Chapter 15
Kevin watched Deviane as she laid down and tried to go to sleep. The makeshift lean-to would do a credible job at keeping her dry, but he knew the bed of leaves would do little to insulate her from the cold, damp ground. The prospect of an NDC unit lurking about wouldn’t sooth her nerves much either. All in all, it would be difficult for any of them to relax enough to sleep. Deviane rolled over on one side, shifted around, then rolled back to her other side. Kevin wished he could do something to make her comfortable, but he could think of nothing. Finally, she sat up and gave him a frustrated look.
"Why don't you sleep now, Kevin? I'm not tired enough yet."
"I doubt if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight. Too much has happened today. I think I've had an overdose of adrenaline."
"Kiran seems to have fallen asleep."
"Good, we'll let her sleep until four. Then you and I can get a few hours’ sleep before daybreak."
"You want some more coconut juice?"
Kevin frowned. "No thanks, I've had my fill of it for a while. We don't drink much coconut juice at home."
"It's good for your kidneys," Deviane laughed.
"Really, my kidneys are fine, thanks."
"Do you think the NDC will search for us in this weather?"
"They probably don't have any choice. I suspect this place will be crawling with your father's troops at daybreak."
"Maybe we should think about what to do if they find us."
"That makes sense. You have any ideas?"
"Well, if we could make it to the main road, our troops should be there."
"How far is it to the main road, do you think?"
"I would guess about three miles."
"Do you know how to find it?"
"I think so, but it would be difficult in the dark."
"Well, if we hear anything, we'll follow you and keep our fingers crossed that you've got a good sense of direction."
"Don't worry, I do. I always manage to get where I'm going."
"So I noticed."
“At least so far,” she noted.
Their eyes locked. Kevin felt uncomfortable. He looked away. Despite his love for Kiran he was drawn to Deviane. Besides being gorgeous like her mother and sister, she was smart, confident and they seemed to have a lot more in common than he and Kiran. He turned away, feeling scared and confused. It was possible, he knew, that she was motivated by jealousy and not love as she claimed, but he didn’t really believe that.
"I wish I hadn’t gone shopping at Northpark,” Deviane lamented. “I didn’t really want to go."
“Why? Don’t you like to shop?”
“No. I have too many clothes already. I don’t wear half of what I have. But that’s not the reason.”
“Oh. You don’t like Northpark?”
“No. Northpark is fine. . . . Had I met you first and not Kiran, maybe you would be marrying me instead of her.”
Kevin sighed. “Oh, Deviane. You say you love me but how could that really be. We barely know each other. You’re just feeling gratitude because I helped save your father’s life.”
“No. That’s not it.”
"Deviane, even if I did love you I’m committed now to Kiran."
Deviane crawled over in front of Kevin and put her arms around him. "It’s not too late to change your mind?" she said as she gently kissed him. Kevin closed his eyes as he savored her sweet lips, unable to resist her. She broke away and smiled, enjoying his helplessness. Then she slipped her head down on his neck and gently bit him. Kevin moaned in joyful bliss until Kiran stirred. He drew back.
“Stop it!” he whispered. “What do you think you’re doing? I told you I love Kiran.”
“You don’t love her.”
Kevin shook his head. “How could you possibly know whether I love her or not?”
“I just do, trust me.”
Deviane suddenly jumped to her feet and peered into the dark jungle.
“What’s wrong?” Kevin said.
"I thought I heard something."
Kevin got on his feet and stood behind her. "What is it?"
"Be quiet."
A second later, they both heard the distinct sound of men walking in the mud. Deviane knelt down and shook Kiran.
"Kiran. Get up. We've got to go.”
Kiran let out a moan and rolled over.
“Wake up!” Deviane hissed.
Kiran sat up quickly and rubbed her eyes.
“What?” she said.
“Shhhhh,” Kevin grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "Come on, we've got to go. Someone is coming."
