Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller by Randy Reardon

female, tall, with striking blue eyes and brilliant blonde hair. One would have expected to see her on a tourism brochure, or at least living and working in Copenhagen. She was not at all what Akmed was expecting. He wasn’t sure if that was going to work for them or against them.
    She stopped in front of a door and turned around and, with her open hand pointing the way, allowed them to enter the office first.
    “Please have a seat and make yourselves comfortable. Would you like some tea or a Coca-cola?”
    “Water would be nice,” Mahasin said as she took her seat at the conference table. Akmed shook his head, not wanting anything.
    Lise quickly stepped out and returned with a bottle of water and a two glasses. “In case you change your mind,” she offered, looking at Akmed as she put a glass in front of him.
    “Let me begin by stating on behalf of the Danish government how sorry we are you have been faced with these actions against you and your family. It is the intent of our country to provide a safe and non-discriminatory environment for you. We know you suffered in Iran and we had hoped you would not have any issues here. With that said, I must review with you our process and what we will need to do to ensure we will not need to revoke your status.”
    Mahasin and Akmed, visibly nervous, nodded at Lise, but said nothing.
    She continued, “We have done a preliminary review of your initial immigration documents, to again ascertain their accuracy versus the allegations that have been recently made against you. Fortunately, we found nothing to be out of order. I would like to schedule a follow up meeting in two weeks. In the meantime, here is my card; and, if anything else happens, please call the Politi and show them my card. Also, let me know if you have any other issues, or if you have any questions.”
    Akmed took the card and Lise stood. Both he and Mahasin stood and shook Lise’s hand as it was offered. She walked them back to the reception area.
    They said their goodbyes and Akmed and Mahasin walked back home.
    Two weeks later, as soon as Aziz returned home from school, the family left the house. They walked over to the tourist area and strolled through the restored early Danish homes that included the childhood home of Hans Christian Andersen. The family had come here the first weekend they had arrived in Odense and had returned often. They had allowed Aziz to pick where they would eat dinner and, with no surprise, he picked his favorite Den Gremme AEling , which translated in English to The Ugly Duckling , a typical Danish Smorrebrod or buffet.
    As they walked out of the restaurant, it had already grown dark, typical for this time of year in Denmark. It was one of the things that had taken them the longest to get used to, the long summer days with only three to four hours of darkness and the short winter days with only five to six hours of daylight.
    A few blocks from their street, they began to pick up a scent of burning wood and thought of the many families who would be having a fire in their homes on a chilly evening such as this had become. Unfortunately, their upstairs home had no fireplace. As they began to cross over the last main road before entering their neighborhood, they stopped at the curb as two Fire Brigade units tore down the street, their blue lights twirling, and sirens shrieking in the cold night air. As the trucks passed, Akmed, Mahasin and Aziz followed their progress down the street, only to see them slow and turn into their neighborhood.
    At the same instant, Akmed noticed billowing smoke arising from the vicinity of their home. They quickly rounded the block, only to see their home ablaze and the Fire Brigade just beginning to bring water to the flames. It was easy to tell it was too late. The second floor was completely engulfed and there was no way any of their possessions would survive. As they got as close as they could, Akmed put his arms around his wife and child and held them.