wrath of the Sea Queen (68 page)

"
Ladies, I'm afraid the press is camped out on your doorstep.  We
had grounds to
arrest the ones
who
followed you here, but we can't do anything about the
rest of the
lot unless they break the
law
.
"

"
Thank you for the rescue.  It's much appreciated.  I don't believe we've met.
"
  Salma replied to the
o
lder man.

"
Oh
!  Dr. Erickson
, this is Colonel Franks, my commanding officer. 
He showed up a few minutes after
I got you settled into your room,
"
Private Burks
introduced the man
.

"
I see.  Well, Colonel, we really are grateful for your help.  What do we do now?  Are we supposed to be held prisoner in the hotel?
"
  Salma continued, hoping a solution would present itself.

"
No
M
a'am.  I'm sure they will tire of this soon; probably in another hour or so.  And it looks like the rain has started again.  If it picks up,
most of them
are likely to give up and go home.
"
  Even as Colonel Franks finished the sentence, the rain outside became a sudden downpour. 

"
Well, what do you know?
"
  Private Burks said. 

"
I guess our walk is out of the question, too,
"
Salma
looked over at
C
a
eli. 

"
Well, i
f you
wi
ll excuse us, gentlemen.  I think we'll stretch our legs inside the hotel instead.  Thanks again.
"

Salma moved over to help
C
a
eli who looked like she could use a hand.

"
Did you have anything to do with that sudden downpour?
"

"
Yes.
"

"
Amazing.  So, is that why you're leaning on this fountain or are you hurting again?
"  Salma's silent inquiry was supplemented by what she could feel through her own gift as she held onto
C
a
eli.

"
Honestly, both; but can we just get going and talk about it later?
"

Salma agreed, and t
he ladies turned toward the
rear
exit that Vin mentioned.  They casually strolled away, stopping to admire a few plants
and
paintings along the way.  Salma allow
ed
C
a
eli time to rest
during
each of
the brief stops
.  Even the short trip to the lobby seemed to have worn her out
.  P
erhaps it had something to do with the rain shower
, too
. 
Either way,
Salma was very worried about her niece.

The back door was secluded
and
beyond the
sight of the two men guarding the lobby
doors
.  Salma and C
a
eli made their way outside, dashing through the rain, and climbed into the van where their husbands were anxiously waiting.  C
a
eli
climbed
up front next to Vin
and
handed him the cup of coffee.  He welcomed the
warm,
caffein
e-laden
beverage.  Salma
hopped
in the back seat with Ben, who was also grateful for the comforting drink his wife provided.

"
What took
you
so long?
"
  Vin asked as he put the van in gear and pulled
away
slowly
.  He
glanc
ed
over to note the way
C
a
eli
continued to
hold her stomach
.  He prayed that this trip would be quick and successful so she could finally get the help she needed
.

Vin
tried
not to draw any undue attention
to their departure
.  As
Salma
explained about the media out front, Vin looked for an exit near the
rear
of the parking lot.  He found a side street that allowed them to avoid all the commotion.  Thankfully, he
requested
a map when he rented the car. 

"
Do you t
hink you can navigate for me, pretty lady?
"
  Vin tri
ed
to raise C
a
eli's spirits, but the reference to her new friend did
n
o
t seem to help much
at the moment
.

"
Sure.  I expect the rain will let up once we get moving.  Where are we going?
"
  C
a
eli answered.

"
Actually,
if it's not too much trouble,
it would be better for us if the rain continued,
"
he
glanced knowingly at her.

C
a
eli
nodded. 

"
We
a
re going
to the arena
a few miles
down the road.  That's where the others from the plane crash were taken and
where
the
N
ational
G
uard has made its headquarters for their storm relief efforts.  I
woul
d like to talk to Apela if he is still there.
"

At the mention of Apela, C
a
eli
gave
Vin
her own questioning look
. 

"
I thought we might take him up on that offer, unless you object.  Nobody will know we are there.  Plus, it
i
s close enough that Salma could attend the conference without the constant
harassment
of media
hounds
or unnecessary exposure to the
protestor
s,
"
Vin explained.

"
It's fine with me. 
Apela
seems like a nice man,
"
C
a
eli responded indifferently.

"
Ben, the Colonel said all those reporters were here because of me.  It's hard to imagine.  Maybe if they don't see me tomorrow, they will go away,
"
Salma stated
hopefully
.

"
Not seeing you
for a day
only forced
me
to
work harder
.  It certainly didn't
discourage me
.  As a matter of fact, maybe I
wi
ll find one of those reporters and get a few copies of the photos they took.  One can never have too many photos of a pretty doctor lady,
"
Ben
also
teased with Max's words.

"
Oh, you
a
re
very funny
.  I think you
ha
ve been hanging around Vin
way
too
much
.
"

"
Hey, I had nothing to do with it. 
I am t
otally innocent up here,
"
Vin chimed in response as he laughed at the couple and the additional reference to the enthusiastic
,
young boy.

CHAPTER
18

It took
fif
t
e
en minutes to reach the arena
on the unfamiliar roads
due to the weather
and
the late hour
.  Unbeknownst to Ben, Vin somehow got hold of a wheelchair, probably from the car rental agency, and placed it in the van.  He insisted that Ben would need to let Salma push him around
. 
Salma agreed.

"
Well, I suppose if I have to be pushed around, better to let
it be done by
a beautiful lady,
"
Ben smiled up
at Salma as he took his seat.

Salma held an umbrella over
Ben's
head while he got situated.  They were going inside to locate Apela.  Salma also wanted to see if the
triage
facility
was
equipped well enough to
allow her to get Ben
stitched
up while they were
t
here.  She wasn't going to be satisfied until his wound was
properly patched
.  As Salma began to shut the side door of the van, C
a
eli opened her door and started to climb out.  Vin reached over
and
took hold of her hand, stopp
ing
her halfway.