CHAPTER 143: ADANA LANDING

A couple of days had passed since the Gurbanov meeting.

Back in Chicago, Marcus Chen had launched his ad campaign. Short videos featuring medieval-themed skits with Irene's modular jewelry designs prominently displayed. Sales trickled in slowly but steadily. Every notification on his phone brought a small rush of hope. But it was nowhere near enough to actually call it a business.

Still it was progress. Small victories in a war fought on two worlds.

Meanwhile, Valdris Marcus and Tom boarded their first airplane with Numan. The airport alone had been an experience. Tom kept stopping to stare at the departure boards, the rolling suitcases, the coffee shops with their glowing menus.

"Why do people need wheels on their bags?" Tom had asked in Valdrian. "Are they too weak to carry them?"

"It is just convenient Tom. Now keep walking."

When they finally boarded and the plane began its taxi down the runway, Tom's reaction was pure wonder and terror mixed into one. His massive hands gripped the armrests so hard the plastic cracked beneath his fingers.

"We are inside a metal bird," he whispered to Marcus as the engines roared louder. His face had gone pale. "Your planet has tamed metal birds."

Marcus couldn't help but smile. "It is called an airplane Tom. And this one called TK205."

The plane lifted off. Tom's stomach dropped. He made a sound somewhere between a prayer and a curse in Valdrian that Marcus had never heard before.

First they landed in London. Tom spent the entire layover pressing his face against the windows, watching other planes take off and land. Then Istanbul, where the call to prayer echoing across the city made Tom freeze in his tracks.

"Is that magic?" he asked.

"No. Religion."

"What is the difference?"

Marcus didn't have an answer for that.

Finally they landed in Adana, Türkiye. The heat hit them immediately when they stepped off the plane. Dry and ancient. The air tasted different here. Older somehow.

Numan led them through the bustling streets. Cars honked. Street vendors called out their wares. The smell of grilled meat and spices filled the air. Tom's head swiveled constantly, taking in the chaos of a city that seemed both familiar and alien to his Valdrian sensibilities.

Numan stopped in front of a small kebab restaurant. The sign was hand painted. Smoke rose from a long grill visible through the window where a man worked over glowing coals.

"You must try Adana kebab in Adana. It is the best thing on the planet." Numan insisted. His eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"Numan I am not completely an outsider you remember that right? I ate these things in Chicago."

Numan grabbed Marcus by the shoulder and pushed him toward the door. "Nothing like this."

They entered and the smell intensified. Rich lamb fat. Smoky char. Spices that made Marcus's mouth water before they even sat down.

Tom devoured five plates.

Marcus couldn't believe how good it was. It was just minced meat on a grill. How could something so simple taste like this?

"Why... how is it that this good?" Marcus asked between bites. Grease ran down his chin. He didn't care.

"Ha.. haa.." Numan laughed, pointing at Marcus's expression. "I told you."

He turned to the master of the small kebab place. An older man with forearms like tree trunks and hands blackened from decades of work over flames.

"Uncle make another for my skinny friend. He couldn't believe how good it is."

The master smiled, revealing gold teeth, and turned back to his work.

Numan leaned toward Marcus. "First of all this lamb kind only lives here. The breed is special to this region. Second they don't make minced meat from a grinder. Machines explode the cells so when cooking all the juice flows out. Instead they cut it with giant knives by hand."

Marcus watched the master making mince meat. The blade rose and fell in a hypnotic rhythm. Thunk thunk thunk. The meat transformed under his skilled hands.

Marcus's phone buzzed.

A text from Chen: "Dad came through. 50K loan approved. Money transferred. We can start manufacturing the mind-freeing machine."

Marcus read the message twice to make sure it was real. Then he told Tom the news.

His cousin's eyes lit up. He put down his sixth plate mid-bite. "I don't understand everything but it seems he put all his life savings on the line." Tom said between chewing.

Marcus nodded slowly. The weight of that sacrifice pressed down on him. "I can't even describe. If it fails my mom...." He gulped hard. "I don't know how mom will respond to dad."

The thought made him lose his appetite despite the incredible food.

Numan noticed the shift in their mood. His brow furrowed with concern. "Good news?"

"The best." Marcus replied. He forced a smile. "Now we just need to figure out how to build a portal home. The rest is secured with Chen."

After their feast ended and they had paid, much to Marcus's relief finding the prices incredibly cheap compared to America, Numan explained the schedule.

"I don't know if you know this but the USA has a base here in Adana. Well NATO actually. It is called Incirlik. Even though Turkey is a safe country one of the Keepers working at Incirlik offered us a ride to Urfa."

"Really?" Marcus asked. He shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to show up at a USA military base and raise questions. But these were unfamiliar lands. And he had no authority to protest.

"He will drop us off and spend couple days there and return"

After a thirty minute ride through increasingly rural roads they reached the edge of the American military base. The perimeter fence stretched into the distance. Guard towers loomed.

Without entering Numan pulled out his phone and called the Keeper.

A few minutes later an SUV rolled up to the gate. The driver was a tall well-built man in his thirties with a clean shaven head and darker skin. Even in everyday civilian clothes in Adana he was screaming "I am an American." Something about the way he held himself. The confidence in his walk.

He was smiling as he drove outside to meet them.

"You must be Marcus." He shook Marcus's hand firmly. "I am Kevin." He turned to Tom and his smile widened. "And you are the giant Valdrian Tom."

He shook Tom's massive hand without flinching at the strength there.

Finally he walked up to Numan. His expression softened. "It is nice to actually meet face to face Numan. I worked with your parents between my deployments."

Numan nodded. His jaw tightened.

Marcus noticed the sting of losing his parents flash across Numan's face. Even with their awful start, the attack in the alley, the threats, Marcus had grown to like Numan. He was genuine and passionate about what he was doing. As a grandson of an esteemed professor and prominent parents he hadn't had any real goals in life. He was just drifting through whatever his grandpa tasked him to do.

But coming here with Marcus and Tom had invigorated something new in him. A new passion. A new smile.

They loaded their belongings into Kevin's car. The leather seats were cool against the afternoon heat.

And their journey to Urfa began.