Deviane started hiking. The rain had stopped, but the ground was wet and slippery. Kevin heard the chilling sound of soldiers marching in the distance. He looked back at the moon-lit forest to see if he could get a glimpse of them. Deviane was on a direct path to the road, but it became obvious as the rhythm of the soldier's boots got louder and louder, that they weren't going to make it in time.
"We're going to have to run for it," Kevin said. "In a minute, they'll be close enough to shoot us."
"You’re right, let's get moving!" Deviane said as she began to run as fast as she could through the forest.
Kevin followed, pulling Kiran along as best he could. Before they had gone a hundred yards, Kiran stumbled and pulled Kevin down with her. He picked her up quickly and started to run again.
"Come on, Kiran. We're almost there."
She began to run, but stumbled again and screamed in pain as her ankle twisted beneath her.
"I can't run anymore, Kevin. I think it's broken."
Kevin gazed at Kiran lying helplessly in the mud. Suddenly he saw one of the soldiers come out of a clump of trees. He bent down, picked her up and began to run with her in his arms. The sound of gunshots pierced the silence of the night. Kevin heard the trail of the first bullet as it passed several feet from his right shoulder. Motivated by fear of imminent death, he ran as fast as he could with Kiran holding herself tightly against his chest. He vividly remembered the excruciating pain he had felt when Ray Mohammed's shot hit him in the chest. He didn't relish the idea of experiencing that kind of pain again.
Hearing Deviane ahead screaming that she could see the road, he stopped briefly and turned to check the position of his pursuers. At that same moment, a bullet exploded from the barrel of an NDC rifle and hit Kiran directly in the chest.
"No! Nook!" he cried out.
Kiran went limp in his arms. Blood poured from her wound. Kevin looked back and realized that if he didn't keep going, he was a dead man. He ran with all the speed he could muster, constantly aware of the eyes of his pursuers on him. His feet were bleeding from running through the rocks and thorny brush and his back was breaking from the dead weight of Kiran's body. At any moment another bullet might pierce through his back and bring him down. He could only hope that the silence ahead meant that Deviane had reached the road and was waiting for them. He pressed on, hearing another gunshot and hearing the bullet's trail barely miss him again. Finally, he reached the road.
Deviane was carefully scanning the highway, but there was nothing visible in either direction.
Kevin stopped next to her. "Now what?"
"I don't know,” she whispered. “Where are the troops?"
"Shit! We'll be sitting ducks on this road. We'll have to go back into the forest and try to lose them."
Even in the moonlight, he saw the color drain from Deviane’s face as she saw her sister lying limp in his arms. "Is Kiran, okay?"
"I don't know. She's been hit. I can't tell if she's breathing."
As they pondered their next move, a bullet hit the pavement next to Deviane.
"Kevin! We're going to die!"
Just then, they saw headlights coming quickly down the road. Kevin and Deviane didn't move, seemingly paralyzed by the light.
"What if it's NDC men?" Deviane said.
"If it is, then it's all over for us."
Just as the spe
eding car got to them, it came to a screeching halt and the door flew open.
"Get in! Hurry up before they put a bullet in you."
"Who are you?"
"It's Obatala, don't you remember me?"
Deviane opened the front door, climbed in quickly and closed it behind her. She sunk down as low as she could, so she wouldn't be an easy target. Kevin jumped in the back seat and laid Kiran down, with her head in his lap. He found a rag on the floor of the back seat and pressed it against her wound, trying to stop the bleeding. She was in and out of consciousness, moaning and thrashing from the pain. Just as Obatala started to accelerate, a bullet pierced the side window, shattering it into a million pieces. The old Toyota struggled to gain speed. The NDC unit reached the road and directed a barrage of gunfire toward the fleeing vehicle, but it was out of range.
"What are you doing here?" Kevin asked.
"Cetawayo overheard Ray telling his wife that they were searching for you up here. I figured you might need some help."
"You figured right. If you hadn't come along we'd be dead."
"How's Kiran?" Deviane asked.
"She's breathing, but she's lost a lot of blood. We need to get her to a hospital."
"The nearest hospital is behind us," Obatala noted. "If we turn around, we'll run right into the NDC death squads."
