Obsession

by Dee Dawning

  It threw the plane off slightly and slowed the plane's momentum enough where it couldn't lift off within the remaining runway. Instead, they dropped the ailerons down and reversed the engines in an effort to stop. It was too little too late as the behemoth went crashing through the perimeter fence.

  The slight impact was even more disastrous for Drew. His top-heavy SUV started skidding sideways at a hundred twenty. When Drew corrected, it skidded the other way and rolled over. It rolled and rolled some twenty times before it came to rest. The fire trucks hurried to the plane and Xterra, but the vehicle exploded into flames, seconds before they arrived.

  ~* *~

  Hopkins stuck his hands to the side and dipped his head. "What do you suggest we do, Ma'am?"

  Campbell dipped a single brow and pursed her lips. "I'm thinking we should draw them away from the women with some kind of decoy."

  Hopkins scratched his scalp. "Ah, I don't know, ma'am."

  "You're the big bad SWAT member. Don't you have any ideas?"

  He took a deep breath. "Maybe I should go take a look see. Which way is it?"

  Campbell pointed. "Through that door and to the right."

  Hopkins went creeping along on his toes. After about two minutes, he returned. "It looks like seven of them SOB's are now busy banging away, seems another of them poor lady folk got caught and is getting it in the mouth and vagina like some of the others, so we're down to nine actual thugs that aren't indisposed. I have an idea, but we need at least one more guy. Gilliam should be here in another minute. Let's wait for him."

  "Okay, but then we have to do something. What's your plan?"

  "Well I'm thinking you're idea about a decoy, might work, but it's probably not the kind of decoy you were thinking about."

  Campbell, a well-built, sexy woman, yelled. "Hey, does Prince Ali know what you're doing to his women? Wait 'till he finds out! Heads are going to roll!" That's why as planned all the lustful guards who weren't otherwise involved turned their attention toward her. Standing in the doorway, naked except for skimpy panties, she cupped her full breasts, and taunted, "First come, first served."

  When they ran toward her as she knew they would, she turned and ran down a hallway that ended in a narrow room with three desks, one at the end and one on each side. Campbell raced for the desk at the end and picked up the thirty-two shot Uzi Jamal had given her and ducked behind the desk. The ten guards, who'd chased her, stopped, confused. They were like sitting ducks as Gilliam, Hopkins and Campbell all opened fire. Campbell and Hopkins rushed back to the pool area, while Gilliam made sure they were all dead.

  When Campbell and Hopkins came in the pool area, the Don Juan's had abandoned their conquests, after hearing gunfire, for the safety of an AK 47, only they weren't fast enough. Like shooting ducks in a video game, all six succumbed in seconds.

  A huge explosion rocked the building giving new urgency to their exit plan. Campbell hurriedly re-dressed as Hopkins scrambled to get the women out of the building. She called Carboni on her radio mic. "We got all the bad guys in the women's area."

  "Good we're about to take on whoever is waiting for us on the twenty-eighth floor."

  Campbell signed off, joined Hopkins, where she greeted the women and hugged them before sending them to safety and freedom.

  Hopkins asked, "Wherever did you learn to use a gun like that? You were spectacular."

  "My whole family back in North Carolina were gun enthusiasts. My daddy and brothers taught me all about guns."

  After two hours and thirty-two minutes, all the women and the SWAT members were back on the mid-rise tower. Campbell hugged Hopkins and thanked him for everything.

  Hopkins held her hand and wouldn't let go. "You know you made quite an impression on me."

  "And you made an impression on me."

  "You wouldn't want to go to dinner and a show with me some night would you?"

  "Sounds divine…what's your first name, anyway?"

  Hopkins looked hopeful. "Billy. It's William Hopkins, but I go by Billy."

  "Well, Billy, thanks for asking. It does sound divine, but I think I got me a boyfriend. If it doesn't work out though, I'll look you up, I promise."

  Campbell walked over and hugged Jamal.

  "I was so worried for you my teeth were chattering," he said.

  "I was worried, too. You want to blow this place?"

  "You're asking me to leave with you? After what my father did to you?"

  She nodded.

  "Campbell, you are too much. Let's blow this place."

  Chapter Nineteen – The Funeral

  After finding a man who she could truly love, cruel fate took him away. According to the coroner, Drew had been burned so badly, the casket had to remain closed. The irony was that Drew had died in vain, because Prince Ali was not on the plane Drew had stopped from taking off. Sergeant Carboni figured he must have used the plane as a decoy while he slipped away on a commercial airliner.

  They held the funeral at Palm Mortuary. Drew's Mother, Magda, along with her husband, the Sultan, flew in from London to attend the ceremony. His well-known father, Scotty Stevens, also attended. Jamal gave a stirring eulogy, which brought tears to everyone's eyes, especially when they heard Mallory sobbing aloud.

  Approximately three hundred attended the somber affair to honor their fallen friend or relative. Ritchie Carboni was impressed. He wished he could have gotten to know the likable man better.

  Mallory was grief-stricken. Her beautiful face looked drawn and weary. She would cry at the slightest provocation. Ritchie was worried about her. He and Paige needed to watch her closely. They would take turns consoling her.

