POCKET CHANGE 3: HIDE and SEEK
by Sharon R.
Chapter Seven
"Well, will you look at that." Carter perked up at the sight, then rose to his feet eager to reach the door.
Luka, too, was delighted to see who had come to the hospital and shared Carter's smile from behind him. A large clap of thunder simultaneously with the sharp lightening brightened the room through the large glass windows. As Luka saw who else was there, his joy was extinguished and replaced with a foreboding unease.
Carter opened the doors and welcomed the visitors in, bypassing the handshake and going instead for the hug. "My God, what brings you here?"
"Quite a story actually. You two blackguards are looking good. Tired, but good."
Luka gave Sean a quick hug too but looked beyond to the person accompanying him. "How is everything back at the camp?" he asked, trying to stay focused on his Irish friend though looking intently at who was with him. "Maggie giving you a hard time?"
"The camp is good, actually. Toomay has taken on more responsibilities, especially when I have to be away on business. And Maggie is… well, Maggie," he laughed.
Sam noticed the commotion in the trauma room and invited herself back in out of curiosity. Standing behind the guests, she noticed the difference in Carter's and Luka's demeanors. Carter was overjoyed by the man's presence, but Luka stood back. She knew him. Something wasn't right. Something made him terribly uncomfortable.
"Sean, I'd like you to meet Sam Taggart." Luka put his hand on her back as she politely shook Sean's hand. It was a subtle reference to their relationship. One which Sean got. "Sean Griffin is from the Alliance de Medecines Internationale. He is in charge of the camp in Pakwach, among other projects."
"Samantha?" Sean never hid his admiration for beautiful women. "A lovely lass indeed," he gave her as she blushed. "Pleased to meet ye."
"Who do we have here?" Sam asked, deliberately directing Sean's attention behind him.
"Well, this…" he had to reach back and put his arm around the shoulders of his friend, "… is Amanda. She is ten years old. Amanda, these are my doctor friends I told you about. John Carter and Luka Kovac, and Luka's friend Sam."
She hid behind Sean more out of avoidance than bashfulness. Amanda was an adorable freckle faced, fair skinned beauty of a girl. Her blue jeans and hip Old Navy t-shirt was her way of announcing her prepubescent stage of life, though the lavender windbreaker and pink backpack told the truth. Tall for her age, she came up to Sean's mid section, and she allowed him to hold her close to him.
The little girl looked up at the men and gazed back and forth. "You smell," she said pointing to Carter with a wrinkled nose, then to Luka, "and you talk funny."
"Charming." Sam couldn't quite help herself.
"My mom took pictures of you," Amanda said, pointing at Carter. "And lots of you too Luka."
Sensing Sam's unease at what must have been the realization of who this little girl was, Luka put his arm around Sam's shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze.
"Sean, is there something we should know?" Carter asked dubiously under his breath as his memory flashed back to the picture of Colleen's daughter at Bob's house.
"I suspect that we have some things to talk about, yes." Sean, too, tried to beat around the bush as he pointed at the child with his darting eyes. The room suddenly became quiet as it became clear that there would be no further discussion around Amanda.
"Sam," Luka asked, "why don't you take Amanda next door while we talk to Sean about boring business stuff."
"I don't know her," Amanda whined to Sean, "I'm not supposed to go with her. Does she know the code word?"
Sean bent over and leaned on his knees whispering in Amanda's ear. "No, Sam doesn't know the code, but I think she's safe, hmm? You can sit right there and watch us through the window. We're not going anywhere."
"Okay," she whispered back to him, all secret like, "but I'm not talking to her. You can't be too careful."
"Come on Amanda, I'll tell you all about my son. He's your age, and I bet you have a lot in common."
The three men remained silent until Sam and Amanda were safely in the next room with the doors closed.
"What's going on, Sean?" Luka asked, unable to take his eyes off of the miniature version of Colleen on the other side of the windows.
"It's not good, that's for sure." Sean tried to speak without letting on to the seriousness of the situation to the child who was intently watching through the window. "A couple weeks ago things outside the camp… I don't know… just started feeling wrong. Then last Thursday night there was a huge commotion in the distance, then a big fireball." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "In the middle of the night, Bob rousted me and told me that his little girl was in danger. That I was the only one who he could trust now to get her to safety."
"But he's traveled to remote locations before to see her, arranged by the CIA," Carter reminded Sean.
