Page 20 of Booked for Theft

The pilot wasted no time getting into the air.

“Thank you for your cooperation, ma’am,” the agent said once we were clear of the museum and gaining altitude. “Is there anything you will need to work at the hospital upon our arrival? The first donor recipient is in dire need, and they would like to begin as soon as you arrive.”

Sometimes, one person’s good luck was another’s misfortune. I would lose many an hour of sleep pondering the mysteries of life and death. “I won’t need anything. If Senator Thaddens is the same blood type as the patient, I can handle the transfusion portion of the process. The transfusion might help mitigate some of the organ transfer issues.” There was more to the puzzle of organ rejection than just blood, but eliminating the blood from the equation, at least for a little while, might make a difference between life or death for the recipient, especially as he had need of two lungs. “What is the cause of the lung failure in the patient?”

“The patient is suffering from pulmonary fibrosis. He is one of President Castillo’s nephews. He’s on death watch, and his only hope for survival is a lung transplant.”

Well, that complicated things. As I tried to mind my own business along with my manners, it didn’t bother me I hadn’t had a clue President Castillo had any brothers or sisters. While Senator Thaddens had likely known something about the president’s family, I doubted he’d have much in the way of awareness of the nephew, his disease, or his poor prognosis. And even if President Castillo had known Senator Thaddens was a donation match for his nephew, only nature could provide the perfect storm.

For a rare change, I doubted the government had anything to do with Senator Thaddens’s impending death, a small comfort in the grand scheme of things.

Pulmonary fibrosis would be an issue, though—but if there was any evidence something in his blood caused it, I would take care of the root problem. That much I could do.

Senator Thaddens would die either way.

“Have they identified a cause?”

“Unfortunately not. There’s a chance the transplant will completely reverse the disease, however. And even if it doesn’t, it will buy him time.”

Yes, it would. “All right. Please notify someone that I will want to make use of Senator Thaddens’s blood for this, but they will not need to do any of the testing; I can handle that faster than their machines and labs can. He should be kept on life support for as long as possible.” I winced. “Ideally right up until the point the organs are removed for donation. Are there other recipients in the hospital?”

“Recipients for his corneas, liver, kidneys, pancreas, spleen, stomach, and intestines have been located. If he has an organ or fluid that can be transplanted, it’s being harvested in the hopes of a recipient being located. President Castillo is making arrangements for all recipients to be transported to the hospital at his personal expense.”

Sometimes, evil people could do good deeds, and as long as President Castillo worked to save lives, I would welcome him with open arms. It wouldn’t change the evils wrought with his hands, but for the moment, I’d be his best friend if it meant a few people might survive. The inclusion of his spleen caught my attention, and I asked, “A spleen is being transplanted?”

“After the success with your surgery, as there is a patient who just lost their spleen in an accident similar to yours, it has been decided to try the operation a second time.”

When it rained, it poured. “Please have the hospital send me to whatever patients need me the most,” I requested. “I expect the lung transplant will be the most challenging of the procedures.”

If the accident patient was at the stage they considered an organ like a spleen, they were likely better off than the young man clinging to life by a thread, fighting a battle he had no hope of winning alone.

The agent did as I requested. “There has also been a request for a cholesterol treatment; they have one patient with a high enough severity that traditional treatments might not work. They have a new nurse with some exsanguination abilities who would like to learn from you.”

“Put that case last, and if the severity is high, have the patient monitored for heart attack risk. Following treatment, medications will need to be adjusted. Make certain they’re prepared to manage the blood pressure problems afterwards. The patient’s blood pressure will drop significantly.”

“Thank you. I will notify the hospital.”

I foresaw a long day, and while I had some regrets, I would do the work with a smile plastered on my face. Nobody would learn the truth, not from me.

At least not yet.

Under normal circumstances, it should have taken an hour and a half to fly between New York City and Washington D.C.; a strong tailwind, flight prioritization, and pushing the helicopter to its limits got us there in just over an hour. If I had a choice in the matter, I would never land on the roof of a building again. I escaped the aircraft, kept my head low to keep from losing it to a blade, and headed for a pair of men in doctor’s coats waiting near a doorway leading into the hospital.

According to their name tags, they were both surgeons.

“A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Pilsir, Dr. Won,” I greeted, pausing long enough to shake their hands. “Transplants are a bit outside of my expertise, but air exchange and blood flow are my domain. How can I help?”

“Is it true you can oxygenate the body while the lungs are fully out of commission?”

I nodded. “I’ve mastered that art, yes. My lungs were down to five percent capacity due to the car accident, and nobody caught it because I used my magic subconsciously. It’s a little harder to do on purpose, but I can give you at least twelve hours without issue.”

The doctors stared at me with raised brows. After spluttering a moment, Dr. Pilsir said, “Twelve hours?”

“Oxygenation is easy for me. I can redirect all blood in the body at the same time, too. I can bypass the heart, lungs, and any other organ I want at will. My aptitude is a little crazy,” I admitted, and I shrugged. “But I practiced a lot on farm animals before ever touching a human with my ability. I started monitoring diabetes and similar conditions, as those are pretty obvious to my senses. If I use my talent, I can detect diabetes even if I don’t necessarily want to.”

“So you can confirm Senator Thaddens doesn’t have diabetes?”

“He does not,” I confirmed. “Unless he developed it overnight, that is. I was in close proximity with him for numerous hours yesterday, and I would have picked up on that accidentally. I try not to pry into the medical affairs of others without permission.”