The Twin Test

by Rula Sinara

  “Pippa. Whatever this was, it was real. Okay?”

  She nodded again and licked her swollen lips.

  “It was real for me, too.”

  They didn’t say anything else after that. They simply wove their fingers together and walked back to the jeep as the last streak of light faded from the sky.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  DAX HAD NOT felt a significant tremor since the last one he reported...only a minor one near the lodge. According to Ron Swale, the heads at Erebus didn’t agree with his concerns and found no valid correlation between the small quake they’d experienced at the survey site and any of their fracking activities. Dax was taken aback by that message. Were these heads CEOs or actual scientists who knew how to interpret data? How could anyone deny the correlation?

  He had stayed out here with his crew a few nights ago, wanting to be on-site and monitoring all the readouts himself. He needed proof they couldn’t argue with.

  Pippa’s aunt had gotten back to her about the water samples and there had definitely been contamination. What they needed to do now was report it to the ministry in charge in Nairobi to start an investigation. Dax’s understanding was that groundwater tests from around the fracking wells would be compared to those taken at the villages to see if the contaminants matched. He was willing to bet they would.

  If Erebus had been experiencing seismic activity like that last one, there was a chance the cement casing in their wells could have cracked. And if they injected the high-pressure water used in fracking into cracked wells, that slurry, loaded with metals, salts and chemicals, could get leaked into underground fresh water springs. Truth be told, even without the tremors, fracking carried a high risk of contamination. He was glad Pippa’s aunt was contacting people she trusted in government to start an audit.

  But until the right officials stalled any drilling, the field was still active. He was also expected to move forward with the mapping he’d been hired to do. He needed to keep his eyes and ears peeled.

  Pippa wasn’t happy with his absences. If finding worms in his shaving kit again was any indication, the twins weren’t, either. But this was important. She knew that.

  Dax wasn’t making it back tonight. Darkness had already fallen and he was waiting for Alberto without chancing Steven or any of the Erebus people overhearing.

  Lee and Syd were supposed to keep watch at camp while Dax and Alberto took a hike. Literally. Was spying illegal?

  “Hey, I’m ready,” Alberto said in a low voice. “You sure we won’t be killed by something wild? Or worse, be killed and have our deaths blamed on some wild animal?”

  “Be a warrior, man,” Dax said, wishing he had borrowed a gun from Pippa, too. All he had on him was a large pocket knife.

  Alberto rolled his eyes and followed Dax away from the camp. They didn’t need to go far. Not between the binoculars Alberto carried and Pippa’s high-zoom camera. Dax couldn’t believe she’d entrusted him with it.

  They walked along the shadows, getting as close to the oil field as they dared. The water disposal basins were located on the side of the field closest to their approach. Bright lights cast an artificial glow on the areas where workers continued their duties after dark.

  Alberto scanned the area with his binoculars. Dax looked through his lens.

  “Sheesh. Over there,” Alberto said. “Look who’s having a late-night party.”

  Dax aimed the camera and zoomed in on where Alberto was pointing.

  “I’m not surprised Ron’s standing there. But I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

  A small team of men were in the act of disposing of frack water in an unlined pit. It was definitely not a typical holding well for wastewater.

  “So that’s how they handle things when they think nobody is looking,” Dax said.

  “Sweeping it under the rug, so to speak,” Alberto added.

  “What do you want to bet Ron never passed our data on to the higher-ups?” Dax said, as he began shooting photos.

  “Well, if we end up jobless, I’m guessing you could fall back on a private investigation business.”

  Dax lowered Pippa’s camera.

  “Very funny.”

  Something grunted and bushes rustled about ten yards to their right. Animal? Human? Alberto gripped Dax’s shoulder. Dax jerked his head in the direction of their trailer camp.

  “Let’s get out of here while we can.”

  * * *

  PIPPA TRIED CALLING Dax’s satellite phone again, but he didn’t pick up. It was dark outside, and he hadn’t come home. She knew he’d planned to stay with his crew last night, but now an entire day had passed and she still hadn’t heard from him. His driver was familiar with the region, but that didn’t mean an accident couldn’t happen. She had been planning to share the water test results Hope had provided her with after he came home from work. The results had sadly been positive, and she was hoping they’d be able to compare data to find correlations. Anything statistically significant.

  But he still wasn’t home. Just what exactly was he really using her camera for? Did someone at Erebus find out he was on to them? What if something had happened to him at work? A wave of cold crashed through her.

  “What if something bad happened to him?” Fern asked.

  “I’m sure he’s fine,” Pippa said in as confident a tone as she could muster. “He’s probably just working overtime. They have super bright lights that make a person forget night has fallen.” Maybe that really was what happened. What if he was slipping back into his habit of hiding behind work? She was beginning to understand how Sandy felt, only Sandy had had babies on her hands.

  “Why didn’t he call to say he was working late?” Ivy asked.

