Heroes Never Die (22 page)

She was still confused.  “But you said I was guilty.  The guards took me away to be executed.  And then…”  She opened her mouth to speak but nothing would come.  She struggled to recall the rest of the story.  “And then – I don’t remember any more.”

“The guards who took you away, in reality, were Ayub and Dr. Sami.  You were still unconscious when they brought you here.”

Stephanie struggled to grasp everything he was saying.  “That still doesn’t explain why I wasn’t executed?”

“When my people heard that Abdullah had been murdered, a mob stormed the palace gate and demanded justice.  At that time, I believed you were guilty, so I promised to hand you over to them.”

“During your trial, I received a telephone call from a man who claimed he belonged to a Russian terrorist group.  He said his group was responsible for murdering Abdullah.”

Stephanie sat up in bed.  She didn’t know about the phone call.  “Understand, it was impossible to bring this terrorist group to justice, and if I failed to keep my promise, there would have been a violent uprising and my government would have toppled.  The only way to keep that from happening was to stage your execution.”

“Later, when the telephone call was traced back to Russia, I realized that you were innocent.  I couldn’t put you to death, especially when my brother was so fond of you.  There was another woman in prison who was sentenced to die for the crime of adultery.  She was executed in your place.  Her husband was told she committed suicide, and my people were satisfied that justice was served.”

Stephanie’s face began to swell with nervous heat.  No Russians had broken into the hotel room that night.  The telephone call was puzzling, and she wondered whether there truly was a Russian connection.  Only one thing was certain – someone was getting away with murder.  She had to get out of there before Tareef realized that she was in on the plot from the very beginning.

“So what happens next?” she asked, forcing herself to be nonchalant.

Tareef showed her the cover of Minute Magazine.  Stephanie reached for the cover and saw a picture of a tilted oil rig sinking into a grave of murky water.  The picture perfectly illustrated the answer to the question posed in bold letters, ‘Oil in the Dead Sea?’

She felt a mixture of shock and relief.  Marcus had found the file that contained the secret information Abdullah had unwittingly given her.

“The Russian government convinced Abdullah that your government was secretly depleting our veins of oil by tapping into the main artery in the Dead Sea.  The entire scheme was a desperate attempt to gain access to our air base.  When Abdullah failed to comply with their wishes, they murdered him.  I have decided to retaliate by allowing the United States to occupy our air base.  Saudi Arabia will also join the Alliance.”

“That is good news,” she said, pretending to be detached from the situation while knowing the war would finally take its predetermined turn.  “The Alliance will be very powerful now.”

Tareef spit his fiery words.  “Powerful enough to crush the men who murdered my brother?”

Tareef’s
question frightened Stephanie, especially when he had missed his opportunity for revenge by sparing her life.  More than anything she wanted to break down and cry, but her gut instinct told her to remain strong.

“He was your brother,” she bravely said with artificial devotion.  “But he was also my husband.  I want the men who killed him crushed, too.”  Her contrived affection seemed to pacify him.

“In case you are wondering what will become of you now that Abdullah is dead, I want you to know that I will continue to care for you.  By law, I am required to marry my brother’s widow.  For Abdullah’s sake, I will fulfill my obligation to you.”

Stephanie just stared at him, hoping that he would burst out laughing at his own joke, but he was painfully serious.  She didn’t want to offend Tareef by rejecting the traditions he held dear, but she had no intention of staying in Saudi Arabia, either.

“I don’t want you to feel obligated to me, Tareef.  I’m capable of taking care of myself.  I only agreed to live in Saudi Arabia so that I could be with Abdullah.  Now that he’s gone, I want to return to the United States.”

“You are not returning to the United States.  Not now
, not ever.”

Her mind screamed with alarm.  I can’t stay here!  I won’t!  I have to go home to Brian!  “But why,” she demanded, her voice trembling with fear.  “I want to go home.”

“If my people discover that another woman was executed in your place, we will both die.”

