IBO - Brian R. Lundin (100 books to read in a lifetime .txt) 📗

attend Harvard was housed in the dormitory next to Malik’s. One afternoon Diki and Malik was sitting at a table in front of their dorm. Diki was teaching Malik how to play chess when Eli approached.
”Malik?” Eli asked.
“Yea, hey, my man, you got accepted too huh.”
“I got here a week ago, what dormitory are you in?” Eli asked.
“At Blair, you?” Malik asked.
“Jefferson,” Eli answered.
“Meet my roomie, Diki.”
Diki embraced Eli warmly, “Nice to meet you Eli, you play chess?” he asked with a big smile
“A little bit, I know the moves, but that's all.”
“Come join us, I’ll teach you both how to play.”
Eli, Diki and Malik spent long hours playing chess. On the streets of Chicago shooting dice or playing cards were the popular games; Malik had never seen a chessboard and Eli played the game once. Diki told them that his father had taught him the game when he was very young and explained to them the game philosophical parallels to life
“In life the person who thinks ahead and plots his course before he acts wins, chess is the same thing. You can tell a lot about a person by how he plays the game. An aggressive type personality will try to mate in you in a few moves. If his opponent follows the rules; develop his pieces and castle, which place his king in a safe position, eventually the aggressive player pieces will be so shattered and uncoordinated that he will lose. The aggressive player does not have the patience to develop a plan or a strategy. The very careful personality will play very defensively and wait until the right moment or situation to attack and go for the win. There also is a racial symbolism to the game; the white pieces always move first, giving them an immediate advantage over the black pieces, just like in life. Chess is a game of consequences. Just as in life, there are consequences for every move you make. To be a good chess player or to be successful in life you should not make a move without first weighing the potential consequences, if you don’t you will not know what the outcome will be and you will probably lose.”
Malik often thought about those chess games and Diki was right. He had never really looked ahead and planned his moves or was he concerned about the consequences of his action until after he had done it. He thought about the old man him and Paco had robbed and the young man he had killed. He thought about the drug scam with Pacman and how stupid he had been. He was very lucky to not be rotting away in some jail, like many of his friends or dead.
Malik, Eli and Diki became good friends and they were excellent students. After a while, Malik could beat Eli at chess, but never Diki who seemed to possess and eerie ability to anticipate his every move and counter it. All three of the young men were on the Dean’s List every semester. Malik was a business major, Eli was a pre-law major, and Diki was a chemistry/science major. After their first year, Eli, Malik and Diki pledged for Washington House. They were accepted.
Fraternity house at Harvard were quite a bit different from freshman dormitories. Each house offered tutors and small classes. They had their own dining hall, library, and promoted activities relating to music, sports, drama, theater, and other specified interest. Each house also had a staff member assigned who was responsible for student academic and personal well-being.
The three young men became good friends during their stay at Harvard. Diki was two years older than Malik and Eli. He was born and raised in Lagos. Nigeria. His father apparently was a wealthy businessperson, because Diki had attended some of the best and most expensive schools in Europe. He received his bachelor degree from Oxford, his master degree from Cambridge University and was working on his PH.D. Diki was over 6 feet tall and muscular. He had sharp facial features but they were different from most of the blacks Malik knew. He was very dark skinned and spoke with a pronounced English accent. He did not talk a lot about his family or his source of income, but he wore expensive clothes and every year he received a new Lexus. However, he was very humble and carried himself with an air of royalty.
One evening Diki decided he would treat Malik and Eli to Chinese food, Mrs. Gates had told him there was a good Chinese Restaurant in town, but be careful, some of the students had been robbed in town. Malik and Eli offered to go with Diki but he said he would be all right and besides, they both had exams tomorrow, Diki called in his order and drove to the restaurant.
When Diki arrived at the shopping mall, he parked his Lexus in a dark and empty parking lot and went into the restaurant to pick up his order. Walking back to his car, he saw three young black men sitting on the hood.
As he approached his car and started to unlock the door, one of the men a young boy about sixteen asked, “Nice ride bro, can we take it for a spin?”
“I don’t think so Diki,” said.
“You one of those rich mutherfukas that go to that fucking rich folk college, ain’t you,” another young man said.
“I’m a student at Harvard if that is what you’re talking about,” Diki said softly.
“We won’t the car, the money and the food, asshole,” an older young man said snapping open a switchblade knife.
