Nineteen 18
Covid 19 Part 18
Gone missing.

©Copyright to Beverly Taff 2020.

List of Characters.
Terry Harrington. Fugitive boy marked for compulsory transitioning.
Samantha, (Sam) First transitioned kid Terry meets on the streets.
Theodora (Dora) Leader of the transitioned kid gang.
Jessica. (Jessie) The only natal girl in Dora’s gang.
Charlie Member of the transitioned gang.
Jan Another member of the transitioned gang.
Ron Café owner who lost his daughter to egg-snatchers.
Doctor McTavish. Female paediatrician
Doctor Cummins Professorial Consultant Paediatrician
Sarah. Senior Midwife at the maternity unit
Dawn Very young trainee nurse.
Eleanor Jessica’s mother.
Diana Terri’s mother.
Marek. Refugee from ISIS terrorists in Syria.
George. Clever Insightful lab tech.
Jamal Marek’s female 1st cousin.

Part 18 Gone missing.

Eventually, Professor Cummins managed to secure a very argumentative Jan in one of the apartments in the block next to Jessica and Terri’s apartment. However, it took all of Charlie’s help to do it. To ensure the girl did not try to get out he had a police guard posted at the entrances.

Once he was happy with the situation he returned to the labs to chat with George about the final procedures before releasing the vaccine.

“ Bout two weeks as I predicted proof, or four at worst. Couple of tests still not come in from Leeds.”

“I’ll give them a prod George. Now, about those ideas you had about possibly improving the numbers from the blood sample. Are we any further along with the cultures?”

George rotated on his lab stool and offered the professor a view of the screen.

“This culture looks promising. It’s about fifty percent more productive. If it proves viable, we might raise the production rate to three hundred thousand vaccines per twenty centilitres of blood.”

“Which still doesn’t put us much nearer a global solution. Still, small steps slowly, at least we’ll be able to treat the worst infected people.”

“Some of my colleagues are suggesting creating just a few large regional treatment centres, bring the patients to the vaccines not the vaccines to the patients. It would be much easier to monitor results and progress.”

“Seems like a good idea. Super-sized Nightingale hospitals.”

“And it would be easier to spot if any patients have something similar going on in their blood like the donor.”

“He was always asymptomatic. He’s never ever shown the slightest signs of illness or infection. Had he not been involved with those street kids; his immunity would never have manifested itself.”

George let out an involuntary croak of disgust.

“Yes, and what a disgusting way to find out, absorbing somebody else’s phlegm into your own lungs then coughing it back.”

“That’s what I call love.” The professor grimaced. “Well they were a couple. At least Jessica and Terry were. Anyway, keep soldiering on; I presume the sperm donations are going smoothly now.”

“The science is,” George revealed; “can’t speak for the politics. Marek’s niece is on the lists for tomorrow’s inseminations. She’s offered to donate her eggs on a regular basis if her pregnancy is successful.”

“Oh that’s good, adding to the gene pool.” The professor grinned.

“And ensuring she gets to stay in the UK.”

“That was a given anyway, part of the agreement when Marek went east. Anyway, she’s very pretty and intelligent. She was training to be a doctor before the ISIS debacle.”

“I’m not running a eugenics lab here professor.” George censured the professor mildly.

“Even so, if we’re starting a stud book, - and we will have to, - she’s the sort of genetic material we need. Sorry George, morality and religion is not the issue here, survival and science is. Has she agreed to having daughters first.”

“She says all daughters, and lots of them.”

“Not ‘babies for Allah’, I hope.” The professor replied, slightly revealing his atheist propensities.”

“Oh hell no. She’s like her brother but tenfold.” I was chatting to Marek last night; his cousin had a nightmare in the city, then later in the camps being forced to use her partial qualifications to do work normally done by top class surgeons. One day she’d be removing shrapnel from a child’s skull and the next day helping mothers trying to enforce hygiene for seriously sick people. Scrubbing floors to set examples. Next thing she was being dragged around the city and forced to perform field surgery on some injured ISIS butcher. Believe me, Muslim, she ain’t; leastways not Islamist anyway. She hates them.”

“Well, keep up the good work, I’d like to speak to this Jamal.”

