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Sebastian takes a hard right and the tires squeal loudly in protest. I cling to the armrest and will him to slow down before we end up in the hospital. His knuckles are white on the steering will and there is a frantic look in those sapphire eyes. He is terrified for Nick and I want to offer words of comfort but I’m completely in the dark as to Nick’s condition and the extent of the damage. I only pray that the doctor’s on staff will be able to successfully treat him.
“Do you have any other details?” my curiosity getting the better of me. “How did this happen, where was he shot?”
He gives a terse shake of the head. “He was trying to do a deal on his own, trying to prove himself to Sergei.” His face contorts with rage. “Why didn’t Sergei stop him? Now my little brother is dying!” He pounds the steering wheel.
“You don’t know that, Bash. The doctors may be able to save him. Let’s just get to the hospital and I’ll talk to them. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
The further we drive it occurs to me that we’re not headed to Bellevue which is the closest hospital. But then again I don’t know what part of town this “deal” went down in. Maybe we’re headed for North Central Medical Center.
Bash turns off the main road and we start going down a rather sketchy looking area with storefronts with bars on them or blaring lights offering all manner of substances and services. What hospital could possibly be over here? Maybe a clinic?
We pull up in front of what appears to be an auto mechanic shop. I turn to look at Sebastian in complete astonishment as he puts the car in park.
“What in the hell are we doing here?” I exclaim. “We need to get to the hospital.”
“This is where Nick is,” he hops out of the car. “Come on!”
“What?” I say as I open the door. “What the hell is he doing here? He needs to be at a hospital.”
He grabs me by the arm and pulls me along with him. We run around to the back of the garage. Sebastian fumbles with some keys and then opens the door. Suddenly the picture starts forming in my mind. Nick was involved in some criminal activity and was shot but instead of taking him to the hospital, for some insane reason, he ended up here in a filthy mechanics shop.
We walk through a dark corridor and then turn off to the left. We go down a short stairway and then stop a what appears to be a storage closet. Sebastian uses the keys to open the door. At the far end of the closet is yet another steel door with a latch handle like what might be on an industrial freezer room. My heart is pounding wildly as I wonder what we’ll find on the other side. I imagine Nick lying on a filthy floor holding his gut while life bled out of him.
When Sebastian opens the door, I am shocked to walk into what appears to be a gleaming white and mint green, sterile looking operating room. It was like stepping into a state-of-the-art medical facility. In this place? What the hell was going on?
My attention was quickly drawn to Nick lying on the operating table his chest covered in blood. A woman in full scrubs stands at his side administering what I assume to be pain medication. Another man young man stood in the corner still in his street close, looking scared and shaken. He must have been the one who called and brought Nick here.
“She’s just a nursing assistant,” Sebastian explains. “She’s sedated Nick, but can’t do any more to help him.” He looks at me, earnest eyes filled with pleading. “He’s been shot twice, in the chest and stomach. You’ve got to help him, Mads.”
All of the questions about how and why fled from my mind as my doctor brain took over. I hurry over to the sink and begin scrubbing up. Knowing time is of the essence, I do the best I can in thirty seconds and then the nursing assistant is there helping me put on gloves, mask and, cap, no time to pull on scrubs.
I ask no more questions and simply go to work, bound and determined to save Nick’s life.
Chapter 10 – The Doctor is In
WatchingMadisonatworkwas a vision to behold. She was a maestro at work conducting a symphony of medical excellence and artistry. For three hours straight, she worked diligently on Nick. She stopped the hemorrhaging, stabilized his vital signs, retracted the bullets from his chest cavity and gut, closed off the blood vessels, and finally sutured him up.
As afraid as I was for Nick, watching Madison in her element was incredible.
I’d washed up to assist wherever I could. Between me and the nursing assistant, we were able to keep the process flowing relatively smoothly, giving Madison what she needed when she needed it without too many delays.
All things considered, it went extremely well, and Nick’s prognosis is very promising. But now comes the real challenge, the one I’ve both dreaded and dreamed of.
“Okay, Nick’s in stable enough condition to be safely transported to a hospital,” she says pulling off her surgical gloves and wiping her brow. She gives me a harsh look of disapproval. “I can’t believe you’d gamble with your brother’s life this way, he should’ve been taken to the hospital immediately.”
“Mads, I love my brother very much. If I wasn’t absolutely 100% certain that you could’ve saved him, I’d have taken our chances at the hospital and with the police. But this way, this incident doesn’t have to go on his permanent record. He won’t be expelled from college. I was trying to keep this from ruining his life.”
She listens but gives me a questioning look. “But what aboutmyfuture, Bash? This was a gunshot wound. I have to report it, or I could be barred from practicing medicine, and possibly prosecuted for failing to report a violent crime to the authorities.”
And there’s the rub.
“Babe, I know that, but no one’s going to know what happened here. Nick’s going to recover at home and be fine. It’ll be like it never happened.”
She brings her hands to her temples. “You’re putting my career in jeopardy.”
“Gods, no,” I say indignantly. “I’ll doeverythingin my power to protect your career. This must remain off the records and all of our lives will go on unsoiled by it. You did the hard part, now let it go for all our sakes.”
Her face contorts in grief. “First the gun, now this? Sebastian, I can’t be a part of this world. If any of this gets out---”
