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The Uber driver switched to Arabic on his phone and I understood every word he said about me · Martin Animations

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The Uber driver switched to Arabic on his phone, and
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: I understood every word he said about me. I ordered
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: the Uber from the airport terminal at 11 at night,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: after my flight from Dubai got delayed by four hours.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: The app said my driver's name was Kareem Hassan, five-star rating,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: silver Toyota Corolla. When the car pulled up, I threw
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: my carry-on in the back seat and climbed in front,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: too tired to care about the usual passenger-driver distance. Kareem
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: looked to be in his late 40s with graying hair
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: at his temples and the kind of weathered face that
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: suggested he'd lived through things most people only read about.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: He greeted me in English with a thick accent, and
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: asked if I wanted any specific route to my hotel downtown.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: I said whatever was fastest because I just wanted to
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: shower and sleep after 16 hours of travel. We pulled
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: away from the terminal and merged onto the highway, and
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: I leaned my head against the window watching the city
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: lights blur past. That's when his phone rang. He answered
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: it on the car's Bluetooth system and immediately switched to Arabic.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I kept my eyes on the window and my expression
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: neutral because nobody in America knew I spoke Arabic fluently.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Not my colleagues at the consulting firm, not my friends,
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: not even my family. I'd spent three years working for
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: a defense contractor in Jordan doing translation work for military
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: intelligence before I got tired of the moral complexity and
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: switched to corporate consulting. The work had required a security
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: clearance and a lot of non-disclosure agreements, and when I left,
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: I decided to leave that whole part of my life behind.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: I never mentioned my language skills on my resume or
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: in conversation. It was easier to just be another white
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: guy in a suit who'd never lived anywhere interesting. So
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: when Kareem started speaking Arabic to whoever was on the phone,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: he had no reason to think I'd understand every single word.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: The conversation started normally enough. The person on the other
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: end asked how his night was going and Kareem complained
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: about airport traffic and cheap passengers who didn't tip. Then
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: the other voice said something that made my blood run cold.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: He said in Arabic, Did you pick up the consultant yet?
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: The one from the Jordan flight? Kareem responded, Yes, he's
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: in my car right now. Looks exactly like the photo
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: they sent. Blonde hair, blue eyes, about 30 years old.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: He's half asleep. I kept my face pressed against the
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: window but every muscle in my body had gone tense.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Someone had sent Kareem my photo. Someone knew I was
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: coming home tonight and had coordinated to make sure he
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: was my driver. The voice on the phone continued. Good.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Take him to the warehouse on Riverside instead of the hotel.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: We need to ask him some questions about his time
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: in Jordan. About who he worked for and what he knows.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: My mind was racing, but I forced myself to stay
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: completely still, to keep breathing normally, to give no indication
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: I understood. Kareem said, What if he resists? What if
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: he realizes we're not going to his hotel? The voice replied,
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: He won't realize until it's too late. By the time
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: he figures it out, you'll already be at the warehouse.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Mahmoud and his guys will be waiting. They'll handle it
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: from there, Kareem asked. And after they questioned him, there
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: was a pause before the voice said, that depends on
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: what he knows and whether he's willing to cooperate. If
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: he's smart, he'll tell them everything. If not, the sentence
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: hung unfinished, but the implication was clear. I was being
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: driven to a secondary location where people would be waiting
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: to interrogate me about my work in Jordan. And if
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: I didn't cooperate, I wouldn't be leaving that warehouse alive.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: I needed to think fast, but carefully. If I suddenly
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: asked Kareem to pull over or change destination, he'd know
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: something was wrong. If I tried to jump out of
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: a moving car on the highway, I'd probably get killed.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: I needed to buy time and figure out who these
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: people were and what they wanted from me. The voice
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: on the phone was still talking, giving Kareem specific directions
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: to the warehouse. He said, Take exit 9 off the
