The Prime Minister's Daughter

by William Manchee

  Chapter 16

   

  It was raining heavily when the helicopter arrived at Port of Spain General Hospital. A special team of doctors had been assembled in anticipation of the arrival of the Prime Minister's daughter. Kiran was immediately rushed to the casualty department. When her condition had been stabilized, she was taken into surgery for the removal of the bullet. Ahmad and Anila waited anxiously in a private waiting room. Sharad and Anamica checked in periodically to see how they were doing, and to keep them apprised of any new developments.

  "I can't believe my baby is having a bullet taken out of her chest. God, Ahmad, how could you let this happen?"

  "What do you mean? I had them heavily guarded. I never suspected the sleazy cowards would launch an all-out-attack on my children! Jesus! I used to have a little respect for Malcolm Mann, but now I know he's nothing but a spineless cockroach!"

  "Why don't you arrest him?"

  "I'd like to, believe me. Unfortunately, at this moment I have no proof he's responsible. I guarantee, though, just as soon as we can tie him to the assassination attempt or this kidnaping, we'll put him behind bars, where he belongs."

  "What if Kiran dies, Ahmad? She's so young."

  "She won't die. She's a strong girl."

  "I can't stand this, Ahmad! I can't stand just sitting here not knowing if she’s going to live or die."

  "She'll be all right, relax!"

  For nearly an hour, Ahmad and Anila waited impatiently for news. Finally, the doctor walked into the room.

  "Mr. Prime Minister?"

  "Yes."

  "Your daughter is out of surgery. We've removed the bullet and she's in the recovery room. She was a very lucky girl. The bullet narrowly missed her heart."

  "Oh, thank God!" Anila sobbed. "So she's going to be okay?"

  "Yes, it's fortunate they were able to get her to Miss Victoria when they did. She lost a lot of blood and may not have made it without her help."

  "Who is Miss Victoria? I want to personally thank her," the Prime Minister said.

  "She's a midwife who’s been practicing up in the north for as long as I can remember. A lot of folks still use her to avoid having to come to Port of Spain and pay for a hospital visit."

  "Anamica, make a note for me to stop by and visit her one day."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Is she awake, doctor? Can we see her?"

  "No, we better let her sleep awhile. Why don't you come back about noon tomorrow? She should be awake and feeling much better by then."

  "Oh, I'm so relieved. Thank you, doctor," Anila said.

  "I'm happy that I could be of service. I hope your other daughter is okay."

  "Speaking of Deviane, has the other helicopter brought her back yet?"

  "I'll call immediately and find out," Anamica replied and then started to leave the room.

  As she was leaving, Sharad entered.

  "Ahmad, you won't believe this."

  "What?"

  "When the second helicopter arrived, Deviane and Mr. Wells were gone. They've been kidnaped!"

  "Oh no! No!" Anila screamed and began crying.

  Anamica quickly came over and held her.

  "Are you sure? How could that be? What happened?"

  "Miss Victoria said the NDC arrived right after Kiran had been taken away. They bound and gagged them and threw them into a jeep. She and Obatala managed to slip out the back door and into the forest without being seen. She said the NDC jeep headed south, toward Arima."

  "Oh, God!" Anila wailed.

  "Are we in pursuit?"

  "Yes, of course, and we've got a blockade on the road ten miles north of Arima."

  "Good. I wonder how they knew where to find them?"

  "It was the mobile phone, sir. They must have intercepted Deviane's call to you."

  "Damn it!" the Prime Minister yelled.

  Tears welled in his eyes. He struggled to keep from crying.

  "I know, Ahmad. I know."

  "I'm going to take Anila home. Call me if you hear anything."

  "I will. What about the news conference?"

  "Cancel it! Until we know Deviane and Kevin's fate, I don't want to talk to the press."

  "Should we tell them about the kidnaping and that Kiran is safe?"

  "No, tell them nothing. They'll have to wait."

  "Some of what happened may have already leaked out. They'll be asking lots of questions."

  "I know. They always ask lots of questions, but they'll just have to wait another day, until we can sort things out. I can't deal with them now, okay?"

  "Yes, Ahmad. Of course."

   

   

   

  The two jeeps raced along the narrow highway towards Arima, with Kevin and Deviane bound and gagged in the back seat. The sky was starting to lighten with the approaching dawn. Suddenly, the jeep veered off the main highway onto a dirt road. It stopped five minutes later. Kevin heard the door open and a hand reached in to pull him roughly from his seat.

