Release Candidate

by Aziz, M.

  ‘I can’t find him!’ she screamed.

  Alberto and Estela stimulated their bedsprings.

  ‘Take a deep breath, my dear!’ Alberto’s eyes were half shut. ‘He has probably gone to catch some morning air. Isn’t he into all that keep fit now?’

  ‘But there’s no dishes in the sink. His phone is still here!’

  Estela blinked. She stood up and reached for her gown. She looked deeply into Marilyn’s eyes before hurriedly following her down. Estela opened the front door. She held a hand above her eyes. Her teeth chattered. Leaves rustled.

  ‘When he run, is only around block, yes?’

  Marilyn slowly nodded.

  ‘Alberto!’ shouted Estela. ‘I no see, hear!’

  ‘Maybe he’s sitting down to catch his breath?’ replied Marilyn.

  ‘We go!’

  They ran. The bench where Tomás usually sat was occupied by a dozen curled, cracked brown leaves. They returned to the house with cold smoke puffing out of them. Alberto was at the front door with a quizzical look. Estela shook her head.

  ‘Alberto. I need get something off chest but first we call police. My heart is all hoo-hah.’

  He looked at the women who were both moist-eyed. Alberto scratched a corner of his lips. They all went to the living room. He picked up the phone and held down a button.

  ‘Hello. Yes.’ he looked at Marilyn. ‘I think someone has got lost.

  ‘On what fact am I calling them?’ he whispered to Marilyn as he cupped the mouthpiece. The vibration of a dial tone buzzed his palm. ‘Oh. My boy, Tomás Gabino... You see, I woke up and he’s not in his room... He has had some problems recently and this is not how he behaves... I don’t know if he’s been gone since darkness or what... But...’ Alberto put the phone down.

  ‘I’ll get back on the receiver later.’ he continued. ‘You should have heard that woman’s manner. And we would only scratch our heads if a policeman asked for pictures of him! We have to sit it out or touch first base ourselves.’

  ‘So how do we touch first base, then?’ shrieked Marilyn.

  ‘Okay.’ Alberto exhaled. ‘Keep a hold on your voice. Watching you two is getting me all sweaty for no reason. What we need to do is one, let the people who worked on him know. Then we go have something to drink, okay? He’s not a little boy any more, you know? Second, later we’ll maybe bother Haroon, see if he’s with him. He does not need another possible shock about his friend yet.’

  Estela picked up her purse. ‘Button not close! Feel light now!’

  ‘Shsh.’ said Marilyn. She rubbed Estela’s back.

  ‘Do any of you mind letting on why you are behaving like turkeys at Christmas?’

  ‘Alberto. I close mouth about some things, I like see you smile. Thinking it pass under nose, yes? He going some time bit wrong. But now.’ she placed her hands on her cheeks.

  Alberto put a hand on a hip and looked down. He blinked rapidly. ‘Marilyn. You know his doctor people by name, right?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Get on the line.’ he clicked his fingers. ‘Don’t waste time!’

  Marilyn rushed upstairs. She pulled open one of Tomás’s white drawers. Sifting through dog-eared papers she found a letter with the hospital logo. She found Prof Barber’s name with a direct number printed under it.

  Running back down, she picked up the phone and dialled. The phone seemed to ring endlessly. She hung up and tried again. Again it rang endlessly. Huffing, she hung up to try once more.

  ‘Whoever you are you shouldn’t keep ringing when I don’t pick up!’ barked Prof Barber. ‘Look, I’ve got my hands tied producing a slide show.’

  ‘Tomás!’ she shouted.

  The line went silent.

  ‘Horrible things are running through my head.’ she continued. ‘I don’t know where to look! Last night he told me about something he saw...’

  ‘He has been following the course as I said, hasn’t he?’ he interrupted.

  ‘Well, up until last night, at least.’

  ‘Mrs Gabino, do not alarm yourself.’ his voice sounded calm. ‘And I urge you not to dial 999. Surely you haven’t tried all the places he could be? My colleagues will have their radars on. I bet you he’ll knock on your door of his own volition in no time.’

