* * *
They drove to the café written on the notepad. Ali entered and talked to the cashier, he showed her the photo of Paramita he had in his wallet. "Did you see this woman here today?"
"Ah yes, I remember her, it's the woman that was here this afternoon. She came to meet another woman. But I don't think they were friends though, after talking for some time the other woman started crying and insulting her, what a rude woman, not only did she not bother to take off her dark sunglasses, she was screeching and yelling loudly at the your friend. Then the woman in the photo came here to pay the bill and left." She took the photo and showed it to her friend a young man in his early twenties. "Have you seen this woman?"
"This is the woman I told you about, some guys attacked her a few blocks from here. Wow, she was cool she kicked their ass. I saw her get into a car with an older man, he had a gun at her."
Ali's heart sank, "Do you know who the older man was?"
"Yes, he's one of the older Princes, the one who used to be the Minister of Defense."
"Are you sure it was her?" Ali asked again to confirm the situation.
"Yes, I swear I recognized her from somewhere, but I can't really remember where."
"Maybe she was an actress or model." The girl at the cashier gave her opinion while the young man nodded in agreement.
"Thank you for the information," Ali said leaving them.
Once he sat in the passenger he gave the order, "We need to go to Pangeran Bashir's residence. There was a witness who saw her being forced at gunpoint to go inside his car. Here take my phone and call for back up." He said while giving his mobile phone to Captain Bagas.
"Sir, according to the report from the Royal Guards, Pangeran Bashir's Palace has been vacated. All his family and domestic staff moved to his villa in Tanah Ujung." Captain Bagas reported after speaking on the phone. "But they do know that there is a high presence of armed men there, who are not members of the armed forces."
"What is he planning?" Ali thought to himself.
"Sir should we wait for instructions from the Royal Guard commander?"
"No, my priority is to save my wife. Pangeran Bashir has tried to kill her over and over, so I don't intend to sit around and wait for the worst to happen."
* * *
"I don't understand, why do you want to kill me?" Paramita said confronting Pangeran Bashir.
"It's nothing personal against you, I just can't have both your mother and father think that they can make a fool out of me without paying the price for it."
"So, you think that by killing me, you'll hurt them? Huh, think again. My father has five other children, and he barely knows me, and my mother, well my mother would be sad, but her life will go on as usual."
"Killing you is just a small bonus in my goal, insignificant to my greater plan."
"Great! Then you can let me off at the corner there. I'll just hail a taxi and head home."
"Be quiet you insolent brat! Your death is insignificant to my plan, but it doesn't mean I won't enjoy seeing it."
"Goal, plan, what is your plan anyway? Whatever it is, could it be as dumb and stupid like the plans you put in place to kill me? How many times have you tried to do it? It's like watching the dumb criminals in the old batman TV series." She said provoking him on purpose to get information.
Pangeran Bashir growled and looked her with hatred. "I am the rightful Sultan, not your father. He stole everything away from me with his scheming and treachery. I'll return the favor, I give my support to the group that will make him lose his absolute power and leave him as a puppet sitting on a fancy chair."
"The Parliament movement." She said. "And that's your evil plan for revenge? Huh! You must be living in the middle ages."
"You stupid girl, you don't know the magnitude of the effect that it will bring towards the monarchy."
"Well, of course it will bring a huge impact towards my father's power over the country. But the world has changed now, now an absolute monarchy just as dictatorship is outdated and doesn't fit in well with the ever-growing awareness of democracy. Power over the fate of a nation should not be in the hands of just one man. Besides, I was deeply involved in the pro parliament movement when I was living in England. I voted yes in the referendum" She said agreeing to him, then bluffed. "Think about it, why would my father choose a young man like my husband who's publicly acclaimed for his critical view of nepotism and corruption as his successor, if he wasn't looking to take the first step in changing the governmental structure?"
"Bang Ali is the Sultan's successor, the Crown Prince?" Dewi asked her face turned pale.
"What? Don't you watch the news?" Paramita answered to annoy her. Then she added, "You know uncle if you weren't trying so hard to kill me you would be my hero for what you're doing for the people of this country I didn't think that you had the same political view as I do ."
He didn't say anything more, feeling mocked he just looked at her with despise. The car slowed down, drove through what Paramita guessed to be a driveway and then stopped in front of a huge palace.
The door opened. This time Pangeran Bashir's men were prepared, they had their guns pointed towards her, they signaled her to come down from the car. Paramita decided that it was a good idea to comply with them.
She stepped down from the car followed by Pangeran Bashir and Dewi. She observed her surroundings. There were several men porting guns and rifle around the perimeter. Apparently Pangeran Bashir had built a small army for himself.
They motioned her to enter the palace, Paramita felt strange that there were no domestic staff inside the palace, just men with arms. She wasn't surprised to see Jonathan Tan there.
"Why Uncle Joni," She said, "Why am I not surprised to see you hand in hand with my Uncle Bashir?"
"It's nothing personal Puteri, just business. I really didn't want to see you dead after you were actually married to my step nephew, because that will deeply hurt my big sister and the last thing I want in this world is to make her sad. But since you didn't die because of the drug, and we've gone this far already, there's nothing else I can do."