"You don't understand. Bob's tight circle of safety in Uganda collapsed, and the only way that could happen is if his own people turned on him. Now the question is, were they the locals who protected him? Were they finally convinced by the middle east terrorists who Bob exposed to turn on him? And if so, how far up does the corruption go?"
"Bob told you all this?" Luka asked, still stunned by the news.
"No, only that his layer of local protection suddenly dissolved. His compound was overtaken, his staff all killed with machetes. Othiamba was able to get him into the jungle, but his home was ransacked - gone over with a fine tooth comb, before they destroyed it."
"These people take out his loved ones first," Carter remembered out loud. "That's what Bob told us. Jeez… Why are you here?"
"He told me to bring Amanda to you, John. I guess he didn't know that Luka was back from Croatia. We haven't seen much of Bob since you left."
"Me? I don't know anything about kids."
"You're a doctor," Sean reminded him.
"I fix kids, I don't save them from terrorists."
"You saved Mbuto."
Carter grimaced and rubbed his tired face again with his hands hoping to wake up from the nightmare. "Where is Bob now?"
"Dunno. Got out of there as fast as I could. He gave me a code word that only his step-mother and Amanda know. Grandma nearly collapsed when I gave her the word. I guess she knows that that means her son is in danger. She's very old and frail. No way she could protect the child if those terrorists came after her."
"I've been getting weird phone calls at my house, Sunday and yesterday mostly. Can't make out what's said on the other end. Lots of static, then it goes dead."
"Here too," Luka added. "Carter, I meant to tell you that they've been getting calls like that for you here, but nothing today."
"Bob," Sean surmised. "Maybe he's still alive and trying to get you on a satellite phone."
"Oh, boy," Carter sighed. "What am I supposed to do with her?"
"You have help at the house still, don't you?" Luka mentioned as Carter nodded. "You can come to work and still keep her occupied safely."
"Huh! The cook is good with a knife, but I'm not so sure she could fend off an attacker at her age."
"Don't think I was followed. There is no reason they would think she was here. Grandma has gone to live with a friend in a home for old folks that doesn't allow children, so the connection should be broken."
"Okay, let me make some calls." Carter took out his cell phone and sat down on a stool in the corner of the room. "Sean, you can come back to the house and deal with her can't you?"
"Afraid not. I've got a flight out in a couple days. Got to get back to the camp. And I don't think it would be wise. Don't worry, I've got a room down the street. It's lovely really." He looked at the small plastic key chain. "Called the Blink Bonnie Motor Lodge."
Luka wandered into the room next door while Sean and Carter made arrangements. Amanda had sat down cross legged on the gurney holding the small backpack tight to her chest. She mindlessly played with small charms hooked to the zippers as she stared at Sean and Carter through the window.
"What are you two girls talking about?" Luka softly asked.
"I guess we're not talking," Sam answered. "But maybe that's a good thing."
"I don't have to talk to you," she finally spoke. "You're not my mother."
"No, she's not." Luka pulled a stool up and sat down, looking up into Amanda's face. "But you do have to mind your manners."
"I want to go home."
"I know you do, but for now your dad wants you to stay here in Chicago and live with Carter."
"I don't like him. He smells."
"Yes, well, that's temporary." Luka couldn't help but gaze at her face and marvel at how much she looked like her mother. The eyes, chin, hair. "You look a lot like your mother. I bet you even have her same smile." Amanda remained immobile as she tried to ignore the grown-ups. "What's in your bag there?" he asked.
"None of your business." But she couldn't keep everything a secret. "They're my special things."
"Girls need special things," Sam said as she pat Amanda's back tenderly. "You don't have to tell us what they are."
Carter and Sean joined them as Malik and Pratt took over Trauma-1 with a patient.
"… okay, and make sure that you introduce yourself to the house staff before they call the cops on you," Carter said into the cell phone before ending the call. "We're all set at the house," he said quietly into Luka's ear. "I've hired security to watch the house. There should be two people outside at all times."
"Are you talking about me?" Amanda asked.
Sean sat up on the gurney next to the red haired girl. "Uh-huh. You see, John had to call the people who work at his house so they could get it all ready for you, just like they would for a princess. But I have to go now. Hmm?"
As Amanda dipped her head, her long curly red locks of hair fell forward, hiding her face. "I don't want you to leave me alone."
"No, I'm not leaving you alone. Aye, I am giving my two very best blokes to you. They are like brothers to me, you'll see. Amanda," he put his finger under her chin, tilting her head up, "you have to be brave. Remember, you are on a mission for your Da. No tears, eh?"