  Marilyn mouthed his last five words back to herself. ‘Do you even know that I came in with him after a bloody incident and saw Dr Goldberg?’

  She looked at Alberto. He shook his head and walked out of the room.

  ‘I keep tabs on everything about your husband, Mrs Gabino. I have no problem with what Goldberg advises. I can share with you Tomás’s mind status later today if you’re willing to hear it? I don’t believe this merits heavy action yet. It sounds like a hiccup.’

  ‘A what?’ she shouted.

  ‘Well, you tell me what we should do right this minute, Mrs Gabino? It goes without saying that Tomás is a major priority of mine and I will pass on any data as it becomes available. My class can wait. I hope you’ll...’

  Marilyn slammed the phone.

  ‘Does anyone care in this world any more?’ she asked Estela. ‘It’s just going to be us three for now.’

  Shortly after being phoned by Prof Barber following Marilyn’s call, Dr Klimek called up Dr Goldberg.

  ‘If he’s here he has picked an even newer body.’ said Dr Goldberg.

  ‘I had to move the phone a little or he was going to burst my damn ear drum. This is serious.’

  ‘Well, he could be in Tokyo for all we know.’

  ‘Okay. Let’s just assume we’re far away from a fairy tale ending. Let’s assume somehow, I don’t know how, that something about the donor is doing something awkward to Mr Gabino. Put yourself in his shoes.’

  Dr Goldberg sighed. ‘How could I? I know as much about this donor as you. I guess he could have gone to visit someone the donor knows. But it is also possible he has just fallen off the planet. Or something has affected his ability to rest and is muting drug response. It might be possible he’s become a walking blank slate. For how long, who knows?’

  ‘Yeah, okay. How was he when he came in?’

  ‘I didn’t notice anything strange by observation. Nothing odd in his blood, the scan data is whirring in the drives. If somehow Tomás is suffering from the consequence of a mind merger, I would have more luck on lotto. I told you I saw something before we went ahead with this.’

  ‘Every puzzle has a solution. Even if you have to modify the pieces. Keep tabs on all that come in in a state and I’ll get in touch with our sister buildings.’

  ‘Then anywhere you can get free soup. Or bars. Not the chocolate, but iron ones.’

  ‘Alright, alright.’ he hung up.

  Dr Klimek sighed in his chair as he rang a third neighbouring hospital’s A&E. He sat up as a nurse confirmed the arrival of a matching unidentified man accompanied by an officer.

  ‘I need you to put him on the phone.’

  ‘Not possible.’ she replied. ‘Theatre.’

  ‘But the officer’s there, isn’t he?’

  ‘She. I’m looking at her.’

  ‘I just need some information, please!’

  ‘One moment.’

  A gentle thud of plastic on wood sounded. The nurse’s hard footsteps receded. Moments later came a sound similar to rubbed polystyrene.

  ‘Yes, who is this?’ asked the officer.

  ‘Officer, I’m medical staff too. I wondered if you could give some data on the person you brought in. Is he brown-skinned?’

  ‘How do I know you’re who you say you are? Your number’s coming up on this phone. I can have my men round in a shot.’

  ‘Hang up and ring it if you like. Then pay attention to the automated message. Look, if this person’s who I’m on about, I can be of use to you.’

  ‘This one you’re after,’ she breathed out, ‘you look after them, right?’

  ‘Have for a while now.’

  ‘I captured his messed-up mug on the journey here.
You got something to send it to?’

  ‘Computer on internet.’

  A silence was followed by plastic tapping and beeping.

  ‘Yeah, email.’

  ‘Our domain name has the hospital abbreviation in it. Only people legally allowed to treat a person have an account on it.’

  ‘You all booted, then?’

  Dr Klimek pressed a button on his monitor. The screen lit to a busy arrangement of rectangles. He clicked his mouse to unearth a plain black background.

  ‘Ready when you are.’ he said.

  ‘Okay, one letter at a time for me.’

  ‘Before we start, how bad are they?’

  ‘What’s the point if this ain’t your man?’

  Dr Klimek spelt out each letter. The officer read it back.

  ‘That wasn’t so hard now, was it?’ said Dr. Klimek.

