“What is happening?” the Acting President asked the soldier who was scrambling into his military boots and trousers, the ones in which he was when he was brought to the hospital. The boots were under the bed while the trouser was in the laundry basket.
“Madam, I would explain later but we have to leave now” Lt. Clottey said as he struggled to get into the boots.
“Leave now? To where? What is happening? You are in no condition to leave the hospital. You are injured and….”.
He interrupted her, reasserting they needed to leave immediately. There was no time to waste. He finished putting on his boots, stood up and headed for the window. She decided to trust him; she had done so in the past and gotten saved.
The window was made up of sliding glass. He pressed a knob which unlocked it. Then he pushed one of the windows aside. Quickly, he climbed through and then instructed the Acting President to do so. Without any hesitation, she complied. Lifting her leg, she stepped on the frame of the window. He held out his right hand to her to assist her. She took it and using it as a support, jumped out.
It was getting dark now. Lt. Clottey began to walk briskly towards the back of the hospital with the Acting President. When he got there, he whistled. Somebody whistled back from behind the wall. He turned to the Acting President.
“Madam, we have to go over this wall. I am going to carry you on my neck and lift you up. Hold the top of the wall and lift yourself up to the top. My colleague is on the other side. He would help you down”, Lt. Clottey said. Then he squatted for the Gertrude Mensah to sit on his neck, her legs dangling over his shoulders. Then he stood up, lifting her up. The Acting President held the top of the wall and heaved herself up on top of it.
“Madam, I am here. Jump! I would catch you”, somebody in the semi-darkness on the other side said. Though she could not identify the person very well, Gertrude Mensah knew the person was an ally because Lt. Clottey had said he was a colleague. She could see the person below her. She jumped down in the direction of the person. Powerful hands grabbed her and gently eased her down. It was only then did she realize it was Lt. Badoo. Seconds later, Lt. Clottey jumped down from the top of the wall, landing beside them.
“Ouched!” he grimaced as he felt a sharp pain in his wounded shoulder. Grimacing, he got up. Then he, the Acting President and Lt. Badoo began to move towards the main road. Lt. Badoo was in the lead. They were almost at the main road when they saw three military vehicles speeding up with their sirens blaring. Quickly, they took cover behind a hedged and from behind peeped at the passing vehicles.
“You were right, Victor,” Lt. Badoo said. They looked on as the vehicles slowed down and entered the hospital. The trio quickly emerged from behind the hedges and sprinted to the main road. Lt. Badoo’s car was parked there. They scrambled in with Lt. Badoo getting into the driver’s seat while the Acting President and Lt. Clottey took the back seat.
“Where to, Victor,” Lt. Badoo asked.
“To President Marfo’s house,” Lt. Clottey said as he continued to wince in pain.
“To President Marfo’s house what for, Lieutenant,” Gertrude Mensah asked.
“We need him to beat the plotters to it. Without him, you are finished or let me say we are finished”, Lt. Clottey replied.
“No! Stop the car! Now! It’s an order!” the Acting President suddenly screamed at Lt. Badoo, startling him.