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: highway then go left on Industrial Boulevard. The warehouse is
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: the third building on the right, gray metal siding. Flash
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: your headlights twice when you pull up so Mahmood knows
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: it's you. Kareem confirmed the directions and the call ended.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: We drove in silence for another minute before Kareem said
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: in English, So, you have business in the city? You
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: look like a businessman. I forced myself to respond casually,
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: even though my heart was hammering against my ribs. Yeah,
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: just consulting work. Nothing too exciting. He nodded and turned
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: on the radio to some pop station, probably to fill
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: the awkward silence. I pulled out my phone and opened
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: my text messages, but my hands were shaking slightly. I
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: needed to contact someone, but I couldn't be obvious about it.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: If Kareem saw me frantically texting, he might realize I
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: knew something was wrong. I opened a message thread with
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: my colleague Michael and typed very slowly, trying to look
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: like someone casually checking their phone. Flight landed. Weird situation.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Might need help. We'll explain later. I hit send and
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: watched the message turn from sending to delivered. Michael wouldn't
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: see it until morning, probably. But at least there'd be
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: some record if I disappeared. I glanced at the GPS
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: on Kareem's dashboard and saw we were still 20 minutes
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: from downtown. But we weren't headed toward my hotel, according
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: to the route displayed. We were heading toward the industrial
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: district on the east side. Exit 9 was coming up
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: in 5 miles. I needed a plan. I could call 911,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: but what would I say? My Uber driver is taking
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: me somewhere I don't want to go? That wouldn't get
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: an immediate response. and by the time police figured out
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: where I was, it might be too late. I could
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: try to convince Kareem to pull over for some reason,
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: then run, but we were on a highway with no
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: sidewalks and nowhere to run to. The best option seemed
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: to be playing along until we got closer to the warehouse,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: then finding a way to escape before we actually arrived.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: I casually asked Kareem, How long have you been driving
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: for Uber? He glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Three years now. Good side job. Flexible hours. His English
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: was decent but heavily accented, and he seemed nervous now
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: that the phone call had ended. He kept checking his
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: mirrors more than necessary, and his hands were tight on
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: the steering wheel. We were approaching exit nine and my
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: window to act was closing. I made a decision. I
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: clutched my stomach and groaned. Oh man, I don't feel good.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: I think something I ate on the plane is not
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: sitting right. Kareem looked over at me with concern. You okay?
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: I don't know. My stomach is really hurting. Is there
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: a gas station or somewhere you could pull over for
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: a minute? He hesitated, and I could see him calculating
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: whether this was genuine or a trick. We're almost to
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: your hotel. Maybe ten more minutes. You can wait? I
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: groaned again, more dramatically this time. I really don't think
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: I can wait. I might throw up in your car.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: That got him. No Uber driver wants vomit in their vehicle.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: He sighed and took the next exit, which wasn't exit 9,
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: but exit 7. We pulled off the highway onto a
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: commercial strip with a few gas stations and fast food restaurants,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: most of them closed at this hour. Kareem pulled into
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: a 24-hour gas station and parked near the entrance. There's
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: bathroom inside. Be quick, please. I have other rides waiting.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: I grabbed my carry-on from the back seat, which made
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: him frown. You can leave bag. I watch it. No,
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: that's okay. I've got my laptop in here. I'll just
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: take it. I climbed out before he could argue. and
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: walked quickly toward the gas station entrance. My legs felt
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: weak and my hands were still shaking, but I forced
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: myself to move with purpose. Inside, the gas station was
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: nearly empty except for a bored-looking clerk behind bulletproof glass.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: I walked past the bathroom toward the back of the
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  Speaker 1: store where there was a rear exit that led to
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: the parking lot behind the building. I pushed through the
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: door and found myself in a dark lot with a
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: few employee cars. I could hear traffic from the highway nearby.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: I pulled out my phone and opened the Uber app,
