S
he could see that her mobile phone had fallen under the seat. Good, she thought. That was a piece of evidence that was left behind in case she did not escape alive. It would establish that she had been in the car at one stage or another. The automobile stopped abruptly. She almost fell from the car seat to the floor. Mark then dragged her out of the vehicle and removed the duct tape from her feet. Still holding her, he took her into the facility. Keisha did not even know that this unit existed. Something suspicious, or even criminal, was definitely going on.
He opened the unlocked lab door.
“Claire! Claire! Are you there?”
There was no answer. He called her on his mobile and she answered.
“Go down the corridor and turn left. I will meet you there.”
As there were approaching the meeting place, Keisha opened her eyes in horror. She could see a group of people in an emaciated state. They looked sedated or drugged. They all looked to be of Asian origin. What was going on?!? Was this the human consignment that she read about in the document sent to her by mistake? Pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place. Claire suddenly emerged from upstairs. She was wearing a mask and gloves.
“Here, you’re going to need these.”
She handed him a mask and gloves. But offered none to Keisha.
“We finally caught up with you, Keisha,” she said with wry amusement.
“I can see that you guys have been busy. What’s going on here?” she asked her boss.
“What’s going on is that you couldn’t keep your mouth shut, could you? You’ve opened a can of worms. You had to poke your nose in where you shouldn’t! Now, you have to face the consequences.”
“I only did what was right for the safety of millions of people.”
“And how do you think vaccines are made? Human experimentation happens a lot; it is well documented.”
“Yeah, but those experiments were branded unethical.”
“The advancement of medical science is only possible by taking such risks. That’s how millions of people have been saved from deadly viruses and diseases. We have all benefitted from these experiments, no matter how unethical they were.”
“You really make me sick.”
“That’s why you and I could never get along. You could never see the bigger picture. You’re in your own little world.”
“You’re so cynical!”
“We would not have achieved anything if we didn’t take those risks. It amazes me how naïve you are.”
“I beg to differ. You’re using your fellow human beings as guinea pigs. Have you thought of the impact on them?”
“We will all die of something one day. At least their death, if they die, will not be in vain. It will be for the benefit of all humankind.”
“That’s not our prerogative. God is the creator; it’s for Him to decide when to end someone’s life.”
“Don’t get religious on me. That’s why you will never go far. You’re a coward.”
“I have a conscience, Claire. Something you never had much of.”
“I have ambition and I know what it takes to reach the top. You’re too busy hiding behind God! You will never know how to achieve success. That’s why I’m at the highest level of management in our firm.” While she was busy boasting, she could see Mark was getting nervous. He was probably not even aware of this trafficking business, and she assumed he wanted no part in it. He looked like he wanted to bolt as soon as he could, but probably already knew that he was already in deep trouble.
“So, what’s going on in here?”
“Well, I might as well tell you, since you won’t live to tell the story anyway,” she replied coldly. “We’re doing human experiments on those guys over there. We want to test the vaccine on them. We’ve had four rounds of testing so far. It’s looking promising, but the problem is we’ve run out of time. We have to produce this vaccine sooner rather than later. We’re already behind our competitors. As you can see, they have been given the deadly virus but have survived because we injected them with the vaccine. So, fingers crossed, it’s fairly effective.”
“Where on earth did you get all these people?”
“Mainly Asia. Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan.”
“Basically, some of the poorest Asian countries. How did you bribe or blackmail them into doing this?”
“Well, they have been handsomely paid.”
“Yeah, but they are risking their lives, so what’s the point?”
“Let’s say that their families will be well taken care of.”
“What a consolation! So, the Helsinki Convention doesn’t mean anything to you?”
“You’re such a softie!”
“So, the Convention doesn’t mean anything to you?” she insisted.
“Look, sometimes you have to compromise and accept the human cost for the advancement of medical science.”
“It’s unacceptable – that’s why the Convention was implemented in the first place.”
“You’re living in Utopia, dearest. Come back to the real world.”
“I can’t believe you’re so cynical. Life means nothing to you.”
“That’s where you’re mistaken, it does. That’s the reason why we do what we do. That’s how millions of lives were saved through vaccines and medications. A small group of people had to be sacrificed for the greater good.”
“To me, this is totally unethical.”
“You think you know it all, but you’re completely ignorant. Have you never heard of Edward Jenner and how he discovered the smallpox vaccine? He used an eight-year-old boy for his experiments. Neither the small boy nor his parents gave consent to this experimentation. Jenner is credited with saving millions of lives because, as you know, smallpox was a deadly virus at the time.”
