The Lawyer and the Killer Ch. 08

Two or three of the remaining older irregulars approached the young women. Shai saw them. She barked out several commands in the dialect of the Selassie Royal Family, "This woman and me are under the protection of the Lion of Judah."

It was an empty statement. The last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie had been gone since the early 1970's, yet she knew the name, the language, and most of all the history still carried significant mystical power.

The Commander heard her. He ordered his few men to stop, "Bring those two," pointing to Kia and Shai, "to me."

One of the men grabbed them by the arm and unceremoniously pulled them before the Commander.

The Commander asked, "You're related to the ill famed Selassie family?"

Shai stood erect. Imperiously she answered, I am Idra Shai Selassie, granddaughter to his imperial majesty, the Lion of Judah, Lord of Ethiopia, Emperor of all Africa, the most excellent and perfect Haile Selassie, Guardian of the Ark of the Covenant, who himself was direct descendant of Menelik II, the Ras Tafari, who himself was a descended from Menelik I, first son of the Empress Sheba, consort of Solomon the Great of the Empire of Israel and grandmother to Memnon the Great, the great and courageous hero who perished in the defense of Troy 3,000 years before your miserable Muhammad was even born.

"Watch your words Ethiopian." The Commander said, "You're among the followers of the faithful now."

Shai stuck out her right shoulder, reached inside her bodice and pulled out a necklace from which hung two pendants. She waved it in front of the Commander. On it was a small Star of David and a Chi Rho, "You mean I am among the Heathen."

The Commander reached for his sidearm. He fully intended to splash Shai's brains out on the dusty soil, "In the holy name of." He didn't finish his sentence. He turned. He heard noises from two directions. Off on the eastern horizon he saw what had to be the convoy led by Captain Raspar, but there was another sound, a clicking sound, like the safety on a?

A single shot rang out. The Commander dropped to the earth, dead. In another instant the harsh rattle of an AK 47 swept away the remaining irregulars standing near the women. The last motley handful of Sudanese irregulars had seen enough. Most of their number were dead anyway, and their leader lay dead in a heap, they fled.

To the surprise of no one who knew Kim, he had fought courageously until he saw the pointlessness of continued combat. Then he drifted off, disappearing in the dust. However, he'd had no intention of abandoning the encampment. He had good reasons. Ever since Nepal he and Kia had a special relationship, a love relationship like no other.

Out from an outcropping of low rocks he strode, Smith and Wesson hanging loosely from a string, smoking AK 47 in his right hand, "That was quite a spiel Shai."

Shai swung around. Her imperial hackles were up, "Every word was true!"

Kim graced the ladies with one of his rare smiles, "No disrespect Shai. It was your eloquence that transfixed me." He pointed to the east, "Look!"

All three looked off to the east.

Shai spoke first, "This is not good."

Kim followed, "That's going to be the regular army. They'll come in and clean up what's left."

Kia looked at Kim, "What should we do?"

"Here's what I think." He continued to stare at the onrushing column, "The three of us won't be able to move fast enough. I'm guessing the commander of that group will see the two of you as prime meat for ransom, especially you Shai." He was scared, and unhappy about the decision he was about to make,

"I've got to disappear again. They'll kill me out of hand. I'm sure of that. The two of you go on about caring for the survivors. When they get here Shai you tell them who you are, and you expect yourself and Kia to be treated with respect. Don't hesitate to tell them how much the two of you are worth."

Shai was losing respect for Kim fast, "And you? What will you do?"

He looked at Kia with pleading eyes, "I'm not deserting you," glancing at Shai, "either of you." He walked over and stood close to Kia, He reached out and held her left hand in his right. He whispered, "I won't let you down."

Kia pulled Kim close and hugged him. She had started to cry, "I know."

Kim made ready to leave, "Tell them one of the irregulars got angry and went berserk. It's a plausible line. They're probably aware of me. That is they are if they have a pair of binoculars, but I don't think they'll care. This country is in the midst of civil war. One loose foreigner more or less won't matter to them." He kissed Kia on the cheek He repeated himself, "I won't let you down Kia. I promise. I won't let you down." He jumped up, and in a second he'd disappeared.

Shai looked at Kia, "Well at least we're no worse off than we were an hour ago."

