Mighty Everest, now a humble hill,
The hungry ocean licks her flanks.
(Poem of the Second Flood)
Doctor cressida jade and doctor luke abara made their way into the conference room with the rest of the senior medical staff. Cressida whispered to Luke, “Any idea what this is about?”
“I heard a rumor there’s a problem at Southern.”
“Isn’t there always?”
Professor Bjorn Bjornson was Director of Northern Hemisphere Hospital, known as NHH. He addressed the meeting. His brow was creased with worry. “I’ve had an urgent call from the Southern Hemisphere Presidential Office.”
That caught Luke’s attention. “From President Ricarda?”
“No, from the Vice President, Waru Dangati. The President’s been taken to SHH. She was bitten by a snake half an hour ago, a yellow mottled-back, and they don’t have an antidote.” He turned to Cressida, who specialized in antivenoms. “Doctor Jade, how much time do we have to deliver one to them?”
She said, “The venom spreads slowly, but the President needs an injection within the next twelve hours or she’ll die. I’ve been warning ‘Southern’ for months that they should stock up with antidotes. Several dangerous species have been breeding at an alarming rate and they’re starting to spread into urban areas.”
Luke said, “The warlords are using them as weapons. They’re also intimidating the scientists and controlling pharmaceuticals. If the President dies her revolution will be over and Southern will revert to anarchy.”
Murmurs spread around the conference room.
“Murderous thugs.”
“They had their own way for years.”
“True, and all the more reason we need to help," Professor Bjornsen said. “Our main problem is this storm. It’s world-wide and it’s even more ferocious down there. I’m not sure any pilot would be able to fly through it, and they would consider it madness to try.”
Cressida glanced at Luke. She knew they were thinking the same thing. “Jack Lacy will do it, she said. “I’ll give him a call.”
The doctors whispered and muttered.
“Nobody could fly through that.”
“Jack’s the only one crazy enough to attempt it.”
“Suicide.”
Luke said, “Anyone got a better idea?”
Silence.
A recorded message answered Cressida’s phone contact. “I’m occupied. State your business.”
She gave a brief account of the situation and ended the call.
Professor Bjornsen said, “Southern want an expert to treat the President. It’s a specialty they appear to have neglected. I’d like you to do it, Doctor Jade. Will Lacy take you and are you willing to go?”
She nodded. “Of course.” She heard Luke’s intake of breath and she sensed his unease. He knew about her history with Jack. She grasped his hand and whispered. “Don’t worry. It’s ok.”
No more than two minutes passed before her phone buzzed. Jack said, “I’m on my way. Have the juice ready.”
Cressida packed a supply of the antivenom into her shoulder bag and Luke waited with her on the NHH runway. In less than an hour they saw Jack’s plane, Lady Jade, circling above. Luke said. “Don’t let that hothead put you in any danger, Cressie. The President wouldn’t want you risking your life for her.”
She said, “I’ll be safer with Jack than with anyone else. I’ll be back soon.” She kissed him and ran towards the plane.
He called after her, “I read a book about how planes are held together. It was riveting.” She groaned.
“Welcome aboard, heartbreaker,” Jack said as she climbed in beside him. “It’s been a long time.”
“Don’t give me that heartbreaker crap. You weren’t exactly monogamous.”
He started the engine and Lady rose into the sky. “True, but I gave my plane your name. That must count for something, and I always came back to you.”
“Yeah, but I grew tired of waiting.”
They flew out over the ocean that covered most of Earth. The only dry land was that which had once been mountain ranges and high plateaux, and small uncharted islands thrown up by seismic activity on the ocean bed in recent years. “Hold tight,” he said. First stop La Paz and SHH.”
“Aren’t you going to refuel first?”
“No time. We’ve got enough to drop you there by parachute and for me to fly back to Northern.”
Cressida couldn’t shake off a sense of abandonment. “I thought we’d land at La Paz and you’d stay to bring me home.”
