Arranged by the Stars (9 page)

“
Stay where
you are,” The clean British accent said.

The man that held him
down smelt of cheap alcohol and tobacco and…olive oil. Why he
caught the smell of olive oil, he wasn’t sure, but it was
distinctive.

His gaze focused on the
limited visibility he had in his office. He remembered the visit
with Ash at the hospital and coming back here to do paperwork. He
even remembered nodding off to sleep. His gaze squinted at the
clock in the distance. The numbers blurred but it pointed to three.
Was it three in the morning?

With nothing out of place
it could only mean one thing. His cheap olive oil smelling friend,
and his British accomplish had the keys and alarm code to the
building. He hadn’t heard the alarm go off, or the sound of sirens
that meant the police were close.

His jaw clammed down
hard. What were these thugs after? “We don’t keep money here. You
do know this is a free clinic,” his head was held down against the
desk. The muscle in his neck hurt from the pressure but he didn’t
make a sound. They weren’t planning on killing him. If he couldn’t
identify them, they had to let him live. Right?

“
If you send
a diabetic to a candy store, do you think they’d go for the money?”
The high-pitched laugh grated on his nerves.

Drug dealers. He knew it
was a problem in Goa and he’d experienced it first hand with
Shelley and her child. “We don’t carry much stock. It’s also kept
locked and I don’t have the key code,” Kieran lied.

This time they both
laughed on the inside joke. “We don’t need your code.”

The hairs at the back of
his neck stood on end. Everything about this didn’t make sense. How
did they get the key? Why would they have the code to the drug
cupboard?

He couldn’t see what they
were up to, but they looked at home in the office. This was where
the drug cupboard was kept. Had always been kept for safety
reasons. A brief moment of panic dropped in his gut. Was his father
involved? Even as the thought entered his mind he knew it couldn’t
be true. His father was against anything illegal.

The British man had on a
bluish cotton suit. It reminded him of the reruns of Miami Vice. In
fact if he squinted just right he could swear, the man even combed
his hair back and folded his sleeves like the main character from
the TV series.

“
How did you
get the code and keys for this place? This is my father’s clinic. I
will bet my life on it that he wouldn’t have given the keys to
you.” The pressure Mr Olive guy applied on his head increased. His
father would never be involved with these thugs. Not the man who
had given up everything to make sure he had the best
education.

He heard tapping on the
front door, then footsteps moving closer. The soft curse didn’t
register in the unsympathetic room. His gut clenched as he heard
Ash’s voice in the distance. “Kieran, are you here? I called the
hotel and you weren’t answering. She’s stable. Sara is―” Ash was
getting closer.

The pressure against his
neck was painful. Mr Olive man didn’t like the idea of guests.
Kieran tried to turn but couldn’t. “Why don’t you leave her out of
this?”

The man in charge came
closer and leaned over. He took a switchblade out of his back
pocket and pressed the switch that made the blade shoot out with a
loud clack. Hoping to intimidate he touched the tip with the point
of his finger. “The boss wasn’t impressed with the delay in his
delivery this month. I think we need something to sweeten the
deal.”

At the mention of a
delivery for the month, Kieran knew this was a lot more serious
than he’d anticipated. He tried to think through his options, but
Ash’s footsteps were getting closer. These men didn’t look like the
type who would negotiate. “I can give you what you want. Leave now
and take what you want.”

The man in charge gave
him a mouthy grin showing off his gold fillings. When he flexed his
muscle as he placed the tip of the knife on the desk, Kieran
noticed a tattoo that resembled a scorpion. “That’s a tempting
offer that I won’t refuse. I will leave. With the girl and I
promise to be in touch.”

Kieran tried to turn and
see more of his captors but all he remembered next was the thwack
and darkness.

*****

The first thing he saw
was the big clock. Four thirty. His fingers touched the sore part
of his head and when he looked down at them, he saw sticky redness.
He wasn’t sure what they hit him with, but the waves of pain and
nausea were intermittent.

The office had signs of a
struggle. Ash wouldn’t have gone quietly. His groan echoed in the
empty room. Where would they have taken her and who would know? Who
was in on this? Jessie? Latha? He knew his father wouldn’t be
involved but he needed to make sure.

His heart raced, as the
foundations of his world came apart. Ash had to be safe. He would
never forgive himself if anything happened to her. They’d taken his
cell phone and cut the wires on all the phones in the office. For
crooks, they weren’t the smartest. He looked around for his car
keys. Gone. They were trying to slow him down. It would have been a
great tactic if he had known where to go.

His skill set was simple.
He was trained as a doctor and when he failed at that he developed
a patient management system, which doctors now used. Geeky stuff.
Put him in an office with a computer and software programming, and
he could kill things. In the real world, he was
crippled.

With a chest full like
titanium implants, it hurt to breathe. His hands twisted into fists
so tight, he felt pain. He had to find her. Whatever it took, he
would find her. His first two moves were communication and
mobilisation. After he got a car and purchased a cell phone from a
local store, his next stop was the hospital.

Even as he opened the
door to his father’s room, he knew that however he asked the
question, it would sound like he was accusing someone he cared
about of being a drug dealer. It would result in pain. His parents
were sound asleep. They had put an extra bed in his father’s room
for his mother who had refused to leave her husband’s
side.

His father’s breathing
was deep and his heart rate was slowly settling. All good signs to
a quick recovery.

His mother stirred and
woke when she realised he was in the room. “Kieran, it’s early,
what are you doing here?” Julie rubbed her eyes.

Anil stirred and then
settled back to sleep. Kieran sighed wondering how he could ask the
question on his mind. The question that could save Ash.

“
Is that
blood on your shirt?” Julie was at his side turning his head from
side to side, to make sure he wasn’t hurt.