"Death squads?" Kevin said.
"Yes, Malcolm Mann has ordered that you be killed rather than allowed to escape."
"Shit! She'll die if we don't get her to a hospital."
"Maybe not. I know a midwife who lives about ten miles from here. She may be able to stabilize her until we can get help."
"A midwife? What would she know about treating a bullet wound?"
"She worked in the hospital for years and has a lot of medical training. She probably knows as much about medicine as many of the doctors who practice at the hospital. She retired from nursing and became a midwife so she could stay at home. I think she's our best bet."
"I guess we don't have much choice."
"No, you don't."
As Obatala's car sped along the winding mountain road, Kevin stroked Kiran's hair. Periodically, he put his head on her chest to be sure her heart was still beating. Deviane looked on anxiously, frequently wiping tears from her eyes.
"How did you get past the government troops, Obatala?" Kevin asked.
"Oh, I just made up a little story."
"It must have been a good one. What did you tell them?"
"I just said that twice a week I had to pick up an old woman who had kidney disease. I said she had to go into town for her dialysis treatment. If they didn't let me through, she would die."
"Hmm. That's pretty creative, but didn't they wonder why you would be taking her in the middle of the night?"
"As a matter of fact they did ask me that. I told them she was a pauper and could not pay for her treatment. The only time the hospital would let her use it for free, was in the middle of the night."
"That was quick thinking. I don't know how you could have thought of such a great story so quickly. I'm impressed."
"Actually, it's true. There is such a woman, but tonight's not the night I pick her up."
"How much longer will it be?" Deviane asked.
"Not far, another five minutes and we'll be there," Obatala replied as he gazed at Deviane's nearly naked body. "Are you cold? I brought some clothes."
"Yes, the rain gave me a chill. I'm freezing to death."
"Kevin, there's some jeans and a T-shirt in the back. I brought some sneakers too. I heard you were swimming when the attack occurred, so I assumed you would be short on clothing."
"You're a wonderful man, " Deviane said. "You saved our lives."
"You can call me Obatala."
"Why would you risk your life for us?"
"Did you tell them anything about me, Kevin?" Obatala replied.
"Just that you saved my life when I first got here. This is getting to be a habit."
"You see, Deviane, I am ashamed to say it, but Ray Mohammed is my brother. He was always a good boy, but somehow he got in with Malcolm Mann and the NDC. They have poisoned his mind. I tried to get him to quit and stay away from those hoodlums, but he wouldn't listen to me. Since I can't save my brother, I thought perhaps I could save Trinidad."
"It's hard to believe that you and he could be brothers. You're so good and he's so evil."
"It's a strange world we live in. Okay, here is the road into Miss Victoria's house," Obatala said and then turned the car onto a dirt road. "We'll be there in just two or three minutes."
Obatala drove the cab up to the front door of Miss Victoria's house. It was three o'clock in the morning. He banged on the door until the porch light came on. A heavyset black lady peered out the window. Obatala waved at her to open the door. Finally recognizing him, she quickly unlatched the door and opened it.
"Obatala, my word, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"It's the Prime Minister's daughter. She's been shot."
"Good Lord! Bring her in here and put her on the sofa."
Kevin carried Kiran into the house and laid her on the sofa as instructed.
"Oh, look at her, she's as pale as a ghost. I see she's lost a lot of blood. I'll get an IV running and then clean that wound."
Miss Victoria ran into the other room and quickly returned with an IV rack. She skillfully inserted a needle in Kiran's arm and started the IV.
"She's not breathing too well, get that oxygen bottle out of the closet."
Kevin ran over to the closet and pulled out one of several oxygen bottles and brought one to her.
“Here you go.”
"Okay, put this mask over her nose and attach that hose onto the oxygen bottle."
Kevin did as he was told. When he had finished she said, “Okay, turn it on before she dies on us.”
Kevin turned it on. “Okay, it’s opened all the way.”
“Now, watch her a minute while I get some hot water and disinfectant."
