Obinna was next to her in a flash. "I can't let you walk away with those. It may be critical to the investigation." he said in a voice that brooked no arguments.
Sarah Jane turned to him. "Can I at least make a copy? He said I was to get this file at all cost if anything were to happen to him." She indicated the devastation around them to remind Obinna that something had indeed happened to him. Obinna breathed deeply in his exasperation.
"I have done things since meeting you that make me shudder." he complained. "It makes me wonder how much more I would need to bend the rules to suit you."
Sarah Jane felt her spine stiffen with offense at the censure in his tone. She would not ask if it were not so important for her. Life or death important. And here he was talking about rules. What rules? This could hold the key to her survival and she was not going to let him intimidate or guilt her into giving it up. She turned back into the safe and saw a clear plastic bag containing a jumble of vials and packets all neatly labeled just as Doctor Aloysius had said it would be. She brought the bag out and tucked it gently under her armpit under her bulky sweater.
"I promise, I will get these back to you once I make a copy. He was insistent that I would need them." She made her voice as steady as possible as she spoke to Obinna. Obinna watched her, a mix of exasperation and curiosity mingling in his face.
"And the vials?" he asked challengingly.
"I need them too. There are so many briefcases around here that I'm sure contain replications of some sort of these." she defended and when Obinna raised a disbelieving eyebrow, she continued, almost begging. "You guys won't miss it." At which Obinna huffed.
"When?" he asked. Sarah Jane tamped down on her sigh of relief that flowed through her as she recognized that he was going to relent.
"Before end of office hours tomorrow, I promise." She turned to leave as quickly as she could. She could hear the 'bigwigs' making their way into the building, asking questions as they approached.
"Throw in a sample of everything in that bag and we just might have a deal." he bargained. Sarah Jane joyfully nodded her head.
"Let's get you out of here" Obinna said as he led her out through the hole that had been created by a partially fallen wall at one end of the lab. Those crooks had to have used some powerful stuff. There was hardly anywhere he looked where the effect of the explosion could not be seen. When they cleared the building, Obinna looked around surreptitiously to see if anyone was paying particular attention to them but it seemed no one was. He escorted Sarah Jane past the police tape used to cordon off the property. As she made to scamper away, he pulled at her arm.
"Tomorrow, before close of business." he reminded, anxiety making his voice stern. Sarah Jane nodded as she rushed off towards the other end of the street presumably where she had parked her car.
Obinna turned back towards the building his worry riding his stomach like a wild beast.
CHAPTER 13
Sarah Jane moved deftly between the test tubes and beakers which she had set up at one of the Centre's labs. This was a lot more sophisticated than the one where the contents of the beakers and test tubes had been created.
She monitored the progress of several beakers, referring intermittently to the notes, charts and diagrams she had place strategically around the lab.
She had used a trusted courier service to send back the originals to Obinna along with samples of everything contained in the bag as promised. When she had gotten over her feeling of offense, she had appreciated that she had put him in an untenable situation. He was an officer of the law and he had broken the law for her at least twice. She sighed tiredly, feeling like the heroine of a melodramatic novel.
The door to the lab opened and Doctor Umar strolled in. He paused in surprise as he looked around the various precipitating and boiling experiments around him.
"I knew we do exceptional work in here but this looks a bit crazy even for us. What exactly is it you are doing?" he asked. "The security staff says you've been in here since the wee hours."
Sarah Jane looked up him as he continued towards her, peering at almost all the experiments in his path to her.
"Doctor Greene had a son." she announced blandly.
Umar raised an eyebrow in surprise and then frowned. "Had?" he questioned.
"He died..." Sarah Jane consulted the watch on her wrist, "Yesterday morning. I'm certain you would have heard about the explosion that happened on the news."
"There was a passing mention of something like that. A residential building, gas or some such thing." When Sarah Jane just continued with her test tubes not paying him any mind, he stood in front of her, firmly planting his feet to get her attention. She looked quizzically at him.
"Was it a domestic accident? Somehow I don't think you'd say it was."
"It wasn't." Sarah Jane answered shortly.
"What happened?" Umar asked.
Sarah Jane sighed as she relented and decided to answer his questions. Umar would not stop asking until he got the answers he wanted. She indicated that they hop unto a pair of stools and she gave him a brief rundown of what happened, starting with her meeting with the elder Doctor Greene in prison. When she had finished, both of them remained silent for a few moments staring blankly into space as the contents of tubes and beakers condensed and titrated around them.
Umar shook his head as he straightened in his seat. "This whole drama just keeps getting more confusing." he said in consternation. Sarah Jane continued writing in the notepad she had kept beside her.
"What do you think they were looking for in the building?" he asked her.
Sarah Jane shrugged. "How would I know?"
Umar cast sly glance at her. "Obi hasn't kept you informed?" he asked cheekily.
Sarah Jane sighed. "I think he's upset with me." she said.
She was surprised at how forlorn she felt since yesterday. He had not picked up any of her calls to him neither had he responded to her text messages. He had not even acknowledged receipt of her parcel to him. She had had to call the courier service to find out if it had been delivered.
