Old Lovers Don't Die

by Anderson, Paul G

  “Nice to be back and in one piece,” Christian said smiling at her.

  “We have rearranged the bedrooms. I have put a spare bed in your room, and Isabella is going to sleep in there, in case anything happens such as a temperature or you wanting to vomit. We are going to put your father in the front room.”

  “That’s great. Thank you,” said Christian.

  “I will make sure he behaves,” Isabella said with a mock reassurance, causing Chantal to laugh.

  “The big thing is going to be everyone getting a good sleep after all the drama. There is a five hour flight to Cape Town tomorrow. Now that Christian can eat a little, how about an early supper and then we all have an early night.”

  “Eating Chantal’s food again sounds great,” said Christian.

  Chantal made ratatouille as she thought Christian may not be up to spicy food. The mix of tomatoes, garlic, onions, and courgette with a little bit of basil, was just what Christian needed to satiate his hunger. He was also desperate to try a slice of Chantal’s home-made bread, but Jannie intervened and suggested they just wait and see how he got on with the ratatouille. Bread, he reminded Christian, in the early stage of bowel functioning can clog things up. At the end of the meal, the conversation turned to the departure in the morning and all the events of the last few weeks.

  “We will be sorry to see you all go,” said Emmanuel.

  “I think I would like to come back at some stage,” Isabella said, “if you would have me. It seems like here I could use my training in tropical medicine to the best advantage.”

  “We would be delighted to have you back, Isabella, as well as Christian with Jannie.”

  “I think I can say from everyone that we are extremely grateful to you and Chantal for looking after us. I think we all need to sort out a few things in Cape Town and then stay in touch and see where things lead us. And then contact you about returning,” said Christian.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” said Emanuel.

  “And of course, the Sudanis could always visit us in Australia, dad. Couldn’t they?”

  “Maybe, but perhaps it’s going to depend a little on your mother!”

  “Well, on that note, I think we should all go to bed. It will be quite involved and busy day tomorrow,” said Mike.

  Christian got into bed, having decided with Isabella’s help that he no longer needed intravenous drip. He released the mosquito net as Isabella searched through her backpack. Uncertain as to whether he should watch, he politely turned his back. The sound of her getting undressed was strangely exciting.

  “And what might you be thinking? I can feel you thinking something,” said Isabella from behind his back.

  “The thought of you naked in the same room as me brings back some of those great memories.”

  “Don’t get too excited. I’m still in my underwear which, this being Africa, is not as pretty or as exotic as you may remember.”

  Christian felt the mosquito net lift up and as he glanced up and saw Isabella’s face next to his. She kissed him on the cheek.

  “That’s all the foreplay you are allowed before Cape Town. Doctors’ orders and if you misbehave, I’ll have the surgeon talk to you.”

  Christian laughed. “Good night, Isabella. Sleep well. See you in the morning. Can’t wait for Cape Town”

  The smell from Chantal’s coffee drifted into the bedroom. Christian stirred, looked across at Isabella, who was still sound asleep under her mosquito net, and wondered what it would be like making love to her again. Would there be that same wonderful feeling?

  “Are you two awake yet?” Chantal called from outside the door. “Coffee is made; Mike and Galela are just checking the ambulance again outside and then coming in for coffee.”

  Christian quickly got dressed. He lifted up the mosquito net covering Isabella and kissed her gently on the cheek.

  “Mike and Galela are here. Time to go.”

  Christian waited for Isabella to dress and then they quickly walked through into the kitchen. Sitting on the stools around the kitchen bench, each with a steaming cup of coffee, were Mike and Galela.

  “Did you sleep well, my young friend? I hope your snoring didn’t disturb Isabella,” Mike said smiling at Chantal.

  “No, it didn’t,” Isabella said over Christian’s shoulder. “And there was no sleepwalking either, if that’s what you were thinking, Mike.”

  “Can’t imagine I would be thinking that about you two at all,” Mike laughed.

