The Death of Stuart Bailey
Chapter 14Jeff heaved a big sigh of relief. The dinner was finally over, which meant two things – he and the Prince were headed back to the hotel, and this whole nightmare of guarding the most demanding man he'd ever met was almost over. They chatted amiably on the ride back to the hotel, and he did his best to be as agreeable as he possibly could. Meanwhile, his mind was racing 1,000 miles a minute, worrying about Stu and Yasmine. He could only assume they'd gotten out of the hotel safely; Bilal hadn't heard anything to the contrary.
It took twenty minutes to get from the Sports Arena to The Beverly Hilton, but they were the longest twenty minutes Jeff could remember. When they finally arrived the limo driver pulled up at the front entrance rather than the parking garage entrance, and Spencer had to redirect him to the lower level. Everything else went smoothly; Jeff and the Prince got into the elevator, and Jeff pushed the button to the Penthouse.
Just a few more minutes and Jeff's duties would be over. The elevator doors opened on their floor and, like he always did, Jeff got off first. He had asked Bilal on the first day of the job if the Prince would stay in the elevator until Jeff gave him the 'all clear.' His mind elsewhere, he didn't see the dirty gray djellaba' s until it was almost too late. "Death to those who would oppose the teachings of Allah!" one of the men yelled, and a hail of gunfire ensued. Jeff pushed Bilal backward and, for just a moment, thought he'd escaped unharmed. He fired three times; one of the gunmen went down and a second was wounded. A third man escaped down the back stairway.
"Are you alright?" he asked as he turned to face Bilal.
"Yes, praise Allah. But, Mr. Spencer . . . "
That's when Jeff felt the wet trickle down his arm and knew the truth of the matter . . . he'd been hit. "Oh . . ." was all he could say before his knees got weak and buckled under him.
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"Stuart, Lieutenant Gilmore's on one."
"Thanks, Suzanne." He picked up line one. "What's going on, Gil? Don't you ever go home? What? He what? When? What happened?" There was silence for a minute, followed by "How is he?" More silence. "Where is he? Uh-huh. Can you close off the corridor and clear the rooms so I can get in there without being seen? Good, I'm on my way."
Stu hurried out into the lobby. "Suzanne, honey."
There was a tone to his voice that she recognized. "What happened?"
"There was an incident at the hotel . . . "
"Is he alive?" Suzanne interrupted.
"So far. That's all Gil could tell me right now."
She stood and gathered her belongings. "You're going to the hospital? I'm going with you."
"Someone has to stay with Yasmine. We can't leave her alone. See if you can get Kookie to come in here."
Suzanne went swiftly out the front door and Stu could hear her shout, "Kookie!" In another minute Kookie came running in.
"What's up, dad?"
"Can you get off for an hour or two?"
"Sure, what do you need?"
Stu gestured for Kookie to follow him. "See that angel we saved from a life of slavery tonight?"
"You mean the one asleep on your couch?"
"Somebody has to stay with her." Kookie looked confused, with good reason. "We're going to St. Vincent's Hospital. Jeff's been shot."
"How? Where? How is he?"
"There was an attack aimed at the Prince. That's all Gil knows right now. I'll call you when I know more."
Stu grabbed the baseball cap from his desk and put it on, pulling it down low over his eyes. With the clothes that Kookie had purchased for him earlier, blue jeans, a polo shirt and a windbreaker, the last person he looked like was Stuart Bailey. He hurried back out to the front desk and he and Suzanne went to the parking lot. They took Suzanne's car in case anyone was looking for Stuart's. "Which hospital?" she asked.
"St. Vincent's," Stu told her, and then shared with her everything Gil had told him. When they arrived at the hospital and parked, Stu took Suzanne's arm as if they were just an old married couple visiting a friend. "Jeff Spencer?" he asked the hospital receptionist, who gave them an odd look before answering.
"Intensive Care, Fourth Floor," the receptionist finally informed them, and they proceeded to the elevators.
"Intensive Care. That's not good, Stuart."
"You know how hospitals are, Suzanne. Especially with a gunshot wound. Over cautious," he replied, trying his best to reassure himself as well as Suzanne.