"I don't get it, I know why Pangeran Bashir would want to kill me, and hell, I can understand this woman's reasons, but you. What's in it for you? What do you stand to gain by all this?"
"Like I said, just business. I have to prove to my father I can win a big contract with the government, otherwise Hafiz will end inheriting everything."
"But the contract for Extemiva is not that big...."
"Ah, so I see you know about Extemiva....But this is not that, Extemiva was a stepping stone that turned out to be a failure, we wouldn't have gain much from that product. But we lost a significant amount of money and reputation. So if I'm able to successfully gain a high-profile contract for Holy Mountain, I will be leading more than just its record company."
"What high profile contract can he offer you?"
"Enough! Take her to the library!" Pangeran Bashir ordered. "Dewi, good job, come with me and get your recommendation letter for your citizenship."
"So that was the plan all along." Paramita frowned. He had Dewi lure her alone out of the Lotus Palace so they can capture her in exchange for a stupid letter.
They brought her to the second floor and pushed her into a room. The door was closed behind her, she turned around to the door and tried to open it, but she noticed that it had no knob. "Damn, this door can only be opened from the outside." She said to herself.
She observed the room. There was an empty book-case Paramita checked the big desk which had also been emptied out. All the luxurious furniture were still there.
She paced back and forwards for some time, when she heard the door opened and Dewi came in.
"What do you want now?" Paramita asked her in a curt tone.
Dewi closed the door behind her and entered the room. "You're not getting out of here! There's no way out, this door could only be opened from the outside. Pangeran Bashir hates you, imagine that, you must be su
ch a marvelous person with a marvelous family, that even your own uncle hates you and wants you dead."
"Well aren't you the smart one? Do you have a death wish?"
"When you die, somebody has to be by Bang Ali's side to help him get over the grief."
"Yep, yep, no chance it's going to be you, because guess what? After I croak, my father will start looking for a new wife for him and it would probably be some Princess from a neighboring country, fit to be the Queen of Jothar. Not some Pop singer like you. Most likely you'll remain a concubine for life, just like my mother was for my father. In the end, he's not going to be yours anyway." She paused then smiled sarcastically, "But that's if you make it out of here alive. If you had half a brain, you would know that if this door only opens from the outside, the idea is to kill me by trapping in here. Dear old uncle probably wants to gas me to death or burn me alive."
Paramita started pacing back and forward again to continue looking for an escape route. She wasn't considering to give Pangeran Bashir an opportunity to use her for his revenge. She shook the railing on the windows to see if it would barge, but it just wouldn't
"Move out my way!" She pushing Dewi away from the front of the door.
"He is perfect." Dewi said sitting still and ignoring Paramita, "He is the perfect boyfriend, loyal and understanding. He always respected me, he never had any indecent intention towards me even though we were often alone together. Every time I'm in Jothar he's always ready to go with me to events, or if we go to a restaurant he always let me choose his meal. He is sophisticated, high-class and so mature. A very elegant and serene man. We were happy together, we belong together, we suit each other, we're different from the likes of you."
"Listen, I didn't steal anybody from anybody. And the man you're talking about I don't know him." Paramita replied without stopping her attempt to find an escape, she observed all sides of door.
"I'm talking about Bang Ali! About Burhanuddin Ali."
"Ah......Well you see, the Burhanuddin Ali that I love, my lawful wedded husband. Is a man who has a vast collection of comic books, he collected them since he was twelve. I love to read comics. He likes to cook, I love to eat. He has the ability to laugh at himself, I do too. We joke a lot, and tease each other all the time." She paused, "We go to events together because we have to, but what we like to do on weekend nights is stay at home and watch his Star Trek First Generation collection on VCD. Do you still think he and I are not compatible? "
"You're such a shameless woman! Not only did you use your position and status to steal him away from me you also threw yourself at him and seduced him. He doesn't love you! I'm the one he loves, me!"
"Didn't I just tell you that I never......oh never mind! Listen here, sister! I know you're upset that your boyfriend left you, but if a guy easily walks out on you and marries another woman, that means he doesn't love you enough! Get over it and just move on already!" Paramita said beginning to feel desperate that she wasn't able to find any openings. She grabbed a table and threw it at the door. There was a loud bang as the table bounce back a few centimeters from them, hit the floor and then shattered to pieces.
"Are you crazy?" Dewi yelled.
"Lady, you have no idea!"
The door opened suddenly, Pangeran Bashir entered, "There's no point in destroying things...... Dewi what are you doing in here? Didn't I say that nobody is allowed to enter here?" He roared.
Seeing that he was alone, Paramita took the opportunity and kicked him on the stomach and jumped up while slamming her elbow into is back with the full weight of her body as she landed. Not expecting the attack, he fell forward. Paramita took this chance to jump over his crouching body and ran out the door.
Paramita wasn't familiar with the situation of Pangeran Bashir's Palace, but she knew that since she was held on the second floor, her best escape route was to go downstairs. She spotted the staircase and slid down the railing. She landed on her feet on the floor.