  Pippa tried to think of an answer, but she really was worried at this point. If it turned out he’d forgotten the time, she’d let herself get mad, but until then, she needed to do something. Her Uncle Mac had a helicopter, but he didn’t take his chopper out after dark and he was too far away.

  “Can I trust the two of you to stay here, or do I need to drag you to the front desk with me?” They were in pajamas.

  “We’ll stay here. It’s dark out. But what are you going to do?” Ivy said.

  “Alert the authorities. Maybe they can find out whether your dad’s jeep got stuck on the way here. I’ll be right back.”

  She opened the front door and Dax stood there, his hand reaching for the knob.

  “Dad? Are you okay?” Fern ran over with Ivy close behind. He hugged them.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Fine? Do you have any idea how worried we were? I was about to go get a search party in motion. You can’t just stay late and say you’re fine. You didn’t call even once today to check in.”

  “I’m two-flats-and-one-spare-tire fine.” He closed the door behind him.

  “Two flats.”

  “For real. We changed one out and patched the other.”

  Pippa threw her hands to her sides.

  “No satellite phones?”

  “I did try once and couldn’t get through. Ivy and Fern, I’m here. I’m safe. If you want to go to bed, you can.”

  Pippa rubbed her arms. This must have been how her family—and Haki—had felt whenever she rode off in the jeep in search of the perfect camera shot and didn’t answer her radio.

  At least the girls seemed satisfied.

  “Are you sleeping over again?” Ivy asked her. Did she have a choice?

  “It seems that way, Ivy.”

  “Cool. We’ll leave the bathroom light on for you.” They gave her a hug and went off to bed.

  “Dax, I can’t keep staying over like this,” she said, her voice hushed. “I’m all for looking into things... I even gave you my camera, so I’m being serious...but you may never get answers on your own. You can’t forget the girls. You’re start
ing to be obsessive again.”

  “It couldn’t be helped.”

  “Look, I agree with what you’re doing. It’s just that you have to have some structure to it all. You were so adamant about the girls sticking to a schedule. What about you? You have to learn to leave work at work. For their sake. I’m not telling you to stop. We’re working together on this. But look at my parents and family. They’ve dedicated their lives to fighting poaching. But they don’t stay up at night. How effective would they be if they did? You have to try to make life better, yes, but you have to have your own life, too. Strike a balance, Dax. Let the authorities deal with this. That’s all I’m saying.”

  They were on the same side, but she didn’t want the quake and water safety concerns to drive him back to the way he’d described he’d been in his marriage—obsessing with work to the point of missing out on family.

  “This isn’t me burying myself in work. There was something I had to do. You were right about the water,” he said, handing her the camera. “Only it wasn’t cracks in wells from tremors. They’re dumping fracking wastewater illegally. They’re burying it.”

  “What?”

  “Cutting corners. Dumping. It’s no wonder the area’s water wells are contaminated. I personally doubt the head of Erebus would take a risk like this. I think it’s a rogue act. Ron Swale and a few of his guys.” He wondered if Steven was involved or if he was naively answering to Ron. What if Ron had not put Steven out at the camp to spy? Maybe he needed him out of the way. But Ron had been standing there at the dump plain as daylight. But if he was actually answering to someone on this... Just wow. He couldn’t wrap his head around it.

  “Oh my God,” Pippa said. “I need to let Aunt Hope know.”

  “What I witnessed was criminal activity, Pippa. It’s all on your camera. My men are still up there. We need to go through the right channels. I’m not sure who to trust at Erebus, even if protocol lays out who to report to. I’m not taking chances.”

  “What do you mean? You can’t confront Ron or anyone else there yourself. That would be dangerous.”

  “I’m not. I’ll send the information to the company CEO, but I’m going to copy the Kenyan Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources and anyone else who should know.”

  Pippa knew what that meant. He was going to be a whistleblower in the mind of other oil companies, too. Even if they did things by the books, they’d never hire him. He’d never get another contract. He was making a choice. A moral one.

  “What’s going to happen to your crew and the rest of the data analysis?” she asked.

  “My guess is the head of Erebus will decide. He’ll probably fire me for ruining the company’s reputation publicly. May even sue me. But I can’t risk this getting covered up, no pun intended.”

  “Be safe, Dax. If you need legal help after all this blows up, talk to my cousin Maddie. She’s a great lawyer. My family knows people who’d support you and watch your back for you. They’d even keep your team safe. My Uncle Ben was a marine and knows security well.”

  Dax held Pippa’s face in his hands and gave her a light kiss. It felt...different...like a thank-you. A possible goodbye. It scared her. This was it. He wouldn’t be here for weeks or months more. He could potentially be out of a contract soon. If the government put a moratorium on Erebus until all the contamination was cleared, that would mean no work for Dax...and no work visa.

  “Let’s not imagine what could happen and might not happen,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “Okay. It’ll be okay.”

  Only she wasn’t so sure.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  DAX LOOKED ON as the last of their private equipment was carefully packaged and loaded for transport back to the United States.

  “Don’t worry about any of this,” Syd said. “You did the right thing.”