  The funeral was headline news. It seemed that Drew Khalid Stevens was popular. He was formerly a well-liked Navy SEAL who'd served heroically in Afghanistan, earning a silver star for bravery and a purple heart for being wounded. All major network news programs covered the funeral and so did every daily newspaper.

  After they interred Drew's body, Jamal held a party, a belated wake if you will, which he called a celebration of Drew's life. Blow-ups of Drew from birth to thirty-three, the age of his death, were spaced throughout the hall. Over a thousand flower arrangements were sent to the funeral and the overflow was on display around the hall.

  Both Stevens and Magda came up and introduced themselves to Mallory.

  Magda hugged Mallory. She held her out at arm's length and said, "Let me look at you. You are every bit as beautiful as Drew told me. He was smitten with you. He told me he wanted to marry you."

  "And I would have married him" Mallory began to ball again.

  Magda hugged and caressed her as if she would a distressed child. "I hope you don't mind, but I will always think of you as the daughter-in-law you should have been. I want to be your friend and confidant. If there's ever anything that you want or I can do for you, you must call me or come to me. Unlike my brother, the Sultan is a good man, a progressive and a friend of the West. When you feel up to it, I would like you to visit us."

  Scotty Stevens embraced Mallory as well. "Just remember," he said, "Drew was doing good work. He helped free dozens of captive women from a degenerate, hopeless life and we hope to free scores, maybe hundreds more who have been sold overseas." Mallory nodded and he went on, "Just remember he loved you. All he talked about was you. All he could think of. He agonized on the problem of how to keep you from being taken and not blowing his cover." Mallory began weeping again and Stevens held her head to his chest and patted her back.

  Like Drew's mother, his father said he thought of her as family and if she needed anything, he would be there to help. He left her with the number to his direct private line.

  Mallory was a zombie. She didn't talk, or eat. She couldn't sleep and when she managed to eat, it wouldn't stay down. Mallory lost five pounds that first week and five the next, down to a dangerous one hundred-two.

  Mallory was going downhill quickly. Her agent and all her friends were concerned, especially Carboni a
nd Paige. As they looked after Mallory, the hot sexual attraction between Paige and Sergeant Carboni cooled. Carboni being so dedicated to Mallory, may have been part of the problem. Then after Goodwin went back to his wife, Kelsey, to everyone's surprise, took up with Paige.

  When Paige found less and less time for Mallory, Carboni gladly filled the gap spending as much time as his job allowed with the inconsolable starlet. Nevertheless, Mallory continued to go downhill. She lost another four pounds and at ninety-eight pounds on her five nine frame was beginning to look like a walking corpse. Carboni was in despair, then a miracle happened, followed by two more.

  Campbell visited Mallory, acting as if they had known each other for life instead of one harrowing day. Campbell asked her to be maid of honor at her wedding to Jamal. She was going to wed Jamal in three months. That seemed to pick Mallory up. She had a purpose in life. It was a little thing, but it gave her something to look forward to.

  Campbell said, "Jamal is such a sweet man, the opposite of his father. He was attracted to me right from the beginning, yet he refused to let himself come and take me. He said he didn't want me unless I wanted him, too. I'll tell you, it wasn't long after we started dating that I wanted him. But I'll tell you about that sordid girl stuff when your handsome Captain isn't around." She winked at Carboni.

  "It's Lieutenant, Campbell. It was Sergeant, but I got promoted to Lieutenant."

  Mallory turned and gazed at Carboni. It was like the first time she noticed him since the escape. He really is handsome.

  "Oh, that's right. I guess I keep thinking that because after all the good work you did you should be a Captain." Campbell laughed.

  Looking back to Mallory and smiling, she continued, "Anyway, I was reluctant to accept Jamal's marriage proposal because of what went on in the harem, especially knowing how much Muslim men value the purity of women, but he says he doesn't care if I had sex with others, before and during my time at the Babylon. He feels terrible about what his father did to me and the others and is amazed that I don't blame him. Hell, he was instrumental in getting everybody out. He said he loves me and wants to make up for what his father did. I told him I loved him and to forget making things up."

  Mallory was delighted. Drew liked Jamal and that was good enough for her. Then miracle two happened. Campbell, sensing Mallory was in trouble, called Jamal and told him she was going to stay on for a couple of days and visit with her new friend.

  The first morning, while having coffee, Mallory ran to the bathroom. When she came back Campbell asked, "What happened?"

  "I don't know. For the last two weeks, I've been getting sick in the mornings."

  Campbell jumped up. "Get dressed."

  "What for?"

  "We're going to Planned Parenthood."

  "What for?"

  "I think you're pregnant."

  "But I can't be. I only had sex with Drew one time and he wore a…" Mallory stopped when she remembered what Morina had told her. The doctor found sperm inside you. "Let's go. I'll be dressed in five minutes."

  ~* *~

  Malloy was delirious with joy. The results of the test were conclusive. She had been given back her Drew, or to be exact, his progeny. "This is such fabulous news. Let's celebrate. Let's have lunch. I'll treat." It was a beautiful day, Mallory picked her favorite Coffee and Bread shop on Sunset Blvd. Sitting outside, Mallory ordered turkey on croissant sandwich that filled the plate, a side of fries and iced tea while Campbell ordered a Cesar salad and iced tea.

