“One moment, please,” she practically spat at me. I glanced at her name badge and made a mental note. In the event that I had any future run-ins with her, I wanted to know who I had been dealing with. I didn’t do that much, but with my recent experiences at Kellogg Premier, I was poised and ready to strike. Her attitude was definitely unwarranted, and I was a little offended. All I was doing was following instructions and waiting for my discharge paperwork. It felt like I waited forever for her to finish up whatever she was doing and get back to me. When she finally looked back up at me, I was ready to give her the what-for. Instead, I swallowed my anger and addressed her pointedly.
“Dr. Garrison told me to ask you for my discharge papers and for the direct number to this department. I told her I didn’t want to deal with the run-around when calling the main number. That’s all I was waiting for,” I added that last part to make it known that my request was not only simple, but what the doctor had told me to do.
“Very good,” she went back to her computer, typed in a few things and hit the button on the mouse in front of her. The nurse turned, retrieved a few pages from the printer behind her and scrawled a ten-digit number across the top. She finished by circling that number several times and handing me the papers. I took them and, just as she had treated me, turned without a word and exited the back office.
That evening, I shared the news with Roger who was extremely relieved. He scanned the paperwork I had gotten as I left and turned his attention immediately to his phone, where he proceeded to Google the diagnosis I had been given. I looked over his shoulder as he pulled up information on WebMD, describing the symptoms, severity levels and treatments of Mitral Valve Prolapse. I had been started on the very first level of treatment, according to my prescriptions and the instructions found on the second page of my discharge forms.
“This seems pretty serious, Ragan,” Roger’s voice was low, an underlying inquisitive tone quite apparent. “I can’t believe they were acting like this was nothing! I have a good mind to come with you to your follow-up appointment and ask the good doctor myself. I know how you are. You most likely were distracted by the fact that you finally had something to go on and forgot to demand any answers.” He was right. Roger knew me better than anyone and he had hit the nail on the head.
“To be honest,” I felt sheepish for forgetting to open my mouth and be THAT patient that demands answers, “I was. It was such a relief to finally have an answer to the unending question mark, I let it go at that point. I am sorry, Roger, I was just so happy to finally know what is wrong with me, I didn’t have the heart to tell her off.”
“I know, babe, but they need to answer for this. They could have done irreparable harm to you by ignoring this all this time. You don’t know that and neither do I, which is why everyone at Kellogg Premier need to be held accountable. For all you know, it is because of your dealings with Nurse Cooper that they finally did something about it. She could have sounded the alarm and pointed out your problems behind the scenes, leading to some level of action. Perhaps not, but you never know. Those idiots over there seem to have their heads so far up their own asses, you’re lucky they found something at all.”
Leave it to Roger to burst my little bubble. He had a habit of doing that. Roger would take good news of any kind and call it into question by offering up an alternative scenario I would have never thought of. It was his way of trying to understand people and, more often than not, he was absolutely correct.
“You’re right, I promise next time I go in, if you decide not to go with me, that I will ask those difficult questions. Dr. Garrison did tell me that these things are always subject to human error. The fact that doctors are just people too can explain that a little bit, don’t you think?”
“Sounds like a likely excuse to me,” Roger would just not let it go. He was bent on having his way which, in this case would only be satiated by answers. “I will adjust my schedule so I can be there. Christ, Ragan, you could have died right under their noses and they were fully prepared to do nothing to stop it. Just based on what little I have seen and all that you have told me, I can definitely see that. I realize that you may not, you are far too close to this situation, but someone needs to advocate on your behalf, especially if you won’t.”
Roger was not going to let me off the hook and I knew that. He would keep at me until I myself had the answers or he would seek them out himself. Just because we were not legally married, did not mean anything to him. To him, I was at that level, his pseudo-wife he called me from time-to-time. It was a good feeling knowing that someone had your back at all times.
I skated through the rest of that conversation by swearing on everything I could that I would take a list of questions he would come up with in and hit her between the eyes with it. If he could not be there in person, I damn sure better get the answers for myself, or there would be hell to pay when I got back home.
That night, instead of sleeping soundly as I should have, I lay wide awake staring at the ceiling. The things that Nurse Cooper told me at the mall seemed in direct conflict with my most recent experience at Kellogg Premier. Rogers words reverberated through my mind, cycling around and back, reminding me that, if I had let it slide much longer, I could very well have met my own demise. If I could figure out how, I would reach out to Nurse Cooper as soon as possible and let her know that I was finally getting somewhere.
-16-
Elaine
My entire body was screaming in pain. I could not move, and my eyes were lead curtains as I lay on a hard surface. In the distance, a monotonous beeping sound reached my ears that I was familiar with. The sound of a heart monitor sounding off with each beat of my heart, which made me wonder where in the hell I was.