“That was another era and you know it.”
“Yeah, but we have the same needs today. Deadly diseases and viruses are lurking around that require human experiments to enable us to develop their vaccines. Things have not changed.”
“Well, there’s no debating with you. If you don’t see anything wrong with that, there’s no point in continuing this conversation.”
Keisha was fuming. Claire just shrugged her shoulders; it did not really matter to her what Keisha thought. The two women never saw eye-to-eye on anything, which is why they often collided.
“Mark, I want you to take Keisha and take a photo of her next to these guys.”
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“We’re going to pin everything on you. Say that you did the human experiments secretly for financial gain. The photo will act as proof. You also killed your childminder because she came across some documents that implicated you. That’s why you never came forward to the police with any tangible information. You even disappeared from your home for a while to avoid detection. If you’re wondering what documents I’m talking about, I’ve prepared some fake reports. I’ve also written a confession for you that you will type up and send to the police via your personal email. We will then pretend that your death was a suicide. Bingo, case closed!”
She sounded very satisfied with her plot.
“No one will believe that!”
“You won’t be able to defend yourself because you will be dead, remember?”
“None of my friends will believe that story.”
“It’s not about what people believe. It’s about evidence and proof. Once again, you’re so naïve. All the evidence will point to you. Greed got the better of you. You fell for it and did the unthinkable.”
Keisha was helpless. There had to be a solution somewhere. ‘Oh Lord, please come to my rescue,’ she prayed silently in her heart.
The three were startled by a noise.
Before they could react, Zack came charging in and hit Mark’s hand. The gun fell on the floor. Zack managed to kick it in such a way that Mark could no longer reach it. The two men faced each other.
“I know you,” Mark said.
Zack looked at him; he could not remember where he had seen this face before.
“Kickboxing in Crystal Palace. We did some sparring together a few months ago.”
Keisha could see that Zack vaguely remembered as he hesitated. The emotions running over his face meant he was probably going over previous fights and trying to remember techniques he had used against him. Mark didn’t look as fit or as athletic as Zack, but had the advantage of being heavier. After bobbing and weaving around each other, Zack moved in quickly and was able to neutralise his opponent, who was now breathing heavily, with a Muay Thai takedown from the clinch.
Keisha, in the meantime, was so shocked she remained rooted on the spot while Claire was waiting to see what happened with the fight.
Out of nowhere, Julie appeared on the scene.
“What are you doing here, Julie?” Keisha asked her in total shock.
“Surprised to see me, right? I’ve been following you guys since you moved to Chelsea. I also noticed that Zack had been following you. I had to make sure that he didn’t see me. I was tailing him. He didn’t even notice, which was just as well.”
“Why were you following us?”
“You’re the source of my problems and the enemy of my progress. You’ve been a real curse to me! I want to get back at you. I suppose you could say I’m seeking revenge.”
“What have I done?”
“Since Zack arrived, he’s only had eyes for you. Had you not been in the picture, I would have got his full attention.”
“That’s completely insane!”
She could not believe her ears. This was the person that had gone to the same church and sung in the same choir with her for years. They had attended numerous events together – weddings, baby dedications, baptisms, picnics, and choral performances. She knew that Julie was a difficult person, but she would never have branded her a criminal. Right now, she was a total stranger.
“That’s what you think. Anyway, I’m here to help Claire with her plans, which I thought were brilliant.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Not at all, love.”
“But it doesn’t make sense! Zack doesn’t even love you and he never will.”
“If I can’t have him, you can’t have him either.”
Claire and Julie were now trying to grab Keisha and put her with the individuals taking part in the experiments. She did her best to fight them off and, with a lucky push, she managed to escape and run. She was faster than the two of them and after rounding a corner, found a door unlocked that she pulled open and entered the room. As she found a table to hide behind, she realised she was sweating profusely.
***
Zack had the opportunity to put into practice some of the Muay Thai strikes he had learnt. He was a much better kickboxer than Mark. His artillery of strikes was more diverse and complete than that of his rival. Yet, he chose not to fight. He had taken on Thai kickboxing for exercise, not to actually use it on someone. His sole purpose was to protect Keisha and save her life. All he had to do was to ensure that Mark was kept under control and remained harmless.
“Give it up, Mark. Just stop! You guys have been caught.”
“You’re wrong, mate. I’m gonna get rid of the both of you!”
