Tally was updating the big map of her area with information that had come in from the volunteer groups, which it did on a nightly basis, when a man drew up in a Land Rover and, after dusting himself down, announced himself as, Marcus Altman. Tally could see that he was tall, European and heard that he had a German — maybe Swiss accent. He seemed vaguely familiar.
‘WHO,’ prompted Altman. ‘I’m the regional controller, I gave the inauguration talk when you arrived.’
‘Oh, of course,’ said Tally, feeling embarrassed. ‘I’m so sorry, I’ve been meeting so many new people, I think I’m on overload. Please come in.’
‘I’m doing the rounds of the area managers to see how things are progressing,’ Altman explained. ‘But I think I can see that for myself,’ he added, ‘alluding to the map Tally had been updating and bending over to look more closely at it.’
‘Rather well,’ said Tally, joining Altman, ‘If the numbers we have are a true reflection of the situation, things are rapidly coming under control. The vaccination team completed their latest circle yesterday.’ She pointed to the red circle she had been completing, ‘and no new cases have been reported for over two weeks. How are the other areas doing?’
‘Much the same,’ said Altman, ‘Things are looking good all round, providing, as you say, we can trust the numbers and cases aren’t being hidden.’
‘Do you think they are?’ Tally asked.
‘We have to be a little cautious,’ said Altman, ‘because that’s always happened in the past, but, this time, I’m hopeful the measures taken to educate the public combined with the rapid influx of finance and skilled volunteers like yourself has paid dividends and, of course, a decent supply of vaccine has made all the difference. Providing there are no new cases, I think the Health authorities will be prepared to make an optimistic statement very soon.’
‘Sounds like a big success story for the investors who funded the new initiative,’ said Tally, ‘who had to cover her mouth a little and shake her head slightly.’
Altman noticed. He said, ‘Investing in disease and human suffering does seem a little strange, I agree, but we have to be single minded and concentrate on the bottom line, no?’
Tally conceded with a nod. ‘And to the future,’ she said. ‘When the people see how successful western medicine has been this time, there should be even less suspicion and opposition next time.’
‘A good way to look at it,’ said Altman, ‘but let’s hope there won’t be a next time.’
‘I never thought in my wildest dreams that the outbreak would be brought under control this quickly,’ said Tally, ‘I suppose, like everyone else, I was thinking in terms of the last one and the nightmare it turned out to be.’
‘Don’t underestimate the contribution you and your fellow volunteers have made,’ said Altman. ‘It took tremendous courage to come here in the first place, knowing what happened across West Africa last time when thousands died... Why did you come here?’
Tally didn’t expect the question and couldn’t find an answer. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, ‘I suppose I thought it was the right thing to do.’
Altman smiled and nodded before opening the rucksack he’d been carrying to take out a large envelope, which he handed to Tally. ‘I understand you wanted to see this; it’s the WHO report giving details of the last outbreak when it ended in 2016.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Tally, ‘I asked your colleague, Hans Weber, if I might see a copy although it now sounds like I won’t be needing it after all.’
‘How so?’
‘Call me a geek, but I’ve always had an interest in epidemiology,’ said Tally. ‘You can learn a lot about epidemics from studying how they spread in the past. I thought that looking at what happened last time might help in dealing with the current outbreak. Happily, it seems that sort of analysis won’t be needed, thank God.’
Altman smiled and said, ‘In which case, I’ll take it out of your way.’
‘Oh, no,’ said Tally. ‘I’m sure I’ll still find it an interesting read.’
Altman left and Tally finished adding updates to the map before sitting back to admire her handiwork — the marker-pen circles, crosses and numbers in boxes did look pleasingly like a situation under control. It was a good feeling, but it brought an odd feeling of mental tiredness with it, which she tried to analyse — one emotion at a time.
She was happy for the people of DRC who had suffered so much over the years from the hell of Ebola — they had been spared the nightmare of a repeat of the previous epidemic, and true, she was relieved that her own personal experience had been nowhere near as bad as she had feared before coming here, but there were feelings of regret that she had put Steven and her friends and family through so much worry because of some inner desire, which she still didn’t fully understand although she now remembered that Steven had once maintained that doing the right thing can be so much more difficult than people imagine. She called him.
‘You’re kidding,’ Steven exclaimed when Tally told him there was a chance that the Ebola outbreak was under control and it was possible it would soon be declared over, ‘All over in a couple of months? That is absolutely wonderful.’
‘Well, it was nearer six months if we factor in the time it took the authorities to admit there was a problem, but I have to admit it’s taken me by surprise too. ‘I suppose I’d been assuming I would be here for much longer.’
‘Me too,’ agreed Steven. ‘God, it’s such a relief to know that you’ll be coming home soon; I guess we owe — what do they call it? the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility a big apology. I really didn’t think it would work.’
‘I was a bit doubtful myself,’ Tally agreed, ‘but I thought the new area management scheme was a good idea and let’s not forget the vaccine. Having more vaccine available made an enormous contribution to stopping the spread of the disease in its tracks. I don’t think I understand why it’s still regarded as being experimental, you’d think it would have progressed to full accreditation after its success last time.’
‘Good point,’ said Steven. ‘We should ask about that, but something tells me we may not like the answer.’
‘Money?’
‘What else.’
‘Anyway, experimental or not, maybe more of the local population will have trust in modern medicine from now on.’
‘I’d like to think so, but something tells me witch doctors and weird religious beliefs aren’t going to go away anytime soon.’
‘Have you any idea when you might be coming home?’
‘We’ll have to wait for the official announcement and then, say, another couple of weeks to wind down. Hey, you haven’t told me anything about your investigation, how’s it going?’
‘Slowly,’ Steven replied. ‘I know quite a bit about the players, but very little about the plot.’
‘It’ll come together, you’ll see.’
‘You can always help with your input when you come home.’
‘A happy thought.’
Steven couldn’t stop smiling. He had been expecting to deal with the likelihood that Tally would be away for many months and in constant danger, but now, quite suddenly, it was all going to be over and she was coming home. It seemed too good to be true. He immediately regretted having that thought, remembering the warning that usually followed such a notion. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. He couldn’t ignore this, but he could argue against it. While it was true that Ebola cases had been concealed in the past and numbers manipulated in a futile attempt to protect the country’s economy, he felt confident it could not have happened this time. There were simply too many volunteers and savvy observers from global organisations on the ground that the truth could not successfully be disguised.