Bashar’s Bazaar
Draco and his two soldiers watched the large man with confusion as he came towards him.
He was built like a football lineman with the height of a basketball player. Once the soldiers saw that the man was heading towards them, they quickly moved out of the way.
The man ran past them, and when he saw Draco still standing in front of him he got visibly angry.
However, Draco made no effort to move out of his way. He simply crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at the man.
"Yataharak!" the man shouted, slamming straight into Draco.
The man was expecting Draco to go flying from the impact, but the complete opposite happened!
Draco's feet didn't budge an inch, and he remained completely still as the man slammed into him.
The man flew backwards, his arm bent in an unnatural angle from his attempt to push Draco down.
While the man screamed in pain, Draco walked up to him in curiosity.
'Is he some second-rate robber?' Draco wondered, seeing that the man was hastily exiting the store.
It made sense, considering that he was wearing a black mask and carrying a bag.
He was also urgently leaving the store. Putting two and two together, Draco figured he had just finished robbing this place.
Shaking his head, Draco walked up to the man and lifted him up by his shirt.
Draco then dragged the man back towards the store. The man kicked and yelled, but he was unable to break free from Draco's grip.
Draco opened the store's door to the sound of bells, and he threw the man down in front of the store's counter.
The first thing Draco saw in the store was that the counter's glass window was shattered.
The man behind the counter was holding a rag over his bloodied nose, and he looked at Draco with shock as he busted through the door.
Seeing the man who had just robbed his store and broken his nose, the shopkeeper was speechless.
The man Draco had dragged into the store was many times larger than himself. Draco was quite tall himself, but it was nonetheless a comical sight.
Draco went to pick up the robber's duffel bag, and opening it up he found that it was filled with loose bills and various tobacco products.
'Who the hell steals cigarettes?' Draco thought to himself.
He motioned to Addo, telling him to return with additional soldiers and take the robber away. The man was simply gigantic, Draco felt like he could make use of him.
Draco then gave the bag to the shopkeeper, "I believe this belongs to you. I will be handing this man to the authorities." he lied.
The shopkeeper bowed his head repeatedly in thanks.
"Thank you, sir!" he said in rough english.
Draco smiled and waved his hand, "Don't worry about it. I was just in the right place at the right time."
The shopkeeper smiled back, "Is there anything I can do for you today?"
Draco nodded, "Yes, actually. I was coming to buy some water and food."
"Of course, sir! It's on the house!" the shopkeeper said.
The shopkeeper pointed towards the back of the store, "Water and food is in that aisle."
Draco's soldiers had come back at this point, and three of them grabbed the robber and began to haul him back to the car. He also told some of them to stay and help with the shopping.
Draco then walked over to the aisle and grabbed several cases of water. He handed them over to his soldiers and they carried them to the counter.
Draco also filled up several handbaskets with canned food, and began to carry them over as well.
Once he was done, the entire counter was stacked with items so high it reached the roof. Eventually he ran out of counter space and had items stacked up on the floor as well.
When the shopkeeper saw all of the items Draco had brought, he looked like he wanted to cry.
He was regretting his offer to pay for everything. He had no idea Draco planned on buying half of the store.
However, Draco could see that the shopkeeper was fighting demons in his mind.
Draco laughed, "I know I got a lot of things. You can just give me a discount, okay?"
The shopkeeper nodded his head gratefully, "Yes, yes! Discount."
The man began to ring up Draco's items, and the total came up to a staggering 4,730 dinars. This was equal to almost a thousand USD.
After the generous discount though, Draco only had to pay around half of that.
Draco promptly paid for the supplies, and then took this chance to ask the shopkeeper for directions.
He wrote the directions down, and then had his men load the supplies into the bus.
Draco walked back to the bus and saw that the huge robber he had just captured was thrashing about his bindings, roaring at his people and making them uneasy.
When Draco saw the man snap his teeth at Snow like a rabid animal, he became enraged. He walked up and smacked the man across the cheek, knocking him senseless.
Draco then pulled the man towards his face, "Boy, you better behave. I am doing a favor by not handing you to the authorities. I have plans for you. Amber! Translate what I just said."
After Amber came over and translated Draco's words, the man's eyes widened and he stopped resisting.
Draco then turned to Amber, "Ask him what his name is."
The man said his name was Hamza, and Draco quickly came up with a nickname for him.
"All right Ham, be good." he instructed.
He also healed the man's broken arm with the amulet.
Hamza watched his broken bones snap back into place with shock, and he looked at Draco like he was some deity.
He realized that this strange foreigner was someone he shouldn't mess with.
Once everything was in order, Addo drove the bus out of the parking lot and back into the crowded Benghazi streets.
Draco told Addo where to go, and they began to head towards their destination. Apparently it was located in the central business district.
They only had to stay on the main street and take a few turns to get to their destination.
The traffic was heavy, so it took the group around half an hour to reach the business district. When Draco saw the street sign saying East Tharwa Blvd, he told Addo to turn into the street.
Looking around, Draco saw that the street was lined with tall office buildings and stores made out of sturdy bricks.
There was a heavy police presence in the area. They patrolled the street on foot while others sat in their police cruisers next to the road.
Draco was wondering which of these large buildings was the correct one, but he spotted a particularly tall one towards the end of the street.
This building had pristine white bricks in contrast to the yellow bricks of the surrounding buildings, and it had an eye-catching neon sign above it.
This sign read 'Bashar's Bazaar', and when Draco saw it he knew he had found the right place.
Draco told Addo to stop in front of the building, and he saw that there were two powered guards next to the doors.
They seemed quite weak in strength, but just the fact that they were serving as shop guards meant that this 'Ghiath Bashar' was a very rich and powerful man.
Draco got out of the vehicle with Amber following behind him, just in case he needed a translator.
When the guards saw that Draco was a powered individual, they bowed their heads and opened the door for him.
Once inside the building, Draco saw that it had a floor made from red stone that was adorned with golden designs and patterns.
Lavish tapestries and rugs were on the floor, and the walls held treasures and artifacts that made Draco's eyes glisten with greed.
After he entered, Draco was greeted by rows of female servants on both sides of the door.
They bowed their heads as Draco entered, and one of them stepped forward to greet him.
She spoke to him in Arabic, and Amber translated her words.
"She says greetings, she's asking how she can help you." Amber said.
Draco smiled at the servant, "I have business with Ghiath Bashar, please lead me to him."
A strange look passed the servants face. She looked at Draco with disdain.
She was thinking that this man with tattered clothes barged into this store and was demanding to speak with their lord, who does he think he is?
"Lord Bashar does not speak with customers, she says you need to be of repute to request a meeting with our Lord." Amber translated.
Draco's eye twitched when he heard this. He reached into his robes and pulled out his letter of recommendation Saalim had given him.
He threw this letter at the servant and she caught it in her hands, looking at him with anger.
"Eadam al ihtiram!" the servant muttered under her breath.
However, when she opened the letter and read it, shock crossed her features.
The servant bowed her head repeatedly in apology, and then ran off towards a staircase in the back of the room.
A few minutes passed before the servant returned, her eyes showing her fear.
Amber spoke up after hearing the servant speak, "She says that Lord Bashar will now meet with us on the top floor."