Kia reprimanded her friend, "Oh no. Things are much better."

Shai looked at her incredulously, "I'd like to know where you've gotten that piece of information."

Kia smiled, "We have Kim now." She added, "Plus Shawn's still on the loose."

Shai blinked back a tear. She was certain Shawn was dead, and that Kim would be just as dead in a few days, "OK. We'll see."

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By 4:30 a.m. Susan knew it was time to go. Several days earlier she'd decided she didn't want to have her baby alone. She and Todd had talked it over, and he'd agreed when the time came he'd drive her to wherever she wanted to go. The time had come. She called, and he was at her door inside forty minutes.

Susan slipped a coat on over her pajamas, and together they went to the hospital. Todd said and did all the right things at all the right times. He had everything planned. He was completely in charge. He was wonderful. Susan discovered her health policy had lapsed for reasons she hadn't quite understood, but Todd had fixed it. She remembered filling out the paperwork. She barely read it. She trusted Todd completely.

As they pulled into the hospital parking lot she was glad she had Todd to lean on. She knew everything was taken care of; her delivery, health care for her baby and herself, even protections in the event there were complications.

Her delivery proved to be every bit as long and painful as all the medical manuals and personal informants had warned. She was eleven hours in delivery, but in the end it was all well worth it. She was the proud mother of a darling baby girl. She'd thought about names, and had talked to Shawn early on and Todd later. Todd had no preferences, but Shawn, fearing perhaps his inability to ever return, had wanted something of his own in the name. Susan decided to name the little girl after herself and after Shawn. She named the little six pound four ounce baby Shawna Lauren Slattery; giving the baby Shawn's first name and her middle name.

She loved the name, and so did Todd. After her Todd was the first person, other than the nurses of course, who held little Shawna Lauren. She watched as Todd held her baby in his arms, slowly rocking her back and forth, and whispering endearments. When he handed her back he kissed both mother and little girl. He'd said his only problem with the baby's name was her surname. He hoped someday he might have the good fortune to change it to something else.

Susan felt blessed. She had a beautiful baby, and a man who cared, really cared, about both of them. She wasn't ready to give up on Shawn yet, but Todd was looking better and better every day.

As she lay there holding her little girl, with Todd pressing a caring hand gently against her shoulder she paid no attention to the action on the television screen at the darkened end of her private room. Todd, ever the gentleman, had turned the sound off. She did notice Brian Williams of the nightly news pointing to something in Africa, but exactly what it was simply didn't concern her. She had everything she needed, everything she really cared about was right there with her.

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The regular army convoy pulled into the debris of the enclosure. Captain Raspar jumped from the top of his APC. Feigning complete ignorance, "What goes on here?"

Shai approached, "We were attacked by some of your men."

The Captain stepped back, "My men!" he looked around in artificial disbelief, "These aren't my men. This looks like a Dinka raiding party."

Shai interrupted, "They weren't Christian Dinkas they were Muslim irregular soldiers, guerrillas, and I think they were paid or put up to it by you."

The Captain glowered at the woman, "Who are you?"

"I am, or was, one of the doctors sent here to help these people. My name is Dr. Idra Shai Selassie, and this is my very close personal friend, associate and colleague," pointing to Kia, "Kia Monisha Chalise."

Captain Raspar had never seen anyone quite like Kia. Being an Arab middle easterner, women were generally concealed from the public eye. The few other women he'd seen, that is live and in the flesh, were black people like Shai or white Northwest Europeans. This woman was startling and different. Looking at Kia he asked, "Where are you from?"

"I am from Nepal. My home city is Kathmandu."

The Captain was mesmerized. He had never seen anyone so beautiful. She was short of stature, perhaps five feet two inches, and diminutive in overall shape. Not tiny or flat chested like some Asian women he'd been told about, but not big and buxom like so many African and European women. She was wearing a khaki colored shirt, tucked in a pair of khaki shorts that revealed very shapely legs. The shirt was partly unbuttoned, probably because of the heat, but the result revealed two smallish but beautifully shaped breasts.

