Chapter 2

"How many times must I do this, Mr Jeeves? My parents were pressured to hand me over, but it hurt them. They would have lost their land holding otherwise."

"I cannot answer your question, girl. Speak to me later. I will listen."

Half an hour later, he escorted the softly sobbing girl back to the women's quarters, trying not to react to her distraught sounds. The elderly woman at the door looked upset, but said nothing. Jeeves departed, inwardly seething. He made up his mind, and began preparing his plan.

Returning to the President's suite of rooms, he found the man napping in a lounge chair, wrapped in a silk robe and ornate slippers. When the President acknowledged his presence, Jeeves spoke. "Sir, if I may be permitted..." The other waved his hand lazily in agreement, so he went on, "My past experiences have left me with contacts that might prove useful in the current situation. Old friends may have knowledge and technical expertise that perhaps could help solve the riddle of the vanishing funds. I would need your approval to make the necessary contact. That would have to be done in a way that did not cause ... difficulties ... for former colleagues; as you will no doubt understand."

The President eyed him carefully, and with a sly smile, gave his approval. "I see what you are getting at, Jeeves. You need deniability, don't you?"

"I couldn't have put it better myself, sir. I would however need some plausible reason for my temporary absence from here, though."

The President thought for a moment. "That girl, Jeeves. She does not appear to be very happy, and is not very compliant with my wishes, much though she hides it. What if I were to instruct you to return her to her family, and seek out a replacement that would be more to my liking?"

"An excellent suggestion, sir. Does her family live some distance from here?"

"Her parents have a landholding something like fifty kilometres from here. I had toyed with taking it over for debt repayment, but accepted the girl instead. I shall be generous and not demand the debt, having cancelled our arrangement. However, if there is a possibility she might be pregnant, I want that child aborted. She does not deserve to inherit my blood line.

Thus, you will make a visit to the hospital and if it is so, have the pregnancy deleted. That may take a day or two to arrange, so you will have several days within which you may be able to transact whatever business you feel you might achieve with your old friends. Does that provide you with a suitable scenario, Jeeves?"

"It does, sir. My contacts may be out of date, so I might have to go through channels to reconnect. It has been some years since I last spoke to anyone who might be useful. When could I start, Mr President?"

"Right away, man. Jeeves, if you can find a way to return my funds, no questions asked, I will give you a five per cent commission on anything you get back for me. Satisfactory?"

"Indeed, sir. One might say, generous, but it would be churlish for me to refuse!" He smiled. The President also smiled at the joke.

The President called his wife in, and told her he was sending the girl home, as unsuitable to fit into the household. She smiled happily. He went on, "Jeeves is being detailed to see to her return to the bosom of her family, after we make sure that she is not harbouring any little President. That task will be attended to during Jeeves' journey." The President's wife gave a grin of delight that there would be no prospect of any unexpected heir cropping up later.

"I shall fetch her myself, and make sure she has her bag packed. Is she allowed anything from this household's goods and chattels?"

"Decide for yourself, my dear. If she has attachment to a particular geegaw or clothing item, she may take them with her. You can do the deciding for her, if there is any doubt."

An hour afterwards, Jeeves was loading his personal Landrover with all the essentials he thought he might need, including a Heckler and Koch hidden under his seat, which had been there before he arrived at the Presidential mansion. It had been fitted with a cover and extra projections bolted to the seat frame to make it seem like a reinforcement of the seat's fixings. He had been prepared to claim ignorance, should anyone ask. No one had, and he had been a trifle disappointed at this low level of security. Once he was away from the compound, he would remove the extras and restore it to workable condition. The ammunition was packed tightly in polystyrene inside the door panels; the boxed rounds being easily accessible if you know which screws were actually removable. Most were apparently rusted in place, stopping unwanted prying.

Ready to roll, he waited for the girl to appear. She eventually came out, looking terrified, with the President's wife holding her bag of clothes, etc. She probably thought she was to be taken away and killed.

When she spotted Jeeves, she brightened up, her worst fears seemingly banished. The escorting woman declared, "Jeeves, here is your passenger. You have your instructions, I understand."

"I do, madam. I expect to be away for some days, so please make sure His Excellency does not lack for attention in my absence."

She grunted her acceptance of that responsibility, and handed over the bag to him. He took the girl round to the passenger side, made sure she was seated and strapped in, then placed her bag in the rear seat, along with his supplies.

He instructed her, "Girl, you do what I tell you, and nothing else. Understand?"

She mumbled, "yes, sir," and looked at the floor.

He got in the driver's seat, started the diesel engine, and moved off across the compound and out the open gate. He gunned the engine and speeded up as he headed for the main road. After ten minutes on the main road, he looked for a suitable spot, pulled over and stopped. He looked at his passenger, and spoke.

"Girl, I am taking you home to your parents. Do you have a name, girl?"

"Ayodele, sir. My family name is Amara. Our family has moved a lot over the years."

"And what does your first name mean, Ayodele?"

"Joy of the house, sir."

"O.K. To make things easier for me, and to cause confusion to other people, I shall call you "Joy". Get that?"

"Yes, sir. I am called Joy."

"Let's change your surname, too. You are now "Joy Kofi". Understand?"

"Yes, sir. May I ask why, sir?"

"We have to take you to a hospital, to check you out for pregnancy. If there is any likelihood of it, you will get treatment to abort the foetus. You don't really WANT to have the President's child, do you?"

"Oh, no sir. I hated what he did to me."

"So, we are agreed. To keep this secret, from now on you are Joy Kofi, and that is the name we will use at the hospital. Spend the next hour telling yourself your new name, over and over. When anyone asks you your name, it should pop out as Joy Kofi, without you having to think about it. Start practising from now, while I drive. What is your name?"

"Ayo ... Joy Kofi."

"See what I mean? It has to appear natural: your name is Joy Kofi, isn't it? If I speak to you, I will call you Joy, and you will answer to the name, without thinking."

"Yes, sir."

They drove on for another hour, and every so often Jeeves would say, "Oh, Joy?" and she would be expected to reply at once. Eventually he was satisfied, and changed the subject. "Joy, if anyone asks you my name, I am John Kofi, and I am your big brother, from your father's second marriage. Right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, stop calling me sir, and call me John." They went through the same routine, this time she had to remember to call him John, and not Jeeves or sir.

When they got to the town he had selected, as it had as small but competent hospital, he went over the "facts" again, and was fairly happy with her. He drew up in the hospital car park, and they walked together to the hospital entrance. "John" demanded to see a doctor, and flashed his credit card, saying, "I can pay". This soon got him a hearing with a doctor, and he explained, "My young sister has been with a man, and I don't want a bastard in our family. I want her checked out, and if she is pregnant, I want it terminated. I can pay the bill, today."

The doctor was sympathetic. "It is not my field, Mr... ?"

"Kofi. John Kofi. No relation to the famous Kofi Annan. My sister's name is Joy. I am her guardian since our parents are working in Saudi Arabia."