Page 50 of A Life Imagined
Mathias knew he understood what remained unsaid:Look out for yourself.Rayan frowned, but he pocketed the cash and gave Mathias a reluctant nod.
Once they were ready to head out, he and Rayan helped their passengers get into position.Mathias couldn’t help thinking, as he tightened the screws on the crate with Farhan inside, that it was not unlike sealing a coffin.
They drove the twenty minutes to the border checkpoint in silence.Rayan sat in the passenger seat, his eyes fixed on the road.As predicted, the crossing was clogged with utility vans and semitrailers heading to work in Germany and beyond.Their truck, packed with furniture for sale in France, would hopefully appear unremarkable to the border guards.
As they moved forward in the queue, Mathias reached into the glove compartment and retrieved the folder of paperwork Gorelik had prepared for him.When the barrier rose to let the vehicle in front of them pass, he and Rayan exchanged a brief look.Then the barrier lowered, and Mathias brought the truck to a stop, taking a slow, even breath through his nose.
Showtime.
He wound down the window, and a guard approached the vehicle.He was young, flaxen haired, and dressed in the same green uniform as the man they’d encountered on the way out of the country.Mathias handed over his license and waited.
“Where are you headed today, sir?”
“Calais.”
“France?”
“That’s right.”
“For what purpose?”
“We’re returning home.”
“And what was the nature of your trip to Poland?”
“Business.”Mathias passed him the folder.“I was collecting a series of pieces from a vendor.”
The guard opened it and took a cursory glance inside.“Furniture?”
Mathias nodded.“Antique.Most of it Zakopane.”
The guard handed the folder back.“Sir, if you could pull your vehicle into the marked area over there.I’d like to take a look in the truck.”
“Of course.”Mathias indicated right and eased out of the queue and into the inspection lane.
“Mathias.”Rayan was staring straight ahead, his voice no louder than a whisper.“If something happens, I want you to know—”
“Don’t you start with that shit,” Mathias cut in, his jaw stiff.
The guard followed them and gestured for Mathias to get out of the truck.Mathias unclipped his seat belt and opened the cab door.
“Do you mind opening the back for me?”the guard asked.
“Not at all.”
Together they walked around the truck, and Mathias unclasped the latches on the roller door.He pulled it all the way open, revealing the cargo box stacked with furniture.
The guard peered at the arrangement of pieces.He reached out to idly open and close the drawer on one of the nightstands and gave an appreciative grunt.“Some nice stuff in here.”
“Let me know if there’s anything that strikes your fancy.”
The guard chuckled.“We’ll see.You can close it.”
Mathias refastened the latches and returned to the driver’s seat.The guard handed him back his license through the window and slapped a palm down on the hood.“Off you go.”
Mathias drove through a separate set of barriers at the end of the inspection lane and merged with the other traffic exiting the checkpoint.Only when they’d made it onto the highway, the signs now in German, did he allow himself to look over at Rayan.Their eyes met, and then they were both grinning, a shared relief bubbling to the surface.Mathias thumped his fist against the wall separating the cab from the cargo box.
“At ease, boys,” he called out.“We’re all clear.”
