Chapter 18
The tower has cleared us for takeoff, so Henderson rolls out onto the runway and lines her up on the centerline. The throttles are going up, engine temperatures and settings--checked, and we are rolling down the runway, accelerating very quickly. He slowly pulls back on the yoke, the nose lifts off, and we are airborne. He looks at me and motions for me to put the gear up. I grab the handle and lift it up. Gear up and locked. Then he tells me to lift the flap handle and place the lever at zero degrees. Done.
“Henderson, this is a sweet ride. It must be awesome to fly in an airplane like this all the time,” I say to him with eyes as big as a kid’s, I’m sure. “Where did you learn to fly?”
“Well, I actually started as a Lieutenant in the Army National Guard and later switched to the Air Force Reserves. I wasn’t a pilot then, but a navigator. I spent over 20 years in the Armed Forces, and eventually retired. I decided I wanted to become a pilot, so I went to an accelerated flight school in Florida and obtained all of my ratings in a year. I flew as an Instructor, and did a little bit of charter work until I got enough hours to fly for a corporation. I flew for an oil company as copilot on a Falcon 20. I finally acquired enough hours to pilot this airplane.”
“How did you end up in Australia?”
“My daughter’s mother, whom I never married, is a professor at the University of Darwin and I wanted to be near my daughter. I applied for the CDC pilot position, and they hired me.”
“That’s a great story.”
Henderson asks for my story in return, so I give him the skinny version of my life up to now.
“So, how did you and Derrick meet?”
“We actually met in the cafeteria at college. I am from O’Fallon, Illinois, about 20 miles east of St. Louis, MO. I graduated from O’Fallon High School, class of 2005 and started college that fall. I am working on my medical degree, and my end goal is to be a Medical Examiner. I am a part-time Medical Lab Technician in the Medical Examiner’s Office right now, until I finish my degree, which should be some time next year. My dad worked at the Air Force Base as a Civil Servant for Department of Defense, and my mom was a seventh grade math teacher.
Derrick is from Los Angeles. He moved to St. Louis when he was nine
years old, because his dad was on the coaching staff for the Los Angeles Rams, a professional football team. The team moved to St. Louis in 1995, so his dad moved the family out there as well. We dated for four years before finally deciding to get married. Derrick is a Zoologist at the St. Louis Zoo.”
“How interesting, a Medical Examiner. That’s not a very common job, is it?”
“No, not really. I have always loved a good mystery and used to watch the ‘whodunit’ shows on television. It’s like being a detective, but without all the danger that goes with that title. Dead people still have a story to tell.”
“Hopefully, they are dead. Have you ever had a body sit up on you or move?”
“Luckily, no. That is my biggest fear.”
“Oh, look outside, Kobi, that is the Australian Outback down there. There is absolutely nothing out there, not even a road. Talk about desolate.”
I turn around and yell at Derrick to look outside. He peers out the window and then looks back at me shaking his head from side to side.
“Wow, that’s a whole lot of nothing,” he yells up the aisle to me.
I didn’t mention how luxurious the inside of this plane is. The interior is all leather and carpeted to match the leather. There is a wet bar, fully stocked, and a bathroom in the rear. I wonder if this is how the movie stars travel? I could get used to this!
“Okay Kobi. We are Flight Level 310 (31,000 feet). I am taking it off autopilot, so grab the yoke and get a feel for her.”
I lightly put both hands on the yoke and he turns off the autopilot. I expect the plane to feel heavy and unresponsive to the little movement, but this airplane is not. It is very responsive to every little movement I make. He tells me to descend 200 feet, so I ease off on the power just a little bit and push the yoke forward. Before I know it we have passed the altitude I was supposed to stop at, so I give it a little bit of power and climb back up to the altitude I am supposed to be holding. Now let me try a turn. 20 degrees left, then 40 degrees right and back to center heading 250 degrees.
“This is seriously a cool airplane, Henderson. Thanks for letting me fly for a while. It makes me miss my weekend job as a Flight Instructor.”
I glance down at the instruments and calculate that we are about an hour and a half from Perth. The CDC maintains a secure frequency on the radio, so I ask Henderson if I can give them a call so they can meet us at the airport with a van. Henderson is going to remain in Perth as long as we are there, and has offered to help us if we need anything.
I see on the horizon the city of Perth. It is an enormous city perched right next to the water. We are being vectored for landing by Air Traffic Control and eventually cleared by the tower to land. Henderson greases the landing. I barely feel the wheels touch the ground. We pull into the General Aviation side of the airport and see the CDC van waiting for us.
Henderson stops the airplane and shuts down the engines. The four of us exit the airplane, and we see two men getting out of a CDC van. They walk over to us and introduce themselves.
“G’day. I’m Taylor, the CDC Director here in Perth, and this is Matthew, one of our Biologists,” he says as he extends his hand.
Dane meets his hand with a firm handshake and says, “Pleased to meet you.”
Derrick shakes Taylor’s hand and introduces us. Taylor helps us load the bags in the car and says, “I reckon you will want to check into the hotel before we go to the funeral home.”
