The Underground

THE UNDERGROUND

Crash. Tinkle.

The sound of dishes, glasses and silverware hitting the floor rang through the closed restaurant. Then there was the scream.

Other wait staff converged on the scene to see what had happened. The waitress trembled and tears started to flow down her cheeks.

Therese, the manager for the restaurant quickly moved to calm Alicia. Others started to clear the debris on the floor.

Cole, the owner, and his friend Marcus had been sitting in a back room when they heard the noise. Cole checked on the commotion, saw that Therese was handling it and returned to his table.

The room that Cole and Marcus were sitting in was known for being away from the hub bub of the restaurant. The stuffed birds – especially the night owls – tended to discourage other customers from sitting there. The restaurant – the Underground – had developed a unique reputation in London. They served American food to homesick Americans. The menu was a mix of vegetarian, bar-b-que, creole, specials using spices and vegetables grown in the Underground’s ever-expanding greenhouse.

“Is everything ok?” asked Marcus.

“Therese is handling it. I’ll find out more later.” Responded Cole. “Did Nate get in touch with you?”

Nate was the head of a 3 lettered U. S. organization that monitored activities outside the United States.

“Nate and I talked. He wants me to come to work for them. I’ve been with Stotts for a long time. I am not sure if it is the move for me.

“Nate said that you and he went back a long way. How did you two meet?”

Cole leaned back and told the tale.

Cole was an undergraduate at Morehouse. He and some of his fellow students decided to take a classmate to a strip club prior to his wedding. While there, Cole noticed a group of white men who seemed out of place. While White men frequenting Black owned and operated strip clubs in the Atlanta area was not unusual, these men had an unfamiliar look.

Cole recognized them as being of middle European extract – not the usual American White guys out hitting the clubs for a night on the town.

Cole decided to order a drink at the bar and chat up the bartender. Cole overheard some of the men talking. The men spoke Russian. Cole understood Russian.

When he returned to his party, the others were talking about checking out another club before returning to campus. Cole encouraged the idea. As they left, Cole claimed that he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to call it an evening. When he returned to his apartment he called a family friend with the FBI.

A few months later the men Cole had observed were arrested. While the official version was that the men were deported, the rumor mill had the men being housed in an undisclosed location as guests of the federal government.

Nate was a member of the group that arrested the Russian speaking men. Nate and Cole developed a friendship and stayed in touch.

Marcus asked if Nate had tried to recruit Cole. Cole said “. . .many times.”

Nate and his predecessors have offered Cole a place in the organization.

The recruitment got serious as Cole approached graduation from Morehouse. Cole spoke Russian and Hebrew fluently. He had the easy going personality that made it possible for him to blend in and become part of almost any group.

In addition, Cole had the smarts. He was chosen for a Rhodes scholarship towards the end of his time at Morehouse. That brought him to London. After his first year, Cole was asked to help with a student tour group that was visiting Moscow during the summer. He would eventually assist with four student tour groups.

After receiving his Masters, Cole decided to stay and get a PhD. He had developed an interest in migration studies. That led him to groups that worked with migrants escaping African countries to work in Europe.

That was where Cole and Marcus first started to cross paths. Both were working for groups that guided people to safer lives in other parts of the world.

Marcus started nodding his head when Cole reminded him of some of their early adventures.

“I think that owl just winked at me” said Marcus.

“Probably did” responded Cole.

“What’s with the stuffed birds?”

Cole laughed.

Cole asked if Marcus had met Nicholas and Jordan. Marcus thought that Nicholas and Jordan were just frequent visitors to the Underground.

Because Cole had been part of taking students to Russia on tours, one of Nate’s superiors at the time asked him to assist in getting some Russians to the West. Nicholas had shown skills in putting technology into things. Nicholas had had trouble leaving Russia. Even with an African heritage, Russia still wanted to keep him. Cole was able to get Nicholas into a tour group, bribed some officials, and got him to London.