"I'm always brave. And I don't cry. Ever." Her face hardened, her tiny freckles coming together as she wrinkled her brow. "My mom never cried."
"I know someone else who never cried," Luka added. "But that's because he didn't know how. He had never been loved and didn't know the difference between happy and sad. I bet you have been loved a whole lot."
"I don't cry."
Sean wrapped his arms around the girl and gave her a big hug before planting a kiss on her head. "You be a good girl, ye hear?"
"Are you going to go back to Africa to get my dad?"
"I'm going to do my best. Now, Princess, you have do your best too."
Giving Amanda one last hug, Sean hopped off the gurney. "Ta tu go h-aileann," he whispered in her hear before exiting the room, nodding a good-bye to Sam and Luka.
"Sean," Carter caught him before he got too far down the hall, "what do we do with her?"
The Irishman shrugged his shoulders and grimaced. "Dunno. I'll do what I can back in Pakwach to find Bob or Othiamba. I'm sure he knows how to get hold of you." Sean looked at the hopeless bachelor nervously combing his fingers through his hair. He didn't know what to say, so… "And you do smell, my friend. Even we have showers at the PCRC," he ribbed.
Carter groaned, totally getting Sean's bent sarcasm. "I showered, really." He put his arm around Sean's shorter shoulders just to spite him. "What is it you told her back there? It sounded like Klingon to me."
"That she was beautiful. Girls like that kind of thing, eh?" Sean raised his eyebrows a couple times, then pulled away from the ripe smell of his friend. "You ought to broaden your knowledge. Learn another language. The girls like that too."
"Yeah? Got any words of wisdom for me?"
"Beagan agus a ra go maith… Say little, but say it well." Sean stopped at the curb and turned to Carter. "If she's anything like her mother, and so far she is, that's pretty sound advice."
Carter laughed out loud and nodded in agreement. "I wish you could stay longer. When do you leave?"
"Flight out Thursday, so I've got another day and a half."
"At the Blink Bonnie…"
"Aye, nice little hotel. Cozy - I like it. It suits me."
"So are they charging by the hour or week?" Carter noticed that the joke went right over his friend's head. "Never mind. What are you going to do in the meantime?"
"Sleep mostly." The warming spring sun smacked them in the face as they stepped outdoors, prompting both to instinctively look up into the skies and squint away the early morning rays. "Heading over to Mercy later on to try and talk a couple young naïve doctors into joining the program."
"Have them give me a call. I'd be glad to answer any questions they might have."
"No offense, John, but your experience in the Congo isn't exactly worthy of promotion."
"That's low," Carter rebuffed, understanding Sean's sarcasm. "Why don't you come by tomorrow before shift change, say 6 o'clock, or before. Catch dinner with Luka and me."
"Sounds great. If you need me, ring up the hotel, leave a message at the desk. I don't believe I saw a telephone in the room."
"What? Listen, take my cell phone, take my Jeep." Carter reached in his pants pocket and gave Sean his keys and phone. "I need to be able to get ahold of you in case… I don't know, she implodes or something."
"Are ye sure?"
"Please, we'll be fine." Carter led Sean away from the curb towards the parking garage. "Come on. I'll point you in the right direction."
"Did you use soap?" Sean rubbed in.
"My dad is in charge of all the spies in Africa," Amanda boasted as she played with the drawstring of her windbreaker. "I bet he'll get here in a couple days. Thursday. Yep." She had convinced herself. Hopping off the gurney, she started peeking in drawers and cupboards, finally amusing herself with a roll of gauze and some instruments left behind on the mayo stand. "Are you rich?" she asked Luka as he took a pair of forceps from her. "Doctors make a lot of money."
"Ah, no," Luka answered. "I'm not rich."
"I am." Amanda was rather sure of herself as she bragged. "My mother is famous. She said that when she finished with her project we would move to someplace special and far away. We're going to build a huge mansion."
Luka dipped his head down and looked at her from his dark upturned eyes, not sure what to say.
"Don't look at me like that," the girl snottily threw out. "I know she's dead. But my dad has all her stuff at his house in Uganda."
"Did your father give you any of her things when he saw you in the Netherlands?" Luka asked.
"You know about that? 'Cause that was top secret." Amanda looked between Luka and Sam, then walked up to him and drew him forward with her finger so that she could whisper in his ear. "Should she be hearing this?"