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: but my hands were shaking so badly I almost dropped it.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: I canceled Kareem's ride and immediately requested a new one
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: from a different service, Lyft. The app said a driver
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: was eight minutes away. Eight minutes I needed to stay
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: hidden and hope Kareem didn't come looking for me. I
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: crouched behind a dumpster in the shadows and tried to
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: control my breathing. My new driver, a woman named Patricia,
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: was showing us six minutes away now. I could see
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: the GPS dot moving toward my location. Back in the
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: front parking lot, I heard a car door slam. Kareem
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: had gotten out. I heard him talking on his phone
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: in Arabic again, his voice tense and angry. He was saying,
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: he took his bag and went inside, but he hasn't
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: come back. Something's wrong. He might have figured it out.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: The voice on the other end responded with words I
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: couldn't quite make out, but Kareem's next statement was clear enough.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: I'm going to check the bathroom. If he ran, he
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: can't have gone far. Four minutes until Patricia arrived. I
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: pressed myself further into the shadows behind the dumpster and
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: watched the rear door of the gas station. If Kareem
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: came through that door, I'd have to run and hope
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: I could get to a public area before he caught
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: up with me. The door opened and Kareem stepped out,
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: looking left and right. He had his phone pressed to
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: his ear and was speaking rapidly in Arabic. He's not
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: in the bathroom. The clerk said he went out the
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: back exit. I'm checking now. He walked slowly across the
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: parking lot, his eyes scanning every shadow. I held my
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: breath as he passed within 15 feet of my hiding spot.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: He was focused on the other side of the lot,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: looking toward the street. Two minutes until Patricia arrived. Kareem's
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: phone rang, and he answered it immediately. The voice on
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: the other end was loud enough that I could hear
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: it clearly now. It was angry, demanding to know how
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: Kareem had let me escape. Kareem was trying to explain
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: that I'd seemed genuinely sick, that there was no way
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: he could have known. My Lyft app showed Patricia pulling
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: into the gas station front parking lot. I needed to
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: get to her without Kareem seeing me. I waited until
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: he walked further away toward the street. Then I moved
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: quickly but quietly along the back wall of the building
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: toward the side alley that would take me to the
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: front lot. I could hear Kareem still arguing on the
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: phone behind me. I reached the front parking lot and
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: saw a small red sedan with Lyft stickers in the window.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Patricia was a woman in her 60s with gray hair
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: pulled into a ponytail. I yanked open the back door
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: and threw myself inside. Drive! Please just drive right now.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: She turned around with startled eyes. Are you okay? You
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: looked terrified. Please, I'll explain, but we need to leave
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: right now. She must have heard the genuine fear in
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: my voice because she put the car in drive and
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: pulled away from the gas station without another question. I
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: looked back and saw Kareem emerging from the side of
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: the building, phone still to his ear, watching us drive away.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Patricia drove for a few blocks before pulling into a
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: well-lit parking lot outside a closed shopping center. She turned
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: around in her seat. Okay, what's going on? Should I
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: be calling the police? I took a deep breath and
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: tried to organize my thoughts. My previous Uber driver. Something
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: was wrong. He was taking me somewhere I didn't want
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: to go. I heard him on the phone talking about it.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: Talking about what? About taking me to a warehouse instead
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: of my hotel. About people waiting there who wanted to
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: question me. Patricia's eyes widened. Question you about what? That
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: was the part I couldn't fully explain without revealing things
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: about my past that were supposed to stay classified. I
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: used to work overseas. I think someone found out and
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: they want information about what I did there. Patricia pulled
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: out her phone. We're calling the police right now. I
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: put my hand on her phone gently. Wait. If we
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: call the police, they'll take a report. Maybe investigate. But
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: these people know where I live and work. They coordinated
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: this whole thing. If I make this official... I become
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: a bigger target. So, what do you want to do?
