“We have certain connections to people who live… how shall I say this… outside the normal life,” Rolf explained. “They could offer you the protection you need, but it would come at a cost.”
“We’ll pay whatever costs are necessary,” Zach said.
“You have no idea what you are saying,” Gretchen snorted. “You look like fine, cultured ladies. The price you would have to pay might be too much for you.”
“We’ll just have to take that chance, then,” Krista said. “Can you really help us?”
“Probably,” Rolf replied, nodding, “but why would you trust us?”
“You just saved us from a mob,” Susan replied.
“I did that out of curiosity to find out who would be so stupid as to come to this market dressed as you were,” Rolf said. “But no matter, you can easily ask at your resort. We are known. Most of our clients are very well-off and stay in the top resorts. We would not still be here and doing well if we weren’t honest. Most of our clients come from word-of-mouth referrals.”
“There are other people who provide similar services to ours,” Gretchen said, “but they are Omanis. That’s not to say that they aren’t trustworthy, but they might not be as understanding. We can give you some names if you’d like so that you can check the alternatives.”
“You wouldn’t make such an offer if you weren’t trustworthy and knew that we’d find that you were exactly what you are representing yourselves to be,” Susan said. “Why don’t you meet us for dinner at our resort and we can discuss it further?”
“A good suggestion,” Rolf said, nodding approvingly. “That will give you a chance to make some inquiries about us. You’d be foolish not to.”
“I don’t think that I’ve ever been in such a terrible place,” Krista said when they got back to their rooms and gratefully removed the burnoose that Gretchen had given them, then stripped and sank into the private infinity-edged pool that was attached to their suite, Zach joining them, lifting Susan’s legs from behind as she leaned on the edge looking over the sea, spreading them apart and making room for himself to slide his cock into her.
“Oh, Zach, you always know just what I need,” Susan sighed as he began to fuck her. “I miss Bora Bora, but it’s also nice that it’s just the three of us again.”
They spent the day in their suite, reluctant to go out, ordering lunch from room service, alternating their time between the pool and the bed where they reverted to type, taking turns with each other before finally falling asleep, Susan and Krista curled up next to Zach. When reception called them later to announce the arrival of Rolf and Gretchen, they went downstairs to meet them, Zach wearing his silk outfit and the two women their sundresses.
Zach’s eyes opened when he saw Gretchen, not dressed in a shapeless burnoose anymore, but wearing a mid-thigh skirt and blouse, her legs slender and very tanned, her smaller breasts with their pale nipples visible moving bralessly beneath the blouse, while Rolf was wearing khaki trousers and a short-sleeved shirt that was open at the neck to reveal a very hairy chest.
At Rolf’s suggestion, they went down to Shahrazad, the resort’s signature restaurant, where they enjoyed a Moroccan-themed meal of couscous and a fabulous lamb curry, accompanied by bottles of Chateau Musar, a fabulous red wine from Lebanon’s Ghazir, near the famous Beqaa Valley.
“You really should consider finding another place to hide,” Rolf said as they ate.
“I think this place is perfect,” Zach said. “It’s so off the beaten path that our chances of remaining hidden are better.”
“Not if you stay in 5-star resorts,” Gretchen said. “Or any hotel, for that matter. They are required to send your passport information to the police daily. Buying a policeman is relatively easy, so if the people who are seeking you want to find you, it would only take a few hundred dollars to get access to the tourist registrations.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Krista asked.
“Other than going somewhere else, to some other country, we have relations with some Bedouins,” Rolf replied. “They are desert nomads who recognize no authority but that of the tribe’s sheikh whose words are taken as coming directly from Allah’s lips. They do not recognize borders. They are among the world’s fiercest fighters, comparable to the Nepalese Gurkhas, so governments are reluctant to challenge them. We could arrange for you to be placed under the care of a group of Bedouins that we deal with. It would take a serious military effort to dislodge you from them and there would be no incentive for the government to try.”
“That sounds perfect,” Susan said.
“Yes and no,” Gretchen said. “If you accept sanctuary with the Bedouins, you must abide by their rules and ways of life. You might find that distasteful and difficult. Their standards are truly medieval. That doesn’t even take into account the physical discomfort of Bedouin life. They travel incessantly, living in tents. The diet is simple and monotonous, though nourishing.”
“Would we be safe?” Krista asked.
“If they agree to offer you sanctuary, you would be as safe as anywhere on this planet,” Gretchen replied.
“You should understand that in a Bedouin tribe, the sheikh’s word is law and unquestionable,” Rolf explained. “Further, and probably the most difficult for you, would be the fact that women are collective property. They might have a husband and children, but their bodies are not their own. Any man can take any woman at any time and nobody would question it.”
“But how do the men know if the children are theirs?” Susan asked, aghast.
“It is irrelevant,” Gretchen replied. “For all of their ways, Bedouins are actually a matriarchal society. A man accepts any offspring of his woman as his own, regardless of who actually fathered them.”
“That’s pretty amazing,” Krista said.
“That arose because Bedouins by their very nature are constantly at war, usually against other Bedouins, and men die,” Rolf explained. “Even the Prophet Muhammed recognized this, accepting the fact that men should take in the women of fallen comrades as their own. This is the foundation of their way of many wives. Otherwise, most tribes would be a majority of widows with children without fathers and who would take care of them? It shows their humility before Allah that they accept the responsibility for their fallen comrades’ families, that Islam is one big family, and it also serves to show that they can afford to take care of such a large family. Like most places and most people, ego and face are of paramount importance to a Bedouin. Never insult one without expecting to have to defend your life.”
“My god!” Susan gasped, shaking her head. “After Bora Bora, it sounds like we’re going from heaven to the very depths of hell.”
“As I said, even though you would be safe from whoever you are trying to avoid, it would not be with cost, a cost that I fear you would be unable to meet,” Rolf said.
“How much?” Zach asked, misunderstanding.
“In money?” Rolf asked. “It would depend upon the amount of time that you required sanctuary. I’d figure on something in the neighborhood of $50, 000 a month.”
“That’s a lot of money,” Krista said, “to live in a tent.”