Luka nodded. "Sam has been cleared," he lied convincingly.
"My dad gave me her backpack and her cameras. I guess that's all he could carry. But she lived in a beautiful house in Africa with servants and cooks and everything. I think he's gonna take me back there and we'll live in her house."
"Ready to go?" Carter stepped in the room and held the door open.
"She's going to love your house," Luka mumbled as he walked by him.
"What kind of car do you have?" she asked Carter on their way outside.
"A Jeep. Why?"
"Huh. I guess you doctors really aren't all that wealthy after all," she pined. "Are you a liberal or a conservative?"
"Does it matter?"
"Not if you don't know the difference. Where's your Jeep?"
"I gave it to Sean to use. We'll take a taxi." Raising his arm to flag down a passing cab, Carter stared down at the little girl. "Are you sure you're only ten?"
Men with secrets tend to be drawn to each other, not because they want to share what they know but because they need the company of the like-minded, the fellow afflicted. -Don Delillo 1926-, American Author
"What's this all about, Luka?" Sam asked as he watched Carter and the girl disappear into a cab.
"We better get back in there." Luka turned and went back through security towards the trauma room, empty once again.
"Luka?" Sam scurried to keep up with him. "Hey, slow down."
Luka stacked the charts that he and Carter had finished with, but put them back down on the gurney when he finally stopped long enough to see Sam's puzzled face.
"I get that she is this Colleen's daughter. But it's a mystery from there."
"She doesn't have any other family."
"She mentioned her father."
"Bob. He's a CIA agent. We know him from Congo and then the camp." Luka smiled to himself as he remembered what pains in the ass he and Carter were to Bob when they first met him. That memory took him all the way to the somber man standing in his home, numbing himself with as much scotch as possible as he prepared to tell his daughter that her mother had been killed… by…
"Luka?" Sam noticed his far off gaze.
"Bob helped us out - probably saved our lives."
"I don't get it. Why can't he take care of her?"
"His life is in danger and he needs someone to take care of Amanda. Someone he can trust."
"So Bob and Colleen ,the photographer, were married? And you and Colleen…?"
"They were married, briefly, in the middle east. That's where Amanda was born. She's been living down south with her grandmother." He wanted to tell her more, but at the same time the grave implications that the truth would have on her ability to ever trust him again, to retain the image of him that she had, far outweighed his need to be completely honest with her. Because of that, he had to shut the door. "There's a lot to it, most of which I can't explain."
"And she's better off with Carter?"
"Or me. Bob thought I was in Croatia." Luka nervously looked around the room before finally saying what was on his mind. "Sam, I think we should post pone our vacation."
"What? We've had this planned. I've made all the arrangements. It's all Alex has talked about. Luka, we're supposed to leave day after tomorrow," Sam pleaded.
"I can't leave John alone with this."
"Carter. Always Carter. We're only going to be gone for two weeks. We'll send them postcards. You… you can call them. He doesn't always need you." Her eyes welled with frustrated tears. "Carter has resources if he needs help. All I'm asking for is two weeks of you and Alex to myself."
She was right. He knew she was right. But it was Sam's fallen face that finally pulled him to her side of the argument. Luka walked around the gurney and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his long arms around her. "Alright," he said kissing her head, "just us on your secret vacation."
"I love secrets," a voice called out, "what is your secret vacation?" Artie had barged in to collect trash and mop the floor totally not cognizant of Luka and Sam embracing.
Luka cleared his throat and picked up the stack of charts. "I should get back to work." He smiled and winked at Sam as she wiped the stray tear away from her cheek, leaving her alone with Artie.
"Nurse Sam, you have a secret?"
"I do. Yes, I do, Artie."
Artie rubbed his hands together, all giddy with anticipation. "What is our secret?"
"It's not our secret, Artie. It's mine. And if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore."
"I always tell my mom my secrets, because secrets all by themselves are no fun. That's what she says."
Sam smiled and pulled a map from her pocket. "Okay, Artie. I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone else, especially Dr. Kovac." Artie nodded his head frantically. "Okay, you know your states?" Another nod. "We are going to go all the way here. It's a long drive." Sam traced with her finger along a highway. "And take a left at Fletcher's Motel onto Browns Falls Road. Over the rumble bridge and it's the first house on the right on the hill."
"Is that the name?" he asked as he pointed to the same area. "Os… Oswe…"
"Shhh. That's it. But don't say it out loud," she said playing along. "Now it's our secret."