The Prime Minister's Daughter

  Chapter 17

   

  Ahmad stared at the crowd of reporters outside the entrance to the hospital. He had kept a lid on the situation about as long as he could. He and Sharad had been dodging reporters all morning. Rumors were running rampant. Most reporters were speculating that Ray Mohammed had been arrested and charged with the attempted assassination of the Prime Minister. Ahmad knew he would have to hold a news conference soon, but first he had to visit his beloved Kiran. He still couldn’t believe what had happened to her. As he and Anila walked in, they were elated to see her smiling.

  "Sweetheart! I've been so worried about you," Anila said, cautiously bending over to give her daughter a hug.

  "I'm okay."

  "You look tired. Your skin is pale," the Prime Minister said.

  "I feel kind of weak."

  "What do you expect?" Anila said. "You've been shot, for godsakes."

  "We were so worried when you disappeared from the beach. What happened?" the Prime Minister asked.

  "We were just messing around when all of a sudden, cars started exploding everywhere and men started chasing us. Deviane took us into the caves. From there we managed to escape into the forest."

  "Oh my poor darling, it must have been terrible being in the forest all night," Anila said.

  "It actually wasn't so bad. We camped at a really pretty waterfall. Kevin built us a lean-to and made us a fire. It was kind of fun, until the death squad showed up."

  "The death squad?" the Prime Minister asked.

  "Yes, didn't you know Malcolm Mann ordered Kevin killed?"

  "What! He ordered him killed?"

  "Yes."

  "God damn it! That bastard! I'll strangle him with my bare hands! Jesus! If the NDC hurts Kevin or Deviane, I'll see every last member hanged. I swear it!"

  "How do you know this, Kiran?" Anila asked.

  "After I was shot, some man, a friend of Kevin's, picked us up on the road. He told us."

  "Who was he?" the Prime Minister asked.

  "I don't know, but if he hadn't come along, we'd all be dead now."

  "What do you mean?"

  "We were asleep when they showed up. We made a run for the main road, thinking your troops would be there. About half way there, I sprained my ankle. So Kevin had to carry me. It was just before we got to the road that I was shot. Luckily, the man came just in time to help us get away."

  "You poor child. What a horrible experience," Anila said. "I'm so glad Kevin was with you two, to protect you."

  "He was wonderful. I wouldn't be here now had it not been for him. Where is he anyway? I was hoping he would come and visit me."

  Anila frowned. "Oh, Kiran, you don't know."

  "Know what?"

  "Kevin and Deviane were captured by the NDC!"

  "Oh, God. No, no! It can't be! They'll kill them!"

  "Maybe not," the Prime Minister said. "If they want to gain public support for their party, it wouldn’t look good for them to be murdering innocent people. They’ll have to be very careful about what they do with Kevin and Deviane. It's a delicate situation. They probably just want to use them as bargaining chips."

  "You've got to find them, Father. You can't let them kill Kevin and Deviane!"

  "I won't, believe me child. We've got thousands of people looking for them right now. We'll find them and we'll bring the kidnappers to justice. I promise you."

  "I don't care about the kidnappers, I just want Kevin and Deviane back safely."

  "I know. We'll get them back. Don't worry. I'm going to leave you with your mother now. I must get to work on a statement for the press. They’re frantic for information, I’ve got to give them something."

  "Okay, I'll see you later, Father."

  Ahmad left. Anila and Kiran talked for another half hour, until the nurse suggested Anila leave and let Kiran get some rest. She promised to return after dinner so they could talk and watch television together.

  Anila was taken by her security escort from the hospital to St. Andrews Church, where she met with her priest. They prayed together for Deviane and Kevin's safe return. Then she went home to get ready for dinner. She and Ahmad were supposed to have dinner with the leader of the NAR and his wife. The purpose of the dinner was to brief his ally on recent developments and get his advice on how the government should handle the current crisis.

  After dinner, Anila returned to the hospital to spend the evening with Kiran. The evening went quickly as they reminisced about past events and speculated about the future. Late in the evening, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno came on.

  "And now here is the host of the Tonight Show, Jay.... Lennooo."