Jordan was the younger brother of one of Cole’s Morehouse classmates. Jordan was a budding taxidermist with an growing specialization in birds.

“One night Jordan was bragging about his Tennessee bourbon making skills while Nicholas talked about making vodka. One thing led to another, they eventually made batches and sampled each other’s work. While drinking they started talking about drones being disguised as birds.”

When Jordan and Nicholas sobered up, the idea remained. They started working on it.

The night owl who winked at Marcus was one of the team’s first efforts. Alas, the night owl was too small for all that Nicholas wanted to install.

Yet, from time to time they used night owls. The birds/drones would fly high enough to be ignored as birds flying over. Not close enough to be recognized as a rather large night owl.

“Has anyone ever caught one of the birds?” asked Marcus.

“The birds are programmed to send their information to the Cloud and then self-destruct” responded Cole.

Therese joined the two men. Cole and Therese moved to another corner to discuss what had happened.

Cole returned and shared with Marcus what Therese had learned. Alicia, the waitress, had seen a newspaper left by a customer. The paper was folded to a picture of a group of Black women graduating from one of the U. S. service academies. Alicia recognized one of the women as a sister she thought was dead.

“How did Alicia come to work for you?” asked Marcus.

Cole told Marcus that as part of his teaching of migration studies, he had joined others in helping people escape to better lives. Coyotes – as some of them are called – exist around the world. Cole found that his work expanded from not only leading people across dangerous territory and ferrying some across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, to finding places that they could stay/get jobs or an education and dealing with immigration.

Jordan liked to cook. He started in a small room and developed a following. Cole helped him get the restaurant started. Jordan could handle some things, but not all for running the Underground. Cole retired from the effort of guiding people to safe lands. However, once the immigrants arrived in London, Cole would continue to help integrate the immigrants into their new lives.

Because of the quality of their food, and Cole’s background, members of 3 lettered U. S. agencies (and their counterparts from other agencies around the world) would often meet at the Underground. They felt safe there.

London had developed a reputation for having cameras everywhere monitoring who went where. Inside the Underground, the stuffed animals had devices to record who came in. The ambiance of the Underground included a discreet sound that made listening devices inoperable.

“Did you ever work with Monk and Thad in Egypt” asked Cole.

“Wow – that was a while ago. I helped them move some orphans – mostly girls – from Egypt into Italy. I had a couple of other contracts to follow up on. I left shortly after the orphans were taken to a convent. That must have been about 8, 9, 10 years ago” responded Marcus.

“There was a part convent/part NGO to protect the wildlife that became a refuge for orphans as well as a safe hiding place for parents who were afraid that Boko might come for their kids. There is still no confidence in the government that they could stop Boko.

J. D. contacted me about helping to get the kids out. We used some of the owls for reconnaissance in the area. Things went sideways. Many of the adults were killed. Boko would go into a village/town looking for children – primarily girls. When there were no children to be found, the adults were killed. Boko invaded the convent and captured the orphans. The leaders of that Boko sec decided to divide the orphans up to increase the likelihood of not being found.

The owls helped to track down the various groups. Monk and Thad found one group, took out all of the Boko Haram and then transported the orphans over land to Egypt. J. D. found another group, took out the captors and eventually got most of the orphans to the U. S. I became houseparent to 20 pre-teen/teenage girls. With the help of some others we initially got them to Brussels and then on to Britain. Again, we didn’t know if there were any other relatives alive and the government couldn’t be trusted to protect them.

“With funding from some generous donors and non-profits, we’ve been able to house, feed, clothe and educate the girls. Most are now in college. Of the 20 – 10 have graduated or are near college graduation. 6 are working here in some capacity. The remaining 4 are still in secondary school. My gut is telling me that they all have their eyes on Spelman.

“There were so many bodies. Since the convent/part NGO was off-the-books – few could go in to verify who was dead or missing. Bringing the orphans to safety was our one concern.

“Could one of those girls in the picture be part of the group that was rescued by J. D.?” asked Marcus.

