LAST RESORT

MR MONROE'S POV

The room temperature was suddenly higher than the norm, or was that just me. The intended small talk that I was having with Mr Ahmed's employee has led me to his office to discuss with him myself.

After the painstaking amount of time that I and the kids had used to create a plan to get the rest of us out safe and sound, just one rule and it looked like it was all going to go up in smoke.

Even if I was half asleep during the planning, I knew for a fact that the plan would have to be altered or even aborted if we had one of the Venators with us.

The person would easily figure us out and then rat us out to Mr Ahmed.

But to be very honest with you, I didn't actually see the problem.

There was no sign or proof that Mr Ahmed was actually a poacher or a person with illicit dealings. He seemed like a decent man with a bald head and a great idea that has helped him gain this much distance. He seemed like someone I could even invite to talk to the kids on role models' day.

I had taken the time to estimate what this man had as a possession and I knew that if this man was having frequent visits to the Serengeti, with the visitors paying as much as we did, then he must be sitting on a heap of gold.

The only thing though was the question of why he would have all his employees have a tattoo of the word Venators on their forearm when the name of the establishment wasn't even Venators.

I had no real knowledge about other languages except how to say the word "bonjour" so I had no idea what that word meant, but I knew the kids do.

Their interpretation as well as my knowledge in geography and History was what we used to arrive the conclusion that this was actually a pretty serious matter.

The room that I was in had a very intricate touch to it. The decorations and the paintings in it all screamed "exquisite", this man was surely a man of style.

I was in his office alone awaiting his arrival as directed by the man I was talking to before.

I observed the room and took in the environment as I awaited his arrival. I have to say that I love the decor and the touch. I looked to the corner of the room and I saw some animal heads hanging at the top of the wall closer to the ceiling.

The animal heads were various and multiple. I was intrigued to see so many animal heads in one place at a time.

"I wonder if this is authentic?"

After thinking out loud, I stood up and walked over to the animals. I wanted to know if they were authentic or just stuffed decor.

I touched the head of the lioness that was hanging lowest to the ground where I could easily reach with the assurance that it wouldn't fall from my hand or the wall.

Felt really real to me but I couldn't tell for sure.

I looked over.my shoulder and I saw a large print of the map of Botswana and all it's topography hanging there. I moved closer to it to observe better.

I suddenly realized that there were marks on the map, different colored pins and different strange marks on it. This was one of those moments where I wished that I had my phone at hand, but it had been taken from me at the door.

What a bummer?

I was certain that with enough scrutiny the kids could have figured out the sequence and used that to better prep is for the trip. The markers could be an indication of all the places under their control for all I knew but I couldn't say for sure.

"Sorry I am late" came a voice from behind me. The sliding doors seem to be very good at reducing the amount of noise they made when they work.

Astounding

The man, Mr Ahmed was followed by an entourage of about 6 men each having a briefcase at hand. The stakeholders I guess, but I couldn't tell.

"Mr Monroe was it?" He asked as he sat behind his wide desk. The desk was made of some exquisite type of wood that I won't bother naming since I myself don't know the name of the wood but whatever the name of the wood was it was really shiny when polished.

"We are here today to discuss the terms of your leaving the camp for the proposed 5 days of your learning trip" he said to me.

How didn't I notice that the other guy had sat down round the table?

"Can I sit?" I asked with a light tone.

"Oh... pardon me, please have a seat" he said as he pointed to a seat at my side. I took my seat happily even though I couldn't tell exactly why I was this happy. Maybe it was the feel of the chair.

"So may I know why, it's compulsory that we have someone escort us on this trip?" I asked with a more serious tone. I didn't want it to feel like I was being defensive but I also didn't want to look like I couldn't be taken seriously.

"The Serengeti reserve wood cabin town establishment is one that has been in existence for a long time" a lady seated at his side began.

"And throughout the course of the establishment we have been swindled many times"

She seemed to peer at me from over her glasses as she said this and this made me kind of uncomfortable. Though I know that one thing that didn't make me uncomfortable was her pretty face.

"Focus Monroe" I thought inwardly.

"We would have times when families would live with is for some time and just a day before they will pay, they will disappear and never be seen again"

"So...." I asked

"We don't want a repeat of that again" she concluded with a definitive voice.

Even if not for any other thing, I knew that with this woman against me I wasn't going to go very far. I needed to find a way to convince this woman and then all other things would be added unto me.

"Okay" I started

"So if I am getting this clearly, you don't want me to go on this trip because you are scared that we will run away with the rest of the money that we owe you?"

"That is correct" said a grumpy looking man from the lot while the woman just stared strongly at me.

I needed a moment to think, I knew for a fact that these guys weren't out of line and it didn't sound like they had figured out the fact that we had figured them out and we were figuring out a way to escape them.

That's a lot of figures.

In all truth, the school was actually owing them, a thing that I hadn't put into consideration before cooking up this plan. Though that wasn't actually my fault...not entirely.

It was a compromise that I had cooked up so as to ensure that all the students were able to come for the excursion trip.

I asked those who didn't really have to pay a part and keep paying through the span of a month or so. It was with all this part payments and a chunk of my personal payment that I was able to make a half payment for the students present.

I was really screwed.

But come to think of it, if I was to suddenly provide the rest of the money because of this confrontation rather than the originally agreed date, wouldn't it leave traces that we were trying to run away? 

With that in mind I had to think carefully about my next reply and I to do it fast, the tension on the room was building up and if it continues I was going to find myself in a difficult position.

"For a start.." I started

"Thank you all for being present for this meeting, I really appreciate that you could all pull out time from your pretty busy schedules to be here. I really do appreciate it" I said

I stood up from the chair so that I could deliver a more convincing argument.

"Here goes nothing" I thought to myself

"The truth that we all know is that I am not a family or a couple on honeymoon in the Serengeti but an institution for learning and like it or not, I have a scheme to follow which involves these children having a great time while still making sure that they learn what they have to so they can be useful in the society"

"I need to make sure that i do my job but for me to do that I need you to trust me, when I say that you will surely get your money but I don't want any external personnel coming with us for no other reason than for the safety of my kids"

I had a stern look on my face, one that could contest with the look that the lady had on her face earlier. I had made a strong argument and I could feel it that they were convinced.

The people had their heads travelling to the ears of their neighbors and they were communicating in earnest. I am not a wizard but I knew for a sure fact that they were won over.

I left the meeting with joy, they had permitted us to travel without an escort.

Now we were back on track.