  “We have Kariba sedated in a coffin in the ambulance. We will need to go in about fifteen minutes. The Goma border is ten minutes down the road. He will remain sedated for about twenty minutes,” Galela said.

  “And if there are any delays and he wakes up?” Jannie asked.

  “We have a small bore intravenous line tracking out through the bottom of the coffin. Isabella and I will be in the back of the ambulance with you and if he makes any noise, we will give him a 20 mg bolus of propofol.”

  Chantal wished them luck, hugging both Christian and Isabella before they climbed into the back of the ambulance. Mike said goodbye to Chantal, and climbed in through the back door and sat next to Isabella. Christian lay under a sheet on the bed opposite the coffin. Jannie and Mike then quickly hooked a dummy intravenous line before taping it realistically to Christian’s arm. Mike then peered through one of the tiny peepholes in the coffin at Kariba. After a few seconds, he stood up and smiled at them all and said,

  “Perfect – breathing but not stirring.”

  The connecting window to the cab slid back and Emanuel’s face appeared.

  “All ready to go,” he said

  Mike nodded as Emanuel held up the paperwork and signalled to Galela sitting next to him to start driving towards the border. Fortunately, being early in the morning, the roads were not yet crowded with people walking to and from the border. Galela, however, couldn’t avoid all the potholes, each of which caused a disconcerting dull thump as Kariba’s body knocked against the side of the coffin. Christian hoped it wasn’t too much of a stimulus that could wake him up. It took about six or seven minutes from the Sudani’s to get to the border crossing. Christian felt the ambulance slowing and knew that they must be close.

  “Border crossing coming up in one-minute,” Emanuel called through the sliding window, which he then closed.

  Christian felt the ambulance stop. The front door then opened and he could hear Emmanuel explaining to the security guards that they had patients for transfer to Goma hospital. His French wasn’t good enough to understand much more but he heard the conversation moving along the side of the ambulance to the rear door. He looked at Isabella and Mike.

  “Isabella, do you understand what they’re saying?”

  “They want to look inside the coffin to make sure nothing else was being transported across the border.”

  “Shit!” Mike said. “We need to give him 10 mg of propofol to make sure he doesn’t move when I open the coffin.”

  Christian watched as Mike quickly took a syringe already loaded with the propofol. Jannie lifted the top end of the coffin so that Mike could find the IV line connected through the coffin to Kariba.

  “There is a chance that this could overdose and kill him. But better to take that chance than to be charged with human trafficking,” Mike said as he injected the propofol and then tucked the intravenous line underneath the coffin again. He had just sat back on the bed next Isabella when the back door opened. Emmanuel rolled his eyes in a look of fatalistic expectation. Behind him were two guards in military uniforms, each with an automatic weapon. One of the guards handed his weapon to the other and climbed into the back of the ambulance.

  He stood between Jannie and Christian looking at the coffin. He then tapped it several times with his gun before looking at Isabella and Mike.

  “You can open,” he said to Mike.

  Mike nodded. The coffin was hinged on one side and secured on the other with four adjustable wing nuts. As the guard stood to o
ne side, Mike unscrewed them. Then looking at the guard, who indicated he should open the coffin, Mike lifted up one side so that was open facing towards Christian. Jannie reached across and held it open. Kariba was lying on his side, his face away from the guard and therefore not recognisable. Christian looked into the coffin and could not detect any breathing; perhaps Mike had overdosed him. The guard stood and looked for a few seconds, and then nodded his head and indicated to Jannie to close the coffin. Without any further checks, he turned and climbed back out of the ambulance. Galela closed the back doors of the ambulance, giving them all a thumbs up as he did, while Emmanuel climbed into the cab again and started the engine.

  “I think you need to check on Kariba,” Christian said. “I couldn’t see any breathing when the coffin was open.”

  Mike and Isabella sat on Christian’s bed as Jannie lifted up the coffin edge again. They all looked in and there was no movement and no breathing; Mike looked concernedly at Jannie when suddenly Kariba heaved and coughed. Jannie slammed the lid down and Mike quickly started screwing up the wing nuts, smiling.

