Broken Road
by Rusty Nail
Chapter Three
Welcome to Dabana
The Land Rovers were painted white for more than one reason, white was neutral, the universal colour of pacifism, the UN used it, the Aid agencies too. It sent a clear message that they were not militia or government. Not that that had a lot of bearing in some regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The other reason that came to Luka's mind was heat. White was supposed to reflect heat but with the engine and the bodies in the cab, even if some of the sun's intensity was being deflected it was making very little difference, especially when the atmosphere seemed super heated, direct sunlight or not the vehicle was like an oven. Once more he drank from a bottle of water and went on to fan himself with a folded wad of paper which had once been an itinerary. He swatted a fly against his neck and flicked the flattened carcass out of the window.
Carter and Audrey were talking up front. She was laughing at something he had said and Luka hid a smirk, hadn't noticed there was no ring? Yeah right. He shifted in his seat after a minute and sat up a little straighter as their chatter continued. The view from the window was beautiful. They had moved into a jungle area and were making slow but steady progress, trees stretched up into the sky as if trying to out do each other in height; vying for the sunlight they denied the undergrowth below them.
They had had a respite before moving into this jungle region. Audrey and their as yet nameless guide, who was still riding in the first Rover with Kasim, had warned them that they were moving into the areas held by the militia. The former had explained that she would be happy to discuss the politics of the area with them once they got to Dabana and into the safety of the Clinic.
As the laugher from the front seats died away the tension settled again.
They could not help a swift scan of the underbrush occasionally, though warned not to stare. Someone was usually staring back in places like this. Luka felt a knot in his stomach and sighed heavily in a bid to relieve it somewhat. It didn't work. He swiped his hand down over his eyes and mouth and lent back again, his skin and shirt instantly sticking together and the seat back in turn.
Carter broke the silence, though his voice was a few decibels lower than usual, "Why are we driving so slowly if this area's so dangerous?" he asked.
"The chances we are being watched are pretty high." Audrey replied, just as softly, "The fact that we're reinstating the Clinic in Dabana will have gotten around the region by now, and to demonstrate that we're not going to interfere with their little skirmish, we're allowing them to get a good look at our vehicles, supplies and faces as we roll in. As long as we don't tick them off, the balance stays just that. Balanced."
Carter nodded; she didn't seem ready to elaborate on that further and once more the silence, accented with the slap of hand on skin to prevent a horse fly from taking what felt like a chunk of out of their flesh filled the vehicle. Audrey issued DEET to everyone, by her estimations, "one of the most powerful bug sprays in existence", it was used mainly to deter Malaria carrying Mosquitoes, she informed them, and was surprised they had not heard of it. Luka was fairly certain he was going to use the entire canister by the time that had gotten to the village.
Just as cramp was starting to aggravate them all they pulled into an expansive clearing. The trees faded and shrank into tall bushes and then shrubs and finally long grass. The mud was the darkest colour of earth Carter could remember ever seeing. They drove through the scattered housing; small buildings amongst the scrubby grass, men were sitting in groups, smoking pipes and talking while woman wandered to and fro in the late afternoon light. They smiled when Carter caught their eyes, the children waved as they chased the vans. Everyone seemed so happy; he couldn't think why Audrey had been so vehement about their need for a medical presence, she'd made it sound like the people here were all about to drop dead at any given moment.
The Clinic came into sight at the very end of the 'road' that ran through the centre of the village. Evidentially it had once been a white washed building, but the paint was almost completely chipped off and mud splattered around the walls where the torrential afternoon rains had kicked the dirt up. Two steps led up to a small porch that ran across the front of the building and benches lined the railings.
The first Rover pulled up in front of it and Audrey parked in behind it, killing the engine. She looked in the mirror of the sun visor for a split second, sweeping a curtain of blonde hair from her face before she yanked the door handle and slid out onto the soft earth. Carter and Kovac did the same, seeing as how Kasim and their guide were already being greeted at the front of the Clinic by a Congolese looking female nurse, presumably Lewa, and a tall dark haired man, Dr. Nichols.
