Dictator s Daughter

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Dictator s Daughter Page 24

by Angell, Lorena


  The medical team rushed Eliwese into emergency surgery to stop her bleeding. His concern for Eliwese’s health was the main focus in his mind, but he was being bombarded with questions from doctors, nurses and admissions clerks. It was enough to make him dizzy. Once everyone seemed satisfied with information, Sean sat down and rubbed his face with both palms before calling Ryan.

  “You got away with Eliwese?” Ryan was excited and spread the joy to Sara and Lyndee.

  “Eliwese is real sick,” Sean said solemnly.

  “Yeah, but she’s a fighter. You know that.”

  “You didn’t see all the blood she vomited. This is serious, Ryan. She was so pale and weak; I can’t stop thinking about how much blood she lost when she was shot. Now she’s bleeding internally because of that son of a—”

  “Sean, she’s at a hospital where they can give her more blood. She’s going to be fine.”

  “If she dies, I’m releasing the video.”

  “I think you should release the video anyway. In fact, we all do. I have the flash drive, you just say the word and it’s all over for Rawlings.”

  “Hold off on it for a bit longer. I need to call Rawlings now, I’ll call you later. ”

  Sean ended his call with Ryan and sat back in his chair and placed the back of his head on the wall. He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath, he let it out and dialed Victor’s number.

  Once Victor was on the other end, Sean said, “Shooting that SOB was probably the smartest thing you’ve ever done.”

  “Passing Eliwese off as a boy was the smartest thing you’ve done.” Sean could almost hear praise in Victor’s voice. It sickened him.

  “Your daughter is quite ill and may die. If she does, you’ll get no more money from me!”

  “You think you can hide from me your whole life, boy?”

  “From where I’m sitting, I have the advantage because where I’m going would take a lot of money to find me. ”

  “There is no place on earth my power and people can’t find you.”

  “Do they work for free? What are you going to pay them with? Cookies and milk?”

  “You arrogant piece of-”

  “Listen close, dic—tator. You may want to consider some other career options at this point. She dies, I release the video!” Sean hung up and turned off his phone. He wanted to punch something. He got up and paced back and forth and took swipes at the air. More than anything, he just wanted to check on Eliwese.

  He sat back down in his chair and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. It hadn’t been many days ago he had held her close in the shower and kissed her sweet lips. It hadn’t been many more prior to that, when he discovered she was a girl and not a boy. The time had run together and it was so hard for Sean to fathom what the next few days would hold.

  Victor closed his phone with care. Sean’s threat of releasing the video confirmed the existence of it. He would need to schedule a meeting with his press secretary to figure out how to deal with this damning evidence. But first, he said to Dennison, “Call the tail and tell them Eliwese is at a hospital or clinic somewhere.”

  “Do you think she’s in Northtown?”

  “Highly unlikely; Cutler would have taken her as far away from my reach as possible. What is the next largest town north of Northtown but within thirty minutes drive time?”

  “I’m not sure, I’ll make some calls.”

  “No, call the tail and tell them to stop at every town they come across till they find her.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Victor needed to be across the border five minutes ago, not in the one and a half hours it would take to drive it. “Dennison, call my chopper pilot first and tell him to meet us somewhere to pick me up.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Victor stared out the window as Dennison carried out his order. They were climbing in altitude on their way to the top of the pass leading them to Slaterville and then toward the border. Snow was falling in the higher elevations.

  “Sir, the pilot says he can’t fly through the storm.”

  “What storm?”

  “That storm.” Dennison pointed out the window.

  “It’s nothing. Tell him to do it anyway.”

  “Sir, he says the chopper will fail if he flies in the blizzard.”

  “Well, if he doesn’t even try to fly it, I’ll kill him when I get back. He can die now or later, it makes no difference to me.”

  “Sir, what if he makes it to you, but crashes after you’re on board?”

  “Well, it would seem you have a valid point, Dennison. I guess we will drive the distance.”

  An hour and a half later, Victor Rawlings looked out his window and cursed at the many flashing lights of patrol cars blocking the road at the border checkpoint.

  “What the hell?” His vehicle slowed down and came to a halt. “Dennison, find out what’s going on.”

  Dennison got out of the car and was quickly taken to the ground by two officers. Victor was astounded by their aggression, but determined not to let it affect his resolve.

  “Out of the car, Rawlings!” A young officer shouted into the back of the car.

  “That’s President Rawlings to you, officer.”

  “No, it’s not. You aren’t my president, sir. You can get your own self out of the car or we can drag you out, it’s your choice.”

  Of all the nerve! This officer would need to be taught a lesson on respecting men of power and authority. If Riley were alive, I would have him kill this arrogant piece of garbage and his family and their pets. Then again, Riley would’ve probably accepted a chunk of cash from the officer and shipped him off to some other location, telling me the deed had been completed. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, Victor thought calmly.

  He moved his legs toward the door and pushed his body out of the car. He expected to be greeted in a dignified manner by perhaps the Chief of Police or the next in charge, but what he didn’t guess was to be taken to the ground in the same manner as his bodyguard.

