Wilson sat on the wall of the Thames Embankment with the laptop case resting beside him. He glanced at his watch. It had been thirty-five minutes. He was getting worried. Had Sir Richard lied to him? Twice, people had stopped near Wilson, but no one from Sir Richard’s organisation.
Wilson watched as a police officer, and his dog walked up the path towards him. The dog stopped, sniffed at the laptop case and started whining and pawing at it. Wilson picked the case up and put it on his knee. The dog barked furiously and reared up on him. “Sir, open your case please.”
“Why?”
“If you don’t, I’ll have to take you to the station.”
“I can’t open it. The case is locked, and I don’t know the combination. It isn’t even mine.”
“Well, Sir, these combination locks aren’t usually that secure. I’m sure I can open it for you.”
Within seconds, the officer had picked the lock, unzipped the case and lifted the cover. Bemused, Wilson’s eyes widened as he stared at two large bags of white powder. He’s double crossed me!
“Sir, I have reason to believe you are in possession of a quantity of narcotics,” the officer said. “I am, therefore, placing you under arrest. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you fail to mention when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do or say will be given in evidence.”
“There’s been a mistake!”
“Sir, please have a seat and wait, while I arrange transport. I would advise you not to run; my dog won’t take kindly to that.”
Wilson sat on the wall and buried his head in his hands. What am I going to do?
A few minutes later a patrol car stopped nearby. “This way please,” the officer said, taking Wilson by the arm.
“But you don’t understand. I had nothing to do with this. I’ve been framed. I was supposed to be meeting someone.”
“That’s what they all say, Sir. Into the back of the vehicle, please.”
Wilson crawled in the back seat and sighed deeply. He felt sick.
The dog patrol officer had a brief conversation with the driver of the car. Wilson’s laptop case was passed to the driver. Wilson was curious to see the driver hand his arresting officer an envelope, which he quickly tucked away.
The driver pulled onto the main road and started meandering through the surprisingly busy London traffic. At this point, there was little Wilson could do but cooperate and get this over with as soon as possible.
They drove past the Whitehall Police Station on the Victoria Embankment. Wilson’s palms began to sweat. They’re not real policeman. Where are they taking me? Maybe Sir Richard didn’t set me up. Maybe he didn’t even get my email. Forrest – he set me up!
Wilson’s disquiet was justified when the police officer turned around and headed northeast out of London.
“You’re not taking me to the station, are you? Who sent you? Who are you working for?” Wilson’s questions were unanswered.
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In Epping Forest, they pulled onto the verge at Coopersale Common. The road was deserted and surrounded by trees. Wilson swallowed hard. Ok – this is it – this is where it happens - in the middle of nowhere.
The driver turned on the interior light. Wilson’s chest began to ache. He watched as one of the men produced a flask and poured steaming liquid into a cup. The man then opened one of the powder packets from Wilson’s case and spooned two heaped measures into the cup of steaming liquid.
“I’m not drinking that!”
The driver grinned. “Yes you will, Mr. Wilson.” He offered Wilson the cup. “I believe you take two sugars in your cuppa?” he asked rhetorically. “Sir Richard sent us. Sorry for the theatrics, but we had to be convincing.”
Wilson shook his head and sighed as he sipped his tea. Ten minutes later he boarded one of Sir Richard’s choppers and was on his way to the Centre.
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The chopper landed on the Centre helipad on top of the building. Wilson jumped out, and the chopper took off straight away to make room for the other chopper that would be arriving five minutes later. John and two of his security guards met Wilson. He didn’t get the type of welcome he’d expected, but he wasn’t accepted with open arms either. He was escorted inside the building to Sir Richard’s office and told to wait there. Sir Richard still hadn’t told Wilson anything about Linda, or the fact that she was about five minutes away.
Gary rang Sam and woke him up. “Sam, you need to get ready. Missy and Linda’s chopper will be here in about five minutes, but I need to tell you something first. Donna can’t know what we’re talking about. Got that?”