They were met by a uniformed officer when the doors opened on the fourth floor. "I'm sorry, folks, access to this floor is temporarily restricted."
Stu pulled out his wallet and showed the officer his identification. "Yes sir, Lieutenant Gilmore is expecting you. Room 416 down at the end of this hall."
They hurried down the hall, to room 416. It was an office of sorts. Gil was waiting for them; Stu had seen him happier. "What's the news, Gil? Where is he?"
"Sit down, you two. I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, Stu, Jeff's in bad shape. There were three assassins, waiting for them when they got off the elevator. The only reason Prince Bilal is alive is because of Jeff. He got two of the three; we caught the third one. All three Moroccans. Jeff came out of the elevator first, they saw the Prince and started shooting. He picked up two bullets; the one in the arm is just a flesh wound. The one in the shoulder is the problem. That's why the doctor's got him in the ICU."
"Are they going to let us in to see him?" Suzanne asked.
"Yes, but just for a few minutes. They may have to take him back into surgery. He's in room 412."
Stu took Suzanne's hand and they walked back up to 412. A doctor was in with him; when he realized they were waiting for him he came out into the corridor. "Are you Bailey?"
"I am. This is Suzanne. You're doctor . . . ?"
"Baker. He was asking for you earlier. I'll let you both go in if you promise not to upset him. 5 minutes is all you get, though."
Suzanne went in first; when Stu followed up behind her he saw that Jeff's eyes were closed. "You could have solved the problem nicely if you'd let him walk out of the elevator first."
There was a chuckle from the man in the bed. The voice was weak but steady. "Now how would that look the next time someone needs a bodyguard?"
"I am here, too, Jeff," Suzanne chimed in.
His eyes opened slowly. "Yes, you are. I had to see for myself. Stu – how are we going to limp along with me in the hospital and you dead?"
"That's not for you to worry about. I'll take care of it. Kookie wants to be a detective . . . he'll have to help out more."
"Where is he, by the way?"
"Back at the office, watching over Yasmine. I wonder how long it will take Bilal to miss her?"
"How is she?"
"She's fine," Stu told him, just as Jeff yawned. "Look, we're going to go. If I don't come back up you'll know why. If you do see me, you'll know I'm not dead anymore."
"Okay."
Suzanne leaned down and kissed Jeff on the cheek. "Hurry and get well. I'll be back to see you tomorrow."
"Sounds good." Jeff's eyes were closed as Stu and Suzanne left the room.
Dr. Baker was waiting for them. "Odds are we're going to have to perform another surgery to clean up that shoulder. We wanted to give it twenty-four hours to settle down before we did anything further. I'll let you know when we've made a decision."
As they left the hospital, Stu tried to cheer Suzanne up. "He's going to be alright. You know he is. He's a very lucky man, to have you worrying about him like this."
"I . . . I care about him, Stuart."
"I know you do, Suzanne, and he cares about you. Though why he won't admit it is beyond me." Stu shook his head, then pulled his cap back down low when he saw someone watching them from the parking garage. "Suzanne, can you get the car and pick me up at the front entrance?" They were on the far side of the parking lot, next to the garage.
"The man watching us?" Asking the question was a formality; Suzanne had spotted the figure not long after Stu did.
"I don't want him to get a closer look at me. Let's leave Stu Bailey dead for now. I'll go back inside, as if I've forgotten something, then you can meet me out front."
Suzanne went to get the car, and Stu went back into the hospital. He grabbed a newspaper and walked back out when he saw her pull up. The man in the parking garage was gone. "Do you think he recognized you?"
"I don't know. I guess we'll wait and find out."
They were both quiet on the way back to the office, until Suzanne broke the silence. "Jeff asked a good question, Stuart. What are you going to do with Jeff in the hospital and you presumed dead?"
"Play it by ear, Suzanne. I'll try to stay dead as long as possible to see what I can find out. But if I have to come out of hiding I will. Can you still take Yasmine home with you tonight? I'll have Kookie take her to the U.S. Consulate tomorrow."
"Yes, I can do that. At least she's not a slave anymore."
"We all did something good tonight, even though it cost us. We'll deal with tomorrow when it's here."