Nemesis: Innocence Sold
Page 44
He knew the raw, deep laugh, but it definitely didn’t belong to his father. “I’d definitely like to bend you over my knee, but I’m not your father, Daniel,” Mark said with a smile.
“Sorry . . . I—” Daniel began and broke off. His throat was raw. Every word hurt; presumably, he had been given artificial respiration. A coughing attack made any further words impossible.
Mark seemed to be able to read minds. He held a cup with a bent straw out to Daniel.
After a few sips of water, his throat felt better, and his thoughts were completely clear. While he had only noticed Mark earlier, he now saw Sandra, who was leaning on his boss, asleep. Mark had his arm around her, keeping her from falling off her chair. “Welcome back, Daniel.”
“How long was I out? And why?”
“Four days. They almost lost you during the operation, and you fell into a coma. When Konstantin gave us the news it was difficult. But Henrik has assured us it was relatively normal after such an injury and operation, particularly because you were somewhat battered already.”
“How am I?” Fear shot through Daniel. “Will I be able to . . . ?”
“You will be completely healthy again. Five weeks from now at the latest, I want to see you on the obstacle course. The bullet missed the most important internal organs but scratched some things up, and vessels had to be repaired. Your colleagues can explain the details to you.”
“I’m not sure I want to know about it in that much detail.”
Through narrowed eyes, Daniel looked at the various devices that were monitoring his body; then he reached out a hand and, with effort, touched a switch. “That’s superfluous,” he said. “What I would like most is to . . .”
“What? Get up and walk? You know, Daniel, I remember what you did to me when I had similar thoughts. And there are some people waiting outside you didn’t mess around with when they got hit. As soon as the relief is gone, you’ll be done. You’re going to be good and lie here until Konstantin and I allow you to get up. Understood, Lieutenant?”
Still rebellious, Daniel returned Mark’s look. “I’m responsible for medical matters, Captain. Not you!”
Rather than continuing their usual argument, Mark laughed and bent forward, to the extent this was possible with his arm around Sandra. Carefully, he laid a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “I’m damned happy you got through this, Daniel. In the next few days, I’ll think about whether your behavior was brave or stupid.”
A leaden weariness descended on Daniel, and his eyes were threatening to close again when the voice of his team leader pulled him back. “Put your arm out to the side some.”
Daniel did what Mark asked, although he didn’t understand why. Then he saw with blurry vision that Mark had lifted Sandra. She made a sound of protest and snuggled closer to Mark, who raised an eyebrow, grinning, and gently laid her on the bed next to Daniel. “I have no idea what regulations this violates, but it feels right to me.”
Daniel nodded as Sandra, sleeping, nestled against him. “Keep my colleagues away from me. I want to sleep for a few more hours. Then they can start in on their crap.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Sleep well, Doc.”
Daniel heard Mark being assaulted with questions as soon as he had opened the door. He knew the voices. Everything was as it should be. With his arm around Sandra, he fell asleep again.
CHAPTER 36
A prickling in his arm, in combination with quiet, clearly angry voices, tore Daniel out of his sleep. Confused fragments of thought only partially made sense, and until he had definitively identified his environment, he wouldn’t show that he was halfway awake. He tensed the arm that was hurting and saw Sandra’s head lying on it. He could live with that, but this was definitely not his bedroom. His memory returned slowly while he listened to the whispered conversation.
“I think this is going too far,” a woman said.
“Now calm down, or you’re going to wake them. Do you really want to take on the head physician?” a second woman, who spoke with a strong East German accent, said.
Silence, then a quiet snort. “I’d rather take on Konstantin von und zu Blücher, who’s a gentleman, than one of those guys out there. None of them seems to know what a razor is—and some of them are carrying guns. I thought that brown-haired guy was going to shoot me when I protested about the number of visitors in the room.”
It was getting to the point where Daniel had to keep himself from laughing. He would have loved to have known whether it was Dirk or Mark that had put the fear of God into the nurses. Amused, he listened to the typical sounds caused by the changing of infusion bags and the readying of new cannulae. There was busy silence; then it continued. “I’d like to know what’s behind that. VIP treatment like this isn’t normal, and then Dr. Fischer came by right away. He’s the expert on coma patients and so on. He must have other things to do than drop by here morning, noon, and night. Maybe he’s a famous actor? And the others are bodyguards? The guy with the long hair looks like he would be on television. First I thought he had something going on with our mysterious patient, because he never left his side until that brown-haired guy threw him out. But that wouldn’t fit with the girl.”
Too bad Sandra hadn’t heard that—that would have been interesting.
Paper was crumpled and thrown away, accompanied by a deep sigh. “Finally, something interesting happens here for once, and I have no idea what’s going on. Life’s unfair.”
By this point, the other woman sounded impatient. “Oh, stop it. Curiosity is fine, but you’re overdoing it. The readings look good, in any case, and don’t let Dr. von Blücher hear you speculating like that. His instructions were clear.”
