The Intern Affair (28 page)

“Sure!
Let’s hear it…”

Samir smiled and dislodged one of her hands from between her knees to hold it in his. “I knew you were gone without clothes and luggage, and I also knew that you took only your wallet and your keys, which told me that you went somewhere where a wallet was needed.
The minute I knew about the bracelet and the Brownstone Inn, I guessed that today you were only going to prepare yourself before trying to face some of your past tomorrow, am I not right?”

“Yes you are,” she replied airily, gazing at her flowers on the table. “You know, Samir, when I received these; I knew I was going to be seeing you soon but I couldn’t bring myself to believe what your note implied, that you were going to join me.”

“And although you couldn’t believe it, you knew it was true, didn’t you?”

“Yes I did.
I feel so attuned to you that I can’t even assume a reasonable behaviour when it comes to be with you. It is as if I have no choice in the matter.”
She gave him a winsome smile.

Samir looked uncomfortable. He avoided her gaze.

“I know you will not like what I’m about to tell you…”

“What is it?” Instantly, Talya was fretting again, trembling and preparing herself for the worst. “It’s
Alhassan
isn’t it?
He’s worse?”

“No, no. I have not received any news regarding
Alhassan
yet this morning.
I said it was something you
will not like
.
I didn’t say that it was going to cause you pain, did I?”

“Just tell me.”

“
Ghali
has come with me.”

“
What?
Why on earth did you let him come with you?”

“Calm down, Talya. You need to see him because he is your anchor. No matter how he behaved in the past, he will return to
Vancouver
, waiting for you to come back.
He is a stalwart; someone you’ll be able to rely on always.”

“Are you saying he’s going back?”

“Yes, he has decided that if your desire is to deal with this alone, then he’s going to let you be and wait for you. He’s only come thus far to lead me to you.”

“I see. And where is he now?”

“Next door in my suite; he’s waiting for us, so that we can call
Charles
and get the latest news from the hospital.” Samir stood up and pulled her up off the sofa. “Now show me what you’ve bought.”

Talya looked at him quizzically. “Of course…. You saw the shopping bags . . .”

Samir simply smiled.

She went to the closet and pulled out every single item, draping the clothes in front of her, and the shoes and the purse… She felt like a kid, showing daddy what she had bought at the mall—silly really.

He liked everything she had chosen. Then suddenly, “And why were you going to wear your old jeans and sweater as I came in?”

“I won’t even ask how you knew that, I’ll just tell you that I was intending to go to the
Butchard
Gardens
this afternoon and take a walk before High Tea.”

“We can do that, if you wear what you wore this morning—”

“How. . .
No! I’m not asking….”

Samir smiled again.

When Talya was dressed, and ready to leave, they went together
to
Samir’s suite next to her room.

In the miniature salon of this Fairmont suite, two yellow chairs stood near the corner windows, a settee face them and an oval coffee table occupied the better part of the floor space. A desk stood against a wall, which separated two French windows. At the far end of the room, a door opened onto the bedroom and bathroom beyond. It was a small suite but spacious enough to make one feel comfortable.

Ghali
was standing by the windows beckoning them to come in. He was on his cell phone.
Samir led Talya to the settee and they sat down waiting for
Ghali
to finish his conversation.

“Sure, sure, I’ll do that.
No problem, I’ll tell Talya…, yes. I’ll tell her to call you back as soon as we’ve talked . . . no problem.
Bye.”
Ghali
snapped the phone shut and came to sit down across from them
,
staring at Talya with reproach in his eyes. “You don’t know how good it feels to see you, and to see that you’re safe and sound.”

“Sure I am,
Ghali
. And I apologize for my sudden departure, but in the future you might become so used to my escapades that you wouldn’t even worry anymore.” She could feel Samir’s body tense beside her; Talya knew that
he
would never get use to this.

“I don’t know, Talya, time will tell. But today you gave me, I should say, you gave
us
, a fright when I saw you had left without a word.”

“Well, you’ve found me—”

“No, I didn’t find you, Samir did. This man,”
Ghali
said, pointing to
Samir
“is extraordinary. He knew of your movements, of your thoughts, of your intentions even, before I would begin asking myself the first question.
I’ve had such an experience this
morning;
I still can’t believe we are here together.”

“Okay,
Ghali
, enough compliments for awhile,” Samir interrupted with edginess. “Just tell us what the phone call was about.”

Samir seemed reluctant to relate what happened between him and
Ghali
and how they found her.

Talya shot a curious glance at Samir.
He lowered his eyes in response.

“Yes, well, that was a call from
Charles
,”
Ghali
went on. “He’s heard from
Bamako
.
Alhassan
regained consciousness a few hours ago apparently.
The doctor’s hoping to airlift him and
Mr. Dillon
to
Dakar
to undergo surgery. From what
Charles
was told
Alhassan
is suffering from extensive ligament and tendon damages in his lower back and around the shoulders and one arm.
The knife’s also nicked his liver and one kidney.”