  "Are you going to be able to eat all that?" Campbell wondered aloud.

  Mallory nodded. "Yes, I haven't had a decent meal since the escape. I was, am heartbroken, but now, I have a little piece of what I lost growing inside me and it needs nourishment. I've never felt like this before—so needed."

  Campbell had an idea. "Since you're in such a good mood, having so much fun for a change and feeling so needed, how about I call up Ritchie and see if there is anyway he can join us?"

  "Good idea. I can't wait to tell him about the baby."

  That led to miracle three. When Carboni arrived, Mallory had a new appreciation of the handsome detective. When he hugged her, she hugged him back harder and longer. Her face was bright and cheerful. As he sat down, Mallory scrutinized him. Things had changed. She no longer saw the nice man who was trying to make her hurt go away. What she saw now was a very good-looking man. A good and loving man, who was a potential lover, husband and father for her baby, Drew's baby.

  ~* *~

  Ritchie was a little overwhelmed. Campbell was lovely as usual and grinning like a Cheshire cat, but what was unsettling was Mallory. After six weeks of unabated miserable grief, she was suddenly radiant. Her face beamed happiness. She stared at him. It was different. When she looked at him before, it was as if she was looking through him instead of at him. Now, she gazed at him with intense interest.

  Mallory leaned forward. She kissed his cheek. "You're so good to me and I just ignore you. I don't deserve you."

  There was a new look in her eyes. Something he had never seen unless she was talking about Drew. But they weren't talking about Drew. "Please don't talk like that. You just went through a horrible ordeal and lost the man you love."

  "That's no excuse to ignore my most devoted friend. Things will be different." She took his hand and he felt something pass between them. He was suddenly happy. She kept holding his hand, then put her other hand on top of their two hands.

  She looked at him dreamily and said, "Campbell asked you here so I could tell you something which makes me really happy. Guess what?"

  Epilogue

  Jamal went to the Watergate apartment as directed. He rang the doorbell.

  "Come in. The door is unlocked."

  Jamal stepped inside. The man was staring out the third story window. "Everything is going as you planned."

  "Tell me."

  "After a bumpy six weeks, where it looked like we were going to lose her, she turned it around with my fiancée's help. Things began to fall into place when she learned she was pregnant. She started seeing the starry-eyed police lieutenant in a different light. She started a business and it hasn't been announced yet, but she and the lieutenant, plan on getting married in four months."

  "Tell me about the business."

  "Well, Campbell asked Mallory if she could inquire if her agency could use Tiffany who had modeling experience. When they said they had no openings, she started her own agency. She is still under contract with her original agency so she can't model for her agency for two more years, but with a nucleus of Tiffany, Brenna and Candy—the nude dancer from Chaz's, along with a few other beauties from the Babylon, her agency is making quite a splash."

  "What is the name of her agency?"

  "Don't laugh. It's Harem Inc."

  He chuckled, "I love it. She always had a sense of humor."

  "How's Morina?"

  "She is doing great. She has taken over as entertainment director after the previous one was arrested and our main show Tower of Babel is doing better than ever. She and a police sergeant named Billy Hopkins are seriously involved. Again, the work of my matchmaker fiancée." Jamal went on. "Hopkins was the Swat team member that went over to the tower with Campbell. Afterwards he asked her out. I was worried for a minute, but she declined and later introduced him to Morina."

  "Tell me about Carboni."

  "A good man. He had a brief fling with Paige, but it is over and he is devoted to Mallory. In fact, he idolizes her."

  "Yes, I thought he would be a good match."

  "Tell me about the wedding."

  "Are you sure you want this wedding to go forward?"

  "Why would I want to stop a wedding I helped set up?"

  "Because it is you, dear cousin, who should be walking down the aisle with this extraordinary woman. Not the police Lieutenant who picks up your scraps."

  Khalid turned around with intensity in his eyes.

  Jamal winced. He wondered if he would ever get used t
o the disfigurement Khalid had suffered on the left side of his face and neck from second and third degree burns in the accident. "Do not talk about the lieutenant in that manner. I will not have it. How many men have the fortitude to marry a woman who is carrying the child of another? And do not think for a moment that my heart does not ache for this woman, but look at me. She would cower before my hideous countenance. Even you have trouble looking at me, Jamal."

  "Perhaps, but there are doctors who can fix you up like new. It seems you should let Mallory decide. After all she loves you as you love her."

  "No! True, I'm counting on the doctors to make me look presentable, but as good as new? It is doubtful. Besides, you do not understand." Drew paused as if to control his emotions.

  "It's true that I absolutely adore Mallory, but I had four months of following her and learning all about her to fall in love with her. She had six hours of glorious sexual fulfillment with me. She confused sexual attraction and sexual bliss with love. It wouldn't last. It's not really love. There's a chance it could grow into love, but it's only a chance." A pained sigh escaped from deep within Drew. He leaned on his desk and found the strength to continue. "My dear cousin, I'm a repulsive shell of what I was and she thinks I'm dead.