Since he took office three years ago, Prime Minister Kimweri had been filling the administration with his own family members. Nepotism was typical in African countries, where one’s tribe and one’s party were often closely aligned. General Ita Jemwa wasn’t related to the prime minister but was reputed to be influential in the government. A steady supply of weapons from the arms dealer Ares reinforced the general’s strength, in the desert and in the halls of power. The aging soldier might be looking for an opportunity to usurp Kimweri’s authority.
Thea didn’t want Kanzi to be yet another sad example of an impoverished African country depleted of its natural resources for the benefit of a wealthy minority while most of its residents remained destitute. Her father had done incredible work in certain regions of Kanzi, and if he won the contract, he had plans to build more schools, hospitals, and water filtration plants as part of the deal.
Peter Kennedy was currently knee-deep in oil negotiations documents. Her security operative had reported that, after leaving the lobby of the Grande Bretagne, the CFO had entered a large building housing various businesses, including accounting firms and medical offices. The operative hadn’t been able to follow him inside without being made, so they didn’t know his ultimate destination. She forwarded the report to Hakan in London. He and Freddy could investigate any connections between Peter and the tenant companies.
She riffled through her messenger bag for her computer, and a loose sheaf of unfamiliar, yellowed papers within caught her eye. The skin on the back of her neck prickled. Someone must have slipped them into her bag. But who?
She pulled them out and started reading.
Dr. Alexander Goldberg
July 4, 9:00 a.m.
INSTRUCTIONS
All clinical notes and records related to the patient Nikos Paris, including diagnosis and treatment, are to be released ONLY to the patient’s father, Christos Paris. Hard copy only, no electronic release or mailed communications.
SUBJECTIVE
Christos Paris indicates that he had “always spoiled” his only son, Nikos, fulfilling his every wish and desire, up until the time of the boy’s kidnapping. Nikos had grown to expect that he would be given everything he wanted and was accustomed to immediate gratification. Of particular note is the death of his mother in a sailing accident when Nikos was ten.
Nikos was kidnapped from his home in Kanzi, Africa, at age twelve. When he was returned after nine months in captivity, the father indicates that his son was moody, alternating between periods when he became withdrawn and uncommunicative and periods of uncontrolled temper outbursts, having little ability to enjoy many activities that would be normal for a boy his age. Nikos still had the expectation that his father and others should cater to his needs and desires with no exceptions. His moods are unstable, so Mr. Paris has a nanny watching over the children at all times. A new family dog seems to be helping Nikos adjust.
OBJECTIVE
Nikos is a well-groomed, intelligent boy who appears older than his stated age, in part due to his above-average height. He has no significant medical or health issues and no reported symptoms of pain, discomfort, or physical distress.
The patient’s father was present for the entire intake interview. The father was also interviewed separately. The initial therapeutic contact occurred approximately two weeks after Nikos returned home from captivity and continued for several months. At first the patient did not disclose any pertinent details of his time in captivity, having a difficult time voicing his experience. It was only after additional sessions, the establishment of rapport, and with encouragement to write his story in his own words that he shared an account of those nine months of captivity. Nikos presented the usual, predictable resistance of a trauma victim to relive the ordeal, but after training in relaxation skills, he started the process of recording his experiences.
He generally demonstrated a flat affect and was for the most part fairly uncommunicative, allowing his father to provide much of the information regarding the history. On a few occasions, when being directly questioned about his captivity, he demonstrated some fairly extreme outbursts of anger, with both verbal (swearing, shouting, berating the interviewer) and physical (kicking the coffee table, punching himself on the leg) manifestations of emotion. These outbursts were followed by brief periods of complete silence, during which he made no eye contact.
ASSESSMENT
This almost thirteen-year-old, physically healthy boy presents as generally uncommunicative, with periodic outbursts of verbal and physical anger, making only infrequent eye contact. The provisional diagnosis is that of narcissistic personality disorder with antisocial tendencies, along with strong resentment toward authority figures. A contributing factor to his narcissistic features, including a strong sense of entitlement, may well have been instigated through extreme parental spoiling, whereas some symptomatology likely also emerged as a result of his kidnapping and the events of his nine-month period of captivity. Follow-up sessions will further explore these issues and diagnostic details.