Read Online WAR: Intrusion by Vanessa Kier - Free Book Online Page B

cup of coffee, she walked through the clinic, her footsteps echoing in the empty corridor. She’d asked Lachlan to wait outside, explaining that she needed a private moment to review the work that had been done.
    In the lab, she ran her finger over the sparkling counter. They’d actually done it. Not only restored the clinic to its pre-break-in condition, but taken it one more level. Pride blossomed into a huge smile of relief. Whether or not Lachlan’s boss and the other potential donors decided to invest, she and her staff had worked a small miracle in the past two months. They deserved today’s celebration.
    Unfortunately, Mr. Natchaba had informed her that business would keep him away from the festival. Still, Helen wished he’d change his plans and show up. None of this would have been possible without his assistance and she wanted to thank him again in person.
    Helen checked her watch. Seeing that she was out of time, she took one last look around the lab. For expediency’s sake, they’d left the files and most pieces of equipment in place when they’d closed the clinic last night. Helen and her staff would return from the festival an hour ahead of the dignitaries in order to set up the food and bring the most expensive equipment out of storage. Gloria and Mrs. N’Dorah, the head of Layla’s Foundation, would arrive shortly after that, to be in place to welcome the VIPs.
    Still smiling, Helen headed outside. She nodded to the two local men who’d been hired, at Lachlan’s suggestion, to provide extra protection for the clinic overnight. Lachlan had pointed out that the newly restocked clinic would provide a tempting target for thieves, and that with almost all of the villagers planning to attend the festival, the chances of a crime being noticed, even during daylight, were slim. So two other men were scheduled to arrive in a few minutes to relieve the overnight guards.
    “All’s well?” Lachlan asked when Helen reached the SUV.
    “Yes. It’s beautiful.”
    “Only a doctor would see such a utilitarian space as beautiful,” he commented as he strapped himself into the passenger seat.
    “But that’s what makes it beautiful. It’s efficient. Clean. I like knowing that the people who come here are receiving care equal to those in first world countries.”
    “Aye, I can understand that.”
    They traveled in silence to the village, where they picked up Leticia, Theodora, and Xetsa.
    “Being the only lad present, I’m feeling vastly outnumbered,” Lachlan complained, winking at Leticia.
    Leticia giggled as she climbed into the back seat.
    “Would you prefer to walk?” Helen asked.
    Lachlan gave a long-suffering sigh that elicited more giggles from the other women. “No. I suppose not.”
    Chuckling, Helen pulled the SUV into the rear position of the small caravan of vehicles heading to the regional capital. The closer they drew to the site of the festival, the more people they passed on the road and the slower the traffic became. Those from the farthest villages who didn’t have a ride had left hours before dawn in order to reach the regional capital in time for the opening festivities.
    Helen’s caravan arrived an hour past dawn, driving past shops that had closed down for the day and toward the secondary school at the far edge of town. Display stalls and tables were in the process of being set up along the sides of the school’s athletic field. At the farthest end, just before the field gave way to the jungle, workers put the finishing touches on the backdrop of the stage for the speakers. Volunteers in their holiday finest waved the vehicles to the unloading area, unmindful of the dust. Lachlan helped Helen and the others unpack the items for the clinic’s table, then he announced, “I’m going to check on the security” and wandered off.
    Helen’s shoulders relaxed once he was out of sight. Pretending that the kiss had never happened, and that she didn’t want him to kiss her again, had