The Intern Affair (74 page)

123

“Your
H
ighness!
 
Lady Sarah!  Where have you been—fishing I presume?”
Christian
blurted as
he saw them com
e
through the terrace door. 
Karim
was behind him, staring.

“Yes
Christian,
we’ve been
fishing
as you’ve presumed,” Samir replied with a smirk. “But I will go and change presently, and I will join you and Mr.
Karim
in a while.”

“By all means,
Your Highness
,”
Christian
said, bowing slightly.

When they entered Talya’s suite, Samir said, “You can’t hide anything from that cat! 
‘Fishing I presume?’
he says.  How does he do it?”

“That’s simple. We smell like fish.  And you know how cats love fish.”

“Do you like fish, Talya?”

“Yes I do, but I don’t like smelling like one. I think it’s time for us to get into a shower and get rid of the odour that would have
Christian
follow us everywhere we go.” 

Samir and Talya chuckled at the vision of
their cat
obstinately tailing them from now on.

124

“Oh I’m sorry
.
I must be in the wrong room,”
Carl
said as he entered
Alhassan
’s room.

“Are you? Who are you looking for?”
Alhassan
asked, looking at the man facing him curiously.

“I was looking for Maitre
Alhassan Sangare
.
He is a friend and a legal advisor for my company, and I need to find him.”
Carl
fixed his gaze on the African attorney. 

“I guess you don’t need to look any further, I am Maitre Sang
are
.”
Alhassan
lifted his head from the pillow. “And who might you be?”

“I’m sorry, didn’t I say? I am Maitre
Carl
Evans
, Maitre
Sangare
, and it is indeed a pleasure to set eyes on you finally. I couldn’t recognize you at first
,
because
I had been told that the man I was looking for is very strong and decisive. And I apologize for having to say this to you but you don’t look at all like the man I have just described.” Being told straight off the shoulders was something you could always expect from
Carl
.

“Maitre
Evans
, your impertinence is refreshing.”
Alhassan
smiled mildly. “
G
ashes in my back and infection have drained force and strength from me for nearly a month now. So I’m sorry if I don’t appear to be the man you had expected to meet.”

“
Alhassan Sangare
, you are not strong or decisive anymore not because of injuries or affliction but because you are missing someone dear to you. Isn’t that true?  Or would you prefer me to say it in a more vulgar fashion:
Alhassan
, when are you going to get out of this bed so that Talya may be proud of you?” 

Alhassan
reclined on the pillow behind his head and started laughing.  He hadn’t done so in weeks.

“Your scolding is equal to that which I would have received from my friend,
Mansur Dillon
.  And it is with great joy that I finally have the pleasure to shake your hand, sir.” 

Carl
took
Alhassan
’s extended hand and shook it amicably, and a broad smile crossed his lips as he did.

“Now that we know where we stand, I have brought you some news from Talya. And please don’t even blink when I am going to say the next sentence, otherwise I’ll walk out of here and leave you be for the rest of your life.” That type of firmness was what
Alhassan
had been waiting for.  He needed help and he knew it.

“All right, let’s hear what you have to say.”
Alhassan
lifted his eyes to the ceiling and prayed not to flinch at hearing the next sentence.

“Maitre Sang
are
, the next time you lay eyes on the woman you love, you will address her by the name of Lady Sarah Regia Virgo
Khalif Al-Intha
.”
Alhassan
didn’t know if he was going to cry or laugh when he heard the announcement. He lifted his head once again and stared at
Carl
uncomprehending.
Carl
continued, “Lady Sarah is currently in
Conakry
ending what she will probably recall as the most difficult mission of her career. In less than thirty-six hours, she should be at your bedside or joining you in the gardens of this hospital, since you are now ready to take a stroll out of this room—or that’s what the doctors have been telling me.”

“I have no words for you, Maitre
Evans
,”
Alhassan
said, smiling at
Carl
who was still standing by the bed. I don’t know if I should thank you or kick you out.”

“I should think I would prefer the former because the latter would cause you pain yet, I am sure.”

“The heck with the pain,”
Alhassan
grunted, pulling himself in a sitting position. “Get me a wheel chair so that we can go and finish this discussion in the gardens.”

Khalif Al-Intha
? Could it be Samir’s name? Is she married to him then?
These questions and many more were roaming
Alhassan
’s mind as the two men reached the terrace of the hospital.

I need to know.

125

“
Christian,
now you tell
us how is
Karim
handling my reticence to signing the protocol?” Samir asked as he stretched to the back of his chair. 

The four of them were having breakfast at daybreak in the restaurant. No one was there to see Talya’s face while she was eating, apart from the waiters. After last night’s little episode on Dubreka’s beach, Khumar had an air of gentle understanding toward her now.  Talya returned the gaze and smiled but said nothing.