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Take me to a hotel. Not the one I originally booked.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: Somewhere random where I can figure out my next move.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: Patricia studied my face for a long moment. You're not
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: a criminal, are you? Not running from the law? No,
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: I promise. I'm just a consultant who used to do
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: translation work in the Middle East. Someone apparently wants to
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: talk to me about that work and they're not interested
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: in asking politely. She nodded slowly. Okay, I know a place.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: Small hotel near the university. Clean, safe, cheap. We'll go there.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: We drove in silence for 20 minutes before pulling up
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: to a modest hotel on a quiet street. Patricia refused
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: to accept payment for the ride. You just take care
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: of yourself, and seriously consider calling the police once you're settled.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: I thanked her and watched her drive away before heading
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: into the hotel lobby. The night clerk was a college-age
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: kid who barely looked up from his phone as I
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: paid cash for a room. I went upstairs and locked
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: the door behind me, then pushed the desk chair against
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: it for extra security. Only then did I allow myself
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: to fully process what had just happened. Someone had tracked
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: my flight from Dubai. Someone had coordinated with an Uber
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: driver to intercept me. Someone wanted to question me about
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: my work in Jordan badly enough to orchestrate a kidnapping.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: The question was who and why. My work in Jordan
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: had been three years ago. I'd been a contract translator
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: working with military intelligence. helping analyze intercepted communications and interview detainees.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: The work was classified but not particularly exciting. I wasn't
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: some James Bond figure with world-changing secrets. I was just
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: a language specialist who happened to speak fluent Arabic and
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: had a security clearance. But maybe I'd translated something that
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: mattered more than I realized. Maybe some communication I'd worked
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: on had led to an operation that someone wanted revenge for.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: I opened my laptop and started going through my memories
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: of that time, trying to think of anything that might
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: have made me a target years later. There had been
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: hundreds of translations, thousands of intercepted messages. Most of them
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: were mundane, logistical discussions about supply routes and meeting times,
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: but there had been a few operations that stood out,
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: one in particular. Six months before I left Jordan, I'd
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: been part of a team analyzing communications from a human
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: trafficking network that was moving people from Syria through Jordan
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: into Europe. We'd identified key players in the network, and
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: our intelligence had led to a major raid that resulted
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: in dozens of arrests and the rescue of over a
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: hundred people who'd been held against their will. The network
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: had been run by a man named Yousef al-Rashid, a
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: Jordanian businessman with ties to organized crime across the Middle East.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: I pulled up news articles from that time and found
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: coverage of the raid. Yousef al-Rashid had been arrested along
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: with seven of his associates, but the articles from a
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: year ago told a different story. Al-Rashid had been released
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: on a technicality, some procedural error in how evidence was collected.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: He'd returned to Jordan a free man and had apparently
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: rebuilt his operation. I found a more recent article from
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: two months ago. Al-Rashid had been spotted in several American cities,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: allegedly expanding his trafficking network into North America. Federal authorities
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: were investigating but hadn't been able to build a case yet.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: My hands went cold as I realized the connection. If
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Al Rashid was operating in the States, and if he'd
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: somehow found out I was one of the translators whose
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: work had led to his original arrest, he'd have every
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: reason to want revenge. He'd want to know what else
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: I knew, who else I'd worked with, what other operations
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: I'd been involved in. I needed to contact someone from
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: my old agency, but I'd signed non-disclosure agreements that made
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: that complicated. The work was classified, and I wasn't supposed
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: to discuss it with anyone, even under threat. But if
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: Al Rashid's people were actively hunting me... I needed protection