Too late. He had been
hurt and worse than that. He was about to question his parents and
most likely break their hearts.

“
Ma, someone
broke into the clinic this morning.” If he waited maybe she would
tell him. Then he wouldn’t have to ask. The cowards way out but how
could he ask his parents if they were drug dealers?

Her arms went around him
and she squeezed so tight, he couldn’t breathe. “You’re okay. They
let you go. You’re okay.” Tears streamed down her eyes while she
continued to hold him.

He didn’t need to know
more than that. Whatever was going on, they knew. The only question
was, why were they not telling him?

He slowly pulled away and
forced her to meet his gaze. “Ma, what’s happening? They took Ash.
You need to tell me what’s going on.”

“
Your Papa
didn’t want you to work there. He didn’t want you involved. This is
all wrong.” She sniffed and turned away from him.

Kieran watched his father
and wondered what went wrong. “I don’t believe it. Not Papa. He
wouldn’t.”

Julie placed her hand on
his shoulder. “No it’s not your father. It’s Latha. She had some
problems. After Johnny died, and then you left―it was hard for her
to cope. I know it’s not an excuse to use drugs, but she felt lost.
We tried to help, but it wasn’t enough. We sent her away for a
while hoping to fix things. Those people are bad and they keep
coming back.” She went to his father’s side and held his hand.
“Your father was scared you would feel responsible.”

Did his father blame him?
He certainly blamed himself. All of this was his fault. The
problems with Latha, definitely his fault. He had promised Johnny
he’d take care of her, and he didn’t. Couldn’t then, couldn’t
now.

How could he fix this
mess when he had no idea how to start? Short of collapsing in a
heap and admitting defeat now, he had no beacon of hope.

“
I’m sorry
Ash got mixed up in this,” Julie said.

Now what? Report this to
the police and hope for the best? He looked around the hospital
room. If this were Ash, she wouldn’t sit around. She wouldn’t hand
it to someone else and then sit back. She tracked him down, almost
lost her job to hand him a wedding ring he didn’t need.

She didn’t sit in her
room and sulk when she couldn’t tie a sari, something most Indian
girls would’ve done. She went on the Internet and learnt how to do
it. Yes, it was wrong, but she tried. Then when a jellyfish stung
her, she screamed like hell, and instead of calling an ambulance,
she put lemon juice on the welts.

Here he was a
grown adult sitting with his mum, wondering what he should do when
a drug dealer kidnapped his pretend fiancée. His fingers combed
through his hair as his jaw clamped shut. When he touched the
tender spot on his head that felt sticky with blood, he smothered a
curse. Ash wouldn’t sit here and wait.
Dammit, neither would I.

In two hours he had
enough information on the drug dealers in Goa to know where most of
them sold their substances and where their popular hangouts were.
The information was broken down to what they loved to sell, and to
who, and what their personal drug of choice was.

He also knew the name of
every member of the special anti narcotics cell that operated out
of the police department in the local police station. But all of
that information wasn’t any good without someone who could
infiltrate the organisation and kick down doors for him.

Four hours and the clock
continued to tick. Still no news if Ash was alive.

*****

Ash had spent time in the
good part of town and the bad part of town, but this was ten times
worse. There was definitely the smell of salt and sea, but she
hadn’t smelt death so rife before. Her legs had grown numb and as
she twisted to a more comfortable position in the dark, murky place
she was in, she squirmed. Was that human flesh? It was too warm to
be dead human flesh.

Her immediate reaction
was to pull back, but it took forever to make one motion of her
limb happen. The thing she touched made a groaning sound. A barely
human sound.

It was hard to do
anything with her hands tied, but she tried rolling slowly onto her
side. The small enclosure was more like a mud…she tried to feel the
sides to see if it was a hut. Maybe a building? Her gaze went up to
the sky. She could smell earth. The damp earthy smell held a hint
of sea and fish. A thick, heavy curtain of darkness covered the
enclosure.

Another sound from her
companion. “Are you okay?” she asked.

As her legs stretched
out, she realised there wasn’t much space in this dungeon like
cell. When she kicked out at the end, the edge started falling
in.

She was in a grave. About
to be buried. Alive. With a stranger.

“
Stop it.” A
female voice. Weak, but audible. Indian. Posh. “You will bury us
alive.”

“
Thanks for
the newsflash, but I already figured that out.” Ash couldn’t see a
thing, but she knew there had to be a way out.

The moment that idiot
tried to take hold of her, she knew they were amateurs. Who would
send low life thugs to kidnap her? It’s not as though Kieran would
pay millions for his pretend girlfriend. They got it so
wrong.

“
Would you
stop it? The more you fight it, the smaller you make the grave.”
The know-it-all stranger said.

Ash dragged out a slow
breath. “How long have you been here?”

“
Two days.
Unfortunately I tried to kick my way out and ended up with a
smaller living space.” She sighed.

Her voice was pure-bred
university trained. Maybe Oxford? She had to be smart, so what was
she doing here? Not that it mattered because right now Ash wanted
to go home. Even if it meant the real home she had waiting for
her.

“
What are you
thinking?” the stranger asked.

“
The fate I
have waiting for me, pales in comparison to this current
situation.”

The girl coughed like she
was clearing her throat of mothballs. “We have all the time in the
world. You can pass the time by confessing your sins. Tell me yours
and I’ll tell you mine.”

“
It’s not a
great story although sometimes I wish it was.” Did the girl next to
her have to contend with an arranged marriage like many girls in
their culture? Like herself. “Most girls have a story that’s
similar and I don’t think I’m special. We all have to make choices,
I am sure you do too.” Marriage to Alok wasn’t the worse choice.
She’d known him for a lifetime, and although he was as boring as
filling sugar containers in a restaurant, he was safe.