Yesterday (Part Three - Chapters 59 & 60)

CHAPTER 59

Oscar walked into the Clinic’s cafeteria in a bad mood. He felt the situation was getting out of hand. Cristina, his secretary, had been waiting for him there for several minutes. He had called her first thing in the morning to resolve pending work issues and adjust his schedule for the rest of the week, since the night before, after his conversation with Eva, he had decided not to leave the Clinic until Jonah had woken up and they had all come up with some clear ideas.

They were already in the middle of their meeting when they both saw Father Aminarti appear through the cafeteria door. Cristina made an attempt to get up to greet him, but Óscar stopped her and got up to go to meet him himself.

—What are you doing here? —asked Oscar defiantly.

—Good morning Oscar, I went to your office and they told me you were here, —Aminarti greeted him conciliatorily. —I know we didn’t leave things in the best way yesterday, but I have some good news for you today, as I have a possible solution to our problems.

Oscar snorted impatiently, shaking his head.

—You don’t know anything, do you?

—What do you mean?

—They kidnapped Laura yesterday, —he said. Aminarti opened his eyes wide but Oscar stopped his bewilderment with a gesture and continued, —Don’t worry, a few hours later she came here by herself and now she is resting. The problem is Jonah. He is also here. We had to check him in yesterday, and he’s been unconscious ever since. He seems to have suffered a stroke, although I’ve been reassured that it’s not critical.

Aminarti absorbed the information in awe and sat down quietly in the first chair he could find.

—That means they have already located them, —he muttered in frustration.

—The problem is that now Eva, my youngest daughter, has found out about them, —Oscar reproached him.

—No, this is more complex than you think.

Oscar clicked his tongue impatiently and left him sitting there to approach his secretary. He quietly asked her to go back to the office and keep in touch. Then he returned to Aminarti.

—You said you have a solution, what is it?

—Yesterday I made a call. One that I should have made years ago. I decided to take a chance and talked to a person I know in Rome. I demanded a solution, and as I suspected would happen, he put me in touch with an agent of the Holy See’s State Security Corps. They gave me a gadget, something with which this person assured me that we would be able to suppress Jonah’s deviations.

—But is that possible? —Oscar looked at him in surprise.

—I already told you that we believe the kids were genetically altered to induce these abilities in them. I always suspected that there must be a back door. I had been thinking for years that if what my old contact in the Congregation was telling me was true, then clearly someone connected with the old project had to have gotten results by now, and Rome must have known about it. What I did not suspect was that such a quick solution was already feasible.

—Do you have it on you? —asked Oscar, —What’s to be done?

—Yes, I have it with me. Not much, just activate it near Jonah. According to the person who gave it to me, it will be enough to eliminate all those anomalies in his brain.

Aminarti spoke but at the same time he felt his strength slipping away. He woke up that morning with the certainty of having solved the problem and now he was facing new setbacks. He needed to stop that cycle of calamities.

—But now it might be preferable to wait until he wakes up, —he continued.

—I am not so sure, he has already done enough damage.

Aminarti gave Oscar a disgruntled look.

—Have you still not realized that these children are nothing more than victims?

—Look Father, they are no longer children, stuff has happened and, as I told you yesterday, the time has come for solutions, —said Oscar, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands behind his neck. —I am not going to allow this situation in my family to go on for one more day.

—At least talk it over with your daughter Laura first, don’t be inconsiderate, I beg you.

Oscar did not answer him, but it was obvious that he was not going to spoil him much longer.

—The twins are important, —Aminarti insisted.

—I don’t know, Father. It seems to me that we know less and less with each passing day. I no longer understand what my family’s role is in all this.

—I warned you, —said Aminarti, shaking his head. —Knowing more was not going to clarify anything.

—I just want them to leave us alone.

—I understand you perfectly well, only you know the ordeal you’ve been going through for weeks, but I appeal to your prudence. Have a little more patience, please.

They ran out of arguments. But Aminarti felt an imperious need to advance his plan.

—May I see Jonah?

—Yes, of course, —Oscar nodded resignedly, —come with me. He’s already out of the ICU.

The two men entered the gallery and advanced along it in silence. Several people seated here and there stared at them. Aminarti’s solemn black cassock commanded respect, and the sight of him in that area of the clinic had a harsh meaning for the relatives who were watching over their sick. Some believed that his presence was due to a last rites, and turned their heads shaking with fear.

Oscar opened the door to Jonah’s room and Aminarti quietly entered it.

Jonah was lying on his bed. He seemed to be sleeping, although the only noise that could be heard was produced by the rhythmic electronic fluctuations of the machines that surrounded the headboard.

Aminarti took his Rosary out of his pocket and knelt laboriously beside the bunk. Resting his elbows on the mattress, he crossed his hands, lowered his head and quietly recited a prayer.

When he finished he took Jonah’s hand for a moment and gave him a pleading look.

Oscar waited until Aminarti sat up again with a look of dismay to break his silence.

—How soon will we know more? —he asked in a whisper.

—I don’t know, soon I guess, —Oscar answered, —we can leave if you want and go find his doctor.

Aminarti nodded and the two left the room in silence.

A few steps ahead, close to the exit and to Oscar’s displeasure, they ran into Eva. Oscar took a few steps forward to make the introductions.

—Eva, this is Father Lorenzo Aminarti. Pater, this is my youngest daughter, Eva.

Eva shook hands with Aminarti and looked questioningly at her father out of the corner of her eye.

—He came to visit Jonah, —Oscar told her.

Eva nodded.

—Did you know each other? —asked Eva.

—I’m his tutor.