"Ah! A lover's tiff?" Sarah Jane sent him a nasty glare. Umar chuckled even as he shivered. "You know, your eyes get really scary when you do that. Who would have guessed that Sarah Jane had such bite to her when your eyes were a lovely dark brown?"
Sarah Jane hissed her displeasure. Umar sobered up quickly. "So these are from the safe in his office? What was he hoping to find?"
"I think he was trying to understand what had happened with me. From all that I have read of his notes, it would seem that someone is trying to produce a drug that would interfere with human immunity."
When you say 'human immunity' what does that mean?" Umar asked as he came around to look at her notes with her.
"Doctor Greene called it a bolster when he mentioned it during my visit with him in jail. I think that is what the intention was but apparently..." she drew a hand down her side to indicate her current state. "It's not working as expected just yet."
Doctor Umar was quiet for a few moments. "They have no qualms about testing on humans. In fact..."
"They'd rather test on humans." Sarah Jane finished for him.
"Do you think that Jay might have been given a shot of some such thing?" Umar asked. Sarah Jane perked up at the possibility.
"It never occurred to me or any of us." she said.
"Yes, because we did not know what else they were doing? So this confirms Obinna's suspicion that there is a rogue cartel."
Sarah Jane sighed and banged her head in frustration on the surface of the desk in front of her.
"I can't stand the thought of someone else going through what Jay and I have been through." she whispered. Umar reached out a hand to tap her back but stopped short of completing the action as Sarah Jane's back tensed. When his hand remained suspended in the space above her back but did not drop, she released her pent up breath. "You might as well let it drop. I've realized that I am not contagious that way."
r /> Umar smiled his agreement and did indeed tap her back in a friendly manner.
Sarah Jane smiled her amusement.
"So what do we do now?" Umar asked.
"I'll follow through with Doctor Aloysius' instruction. For now, that's all we can do."
"And hope that the police are able to bust this on time." Umar added.
Sarah Jane remained silent. 'How did you fight a group that seems to come out of the shadows?' she thought even as her head began to droop drowsily.
"Come on. Let's get you a bed. When last did you sleep?" Umar asked going into doctor mode.
"I have these experiments to finish." Sarah Jane protested.
"And you may miss something critical because you're sleepy. Besides, you are still my patient and I insist."
When she stubbornly refused to move he tried another tactic. "I promise, if anything begins to happen, I'll send for you immediately."
Sarah Jane looked intently at Umar. She had never known him to not keep his word so she nodded and allowed him steer her to the door and yell loudly for a nurse. When one came running, he gave his instructions for what should be done for her and handed her over to the nurse.
"Thank you Nurse Sumbo." Sarah Jane yawned tiredly. She could not remember ever being so out of it.
"For you Doctor Kwesi? Anything!" Nurse Sumbo said cheerily as she led her off to the observation room as per Doctor Umar's instructions.
CHAPTER 14
The omelet was a dark brown that was not intended. Obinna sighed as he turned off the gas burner and dumped the perforated spoon back in the skillet. It seemed that he could do nothing right today.
It had started when he woke up this morning with a feeling of such lethargy that he had struggled to get out of bed and get dressed for work. Then he had mistaken his aftershave lotion for toothpaste. Fortunately the distinctive smell of the lotion had saved him from putting it in his mouth before discovering his error.
He picked up the skillet and studied the content critically, trying to decide if it could still be considered edible. He had been brought up with dire warnings and threats over wasting food and it was still hard for him to do so. When he concluded that the omelet had indeed been burnt beyond redemption, he emptied it into the trashcan.
He finally accepted what ailed him.
He missed Sarah Jane.
He smiled wryly at that thought. He could pick up the phone at anytime and call her. She could have called him too but he guessed it was indicative of how upset with him she was that she had not. If for nothing else, she would have peppered him with calls trying to subtly get information on the case from him.
He really wanted to apologize in person for losing his patience with her on the day that Doctor Aloysius died. It was after he had come down from the adrenaline high that he realized how hurt she must have felt by his careless remarks.
He really should not have to go into the office today but things had gotten crazy again after Doctor Aloysius' death. The haul they had gotten in from the laboratory was going to keep several teams busy for various months trying to chase down all the possible leads that had opened up on various cold cases. Then there was the niggling worry that there was still something that they were all overlooking.
Obinna decided he was not going to risk another egg in his current state of mind. He'd pick something up on his way in to the office.
He finished dressing up and pulled on his jacket as he left his apartment. He locked up the door and turned to walk into the car when the sight of Sarah Jane leaning against it knocked the breath out of him.
"I decided that if Mohammed would not come to the mountains, then the mountains would definitely go to Mohammed." she quipped as she straightened from the car.
"It's been a crazy few days." He responded as he strolled in what he hoped what was a leisurely way towards the car when what he really wanted to do was grab her in a hug and twirl her around in the joy of seeing her.
"I can imagine." she agreed as she walked around to the passenger door and waited.
Obinna looked around for her car and when he did not see it, he asked, "How did you get here?"
"My dad dropped me off. He had an early appointment and he was going to pass by here so...I asked for a lift." she shrugged.
