Chapter 4

Brazzaville 9:00 p.m.

The sound of the crickets filled the hot air of the city and the moon and the stars seemed to keep an eye over a place so full of pain the last days. Jack walked towards a lonely figure who was sitting over a big rock on the country yard of the hotel.

"Nice," the doctor said looking at a silver necklace. "Is it for someone special for you?"

"Yes."

"A girlfriend maybe? 'Cause I can take you to a place where you can find small diamonds, good price," Jack added taking a seat at his side.

"Thanks, Jack... I'll appreciate that."

"What's her name?"

"Monica," the blond angel of death answered. "Her name's Monica."

"The one that is supposed to help us? I understand now why you talk about her the way you do it!"

"The way any of us would talk about her," Rafael told the doctor coming closer with Adam and Ronald.

"You all know her?"

"Oh, yes!" Adam replied. "We've all known her for years."

"But you don't need to know her for years to learn to admire her," Ronald explained. "I'm probably the one that has spent less time with them and I still admire her job a lot!"

"You seem to be a very lucky guy, Andrew," Jack said patting his shoulder. "I used to think that way about myself but... life is not always fair... Sometimes is very cruel, I'd say." The four angels saw him standing up and walking away and knew there was much more behind those words.

After some moments of silence, Adam took a seat beside his co-worker and asked him, "Did you tell her we're going into the jungle?"

"Yes, I talked to her in the afternoon..."

"Why am I under the impression there's something you're worrying about?" the older angel of death said.

"I... yes, Adam... I'm worried. Something very weird happened today. When we were talking, Monica sneezed."

"Sneezed?" Rafael asked. "You mean a real sneeze?"

"Yeah!" the green eyed angel exclaimed.

"Come on, Andrew! You're not thinking..." Adam started.

"Oh, no, that's not possible!" Rafael replied understanding what Adam was saying. "I mean, she's an angel, she's there to help, she can't get sick!"

"She can," Ronald said and immediately saw the accusing faces of the other three angels. "R-remember Tess got Alzheimer once!"

"That's not gonna happen, Andrew!" Adam said trying to reassure him.

"No, the Father wouldn't put you together to separate you now!" Rafael said. "Come on, you two seem to be done one for the other, as if it was His will you two came to be together at the end!"

"That's because it is, boy!" Ronald interrupted and the three looked at him again. "It was His will. He knew it when He created you two and when He sent you to work together! Remember there's no such a thing like coincidences!"

"Is it in your files, Ronald?" Andrew asked.

"Kind of... I mean, it didn't say you would fall in love but... the Father knows which of His angels can work together and make a good team... But the files are not oracles, so I have no idea of how this is supposed to end."

Washington 3:00 p.m.

"You should think about eating something in fact if you're planning to spend all the nights without sleeping, Miss Wings," Tess told Monica when she saw her young charge playing distractedly with the food in the plate in front of her.

"I don't feel like eating, Tess," Monica replied pushing away the food. "I wish time could pass faster and we could know how all this is going to end."

The supervisor took a seat in front of her at the table of the cafeteria where they were. "Are you telling me that you don't trust the Father to be able to take something good out of all this?"

"No, Tess, no. It's just that... diseases are always so hard to understand... So many innocent people and such a horrible feeling of helplessness..."

"We have to trust, baby! And help the Father as much as we can where he chose us to be! He'll see us through!"

"I know, but..." the young angel said with eyes full of tears. "Things are not going well... Andrew and the others are going to the jungle and I can't help but having a bad feeling about it! I wish I could be there with him!"

"Calm down, angel girl!" Tess said reaching for her hand. But when she took it, she exclaimed, "Monica, are you alright? You're too cold!"

The Irish angel was wiping her tears away. "I-I'm a wee bit cold... It's a little chill here..."

"Chill? Baby, it's like 30ºc outside!"

Next day. Impfondo 8:00 p.m.

The sound of the river running along the town welcomed the two jeeps that arrived that night. Sam, Adam, Rafael, Andrew and Jack climbed out of one and headed to the house their guide pointed out. A middle-age man joined them at the door. "You must be Dr. Jack McKinney," the man said shaking hands with the dark skinned doctor. "Thanks God you're here! My name is Raymond Mberi."

"Nice to meet you, Raymond," Jack replied and then introduced the group of angels.

Sam and Jack were at the head of the group and spent some more minutes talking to Raymond; Rafael, Adam and Andrew a little behind, listening to what the man was saying. None noticed a pair of black, bright small eyes that were checking on them until they heard Rafael's scream. "What on Earth!" the younger angel said when he felt a sudden weight jumping to his back and taking away his cap.

Andrew and Adam practically jump in their places and turned to see their friend. Then they couldn't help but laugh at what they and the rest of the group saw: on a high lamp there was a monkey now "wearing" Rafael's cap.

"Hey, you! Give me my cap!" the angel exclaimed.

"That's Nikki," Raymond said. "It's my daughter's pet. And that's his particular way to introduce himself."

Rafael turned to see Adam, Sam and Andrew who were all the three fighting tears for laughing. "He scared the death out of you, pal!" Adam managed to say, his face all red.