All of a sudden, Talya felt cold and unresponsive. The amount of pain
Alhassan
must have been feeling at that moment and since the attack, was probably unbearable. She stared at
Ghali
.
She saw
Kareef
laugh at her again.
His shadow had returned.

Seeing that Talya was recoiling at the news,
Ghali
asked, “Talya, may I get you something?”

“No, no I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” She waved a hand in dismissal.

He continued to observe her behaviour while Samir was asking the next question, “You said they were going to be airlifted to
Dakar
, when would that be?”

“
Charles
couldn’t tell me, but if I were
Alhassan
’s physician, and just from what I’ve been told, I’d suggest we’d have to wait for the bleeding to stop—at least three or four days—and for the patient to regain strength. Airlifting is quick but it’s far from being easy on any patient. Anyway, I’m sure the attending physician will do the right thing.”

“I’m sorry,
Ghali
. I’m a little out of it right now,” Talya said absently. “May I borrow your phone and call
Charles
now, please?”

Ghali
looked at her puzzled, but handed her the cell phone.
She dialled the number.

“Hello,
Charles
?”

“Ha-ha . . . Kiddo, finally you’ve deigned call.”

“Yes, here I am.
And before you ask, let me tell you that I’m sorry to have caused you some worries, but I just wanted to escape for the wee
k
en
d and take a breather before going back.”

“I understand, Talya, and I’m glad you’re okay. However, you need to appreciate the fact that I will never stop worrying about you. I’ve seen what you’re capable of, and every time you’ll be out of sight, so to speak, you’ll be the object of my concern. Now, is that clear?”
(Dad had spo
ken
!)

“Sure, but tell me what’s happening in
Bamako
.
Ghali
said that
Alhassan
and
Mr. Dillon
are going to be airlifted to
Dakar
.
Do we know when that’s likely to happen?”

“Not exactly.
Sir Reginald
has spo
ken
to the doctor in charge, and he said that both men had lost a lot of blood before anyone could get to them, and that it would take a little time for them to regain some strength before they can make the trip.”

“What about
Mansur
, has he regained consciousness?”

“No, Talya, and at the last report, he may never do.”

She didn’t want to hear this…
“What?
Why?” Talya questioned dismayed, and feeling utterly helpless. “Isn’t there anyone in
Bamako
who can attempt surgery? Or I don’t know . . . do something?” She was getting upset.

“It’s apparently not a question of the doctors performing surgery; it’s a question of
Mansur
being strong enough to go under the knife. He’s not a young man, and the wounds he sustained during the attack are much more severe than those of
Alhassan
. Apparently, he tried to protect
Helen
and was gouged more aggressively for attempting to shield her.”

Kareef
’s laughter rang in Talya’s ears. Her avenging rage against that man returned in an instant. “I’ll be in the office at nine on Monday. In the meantime, keep me informed, will you? I’m staying at the Empress in room 605. Or if it’s urgent,
Ghali
has his cell with him as you know.”

“Okay, Kiddo, but I’m hearing something else in your voice… What’s that about?”

“I told you, rage, that’s all it is. I am going to destroy
Kareef
: cut him down and all of his masters and followers with him. But, you won’t have to worry; I will remain focused on my work.”

“I hear you, Kiddo. You just need to rely on Samir to help you. Actually, let me talk to him if he’s there.”

“Sure, here he is….” Talya didn’t have to explain why, she just handed the phone to Samir.

“Yes,
Charles
, I’m here.”

“I know your work with us is going to be extremely demanding on your time, but it is of prime importance, it is vital in fact, that you stay with Talya, especially when you leave here and that until she’s defined the extent of the drug operations. We both know how determined she is, and what worries me the most is that she has an innate disregard for prudence. She’s like the proverbial
bull in a china shop
.
She’s bent on destroying
Kareef
and everything that made him what he is, and all of that she will do in complete and wilful ignorance of what happens to her.”

“I know exactly what you mean.
Nevertheless, I won’t talk any further on the matter for the moment, I prefer to do so face to face, if you don’t mind? Just rest assured that I won’t allow myself to leave her side.”

“Good. Now you go and enjoy the rest of the wee
ken
d. Oh, by the way, how’s
Ghali
behaving?”

“Just fine.
He will need to learn a few things from you I think, but overall, he’ll be okay.
He’s returning to
Vancouver
on the next ferry and I’ve booked a suite here to stay with
Talya as long as necessary.”
Ghali
and Talya looked at each other and smiled. They didn’t hear what
Charles
said but the reply was clear enough.

When Samir hung up, he handed the cell phone back to
Ghali
. “Thank you, Doctor.”

Talya got up and went to stand by the window.

“Well, I best be going,”
Ghali
said, rising from his chair. “I’ll see you when you get back—” She turned to face him.
She couldn’t chase him away and yet she needed for him to go.

The confusion must have shown on her face for
Ghali
came to her and gave her a hug. “It will be all right, and don’t worry, I’ll be at the other end of this phone if you need me.” He showed her the cell he was holding. “I’ll phone you the minute I hear something.”