  ‘Okay, let’s just get to that menu option...’ the tapping and beeping returned. ‘There. Done.’

  Dr Klimek clicked a large envelope icon. Blue blocks on a bottom-right progress bar moved slowly. Beside it read “Downloading 1 of 1”.

  ‘Server’s found something, hold on.’

  An unopened small golden envelope appeared in his email list. In bold the subject read “DEXA2 result: Mrs C. Hillier”. A series of images were attached at the bottom. He clicked “Get Mail”. “Downloading 1 of 1”. Another golden envelope appeared with the subject “pic”. He clicked its sole attachment. A grainy 3D image rotated on screen. He pressed his keyboard’s up arrow.

  ‘I wasn’t wrong. Tomás Gab...’

  ‘Maybe you want to look a few seconds more?’ she interrupted.

  ‘It’s clear as day. Now could you fill me in?’

  ‘Looks like he ran into people that didn’t like him.’

  ‘It didn’t look like he had a fit or something like that?’

  ‘Must’ve been a hell of a one if it was.’

  ‘Has he opened his eyes yet?’

  ‘I’d send you a better shot if he did.’

  ‘Look, I’m going to get in my car. Could you not wander elsewhere until I arrive?’

  ‘I’m not in the habit of wandering and I’m sure you understand what black and white clothing signifies.’

  Dr Klimek hung up. He dialled another number.

  ‘Hi. You’re through to the Gabinos.’ said old Tomás. ‘Sorry, none of us can pick up at the moment. You know the drill after the beep.’ Beep.

  ‘Mrs Gabino, your search is over. I’ll get back to you when there’s more to add.’

  He walked at a fast pace out of his office, descended a lift and approached the car park. Opening and slamming his car door he thumbed the ignition, pressing his foot hard on the pedal.

  The entrance doors swung wide as Dr Klimek entered A&E. He gravitated towards the officer standing in front of an open curtained cubicle, helmet under arm.

  ‘I spoke to you, right?’ asked the officer.

  He nodded. ‘So, have the staff said anything?’

  ‘Schtum so far.’

  ‘Are you going to get stuff out of him when he’s able to open his mouth?’

  ‘Well, I’m not here for fun.’

  ‘I’m pretty sure whatever he says won’t be useful for a little while. You could give me your number, if you like? We’ve got a bed ready at UCLH. This place lacks certain things he needs.’

  ‘That so?’ she scratched her thigh. ‘Well, how about you give me some names and addresses of people missing him? Can’t leave them in the dark now.’

  Dr Klimek tapped an index finger on his nose. He balled his other hand into a pocket.

  ‘Now don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you should keep the light off for the time being.’

  ‘You know, you don’t look like my superintendent.’ she raised her head. ‘I bit on your bait, now come on.’

  ‘Alright.’

  He pulled open a black leather organiser from an inside jacket pocket. Taking a biro out of its holder, he unfolded a piece of paper and copied its number to a fresh jot pad sheet.

  ‘I got their machine the last time I tried.’ he ripped the sheet off.

  ‘Well, can you give me what postmen like to refer to, please?’ she took it.

  ‘Not on me.’

  ‘To pass medical school you had to rely on your head, right? You must be able to get a printout somewhere in here.’

  ‘You should’ve said something when we spoke earlier. There’s ongoing maintenance on the central database, can’t call it up. You’ve got what I wrote you anyway and you don’t need to do more than talk, I assume?’

  ‘Look, I haven’t got time for bullshit, right? If this scribble doesn’t help me out you won’t have shaken me off.’

  ‘Don’t bother asking for their albums.’

  ‘Come again?’

  ‘If you expect them to have anything identifying, it doesn’t exist. He’s not their biological son, you see. And a fire took a lot of memories they had, or something like that.’ he folded his arms.

  ‘‘ey? I wasn’t planning to coo over him as a baby. They just need to see my phone and I need to know who might have it in for him. That’s what I wear this uniform for.’

  ‘I’ll bet it was just a psychotic let out early.’

  ‘Really? And you’re a detective now?’

  ‘Forgive me.’ he looked past the officer at a nurse walking to reception. ‘Nurse! Please tell me you’ve got word on the patient that came in with her?’

