KILTED DESIRE - Sands of Betrayal (22 page)

Katie was asleep when Scott called. She was upset and went
to bed early. He hadn’t called her and was angry with herself that she let him
leave like that. She was distraught when he didn’t call from New York and had
no way of knowing that his flight was late and he didn’t have time to call.
When she woke up, there was a missed call on her phone. She was glad that he’d
called her, but upset that he hadn’t left a message.

Scott arrived in Baghdad, Monday evening. As he walked through
the airport building, he tried to call Katie again. He had desperately wanted
to talk with her for hours and was now growing frustrated. Once again, his call
went unanswered. Bad timing, he thought. He knew she was at work, but it didn’t
make him feel any better. He wanted to get the matter straightened out, as soon
as possible. He didn’t like leaving for the Middle East the way they had left
it.

As he left the terminal, he walked toward the main parking
lot. It was not particularly busy, but there were a few people milling about.
As he approached the parking area where he left his car, he had an uneasy
feeling, as though, someone was following him. He turned slightly and sure
enough, there were two men, maybe twenty yards behind him. He had no idea how
long they’d been there. His concentration was on what he would say to Katie. He
made a couple turns down random rows of cars and glanced over his shoulder to
see if his suspicions were correct. The men still followed behind him. Scott
was vulnerable. He didn’t have any weapons on him because he’d just flown in. His
guns were locked in his car. As he approached his vehicle, the men dropped back
a little further behind him, but they were still there. He was not sure what
they were doing. If they wanted to shoot him, surely they could have done that
by now. He decided the best thing to do would be to get in the car and get out
of there immediately. He moved quickly over the last few yards, unlocked the
door, climbed in to his vehicle and turned the key.

Later that evening at the hotel, Britney and Tom sat and
waited. They expected Scott back hours ago. They tried his cell phone many
times without any answer. Their weekend together went reasonably well with no
major problems, but there was a definite personality clash between them.

Tom needed to get back to his office and check on a few things.
He knew Britney really wanted Scott back too, because she liked him. Just after
10:00 p.m., Tom called the airline to see if his flight had arrived and if it
was on time. Scott’s plane landed on time and he was on the passenger list.
Their records showed he had boarded the flight. Tom thought there was no way it
would have taken him this long to get back to the hotel. He told Britney she
needed to get ready to go to the airport. He wanted to find out any information
they might have on his whereabouts.

When they reached the airport, an increased number of police
cars were present and Iraqi army vehicles were on hand. Definitely more than
normal, Tom thought. A large area of one of the parking lots was cordoned off
and they were not allowing anyone in. Tom parked the car and reluctantly took
Britney with him. He located the local Police Chief to find out what had happened.
As they moved closer to the area, Tom saw a partially burnt-out car and it looked
familiar. He didn’t want to think it, but he was pretty sure it was Scott’s.
Tom’s grasp of the local language wasn’t perfect, but he had lived in Baghdad
long enough to have learned a fair amount. He quickly struck up a conversation
with the Police Chief, who he’d spoken to before.

Britney didn’t understand any of the language and stood next
to Tom, while the two men spoke. She was uncomfortable; it was a sticky, hot
night, much the same as every other night. It had a different feel tonight and
reminded her of the night they walked back to the hotel, when the car broke
down.  As she stood there waiting, she heard the engine noise of small planes
nearby and the sound of sirens in the distance. There was still a strong burnt
smell in the air. That smell, mixed with the smell of aviation fuel did not
leave a pleasant taste in her mouth.

After a couple of minutes, the Police Chief pointed out the
car to Tom and they moved towards it. Tom motioned to Britney to follow them.

“That’s Scott’s car, isn’t it?” Tom asked her.

“Oh my god. Yes, I think it is,” she said, as her voice
trailed off.

With difficulty, the police chief opened the burned driver’s
door. Tom saw Scott’s backpack sitting on the front passenger seat, as well as
his guns that remained partially hidden underneath the same seat. It appeared
that Scott may have reached for them as he turned the key in the ignition. The
driver’s seat and dashboard were badly burned and broken glass was everywhere.
He allowed Tom to take Scott’s possessions as the two men moved away from the
car, still talking.