“Can’t be done. Before I picked you up, I had a call from Southern. The SHH runway is crowded with the president’s supporters. I can’t land there, and the region’s so heavily populated I’d probably kill a few of the residents if I brought Lady down anywhere else.”
“What good do they think keeping a vigil outside the hospital will do?”
“That’s not what they’re there for. They’re waiting for you.” He reached out and ruffled her hair. “Cheer up and change the subject. I hear you’ve hooked up with the pretty-boy doctor. How’s it going?”
“Very well, thanks.”
“But you won’t forget me.”
“No chance. I still have nightmares.”
What? About surfing the Himalayan shoreline and riding the dolphins off the Alpine coast?”
“No, about nearly being eaten by crocodiles in the swamps, and about that edible fungus you told me was a harmless hallucinogenic, and it made me sick for a week.”
“Well, call me if you get bored.”
They hit the storm. Lady shook and rattled. She dipped and dived in the roaring wind as lightning forked through the cloud banks. Cressida’s voice trembled. “We can’t fly through this, Jack. We’ll be torn to shreds.”
He laughed. “We’re not going through it. We’re going above it.”
The plane swept higher but during its ascent the lights on the control panels flickered out. Cold sweat trickled between Cressida’s shoulder blades and she fought down her panic. “What’s happening? Are we in trouble?”
“It’s the lightning. All the electricity out there must have thrown the instruments into a frenzy. Once we’re clear of it, they should be okay, but in the meantime we’re flying blind.”
“So we could be off course?”
“Yep. We need to follow the stars if we can see them.”
“And if we can’t?”
“We let Lady follow her nose. She’s at home in these skies.”
He’s mad, she thought. We’re both going to die and so is the President.
They rose above the storm. The wind dropped and after what seemed like hours the control panels lit up. “Where are we?” she asked.
“Only about five hundred miles off course.”
Her heart sank. “We’re not going to make it, are we?” I won’t reach the President in time.”
“You will,” he said. “I’ll get you there.” He sounded more serious than she’d ever heard, and she realized why.
“Do we have enough fuel for you to find somewhere to land?”
“Depends how long I need to keep looking, unless Lady can ride the wind.”
“Don’t joke. What’s the plan?”
“I’ll need to fly out to the ocean so I don’t kill anyone if I crash land. There are plenty of small uncharted islands out there and a fishing trawler’s bound to find me before I starve.”
“What if you don’t find an island before the fuel runs out?”
“You know the answer to that one, Cressie. Lady will nose dive into the ocean and be torn apart by seventy-foot waves, but I don’t intend to let it happen, now shut up and let me concentrate on getting you to Linda Ricarda. She’s the only one the people trust to put an end to years of oppression, so save her.”
“Do you think the warlords are responsible for what happened to her?”
“I know they are.”
She tried to relax but she was aware of the minutes and hours passing and she was close to losing hope when he said, “Put your parachute on, Cressie, We’re here.”
She strapped the contraption onto her back and turned to him. “Don’t die. Don’t you dare die.” She stepped into the in-flight exit chamber. Jack released the hatch and she jumped.
The wind-battered, rain-drenched crowd outside SHH reached out to her as she drifted to the ground. She looked up at the grey, cloud-banked sky, but Lady had gone. Someone helped her to detach herself from the parachute, and a helmeted figure rode up on a two wheeled vehicle and said, “Get on. I’ll take you to the President.” She climbed behind the rider, and they drove through the hospital entrance. She’d seen one of these vehicles in the Northern Museum at Snowdonia. It was called a Harley Davidson. She’d not realized they could be driven indoors. The engine hummed as they sped down a white-tiled, windowless corridor. The rider braked, pointed to a door signed ‘Intensive Care’ and said, “In there, Doctor. Save her.”
She hurried through the door while pulling the vial containing the antivenom from her shoulder bag. The President lay unconscious on a hospital bed. She was attached to a screen that monitored her vital signs. The bed was surrounded by doctors, nurses and a flock of people who appeared to have no purpose in being there.