  “You are under arrest, President Rawlings, for the murder of Dr. John Randall.” The officer said coolly in his ear and then proceeded to read him his rights.

  “I don’t even know who you are talking about.” The rocks on the road dug against his cheek and gentle snowflakes landed on his face melting immediately. Beyond the officer, Victor saw the border guards and the checkpoint. He had been so close to getting away. And where was the damn blizzard that kept his pilot from picking him up? “You are violating my diplomatic immunity, officer.”

  Several officers searched the vehicle and one came out holding the photograph of Dr. Randall’s body. “It’s strange you would have a picture of a dead man you know nothing about.” The officer yelled to the others, “Load him up!” He turned his head to Victor Rawlings and said with intense satisfaction, “We’ve been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time. You’re going back to Northtown to pay for at least one of your many ordered deaths.”

  Four officers aided in placing Victor in the back of a patrol car. Ironically, Victor was always chauffeured wherever he went—even to jail.

  **********

  “Hello, I’m Dr. Tindel, are you with Eliwese?”

  Sean nodded.

  “We patched her up the best we could. Her blood loss was significant. We gave her additional pints but at this point, it does not look good.”

  “Is she awake? Can I see her?” Sean asked with his throat closing off.

  “Yes, follow me.” Dr. Tindel led him down a series of hallways to the ICU.

  They entered her room. She lay motionless in bed looking pale except for her bruises and cuts. Sean scooted a chair over to her bedside and gently took her hand in his. His eyes filled with tears and he pulled her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips to her soft cool skin. This couldn’t be happening, he thought. They had succeeded in getting his mother and Lyndee back, his father was alive, Riley was dead and Eliwe
se was away from the grips of her father. Only now, she was so close to death. It just couldn’t be true.

  The doctor closed the door and walked to each window and shut the blinds. Sean watched him curiously, not understanding why he would do such a thing. Then it hit him, Eliwese was dying. The doctor was creating a peaceful room for her to slip away and for him to grieve in private.

  “She is the strongest willed young lady I’ve ever met.” Dr. Tindel stated humbly.

  “Yes, she is.”

  “She is a fighter and I’m honored to have known her.”

  Sean didn’t answer. His voice didn’t work, he could only nod.

  “I’ll leave you two alone now. I’m sure she has much to say to you.” Sean was confused at this statement.

  Once the door shut, Eliwese squeezed Sean’s hand. Sean had been focusing on the doctor and hadn’t noticed Eliwese was awake.

  “Hey,” he said softly with a smile, “how do you feel?”

  “You were very brave at the library, Sean. I just wanted you to know.” She sounded so weak and frail.

  “Thanks. You weren’t so bad yourself.” He tried lightening the mood. “Dr. Tindel is going to get you better and we’ll get you out of here before you—”

  “That’s not going to happen, Sean.” She closed her eyes and took a slow deep breath.

  “Sure it will. You are strong and you’re going to pull through this. You’ve been through so much worse…” his voice caught in his throat.

  “I’ve gone as far as I’m going to go with this. There is nothing more to do. In a short while, I’ll be free.”

  Sean pleaded with her. “Please don’t talk like that.”

  “You freed me, Sean,” she whispered and he scooted closer to her; he needed to be closer to her. “Never forget it.”

  “We will be free, on a beautiful Caribbean island. We’ll make a new life there and your father will never find us!”

  “I’m not worried about my father anymore. I’m worried about you.”

  “No, don’t waste your energy worrying about me. Save your strength.”

  “Sean, I have to tell you something and I’m worried you won’t want me after I tell you.” Her tone had changed. It alarmed Sean, though, he didn’t know why.

  “Eliwese, nothing you could say would make me not want you. I’ve wanted you in my life since the day I found out you were a girl and then retroactively to the first time we talked about Chandra. I feel like I’ve known you forever. I love you and nothing you say or do would ever change that.”

  “Thank you, Sean. I love you too. I guess that’s why I worry because I don’t want to lose you.”

  “Tell me what’s bothering you.”

  “Sean, would you still love me if I disappointed you?” she asked him.

  “Of course, but you never could.”

  “Would you still love me if I deceived you?”

  “Yes. But why would you ask such a thing?”

  “Because I have deceived you Sean; but not maliciously. Can you forgive an unmalicious deception, if that’s even a word?”

  “Yes,” he answered but with a wavering in his voice. His face was heating up with fear and his mind racing. Is this the part where she says she is a spy?

  The door opened and the doctor entered. He didn’t seem rushed or hurried or alarmed. He merely entered and existed in the same space as them.

  “Sean,” Eliwese asked, “can you help me sit up?”

  He did as she asked and propped pillows behind her. She motioned for him to sit with her on the bed. He did.

  “I knew my father would keep me at the mall the moment I realized how hard the blackmail video hit him and I suspected it would work that way from the beginning. I pleaded with you to not try and save me. I wanted you to go with your family and stick to the plan of leaving the country, but more than anything, I wanted to tell you I had a backup plan. I couldn’t because my father put a wire on me.”