“I’ll check with J.D. to see what he can tell me. It would be great to bring some happiness into their lives.” Responded Cole.

Therese returned to give Cole an update.

“All the tables are filled for the first seating this evening. I’ve sent Alicia home. We should be ok without her tonight” said Therese.

“Tell Jorge to send her a care package. Alicia shouldn’t have to worry about dinner tonight” said Cole.

“I think Jorge has started to prepare something for her. Tonight the package is chicken soup” said Therese.

As she left Marcus asked “care package?”

“Yes. The staff started it a few years ago. The days here in London can be pretty gloomy for some Americans. So the staff started to go care packages. The package includes chicken soup, a salad, and garlic bread. Someone calls or places an on-line order. We have the package delivered to the front door. The packages have been known to brighten a dreary day.”

“You mentioned that 6 were working here at the Underground – what are they doing?” asked Marcus.

“Have you seen the garden out back? Actually it is a greenhouse. We are growing all kinds of vegetables and spices. The garden salad that we send out – the lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots – all grown in the greenhouse. Because the area is enclosed, we can grow stuff year round. A couple of the young women are becoming agricultural specialists. I think one is going to be a farm to table chef.

“Long term, some may decide to return. Others will find immigrants that need help in acclimating to their new surroundings. I hope some will go into teaching, social work, open their own businesses, find ways to help those who’ve also left and resettled here in Europe.”

“This mac ‘n cheese with brisket – my mom never made this.”

“You said something about the 4 young ones going to Spelman. As a Morehouse guy, I thought you would support the sister school” said Marcus.

Nate responded “Spelman is good but I’d rather see them at Trinity Washington in DC. Like Spelman and Bennett it is all female. Unlike Spelman and Bennett it is not an HBCU even though their student body is close to 60% Black. It is better than 30% Hispanic.

“Those 4 – if they were in DC Nate could keep an eye on them and make sure that they get good internships in the Fed. In addition to English they speak Igbo and Yoruba. Two can sign in one of the sign languages native to the area. All are proficient with krav maga and capoeira. With citizenship, they could have a bright future.

The two men laughed and continued their meal.

Cole said that Jordan was planning on adding the mac ‘n cheese to the rotation for the care package.

Two months later

Marcus was back at the Underground. He was moving a bit slowly. There was a new scratch on his face. But in general, he was ok.

Marcus had arrived closed to closing time for the lunch seating. Therese seated him once again in the back room with the stuffed birds.

Cole arrived with his lap top in hand.

“How was your trip?” asked Cole.

“Very well. With the growing number of African athletes in professional sports in the West, requests to get family members – and their extended families - out of despot regimes continues to grow. At least they have the funds necessary to cover getting family members out and started on the road to citizenship.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get back into the game? Could be fun” said Marcus.

Cole replied “no. There are too many responsibilities here. It looks like 8 more have found their way to our doorstop. The group includes a sister and her children of one of the 20 we talked about last time. At least there are a couple of boys in the group.

“When you were here last, we talked a bit about Alicia. She thought that she had seen someone in a newspaper photo who looked like her sister.

“I checked with J. D. Turns out it was Alicia’s cousin. We are now running DNA on JD’s group and mine. Monk and Thad have added to their group in Italy. They will start the DNA process.

“J. D. says that others in his group confirmed that Alicia’s parents and sister were killed. While learning of her parents’ death was not good, at least she has a cousin to start building a relationship with. We have started talking with staff in U. S. Immigration to get Alicia over to the United States.

“I reached out to Nate. They will work with the NGOs to see if there might be other family members in the area. Some of the group are now developing an interest in forensic genealogy. It is a growing career field.”

Marcus noted that business appeared to still be doing well.

Cole agreed. “Things are going better than expected. Jordan and Nicholas have started looking at places across the street. They want to open a satellite sports bar for U. S. games. They envision indoor tailgating while watching the Super Bowl, March Madness and other events.”

Marcus quipped “it looks like Jordan is going to need to stuff a few more birds.