Hail Warning

Two Years Ago Caribbean Sea — Porlamar, Venezuela

The Nigerian Princess docked in Porlamar, Venezuela which is a few miles from the mainland. By this time, Afua was in remarkably bad shape. His body had not been able to replenish the blood he had lost from his leg wound. Obano called ahead for an ambulance to pick up himself and a semiconscious Afua at the dock. The ambulance had taken them to the nearest hospital staffed with a surgeon. Neither man knew much about the condition called hypovolemic shock, also known as hemorrhagic shock. Unlike Afua, who had seen men die from this ailment, Isaac had not. The medical condition was explained to him by a triage doctor, who had told him that if a person lost more than twenty percent (or one-fifth) of the body’s blood supply, it was impossible for the heart to pump adequate amounts of blood to their organs. Hemorrhagic shock, untreated, resulted in organ failure and death.

The doctor and the staff initially asked Isaac how Afua had cut his leg. Obano had anticipated this question. He told them Afua had been servicing the yacht’s diesel engines while they were running. He explained his first mate’s leg came in close contact with one of the many rubber belts that crisscrossed the front of the large engine and the powered ancillary generators. Just a mere tap of soft flesh on one of the belts would result in an injury that resembled getting tapped on by a chainsaw. The actual wound on Afua’s leg agreed with the reason Obano provided. Thus, the doctors didn’t question Obano any further about the incident.

Obano had been asked to go to the waiting room. He had been assured by the hospital staff they would let him know more about Afua’s situation after they assessed his medical situation.

But, instead of waiting for him in the cramped waiting room, Obano went to the intake counter and provided the lady at the desk his cellphone number. He asked her to have the hospital call him with any information about Afua Diambu, who was registered at the hospital as Jesus Savage. When Isaac was asked for his first mate’s name during the intake process, he had given the name, Jesus. He almost added the last name Afua had given them — Savage. Instead, he mumbled out the single word Nazaer. The lady looked quizzically at him for a moment before jotting it down.

Given the serious nature of Afua’s injuries, dehydration, and immense quantities of blood loss, Obano determined it was possible the jihadi could be

there for several weeks, that is, if he lived. Fortunately, there was no big rush to return to Nigeria. Afua’s mission had been time-critical, but his mission was over. Thus, the longer Afua was in the hospital, the more time the Obanos could spend with one another to enjoy their vacation in the beautiful Caribbean. Obano gave the hospital’s finance administrator his credit card number, and then he returned to the yacht.