However, it was her face and hair that overwhelmed him. She had incredibly long thick straight black hair, which she had wrapped in two beautiful braids. Her complexion wasn't black like an African's, white like a Europeans, or dark like someone from India. Her complexion was tawnier, light brown with hints of red. Her eyes were huge, neither round nor slanted, but an almost perfect almond shape. Her nose was long straight and perfect, and her mouth, her lips, looked absolutely succulent.

She was the kind of woman men dreamed about, killed for, died for. He had to have her.

He commented, "Nepal you say."

"Yes," was her reply. "My father is a diplomat. He was until recently the Nepali Ambassador to the United States. More recently he has been serving as my country's representative to the United Nations."

Shai stood next to her friend dumbfounded. Until just this moment she'd had no idea who Kia really was. It helped explain a lot. Like maybe how Shawn had been able to rescue the three women and get the medical supplies back. Or like why so many people had treated her with such deference.

The Captain had been staring. He caught himself, "There was another person here just moments ago, a man. Who was he?"

Shai and Kia feigned ignorance. Shai spoke up, "There was an African man here, one of the raiders, but he fled when he saw your convoy."

"Why didn't you flee as well?"

Kia answered, "We're here to help these people. We have no enemies. Why would anyone want to harm us?"

The Captain answered evasively, "We were told this camp had become a staging area for the sale of arms and ammunition to the warlike Dinka in the region."

"That's preposterous," was Shai's response, "These people are harmless. Look around. You don't see any guns. All you see are poor helpless people; I mean that is those who are still alive."

The Captain looked around pretending to assess a situation he knew far more about that than he cared to admit, "That may be the case, but we were told this was an arms depot. That's the message that was sent out, and has become the message sent to my government, and I presume the world press."

Kia piped in, "You'll have to correct that misrepresentation."

The Captain gave her a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry. I wish I could, but the source was a reliable one. And now I'm going to have to take you two into custody." He gave the two women a sly look, "I'll do the best I can to make you're confinement as comfortable as possible."

Shai interrupted, "Do you know who I am?"

Captain Raspar looked at her with disdain. "With a name like Selassie; you're certainly Ethiopian, maybe from the old regime? At the least you're probably a Christian, but certainly no one of any real importance." He turned to Kia, "I hope your background is better, but I can't guarantee better treatment." He looked over at his lieutenant; Put these two women under guard. Watch them closely. See they come to no harm. Do not let them escape."

"Yes sir," was the lieutenant's reply.

Captain Raspar considered what he had. Certainly both of these women had great value. Most significantly for any ransom they might bring, but secondarily, well." He smiled.

For the next few hours Raspar's men scoured the camp, collecting supplies, equipment, and anything else that might be either used or sold. Raspar found the box with the money close by the dead irregular commandant's body. He stowed that away where no one but he would ever find it. After one more cursory walk through the Sudanese troops regrouped, re-boarded their vehicles, and started back to their base camp outside Omdurman.

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Shawn escaped after the attack. He felt like a coward. He'd abandoned Kia, Shai, Kim and the others. He knew a real man would have stayed and fought it out. He just wasn't a real man. He lacked the moral fiber. What John Wayne had called 'True Grit'.

He first escaped with three African comrades, but by the end of the second night he found himself alone. He knew turning up at Omdurman or any other Sudanese town would have been a mistake if not suicidal. He was a West European, an American; they had a dim opinion of Americans among the political and military circles in the Sudan. His best chance of survival, and hopefully a chance to return to rescue his friends was to sneak across the Sudan by some southerly route and get to Ethiopia.

Omdurman really was out of the question. It was too far to the northeast and through the heartland of some of the most aggressive Muslim warring factions. If he had a chance at all it was by going southeast toward Nyata, then east to the White Nile. He knew this was across hundreds of miles of arid land with no supplies and no help. All he had was a knife, an AK 47, and a pistol. He believed if he traveled at night, avoided the main stopovers, and trusted in his luck he just might make it.

He thought about Susan, and how she'd tried to escape from him. She had been so brave. He hoped he had her courage. He wondered if she'd had the baby yet. Was he the father of a little boy or a little girl? He wished he could go back and rewrite history. He imagined being with her. Cuddling up with Susan and his baby would be nice.