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: that only the government could provide. I dug through my
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: old files until I found the emergency contact number I'd
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: been given when I left the agency. It was supposed
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: to be used only for security breaches or threats to
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: former contractors. Disqualified. I dialed the number even though it
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: was nearly two in the morning. A woman answered on
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: the second ring. Verification code. I recited the string of
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: numbers and letters I'd memorized three years ago, hoping they
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: were still valid. There was a pause while she checked
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: her system. Code verified. State your name and the nature
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: of your emergency. My name is Daniel Foster. I worked
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: as a contract translator in Jordan from 2019 to 2022.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: I believe I'm being targeted by someone connected to an
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: operation I worked on. She asked me to hold, and
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: I spent three minutes listening to silence before a different
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: voice came on the line. Male, older, with the kind
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: of calm authority that suggested he'd handled situations like this before. Mr. Foster,
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: this is Agent Mitchell with the Defense Intelligence Agency. I'm
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: looking at your file now. You worked on Operation Sandcastle, correct? Yes,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: among others, but I think this is specifically about Sandcastle,
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: about Yusuf al-Rashid. Tell me what happened tonight. I walked
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: him through everything from the Uber driver's phone conversation to
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: my escape at the gas station. He listened without interrupting,
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: and I could hear him typing notes. When I finished,
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: he said, You did the right thing by calling. Al-Rashid
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: has been on our radar since he entered the country
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: six weeks ago. We've been tracking his movements but haven't
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: had enough evidence to act. If he's actively targeting former contractors,
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: that changes things. What kind of protection can you offer? Short-term,
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: we can arrange secure housing and surveillance. Long-term, it depends
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: on whether you're willing to cooperate with an active investigation.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: If Al Rashid is building a trafficking network here, we
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: need to shut it down. Your knowledge of his previous
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: operation could be valuable. I signed NDAS. I can't just
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: start talking about classified operations. The NDAs have exceptions for
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: authorized debriefings and ongoing security threats. If you're willing to
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: work with us, we can make it legal. We'll need
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: you to come in for a full debrief. Go through
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: everything you remember about Sandcastle. Identify any connections that might
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: help us locate Al Rashid's current operation. I thought about
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: it for approximately 10 seconds. When and where? I'm sending
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: a car to pick you up. Should be there in
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: 40 minutes. Pack light. You won't be returning to that hotel.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: Where are you taking me? Secure facility outside the city.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: You'll be safe there while we sort this out. The
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: car arrived exactly 40 minutes later. Two agents in suits
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: who checked my ID and escorted me to a black
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: SUV with government plates. We drove for an hour into
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: the countryside before turning down an unmarked road that led
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: to a gated facility that looked like a corporate retreat center,
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: but was obviously something more secure. Inside, I was taken
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: to a comfortable room with a bed, desk, and private bathroom.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: No windows, but not quite a cell either. Agent Mitchell
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: arrived the next morning with coffee and a thick folder.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: He was in his fifties with gray hair and the
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: tired eyes of someone who'd seen too much.' Let' s start
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: from the beginning,' he said, opening a laptop.' Tell me
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: everything you remember about Operation Sandcastle.' For the next six hours,
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: I walked through every detail I could remember. The intercepted
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: phone calls, the coded messages, the locations of safe houses
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: where trafficked people had been held. Mitchell took notes and
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: occasionally stopped me to ask clarifying questions or show me
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: photos of people I might recognize. Near the end of
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: the debrief, he pulled up a surveillance photo.' Do you
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: recognize this man?' It was Kareem, my Uber driver from
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: the previous night. That's the driver who tried to take
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: me to the warehouse. His real name is Kareem Al-Nadouri.