“What’s going on, Tom? What’s he saying?” Britney demanded,
grabbing hold of Tom’s arm.

“I’m trying to find out! Just be patient. He wasn’t the
first one here. When he arrived, Scott had already been taken away by ambulance.”

“An ambulance! He lived through this? So, he is alive?”
Britney asked, scared and panicking. She was shocked. The realization that
Scott was the victim of a car bomb attack was starting to hit her. She was
trembling.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. He’s making a call now
to obtain more information for me and find out where Scott was taken.”

The two men continued to talk. The Police Chief spoke to
numerous police officers, making inquiries, obtaining pertinent information, as
well as making calls to anyone who might have specifics about Scott. After ten
minutes, Tom turned to speak with Britney.

“Okay, listen. They believe he’s alive. They have given me
the name of the hospital where he was taken. They said the device didn’t detonate
correctly. It was a crudely-made car bomb, designed to kill. If it had gone off
as it was designed, he would be dead. I don’t know how bad he is, but he was
unconscious when they put him in the ambulance. I’m going to leave you with
another guard and his client, at their hotel. I don’t normally do this, but
this is an emergency. Then, I’m going to the hospital, to see what else I can
find out.”

“I am coming with you. I need to know how he is.”

“No, you are not. Britney, I don’t have time to argue with
you. I need to leave you in a safe place and get going. Alone! I will let you
know how he is and any details I find out,” Tom said, firmly. He did not have
time to debate this with her. He had a man down and needed to find out what
condition he was in.

While Tom was driving her to the other guard’s hotel, she
continued to try and persuade him to allow her come to the hospital to check on
Scott.

“So tell me, how is coming to the hospital more dangerous
than coming to the airport with you?” she asked. She thought it was a good point.

“Just drop it Britney! It’s been a very rough night and it
could yet turn out to be a very tragic night. I will not argue with you. Right
now, you have no say in this, do you understand? You will stay with the other
guard.”

“I just need to know he’s okay, Tom. This is a nightmare.”

“I know, and I am sorry. Please, just do as you’re told. Let
me do my job and maybe say a prayer.” Tom softened. He realized she was afraid.
All she had witnessed to this point was never truly real… until tonight.

“Okay, but please let me know as soon as you know anything,”
her voice quaked, as she leaned back in the seat.

“I will.” He glanced in the rear view mirror and could see
she was on the verge of tears.

“What about Katie? Are you going to call her?” she asked, innocently.

“Yes. I have to, but I need to try and find out more
information before I contact the poor girl.”

“Do you want me to call her to let her know what happened? I
would be happy to. I have her number and we have spoken before.”

“I will have to think about that. I didn’t know you had ever
spoken with her.” He seemed a little puzzled.

“Oh, yeah, we had a nice chat a few weeks ago,” Britney told
him.

“Well, we’ll see. But, I still need to find out more details
about what condition he is in. Britney, I do need to be the first one who
speaks with her. You do understand that, right?”

“Of course,” she replied.

An hour later, Britney was dropped off with another guard and
Tom approached the hospital. He was anxious to find out what was going on. This
was the worst part of his job, the part he dreaded the most. Having one of his
men badly hurt was something he hated to see. He tried to stay positive as he
entered the hospital. He knew all too well from the look of the car, the news
may not be good. The Al Nafees Hospital was centrally located and was one of the
closest hospitals to the airport, so that’s why he’d been taken here. It wasn’t
the most modern facility nor did it have the best equipment, but it was a
hospital. Tom walked to the main desk and inquired about Scott. He was told to
wait in the lounge area and a doctor would see him soon. It was not long when
Tom was surprised to see another Western looking man approach the main desk. He
appeared to be a doctor. He was a tall, Caucasian man with short blond hair. He
spoke with the receptionist for quite a while before he approached Tom.

“Hello, my name is Dr. Hamilton. I believe you are here
about Mr. Maclaren,” he said, in an American accent.