The last thing I remember, I was upside-down in the middle of the intersection I had been crossing. I vaguely recalled being removed from the seat and dragged across the ground, hoisted up and placed into the back of another vehicle before fading to black again.
I attempted to reach up and brush a hair away from my face that was tickling and annoying me but was unable to move my arm much more than a few inches. Without opening my eyes, I tried the other side, but had the same outcome. That made me curious as well as a bit panicked. Doing my best to force my eyes open, they fluttered, closed and finally opened again. My vision was slightly blurred still, but I was able to look around finally and see what was happening.
My mind registered what looked like an ordinary hospital room, at least from the inside. There were no windows and the entire space was lit by a single light hanging from the ceiling. Instead of white hospital walls, it looked more like concrete. It seemed more like a prison cell than a medical room. If there was a window, I imagined it would have thick, iron bars across it.
It finally registered that I was not in a normal setting. Sure, there was some medical equipment and I was tethered to a hospital bed, but other than that, I was captive in an unknown location and I had no idea how long I had been there. Pulling on my binds, I tried desperately to free myself to no avail. I was fastened tight by the ankles and wrists. By the time the door opened and someone walked inside, I was a sweaty mess from trying to free myself.
Two figures stood before me, silhouetted against the light. I was unable to see their faces but could discern that one was a tall, slender male and the other was most definitely female. Their height difference was almost comical and had I not been so terribly frightened, I may have laughed out loud. They stood still for quite some time, watching me as I continued to struggle to remove the straps that held me fast. When I finally gave up trying, I let my arms drop to the mattress. I was exhausted from my efforts but still on high alert as the two figures continued to close the distance between us.
My vision was still blurred as I squinted up at them, trying to make out their faces. The shorter, curvy figure appeared by my side, close enough to feel her breath on my face as she spoke, leaning far in so that I could not mistake anything she had to say.
“You’ve kidnapped me because I was concerned about my patient?” I was frantic, what Ms. White was saying made sense to a point, but holding me against my will was just plain criminal.
“Not just that,” Mr. Briggs’ voice boomed out from over her shoulder. He looked down at me, his eyes burning a hole right through me, accusing me of anything and everything all at once. “We happen to know that you have been in contact with a certain former employee of Kellogg Premier that made it a habit of being snoopy like yourself. We also know that you have been given information by that person that is not common knowledge and is, in fact, highly confidential and privileged.”
My stomach lurched as soon as he said it, the bile rising in my throat so fast I couldn’t stop it. Turning quickly to the side, I opened my mouth and the contents spilled forth, splashing onto the floor beneath me. Connie White and Stuart Briggs didn’t even flinch when it happened. Ms. White turned her nose up slightly at the smell but they both continued to stare down at me, demanding answers to questions that had yet to come.
“You see, Ms. Cooper,” it was Connie’s turn to speak, “we belong to a small group of individuals who have been charged with keeping the government’s secrets. You should be familiar with the name, Secret Directive Force, or SDF, as it would have appeared on the memorandum that Gregory Simpson gave you. It may surprise you to find out that we know all of that and more, but we are very good at what we do and do not take too kindly to people messing things up for us. That is exactly what has landed you here, in our custody, Elaine.” Stuart cleared his throat loudly, capturing both of our attentions at once.
“What are you talking about? You must have the wrong person! I swear I have done nothing wrong,” I was desperate, trying anything I could say to escape what was probably going to be a long, drawn out ending to an otherwise normal life. Lying was not getting me anywhere, however. I could tell by the look on their faces alone, that I was doomed and nothing I did or said, would save me from that fate.
“We are very aware of what you have been doing, Elaine,” Connie hissed at me. She was all business and was undoubtedly going to be a lot harsher than her counterpart. Perhaps her place in a man’s world was hard-won and she felt the need to prove herself at every turn. I was just her most recentventure. “The SDF, has eyes everywhere. Those you thought you could trust were probably working for us and those you would never have thought were, are also working for us. You see, Kellogg Premier has been given a directive, much like the other health care agencies and they have also been charged with protecting those secrets. In the event that there has been a breech, we are notified immediately to investigate, and this happens to be the culmination of that investigation. We would have preferred to do this in a more comfortable setting for you, however, you were the one who stepped outside the box and brought in outsiders. Those individuals should have never been involved and now we must deal with them as well!” Connie threw up her hands in a gesture of exacerbation. She was frustrated with me, although I had just met her, that much was clear. I kept my mouth shut, barely breathing as she calmed, and they resumed their conversation.
“Gregory has been on the run for many years,” Stuart chimed in, this time stepping out from behind Ms. White and addressing me directly, “we know you have had contact with him at least twice, one of those times he gave you a document. Since we have cut through all the pleasantries and gotten down to business, please enlighten me, who else has seen that document besides yourself?” He already knew that answer, I felt it in my bones and that thought had my stomach in knots. Riley!