Donna woke up yawning, stretching catlike against Sam’s body. “Is it Gary?”
Sam cleared his throat and reluctantly eased off the bed. “Hang on, Gary. Yeah, it’s him,” he said to Donna. “Missy and Linda will be here in about ten minutes. I’ll be with you as soon as I’ve nipped to the loo.” Sam shut the toilet door. “All right - talk, but you’d better give me a damn good reason why I just lied to her.”
“What has Donna told you about what happened to her a couple of months ago in Louisiana?”
“I know she went through a bad breakup and was deeply hurt from it. I suspect it was with that Native American she sang with in Raging Storm, but she never mentioned his name.”
“Yes, it was Jared Thundercloud, but he’s not just a singer, Sam. He’s a doctor, and he and my ex-fiancée are on the chopper with Linda Wilson, and Missy. We need to keep Jared and Donna apart. Once Missy is in the operating room, it won’t matter. Sir Richard had the glass in front of the observation area changed out. It’s now a one-way mirror.”
“I’ll go for that,” Sam said.
“You need to find a reason to keep Donna away from the chopper and the operating room.”
“That’s not going to be easy, but trust me, if Jared Thundercloud is on that chopper – I’ll find a way.”
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Donna studied Sam’s eyes. “Sam, I know Linda has been having complications with her pregnancy, but don’t you have an ob-gyn? Why do I get the feeling you don’t want me with you?”
Sam swallowed hard and pulled her into his arms. “It’s not that at all, and no, at the moment, I don’t have an ob-gyn. I just thought Mrs. Wilson might feel more comfortable to see a female doctor, especially one she’s familiar with. Besides, I’ll have my full surgical team with me. You’d just get in the way.”
“Oh… right. I wouldn’t want to… get in the way.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. Look. You could be more help to me by taking care of Linda. If I need you, I’ll send for you. I figured you might want to monitor our first set of tests with the CTZ5 vector. ”
“I would like to make sure the vector works, and I understand where you’re coming from, as far as Linda Wilson is concerned, but I’ve never treated her, Sam. I wasn’t her doctor.”
Sam glanced at his watch; time was running out. “OK, well, whether you were her doctor or not, as your boss, I’m pulling rank. I think Linda would feel more comfortable seeing you than me. Sometimes I rub people the wrong way. Anyway, I need you to do this for me. I’m asking you. Will you do this for me?” His voice was like silken honey as he danced his aqua eyes over hers.
She sighed resolutely. “Yeah – sure. Fine - whatever.”
“Good.” Sam kissed her. “Don’t put Mrs. Wilson in a consolation room. Put her in a patient care room. Joyce will help you.”
“OK…” she answered. Her eyes widened. “Sam – wait! Joyce doesn’t like me.”
Sam turned and walked back to her. “You’re a doctor. She’ll do what you tell her to.”
Joyce stood just outside the doorway. She saw Sam kiss Donna. She stepped out of earshot, bracing her back against the wall. “If Joyce gives you any grief, I’ll wring her bloody neck. See you soon – gotta run – love you,” he said as he dashed through the doorway, nearly knocking Joyce over. “Geez - watch it honey!” he said, turning to leave.
“The chopper from Shreveport will be here in a few minutes,” she said, falling in step beside him as he trotted toward the private lift.
Sam stopped and held up his hands. “I know, but you’re helping Donna. I mean Dr. Rigden. She’ll tell you what to do.”
“You want me to work with Donna?”
“Yes Joyce - now!” Sam snapped and jumped in the private lift; leaving Joyce standing with her mouth gaped. “Shit! What did I just say to Donna?” He banged his head against the wall. “Maybe she didn’t notice.”
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Sir Richard and Gary were already on the roof when Sam got there. He walked next to them. “So what did you tell Donna?” Gary asked, catching Sir Richard’s attention.