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: He's Al-Rashid's cousin. Been in the States for five years.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: We've been watching him but didn't have enough evidence to
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: arrest him. Until now. Until now? Your testimony about what
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: he said on that phone call gives us probable cause
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: to bring him in for questioning. And his phone records
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: will lead us to the warehouse he was taking you to,
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: which will lead us to other members of Al-Rashid's network.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: So I'm bait. Mitchell smiled grimly. You're a witness. But yes.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: Your involvement has accelerated our timeline considerably. We were planning
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: to move on al-Rashid within the month. Now we're moving
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: within the week. Over the next five days, I stayed
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: at the secure facility while the DIA built their case.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: Mitchell kept me updated on developments. They'd arrested Kareem and
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: several other associates. They'd located the warehouse on Riverside and
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: found evidence of human trafficking, financial records that connected to
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: al-Rashid's previous operation in Jordan. The case was coming together,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: but al-Rashid himself remained elusive. He'd gone underground as soon
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: as his cousin was arrested, and they were having trouble
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: locating him. On the sixth day, Mitchell came to my
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: room with a proposal. We want to use you to
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: draw Al-Rashid out. Absolutely not. Hear me out. We'd have
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: full surveillance and tactical teams in place. We'd control every
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: aspect of the situation. But Al-Rashid wants to find you,
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: wants to know what you know. If we let him
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: think he's succeeded, he'll surface and we can grab him.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: You want me to let myself get kidnapped? We want
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: you to attend a meeting in a controlled environment where
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: Al-Rashid thinks he has the upper hand, but we're actually
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: running the show. You'd be wearing a wire, we'd have
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: agents in the building... and you'd never actually be in danger.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: I thought about the hundred people who'd been rescued in
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: that Jordan raid, thought about however many people Al-Rashid was
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: trafficking now. What would I have to do? The plan
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: was elaborate but simple in its core concept. I would
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: return to my normal life, go back to work, act
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: like nothing had happened. The DIA would spread word through
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: their informants that I was back and unprotected. Al-Rashid would
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: make another attempt to grab me, but this time, they'd
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: be ready. Three days later, I walked into my office
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: building downtown like I'd just returned from a normal business trip.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: My colleagues welcomed me back and asked about Dubai. I
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: gave vague answers about meetings and jet lag. I went
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: through the motions of normal work, all while knowing that
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: DIA agents were watching my every move from surveillance vans
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: and office building across the street. On the second day back,
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: I got a call from an unknown number. I let
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: it go to voicemail. The message was in Arabic. Mr. Foster,
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: we know you understand this language. We know what you
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: did in Jordan. We'd like to discuss this with you
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: in person. Come to the Riverside Cafe tonight at 8.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: Come alone or people will get hurt. I played the
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: message for Mitchell through a secure line. That's it. That's
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: him making contact. You okay to do this? Do I
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: have a choice? You always have a choice. But if
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: you want to end this threat permanently, this is how
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: we do it. That evening, I walked into the Riverside
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: Cafe at exactly eight. It was a small Mediterranean restaurant
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: in a quiet neighborhood, nearly empty on a Wednesday night.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: A man in a dark suit sat in a corner
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: booth and gestured for me to join him. Yusuf al-Rashid
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: looked older than his photos, with gray streaking his dark
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: hair and deep lines around his eyes. He smiled as
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: I sat down, but it was the smile of a predator. Mr. Foster,
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: thank you for coming. You didn't give me much choice.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: There's always a choice. You chose wisely. He signaled the
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: waiter and ordered coffee for both of us in Arabic.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: Then he switched to English. You cost me three years
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: of my life and millions of dollars in business. That
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: operation in Jordan was very damaging to my organization. You
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: were trafficking human beings. You deserved worse than three years.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: His smile disappeared. I don't need your moral judgment. I
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: need information. I need to know who else worked on
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: that operation. I need names of other translators, other analysts,
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: other agents. I need to know what else you learned
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: about my network that wasn't in the official reports. And
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: if I tell you, then you get to keep living
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: your comfortable American life. If you don't, well, you've seen
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: what I'm capable of. I've signed non-disclosure agreements. I can't
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: just give you classified information. He leaned forward. Mr. Foster,
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: do you really think your NDAs will protect you? Do
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: you think your government cares about one translator who left
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: their service years ago? You're expendable to them. But to me,
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: you're valuable. Tell me what I want to know and
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: I'll make sure you're compensated. Refuse and you won't leave
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: this restaurant alive. I glanced around the cafe. I could
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: see at least three of Al-Rashid's men positioned at different tables,
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: but I also knew that DIA tactical teams were surrounding
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: the building. Before I tell you anything, I need assurances.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: I need to know you'll keep your word about letting
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: me live. He smiled again. Of course. I'm a businessman.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: I keep my agreements. Then I'll tell you everything. But
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: not here. Too public. Your warehouse on Riverside? That's secure, right?