They looked on in shock as Audrey basically ran and leapt into the man's arms. He wrapped them around her and cradled her head against his shoulder, his fingers smoothing through her hair as her feet left the floor and he turned her around. The stuff movie moments are made of. Their fierce embrace was broken; they said a few words, indistinguishable to anyone else and kissed.
Kasim laughed, possible now the most annoying sound to ever grate against Carter's ears. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Kovac was smiling too, his sunglasses perched easily on his nose as he watched the scene unfold and Audrey wave them over.
"Better luck next time, Carter." He said. Carter shook his head with a smile, the initial jealousy and disappointment of discovering that Audrey Thomas was not single washed away by the atmosphere of the reunion and he laughed as they moved over to be introduced.
They learned Dr. Nichols went by Sean and was American too. He had been in Yengo for the past two weeks delivering AID vaccinations, while Audrey had been in Kinshasa arguing to get the go ahead for Dabana. It was evident the pair was very much inseparable and that they had missed each other painfully while working on unconnected projects.
"So naturally getting the chance to work on something like this with Audrey is… just great." She grinned up at him as he rested his arm around her shoulders. "But much as I would love to stand here and talk about how wonderful everything is," Sean continued, "I really think we ought to get these supplies unpacked."
"Yeah, you're right. The second Rover has to be back in Kinshasa by the end of the week," Audrey said.
They unloaded the medical supplies first IV stands, intubations kits, syringes and scalpels as well as more fresh sheets and pillow cases. All the things the PCC in Kinshasa had only nothing was disposable beyond the latex gloves. Then came the food, nothing that was really perishable, mainly rice and packets of soup and broth.
"You want the grand tour?" Sean asked as everything was stacked up on the front steps of the clinic.
"Sure." Carter agreed and he and Kovac fell into step with Sean as Audrey helped Kasim to fuel up the Land Rover that would be returning to Kinshasa.
Sean led them inside. The initial space was small and dark, a corridor led directly down the centre, and benches like the ones outside ran along the walls again. The floor was poorly tiled, the grout had basically to dust and Carter felt the brittle white tiles shift a little under his boots. There was a large chalk board against one of the walls, covered almost completely in childlike scribbles, Carter smiled benignly.
"The Clinic's not huge," Sean explained unnecessarily, leading them into the first box shaped room on the right. Like the corridor it was dusty and dirty looking. "This will be the exam room, we're missing a few of the beds but we should be able to get by." There were what looked like five exam areas in the room. Two still had beds, three still had sheets over them but they looked like they were teeming with diseases from where Carter was standing. He wrinkled his nose, wondering vaguely what the hell Sean and Lewa had been doing here for the past two days if the place still looked like this.
His question was answered when they crossed the corridor and entered what Sean explained as the surgical room. The tiles were clean and glossy, though missing in a few places and there were lamps dotted around, hanging from the walls. The sink was working, their guide demonstrated as such, and the entire room had been sterilised.
The same level of care had been taken in the ward that ran the length of the building, out into the corridor and down again. The beds here had been stripped of their sheets and the rust on them had been scrubbed back by the looks of it. There were no IV stands in sight; Carter guessed Sean and Audrey had been in contact as to what essentials the place would need since there was a stack of the stands waiting to be brought in.
"Are you staying in the village?" Kovac asked, turning a full circle in the room, his eyes landing back on Sean who shook his head.
"When the clinic was built, back in the early '90's it wasn't generally accepted for the Aid Workers to be living with the locals, not us here in any case. There's living space, just off the back on the Clinic."
The living space was just that. A building in exactly the same style of the Clinic itself, divided into a kitchen type area and several rooms that each had a set of two cots in. Unlike the Clinic, however, this place had clearly not been entered in years.
"The kids played in the Clinic while it was all shut down but they stayed out of here for some reason. Just as well, we've got exactly the right number of beds. Glad they didn't decide that it would be fun to steal one."
