New Arrangements

Henry moved a chair over so Audrey could sit in the shade under the hangar. He said, "Boss, we need to load the supplies from the plane onto the truck. It'll take a little time, so please rest here for a bit."

Audrey complained, "I've been on the plane for a while. Now that I'm finally off, you're making me sit down again. Go on with your work, kid. I'm going to walk around and stretch my legs. I'll sit down when I'm tired."

"Alright, boss. Just don't go somewhere we can't see you," Henry conceded.

The men rolled up their sleeves and prepared to move the supplies brought by the plane onto the two vehicles.

Unlike large passenger planes, which have dedicated cargo holds, small passenger planes have special baggage compartments for storing large items. However, this time they brought quite a lot of stuff, so some of it was secured to the floor with straps.

Brian ordered, "Henry, go move that pile of cardboard boxes."

"OK."

Besides Henry, who was also helping, Old Bernie also helped move the cardboard boxes containing supplies. Inside were relief supplies collected from donations, intended for conservation organizations. These were mainly clothes and food, along with some rather impractical plush toys.

Some items were food, water, and dry rations prepared for themselves, including sleeping bags and other supplies.

Brian and his two companions were responsible for carrying larger wooden crates and smaller metal boxes. These were logistical support supplies for the security team, including firearms and ammunition.

For safety reasons, Brian and his team handled these items themselves, and Henry wasn't allowed to touch them.

However, they usually only carry short guns discreetly, not holding long guns in their hands. This is mainly because they don't want to scare children.

In Africa, firearms are a familiar sight to the locals. Even children in child protection facilities might be survivors of families that have been shot and killed.

To avoid upsetting the children's sensitive emotions, Ms. Hepburn requested that they not be seen waving rifles in front of them.

After all the supplies were loaded onto the vehicle, Henry watched as the Italian captain parked the plane under the hangar. Airport staff came over, took a look, collected the fees, and then went to handle the rest of the arrangements.

Henry and his party, having made all the preparations, did not leave the airport. Instead, they remained in the tarmac area, waiting for local officials and guides to come and lead the way.

Otherwise, even if a group of people knew where their destination was, they could just barge in. Local protection agencies might not recognize a group of white people, and if a conflict broke out, it would be worse.

So, during this time, Henry inquired about the upcoming arrangements.

Brian explained, "Because the airport facilities are rudimentary and lack nighttime takeoff and landing capabilities, even if you rush back to the airport as quickly as possible after arriving at the destination, it will inevitably be nighttime and the airport will be closed."

"So we'll definitely have to spend a day here. As for where we'll sleep, that depends on what the local officials decide. I've brought some camping gear, which is a last resort."

"Where are the captain and flight attendants? I don't think they're planning to leave," Henry asked again.

Brian replied, "They'll stay at the airport to inspect and clean the plane. The main problem is this godforsaken place; it'll be difficult for them to even find a bar for the night."

"Local hotels might not even be as comfortable or hygienic as those on airplanes. If you need to shower, you can use the airport facilities; it just costs a little money."

"Moreover, leaving it on the plane can prevent the enthusiasm of the Africa people from getting the better of them, with everyone taking a part, and in the end, the plane will only be a skeleton."

Henry exclaimed in surprise, "This kind of thing can happen?"

Smiling, Brian pointed around and said, "Look, there are no walls or barbed wire fences around here. Anyone can enter the airport grounds. And look under the hangars; wherever there's a plane, there's bound to be someone nearby."

After explaining the two leads, Brian shrugged and smiled, saying, "This is Africa, after all. Anything can happen here. That's why I insisted on carrying a gun. I don't have to use it, but I can't want to want to use it and not have one."

That last sentence was addressed to Ms. Hepburn. Before setting off, Audrey had expressed some reservations when she heard that Brian's team wanted to bring weapons.

She felt that the purpose of this trip was simply to see some children, so why bring weapons?

But when she saw United Nations personnel bringing along heavily armed peacekeeping troops, Audrey relented. She only asked Brian and the others not to handle guns in front of the children.

After waiting for quite a while, the local officials finally arrived.

There were two Old Black, one fat and one thin. The fat one was wearing a linen T-shirt and suit pants, a very cool and breathable fabric that could be considered a fine clothing material.

The skinny one, however, was a muscular, lean man, dressed in a camouflage shirt and jeans. If he were also carrying a machine gun and wearing ammunition belts, he wouldn't even need to shout "robbery"; he exuded an aura of menacing thugs.

The two chattered away for a while, their words coming out so fast it sounded almost like they were arguing.

Then the heavier one stepped forward to greet them, saying in broken English, "Are you the United Nations Ambassador, Ms. Hepburn, and her entourage? I am your liaison officer, and the man behind you is your guide."

Audrey Hepburn stepped forward to shake hands with the other party. Seeing this, Henry, of course, didn't forget to take out his camera and take pictures.

It's said that officials love photos that prove their achievements, but Henry noticed that the portly Old Black seemed somewhat evasive around the camera lens, lacking any semblance of composure.

After quickly taking the photos, Fat Old Black said, "Everyone, let's hit the road. It'll take us quite a while to get to our destination."

No one objected, and they all got into the car.

The fat Old Black sat in the jeep driven by the guide.

Henry was driving, with Old Bernie in the passenger seat and Ms. Hepburn and Brian, who was responsible for protecting him, in the back.

The other car carried Mark and Sam, one in the driver's seat and the other in the passenger seat. The back seats were piled high with supplies that couldn't fit in the cargo compartments of both cars.

Without saying a word, the group drove straight out of the airport area and sped off towards their destination.

Mark's driving skills weren't a problem keeping up with that wild Jeep; what worried Brian more was Henry's driving skills.

But after observing for a short while, he noticed that Henry could follow closely behind the jeep by about three car lengths, and was almost always on the same ruts. This is quite important when following other vehicles on unpaved roads.

Henry's driving skills are clearly not bad, at least for now.

What worried Brian a little was that Henry clearly spoke Somali, and his behavior in the past few days had shown that he enjoyed interacting with these Old Black. So why didn't he join in this time?

Even during his conversation, he showed no sign that he could speak Somali.

Perhaps others thought that Henry was embarrassed to speak with people in his broken Somali.

But Brian felt that the truth was not so. And his intuition was always very accurate, especially when it came to the bad.