The Prime Minister's Daughter

by William Manchee

  Chapter 13

   

  Early Sunday evening, the Prime Minister and Anila were having a small dinner party. Guests at the party included the Attorney General and the United States Ambassador, both accompanied by their wives. Also attending was Walter Wellersby, a special emissary from Washington. They had planned the event to discuss the prosecution of Ray Mohammed and the other leaders of the NDC. They met at Michael's, a popular restaurant in the suburbs. As they drank cocktails and nibbled on some appetizers, they discussed the upcoming arrest of Ray Mohammed.

  "It will be tomorrow morning, when he leaves his house, probably around eight. We'll transport him to the police station where Kevin Wells will be ready to identify him immediately. I've assigned our best investigators and our top prosecutor to interrogate him. Hopefully, he'll implicate Malcolm Mann and the rest of the hoodlums that run the NDC," the Attorney General said.

  "I seriously doubt if he'll say anything," the Ambassador replied. "By now, he must have an attorney on standby. He's got to be worried about being arrested. I'm really surprised he came back to Trinidad after the assassination attempt. He can't be very bright."

  "Perhaps he knows something we don't," Mr. Wellersby said.

  The Ambassador looked at Wellersby. "Perhaps he does," he replied.

  "When are you going to inform the press about what's coming down?" the Ambassador asked.

  "We've called a news conference for noon tomorrow," the Attorney General replied. "We'll advise the press that we've arrested a suspect in conjunction with the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Shah and the shooting of Kevin Wells. Whether we elaborate any further depends on how much Ray Mohammed talks."

  "If you go after the NDC, do you have a contingency plan in case there is violence?" Wellersby asked.

  "We don't expect any trouble, but as a precaution, our military will be put on alert at midnight tonight. We currently have all of the NDC leaders under surveillance. If they try anything, then we'll pounce on them like a lion on a caribou."

  Several waiters arrived to serve the dinner salad. As they were working, Anamica came in, hurried up to the Prime Minister and whispered something in his ear.

  "What?" the Prime Minister said as his face became grim.

  "No!" he said and then slammed his fist on the table. "This can't be!"

  Anila, having overhead Anamica, let out a scream and began to cry. The Prime Minister put his arms around her to comfort her.

  "What's wrong, Ahmad?" the Ambassador asked.

  "Someone has kidnaped our two daughters and Kevin Wells!"

  "Oh, Lord!" the Ambassador said. "You've got to be joking."

  "They've killed six security officers and bombed their cars. I must leave at once. Sharad, let's go."

  The Prime Minister and the Attorney General made a hasty exit from Michael's. Ahmad was visibly upset by the news. Anila was in such a panic, she had to be assisted out of the restaurant.

     "Oh, Ahmad, what are you going to do?” she moaned. “They have our Kiran and Deviane. You've got to find them!"

  "I will. Calm down. I'll find them and bring them home to you safely."

  "Do you think the kidnappers will hurt them?" the Ambassador asked.

  "No, I'm sure they want them as hostages."

  "Who would do something like this?"

  "I'm sure it's the NDC. They're the only ones that would resort to kidnaping to get what they want. But, they've made a big mistake. Now, I'm going to see to it that every last one of them hangs. Believe me, the bastards will pay for what they’ve done!"

  Ahmad and Sharad were escorted to a waiting helicopter by security police. Within minutes, they were airborne and flying toward the capitol building.

  "Let's go straight to Blanchisseuse Bay," Ahmad said. "I want to see if they've found out anything yet."

  "That wouldn't be wise," Sharad replied. "You need to go to your office, where it is safe. If the NDC is really behind this, they may be looking for another opportunity to assassinate you. I'll get my best men out there. They'll find out what happened and track down the cowards responsible for this outrage."

  "Don't fail me, Sharad. These are my children, my own flesh and blood. They are the reason I've fought so hard to get to the top. I'm looking forward to the day when they'll fill our house with grandchildren."

  "Believe me, Kiran and Deviane are like children to me too. I will not sleep until they are home safe with their mother."

  "Anila will die of grief if we lose them."

  "We won't lose them. We don't even know for sure that the kidnappers have them. They may have escaped."

  "Do you think that's possible?"

  "To be honest, it's not likely, but with Kevin there, it might be possible."

  "Deviane is very cunning and she knows the terrain quite well, perhaps they did escape, Sharad!"

  "I will order a search first thing in the morning. What about the press? What should I tell them?"

  Ahmad thought for a moment.

  "We'll wait for the news conference tomorrow. If God wills it, we'll have them back safely. If not, we'll ask every citizen of Trinidad to search for them. This is a small country. It will be difficult for the traitors to hide their hostages."

  The helicopter started its descent onto the roof of the capitol building. As soon as it landed, Ahmad and Sharad rushed inside. General Pelton met the two leaders as they entered the building.

  "Mr. Prime Minister, we've put the military on full alert. Since we had already planned an alert at midnight, we should be well prepared for anything that might happen."

  "Excellent. Has anything else occurred, other than the kidnaping?"

  "No, sir. We've had no reports of anything unusual."

  "Has anyone claimed responsibility?"

  "No, sir."

  "Are there any witnesses to what happened out there?"

  "No, sir. It's a complete mystery. Late in the afternoon, we lost radio contact with the security police escorting your daughters and Mr. Wells. We immediately dispatched helicopters that reached the scene within minutes. When they got there, the beach was deserted, except for three burning vehicles and a few items on the beach."

  "What items?"

  "Some towels, clothing and a picnic basket."

  "They must have been swimming when the assault occurred," Sharad said. "What about tracks? Could you tell how many there were from the footprints?"

  "Yes, sir. There appeared to be six men in combat boots running on the beach, perhaps chasing your daughters and Mr. Wells. The footprints stop at the water's edge, near the north perimeter of the beach."

  "The caves. Did anyone search the caves?" Ahmad asked.

  "No, sir. We weren't aware of any caves."

  "Get someone out there tonight to search the caves. They may have hidden there. Deviane knows the caves well. She may have led them in there to hide."

  The general barked some orders to a subordinate and he ran off.

  "There's someone there now, so I'll radio for them to search the caves immediately. I'll advise you of what they find the minute they report back."

  "Thank you, General. You may go. Keep me apprised of what's going on?"

  "Yes, sir," the general said and then turned and left.

  "Oh, Sharad, pray they are in the caves. They've got to be in the caves."