The bush pilot that the WHO representative had found for her was a lanky older man with enormous white eyebrows, a wandering eye and an accent that Marnie Arbinger could only describe as New York-French.
"Er, he doesn't have the best reputation in the world," her WHO contact had said with a wince, "but he'll get you where you are going. Just... you know. Maybe ignore most of what comes out of his mouth?"
Marnie had smiled dimly at the man, even as a part of her wanted to remind him that at the beginning and at the end of it, she was doing him a favor.
"This the big-time doc, eh?" said the bush pilot with a sneer. "Gawd, if they made most docs as pretty as you, I'd get my physicals more often, wouldn't I?"
"Not really that kind of doctor," Marnie muttered. "Not unless you are extremely ill..."
The truth was that despite her medical credentials, Marnie hadn't been in the field since the first hectic days of her residency. Her focus had always been on lab work and research, the blood that she studied provided in clean and sterile tubules and slides rather than in people. The work was rewarding and important, but sometime in the last few years, she had realized that it was not enough, far from it.
At the age of 27, Marnie was already well-respected in her field, doing important work in her CDC lab, and developing a reputation for the kind of insights that made all the difference when it came to hematology and the associated sciences. However, she was also growing increasingly frustrated with the bureaucracy that held her back and with the increasingly rote nature of her research. She needed something more, and it was as if her friend Jessica had zeroed in on that.
As much as Jessica had always said that she envied Marnie's bright blond hair and sky blue eyes, there was no denying the fact that Jessica herself was the one who always received the attention wherever they went. On Jessica's last night stateside, there were plenty of men at the bar, where they’d gone after the restaurant, eyeing her as if she was a piece of steak. Jessica, her bright eyes blazing, had ignored them as she gestured with her drink, her voice intent.
"I'm serious, Marnie," she said. "You are way too good to waste away in a lab. I know you are doing important work there, but there's a great deal to learn on the ground as well. There's so much out there that we don't understand. That’s why my next assignment’s deep in the African jungle. Honestly, you could be on the next flight out if you wanted. The WHO needs boots on the ground out there..."
"I'm really a lot more comfortable in my lab," Marnie began, but Jessica cut her off with a snort.
"Go ahead and use that city mouse demeanor on your colleagues that think that they know you, but for heaven's sake, don't try it with me!"
Marnie blushed as Jessica continued.
"You're tough. You’re also young, healthy, adaptable... I know that you hiked chunks of the Appalachian trail while you were actually in med school."
"I thought it was relaxing," Marnie said with a shrug, and Jessica shook her head.
"Normal people who want to relax watch Netflix and order take out. The fact that you took on walking through treacherous wilderness to relax your brain says something. Look... I know that you love your work, and that blood is kind of your life. I just think that there are better ways to serve the cause. Get out of the lab. Get on the ground and learn more about the people that you are so dedicated to trying to save."
The conversation had moved on to other things at that point, but Marnie could feel Jessica's words echoing through her mind. Jessica was always a convincing person, had been since they were children together, but this was more than that. It was more as if Jessica had given voice to something that had been echoing inside Marnie for a long time.
The next day, she had gone to her lab, realized that most of her work could be handled by people far less skilled than herself, and put in her notice. From there, it had been a real whirlwind, finding Jessica's contacts at the WHO and getting involved with their efforts in Tanzania, where Jessica had ended up.
There was a distressing time where it seemed as if Jessica had disappeared off the grid, but then she had appeared again, working in a remote Tanzania medical center under a Dr. Stephanie Carter. Communication had been sparse, but the message that Marnie had received several months ago had been blunt and to the point.
Please come. All medical help needed.
All of that had lead to a round of intense inoculations, an expedited passport, several briefings from WHO officials and finally, a plane trip with an older man who seemed to think that he was far more charming than he was.
Marnie gritted her teeth when he made yet another comment about how such a pretty lady should have a good man, she smiled politely when he mentioned past girlfriends who looked just like her, and somehow she didn't lose her temper entirely when he put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing away a non-existent stiffness. She had always been shier than Jessica, the friend who hung back, but when she was as irritated as she was now, she had no qualms about defending herself. Still, he didn't do anything completely egregious until they stopped for refueling at a small village in the middle of nowhere.
"So, I hope you know that it's a real mission of mercy, me making these runs for the WHO," he said to her as she was trying to give a young boy some money for a soda. Behind them, the plane was getting fueled up, and Marnie could see the eye rolls from the local maintenance men as the bush pilot talked.
"If you think that you're not getting adequately compensated, I suggest you take it up with your contact. I'm technically on loan to the World Health Organization myself," Marnie said, her tone frostily polite.
"Oh, you know, it's not much in the grand scheme of things," the man said expansively. "It's just that a man likes to feel appreciated, you know? Especially if he's taking all this time, all this trouble, to get a cute little thing like you out to the middle of nowhere. A place like that can make a girl lonely, y'know? Might be a long time before she sees a hunk of man that can give her a proper looking after..."
Marnie was ready to give him another polite let down, but then he had the nerve to wrap his arms around her from behind, rocking against her in what he likely thought was a charming way. He was still murmuring some damn thing about comfort and the pleasures of civilization when Marnie calmly raised her foot and found his shin with her heel, as she had been taught. Her foot slammed against him with the strength and precision of a kicking mule, and the bush pilot let out a satisfying shriek as he pulled away cursing.
"You bloody bitch, you broke my foot..."
"First, bloody is right. I'm carrying on my person no less than twenty-four vials of some of the downright nastiest blood-borne diseases known to man, for comparison at my destination. Want to know how very bad for you it would be if you had broken one and gotten a sample all over you as you were feeling me up? I mean, I'm inoculated to hell and back, but you..."
She waited until she had seen the understanding dawn in his eyes, and she nodded.
"And as to breaking your foot, no, I didn't. But I could have. So maybe when the plane gets refueled, you can take me where I want to go, collect the money that you are due from the WHO that I know they are giving you, and maybe from now on, we can do it with a total lack of sexual harassment?"
That won a tight humiliated nod from the pilot as he limped off, and Marnie was startled to hear a good natured laugh and whistle from one of the African women nearby. She realized with a slight blush that the woman had seen everything, and she waved back, shyly.
Well, if nothing else, her time in Tanzania was going to be interesting.