ounce of power on the car ride here.

Whatever they injected us with is affecting me very differently from you, maybe because I have special abilities and you don’t.

It feels like I’m connecting, but, no. I’m as powerless as—”

Belinda finishes Maddy’s sentence.

“You’re as powerless as I am.” Then, tough as she can be, Belinda begins to weep. Big, heaving sobs.

“Even if we got out, where would we go, what would we do? I don’t know anything about Dubai. We don’t have a way to contact anyone, either.”

They both walk to the window. They look out at the huge clutter of skyscrapers, man-made waterways, and parks. They see the cluster of islands that make up Palm Jumeirah, home to the iconic Atlantis hotel. They watch. They cry.

Then they hear a noise. The door is opening.

They turn around quickly to see Robert McCarthy standing there, along with two of the goons.

“Meet your new boss, ladies,” says McCarthy.

McCarthy and his posse step aside and reveal a very short, very fat man who is dressed in a long white robe Maddy somehow recalls is known as a kandura.

Flabby little lumps of flesh cover the man’s face.

The bumps and wrinkles are so plentiful that Maddy cannot even discern what the man’s expression might be.

Then one of the stooges says, with mock formality, “You will be honored to meet Karnama Alsamida.”

Then the stooge adds, “Please, show your respect to your new employer by bowing.”

Neither Maddy nor Belinda moves. They are paralyzed with a combination of disgust and fear.

Louder, the stooge shouts, “Bow!”

Maddy and Belinda both bow. The sheik smiles, clearly pleased with his new employees.