"Very funny..." the younger angel mumbled. "Ok, Nikki, nice to meet you. Can I have my cap back?" he said coming closer to the monkey, but the little animal jumped and got out of the angel's reach.

"Nikki, come here!" Raymond ordered but the monkey showed him his teeth as if smiling at him. "We have to distract him."

"You call him, I'll take the cap," Jack suggested to Raymond, carefully walking towards the pet.

"Ok, Nikki, look. Come here and I'll give you a banana," Raymond said patting his shoulder.

The monkey seemed to consider the offer as he examined his owner trying to find out the truth. Jack took the chance to reach for the cap but when he pulled it, Nikki felt the movement and attacked the cap biting Jack. "Ouch!" the doctor shouted covering his hurt hand with the other one. "You stupid monkey!"

"Jack, are you ok?" Rafael asked and Andrew and Adam came closer to examine his hand, their laughter now forgotten.

"Nikki, come back!" Raymond shouted at seeing the monkey disappearing in a near tree. "Oh, doctor, I'm sorry! He had never done something like this!"

"I'll be alright, don't worry," Jack said. "But we'll have to get you a new cap, Rafael."

Washington 10:00 p.m.

Monica yawned deeply before she opened the door of the isolated room where Mike and Alice were. The boy seemed to be fighting for his life although he had had to get fluids, blood transfusions and special drugs to keep his heart beating. Her mother had never left his side and the lack of sleep was now evident in her face. "Good night, Alice," the Irish angel greeted, her voice muffled by the surgical mask. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, I guess," the woman answered. "The nurse has just changed his IV. She said his vitals are still..."

"I see Mike is doing as well as we could hope," Monica continued checking his file. "But now I want to know how you feel. You look rather pale..."

"Oh, I'm fine..." Alice said taking a seat on the chair right beside her son's bed. "I'm tired and worried, but I keep on praying for a miracle..." she stoked the boy's cheek. Monica saw her and took a seat at the end of the bed. After some seconds, Alice turned to see her. "Are you alright, Monica? You too look pale..."

"No, I'm fine... Just tired... I... hum... I called Robert today."

Alice met her gaze immediately, hope written all over her face. "And what did he say?!"

Monica felt a knot forming in her stomach and played nervously with her pen and notebook. "I couldn't talk to him. His secretary told me he was on a trip..."

"He had to go to Colorado to a reunion with American ministers of Health and some people from the World Health Organization. Isn't it ironic?" Alice asked. "They were discussing some special plans to send help to Africa to fight AIDS..."

"That's the perfect chance!" Monica exclaimed with renewed hope. "I hope he talks about Ebola this time!"

"I don't want to disappoint you, but I wouldn't bet," Alice said pessimistically.

"Why?"

"I know Robert. He's hurting... I hurt him and he can't forgive me..." the woman said fighting the tears that were now forming in her eyes.

"Alice, I understand you have family problems and I know we don't know each other very well, but if there's something I can do to help... The epidemic is my priority, it's true, but I'd like to help you," the little angel said reaching to squeeze the woman's hand.

"I lied to him, Monica. I lied to my husband for eight years... He discovered the truth and I can't blame him..." Alice met Monica's sight and she continued. "Mike... Mike is not his son, Robert can't have children but I made him believe the contrary. When I discovered his infertility, I secretly asked for a sperm donor and then got an in vitro fertilization. He was running for the major's election in Atlanta and I didn't want to bother him with the unsuccessful tries to get pregnant, so I did it all by myself. I told him he was going to be a father the day he won the election and I'll never forget the happiness in his face!"

"I'm sure he wanted a baby as much as you did," the angel offered. "But a lie is a lie..."

"And a lie always get discovered... He found out about Mike like half a year ago... I had never seen so much anger and discourage in someone's face as I did in his that day. He asked me for the divorce immediately but he stayed for Mike. God! They used to be so close... But Robert changed when he knew the truth and Mike felt it. He's being asking his father to stay and that's the only reason we are still together... He doesn't love me anymore..." the woman concluded sadly.

"But you do love him," Monica guessed.

"Yes, yes, I do!" Alice sobbed. "I did what I did 'cause I love him, 'cause he always talked about a family and a baby and I knew it would devastate him to know he was infertile! After Mike was born, I told him it was me the one that had trouble to get pregnant but that we would keep on trying. Mike became his biggest pride... and now..."

"We'll make him see, Alice, I promise to help you," Monica said standing up and hugging the woman. "God will help us."

"I keep on asking Him to spare my baby's life... to give me a second chance..."

"And praying is the best you can do..."

"I'm so tired and overwhelmed that... Achoo!" Alice sneezed.

"Bless... Oh no!" Monica murmured, one hand covering her open mouth.

"What?" Alice asked but when she touched her surgical mask and then removed it, she saw what the angel had seen. A big red droop of fresh blood. She took her hand to her nose and then to her mouth, the feeling of a warm liquid over her fingers very present now. She saw her wet fingers and lifted her head to meet Monica's gaze. The angel's brow eyes told her everything: a nightmare had come true.

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