Where to Take a Wounded Man
KELLY, MOHAMMED, AND ALI had managed to run out of the building safe and sound. Mohammed asked Kelly to watch over Ali while he ran to get his car from the parking lot. Ali was barely being able to stand and the weight of him was proving a bit too much for the petite Kelly to manage. With so much confusion throughout the building, hardly anyone took notice of them leaving.
Mohammed brought his car around to where Kelly and Ali stood. He hurried out of the car and helped Kelly dumped Ali into the back seat of the car. Mohammed climbed behind the wheel again as Kelly got into the passenger seat and within no time they were speeding through the city. It was very unlike Mohammed to drive fast, but the circumstances did not leave him any other option. It was essential to provide first aid to Ali as soon as possible.
Ali could hear some sounds coming from the front seat, but he could not understand what Kelly and Mohammed were discussing, as he had lost a lot of blood and was drifting in and out of consciousness. Kelly and Mohammed were not sure where they should take Ali. Going to the hospital meant that someone there—perhaps a doctor or nurse, perhaps a member of hospital security—would notify the police and Mohammed wanted to avoid that at any cost.
He could make out that Ali was an Iraqi, and until he had spoken to Ali, he did not want to involve the police. It was not easy for him to convince Kelly that they could not take Ali to the hospital. It was to be expected. Kelly wouldn’t want to take chances. As a legal practitioner, she was fully abreast of the implications of abetting a criminal or at least an unknown gunman sustaining a gunshot injury especially in the wake of recent happenings. There was a brief argument between them and, in the end, Mohammed set a course for his own home.
When Ali became conscious again, he found himself sitting on a couch. He could barely manage to keep his eyes open. With great effort, he noticed he was sitting in a nice-looking room decorated in an Iraqi style. There were blue pieces of fine porcelain displayed on a table and beautiful Iraqi rugs lying on the floor. For a minute, he thought he was imagining things. He again drifted into unconsciousness.