Page 53 - Archangel

bound for benaco

The next morning, MacIain rose later than Collins, Kenyatta and Ngetti.
Snagging one of Isa’s crescent rolls and promptly smacked with her
infamous wooden spoon for the infraction, Skye rounded the corner of the
clinic to find his three colleagues and friends conferring over a document
Sean held in his hand.
He greeted them with, “Hey, ya’ll. It’s amazing what a difference a good
night’s sleep makes.” Skye was greeted with three stares and a pregnant
pause. After 10 more seconds, he smiled and finally blurted, ”Which one of
you is going to tell me what the hell is going on?”
With the two combat-decorated Kenyan special forces operators
refusing to shift their gaze from Collins, the Northern Irish doctor finally
sighed and spat, “There’s no fuggin’ easy way to say it, Lad, so here goes.”
Passing a fax sheet to MacIain, he preambled, “It’s from Jack Lozi in
Benaco, Skye.”
Turning away from his friends and toward Lake Kivu for more light,
MacIain read . . .
“Brother,
“I have heard and my heart is broken over the loss of our sister Layla. I know
she rests with God as you read this. She would also understand why I have no
choice but to ask for your help in the midst of our mourning and sorrow. Without
it, PFW is lost in Benaco.
“Bless you, Brother, for buying us time a month ago with the donated
antibiotics from your pharmaceutical manufacturing contacts. We’re sharing
with everyone. In fact, the United Nations World Health Organization head of
mission has asked PFW/me to be Benaco Health Sector Lead. We were endorsed
by the likes of ICRC, MSF and CARE. However, the antibiotics are down to
a few weeks’ supply remaining. Add to that this week’s disappearance of Irish
INGO GOAL’s Dr. Liam Kelly. I don’t need to know specifics, but I know you and
Sean have ‘contacts.’ We need your collective help to know who and where they
have taken him to start, even when in the middle of Benaco triage. If that goes
unanswered, we’re all targets.
“We’re swimming amongst 400,000 refugees and counting. We had only
enough resource and capacity to treat half of them BEFORE your donation.
Several of the respective INGO mission heads (Ian? Marcel?) have worked with
you over the years and insisted on you, by name. They feel you’re one of only

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