Chapter 7

She was alive but seriously wounded from a bullet from one of her bodyguards. I went back out and said, “One of the bad guys shot her when they were shooting into my house. She’s alive but needs expert attention immediately.”

The first ambulance took her away. The second ambulance took Duke Albert and the one I had winged. The rest were bundled into the back of two cars and hauled off in handcuffs.

Captain Avery asked, “Sam, will you prefer charges?”

“Yes. I was going to be driving her to your office except for the attack. I hope she lives though she’s not a nice person. I’m sorry for her country.”

He grimaced. I followed his car into town. I signed off on the trespassing and armed attack charges including writing out a statement. While there, the Captain took a call. He came over to me. “Princess Alice wants to speak to you. She’ll be out of surgery in about an hour.”

I shrugged. “Okay, though I have no idea what to say or what she might say.”

“I understand.” He grimaced. “Duke Albert has diplomatic immunity so he gets deported as soon as he can be. He’s already been declared persona non grata by the state department. His men don’t nor do they have licenses for the weapons. They will stand trial. They will leave only as convicted felons.” He paused. “You realize that the newsies will be all over this and you?”

“Probably. I’m going to put up a gate to my drive.” I grimaced. “It’s been a good place and will be again when these clowns are finally gone. There will be real newsworthy events soon and I’ll be forgotten.”

“You hope.” I grimaced.

I finished and left. I drove to the hospital. I gave my name and said that Alice had asked to see me. The receptionist looked at me. ‘You don’t look special.”

“I’m not.” She told me where to go. I went into a wing of the hospital and found one of her guards there. I said, “I’ve been asked to see Alice.”

He looked at me hard. “I’m Sam Morris.”

Very reluctantly, he moved to one side. “You may enter.” I decided not say, “Thanks,” though that was on the tip of my tongue. I went into a palatial room. I noticed it had a plaque that read, “Founders’ Suite.”

Alice was sitting up in a bed looking a bit wan. “Hello, Sam.”

“Hello, Alice. Sorry about you being shot.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“That’s true. You know that Duke Albert is being deported. The rest of them will be tried for criminal trespass and probably serve time in prison. They will never be able to get a visa to return to this country legally.”

“Sam, it’s just such a mess. I never meant for all that to occur.”

“No, your Duke overreacted and, other than being deported, he gets off scot free. He’ll probably get a commendation from your father. Your country sounds screwed up badly to me. I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“Sam, I would like to see you.”

“As soon as you’re out of the hospital, I’m sure you’ll be put on a jet to your home.”

“Sam, I want to spend time with you.”

“That’s not going to happen, ‘Princess.’ You and your people are still dirty in my mind.”

The bodyguard stepped in and said, “Your highness, is this man causing you distress?”

“Only by rejecting me. He finds us despicable and isn’t willing to associate with me.”

I started heading for the door. The man said, “Her highness hasn’t given you leave to depart.”

“I don’t need her permission or yours.” I saw that Alice was crying now. “Good bye, ‘Princess.’ Have a good life.”

The bodyguard said, “Stop!”

“No.” At that point, photographers rushed in since he hadn’t been guarding the door. He didn’t know what to do but tried to protect his charge. I used the distraction to leave. I had no plans to return to the hospital until long after she had left it. Fortunately, no one took my picture. They wanted the picture of the Princess.

I left the hospital and had lunch at a small place where I ate frequently. I left for home. Once there, I relaxed. I went on the Internet and looked up the costs of a fence to get an idea. I hated to put up a gate but had a bad feeling that I might need it. I decided that new signs would be my first priority.

I picked up a number of signs in town and nailed them to trees along the property and on each side of the drive. I took some chain and put it across my drive just beyond where Alice’s car had been parked. I talked to a local fencing company and arranged for them to put in a fence and gate just in front of my chain. I talked to an electrician. He suggested a battery and solar set to power the gate. We would use a garage door opener to open and close the gate. The battery was sufficient to open and close the gate four times without a charge from the solar array. It took a while to aim it properly but, in two weeks, it was in place and working.

Alice spent most of that time in the hospital. Duke Albert left and the other bodyguards flew out to evade trial once they had made bail. The sheriff found out just in time to miss their leaving. A new crew came in who were all immediately declared persona non grata. Over their objections, they were held in the county jail until they were driven to board a plane

In between that, I received two calls from Alice leaving messages requesting I visit her at the hospital. After the second, I decided to go. My new fence was almost in place. It would be manual for a while but, at least, it blocked traffic.