"Oh." Obinna said nonplussed. He was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She came to see him and that was good enough for him.
"Aren't going to unlock the doors? I imagine you are running a bit late already." Sarah Jane scolded.
Obinna smiled as he unlocked the doors and watched her get in and fasten her seatbelt before he could even get one foot in the door.
"Are you worried I'm going to send you away or something?" he asked as he slid into the driver's seat and pulled his own seat belt.
Sarah Jane let out a huge sigh as she responded. "You would...I wouldn't blame you. You were right. I do put you in some untenable situations. I'm sorry." she apologized in her most heartfelt voice.
Obinna couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. Sarah Jane stared at him in confusion as he tried to control his laughter.
"Apology accepted." he chuckled as he finally got some measure of control over his mirth.
"I was finally going to give in and come speak to you today." he continued. "You just beat me to it."
"Oh." It was Sarah Jane's turn to be nonplussed.
Obinna started the car and slid out of his parking space unto the main road. As he drove to connect to the highway he asked. "Where do you want to go now?"
"I was hoping you could drop me off at the Centre. We are trying to make sense of the experiments Doctor Aloysius was conducting before he di...was killed."
Obinna was quiet for a moment as he tried to absorb her choice of words and what it might imply.
"Have you guys had any luck figuring it out?" he asked.
"Not really. We have agreed though that he must have been working on some kind of immunity booster amongst other things." she had a slight frown on her face by the time she finished talking.
"What?" Obinna asked.
"Noth...Something just occurred to me. We have been so busy following this one trail that made some sense to us. What if he was actually working on several unrelated things at the same time?"
"How do you mean?" Obinna asked.
"We just assumed that it had to be the cartel that was behind this right?" Sarah Jane prompted.
Obinna nodded to indicate that he was following her so far.
"But what if it actually is not that cartel? What if there are others? The pharmaceuticals for instance? Or the manufacturing?"
"Make sense Sarah Jane." Obinna said.
"What if we are not dealing with that cartel but several? Like Doctor Aloysius was a contract scientist working on several patents you know, that kind of thing? Sarah Jane said excitedly.
Obinna weighed the logic of it for several moments and then nodded consideringly.
"It bears checking out." he said slowly. "So there would be a whole lot of people who paid for some service." He palmed his forehead. "This case has given me a headache consistently first thing every morning for the past one week."
Sarah Jane made a tut-tut sound of commiseration as Obinna turned into the complex that held the Centre and pulled to a stop at the main entrance. He turned to look over Sarah Jane more fully as if he wanted to save the memory of her somewhere for frequent visits in his mind during the day.
Sarah Jane smile widely at him. "Have a great day Obi." she said.
"You too." Obinna smiled back and released the locks on the car. Sarah Jane got out and waved at him as he executed a neat u-turn and drove out the way he had come.
Sarah Jane made her way up the front steps and into the building with a much lighter load in her heart than she had had all week.
CHAPTER 15
The car skidded to a screeching halt at the entrance to the building. Mahmoud ran out to meet them, collecting the unconscious form from the limp arms of her
weeping mother.
"When did you realize what was happening?" Mahmoud asked as he carried Sarah Jane's limp form into the building. He was met at the entrance by a team of nurses and Umar with a stretcher.
"I had breakfast ready for her as usual but she didn't come down as per usual. I thought perhaps she was delayed but after an hour or so, I decided to go check on her. She didn't answer to my knock so I went in and that's when I saw her." her mother broke into sobs again.
"So we can't say exactly when she became unconscious." Mahmoud sounded beyond exasperated and worried.
"I spoke with her...that is we were watching TV together till late. Possibly after midnight." her father supplied.
Mahmoud nodded. "At least that narrows it down to sometime after midnight."
They had gotten to the door leading into the theaters so he turned from watching that the IV lines were being inserted properly to snag Umar's attention. Umar nodded at him as he headed off Sarah Jane's parents to a waiting area.
"Let's go this way. We will try to see if we can resuscitate her and also find out what might have happened."
"Do you think...? She looked so pale!" Mrs. Kwesi cried. Her husband put his hand around her and pulled her to lean on him as her strength gave out and her legs buckled beneath her.
"Please Mrs. Kwesi!" Mahmoud pleaded. "I don't want to tell her you collapsed when she wakes up!"
Mrs. Kwesi looked up at Mahmoud the question in her eyes as plain as day, 'Will she wake up?' but before she could ask it, the door to the waiting area was burst open by Andoah. Mahmoud sighed in relief.
"How is she?" Andoah asked his voice so sharp that it was painful to the ear drum.
"Unconscious. Good thing you are here. You need to calm down and calm your parents down. Umar is in surgery with her and who knows but that he'll need all the help he can get." Mahmoud said as he edged towards the door. He was antsy to see her and be sure that she was...at least okay.
The look of tension did not ease from Andoah's face but he nodded his understanding and went to where his parents were seated on the sofa, his mother sobbing noisily into his father's shirt with him mumbling words at her even though the horror and tension of seeing his daughter in the condition they had met her in her room, was still alive in his eyes.