Pangeran Bashir got up, still holding his stomach, "Catch her! She's escaping! Catch her!" He yelled. The guards at the front door ran inside, spotting Paramita who was standing in the Palace's lobby. He looked at Dewi angrily, he lifted his hand and slapped her, "That's what happened when you dare disobey me!"
She fell backwards clutching her cheeks and cried. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room. "Even that little bitch, would give up if your life is in danger."
Dewi realized that she was about to be held hostage to force Paramita to give up. "She tried to fight him off, pushing his hand to free herself. “Let go! Let go....." She screamed.
Two guards chased after Paramita, she ran through the door at the other end of the lobby, ending up in the kitchen. They shouted at her to come out, threatening to shoot, she quickly ducked behind the counter.
* * *
Ali and Captain Bags arrived outside the gate. Ali hurriedly came down from the van and pulled out his gun. There were two guards at the gate trying to stop him from entering. Ali took out the gun and shot one guard on the knee without hesitating, he moved forward and sent a high kick towards the other, sending him falling to the ground, he used the back of his gun to hit the guard's head leaving him unconscious. He opened the gate and climbed back into the car, signaling for the driver to continue into the driveway.
As they drove down a group of guard ran in front of the car shooting at them, they evaded the bullets, "Run them down." Ali shouted at the driver.
"My pleasure!" He replied while pressing his foot down on the pedal.
* * *
The guards moved forward to drag her out. They were surprised to find it empty.
"Hello gentlemen!" Paramita appeared behind them, and used the pan in her hand to hit the head of the guard on her left with all her strength, causing him to fall to the ground. She side kicked the other guard aiming for his jaw. He fell backwards hitting his head against the counter. Paramita took both of their guns, slipping one under her belt and holding the other in her hand. "I always wanted to shoot a real gun." She said talking to herself.
Some more guards came into the kitchen, she ducked back down under the counter.
"Give up or I'll shoot." A guard shouted while giving a warning shot.
"Come and get me..." She shouted back.
Chapter Thirty Seven
The driver stepped on the gas and turned the steering wheel stopping it close against a wall. The three men quickly climbed out using the car to shield them. The henchmen were shooting at them from behind the trees that grew in the garden. Ali and Captain Bagas shot back at them, it was difficult to hit them as the bullets hit the trees that cover the henchmen. Ali was beginning to feel frustrated. The sound of gunshots echoed from inside the building, followed by loud clanging sounds.
Ali turned to Captain Bagas, "Captain Bagas, cover me, I'm going to make a run inside." He ordered.
"Yes, Pangeran.
Ali refilled his handgun, ran to the edge of the wall and slipped to the other side, before carefully inching towards the opened door. He heard the sound of shooting from another room inside the palace. He peeked through the door, it seems to be the laundry room. It appeared to be recently abandoned.
Seeing that the coast is clear, he entered the laundry room and headed straight towards the door. It was locked. He shot the knob and pulled it opened, still covering his body behind the wall. He saw a familiar body shielding behind a marble counter, Paramita was occasionally shooting back at the four men covering themselves behind the big wooden table. He saw her throwing the gun in her hand and taking out another one. He carefully crawled by her side. Sensing someone coming up beside her, she turned and pointed the gun towards him.
"Easy now, are you that eager to be a widow?" He whispered.
"Bang, you're here?" She said in disbelief.
"Didn't I tell you to not go anywhere without the guards?" He rebuked.
"Bang, this is not the right time to nag me. Besides, it was
your ex-girlfriend who lured me to the café for Pangeran Bashir."
"So Dewi is involved with them?" He asked.
"Eh-he"
They heard a rustle and turned around. It was Captain Bagas crawling in from the laundry room avoiding bullets.
"Pangeran, Puteri, are you both alright?" He asked.
"We are, thank you Captain Bagas!" Paramita responded.
"Listen, we should split up. Paramita, you stay here and distract them, Captain Bagas, follow me, we'll go around the table and subdue them from behind."
"Yes sir." He replied.
Paramita shot towards the henchmen, taking care, not to accidentally shoot in the direction that Ali and Captain Bagas are crawling.
Ali and Captain Bagas reached the area behind the men, Ali jabbed one of them, leaving him gasping for air, with both hands he hit him behind the neck making him fall. Another man came up to him, with his fist ready to punch Ali. Ali blocked the punch with his left arm and threw a double punch to his face. The henchman kicked him on his thigh, Ali attacked back with a kick to his stomach.
Seeing that the shooting had stopped, Paramita moved forward to where Pangeran Bashir's Guards were fighting Ali and Captain Bagas, she sensed movement from her left side, and could see that the two guard from before were beginning to come to. She took a large pot, ran to them, and bashed the pot in her hand against their heads one by one. "Go back to sleep." She said.
She ran to Ali and Captain Bagas. Seeing that Captain Bagas was being attacked by two men, she ran behind him standing back to back. "Need help Captain?" She asked.
"Puteri, I'm sure I can take care of them." He replied.
Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1 Page 31