New York, 26th December 2008
David disembarked at 7 p.m. at John F. Kennedy International Airport. he tried to enter the united states with his original passport, in the name of David Griffin. The men who had taken him to Brazil on the twelfth of September seven years before had given his mother his documents, passport, identity card and birth certificate. David had found the documents some years earlier, when he was nosing around in his father’s things. The passport was out of date, but that probably wouldn’t stop him getting into the country. He handed the passport to an immigration officer who at once spotted the expiry date.
‘Sir, your passport has expired,’ said the officer, as he leafed through the pages of the document. ‘And there’s another thing: as you are returning from Brazil, why is there no record of your going there?’
‘When I left the united States, I think they took me in a private plane. That’s why there’s no record.’
‘i see. Just a moment while i call the supervisor.’
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The officer, a plump black woman, pressed a red button beside her computer. Twenty seconds later a man in a tie arrived to see what was happening, for it was rare for him to be called.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘This boy’s passport has expired and we have no record of him traveling to another country. The passport has no stamp in it.’
‘Mr. Griffin, do you have any other identification?’
‘Yes, of course. Here you are.’ David gave the red-headed man his social security card.
‘Mr. Griffin, will you please come with me.’
The man took David to a small room, which was used to interrogate possible illegal immigrants, people who tried to enter the country with a tourist visa or even with forged documents.
‘Please wait here while we check your documents.’
David was unworried. He had expected this. And his principal intention was that his enemies should know he was entering the country, which is why he didn’t use his Brazilian documents.
The man entered the identity number in the database and the computer gave him the message: DECEASED.
‘Deceased? How can that be? There must be something wrong, the photo in the database is the same as in the passport, and it really is the boy.’ The man was worried and called the extension of the director of the airport.
‘I’ve got a very strange case, Director. A boy is trying to enter the country with an unstamped passport and the system shows him as being dead.’
‘Dead? How can a dead person turn up with an unstamped passport? There must be something wrong. Have you checked the boy’s photo?’
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‘Yes, it was the first thing I did. The photo on the database is the same as in the passport, and it is the boy.’
‘Wait, I’m on my way.’
in a few minutes the director walked into the room where the official was checking the documents.
‘let me see that.’ The director began to check and to confirm the information. ‘I don’t know what can have happened, but it’s very strange.’
‘He told me he left the country in a private plane, Sir. That’s why there’s no record of his entering Brazil, which is where he’s just come from.’
‘That’s the least of my worries; what worries me is that he’s dead. Call the FBI and ask them to send someone here at once.
The red-headed official called the FBI and explained the case. They asked for his passport number.
‘Mr. Johnson, my records show that this person died in the 9/11
attacks. he was in one of the buildings.’
‘But he didn’t die. I can see him on the monitor at this very moment.’
‘Keep him locked up. I’m sending some agents to check this out; they’ll be there in a few minutes.’
Forty minutes later, two FBI agents entered the airport office where the director and the immigration official were waiting for them. The agents were taken to see David, but only one of them went in to question him. The other remained outside, with the airport director, to analyze the process on the camera.
‘Good evening Mr. Griffin. I am special agent Carlson of the FBI.’
‘Good evening. I’d like to know how long I’m going to have to wait. i’m tired and i want to go to a hotel.’
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‘Mr. Griffin, our database shows that you are dead. Can you explain how that can be?’
‘Yes, I can explain. After the 9/11 attacks I was taken to Brazil in a private plane. i was in one of the towers that were attacked and they managed to save me. Since then I have been living in Brazil and now i am returning. That’s why they thought i had died. it was all a misunderstanding.’
‘Yes, but why were you taken to another country? And why doesn’t your passport show your arrival in Brazil?’
‘My life was at risk. Some people wanted to kill me, I’m not sure why. That’s the reason some friends of my mother’s hid me in Brazil until the dust settled. And you people thought i was dead because i disappeared after the attacks.’
‘I see. And just who were these people who wanted to kill you, and why would they want to do that?’
‘i don’t know. i was very young and i don’t remember.’
‘And why have you waited all this time before returning to the uS?’
‘Because I’m no longer in danger and this is my country, right?’
‘Well, I don’t know what to say. As far as the uS is concerned you’re a dead man. You’ll have to get an attorney to arrange a temporary stay in the country until all this is sorted out. Bringing a person back to life’s not that simple.’
‘Till then what do I do?’
‘Till then you remain in detention. As this is a new one for us, we’re not sure how to handle it.’
‘I can’t stay in detention, I’m an American citizen. It’s not my fault if you decided someone was dead without even seeing the body. If you don’t have a body, I’m not dead, just missing.’
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‘it’s not as simple as that. As the records showed you were in one of the WTC towers at the moment of the attack, and you were never seen again, you were automatically declared dead. And your file shows that your grandfather confirmed you were in the building, and that you must have died in the attack together with your parents.’
‘But as you can see, I didn’t die.’
‘Does your family know you’re alive?’
‘No, they don’t. I don’t know if I have family any more and if I do I don’t know where to find them.’
‘Well, we do. Your great-grandfather is a VIP and it won’t be hard to get him here. I’ll have you put in a more comfortable room, with a bed and a bathroom, so you can relax. I’ll order a meal for you, you must be hungry. We’ll try and locate your great-grandfather and bring him here to sort this out.’
‘oK, thanks for your kindness,’ answered David, getting to his feet.
‘What a mess! We must keep it under wraps or the press will have a field day. We’ll phone George Griffin, the boy’s great-grandfather. If the kid is really who he says he is, Griffin will recognize him,’ said agent Carlson to the others, as he picked up the phone to call his superior.
‘The boy is Governor Griffin’s great-grandson, sir. We should tell him what’s happening and bring him here.’
‘Senator Griffin’s great-grandson? How’s that possible? Inform him at once. But just tell him someone’s trying to pass himself off as his great-grandson, no need to worry him by saying the boy’s story 247
LEo MARK
is convincing. use that argument only if he’s unwilling to come to the airport.’
‘Yes, Sir. I’ll call him now. Goodbye.’
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