“Frankly, Samir, I don’t know,”
Christian
replied. “I left
Karim
at the door of his room last night
after dinner
saying that he would review the paperwork and would join us for a late breakfast—”

“He’s gone,” Talya burst out to her companions’ complete surprise. “He’s gone, Samir. And he’s phoned
Charos
last night, I’m sure of it.”

Christian
lifted his eyebrows in bafflement. “What makes you say that?”

“Simple.
Karim
probably recognized either of us. I don’t know when or how, but I’m certain he did. He continued
playing
the game, however, and had you signed the protocol last night, Samir; he would’ve stayed, probably thinking that he’d made a mistake regarding our identities.  But as it is, when you didn’t sign the agreement, his suspicions became stronger and as a last resort, he called
Charos
who gladly confirmed who we were.”

“But where could he have gone? There is no flight until tonight,” Samir said, looking at Talya with a question mark on his face.

“He hasn’t left
Conakry
, I can tell you that much,” Khumar said with assurance. The three of them turned their gazes to their knowledgeable agent enquiringly. “
Actually
,
Your Highness
, the embassy has put a watch on
Karim
and he hasn’t gone to the airport in the last twelve hours, of that I’m certain.”

“Well then,
where
?”
Christian
exploded impatiently. “We’ve got less than twenty-four hours to finish the job. After that,
Charles
can no longer be kept on ice without someone asking a lot of difficult questions.
Sir Reginald
could lose his post if we don’t get this done.”

He was right. They had to get
Karim
out of the way before midnight, otherwise everything would have been for naught. The authorities on two continents would be looking for scapegoats, and they would be facing charges of withholding evidence in a murder trial, for a start.

“Gentlemen, I think I have an idea,” Talya said after a few minutes of silence around the table. “Our M
r.
Karim
needed a place to hide as of last night, but since he knew that we were onto him, he couldn’t fly out of here. Yet, he could take a car to go to the Fouta-Djalon and find a hideout in the mountains, or he could take a boat to the Isles of Los. I would think he’s chosen the latter.”  Talya tried to be as convincing as she could, but her companions didn’t seem to agree with that surmise.

“Why would he choose the Isles of Los?  There is nothing on those islands but a couple of tourist retreats and a ferry . . . run . . . along the c
oast line
. . .” Samir suddenly realized why the last suggestion had been the most plausible choice of the two Talya had proposed. “Talya, why don’t you explain
it
to our agents? They seem to have lost our trail a mile or two ago.” He smiled kindly at
Christian
who looked confused—the same as Khumar did.

“Well,
you see,
the Isles of Los are located a few miles off the coast of
Conakry
, and from there you can take a milk-run ferry all the way to the Isle of Bubaque along the Guinée Bissau coastline. In Bubaque there is a small airport, which has daily flights to the main airport in
Bissau
.”

“And we could catch him before he boards the first ferry out of here,”
Christian
said, quickly regaining some of his enthusiasm.

“I hate to tell you this,
Christian,
but the first ferry has just left a few minutes ago.”

Their cat’s eagerness just dropped to a sub-zero temperature. “Please tell me there is another ferry that runs in the next hour or so before you tell me that we have to fly to Bubaque to catch him.”
Christian
was pleading for some comforting answer from Talya.

“I can’t tell you when the next ferry leaves, because I can’t remember, but this being summertime, I would say there should be a ferry run in two hours…, maybe.”

Khumar was on his feet already. “I can check on that easily, and I’ll check with the surveillance office and see if
Karim
has been spotted anywhere this morning when he left the hotel.”

Christian
appeared to be lost in thought.

“Let’s check with the desk also, to make sure
Karim
has left, will you,
Christian
?” Samir said encouragingly. 

Without another word,
Christian
got up, went toward the reception
desk
, and turned out of sight into the corridor leading to the rooms.

When both
Christian
and Khumar had left the table, Samir peered into Talya’s eyes. “Are you positive about the Isles of Los? Or is it possible he’s gone into the mountains.”

“I’m sure of it as I’m sure the sun will rise again tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Do you remember my mentioning the
Florida
connection on a couple of occasions? That’s where the drugs come from. Before the first large shipment was made to Sabodala, there were drugs being delivered to
West Africa
. I believe those deliveries were made to various ports or islands on the coastline. When
Karim
first took off from
Bamako
,
Helen
tried to locate him. She placed calls to her uncle’s friends in
New York
, and apparently these people told her that
Karim
had made mention that he was either going to Guinée or to
Senegal
. Moreover, when
Yvonne
found out that he came to
Conakry
, I asked myself why
Conakry
? If he really wanted to get away, he could have gone in the other direction to Burkina or farther south to
Liberia
, but no, he chose
Conakry
. And that for the sole reason, I believe, that he still has contacts here, which could eventually get him back into operating a drug ring out of any town on the western coastline.” 

Samir had allowed Talya to finish with her explanation before he smiled and shook his head. “Talya, you should be an Intelligence Agent.”