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: We should go there. Al-Rashid studied my face for a
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: long moment, trying to decide if this was a trap. Finally,
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: he nodded. Very well. We'll continue this conversation somewhere more private.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: But Mr. Foster, if you're playing games with me, you'll
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: regret it. We left the restaurant together and I climbed
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: into the backseat of his Mercedes with two of his
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: men flanking me. As we drove toward the warehouse, I
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: touched the button on my belt buckle that activated my
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: wire and alerted the tactical teams. The next 20 minutes
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: happened very fast. We arrived at the warehouse and Al
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: Rashid led me inside to an office space. where he
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: clearly felt comfortable and in control. He offered me a
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: seat and began asking detailed questions about Operation Sandcastle. I
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: answered some honestly, stalling for time, waiting for the signal.
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: It came in the form of flashbang grenades exploding simultaneously
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: at three different entrances. DIA tactical teams swarmed the warehouse
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: with weapons drawn and voices shouting commands. Al-Rashid tried to run,
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: but was tackled by two agents before he made it
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: ten feet. His men were subdued with similar efficiency. Agent
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: Mitchell appeared at my side. You okay? Define okay. You
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: did good. We got him on attempted kidnapping, witness intimidation,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: and the trafficking charges are solid. He's going away for
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: a very long time. I watched as they cuffed Al-Rashid
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: and read him his rights. He was screaming in Arabic
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: about lawyers and rights and false arrest, but the wire
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: recording had captured everything, every threat he'd made, every admission
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: about his trafficking network. It was over. The next few
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: months were consumed by depositions and court proceedings. I testified
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: about the kidnapping attempt, about the phone call from Kareem,
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: about the meeting at the restaurant. The trafficking charges came
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: with testimony from victims his network had exploited, and the
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: evidence was overwhelming. Al-Rashid was sentenced to 45 years in
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: federal prison. Kareem and four other associates got similar sentences.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: The DIA offered me a permanent position doing similar translation work,
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: but I declined. I'd had enough of the intelligence world.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: I went back to corporate consulting and tried to return
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: to normal life, but normal felt different now. I found
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: myself constantly checking for surveillance, always aware of my surroundings,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: jumping at unexpected phone calls. The therapist the DIA connected
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: me with said I had mild PTSD, and that was
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: normal after what I'd experienced. She taught me coping strategies
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: and helped me process the trauma. A year later, I
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: got a letter forwarded through my attorney. It was from
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: a woman named Aisha who'd been rescued during the Jordan raid.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: She'd been held by Al Rashid's network for eight months,
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: moved from safe house to safe house, forced to work
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: in conditions she described as slavery. She'd eventually been freed
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: and granted asylum in Canada, where she was now rebuilding
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: her life. The letter thanked me for my work on
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: the operation that led to her rescue. She said knowing
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: that someone had cared enough to spend hours translating communications
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: and building the case that freed her meant everything. That
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: the people who'd worked behind the scenes were just as
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: important as the agents who'd raided the houses. She ended
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: by saying she hoped I knew my work mattered and
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: had saved lives. I kept that letter in my desk
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: drawer and read it whenever I wondered if I'd made
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: the right choices. The skills I'd tried to leave behind
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: had ended up saving my life. The work I'd done
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: years ago had mattered enough that someone wanted revenge. And
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: in the end, justice had been served. I still drive
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: for Uber sometimes when I travel. But I'm more careful now.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: I check the driver's photo against their face. I pay
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: attention to the route. And I never, ever pretend not
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: to understand when people speak languages they think I don't know.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: Because sometimes the most dangerous thing you can do is
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: underestimate what other people understand. And sometimes the most powerful
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: thing you can do is listen carefully when people think
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: you can't hear them. That night with Kareem taught me
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: that language is more than just communication. It's survival. It's power.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: It's the difference between being a victim and being someone
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: who can fight back. And that's something worth remembering whether
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: you're in an Uber or anywhere else in the world.
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: Always pay attention. Always stay alert. And never assume you're
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: safe just because people are speaking a language they think
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: you don't understand. Thanks for hanging out till the end.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: If you want more crazy stories, make sure to subscribe
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: and leave your take below.