“No one, I swear! There is no one else,” by the time I finished talking, I was screaming at the top of my lungs. Part of me hoped some passers-by would hear me and come running to my aid, but I knew better than that. They had me all to themselves, I was their captive.
“Ms. Cooper,” Connie walked slowly toward the other side of my bed where the heart monitor sat. She reached up and pressed a button that turned the sound completely off. As she turned back my way, my heart stopped beating in my chest, the look on her face told me that if I could have run, I should have right then. Lifting her hand up to my temple, she pressed in, the bones along that side of my head scraping together and lighting my nerve endings on fire. A white-hot bolt of pain shot through my head, the scream that escaped my throat at that moment sounded foreign to me, animalistic even.
“Stop! I can’t…” I was panting, doing my best to breathe past the pain as her finger continued to press into my fractured skull, “please, I’ll tell you, just stop!” Being tortured was exactly what they portrayed on television. The victim, in this case, me, suffered at the hands of their captor for as long as they deemed necessary. I could not take much more of that kind of pain but throwing my girlfriend and even Ragan Jensen under the bus was not something I would ever have done willingly.
“Well, out with it!” Ms. White backed up a few paces and regarded me seriously. When I could, I opened my eyes and looked back at her, unquenchable anger welling up from inside me as I opened my mouth to seal my Riley’s fate.
“I showed Riley, my girlfriend. I also told the patient who started all of this, Ragan Jensen.” There, I had done what they asked. I hoped that would be the end of it but knew it wouldn’t. Crime dramas were my absolute favorite and I knew that the entire situation would not end well for me.
“Ok, we thought so. We were just checking to see if there was anyone else that we should go out and collect. We have pretty much taken care of the patient. She is, at this very moment, being informed of her diagnosis and given a treatment plan that we can work with. Ms. Jensen will get through this without being scathed and plans are in the works to cover up the mess you made there, but this Riley character has given us some trouble. We cannot seem to find her anywhere and were wondering, where do YOU think she is?” Stuart spoke softer than Connie, his voice low, barely audible above my own breathing. I was relieved to hear that Riley had gotten out before anyone found her. Almost smirking at them, I relaxed a little as I mulled it over. I truly had no clue. Riley did not know that many people, mostly kept to herself and the only people she ever visited were her parents and her sisters.
“Did you check our apartment? That was where she was when I talked to her last,” I knew they had but was trying to buy some time. The look on their faces spoke volumes. That had likely been the first place they looked and, if they really were the government and had eyes everywhere, they would definitely know where her parents and sisters lived. I wasn’t going to offer that information up as long as I could avoid it.
“Elaine,” Connie approached again, causing me to recoil instantly, doing my best to withdraw from her touch, “don’t you think we checked there already? We have been watching her parents’ home and both of her sisters’ apartments, but there has been no sign of her. You must know where she is, she is YOUR girlfriend after all.”
“I don’t, I mean it! I have no idea where she may be. I spoke with her on my lunchbreak and that was the last time I did.” I wasn’t lying, I only hoped that Connie White could tell or at least believed me enough to not touch my injured head again. Her hand hovered, withdrew and she let out a loud sigh, as if she were giving up on that line of questioning. “No matter, we WILL find her, there is no question, it is only a matter of
when. Unless she somehow managed to flee to Europe or beyond, we will round her up and she will get the same treatment as you.”
I had no idea what she meant by that, and I didn’t want to. It was bad enough that I would probably never leave that dungeon-like room, but my precious Riley would fall prey to the same fate alongside me. You could almost hear my heart breaking and falling to the floor in a pile of slivered pieces. The other two people in the room momentarily forgotten as I envisioned her perfect face, a single tear working its way out of my eye and dropping dramatically down my cheek.
“What do you plan on doing with me? I mean, are you going to keep me locked up in this hell hole forever? Someone is bound to report me missing, I do have friends and family around the area,” I looked Agent White in the eye. A look of realization swept briefly across her brow as I watched before quickly being replaced by the same, stoney look I first saw on her smug face.
“This is the end of the line for you, I’m afraid,” Connie’s eyes twinkled as she spoke. It was almost as if she was getting a thrill out of the entire ordeal. She would have continued, but her partner, Agent Briggs cut in, severing the intensity of the moment.
“What Agent White means to say, is that you will no longer be part of society. Those who dig too deep, despite several warnings, which we know you have received, tend to,” Stuart paused and tilted his head thoughtfully, “vanish.” It felt like he had punched me in the stomach. What they both meant to say is I was going to be exterminated, for lack of a better word.
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