Regrettably for Shawn his luck did not hold out. He'd managed the water problem by eying the terrain for places most likely to have wells. Food was less a problem. Using his pistol and AK 47 he was able to bring down an occasional small animal. Cooking was a problem, and he found himself forced to consume some meat raw. Vegetation was scarce, and he lacked any knowledge regarding the edibility of most Sudanese plants. He was hungry, tired, thirsty, and literally running out of shoe leather. None of those things proved to be his undoing.

To Shawn's chagrin one of the men he'd started out with had seen an opportunity. At his first chance he told the authorities about a lone white man trying to get to Ethiopia by trying to cross the arid wastes of the southern Sudan. Within sight of the White Nile, and near complete exhaustion he was picked up by a Sudanese military patrol. They'd been expecting him.

After the expected preliminary beating the soldiers threw him in the back of a truck and hauled in him north to their base camp. From there he was transported to a field base of about two thousand men. After a few days there in solitary confinement he was taken to Omdurman for interrogation.

In Omdurman a young Arab officer, who Shawn thought looked Yemeni, introduced himself, "Good afternoon my Christian terrorist friend. My name is Akbar Bin Battutta. Would you please tell me yours?"

Shawn replied, "My name is Shawn McClellan. I'm a United Nations aid worker from a medical site west of here that was attacked by armed guerrillas a few days ago."

The Arab Battutta slapped him, "There are no guerrillas in the Sudan. Only honest Muslims defending their country and Christian terrorists like you."

Shawn knew he was in deep trouble, "I'm an American by birth, a Christian by faith, and an aid worker by profession."

Battutta answered, "We'll see. We know you Americans like to water board. You understand we live in a dryer part of the world. Water is something of a luxury here so we have to resort to other interrogation techniques."

Shawn gave the only answer he could, "I assure you I'm nobody important, just an American aid worker employed by the United Nations. I'm sure, if you contact the UN agency located in Omdurman they'll tell you about me."

Battutta laughed, "We're in Omdurman. There are no UN agencies located here; only Sudanese national agencies. By the way Shawn McClellan did you know, even for a backward people like ourselves, we have discovered electricity. Do you like electricity Shawn McClellan?"

Shawn knew now it didn't matter what he said. This man wanted a confession of some sort. Sooner or later he'd get it.

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After just one full day in the hospital Susan was discharged. Todd had taken a week off from work just so he could stay at Susan's side. He said he wanted to look after her and the baby. He took her home settled her in, went to the store, bought groceries, even offered to bathe her, something she declined, and was just everything a woman could have wanted. He was a wonderful man. She felt blessed.

Susan had decided to breast feed. She wanted to do it all, have the whole rodeo. This was her baby, her chance.

Todd insisted she stay home and rest. He said he didn't want anything to happen to the two most important people in his world. He slept on the sofa. She stayed mostly in bed or just padded around the apartment. Though her delivery had gone smoothly her doctors had suggested a few days of down time was best. Sometimes women returned to work or to a fast life style too soon and then they hemorrhaged. Susan took everyone's advice and just hung out.

She had lots of free time so she started prowling the Internet looking for things to get in to. The first week drifted into a second, and then a third. She wasn't lazy. She just loved being a mother.

Of course there was the usual television news, the typical gossip, and occasional interesting sports story, but she spent most of her time drifting through the e-book offerings. She'd always been a big reader, but had eschewed some of the heavier stuff. She thought what the hell she'd tinker with some of Will Shakespeare's plays. It started as a lark, but pretty soon she was in quite deep. Othello was a nasty little story. She learned to hate Iago right away. She read Henry IV, and Richard III, then another play caught her eye. It was a genre of Shakespeare she'd never considered. The play was the theatrical portrayal of events surrounding two lovers during the Trojan War. It was about Troilus and Cressida; two star crossed lovers if ever two such people existed. She hunkered down one afternoon and started reading.

For several weeks Susan played with the Internet reading old plays. Her life slowly narrowed in focus. First there was the baby. Then there was Todd. Always there was the television rumbling on and on in the background droning on and on about this or that, mostly nothing. After a while she completely forgot the television was playing, except when Jeopardy was on. It came right after the nightly news so she usually stopped her reading or babying to close in on the questions. She was pretty good at it. She wondered how good she'd be if she had to do it on a stage, but sitting in her living room she was damn good.