  Moments later, he was assaulted by the wind and the roar of helicopter blades as he was lifted into the chopper and thrown onto a seat. He heard Deviane's muffled screams as she was also forced aboard. The helicopter rose quickly and flew low to the ground, toward its destination.

  Kevin was paralyzed with fear. He knew the kidnappers had orders to kill him. They would have reason to keep Deviane alive. She could provide them a good ransom, but he was only a liability. He was the one person who could bring down the NDC. He wondered why he was still alive.

  It wasn't long before the helicopter made its descent. Once on the ground, the two hostages were led to an elevator and taken down several floors. They were led down a hallway and put in a room. When their blindfolds and gags were removed, and their hands untied, a half dozen young soldiers were surrounding them. Without a word, they were left alone in the small, concrete, windowless room. In the far corner there was an old mattress thrown on the ground. In another corner, a dirty toilet and a sink.

  "Where are we?" Deviane asked in a quivering voice.

  "Who knows? We could be anywhere. I think we flew back toward Port of Spain, but I'm not sure."

  "I wonder how Kiran is doing? I hope she's okay. I can't believe she got away and we didn't."

  "I guess using the mobile phone wasn't such a hot idea."

  "At least it saved Kiran."

  "I hope it did. She didn't look so good when we left her."

  "She'll make it, won't she, Kevin?"

  "I think so. Miss Victoria had her stabilized at least."

  "I hope so. I am so scared."

  "I know. So am I. Why don't you lie down? You must be exhausted."

  "Actually, I am exhausted. That mattress is looking pretty good right now."

  "I'd like to take a nap too, but I'm starving. I wonder if they plan to feed us?"

  "I assume they will eventually."

  Deviane walked over to the mattress and laid down. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep. Kevin watched her awhile, running the events of the last 24 hours through his mind over and over again. Finally, he succumbed to his exhaustion, lay down beside her and fell asleep. Hours later he awoke and found her cuddled next to him with her head on his shoulder. He was afraid to move as he feared it might wake her up, but she was already awake.

  "I've dreamed of sleeping with you,” she said. “But not like this.”

  "You have?"

  "Yes, ever since you were on Jay Leno. Kiran I had a crush on you."

  “I’m sorry, I had no idea. . . . Where did you learn that vampire move anyway? I've never felt anything like that before."

  “Vampire move? . . . Oh, when I bit your neck?”

  “Yeah. Did you draw blood?”

  "No. I read about that technique in a magazine, Twenty-four Ways to Drive Your Man Wild!"

  "Twenty-four?"

  "Yeah, that was number eleven."

  "Jesus! What kind of magazines do you read?"

 
"All of them. Even Cosmopolitan and all the teenage slut magazines. I hate being naive or ignorant about anything.”

  "Hmm. I don’t think you have to worry about that. You're already a lot smarter and more knowledgeable than most girls I've met."

  "Does that bother you?"

  "No, I like a smart girl."

  "Even one who may be smarter than you?"

  He laughed. "Well, I haven’t met that girl yet, but I wouldn't care either way."

  Deviane chuckled. "Good. A lot of boys don't like me because I have a brain."

  "Yeah, I can believe that. A lot of my friends are like that too. It's pretty stupid."

  The two prisoners pondered their plight for several minutes in an uneasy silence. Deviane closed her eyes and clutched Kevin tightly. Kevin stared at the blank wall as if in a trance.

  "I can't believe I'm going to die before I ever get married," Deviane said.

  "We're not going to die, don't talk like that."

  "How will we ever escape?"

  "Your father will rescue us, I'm sure."

  "If he can find us."

  "If he doesn't find us, then we'll have to figure out a way to get out of here on our own."

  "But, how?"

  "People escape from prisons every day. We'll just have to be observant and resourceful. We'll figure something out."

  "What if we don't?"

  Kevin took a deep breath. "Then at least we won't die alone."

  Deviane lifted her head and looked Kevin in the eyes. After a moment of silence, she smiled and gave him a gentle kiss. He didn’t object.

  "You're right. Having you with me when the end comes will make it so much easier to bear."

  Kevin took her hand and gave it a tender squeeze. She smiled and then wiped away a tear that had started to run down her cheek. Finally, she laid back down and closed her eyes. Soon she was asleep.

  Kevin watched her as she slept. His mind was whirling–pondering his feelings for her, wondering if Kiran had lived or died, and trying desperately to come up with a plan, a strategy for their survival. Having little luck resolving any of those concerns, he gave in to exhaustion and fell into a troubled slumber.