“That would be great,” Derrick replies.
We are checked into the hotel and on our way to the funeral home. Taylor brought some containers with him for the samples. Once we collect the waste, we will drive to the CDC lab and look at the sample in a secure environment. We arrive at the funeral home on time and meet with Mr. Dackett. He shows us where the cap is for the septic tank. Taylor carefully unscrews the top and sticks a long pole with a cup on the end down into the septic tank. Slowly, he pulls the sample out of the top and pours it into a vial. We need to be especially careful not to touch the sample at all. Once the container is sealed, it is placed in a locked box for transport.
We arrive at the lab about 30 minutes later. Taylor and I suit up and go straight to the hazardous section of the lab. Several samples of waste are placed on three different microscope slides to be examined. I glance at the first sample, and it appears normal. The second sample, however, has the parasite in it, as does the third. We immediately contact Mr. Dackett and tell him about the parasite in his septic tank. We are very fortunate that the contents of the tank have not been emptied yet.
I decide to give Geoff a call and let him know what we have found here. Also, I am curious to know how everyone is doing at the lab.
After a few rings, I hear “Hello.”
“Hi Geoff, its Kobi.”
“Hi Kobi, how are you?”
“We are doing well. We just got finished testing the septic tank behind the funeral home, and it is infected with the parasite. The tank has not been emptied since he performed the procedure, so I don’t think we have a problem other than what’s in the tank. It is totally contained for now. We know bleach kills the parasite, so Taylor is having 150 liters delivered to the funeral home. He will pour all of it into the septic tank and seal it up. We will come back in two days to check it again.”
“Sounds like you have everything under control, Kobi.”
“Yeah, I think so. I told Mr. Dackett to leave the tank alone. I contacted the septic cleaning service company myself and told them not to empty the tank. I told them it was infected with a nasty bacteria, and we were working on neutralizing it. I lied a little, because I don’t want to create a panic.”<
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“Good thinking, Kobi. I think you made the right decision by contacting the service company, because I know services like that are usually automated, and they may empty it before Mr. Dackett can stop them. Make sure that Taylor puts the CDC tape over the septic drain hole after the bleach is put in.”
“What is CDC tape?”
“It’s like a yellow and black ‘Police, do not cross’ tape used at crime scenes, only it says ‘CDC Hazardous Material. Do Not Touch’.
“Okay, Geoff. How is everything at the lab?”
“Marci is a lot worse. She was in so much pain today, we decided it would be best to place her in a medicated coma. Her urine is dark brown and the whites of her eyes are totally brown now. I don’t think she will last much longer. Sevi, Evan, and Stolz have a few more dark spots today than they did yesterday. Cole is doing fine. He is constantly talking to his rat, and hasn’t put him down since you gave it to him. I think he will probably sleep with him tonight. That rat was a great idea.”
“Be sure to tell Cole hello for me. Hopefully we will be back in a few days. I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon after we exhume the body. Taylor has already talked to the local authorities, and Mr. Dackett will be there with us when we pull the body up.”
“Sounds good, Kobi. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night.”
“Good night, Geoff.”
We are finished at the lab for the evening, so Taylor drives us back to the hotel. Derrick, Dane, and I decide to grab a bite of dinner before turning in for the night. The hotel has a very nice little restaurant, just off the main lobby. As we enter, we see Henderson sitting at a back table all by himself. He sees us and motions for us to come over. He hasn’t ordered dinner yet, so our timing is perfect. The waiter comes to the table and asks us if we would like anything to drink. Dane and Derrick order a beer, and I decide to have a glass of wine.
There is a lot to choose from on the menu, but the seafood platter has caught my eye. There is nothing fried on the platter, only steamed rock lobster, mud crabs, and prawns. Derrick and Dane both order the Flathead fish, and Henderson is having the steak.
“How long do you think we will be here, Kobi?” Henderson questions.
“Maybe another day or two. You are more than welcome to join us tomorrow if you want to. We are going north to exhume a body and check it for parasites.”
“Gee, Kobi, you make it sound so inviting. No thanks. I’ll stay here and do a little shopping for my daughter.”
“Okay, have it your way,” I say with a sideways grin.
Our dinner arrives, and it looks and smells fantastic. I take a bite of the fresh scallops and shrimp, and the flavor explodes in my mouth. It is so good. Everyone seems to be enjoying their dinner as much as I am. Derrick and Dane are enjoying the snapper, and Henderson’s steak looks very tender. After the meal, we sit and visit for a few hours and then decide to turn in for the night.
“Good night, Henderson.”
“Good night, Kobi. You guys sleep well.”
I glance back at Henderson, nod my head and wave. Derrick and I get into our room and immediately go to the shower--together. It feels good to be alone and enjoy each other. We go to bed and lie there for a few minutes just talking about everything that has happened. It’s hard to believe all of this is happening while we are here on our honeymoon. I just hope they find a cure and close the book on this crisis before Derrick has to go home. I really don’t want to say goodbye to him in ten days.