His argument had one major flaw, and she was quick to bring it to his attention.  “But what about my servant, Nadia, and Ayub, and Dr. Sami?  They know I’m alive.”

“They are loyal members of this household.  They also know that the penalty for betraying me is death.”

Stephanie gasped.  I have to argue my way out of this.  I have to make him listen to reason.  “Your people don’t even know what I look like.  My face was always covered with a veil.  They
will never know if I go back to the United States.”

“I choose to correct your lack of foresight,” he said as he took the magazine from her hand and flipped through the pages until he came to the article she had written about Abdullah.  “Do you see this?”  He pointed to the footnote at the end of her article.  “Let me read it to you.  ‘Mickey Chapman resigned from Minute Magazine before being tried and executed in Saudi Arabia for the murder of King Abdullah Hamid.  Minute Magazine has no connection with or knowledge of her alleged crime’.”

Waves of crushing pain ripped through her stomach.  Her own government had abandoned her.  But then she remembered what Barry had said.  ‘If you are arrested, we never knew you.’  As far as the CIA was concerned, she was dead.  But she was very much alive, and it would be impossible to escape without their help.

“That means nothing,” she argued.  “Back home I’m just a big nobody.  No one noticed me before, and no one will notice me when I return.”

“You are wrong again,” he snapped.  “You were a journalist for a magazine known throughout the world.  Your unexpected resurrection would be certain to cause quite a stir.  The news would quickly spread to my people.  They would hunt you down; that is, after they kill me.  You, sultana, are not leaving.”

S
tephanie turned away from the stern eyes and stared at the empty walls that would confine her for the rest of her life.  The only window that might have provided a glimpse into the outside world was completely covered by a wooden shutter.  The small pencil-sized holes in the shutter allowed the sunlight to penetrate the room, but its real purpose was to keep the rest of the world out.  She was a hostage in a hostile world.

“I would rather die than be cut off from the rest of the world.”

“Don’t tempt me,” he threatened.  “My life would be much easier if you were dead.”

Her body shook with uncontrollable sobs.  He reached for her chin and lifted her face.  “Try to understand
that this is for your own good.”  Being sentenced to a life of isolation without Brian and her dad was not for her own good.  She pulled her face away, crying.

Tareef stood to his feet to leave.  “I will come for a visit again tomorrow.  Maybe you will be feeling better then.”

Stephanie waited for him to close the door, and then she pulled herself to her feet using her right arm.  She felt woozy, and she wondered how long she had been confined to a bed.  It felt like forever, but she was almost positive that it had only been a few days.  She slowly made her way over to the window, holding onto the wall for support.  She dropped to the floor and then ran her hand across the wooden shutter as though it were the only obstacle keeping her from Brian.  “Brian,” she desperately cried out to him, wanting him to know she was still alive.  “Brian!”

She suddenly heard footsteps rushing in behind her
, and she froze with fear.  “Come back to bed, sultana,” the feminine voice ordered.  “You need your rest.”

Stephanie let out a puff of strangled air.  It was only her servant, Nadia, and she had never been trained to think for herself.  For the most part, she went through life without a clue, never challenging the rules, never questioning her full potential, content to do or be whatever she was told.

“Sultana, did you hear me?”

Stephanie remained at the window, looking far beyond the shutter that kept her isolated from the rest of the world.  She wondered if Brian was safe, and
if he was missing her as much as she was missing him, and worse, if he had already been informed of her death.  She had to come up with a way to let him know that she was still alive.  She suddenly remembered the kiss they had promised to deliver to each other.  Stephanie touched her hand to her mouth and kissed it.  She gently blew the kiss toward the window, believing with all of her might that the kiss would find its way to Brian, and when it did, he would feel the warmth of her eternal love.  Then, without making a sound, her face soaked with tears, she moved her mouth and whispered, “I love you, Brian.”

