Chapter 34

Ymir was the guard beside the driver.

Ymir twisted his short-barrelled shotgun to rest under the driver’s chin. He then said something to the driver in Arabic.

The man spat out some words, and I tasered him.

“We have to keep him unconscious until the doctors can remove the pill,” I said to the guard.

“Pill?” Ymir questioned me.

“Suicide pill, in a tooth. Not a nice death from what I’ve seen,” I told him.

“The problem we now have is who or what triggers the bomb in this car? Does the Prince normally sit where he did?”

“No, he normally sits where you are, Detective Carmichael,” replied the second guard, who was called Jamal.

I sighed, “I thought as much. Okay, you two get out and take that bag of shit with you. Signal to the Prince to wait inside and guard him with your lives.”

“What will you do?” Ymir asked, concerned.

“Work out how to neutralise this bomb without getting blood on the seat,” I replied.

“The Prince will not be happy if you are hurt,” Ymir replied grimly.

“He isn’t the only one,” I replied. “Who normally gets out first?”

“The driver and then once given the all-clear, us. Why?” Ymir asked me.

“How long does that normally take?” I asked, ignoring his question.

“Twenty, maybe thirty seconds or so. We do the same, and then the driver opens the door. Jamal normally guards the Prince, and I let out anyone from this side. I then walk them around the car to the Prince,” Ymir informed me.

“Thank you, I believe it will be safe for you to get out now and take him with you.”

The guards got out of the car and then came around and collected the driver. They dragged him back to the building and were not very gentle while doing it. I sat back into the seat and closed my eyes.

Justin took my hand and said softly, “If we go, at least we go together.”

I chuckled, “I have not finished with you yet, my love. My problem is do I detonate it after we get out, or do I just make it defective?”

“Defective is probably better,” he supplied.

“Yes, I agree, but the trick is how to do it so that it’s believable,” I told him. Then I chuckled, “Silly me. Okay, let’s go check on the Prince, he is probably frantic by now.”

Justin looked at me in shock as I climbed out of the car. “Come on, sweetie,” I coaxed him.

He shot out the other side and ran around to me and grabbed me in his arms. He then kissed me and said on my lips, “What did you do, Little Witch?”

“Drained the battery,” I whispered back and giggled. I let Justin go, opened the driver’s door and reached in under the seat. Finding the switch, I pulled on it. I dropped it in my fanny pack and closed the door.

I wrapped my arm around Justin’s waist, and we walked back to the building. Once inside, I held up my hand to ward off questions, and I called Major Schneider.

“Good morning, Sir,” I said.

“Where the hell, are you?” he blasted me.

“With Prince Rashid,” I answered calmly.

“Isn’t he on the way to the hospital?” he asked me in a flustered voice.

“Yes,” I answered. “We were just leaving.”

“Good, I’ll meet you there,” he replied with satisfaction.

I looked at Justin, “The plot thickens.” I turned and asked, “Rashid, who knew you were on the way to the hospital?”

“I called the driver, Detective Carmichael, but I didn’t give the destination, we never do,” Ymir said to me.

“You were with me when I got the call. I had planned to go this morning, as I’m sure anyone who knows that Hamdan is alive could guess,” Rashid replied rationally.

“So, who did call you?” I asked him.

He looked at me and touched his Mad. “Hum, very odd, the number of my last call in can’t be correct, it says that it was you, Danny.”

“I know I’m tricky, but even I’m not that good,” I said, smiling at the Prince. “What did you do with our friend?” I asked him.

“My other guards are seeing to his welfare,” he answered grimly.

“Don’t let them kill him just yet, please, as I too wish to talk with him. Okay, let’s get back in the car and go and see who is waiting for us,” I replied.

“What about the bomb?” Jamal asked, concerned.

“Oh, it’s still there, but it won’t go off,” I replied and headed back outside.