The Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies by Philip J. Imbrogno, Rosemary Ellen Guiley Read Free Book Online Page A

The customs officer then got on the phone and spoke in Arabic, a language I don't understand. He called over two nearby soldiers and had them escort me to a security room. I grew more worried. You see, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the ruling monarch at that time, had recently suffered a stroke and was unable to perform his duties as king. Many feared that dissidents would use this opportunity to seize control of the government. Perhaps my friend had already left the country, or was jailed by whoever was in control. You can understand my growing concern, thinking I might also be jailed because of my past military association with Jack.
    A half hour later, a soldier walked into the small room. Speaking almost perfect English, he identified himself as Captain Yar- ramish and told me a car was waiting outside to take me to my destination.' I tried to ask him where I was being taken, but he insisted that I not ask any questions. We walked out the security area of the customs building. My mind flashed to an incident Jack and
I had in Bangkok back in 1970. I said to myself, "Surely he must
have forgotten about that by now!"

    Outside was a white stretch limousine. The captain got in with
me and we began our journey to our destination. I thought, "Well,
they sure aren't going to take me to a prison in a limo, but then
again, Jack always had a strange sense of humor." As we drove
through the city, I was shocked at the living conditions: people were
still living as they had lived in the eighteenth century. We must have
passed forty gas stations on our trip and the price was no more than
ten cents a liter!
    Soon, we found ourselves in the upper-class part of the city. Here,
the homes were fantastically large with very expensive cars in the
driveways. The difference between this area and the poor section
and outer fringes of the city was like day and night. The wealthy
Saudi people lived much better than Americans, and the neighborhood I was now riding through would put Beverly Hills to shame.
It was clear that there were two financial classes in this country: the
extremely wealthy and the poor.
    We stopped at a gate with two guards who waved us in. The
car pulled into a long circular driveway. As I got out of the limo,
Jack appeared, and greeted me with a smile and a hug. We went
into a small villa they had prepared for me and we sat down to
have a drink. Jack told me he had the rank of colonel in the Saudi
security force, a position he had been in for the past five years. He
asked me about my life since we last met. I told him that for the
past thirteen years, I had been teaching science and had written
a number of books on various topics. He looked at me, laughed,
and said,"Yes, but that's the cover story. What are you really doing?" I couldn't get Jack to believe that I was nothing more than
a science teacher-he was certain I was in the Middle East doing
some type of reconnaissance for an intelligence agency. Jack said we were invited to a dinner party that evening with a member of
the royal family. He then excused himself to attend to his duties,
and recommended I get some rest.

    A Strange Dinner Party
    As soon as Jack left, I fell into a deep sleep. Not too much later, I
was awakened by a knock on the door. It was a secretary from the
royal family asking me if I was ready for dinner. What seemed only
like a few minutes of sleep was actually several hours! I must have
been very tired, since it is not normal for me to sleep so deeply,
especially in a strange place. I let the gentleman in and apologized
for not being ready. He seemed quite upset and insisted that I
hurry because Prince Khalid bin Fahd was attending the dinner
party and it is a custom and show of respect that the guests arrive
first and wait for royalty to make their entrance.
    As I hurried to get ready, dressing in the tuxedo already cleaned
and pressed for me, the gentleman identifying himself as my "advisor" gave me brief