“Yes, I am. My name is Tom Schultz. How is he?” Tom asked,
still surprised he was talking to an American doctor.

“I’m afraid he’s in critical condition at the moment. Tom, are
you a family member?”

“No, I’m Scott’s boss and friend. He’s over here on
business. I still need to contact his family back in the States, but thought we
should talk first.”

“Okay. So I guess you’re the person I’m going to be talking with
for now. Please, come with me,” he said, as he walked towards the corridor.

“How bad is he, Doc?” Tom asked, while they walked.

“He’s critical, and in a coma, but, he is breathing on his
own which is encouraging. He suffered a major head trauma and I suspect he has
a fractured skull, but I cannot say at this time. There is a huge amount of
swelling at the moment. As soon as the swelling goes down, I will try to get an
x-ray done to confirm the fracture. I would love to do a CAT scan or MRI, but we
don’t have the equipment here at this hospital.”

“Okay, so is that the worst of it? What about the rest of
his injuries? How badly is he burned?”

“We took a number of x-rays when Scott first came in, but
there was no point trying to take any pictures of his head due to the swelling.
His other injuries are mainly down the left side. There are fractures to his
lower tibia, his radius, two ribs and his clavicle. As for his burns, it’s not
as bad as I would have thought, given what I was told happened to him. He only
has first-degree burns. Once again to areas down his left side, I don’t foresee
the burns being a major problem. In fact, I don’t see any of the fractures
being a major issue. There are a lot of lacerations over his face and neck due
to flying glass, but really, the only thing I’m concerned about is his brain
injury.”

“Okay, let me see if I got it all. He has a major head
trauma, a broken leg, wrist, ribs, collar bone and a possible skull fracture, right?
And his burns are not that bad. Do you think we should try to get him moved to
a facility with better equipment to check out his head?”

“You are correct, the breaks and burns are not anything to
be concerned about. But, I would advise against him being moved at the moment
due to the severity of his head injury. I think we need to keep him very still
for a while for the swelling to subside. But, then again, it’s your call,” Dr.
Hamilton said, as he gestured for Tom to follow him into the small room where
Scott lay motionless in bed.

It was a very basic room with white walls and an antiseptic
aroma was quite noticeable.

“Damn, he looks in a bad way,” Tom said quietly, as he
looked at Scott. His head was bandaged and looked huge. There was a cast on his
wrist and lower leg. A considerable amount of his left side had been bandaged
due to the burns and his face seemed to be cut up pretty badly.

“Yes, he is in critical condition. We have taken care of everything
we can, for right now…”

“So, what’s your opinion, Doc? I have to call his fiancé, so
what should I tell her?”

“That we’ve done everything we can and all we can do now is wait.
She is welcome to call me if she wants to. I am sure she will have many
questions and I can try and answer them for her. I’m not bound by any
confidentiality laws over here, which is why I’m able to discuss Scott’s
condition with you. I would be happy to speak with her or you any time.”

“Okay. Thank you, Dr. Hamilton. It might be good for her to
speak with you as well. Tell me, Doctor, what are you doing here?”

“I wondered how long it would take for you to ask that. I
saw the look on your face when you saw me. I volunteer my services and work for
the International Red Cross Organization. I have been here about a year now.”

“Wow! I’ve been over here a few years, but at least I’m
getting paid. I don’t know how you do it.”

“Personal reasons. There was nothing to keep me in America.
Plus, I am fed up with the medical system back home. It was all about money,
not patient care and a patient’s well-being.”

“Good for you. So, when do you think he might come out of
the coma?” He was very concerned now that he had seen what Scott looked like.

“There’s no medical way to tell, Tom. But, if we are to hope
to have a positive outcome, then I’d expect to see some sort of movement or
general signs of life from him within the next 48 hours.”

“Okay. Is there anything I can do for him?”

“Not much, really, apart from visiting him and talking to
him. Get any familiar voices around him to talk to him. Hopefully, we can get
him to come out of this coma soon.”