An Interesting Development !

Rob was relieved to see Verity's flirtations with the captain come to an end and for her to take her place with the other three girls just the other side of the gate. Soon they would be on their way and he would be that much closer to the end of this irritating chore he had been landed with. It was his turn to step forward and place his bag on the table. As he looked around distractedly, he saw that Verity once more had her phone out and pointed towards him and the guards. "Verity, put that thing away" he called over the short distance that separated them either side of the gate. "Important procedure to document" the blonde called back cheekily.

It was at this point that Rob realized that the captain had returned to join the other two guards at the table and all three were taking an unexpected interest in his luggage. A package of mysterious white powder had found its way onto the table. He knew it had not come from his bag but he began to feel nervous. The captain suddenly addressed him in an unnecessarily loud voice. "Excuse me sir, but I'm afraid we have received some very credible information that you might be trying to smuggle some illegal substances through the airport" he said. "What ? What information ? From where ? That's nonsense" Rob blustered. "I'm afraid we can't divulge our sources but suffice it to say that the information is such that we feel compelled to investigate further. I'm going to have to ask you to undress !"

Verity was grinning at Rob like the cat that had got the cream and there were the beginnings of interested murmurs from the stoical crowd of locals. "But that's ridiculous" Rob exploded. "And most irregular" he continued. "We are only a small provincial operation but we take out duties very seriously within the limited facilities that we have" the captain countered. "And it is not at all irregular as you saw earlier" he added. "Yes, but..." Rob began. "But what ?" interrupted the captain. "But you are a white man ? Are you suggesting that your treatment should be different because of your race ?" The locals were now getting very interested indeed and the four girls were openly laughing. "No, of course not, I didn't mean that at all. It's just..." Rob tailed off. "In that case, I would be obliged if you could take off your shoes and socks and place them here on the counter" the captain requested.