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He knelt next to her, rifling through his medical ruck, looking for something. “Let me check you out thoroughly and then we will talk.” He hesitated for a moment, searching her face. “Are you comfortable with me examining you?”
“Sure.” And then she added more softly, gasping slightly only once as he hurriedly pressed a cold stethoscope against her skin, “I know Alex Kazak. He’s spoken passionately about you, Sacha. He worries for you.”
A grin suddenly split Pavlov’s lean face as he pulled out a blood pressure cuff. “Alex! How is he? I miss my good friend.” With quick efficiency, he wrapped the cuff around her upper arm. Lifting the chilly metal head of his stethoscope off from below her left collarbone with a nod, he simultaneously inflated the cuff and watched the dial as he released a small bit of air from it.
Sierra started to talk again about Alex but the medic frowned and said, “Sorry I asked. Forget about Alex. Such talk must wait. I need you to be quiet and calm while I take this reading.”
She did as she was asked. The man was lean, and she felt not only his controlled strength, but his gentleness with her as well.
“Good,” he murmured, putting the stethoscope back in his ruck.
Sierra sat still. She was aware of Mace standing over them and she could see worry in his eyes. Concerned herself, she turned, watching Pavlov’s glistening face. His hair was military-short and black. His eyebrows lay straight across those piercing blue eyes of his. He was good-looking and she could see a number of small scars here and there on his face and lean, hard jaw.
“You are a good patient,” and he smiled a little, removing the cuff. He stowed all the blood-pressure apparatus away in his ruck and then took her pulse, his two index fingers gently on her inner wrist.
She saw him frown a little.
Sacha retrieved a small note pad and pen from his ruck, quickly writing down a bunch of scrawled notations. He grabbed a pair of latex gloves and snapped them on. “Now, I must examine your wound on your head?”
“Sure,” she murmured, “go ahead.” He was incredibly careful in his examination of her huge bump. He dripped some lidocaine into the area so that she would feel no pain from his examination. And when he discovered the crusted blood and a small cut, he quickly cleaned it up with gauze. He removed some stubborn stone fragments from beneath her scalp painlessly with a pair of tiny tweezers, deftly wielded. Amazed at his quickness, gentleness and skill, Sierra said, “You should be a doctor, Sacha.”
“I try not to hurt anyone,” he said, giving her a quick smile. Sitting back on his heels, he looked at her, becoming serious. “You are a level-three concussion patient, Sierra. What that means is that you have sustained a very serious blow to your head.” He twisted a look up at Mace, his voice heavier. “You need to medevac her out of here.”
“What?” Sierra stared at the Russian, stunned by his diagnosis. “But… I’m fine! I feel better! I’m not so dizzy anymore—”
“Sierra,” the medic said gently, gripping her hand and squeezing it tenderly, “your pupils are not equal. That is a sign of possible brain damage. It could be the rock created a blood clot where you were struck. Just because you are feeling better doesn’t mean you won’t crash. And that is what worries me.” His brow fell and he dug into her widening eyes. “You must receive help at a hospital, preferably with a neurologist who can assess your injury far better than I can. They can give you tests to confirm or deny a blood clot you might have received from that rock striking you.”
Panic seized Sierra. She did NOT want to leave Mace and his team this soon! “But—”
“No,” Sacha said firmly but gently, holding up his hand. He gave her a concerned look. “It is no accident I arrived here just now. If Mace allowed you to get up tomorrow and start trotting through that jungle again, you could do life-threatening harm yourself, Sierra. You need immediate medical assistance. I’m sorry, I know you’re disappointed, but it’s best you be taken out of this area as soon as Mace can arrange it.”
Mace knelt. “This isn’t up for discussion, Sierra.”
She sat back, staring at them, disappointment clearly written in her expression.
“Sacha, do you know what Kushnir is planning to do next?” Mace asked.
“He has lost the trail on your two men and has called back his team.” He shrugged, looking around the cave. “I need to get back, give him a call on my radio and report nothing suspicious in this area. I think he will go back to the caves in the Highlands. We have a Russian transport helo coming in,” and he looked at his watch, “at dusk, to pick up the load of cocaine. He will want to be there in plenty of time to meet it.”
Scowling, Mace said, “Then, that means we can’t get Sierra out of here until tomorrow morning.” He rubbed his jaw. “Can she stay until then?”
“Of course. It’s just that she can’t be too active. No running. Not trotting. She should not be carrying extra weight. Her blood pressure is high and so is her pulse. She needs calm and rest. How far is it to where your Black Hawk can pick her up tomorrow?”
“About five miles from here. It’s an easy walk so long as I know Kushnir isn’t going to be around.”
Sacha nodded, putting the last of his supplies into his ruck and closing it. “Kushnir is going to remain in Caverna for the next two days. You should be safe to egress tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Is there anything else I can do for Sierra until then?”
The medic smiled a little. “If she can eat, that would be good, but I suspect nausea comes and goes with her. Give her lots of fluids. And walk her out of here. You get to carry her ruck.”
Sierra started to protest but Sacha shook his head and then smiled as he rose to his feet. “Sierra, you must tell Alex I miss him greatly. It is not the same without him down here in the Petrie Dish. Will you tell him that? That I look forward, someday, to seeing him again in person?” He pulled on his ruck, strapping it up.
“I will,” Sierra promised, suddenly emotional. “Thank you, Sacha. I don’t like your diagnosis, but I respect it.”
He leaned down and placed a swift kiss on her creased brow. “Be safe, Sierra. Maybe someday, we will meet again.” He turned, gripping Mace’s offered hand. “YOU stay safe, too, eh?”
“Yeah, goes for both of us. Thanks for everything, Sacha.”