"How big was the first medical team?"
Sean stopped in thought, "The initial team was out here in the mid-nineties, it was a pretty radical thing to be setting up this far out but they did it. They had six. Three nurses, three doctors."
Luka made an impressed face, "That's a lot for such a small village."
"Oh, God. This village was huge compared to what it is now. AIDs was rife, it was one of the hot spots that needed the bucks to help it recover. I guess Audrey told you about Etoumbi-?"
"Oh yeah," Carter cut in with a wry smile "gave us the blow by blow."
Sean nodded, "Well, then you know that this place is still recovering. It's about a sixth of the size it was, maybe less. They've had a lot of failed pregnancies so the population stagnated. AMI is invested in helping out here however they can. The people are ready for it, the place is ready. Just needs a push."
"I think you're preaching to the choir." It was Audrey, standing in the doorway, "Shall we get settled?"
They unanimously decided to move all the equipment into the Clinic, locked it up and then got to work on their new home. Once the lamps had all been lit it was almost homely, Audrey and Kasim cooked rice and some sort of chicken soup concoction and they sat around the table to eat together. It creaked dangerously every time someone leant an arm against it, raising laughter from the rest of the team,
"If you collapse this table after our culinary efforts, Carter, I sweat to God you will be the first patient in the morning." Audrey joked, Luka snorted into his water glass.
"I'd have to wait until morning?"
"Unless you want to do the sutures yourself…"
Sean jabbed her in the ribs, producing an "Ow." of protest.
"She did take the Hippocratic oath right?" Carter asked, wide eyed. She flicked rice at him with a laugh, though it was drowned out completely by none other than Kasim.
The meal proceeded in the same way, good natured joking and laughter; the anticipation of the days ahead was practically tangible in the air.
"So." Luka started ominously, "You mentioned there's a balance around here? I know Couvette-Ouest is unstable but…"
Audrey nodded, leaning back in her chair, "Ah, yes. There are two factions out here; the Jabari and the PRF, People's Revolutionary Front or "Adem" as the locals call them. Neither really belongs to a side anymore, if they ever did. All they want is the land they think they are entitled to. The Jabari are easy to deal with. You don't step on their toes and they won't shoot you, they are happy to have the aid agencies out here, helping the community, and have set themselves up as… 'warriors for the people' or what have you.
"The Adem however, are a different story." She sighed heavily, Sean rested his hand on her knee lovingly, she smiled, "They are brutal, conceited and horrifically territorial. Adem loosely means, Red-Earth and it's the sort of name they have more than lived up to. They believe in kill or kill some more. They 'own' several towns up towards Liouesso, in the North-West but they have a pretty hefty stronghold."
"But we're ok here right?" Carter asked.
"I can't lie to you. They don't like us. I mean white people, out here giving aid to the very people they would rather oppress. It rather annoys them actually. But they won't do anything about it. They are in a constant power struggle with the Jabari so their focus is away from us."
"Besides," Sean added, "They have nothing to gain by interfering with anything we're doing. It would only call the world's attention to their little catfight."
Carter and Kovac caught the significant look Audrey gave Sean, they both looked away, feeling embarrassed to be sitting there while the pair communicated non-verbally. After a moment Audrey rose from the table and rooted around for the cooler she had made sure Kasim had packed back in Kinshasa.
She pulled out four beers from its depths, Carter applauded lightly. They were warm and oddly that didn't matter all that much as she passed them out and smiled broadly. Everyone popped the caps off.
"Well. Now that we have all that out of the way, I would like to propose a toast." She stated, "As depressing and heart-breaking the things we see out here are, we always have to keep in mind that they are the reason we are here and I think that is something deserving recognition. So, without getting too long-winded or sappy, here's to old friends," she toasted towards Kasim and Sean, "and new."
Carter and Kovac smiled and raised their bottles to that.
"Welcome to Dabana." Audrey finished.