“I convinced her to take care of Linda Wilson while I dealt with Missy.” He groaned. “I did something stupid, Gary.”
“What’s that?”
“I said something to Donna that I shouldn’t have. I was in a hurry to get up here, and I just – well – I blurted it out as I was leaving.”
Gary narrowed his eyes. “What did you say to her?”
Sam winced. “I kind of said I loved her, but she didn’t respond. So maybe it didn’t register. I was in a hurry.”
The chopper lights came into view; everyone stepped back. “Trust me, Sam,” Sir Richard interjected. “Donna heard you.”
Gary nodded. “Just because D didn’t respond, don’t assume it didn’t register. She never misses anything.”
“Fuck! Do you think I’ve messed up?”
“Probably,” Gary responded honestly. “Donna said she wasn’t ready for anything serious. I told you, she broke up with Jared a couple of months ago. Donna is on the rebound. I tried to warn you. If she sees Jared…” Gary broke off.
“She won’t,” Sir Richard shouted above the noise of the descending helicopter. “Gary, you and Joe can take Linda Wilson, downstairs to Donna. Sam, you, Jared and Juanita can deal with Missy. From what Jared has told us, you’ll need to get her into surgery as soon as possible. Behave yourself Sam. Jared and Donna were engaged, so don’t make any smart cracks to him.”
“He’ll rearrange your face if you say anything about what happened between him and Donna,” Gary warned.
“That goes both ways!”
“Sam, Jared is not what you think,” Sir Richard added. “Don’t cross him!”
The chopper landed. Joe Islington slid the door open and jumped to the roof, grabbing one end of Melissa’s gurney. On the other end of it was Jared. Sam stepped forward and reached for the gurney handle.
Jared’s voice was low and threatening. “I’ve got this!” he snapped. “Help Juanita out.”
“Well, hello there cupcake,” Sam said, helping her to the roof.
Juanita frowned. “You must be Sam.” She groaned and handed him the two medical charts.
“In the flesh,” he grinned, giving her the once over as he scanned through the information. “You must be the lovely Juanita.”
“My name is Dr. Walton, Dr. Kaliea,” she said, taking her hand back as he lifted it to his lips. Sam made Juanita nervous. She didn’t like the way he looked at her.
Sir Richard cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Welcome to the UK, Jared. I’m Sir Richard.”
Jared narrowed his eyes and glanced at Sir Richard’s outstretched hand. “I’m a little busy right now, Sir Richard. My patients come first. Introductions can come later. Where do I need to take her?”
“Sam will show you. Juanita, you’ll need to go with them. We can’t risk Donna seeing you or Jared. Joe, you and Gary take Linda downstairs. Donna is waiting to examine her.”
As Juanita passed Gary Linda Wilson’s medical chart, Gary and Juanita’s hands briefly touched, but neither initiated conversation. Sir Richard watched them with curious eyes. For a man who had been engaged to her; Gary had seemed mildly annoyed, when Sam flirted with Juanita. All Gary had done was tighten his jaw and glare at Sam.
When Jared and Juanita were preparing to rescue Melissa from Forrest, at D’Netics, Gary and Juanita had talked as old friends - apart from when Gary had referred to Juanita, as baby. Juanita had set the record straight. At least from her point of view, Gary was just another man, a friend at the most. Now that they were face to face it was as if they didn’t know what to say to each other.
“Grab the gurney and let’s go, Bushman!” Jared growled. “I stabilised her, but there wasn’t a lot I could do on a plane. She needs immediate care.”
Sam sneered, tucked Melissa’s medical chart under his arm and grabbed the gurney handle. “This way Geronimo!”
Jared narrowed his eyes and growled low in his throat. “I’m not Apache!” he forced through his teeth.
“Yeah? Well I’m not a Bushman, either, so let’s layoff the name calling.”
Sir Richard shook his head. “Well, this is off to a nice start,” he groaned and followed them into the building.