Chapter 22
The motors of the royal yacht spun into life as her Majesty was brought on board. Her husband waited at the top of the gang plank as she ran into his arms,
'They took her, it was so fast, I can't believe it.'
'Come, let's go inside.' He took his distraught wife to their cabin and called for her doctor which she refused. She wanted a strong cup of tea which was brought and she drank with steady hands. Her control was restored and she waited calmly for the system to return her granddaughter to her.
The yacht was taken two miles offshore, its escort closed in and began a patrol pattern: nothing was getting near the yacht. On shore drastic measures had been taken, everyone: every man, woman and child in the vicinity was rounded up into a group and taken to the area in front of the church.
Hundreds of irate people were pushed and shoved down alleyways to the open space and told to sit down. Extra military personnel came onshore from the destroyers and were put to work searching everyone and every vehicle.
Local police were told to start taking names and checking identities, looking for anyone who was out of place. Further out from the village helicopters were circling, all vehicles were detained and turned back to the town where they were impounded and everyone in them taken to the church. Orders were given that anyone who didn't respond to a command to stop was to be shot. The once lively town was turned into a grim military camp. As far as Jeff was concerned the town's only virtue was its small population; they thought they'd rounded up most of it.
Jeff's injured men were flown out to the nearest hospital where their wounds were treated. Both had nasty scalp lacerations that had bled profusely but were not badly hurt. They reported they'd seen a street vendor approaching the back of the shop, pushing a hand cart. He'd waved and offered them tea. As they told him to move on they were struck from behind.
In her dusty hole Crystal was shoved from behind and dragged from in front, but when she tried to stand her leg collapsed and she screamed in pain.
'It can't be broken,' she thought, 'I didn't fall far enough.'
Her captors pushed and grabbed at her but every movement sent shards of pain through her thigh. She refused to move, pushing their hands away. Someone slapped her in the dark and she stopped resisting. They dragged her through the dark tunnel which soon opened into a dimly lit, brick floored cavern filled with racks and bottles. She looked around in disbelief, she was in a wine cellar!
Her captors pushed her to the floor and tied a filthy rag over her mouth. Her hands and feet were tied and she was left alone as the two men seemed to be having an argument.
One of them kept pointing at Crystal while the other kept pointing to a set of stairs that led out of the cellar. Finally the man who'd been pointing at the stairs pushed his friend in the chest and ran up the stairs. He opened a trapdoor and stepped out. His friend watched Crystal with his lips drawn back from his yellow teeth. Crystal now had time to be frightened.
Obviously the men were arguing over her, perhaps what to do with her. She couldn't walk and they would have to carry her. They were sinewy and strong, carrying her didn't seem to be a problem to her but there seemed to be something else.
The second man came back down the stairs very excited. He spoke to his friend in staccato bursts with much pointing of fingers in several directions. They spoke for some time and then they left, leaving Crystal in the dark as they closed the hatch behind them.
The day wore on, blistering heat started to take its toll on the people sitting without cover on the ground. Bottled water was handed out and every umbrella in the market was put to work providing shade.
After three hours of searching the consensus was Crystal could not have been taken out of the village: she was here somewhere. The military turned their attention to the ground and began questioning people about any old tunnels, mine workings or underground storage.
'There's certainly no sewerage system,' Jeff said; he hated the place.
Many underground places were identified and searched. As evening was setting in a woman started to shout at the man beside her. She slapped his head and berated him so loudly one of the soldiers went over to see what was going on. He called over a local policeman to translate what she was saying.
'She's his wife. She's calling him a camel turd, a worthless piece of shit who's not worth spitting on.'
The abuse went on as the man cowered under the wave of abuse. The woman began to pull at his arm and push him, forcing him to stand up. She spat more words at him which translated as,
'Go on, tell them what you've done you fool of the monkey brains.'
The man was silent as the soldier dragged him away and told the policeman to bring the wife. Jeff was in a huddle with the military commander when the couple were brought to him.
'What's this?' he asked the policeman.
'According to the lady here, it seems this fellow, her husband, has something to say.'
'Ask her what it is,' Jeff said.
The policeman had a long conversation with the woman who spat at her husband and kicked him in the shins. He didn't protect himself; he seemed to be completely under her power. At the end of yet another tirade of abuse the policeman turned to Jeff with a surprised expression,
'He kidnapped the princess, he and his friends. They were going to sell her to the Somalis.'
The military commander took over the interrogation which was moved inside to a small room with no windows and a number of heavily armed soldiers. The man quickly told his story: how he and his friends were poor and needed money to feed their families, there had been famine in the surrounding villages.
They'd seen the royal party go to church and decided without any planning to grab one of them if they could to make some money from the Somalis. Her Majesty going into the market made it easy. Jeff quailed at the spontaneous simplicity of it.