  Sean was confused. “You had a backup plan and didn’t tell me about it at the hotel?”

  “I’m sorry, Sean. Dr. Randall insisted on the secrecy, he figured the blackmail plan would work and the alternative plan wouldn’t be necessary. When we arrived in town yesterday, we stopped by this hospital and set everything up in case the meeting went sour. I think he worried about implicating the hospital staff which would place targets on their heads.

  “No one could have guessed my father would wire so much money; that was his mistake. I would have never guessed you would try to use it to blackmail my father. I told you to leave and head north, to not waste your time with me, but you had to be the hero.

  “When my father sent me in the library, he told me you had just signed my death warrant. I thought for sure we were going to die and I was a little angry with you for not following my instructions and leaving town. But you pulled it off and it seemed we would make a clean get-away. Plus, Riley was taken out, in all his splendor. I couldn’t have planned it better myself.

  “I knew you were feeling pretty good at that moment, thinking we were escaping, but I knew differently. I realized my father would be hot on our heels and we didn’t stand a chance of escaping, especially with his money. So, as we left the library I swallowed one of these.” She reached over to the side table and picked up a capsule. “It caused me to vomit what looked like blood.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I deceived you into thinking I was dying when I’m actually not.”

  “You’re not dying? You’re faking this?” He was flabbergasted.

  “This eye here is make-up.” She tugged and pulled the putty and coloring from her eye. “These bruises are real,” pointing to her arms and cheek.

  “You weren’t beaten last night?”

  “Oh, I was. I have a cracked rib if you want to see the x-ray to prove it,”

  Sean shook his head while all sorts of emotions raced through his body.

  She must have sensed his befuddlement and she added, “I took the blood pill because the time was right to take my father down.”

  “You could have told me what was going on.”

  “You barely wanted to stop so I could vomit. Do you really think if I told you I wanted to go meet with the police, you would have turned around? You would have insisted on waiting ‘till the next town. The window of opportunity would have closed; my father would have had time to cross the border.”

  Sean knew it was true. “You wanted to talk to the police?”

  “The last two hours have been spent in an operating room but not for surgery, instead I held a meeting with the police and investigators and your government’s special task force. They have wanted a valid reason to arrest my father for some time and now they have it. I also turned my story over to the network-broadcasting people. I answered their questions for their verification. It’s breaking news as we speak with the whole story hitting the five o’clock news.”

  “So, what was the escape plan?”

  “Well, naturally I would have swallowed a capsule which would have landed me here and in surgery for the ‘abdominal bleeding’. The fake surgery would last five hours which would be enough time to transport me by helicopter beyond the reaches of my father. By the time he would have found out I left the hospital, I would be boarding a plane to the Caribbean”

  Sean sat staring off into nothingness, trying to wrap his mind around the situation.

  “So, I need to ask you, Sean. Will you forgive me?” Her voice had worry in it again and he looked at her with a soft smile.

  “Eliwese, you don’t need to ask for my forgiveness because you’ve done nothing wrong. You made a judgment call the same way I did. We’ve had to deceive all along the way in order to succeed. So the real question is did we succeed?”

  “Yes. My father was arrested at the border and is being brought back here to the jail. Any moment longer and he would have been able to cross the border into his safe realm. We waited to get you until we knew the outcome of it all. I’m sorry f
or leaving you alone with such a burden of stress, but I wanted to protect you and your family from the onslaught of the media.”

  The doctor coughed and brought the attention to him. “Eliwese, tell me what we’re going to do now. Are you leaving or staying?”

  “I want to see him behind bars and imprisoned.”

  “I’ll make some calls.” Dr. Tindel left the room.

  Eliwese turned to Sean. “I need to see him imprisoned. I hope you can understand, Sean.”

  “I understand. You need that cathartic moment where you see the tables turned, where he is the prisoner and you are free.”

  “Are you upset with me, Sean?”

  “No. How could I ever be upset with you? You are the best thing to ever happen to me. You make me want to be a better person. Besides, you are the only one who can properly insult my brother. Why would I ever be upset with you? Except if you revealed you really were a spy all along.”

  “Noted. I’ll never tell you that.”

  “How hard would it be to get out of your marriage to Prince What’s-His-Face?”

  “Probably not too hard, why?”

  “I think you know why.” Sean took both her hands in his and kissed them gently, and then leaned forward and kissed her sweet lips.

  “Eliwese,” The doctor put his head in the door of her room, “your father will be arriving at the jail in twenty minutes. I’ve arranged for you to see him once he’s processed.”

  “Thank you.”

  Sean’s concern rose. “I have to say I don’t agree with you going to the jailhouse. I think your life could be in danger just being around him. I’d say wait ‘till he is settled in a secure place with adequate security.”

  “I appreciate your concern, Sean, but I still want to go now.”

  “Alright.”

  Eliwese hurried out of bed and began changing back into her clothes.

  Sean’s cell rang with Ryan’s incoming call.

  “How is she doing?”

  Sean watched her dress herself with care. “She’s going to live.”

 

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