***

Nadia picked up Stephanie’s tray of food.  Tareef walked in just as Nadia was leaving.  “She won’t eat,” Nadia said as she held up the tray of roasted lamb over rice with steamed vegetables, now cold and unappetizing.  “She said she doesn’t feel well.”  Nadia turned and frowned at Stephanie.  “But I think she is just pouting.”

Tareef motioned for Nadia to leave so that he could visit the sultana alone.  Nadia carried the tray out of the room.  Tareef walked over to the bed and sat down beside Stephanie.  She felt the pressure of his weight next to her.  Weakness immobilized her body.  She had to fight just to open her eyes.

“Are you on a hunger strike?” he asked with a gentle smile.

“I don’t feel well,” she whispered, her eyes pleading for help.

“Then maybe you should eat something,” he kindly prescribed.

Frustrated, she closed her eyes.  She didn’t have the strength to beg.  She needed what strength she had just to breathe.

“I have a surprise for you,” he said, hoping she would be pleased.

Her heart fluttered with excitement.  He’s going to let me go home!

Tareef opened the velvet-lined box and held it open so she could see the stunning emerald necklace.  She looked at the necklace.  A wreath of crystal-clear diamonds studded the pure emerald.  It was truly the most magnificent piece of jewelry she had ever seen, but it couldn’t take the place of going home.

“Abdullah wanted you to have this,” he said.

Stephanie’s mind raced back to a time when she was with Abdullah all over again.  She was the one who had lured him to his death.  He didn’t deserve to die any more than she deserved to live.

“Are you pleased?” s
he finally heard Tareef ask.

The gift only intensified her guilt.  “I can’t accept it,” her voice trembled.

“Abdullah wouldn’t want it any other way,” he insisted.  He knew she couldn’t fasten the necklace with a broken arm.  “Lean forward and I will put it on you.”

Tareef held the necklace by both ends and gently draped it around her neck, locking the clasp.  Stephanie fought for her breath
, and the room began to spin.  The necklace was strangling her with guilt.

“Nadia,” Tareef yelled.  Nadia hurried into the room.  “Find Sami, and bring him here at once!”

Stephanie pulled at the necklace, gasping for her breath.  “Sami will be here soon,” Tareef said, patting her cheek to animate her.

Sami rushed into the room a minute later.  Tareef stood to his feet and allowed Sami to take his place.  Sami lifted
Stephanie’s eyelids to check for pupil response.  He checked her blood pressure.  It was unusually low.  Her breathing was rapid and her skin was cold and clammy.

“Can you move your fingers for me?” Dr. Sami asked.

Stephanie shook her head.  “I can’t feel my fingers.  My entire hand is numb.”

Dr. Sami paused, and then he stood to his feet to give Tareef his diagnosis.  “I’m afraid the sultana is very ill.  I think she has a serious infection.  The swelling in her arm has cut off her blood supply.  She may need immediate surgery.  We need to get her to a hospital at once.”

“You know what I’m up against, Sami.  I cannot risk her going to the hospital.  There has to be something else you can do for her here.”

“Her treatment lies outside of my scope of expertise.  She needs a skilled orthopedic surgeon.  Let me take her to London.  The likelihood of anyone recognizing her there is practically nonexistent, especially if she wears a veil.  I will keep her under surveillance at all times.  It can work, Tareef, and she will receive the treatment she desperately needs.”

“Please, Tareef,” Stephanie whispered.  “I promise to do everything Dr. Sami tells me to do.”

“All right,” he finally gave in.  “I will allow you to go, but only because I made an oath to my brother.  I’m sending my guards along to watch you.”

“And Nadia?” Sami asked, knowing that she could help the sultana with her personal needs.

“Nadia can attend the sultana.  But at no time from this point forward is the sultana to be without her veil.  No one can see her face.  If she tries to escape, kill her.”

“She won’t escape,” Sami promised.  “You have my word.”  Sami quickly prepared a bolus dose of penicillin to fight infection and an IV to replace Stephanie’s fluids.  Nadia helped her slip on her veil.  In six hours, Stephanie would be in London.