Suddenly, there was a deep growl and there was a presence, a dangerous and deadly presence.
“What the fuck was that?” the young man sitting on the hood said as he sled off and began looking around.
The man with the knife looked around also, but neither saw anything.
There were no sounds of vehicles.
No people talking.
No whispered voices.
No footsteps.
There was nothing at all, or at lease anything that appealed to any human senses.
“Probably some stray dog,” the man with the knife said as he started walking towards Diki. Abruptly he stopped and looked around. He sensed something, something unseen, yet he felt afraid. The fear had started to invade his heart, soul and mind.
The young man with the knife was big, over six feet and he had scars on his face that indicated he was a veteran of many street fights, but Diki was not afraid for he knew what the sound was. Diki put the bag of food on the hood of the car and waited. The man with the knife was closer now and was holding the knife very close to Diki’s stomach. As the man lunged at Diki with the knife, there was another deep growl and all they saw was a blur, moving as if on all fours and moving swiftly towards the big man with the knife. The blur was huge and dark. The big man with the knife tumbled through the air. Unable to see his attacker, he hit the pavement with a rib-cracking crash and he let out a gurgling sound as his knife hit the pavement with a clink. A three-inch crevice at the widest point revealed that man’s chest ripped opened and revealed ripped intestines and splintered ribs. A partially severed lung was hanging from its bronchial tube and his pumping heart was a bloody red mass. The young man eyes were wide open, and his mouth looked as if it wanted to say something. There was a terrifying scream and when Diki turned and looked at the other young man, he saw him lying face down; his vertebra showed through his ripped opened back. There was a big gash on the side of his neck and his head was hanging to the side about to fall off. Diki watched as the other man ran screaming down the street. Such as suddenly the blur was gone and he heard the deep growl again. Diki returned to the campus and him, Malik and Eli ate the Chinese food, but Diki did not tell Eli or Malik about the incident.
The last summer before their graduation, Diki invited Malik and Eli home with him for summer vacation. Eli refused because he said he could not afford it, he had to get a summer job to help him in his last year of college.
Diki assured him that there would not be any expense it was his treat. After telling his uncle and aunt about the invitation, they said they would worry about next semester, next semester and encouraged him to go.
They took a cab and arrived at Logan Airport early Friday morning, after clearing customs, instead of going through the terminal to a gate, Diki led them through a guarded door that contained a glaring sign in large black letters that read "PRIVATE".
Diki identified himself to the guard, who seemed to know him and allowed them through the door. They walked down a flight of stairs and through another door that open onto the tarmac, where a shiny, gray, beautiful Gulf Stream V Lear Jet was waiting with the motor running. It was big enough to haul twenty people anywhere in the world. A round-faced dark skinned man wearing a blue flight suit emerged from the hanger; he approached and hugged Diki, who returned the embrace.
“Malik and Eli meet my dear friend Ceda,” Diki said.
Ceda shook Eli and Malik hand and said “welcome aboard, we'll be departing in about fifteen minutes, come aboard and get comfortable,” Ceda said in a warm and friendly voice.
Ceda led the men up the gangway to the plane and they took an escalator into a large room that contained five rows of oversized full grain, leather passenger seats. In the middle of the plane were a conference table and a smaller table that contained assorted fruits and nuts. Plush leather reclinable chairs and leather couches surrounded the table, and behind the table was a large oak cabinet that contained fancy glasses and various liquor bottles. There was another row of seats on the other side of the plane. Eli noticed a hand painted picture mounted on one of the walls. Ceda noticed Eli looking at the picture.
“That is Mr. Montovo, Diki father,” Ceda said.
“My goodness, this is gorgeous, who's plane Diki?” Malik asked.
“It belongs to my father's company and it is seldom used, so he’s glad when there is a need for it.”
Shortly, they heard Ceda voice over the intercom.
“Gentlemen, please secure your seat belts, we will be departing in a few minutes."
They could feel and hear the powerful engines revving up and coming to life sending a deep shudder through the hull, a few minutes later they were airborne. Ceda voice came over the intercom again.
”Gentleman we are airborne, we will be flying at thirty five thousand feet with an airspeed of five hundred and sixty knots, we expected to arrive in Nigeria in about twenty-three hours, make yourself comfortable and I will join you in a few minutes.”
Another neatly dressed young African man came into the room pushing a cart that