She left for a moment and when she returned she began to clean Kiran's wound. Everyone watched her intently as she worked.
"She needs to get this bullet out of her soon."
"What about your cellular phone, Obatala?" Kevin asked. "Can't you call the Prime Minister's office and tell them where we are? They could have a chopper here in ten minutes."
"I considered that, but the NDC will be searching for cellular transmissions. There's not much activity at this time in the morning. If we used the phone, I’m sure they'd pick up our call right away."
"We've got to get Kiran to a hospital immediately," Deviane pleaded.
"We'll have to risk it," Kevin said.
"All right, but I hope they get here fast."
"They will," Deviane promised.
"Okay, I'll go get the phone."
Obatala went outside and retrieved the phone from his car. He brought it in and handed it to Deviane.
"I'll call my father's private line, so we'll get straight to him."
She dialed the number and waited. It rang twice and then someone picked up.
"Yes," the Prime Minister said.
"Daddy, it's Deviane."
"Deviane, where are you? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, but they've shot Kiran. We need to get her to a hospital immediately."
"Oh my God! Where are you? I'll send a helicopter right away."
"I don't know, I'll put Obatala on to tell you."
"Who?"
"Obatala, he's a cab driver,” she said and then handed the phone to Obatala. “Here, Obatala, speak to my father and tell him where we are."
Obatala took the phone.
"Hello, sir. We are eight kilometers north of Blanchisseuse Bay. There is a small dirt road that goes off to the right, just past the gas station. We're about a half-mile down that road. It's a small, white frame house with a green roof."
"Okay, someone will be there immediately."
The
phone went dead. Obatala set it down on the kitchen table and took a deep breath.
"I hope they get here fast," Kevin said.
Deviane walked over to a small desk in the corner of the room. On the desk were a lamp, a bible and some rosary beads. She picked up the rosary beads and asked, “May I borrow these for a moment?"
"Of course, I think your sister could use a little divine intervention right now."
"Thank you," Deviane said and walked over and knelt next to Kiran.
Kevin watched Deviane pray a moment and then walked over and put his hands on her shoulders. After a second, she got up and embraced Kevin. They held each other and waited to be rescued. Miss Victoria took Kiran's pulse and checked her blood pressure. Then in a motherly gesture, she ran her hand through Kiran's fine black hair. Deviane began to weep.
"Come on, child. Just hang on a little while longer," she said.
It was less than fifteen minutes, but it seemed like an eternity before the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the distance. Kevin ran outside with Deviane right behind. He jumped up and down, waving frantically at the chopper, but in the darkness they couldn't see him. Finally, he went over to Obatala's car and turned the lights on and off. The chopper suddenly veered toward them and landed a hundred yards away. Kevin and Deviane ran over to the chopper and met the medics as they jumped out. They pointed to the house and yelled that Kiran was inside. The medics pulled out a stretcher and carried it across the field and into the house.
"What's her condition?" the paramedic asked.
"She has a bullet wound in the chest, her breathing is difficult and she needs blood," Victoria replied.
"How long has it been since she was hit?"
"Forty-five minutes," Kevin said.
The paramedics loaded Kiran on the stretcher and carried it back to the helicopter.
"There's another chopper, five minutes away, that will pick you up and take you back to the capitol. We're going to Port of Spain General Hospital. Good luck."
The chopper rose slowly into the air and then headed off over the forest. Kevin and Deviane watched it disappear and then waited in anticipation of their rescue.
Suddenly, two headlights appeared, moving up the dirt road leading to Miss Victoria's place. Kevin and Deviane ran back toward the house to warn Obatala, but before they got halfway there, another set of lights appeared, coming from the other direction. The two cars intercepted Kevin and Deviane. A half dozen soldiers jumped out and surrounded them. Obatala and Victoria looked out the window in horror as they watched Kevin and Deviane being bound and gagged and thrown into the back of a jeep. Obatala suddenly felt sick, his worst nightmare had become reality. Phase one of the NDC plan to seize control of the Trinidad government had been successfully carried out.