Cressida said, “I’m a doctor from Northern. I have the antivenom and I must inject the President without delay.”
A small man wearing a military uniform and holding a large clipboard stepped in front of her. “May I see your identification documents?”
Cressida almost screamed at him. “I don’t have them. I left in rather a hurry. Please move aside. We’re running out of time.”
He shook his head. “Sorry. I can’t allow you to touch the president until I am satisfied that you have the necessary qualifications to treat her, and the appropriate security clearance.”
A voice from the doorway boomed, “Get out of the way, you fool, and let the doctor do her job.”
The little man blushed. “Of course, Vice President. I was only …”
“Out. And that goes for the rest of you except medical staff.” The flock exited. Cressida pulled aside the shoulder of the President’s surgical gown and injected her upper arm.
The Vice President said, “Doctor Jade, I presume. Waru Dangati at your service.” Her head was swimming and she felt close to a state of collapse, but she turned towards him. He offered his hand and she shook it. He said, “Will she recover?”
“I don’t know, Mr Vice President, but now she has a chance.”
“Thank you, and please call me Waru. Is there anything you need?”
“I must stay with her and monitor her blood pressure. She may require further injections, but I’ve brought plenty of the antivenom with me. I just need to sit down before I fall down. It’s been quite a day. Could you get me a chair? And call me Cressie.”
He called to a nurse, “Fetch a chair for Cressie. A comfortable one. And bring her some refreshment.”
A nurse pushed a padded armchair to the side of the bed. Another nurse handed Cressida a cup of strong coffee, a specialty of the region and far superior to the Northern variety. She sank into the chair with relief, sipped the coffee and thanked the nurses before turning back to the Vice President.
“There’s something else you can do for me, Waru. I’m concerned about the pilot who risked his life to bring me here.” She explained Jack’s predicament. “I know there’s only a slim chance that he survived but when the storm abates would you please arrange a search party for him?”
Waru nodded. “If the plane comes down in the ocean it will be smashed to pieces, but I believe we’re talking about Jack Lacy here. If anyone could stay alive out there it’s that reprobate. If he did, I promise we’ll find him.”
“Thank you.”
Cressida monitored the President throughout the night. She’d watched many newsreels of the beautiful charismatic leader, but now the woman’s skin was blotched and grey, and she appeared shriveled and lifeless.
In the course of the next few hours the President’s blood pressure and temperature stabilized, and her breathing became more regular. Her colour returned and she slept normally. Cressida rested her own head on the mattress and she too drifted into sleep.
The storm had passed and dawn was breaking when she awoke. Someone had placed a blanket around her shoulders. The President was still sleeping but starting to stir.
Cressida told the nurses, “She’ll be very weak for a couple of days. Take good care of her.”
One of them said, “We will. Thank you, Doctor Cressie.” Cressida smiled. Doctor Cressie. She liked that.
The hospital provided her with a private bedroom, in-suite bathroom, and a breakfast consisting of bread, fish, a variety of fruits and more coffee. It all tasted good.
After taking a shower, she rested, looking out of the window at the vast sun-speckled ocean on the horizon. It was hard to believe there had once been densely populated continents out there. She remembered telling Jack, “The scientists say that the Polar Regions will freeze again one day. The weather patterns with be less erratic, the waters will recede, and the land masses will re-emerge.”
He’d said, “Yeah, until the human race cocks it up again. How many times will we damn near kill the planet before we get the message?” He was fond of rhetorical questions.
Waru arrived, interrupting her reverie. “The plane’s here to take you home, Cressie, if you’re ready.”
“I’m ready,” she said. “Any news of Jack?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. It doesn’t look good, but we’ll keep searching.”
He accompanied her to the runway. “Southern is deeply in your dept. Linda is a great leader. She’s our best hope of achieving a prosperous and peaceful future.”
