QUICK RECAP:
Libreville Airport. Bellview Airlines. LBV-LOS. Martin. Flight delayed. Cameroon Airlines. LBV-DLA. Refuelling stop. €400 deal. Passport stamped. Pilot befriended. Flight boarded. Martin returns. €10,000 CASH.
CHAPTER SEVEN:
A Bag Full of Cash!
As I walked up the stairs towards the cabin door, I was seriously thinking how it might look to the other passengers. An Indian man rushing out of the plane and then walking back in, this time with a large black plastic bundle, which looked like a bag full of trash, except it was actually full of cash!
The moment I stepped inside, I found the Captain, the hostess and two other passengers right at the entrance. They were all looking at me! It seemed as if they had suddenly stopped a heated debate, that was going on in my absence. I glanced across inside the cabin and found every single eye fixed on me. Everyone inside seemed to be on the right side of the cabin, none to the left. At first I thought it was because they were all watching the refuelling process, which was to the right side of the plane. But then I recalled, half of them were sleeping when I had left the cabin, and I quickly realised it was me they were observing, from the windows of the airplane.
The Captain, who was so friendly fifteen minutes back, suddenly blocked my way, and in a composed but assertive voice said;
“Sir, we cannot let you board with that baggage!”
This was met with an audible roar of approval from the passengers in the cabin.
I muttered in a low voice;
“But why? These are just some important documents”
The Captain explained that this was out of concern for the safety of the passengers. Ideally my baggage should have passed through the security screening, but I was still allowed in, along with my cabin baggage. Now I have brought in another bag, which looks very suspicious, without any security check again. Who knows? There might be a bomb inside.
He demanded, much to the vocal support of all the passengers, that if I had to fly, it had to be without that black plastic bundle.
“Please”, I tried to sound apologetic “I cannot travel without this bag. Trust me, there is nothing remotely dangerous inside it!”
“Then show us what is inside!” The Captain replied with a ‘take it or leave it’ kind of nonchalance. The crowd echoed in unison; “Montre nous!” (Show us!)
Realizing there was no other way out of this deadlock, I finally gave in to the growing pressure from my fellow passengers. And there, in the middle of the cabin, I laid down my plastic bundle, and among twenty-five pairs of peering eyes; I opened the knot to reveal the contents of this now famous, black trash bag.
People almost pushed each other to take a look inside and then there was this collective loud gasp, as they caught a glimpse of this solid bundle of cash.
The Captain helped me knot back the bundle and then whispered in my ears;
“Master, carrying this much cash is not wise. You should not have shown it to everyone. In fact, now it can be dangerous for you.”
I couldn’t miss the fact that my status had suddenly been elevated to that of ‘Master’!
Nevertheless, I gave him a stern look and replied;
“Now you know!”
The Captain seemed apologetic as he escorted me to my seat, and his concern seemed genuine. So much so, that he even went a step ahead and suggested that I should keep the cash with him inside the cockpit, the safest place in the entire plane.
It was hard to decline his offer, without offending him directly, but I cooked up an innovative excuse, right on the spot. With a very serious look on my face, I explained to him that I had this bad habit and I could only fall asleep, if I use this bundle of cash as my pillow. That was why I couldn’t sleep last night and during this flight, when I felt safe due to the responsible Captain, I wished to catch up on a little siesta!
The Captain gave me a very strange look, but politely wished me good luck, and retreated inside the cockpit. I put the bundle on the window seat, seated myself on the aisle seat next to it, and buckled my seat belt. I wrapped my arm around the ugly black bundle to my right, with the fondness of a mother wrapping her arms around her newborn baby.
I looked around one last time, to find every single person still watching me with a varied range of expressions. I couldn’t be sure if it felt more awkward or scary.
Just then, the PA system announced that the flight was now ready for take off. And for sure, in the next few minutes, I felt the odd jerks, as the aircraft started rolling down the runway, picked up pace and with a loud shudder, took off for the sky!!