'Can we stop the story and ask him where Cry...her Royal Highness is?'
The translator quizzed the man who replied to his questions with,
'In the cellar.'
'What cellar?' Jeff said, grabbing the man by the throat.
'Under the church,' he told him gasping for breath. They'd dug a tunnel to the cellar to steal the wine. They intended to take Crystal to the cellar and move her to the coast when it was dark. The force that had descended on the town had made that impossible so they'd left her there.
Jeff and his team ran to the church where the startled priest was sorting food and bottles of water for the people outside.
'How do I get to the cellar?' Jeff shouted at him.
The good father, who was rather intimidated by the group of armed young men in his church, led them out to the small chapter house and pointed to the floor. A polished brass ring glowed on the floor boards.
A frightened Crystal was retrieved and brought upstairs by Jeff. He went to put her down as he called for a stretcher but she wouldn't take her arms from his neck.
She clung to him and would not let go until they were back on the yacht and a navy doctor told her he would have to examine her. She kept her eyes on a white faced Jeff as the doctor found the break in her shin and gave her a large shot of painkiller before he set it.
Afterwards she was put into her own bed and slept. Finally Jeff went and spoke to the Queen and Crystal's grandfather.
Jeff found Crystal's grandfather standing on the deck staring out at the night.
'Jeff, you look terrible,' he said.
'I have to admit sir, I've felt better.'
'Come in,' he said, 'we've been waiting for you.'
He put a strong hand on Jeff's shoulder and led him into Her Majesty's stateroom. Inside he pushed Jeff into a chair and gave him a drink. Her Majesty watched as he took a gulp and then twirled the heavy crystal glass in his hands.
The strain of the day was taking its toll; Jeff was exhausted. Her Majesty saw the exhaustion and a finely honed strength of a kind well beyond his years. He was quiet, determined, loya
l and apparently, devoted to Crystal. He hadn't just been doing his job trying to find her, she'd been told he'd been frantic with worry.
His efforts to find Crystal had been relentless. She felt he would have torn the town apart to find her. The initiative to detain the whole population had been his and, despite it being a complete violation of their human rights, had paid off. Not for the first time in her long life Her Majesty grappled with the competing demands of the ends justifying the means. At the moment she was just grateful to have Crystal back.
'Constable ... Jeff,' she said, 'We want to thank you for what you did today.'
'Ma'am, I lost her, I let them take her; you shouldn't be thanking me. I stuffed up.' It was only his bone tiredness that let him speak in such terms to his sovereign.
Her Majesty stood up and Jeff immediately started to get out of the chair but she waved him down.
'I exposed her Jeff, not you. If I had listened to my protection officers' advice we wouldn't have been in danger. It's my fault, entirely my fault.'
'No...' he started to say but Her Majesty silenced him.
'That's the end of it Jeff, except for one thing.'
'Ma'am?'
'I want you to promise me something.'
'Of course.'
'Crystal is in love with you,' he looked embarrassed but Her Majesty noted he didn't deny it. She went on, 'She is and I'm happy for you both. If you promise me to care for her always I will promise you not to go against security advice ever again. Do we have a bargain?'
Jeff stood up and took the hand offered to him, 'Yes Ma'am, we do.' Her Majesty covered his hand with her hers and he managed a very tired smile. 'Go on, she's waiting for you.'
To everyone's surprise the tour wasn't cancelled. Her Majesty and her husband continued and attended all the scheduled events. It was written up in the press as the triumph of a determined monarch, one not cowed by threats.
'That's as may be,' Her Majesty said, as she read yet another account of her apparently indomitable strength in a conservative newspaper, 'But really they exaggerate; people are expecting us and we can't disappoint them.'
For another four days the royal yacht went on its serene way, the royal party went ashore or local people and dignitaries came on board and were entertained. There wasn't another ripple in the pool of protocol.
Crystal was kept in bed for the break in her leg was a bad one and understandably she was having nightmares. Jessie was her constant companion, pressing a warm Archie and Terri into her arms for comfort.
'Well hot water bottle,' she said, 'I need you again. You'd think I'd learn to stay out of trouble, wouldn't you?'
But Crystal had someone else to warm her. Late on the first night Jeff slipped quietly into the room and lay down beside Crystal. He wrapped her in his arms and they slept.
Archie and Terri, who were dropped to the floor as Jeff come in that first night, landed on the carpet with a thump,
'Well,' Terri said to Archie, 'About time.'
They were surprised to hear Jeff say,
'Did you hear that?'
'What?' A sleepy Crystal asked.
'I thought I heard someone say something. I must be more tired that I thought.'
Archie and Terri looked at each other. Jeff couldn't hear them, could he?