Covid 19 part 19.

Part 19

Having ensured she was not being followed; Terri entered the large ‘Primark’ Store before emerging in the Bear Garden, then she took a bus to Avonmouth. There she loitered in a little street café close to the old dock entrance as she kept an eye on the un-numbered door of Jan’s little flat.

Eventually, as the shadows deepened, her heart gave a nervous flutter as she spotted her earliest street friend appear with her supermarket bags in a little tow-along shopping trolly. Having ensured that Sam was alone, (As she expected her to be.) Terri paid for her last cup of tea and slipped away to knock softly on Sam’s door.

Now at last safe, and no longer a street-kid anymore, Sam opened the door without any nervous checks and squealed with delighted surprise when she recognised Terri.
“Eeek! Come in, come in! Where’ve you been!”

Despite not having seen her friend for months, Sam did not squeal Terri’s name. She had always been the wariest of the gang and her street habits had not deserted her. Terri entered and looked around to admire Sam’s efforts to make the mean little apartment comfortable.

“Sit down girl, so what brings you to this neck of the woods?”

“I need a safe place for a few weeks.”

“What-choo been up to now?”

“Nothing. It’s just some stuff that happened and it’s put me in spot.”

“Go on.”

Terri related the last few days events and Sam started to choke with laughter as she failed to suppress her amusement.

“It’s not bloody funny Sam! Dora’s in danger!”

Eventually, Sam recovered her composure and filled her coffee mug with her third dose of cheap supermarket ‘instant’ mud. Before explaining.

“I hate to disagree with you my lovely, but Dora’s not in danger.”

Terri’s eyes lit up with hope and relief.

“D’ you know where she is?”

“Yes.”

“Well go on then. Don’t keep me in suspense.”

“Ask no questions, you’ll get told no lies. The less you know, the less danger you’re in. And the less danger for Dora.”

“How do you know what sort of danger I’m in?”

“Dora’s told me everything. It corresponds exactly to what you’ve told me. Here, use my phone, she won’t respond to your phone because she knows you’re probably already being watched.”
Terri almost snatched Sam’s phone from her hand as she listened to the ‘quick-dial’ tone already making contact. A soft, almost conspiratorial ‘Hello’ responded.

“Is that you Dora?”

There was a short gasp as Dora recognised Terri’s voice.

“Yes. What are you doing at Sam’s?”

“Looking for you.”

“Well, obviously, I’m not there, but be assured, I’m safe. The question is, are you?”

Terri understood that Dora was aware of both issues, ‘Super-dad’ and ‘the blood donor’. But Sam may not be aware of the ‘blood donor’ issue. She double checked by turning to Sam.

“Are you aware of the blood-donor vaccine story?”

“I’ve heard talk of it,” Sam replied. “They’ve found somebody who’s got antibodies in their blood that might be used to make a vaccine.”

Terri fell into a thoughtful silence as she debated her conundrum.

It would be utterly unfair to expose Sam to any dangers associated with Terri’s blood donations without warning her; and yet if she told Sam, it would be another person in the loop, another potential leak, another ring on the ‘tail of rattle-snake’ that could come back to bite her. Seeking reassurance she whispered down the phone to Dora.

“I’m gonna have to come clean.”

“I think you are. Sam’s safe. She was one of the safest in the gang in the bad times.”

Sam frowned as she watched Terri whispering down the phone.

“Secrets Terri? Our gang never used to have secrets, leastwise, not Dora and I.”

Terri looked up apologetically.

“I’m going to have to tell you. Dora’s agreed. It’s not right exposing you to dangers you’re not told about.”
She handed the open phone back to Sam as she took a deep breath to explain.

“I’m the blood donor!”

Sam squinted with confusion before responding thoughtfully.

“No-oo. You’re Superdad; the sperm donor. Dora and Charlie trusted me with that secret and I’ve never revealed it to anybody. They had to tell me when I went to visit Jan and Charlie at the nightingale and they weren’t there. I thought they’d died until the hospital told me to phone them.”

Terri took another deep breath as she prepared to fully enlighten Sam.

“Well. It’s a fact; I’m ‘the blood donor as well. Check with Dora.”

Sam returned to the still open phone in her hand.

“Is it true Dora?”

“F’raid so Sammy.”

Sam looked from phone to Terri and back to the phone before falling into a thoughtful silence. Terri smiled wanly as she considered her oldest street friend..

‘Sam had always been the ‘insightful one’

After a long thoughtful pause, Sam finally spoke.

“So it’s only to be for a few weeks.”

“Two weeks to a month, the Proff said. Then the vaccine should be ready.”

“I can manage that – if you can. There’s a bed in what was going to be the nursery.”

“Okay.”

“No phoning Dora on your phone, you use mine,” Sam stipulated, “it’s anonymous, at least to everybody at the fertility clinic and the Nightingale. It can’t be traced and it’s encrypted. Dora’s phone decrypts the messages.”
“That works for me.” Terri agreed. “What about Dora?”

“I can live with that. I’m not using my phone to dial out anyway.” Dora replied via Sam’s still open phone.

“Okay.” Sam confirmed. “You two are in ‘lock-down’ for a month.”

With these final words, Sam closed her phone and started packing her groceries.

As they packed the groceries away, Sam and Terri chatted about the blood donor situation.

“I’m stunned to learn that you are both ‘Super-dad’ and ‘Blood-donor’. That’s just crazy.

“It’s not that crazy when you think about it. Covid 21 did not affect my sperm production, though god knows why. My body obviously has something odd going on vis-à-vis the way the virus affects it – or more correctly – does not affect it. And that resistance obviously causes my body to be immune to the respiratory effects as well.

Professor Cummins and his team were seriously thinking of getting me to donate some bone marrow but that’s a serious operation and they don’t want to endanger what they’ve already got. We’re all just thankful for small mercies.”