  Jay Leno came out on the stage to the music of the Tonight Show Band and made his usual run to the audience to shake hands. Then he returned to the stage for his monologue.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Tonight Show. We've got a great lineup of guests tonight, including Priscilla Presley, Tom Hanks and singer, Paula Abdul."

  The crowd roared its approval and Jay continued.

  "In the news tonight, there's a rumor about Kevin Wells. You remember Kevin Wells, the boy who saved the life of the Prime Minister of Trinidad? As you recall, he was a guest on the Tonight Show several months ago. Well, you may have heard Kevin was invited to Trinidad to stay with the Prime Minister's family for a week or ten days. Well, he's down there now and apparently, he and the Prime Minister's two daughters, Kiran and Deviane, were nearly kidnaped."

  "Ohhh...," the crowed wailed.

  "Yes. They got away though. In fact, rumor has it that Kevin and these two beautiful girls are lost somewhere in a rain forest in northern Trinidad."

  "Ewww...," the crowd yelled.

  "You may not know this, but Trinidad is where Robinson Crusoe was stranded with his trusted companion, Friday. That's right. Now, I want to ask you, does Kevin Wells know how to get in trouble or what? Come on. This guy gets in the way of an assassin's bullet and becomes a national hero. Now he goes to Trinidad and is nearly kidnaped, but ends up stranded in the forest with two beautiful women. Jesus, I wish I had that kind of trouble!"

  The crowd laughed and Jay went on.

  "Now, we've done a little checking on Kevin Wells to see what makes this kid tick. We talked to some of his friends back at his high school in Plano, Texas. They tell us that Kevin had a hidden agenda in going to Trinidad. Yes, you see, the Trinidad police believed that he was going down there to finger the Prime Minister's assassin. The Prime Minister thought he was coming down to accept his thanks for saving his life. Actually, Kevin went to Trinidad to be alone with Kiran, one of the Prime Minister’s daughters whom he apparently met at the hospital before the assassination attempt. We have talked to several people who were there when they met and they say Kevin and Kiran immediately hit it off and left the waiting room together eluding both Kiran’s mother and a bodyguard. Boy, does this kid know how to charm a girl or what."

  There was a roar of laughter.

  "No, seriously, Kevin's a good kid and we hope he and the Prime Minister's daughters find their way home safely."

  The crowd clapped vigorously.

   

   

  "What did you and Kevin talk about at the hospital?" Anila asked.

  Kiran laughed. "He told me a secret. Something he has never told anyone before."

  "What secret?"

  "I can’t tell you. He entrusted it with me and I won’t betray him."

  Anila frowned. "What else did he say to you?"

  "He told me how important love and trust are to him and that marriage is sacred."

  "He sounds like your sister."

  "You're right. She's got a big crush on him, too."

  "Deviane?"

  "That's the only sister that I know about, unless you've been hiding something from me, Mother."

  "Don't be a wise-ass. Hmm. I had no idea Deviane was interested in Kevin."

  "It's too bad, Kevin already asked me to marry him."


  "What?"

  "Didn't Father discuss it with you? He made some kind of deal with Kevin. I guess if he does what Father wants, then he gets to marry me."

  "Well, I'm going to have a talk with him, right now. I can't believe he would do such a thing and not even talk to me about it."

  "No, don't. I've already agreed to it. I told Kevin I'd marry him."

  "Are you serious? Do you love him?"

  "I don't know, but he's good looking and fun to be with."

  "You shouldn't marry him unless you love him."

  "You didn't marry Father for love."

  "Well, that was different. I was poor and I needed someone who could give me security."

  "And I need someone who can make me an American citizen."

  "Oh, Kiran, you shouldn't marry just to get away from Trinidad. We'll send you to America to go to school. You may not like it there."

  "I’ll grow to love Kevin, like you’ve grown to love Father. It’ll be okay. You'll see."

  "Oh, Kiran, I hope you're not making a mistake."

  "The only mistake I've made is letting the NDC kidnap Kevin. If I would have been conscious, I would have made him come with me in the helicopter. I can't believe he's gone."

  "Your father will find him, don't worry."

  "He'd better. I'll never forgive him if Kevin is killed."