“She’s coming in tonight, preparatory to her op tomorrow. Maggie’s operating on her. She’s nervous around men.”

“I’m not surprised,” Professor Cummins agreed. “See you after my surgeries, tomorrow.”

ooo000ooo

“Good morning Maggie.”

“Morning proff. All set?”

“Yes. There’s twenty inseminations today. You’ll be doing four of the transitioners and the Cis girl Jamal, you know; Marek’s cousin. I’ll work with the rest of the team and we should be finished by one.”

“See you for lunch. It’ll be something of a novelty to implant a Cis girl with the revised technique. I can’t see any complications though. It’s her own egg and super-dad’s sperm.”

“You’ll be keeping copious notes I take it,” The professor confirmed.

“All taken care of; I’ll see you at lunch.” Maggie confirmed as they made their way to the theatres.

At about the same time that same morning, Terri arrived to deliver the sperm and share a few pleasant hours with Jessica and their daughters, before going down to the labs to donate her third twenty centilitres of blood. After this donation there was to be a two month break before the next donation. The doctors were keeping a close watch on Terri’s health.
As she cleared security at the main gate she met Charlie crossing the grounds between her accommodation block and the refectory.

“Oh hello. I didn’t realise you were here, I thought you were staying at the Nightingale.”

“Oh you wouldn’t believe it but Jan’s gone and blabbed!”
“How d’ you mean?” Terri wondered innocently.

“The stupid cow got drunk celebrating her pregnancy and she started shooting off her mouth in the club; bragging about her being immune to Covid 21 and having been vaccinated.”

“Oh shit! Any reactions?”

“Plenty. She was carrying the confidential letter from the nightingale confirming her pregnancy and the fact that she was ‘believed’ to be immune from the bug. Some of the more sober revellers got wind and the shit hit the fan. Before dawn broke yesterday, there was a mob outside the Nightingale demanding to be vaccinated.”

Terri listened with increasing concerns as Charlie related the whole story then cursed as she dashed up to see Jessica.

“So it’s true then.” Terri confirmed the state of play with Jessica.

“Oh yes, the whole bang-shoot. They’ve had to secure that stupid little bitch in ‘C’ block with a police guard, at least until the vaccine’s ready.”

“Does Jan know I’m super-daddy?”

“Not as far as I know, nor does Charlie. That secret is at least safe for now.”

“Where’s Dora, she should be keeping an eye on Jan, she seems to be able to keep her on the straight and narrow.”

“She’s at Ron’s café I suppose.”

“She’s not. I stopped by at Ron’s to share an early morning coffee. Dora’s not there, and she didn’t stay there last night.”

Jessica frowned fearfully. “She’s not here, Professor Cummins left her at the nightingale to deliver the letter advising the mob that the vaccine wouldn’t be ready for two to four weeks.”

“So she must still be at the Nightingale. I know she’s got a bed there, cos she’s stayed over a few times with Jan and Charlie.”

“We’d better phone, it’s not like her to go AWOL.”

Terri was already tugging her phone out and after a brief, tense conversation she became worried.

“She’s not there, I’ll phone Sam.”
Jessica now started to worry as Terri checked.

“ ‘And you’ve seen nothing of her.’ --- ‘No, first place I checked and there as well. -- No, she’d have come up here to speak to Jessica before going there, she wasn’t best pleased with Jan. I’ll go over there and check though, but Charlie didn’t mention it.”

Terri turned to Jessica.

“I’m popping across to Jan’s apartment, what number is it?”

“It’s the one with the police guard. They might not let you in. Strict instructions from the proff.”

“I only have to speak through the door to check.”

Jessica sighed as Terri kissed her and their daughters before hurrying across to ‘C’ block. It took but moments to confirm Dora was not with Jan and now Terri was getting really worried. She didn’t return to Jessica’s apartment but crossed straight over to talk again to Charlie who was still breakfasting in the refectory.

She immediately put Charlie in the picture and asked the all-important question.

“So you last saw her distributing the leaflets.”

“Yes.

“Have you got any copies of it?”

“No the Proff got us out of there before anything could develop.”