Sam giggled then snorted as she tried to suppress her amusement.

“What’s so funny?” Terri asked.

“You said small mercy. Yeah; one in seven billion small. That’s what I call really small.”

“I’m not laughing. Every government, every religious group, every terrorist group and every bloody crazy bastard would love to get their hands on me – superdad and ‘the blood donor in one swoop. There’s nothing bloody funny about it at all. They’re all after my blood – literally I mean. At least I won’t have to cough into other people’s lungs once the vaccine is ready. The trial group have shown excellent recoveries.”

“Don’t much like the idea of you coughing up a ball of phlegm into my lungs. I think I’ll wait for the vaccine.”

“Well even if you did catch it you’re in the perfect place with me. All it takes is a needle and syringe and I can inject some of my blood. It’s O type.”

“I’d probably be accused of endangering your blood or life or something if we did that.”

“Yeah, they tend to be a bit paranoid about my safety Once the vaccine is ready, I’ll get the Professor to have you vaccinated but not reveal who you are or where you live.”

“How will you do that if your incommunicado?” Sam asked.

“I have my ways.” Terri confided. Look, I’ll show you.”

Sam watched as Terri hand-wrote a brief letter and signed it, then she handed the letter to Sam.

“Now you write something underneath my message and then sign it across the lower right hand corner.”

After doing as asked, Terri then promptly photocopied the letter and wrote ‘copy’ on the second sheet, then tore a large, very jagged corner off the original letter and handed the torn corner piece to Sam.

“There, that’s your identity certificate, it’s got half of you sinature. I’ll get Ron from the café to deliver this torn letter to Professor Cummins. The letter explains that the bearer of the torn corner is you, the friend who’s hiding me. However we don’t mention Dora.”

“But how do they know my corner is legitimate – Oh! I get it, the torn piece has to match the torn letter.”

“Exactly, it’s impossible to match a rip in a piece of paper, especially when it cuts across your signature and your photocopy of the letter confirms the invisible half of the torn signature. Double security.”

“What if somebody captures me and my identity chit. The torn piece?”

“Who’s looking for you? Since you dropped out of the gang during the captures and went underground, nobody knows you exist, and since the sperm thing and the blood donations, nobody’s looking anymore. Even though your pregnant, there’s no longer any connection between you and the rest of us; me, Dora, Charlie or big-mouthed Jan”

A slow grin spread across Sam’s face.

“Clever. I love the ripped paper bit. Nobody could counterfeit that!”
“Yeah! Don’t lose it. When the vaccine is made available, the government will announce how it’s going to be shared, - probably to treat sick people first, then the doctors and nurses and stuff and eventually everybody else. However, I’ve got access to a few for my friends, that’s the deal. You’ll be on that list.”

Sam grinned gratefully then, as the relief washed over her, she slumped in the single arm chair and tears glittered.

“Thanks Terri, I don’ know what to say.”

“Say nothing, there’s thanks enough by letting me stay here. I should be thanking you.”

With their plans completed, it was simply a matter of Terri lying low for a month or, hopefully, less.”

For once in her frenzied life, Terri’s plans went as expected. She had an encrypted phone contact with Dora and her communications with Ron at the café operated smoothly through Sam posting that single letter and Ron confirming it’s arrival by texting Terry.

Three weeks later, the news was released to the world, that the British government had a very limited stock of effective vaccine and to show good will, they were distributing it around Europe as equitably as they could. Some even made it’s way to the USA to reinforce the ‘special relationship’. It was to be distributed under the express proviso that it was to treat the sick only and strictly gratis. Two hundred thousand vaccines would not go far but it was readily accepted as a start.

A month later, another vaccine release was enacted and three hundred thousand doses were enabled using George’s improved process. Then production was stopped until the ‘blood-donor’ had manufactured enough blood to donate safely again.

The ‘down-side’ of course was the Political pressure being brought to bear for the UK prime minister to reveal the source. Countries that had benefited from the vaccine release, were supportive of the UK’s endeavours to be fair and equitable but the truth was that there was simply not enough vaccine to go around. Charges of deception and favouritism soon began to fly.

Owing to the saturated news cover of – The Vaccine! – Terri had decided to remain hidden in Sam’s modest little flat but eventually, Sam’s needs vis-à-vis her forthcoming baby, began to weigh heavily on their friendship. Sam needed the tiny nursery room for her baby.

“I’m sorry Babe’s but you’ll have to go back to living with Jessica at the clinic.”

Reluctantly, Terri was forced to agree. The spotlight had moved from the location of ‘The blood Donor’, to the question of vaccine distribution. All the medical pundits now agreed that the vaccine was necessarily limited to one individual’s blood supply so the arguments surrounding availability had been negated. Instead the fight had boiled over into accusations of slow genocide and institutional racism.

The second charge wounded Terri. Her own partner Jessica was half Chinese and the mix had produced an exceptionally intelligent and very attractive girl who Terri now considered her to be her wife, even though there was no marriage certificate. She sat glumly staring into her mug of tea as she was forced to contemplate ‘coming out’. Sam smiled sympathetically but even as she reached out to stroke Terri’s wrist, her baby made its first kick.

“I don’t want to push you out babes but – Ooh!! Oh gosh! The baby’s just kicked!”

Terri looked up and smiled wanly. ‘It was almost as if – ‘ the baby was telling Terri to leave. Sam took Terri’s hand and rested it on her bump while the baby responded with a perfectly timed ‘hint’ – namely a kick.

“Okay Babe’s I’ll go. Give me a chance to pack what stuff I’ve got and I’ll contact Ron to come with his van.”

By the evening, Terri was on her way back to Jessica’s apartment.

ooo000ooo