Currently, Mr. Parker was in his office, and lost in the euphoria of his achievement for the day. Previously, he would place an order for ammunition and the United Nation would pay a dedicated dealer, who had sworn an oath of secrecy with him. The dealer would supply little or nothing and wire the payment to him and keep certain percentages. When, Denise contacted him, he thought that it was a business as usual. Suddenly, he noticed that his office was hot, despite the air conditioner. Before he could process the cause of the heat, he noticed a blackout. Then, he looked at the window and noticed that the building was surrounded by a heavy smoke.
“Oh! My goodness,” he exclaimed, and got up from his seat. At that moment, the office was dark and filled with suffocating fumes. He went down on his fours and tried to crawl under the fumes. Nevertheless, the distance from his table to the door was quite long due to the size. All the same, he crawled on, and prayed silently for his safety. Likewise, the attention of the deputy and others was on the storage house. They never bothered to alert the Head of the government because he could view the environment from his office. When the heard another similar sound, they felt it was from the storage house, and never paid attention to it. As for the smoke, the atmosphere was saturated with an awful smell, which was a mixture of gunpowder and explosives. Suddenly, they heard the office building collapse, and they looked in the direction of the sound, “What?” The deputy exclaimed, and walked towards the office, and others followed. Unfortunately, they could not go beyond a certain point due to the heat.
“What of the boss?” one of them asked in trepidation.
“He must have escaped,” another person. Nevertheless, they saw a creature crawling towards the muster point. It looked like a beast because his clothes were burnt and stuck to his skin, while his hair and face were burnt beyond recognition.
“That must be Dr. Parker,” the deputy pointed out. The driver and aid, who were still around, navigated their ways through the fume, and lifted him up. Now, he cried out in pain because every part of his body was covered in blisters.
“What do we do, Dr. Livingstone?”
“We will take him to Cord. I’m certain that the team left some drugs behind. I will give the medical director of the hospital a call right away,” the deputy stated, and they obeyed. Now, Dr. Parker was crying like a baby. He got to realize that life is transient. They laid him on the floor of the bus, and his deputy sat on the seat to give him succor and solace. Meanwhile, the drive from Jalin to Cord was two hours, and there was no hope of getting the doctors to attend to him. All the same, they drove along while the deputy kept calling the medical director and some doctors. To his regret, there were problems with their lines. It was either switched off or ringing, but no one was picking. Howbeit, they arrived at Cord and headed to the hospital, and suddenly, the time delayed bomb at the strong house detonated.
“What is going on?” Dr. Livingstone asked sorrowfully, and expected no response from anyone.
“We are here, Sir,” the driver announced when he parked in the vestibule. In and ideal hospital settings, the attendants would have run out with stretchers, and moved the patient to the Intensive Care Unit, but in the time of war, especially the one arranged by Dr. Parker, it was a mirage.
All the same, they moved him out of the bus to the open ward, and laid him on the only vacant bed – the one that Kenny just left. The patients could not believe that it was the man who glared at them a few hours ago that was crying more than a baby. Likewise, his deputy was helpless, and only looked at him.
“I can help,” a voice came from nowhere. Then, Dr. Livingstone, and the aid turned at the direction of the voice, to behold a sick looking man, who was full of bones, standing beside them.
“Can you?” he asked anxiously.
“Yes, Dr. Livingstone.”
“Aah! He knows my name,” he mumbled.
“I see, but who are you?” he asked again. The humanitarian ignored his question and searched through the drugs left behind by Denise, and his team, and fished out Butorphanol Injection and string. Likewise, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he administered the injection, and he cried the more. Then, the humanitarian covered the burn with the available and gauze bandage. Thereafter, he stood aside and watched him cry without hope. After, a while, he, he slept off. Now, nothing matters to Dr. Parker anymore, except one thing, which was common to all humans, life.
Despite the night. Dr. Livingston walked out of the ward and sent the aid and the driver to get food for everyone, including Dr. Parker. Afterward, he walked back to the ward and faced the unfriendly looking patients. Meanwhile, the humanitarian had walked back to his bed.
At Dover
After Denise informed his parents of his return, Arthur notified the Patriarch, and he was delighted to hear that.
“I can't wait to see him,” the Patriarch stated.
“Yes. I will pick him them afterward.”
“Do you need to? It would have been night by the time he would get back. The military bus would bring them back.”
“It is all right, our father. We appreciate your support.”
“It is my pleasure. He had made us proud, and this is all I can do to encourage him.”
“I appreciate.”
Just as he promised, the military bus left the barracks at once and headed to London. Their flight arrived at 9 PM, and they left for Dover at once. While in the bus, they turned on their phones, and checked out for updates on Zingcord. To Mr. Abel's, expectations, the first message that popped up was Dr. Parker's report. He shook his head in dejection and read on. Thereafter, he mumbled, “You sent a patient who is on the same bus with me abroad. Arrant nonsense.”
Soon, they were in Dover. Denise ensured that Abel and Jude returned to the islands, and Dr. Harper admitted Kenny to the company clinic before he returned to his house. Thereafter, he returned to the native home, where a red carpet welcome awaited them.
“Thank you officers,” they appreciated the military officers after they got off.
“It is our pleasure,” they responded, and waved before they left.
To Olivia, it was as if he had been away for months. After all the greetings with his parents, he walked into the room, and she gave him a tight hug, and greeted, “Welcome back, my Hero.”
“Thank you, my Angel, for your support. Your love encouraged me a lot,” he responded.
Subsequently, Phil insisted on leaving with his family that night.
“There is nothing to worry about, father and mom. We can leave,” he assured, “If you say so,” his parents In-law accepted. He carried Daniel, who was not aware of his return, on his shoulder, while Freya walked behind him with her purse and his luggage.
“Good night, Mom, good night father,” they said in unison.
“Good night, Aunty Freya. Good night, Uncle Phil,” the over joyous Tim greeted. They responded simultaneously, and afterward, drove off.