When the door closed Daniel knew he was alone with Sandra again and opened his eyes. His amusement over the nurses disappeared when he took a closer look at her. Dark shadows lay under her eyes, and for the first time he noticed fine wrinkles at the corners of her mouth. Although she was sleeping peacefully, she looked so lost and exhausted that he felt pain shoot through him. With clenched teeth, he tested the extent to which he could move his arm and pulled her closer. Instead of nestling against him as expected, she opened her eyes and looked at him, blinking.
“Daniel? My God, what happened?”
“Mark thought you’d be more comfortable here.”
“Mark?” Puzzled, she looked around; then she seemed to come to her senses. “You’re finally awake,” she said.
“In contrast to you, it seems.”
Finally, the sparkle in her eyes returned. She sat up and grinned, much more relaxed than before. “Sure. I haven’t slept through the past four nights. I just can’t believe I fall asleep and wake up and then you’re finally back. I think I’m dreaming.”
“Should I pinch you so you know it’s real?” Daniel asked with a smile.
“No, just hold me.” She cautiously embraced him and fought against rising tears. Although the position and embrace required effort from him and triggered a painful pounding in his stomach, he held her until her shoulders stopped shaking. “I’m sorry,” she said, reaching for a stack of paper towels on a tray next to the bed.
For the first time, Daniel didn’t know what to say; after all, in a way it had been his fault she had suffered so much—although he would do the same thing if he had it to do over again. There had been no other options.
“Will you tell me about everything I’ve missed?” he asked.
“Yes, I will. Will it hurt you if I snuggle up to you again?”
“No, and if it does, it will be worth it. I fear we don’t have much time before the doctors come back.”
“I don’t understand where everyone else went. Tom had been here the entire time, too. But eventually Mark threw him out. He was completely exhausted and has two broken ribs. Just don’t ask me when that was, because my sense of time is completely gone. Stephan only went out to make phone calls and for a brief visit to his family, and then there were the others, of course. Oh, your sister’s
here, too. Mark talked to her on the phone, and she wanted to come no matter what, so Mark arranged a flight for her.”
“Ann?”
“Do you have another sister?” she asked, needling him. “Why, what is it?”
He was gradually getting used to having her read him like an open book, so he wasn’t surprised she had immediately seen how uncomfortable he felt. “I just don’t like the idea that you and Ann and the others have been worried. The long flight alone must have been horrible for her.”
“Then you had better not get in the way of any bullets in the future. But she wasn’t alone; she came with a friend, and Tom brought her together with Henrik, Shara, and Konstantin. That distracted her quite well.”
“What friend?”
“No idea. I’ve forgotten the name; sounded like the name of a dog. An older guy. He was just here briefly and then drove off somewhere with Jake and Andi.”
That sounded like Admiral Hector Russell. Perhaps he would take the opportunity later to find out to what extent his jungle experience had corresponded to reality; at the moment that didn’t particularly interest him. His ability to concentrate was still extremely limited, and he was as tired as if he had been awake several nights. He studied the label on an infusion bag. He had no objection to painkillers, but their side effects were considerable, and he wanted to have a clear mind. Despite Sandra’s shocked gasp, he stopped the flow of liquid and detached the tube from the cannula. “That’s enough. That stuff’s keeping me from thinking clearly.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” a well-known voice said from the door. With large steps, Konstantin approached Daniel’s bed and gazed at him with disapproval. “I’m afraid a few clarifying words are in order here. To begin with, I’m of course glad you’re awake and able to converse. But I cannot definitively rule out a brain injury at this time. I’ll put this simply: you patient, me doctor. You do what I say. Do you understand so far, Daniel? I must be able to depend on you not to discontinue your medication on your own initiative. It’d be news to me if you had had the opportunity to study your chart. The operation wasn’t child’s play, and I expect you to behave reasonably. Do you understand?”
Daniel nodded. He wasn’t in the proper condition for a lengthy exchange.
With a snort, Konstantin sat down on the edge of the bed, which made a creaking sound under the weight of a third person. “I don’t understand why this had to happen to me, of all people. Thanks to my own experiences with Pat and the stories relayed to me by an esteemed colleague at the Bundeswehr hospital in Wandsbek, I know that as patients, SEALs make unreasonable demands on doctors, and I, of all people, get one who is also a valued colleague. When you leave the hospital, I’ll probably have an ulcer.”
“So how would it be if you released me immediately?” Daniel said.
Konstantin’s smile contained a dose of malevolence. “So this is clearly a brain-damage case,” he said, registering Sandra’s laugh with obvious satisfaction. Then he stood up and clapped his hands. “That’s enough fun. Sandra, would you please go out and keep the horde at bay for about fifteen minutes? Then a short visiting period will be permitted, in connection with which I have already waived the restriction on the number of visitors to a maximum of two at a time. But in one hour there will be peace and quiet here, or I’ll alert the MEK, the SEK, GSG 9, the CIA, the NSA, Starfleet, and whoever else occurs to me. You need peace and quiet, and I’ll see to it that you get it.”
“Have you ever thought about a career as a staff sergeant?” Daniel asked.