  ‘Oh. It’s you, doctor!’ she was the one on the phone. ‘Theatre doors are still shut. Has your clinic day here changed?’

  The officer looked at the nurse then back at Dr Klimek.

  ‘I’m not doing them for a couple of months. But that patient, once his eyes open, tell them not to wheel him to a ward but ready transport. Bigwig needs him at UCLH.’

  ‘Oh no, not one nil on facilities again?’

  ‘Got it in one.’ he laughed.

  She nodded and entered the corridor.

  ‘I wouldn’t know where to begin if you didn’t come out.’ said the officer. ‘You’re like some fairy godmother. Of sorts.’

  Dr Klimek nodded.

  ‘So,’ the officer continued, ‘if I want to bring some flowers later what number do I press on a lift down there?’

  ‘Well, er...’

  ‘Actually, don’t worry. I know you’ve got helpful people at the front desk. A colleague of mine made a very final stop here, if you see?’

  ‘I value the risks of your profession.’

  ‘You guys definitely gave it your all, though. He would’ve just been lying in bed with spit drooling out, so it was for the best.’ she cleared her throat. ‘This place is getting me down. Maybe we’ll cross paths again, Dr Klimek?’

  ‘How would I greet you if we do?’

  ‘Harrison. That’s the surname.’ she walked away.

  The nurse returned. ‘They’re just waiting for the nod from your bigwig.’

  ‘Did you enquire about the patient’s progress?’

  ‘They looked really busy in there.’

  ‘You’re not waiting for any calls on the phone here, are you?’

  ‘You don’t have to ask for my permission, doctor.’ her heels skated to a paramedic pushing a sweaty-faced, heavily pregnant woman in a wheelchair.

  Dr Klimek lifted the handset and tapped the buttons hard. After a few rings the line came alive.

  ‘Hello?’ said Marilyn.

  ‘Mrs Gabino, you can stop searching now. He’s being looked at, but not in our hospital.’

  ‘I’m listening.’

  ‘It’s open to speculation. I had to choose my words wisely to law enforcement with him.’

  ‘It involves them?’ she shrieked.

  ‘Time will reveal more.’

  ‘I don’t want to hear that this is a hiccup! You have no idea on happenings lately!’

  ‘Mrs Gabino, you have to get a hold on yourself. Assumptions aren’t going to help. We have to have
him patched up before we do anything else.’

  ‘I’m leaving the house now! You want to tell me where you’re calling from?’

  ‘No point. He’ll be out on the road in a while. Stay by the phone, you’ll be the first to know when he’s in his private room. Okay?’

  ‘Just end this bad dream for us, please!’

  ‘Have I done anything so far to hurt your husband?’

  ‘I’m going to sit right by the phone, so it had better ring!’

  ‘I’m a man of my word. And by the way, the officer shook your number out of me. You realise you’re going to have to use your imagination? That’s what your signature was for.’

  The line hummed off. Seeing the nurse still busy he dialled again. The call immediately connected.

  ‘Barber?’ he used his free hand to cover his mouth.

  ‘So glad it’s your voice. You should take up treasure hunting. His scan isn’t making me panic. By and large what we gave is what we got. But new memory acquisitions aside there seems to be what looks like a bit of graffiti. I hope you’re following me?’

  Dr Klimek nodded. ‘So this isn’t something to ignore?’

  ‘Whether this is something temporary or permanent, I don’t know. What we pick from our meagre toolbox depends on what comes out of his mouth and further assessment.’

  ‘He hasn’t vented his feelings on a couch yet. That might be it.’

  ‘Oh, come off it! We only slated him for that as a placebo crutch. Those psychiatrists are only useful for people with no one to care for them. I know that first hand.’

  ‘So, what sort of script do we cook up? If the Gabinos end up believing he’s better off in a coffin they’ll want us and our project in one too.’

  ‘I’ll handle it should this end up something to break sweat over.’

  ‘I’m dreading that whatever kept him from staying at home has got worse with what brought him here.’

  ‘Couldn’t he find breathing in local smog enough? I should’ve told him he can damn well go wherever he wants, seeing as he’s so obedient!’