  “Seems like he got just the right dose.”

  At Goma airport, there was less intense security. Emmanuel talked to the security guard explaining who they were, and the barrier was raised allowing them to pass. The guard had pointed beyond the main entrance to a large hangar next to which they should find the Lear jet. They drove slowly so as not to attract too much attention in the ambulance, and as they drove past the large hangar, they saw the Lear jet; its front door was open and Suleiman was standing at the top of the stairs waving at them. Galela stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Isabella and Jannie, you help Christian get on board. We will deliver Kariba, who should be waking up any minute, to your friends from the ICC on the other side of the tarmac and then join you.”

  Christian disconnected the intravenous line as Isabella and Jannie gathered up both of their bags. As he climbed out of the ambulance, Jannie took his elbow until he was firmly on the tarmac. Christian looked up, and half a kilometre away was an Airbus 737 with a large European Union insignia on its tail, engines running. The ambulance stopped next to it and Christian watched as half a dozen men in uniform took the coffin up the stairs. He knew they would release him once they had taken off. Kariba was getting more comfort for his extradition to The Hague, more than he deserved.

  “Are you okay going up the stairs?” Jannie said to Christian.

  “Feeling stronger by the minute, dad, thanks to that excellent surgeon.”

  “Don’t get overconfident, kiddo. I don’t need to be doing any more surgery mid-flight!”

  “Welcome aboard,” said Suleiman as they reached the top of the stairs. “You will see halfway along, we have made provision for a bed for you if you need it.”

  “Yes, you might need some sleep before you get to Cape Town,” said Isabella said winking at Christian.

  “I’m actually feeling quite good. So I think I’ll start out sitting up and at least we can all chat on the way, which I think given what’s gone on, would also be therapeutic.”

  It was almost an hour later before Mike, Galela, and Emanuel returned.

  “Everything okay?” Isabella asked as Mike poked his head in through the front door.

  “Took Kariba a while to wake up from that dose of propofol we had to give him en route. But everything is now fine. Christian’s friend from the ICC had a full security detail plus lawyers and an intensive care doctor to monitor him. Once we had him awake, they served the extradition papers on him and read his rights.”

  “I would like to have seen his face when that happened.”

  “To be honest, Christian, I don’t think he really realised where he was or what was happening, but was awake enough to be served and for us to witness that he understood he was being extradited.”

  “Well, I’m going to leave you now that everything is done,” Emanuel said. “I hope you have a smooth flight back and thank you all for helping us to get rid of this monster.”

  “I’m not sure that it’s going to contribute much to the long-term problem of child labour and the abuse of women. There will eventually be someone else who takes Kariba’s place,” Galela said.

  “Is there anything else that you think that we could do?”

  “I think if in some way you could let the world know what goes on and those people like Raoul Saad who support the Karibas of the world could be exposed, that might be something positive.”

  “We’ll see what we can do. Goodbye, Emmanuel, and thank you for everything. I hope we meet again soon.”

  “Au revoir, my friends.” With a final wave, Emanuel disappeared down the stairs.

  Mike and Galela walked down the aisle and sat on the couch opposite Christian and Isabella.

  “Heinrich and Suleiman just need to load a few things and then we will leave,” Mike said.

  Christian looked out the window and saw that they were loading weapons from beneath the front seat of the ambulance into the rear hold. Just as well the ambulance had not been more thoroughly searched at the border crossing!

  Suleiman returned and closed and locked the front door. Heinrich had positioned himself next to the second officer. As they banked, right over Lake Kivu, Christian wondered whether he would ever be back. He hoped so, for there was so much one could contribute, much more than he had previously appreciated or experienced in medicine.

  “When do you think you will come back?” He said turning to Isabella.

  “As soon as we have you sorted out in Cape Town.”