“Jack believes the warlords tried to kill her. Could he be right?”
“Almost certainly. She’ll be well guarded from now on.”
“Make sure you are too, Waru. The people also need you.”
They said their goodbyes and she boarded the plane. Luke was waiting for her when they landed. He hugged her. They needed no words.
Later that night he said. “I’m sorry about Jack.”
“I’m not giving up on him yet,” she said. “I know they don’t think he made it, but they’ll keep searching.”
“Do you still love him?”
“Yes, as a dear, crazy friend, but no more than that.”
The following month Cressida and Luke formalized their relationship with a social contract. She treasured her memories, but she was more content than at any other time in her life.
• • •
She and Luke were at home on a summer evening four months later when the doorbell rang. She opened the door and Jack lifted her up in his arms.
She pounded him with her fists. “Put me down, you idiot,” she yelled. “I’m pregnant.”
“Congratulations. If it’s a boy call it Jack.”
“Like hell I will.”
He carried her into the living room. Luke slapped his back, laughing. “Good to see you, wild man. Where’ve you been all this time?”
“I’ll tell you when the pair of you stop beating me up.”
She pounded him again. “I thought you were dead. I’ve been worried sick.”
He grinned. “Serves you right for dumping me.”
Luke poured them coffee. Jack tasted it and grimaced. “I’ll send you some of the real stuff from Southern.”
“Never mind the coffee. What happened to you?”
He told them he’d reached a tiny volcanic island. “I’m afraid it was the last flight for Lady Jade. I was out of fuel and had to crash land. She took a battering and broke up. I was there for three days, but I had my emergency water flask and protein strips in my jacket.”
Luke asked, “Who found you?”
“A fishing trawler. Waru Dangati had asked the fleet to watch out for me. He was well impressed with you, Cressie.”
She said, “I was impressed with him, too.”
Jack laughed and nudged Luke, “Take care, man, or she’ll break your heart the way she broke mine.”
Luke said, “You’re not me.” He winked at Cressida. She hoped she wasn’t blushing.
“Enough of the crap,” she said to Jack. “Tell us why Waru didn’t let us know you were safe and where you’d been all this time.”
“I told him to say nothing because I wanted to surprise you. I would have been here sooner, but I’ve been getting acquainted with Linda.”
“What? The President?”
“Why not? She’s s fine woman and I was the hero of the hour. I brought her the angel who saved her life. The warlords are still around, but she has me to watch her back now.”
Luke said, “Doesn’t she have the army to do that?”
“Yeah, but I do it better.”
“So could I, if they were on the operating table and I had a knife in my hand.”
Jack said, “Pretty boy’s gotta smart mouth, Cressie.” He fumbled in his jacket pocket and brought out a shining medallion engraved ‘With Gratitude’. “Linda asked me to give you this. It’s gold. There’s a lot of it to be found in the Pico Bolivar area.”
Cressida looked at the pendant in the palm of her hand. “I don’t deserve this, Jack. She should have given one to you.”
She wanted to but I told her I’d rather have a new plane, so she had one built for me. I’ve called her Lady Ricarda.”
Cressida felt a sudden pang of loss, but she’d moved on and she was glad Jack had too.
He said, “I saved this though.” From the top pocket of his jacket he produced a piece of tangled metal. “It’s all I have left of Lady Jade. I keep it close to my heart.”
Glancing at Luke, she could see he was trying hard not to laugh.
After an hour or two of Jack’s anecdotes and reminiscences, Cressida was relieved when Jack said, “Must go. I promised Linda I’d be back tomorrow, and I don’t want to keep the lady waiting.”
I wonder how long that will last, she thought.
They walked him to the door. He bear-hugged them both, and said, “If it’s a girl you can call her Jaquetta.”
After he left, Luke said, “Do you think it’s true about him and the president or is it a load of bojangles?”
She shrugged, “Who knows?” I lived with that man for nearly ten years and I still don’t know if I can believe a word he says.”