  “Yeah. We’re behind you one hundred percent,” Lee added. “We’ll be okay. You just take care of yourself and your daughters.”

  “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it,” Dax said. “I’ll make it up to you as soon as I’m back.”

  “Let us know if you need anything when you do get home. At a minimum, stay in touch. We can all meet for drinks, or something,” Alberto said. “We can beef up the story of our adventure. Tell people we encountered a few cheetahs along the way.” He said it as if he was saying cheaters with flair.

  Dax chuckled and slapped him on the back. Leave it to Alberto to crack a joke at a time like this. Dax shook his head and smiled but he didn’t really feel it. He still had to break the news to the twins. And he hadn’t told Pippa just how soon they were leaving.

  Kenya was home for her. He’s seen Busara. He’d met her family. She couldn’t leave any of it. He wouldn’t let her. The work she was doing here was important. She was passionate about her teaching. And the Maasai children who were suffering from the water crisis? They’d need her more than ever now. She couldn’t abandon them. He couldn’t ask her to.

  A truck and jeep sat waiting to give them rides—the truck for his crew and equipment and the jeep to get him back to Tabara. The guys headed for the truck.

  “Have a safe trip back home,” Dax said. They’d be catching a charter back to Nairobi and then start the main leg of their journey home to the States. They’d come all the way across the world for nothing.

  He couldn’t say the same for himself. It was meant to be. Had he not contracted with Erebus, or met Pippa, who knows how many families would have suffered from the water contamination. Who knows if Erebus would have ever been caught in the act.

  He wasn’t trying to take credit or glory. He didn’t want any of that. He simply wasn’t going to regret the time he had spent out here.

  He’d done the right thing, though, and he’d do it again. He knew that. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself had he not made waves and started an official investigation into the impact of the company’s drilling practices. At least he could respect himself now.

  But this also meant he was leaving Kenya sooner than expected. The company wasn’t sponsoring his visa and he’d been fired. Yes, Erebus’s drilling was suspended and the head of the company had even thanked him for discovering what their chief manager had been doing. But he’d been fired on the grounds of conflict of interest. Funny how business worked.

  He had enough savings to get them through a few months of rent on their place in the United States. He’d have to find a new job, though, something in research or academia. He’d need to get a grant again. So long as he could support the twins, it didn’t matter. Just not anything in the petroleum industry. He was done with that.

  * * *

  THERE WAS A tap at the bungalow door, and Pippa walked in.

  “Alim is playing cards with the kids in the lounge,” she said. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You don’t have to go. We can do this. You said yourself that people can be happy on basics. There would be a transition period, permanent visas and such, but there are ways to make that happen faster,” she hinted. She stood on her toes and kissed him. It was a promise of forever, and he held her face and kissed her back. Maybe it could happen. He could marry her. No. He had no job. Nothing to offer her. She’d tire of him, and history would repeat itself.

  He broke his lips away from hers and let his hands slide away from her cheeks.

  “I can’t do this.” He kept his hands on her shoulders, wanting to let her go but unwilling to. He rested his forehead against hers.

  “What are you afraid of?” Pippa whispered. She curled her fingers against his shirt and held on.

  “I’m afraid that I’ll fall into the same habits that destroyed my marriage with Sandy. I’ll rely on you to care for the girls while I bury myself in work. It doesn’t matter if there aren’t luxuries, I still have to provide food and shelter. Nothing is free. I can’t do that to yo
u. You have your own dreams. The school. Teaching. I did that to Sandy, and it drove her away from me. And...and sometimes I still wonder if the stress I put her through weakened her immune system and made her get sick.”

  “No. You can’t think that. Life doesn’t always work out as planned. Relationships don’t work out as planned. Trust me. I know this. I’ve been through it, and I can’t tell you how many times I beat myself up, wondering what I did or what was wrong with me. But I’m not the same person I was then. I know what I want now. And you’re not the same person you were, either, Dax. You can’t experience life and not change. You’re an amazing father. Ivy and Fern are here because you didn’t want to leave them behind. I can tell how much you love them.”

  Could she tell that he loved her, too? That he was falling for her hard and fast? He pulled away and raked back his hair.

  “No amount of experience can dampen the need to protect your children and those you...care about.”

  “I’m not known for keeping quiet,” Pippa said. “I’d say something if I thought you were too buried in work. I’ve warned you before.” The corners of her lips lifted into a soft smile, and he desperately wanted to kiss her again. But he couldn’t. It would make leaving that much harder, not just for him, but for her. She’d had her heart broken once already. He wasn’t about to break it again. Or rather, breaking it now would be easier for her to get over, than if he let their relationship go on longer.

  “I’m not known for always listening.”

  “I’d show you. Remind you.”

  She reached up and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. Her scent teased him. The way she looked at him made him falter. Emotion weakened his resistance. Being around her made logic crumble into piles of rubble. He slipped his fingers through her curls and held her face close to his, battling the need to either bridge the gap between them or break free and save them both.