  “Okay you two, I know where this is going,” Jannie said as both Mike and Galela smiled knowingly.

  “Now listen dad, if there is anyone who should be talking about romance and the impact that you’re about to make, then there’s no comparison yours is going to be unsurpassed in terms of romantic drama.”

  “Let’s hope your mother sees it that way.”

  “What a pity we don’t have that Tom Jones recording that you both like so much. I can just imagine that in the background as she walks in and sees you.”

  “I can see ‘like father like son’ when it comes to romance,” Mike laughed. “I’ll make sure Sian has lots of tissues.”

  “Mike, you said there wouldn’t be an issue with me not having a passport.”

  “No, Jannie. We have organised that. Galela made a phone call last night - one of the advantages of being employees of the National Intelligence Agency. Temporary papers will be delivered as we land. Heinrich already has your photo and you will have a passport within two days. In case you want to go on honeymoon to somewhere like Mauritius.”

  They all laughed and Christian tried to imagine the look on his mother’s face after all these years. He hoped that she would understand that his father had been trying to protect them, while not understanding that the major threat to all their lives, Van der Walt, was dead. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like having a mother and father again. Weird was the only thought that he could come up with. It would clearly take them all a while to adjust.

  Chapter 26

  Christian woke up as Heinrich announced that they were descending into Cape Town, having fallen asleep on the couch. Looking out through the small side window, he could make out the dark forbidding shadow of Table Mountain, the lights of Cape Town sprinkled like glow-worms at its feet.

  “How is the wound feeling?” Jannie said to Christian from the opposite seat.

  “It’s feeling really good, dad. No pain when I move, no ooze from the wound, I might even be able to jog on the beach at the Strand in a couple of days.”

  “Just remember you’re a patient, and think like a doctor - at least another week before that kind of vigorous activity!”

  “Hear hear,” Isabella added, winking at Christian. “Looks you are going to need a doctor to keep an eye on you.”

  Christian smiled inwardly, the conversation was the kind of banter that he had missed having with his fath
er. Despite the initial awkwardness, it already felt good having him around. However, he knew it would be a bigger adjustment for his mother. While he wondered again what her surprise was, Galela walked back to them from where he had been chatting to Heinrich.

  “Heinrich says it’s time to fasten seatbelts.”

  “Now is everyone certain that my appearance should be as a surprise to Renata?” Jannie said to everyone but no one in particular.

  “Did you lose all that surgical confidence in Rwanda?” Mike turned in his seat and asked Jannie.

  “It will be fine, dad. Trust me. Especially if Sian can find that Tom Jones music!”

  Jannie reached over and playfully ruffled Christian’s hair.

  “We will be met by my colleagues from NIA. They will bring a car out to the plane. Sian and Nadine will be waiting inside the terminal so we will take everyone through except Jannie. Once Nadine and Isabella have departed, we will come back and pick you up, Jannie. That should only take fifteen or twenty minutes. Everyone happy with those arrangements?”

  Christian could remember ten years previously, approaching Cape Town for the first time, the pilot did a fly past of Table Mountain; its white cloud tablecloth tumbled down sheer sides. At the mountain’s southernmost point, the Atlantic and Indian oceans embracing each other with their obtesting currents, the conflict produced fierce whitecaps. There had been a sense of anticipation of embarking on a potential journey of discovery to find out more about his father. He had left with many answers. Isabella was not his half-sister, and his father had gone to extreme lengths to protect Christian and his mother. There had not been the slightest suggestion or thought that his father might be alive. Not only was he alive, now he was going to land at the city of his birth with his father. Excitement about what might transgress with his father meeting with his mother was eclipsed only by what he might finally discover with Isabella.

  As the pilots switched the engines off, Suleiman and Heinrich opened the front door in response to a tap from the outside. Two colleagues greeted them at the top of the steps, before handing them a leather pouch with NIA stamped across it in big letters. Heinrich thanked them in Afrikaans, opened the bag, and then handed the official papers to Jannie.