“Not a chance! You’ll have to get past me first.”
“No worries,” he said, really believing that he could overpower Zack.
“I see you’re stubborn. But you’re no match for me and you know it!”
Mark would not listen. He had a lot to lose. He did not want to go back to jail. No way! He was fighting for dear life. Zack had to use the body lock technique to stop him. However, Mark would not easily give up. Zack simply used the two-hand head control on his opponent. Unfortunately for Mark, he had an old injury that he sustained in prison, which caused an untold amount of pain.
“Aaaargh!!!”
Mark whimpered and contorted in pain, unable to fight anymore as he lay on the floor. They were out of danger.
Zack went looking for Keisha.
“Keisha! Keisha! Where are you?!?”
There was no response.
“Keisha! It’s me!”
Keisha came out of her hideout. She ran to Zack and threw herself into his arms.
The police arrived at the scene, holding both Claire and Julie.
“How come the police are here?”
“I called them before I made my entrance.”
“Can you confirm that these two women are involved?” a police officer asked.
“Yes, they are,” Zack answered without hesitation.
The officer read them their rights.
“You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
“You will have to come to the police station to make a statement,” the same officer said to Keisha and Zack.
***
Keisha and Tanya were sitting at home in Finsbury Park. She had promised herself at the lab facility that if she came out alive, she would not keep anything from her daughter any longer, no matter how hard it was.
“We’ve got to talk, Tee.”
“You sound serious. Have you finally agreed to marry Zack?”
“Tee! It’s not about that at all!” She was taken aback.
“Okay.”
“You know, I didn’t tell you how Pearl died.”
“How did she die?”
“She was murdered by some people who were trying to get rid of me.”
“What? Are you for real?!?” Tanya said, alarmed.
“But don’t worry, the assassins got caught and are heading straight to jail.”
“Good for them!”
“We also need to talk about what happened years ago.”
“Oh, what happened?” Tanya was curious.
“I’ve got to tell you this. You had a big brother called Charlie.”
“Oh really? Where is he? With my father?”
Keisha stayed quiet for a while. She breathed deeply.
“Your father and I had a huge argument. He didn’t believe that you were his daughter because of your beautiful blue eyes. And so, I rushed out of the house and did not realise that your brother had followed me. I reversed the car and hit him. He was killed instantly. It was a terrible accident.”
“What? He died?!?”
She did not even notice the cause of the argument. She was in total shock.
“I’m so sorry, baby girl. Yes, he died. I know it’s a lot to take in, Tee.”
“Why… why am I just… just learning this now?” she asked, the grief almost choking her words, tears in her eyes.
“I didn’t want to hurt you, my love.”
“But I feel like you hid a big part of our lives from me. I always thought I was an only child.”
“I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner. But I thought it would hit you too hard. I wanted to protect you from the pain.”
Tanya then remembered the scene in the church earlier on and her strength was renewed.
“You know what? Let’s throw it all in the Sea of Forgetfulness.”
“What’s that?”
She proceeded to explain what had happened in church with Aunty Fifi and her group of friends. “Good idea, Tee. Let’s do that.”
They both felt better. The past wouldn’t haunt them any longer. Tanya took it all in her stride. She had come a long way from the shy and frightened girl she was a few months earlier. Since she played the mirror game with Divine, she was no longer worried about her looks. They had both learnt a great deal over the last year.
***
Keisha arranged to meet Zack. She had decided that life was too short to continue entertaining her fears. Her former boss might have been right about one thing, she was risk-averse by nature. But this was about to change. He had arrived with a red rose and a fruit basket.
“Will you marry me?” he asked, looking into her eyes.
This was the ‘Kairos’ moment, the moment of truth.
“Yes, I will!”
She did not waste time either. They were both ecstatic, elated.
“You know, from the time I saw you, I knew that you were the one,” Zack said, smiling.
“Oh really? Do you know that Tanya had a dream a few months ago? She dreamt that someone was trying to kill me and that you came to the rescue. She was convinced that this was a message from God. I think she might have been right, you know.”
“She was right. You should have paid attention. We could have been engaged months ago. You were too busy playing hard to get,” he said jokingly.
“I wasn’t ready. But, anyway, that’s in the past. The most important thing is that we are engaged now.”
Upstairs, Tanya was relieved. She said her prayers and thanked the Lord that she had been reunited with her mother. Soon enough, she was dreaming and could hear her mum whispering into her ear: “Sweet dreams, Tanya.”
The End