“No, maybe a side job at a day care center—my experiences with you would be of use to me there. Now get out of here, Sandra. I don’t need a concerned girlfriend keeping an eye on me while I carry out the necessary tests.”
EPILOGUE
Three weeks later
Daniel wondered when Sandra would explode. To be on the safe side, he had tilted the passenger seat back somewhat and closed his eyes to gain some time and think about possible sins. She had unmistakably expressed her opinion about his daily running. But after he had explained to her that he felt good and that it was time he worked on his weakened physical condition, she had calmed down. That couldn’t be it.
Stephan had been very accommodating with regard to Sandra’s working hours, so they had enjoyed the last few days together for the most part. She had already moved into his place, and she was planning to finally clear out her apartment the following weekend. The new job and living together seemed to agree with her; that made her obvious anger more puzzling.
Despite the meeting that lay ahead of them now, the day had begun with such promise: during a meeting with Jake and Mark, his superiors hadn’t criticized him but had respected his actions and even stressed that it had been his decision, made within the framework afforded by his own command authority. None of them had been happy about his injury, but that was a different topic. This risk existed in connection with all of their missions.
A thought occurred to him that he immediately rejected. In a little over two weeks, he would leave with the team on a mission that could easily last two months, but Sandra would hardly know anything about that. Furthermore, she knew his job, and they were sure they would be able to bridge the time with phone calls and e-mails. Even on missions to Afghanistan, he wouldn’t be entirely out of reach, thanks to cutting-edge technology. His brooding ended when Sandra turned down the volume on the stereo. Although he wasn’t a fan of Bruce Springsteen, he sensed he was about to face something worse than Springsteen’s treacly ballads.
“You know Konstantin’s extremely angry with you, right?”
In order to evade the head physician’s anger, he had waited for an opportune moment when he had released himself, but that was more than a week ago. Either this was just the introduction to Sandra’s actual argument, or this was a distraction from her anger.
“He’s not. The bottle of French cognac more than made up for it; besides, he had to admit I was right. I’m absolutely fit again. I’m sure you noticed that last night, right?”
His answer earned him a quiet snort. Sighing, he brought the seat back to a vertical position. “What’s with you? Would you rather be at the office?”
“No way,” she said with horror.
Daniel was seriously concerned. Apparently, she wasn’t as satisfied with her new job as he had thought. They would be driving for a good thirty minutes yet, more than enough time for a few clever interrogation tactics if his frontal attack should remain unsuccessful. “What is it? I’m afraid you’re going to bite my head off, and I don’t even know why.”
Finally, a smile brightened her grim expression. “You can feel fear? Then you’d never have undertaken such an irresponsible, suicidal act.”
He didn’t care for Sandra’s choice of words, but this wasn’t the time for an argument. “Could you please stop diverting? What’s wrong?”
“You mean aside from the fact that I consider this meeting totally stupid?”
Daniel was gradually becoming angry. After all, the meeting between him and Paulsen wasn’t taking place at his request. However, because he was certainly catering to interests of his own in that regard—interests he carefully concealed from Sandra—he strove for a calm tone. “I’ll explain it to you one more time: if the prosecution is prepared to give me the same status as an undercover agent so my name doesn’t become known to the public, then I can spare a few minutes to speak to Paulsen. It would make Natascha’s work quite a bit easier if he’d finally make a statement or, better yet, confess. But we’ve talked about all this already. What’s wrong?” This time he enunciated the question with exaggerated clarity to show her that his patience was exhausted. Sandra only tightened her grip on the steering wheel, remained silent, and accelerated the Mercedes, despite the fact that she had already been speeding.
“All this back and forth about the jurisdiction of the prosecutor’s offices is completely annoying, but I’m glad Hamburg has finally won over Schleswig-Holstein.”
“I hate doing the right thing when it’s actually wrong. But someone has to do it. And after all, that’s exactly what I accused Mark of back then, and now I’m no better than that.”
Daniel didn’t know what to do with this declaration. Before he could express his displeasure, Sandra gave in. “I found out yesterday morning that no charges are going to be filed against a number of Paulsen’s clients. Allegedly, there’s insufficient evidence, but purely coincidentally this is only the case where well-known people are implicated.”
This was completely new to Daniel. “Just a second. I thought the proof of payments Dirk and Jake had dug out would be enough.”
“Well, we all thought that, but apparently not. And I fear Paulsen might go to a nice hospital for a few months instead of being put in prison.”
Since they were on their way to a renowned private clinic near Kiel, in which Paulsen was being treated following an alleged nervous breakdown, Sandra’s fear was certainly justified. But Natascha was still sure that an expert would confirm Paulsen’s legal culpability, and he would be transferred to the regular penal system. Daniel preferred to trust in the prosecutor’s assessment, although he had already thought through various outcomes, such as an acquittal or an extremely light sentence. Such a result would lead to a serious conflict between himself and the German justice system; he had therefore decided to wait and see how everything played out. As long as no sentence had been passed, all such speculations were a complete waste of time, but Sandra had apparently not confined herself to waiting.