Realising she would get no further questioning Charlie, Terri phoned the Nightingale to firstly advise that Dora was missing, and secondly to get a copy of the notice that Dora had been distributing. It appeared on Jessica’s email promptly but it gave no indication of where Dora might have gone, - or been taken.

By two o’clock the Professor had finished the inseminations and authorised a full alert. Security at the fertility clinic was strengthened while Terri had donated her third and last twenty centilitres of blood before advising the Professor that she was returning to her secret hidey-hole where nobody knew where she was.

“Are your sure of this tactic, you’re more secure here.” Professor Cummins tried to dissuade her.

“I don’t think so. Everybody will know world-wide that there’s a vaccine coming down the pipe and the first place they’ll come looking is here. The best thing you can do is transfer the vaccine production to another location. George will help I’m sure.”

“You mean keep the sperm and fertility work going on here but separate the Vaccine work. How will you get to two different locations?”

“I don’t. You transfer the blood from Bristol to wherever.”

“So you’ll remain as Terri and just be a girl vising my clinic.”

“I’ve got one very trusted lieutenant who nobody knows about, well nobody but Dora and Jessica. I’ll not mention her name to you but she was with me when I first started living rough. Don’t go asking about her. She’s pretty much living rough as well.”

“Well, I can’t stop you I suppose for if I tried, it would immediately expose you to kidnap.”

“Exactly. Nobody’s looking for some street bitch. If you need to get in touch with my lieutenant or me, get a message to Ron at the café. Otherwise you’ll only see me when I come to donate blood every six weeks.”

“Jessica’s going to miss you.”

“Jessica understands, she’s lived on the streets and knows the score.”

“I don’t like this arrangement Terri.” The professor protested.

“Needs must when the devil cracks his whip Proff. Sorry and all that, but I feel safer hiding out than staying here as a ‘sitting duck’, gorra go now, just got to say goodbye to Jessica.”

Before Professor Cummins could day any more, Terri had moved swiftly for the door and left. In the corridor he quickly sped past Dr McTavish with barely a nod and a quick ‘hi’.

“Och; she was in one almighty Rush,” Maggie observed as she entered and made straight for the coffee machine..

“Yes,” she feels safer in her own undisclosed hidey hole than she does staying here.” Professor Cummins conceded.

“Can’t say I blame her. This place is being watched constantly. Everybody knows the sperm arrives here. It’s a good job Terri has an excellent disguise. Is it true, Dora’s gone missing?”

“Yes. We suspect it’s a hostage deal.”

“What. Superdad for Dora?”

“Or blood donor for Dora.”

“And what does Terri say?”

“She’s keeping her cards close to his chest.”

“Not funny Brendon.”

ooo000ooo

At the knock on her door, Jessica struggled to set the twins down and get up from her comfortable nursing chair. Through the spyglass she recognised Terri and unlocked the door.

“Where’s your key?”

“Here.” She waved the key in Jessica’s face. “You dead-locked the door.”

“Oh sorry.”

Once Jessica was comfortable again Terri explained the situation. Jessica started to tear up as she wondered.

“Who do they want, you or me or the both of us?”

“I don’t know yet, there’s been no word. We don’t even know for certain if she has been kidnapped. We’re just operating on that presumption. Now here’s what you have to do.”

Over a cup of coffee, Terri explained the plan and wrote some essential telephone numbers on a small notebook page.

“Hide these, and don’t put them on your phone. They’re for emergencies only when all else fails. You never know who’s hacking your phone. If I need to reach you, Sam will call you or Ron.

Jessica was fully alert to the dangers so she taped the page to the bottom of her panty drawer and carefully replaced the lining paper without creasing it. With the arrangements finalised, they hugged each other tightly then Terri left. After disembarking from the bus, she visited the Wesleyan Chapel in the city centre. It was an excellent technique for slipping a tail because all one had to do was enter via the eighteenth century old chapel front door, slip behind the pulpit, step through the hidden back door and walk out on the opposite side of the block through the restaurant. It was a simple matter to then cross the street and disappear into any of the several large stores.
Once certain she was not being followed, Terri made her way to Sam’s little apartment that she could now afford as a pregnant transitioner.

ooo000ooo