—Jonah is preparing to become a priest? —exclaimed Eva in surprise.

—Not quite, —interrupted Oscar uncomfortably, —I’ll explain later, excuse us but we’re in a bit of a hurry, how is your sister doing?

—Well, she looks fine, I guess she’ll be discharged soon.

—I’m so sorry for your loss! —Aminarti remembered.

—Thank you, —murmured Eva, embarrassed.

—Well, I’m afraid we have to go, —Oscar insisted again, —I’ll see you later, dear, —he said to Eva, giving her a hurried kiss on the cheek and pulling gently but decisively on Aminarti’s arm.

They left the gallery and Oscar changed his expression.

—What do you think you are doing? —he asked Aminarti angrily as he pushed him into a corner.

—Oscar, —Aminarti replied, —I sincerely believe that I could help her.

—Not a chance! We have enough on our plate as it is.

CHAPTER 60

They did not get to meet with Jonah’s doctor, he was attending to another patient and it would take at least an hour before he could see them. Aminarti again insisted on seeing Laura and they arrived at her room minutes later. They found her already dressed in her own clothes and sitting on the couch, waiting with her hands folded in her lap.

—How is Jonah? —she asked them as soon as they came in.

—Stable, —Oscar answered, —are you feeling better?

—Not really, but I’ll be discharged in a few minutes, the nurse just told me. I need to get out of here.

—Laura, my child —Oscar tried to stop her —we don’t know what they could have done to you…

—Don’t worry dad, I’m fine —she answered, playing down to the matter, —Now the important thing is to wake up Jonah, I need to speak with him.

Laura finished saying this with her eyes fixed on Aminarti. She kept her gaze on him for a few more moments and stood up as if she needed to take a closer look at him.

She circled around him and frowned. The two men looked at her quizzically.

—Something has been done to you, —she hissed with conviction. Aminarti looked back at her in bewilderment.

—He is not the same, —she ventured, as if sniffing his thoughts, —have you been anywhere unusual?

—I had a meeting last night, if that’s what you mean.

—Hmm… and they gave you something, didn’t they? —Laura ventured.

Oscar was fascinated by Laura’s confidence. He nodded to the priest who hesitantly answered.

—Yes, according to what I have been told, something to cure Jonah with —he assured her.

—Yeah… —she said, glancing for a moment at her father —he firmly believes it, but no… —she paused, but then shook the thought away, shaking her hand as if it were a gnat —It will have to wait. It doesn’t matter. They’re coming.

At that moment the door opened. Eva entered accompanied by Adrian’s doctor.

—I was told you wanted to speak with me, —said the doctor, visibly annoyed to see so many people gathered there.

—Yes, —nodded Laura, moving away from the priest and approaching them, —it may seem a little odd to you, but would you mind answering a few questions about Adrian Gonzalez?

The doctor seemed slightly uncomfortable.

—Your sister has already mentioned something to me. You see, I am forbidden by law to discuss his case openly with you, since you are not his direct family. Being your sister, I can discuss some aspects, since you have the family’s approval, but understand that I will have to file a report about your questions. Besides, it is now a forensic case.

—I will handle the legal details, don’t worry —Oscar tried to reassure him. —-Speak freely.

The doctor examined him from top to bottom with distrust. But it was clear that he knew who he was.

—Please proceed, —he agreed reluctantly.

—Was there anything unusual in Adrian’s state?

—Unusual?

—Yes, didn’t you tell my sister that it was unusual for him to be so very conscious when he almost woke up?

—Well, when he woke up from the coma he responded much better than expected, but from what we’ve learned since then I rather think it was due to the Bevacizumab we put him on.

—Could Adrian’s tumor have been caused by exposure to some kind of radiation?

—I don’t know, but please do tell since you seem to know more than I do, —the doctor answered defensively. —I don’t know if you are aware of it, but we couldn’t just ascertain something like that, for radiation usually leaves no trace, only symptoms, at most.

—What would it take to change your mind? —Oscar interjected.

—Facts, information about some kind of accelerator he had been exposed to, —admitted the doctor to Eva’s surprise, —but I would need more information, I can’t do much more with what we have than what we have already done.

Laura decided to take the plunge.

—Adrian’s tumor formed after repeated exposure to a very focused type of radiation, —she said, —a kind of poisoning, if you will.

The doctor frowned and looked at them all seriously while Eva slowly covered her mouth with her hand.

—Miss, you are making a grave mistake. And I ask you not to fool around with these things, because if it were poisoning, we would have found traces of it in his stomach. Whether you are aware that in the case of a radiation threat I will have to report this, I don’t know. Even the most influential of your contacts would not object to us monitoring the possible administration of a radioactive isotope on Spanish soil.

—Would an irradiated plate be enough to convince you? —asked Laura, ignoring his words.

—That I don’t know, but I prefer to be cautious. This is a little beyond my knowledge and competence, although I suppose it is. But what I believe I can confirm is that Adrian did not suffer any kind of radioactive poisoning. I admit that there was a chemical element in his blood that caught my attention in his first tests, and that’s why I decided to discuss it with your sister, but after sending the samples to the laboratory everything came back negative, so I ended up discarding it. —He gestured to leave the room. —But I’ve already skirted the rules enough, from now on you will have to talk to the director.

—I’ll handle it myself, your superiors are well aware of our circumstances, —said Oscar, —you just tell us what you need and we’ll provide it.

—If you insist, the ideal thing would be to have detailed information about the radiation source, so that we can get an idea of what we are facing. If, as your daughter says, you can provide us with an irradiated plate… which I find quite odd, then go ahead, but I can’t promise anything, this is not a television show.