Operation Subdue

by R. J. Castille

  “You can’t do that! That’s fucking murder! Even if you are part of the Secret Directive whatever the fuck, you can’t get away with this kind of shit!” I was frantic, pulling so hard on my restraints they began to dig into the soft flesh on my wrists. Out of nowhere, a familiar face rushed in the door and past the two devils who had sealed my fate. I looked over in time to see Nurse Saxon inject a syringe full of liquid into my IV. Unable to protest, the warm fuzz of the medication quickly took over, enveloping me in the high I needed to be complacent. She looked over her shoulder before she left, a sudden softness there, behind the cold blue I had become familiar with. A hint of doubt that gave me a sudden ray of hope that lasted a half-second.

  With the door closed again, Connie White and Stuart Briggs turned their attention back to me. Completely sedated, my muscles dead weights that did not respond when I tried to move. Whatever Nurse Saxon had given me, it was the good stuff and I hoped to God it would numb out what was the rest of my miserable life.

  “Oh, it is already done, Ms. Cooper,” I looked at him, confusion apparent on my brow as he leaned in to whisper in my ear, “shortly after we pulled you from the wreckage of your car, it caught on fire. Tragically, you never made it clear of the vehicle and burned to death. At least that is what will be reported, considering a woman of similar age and stature was hand-picked from the morgue to replace you in the cab. You see, everyone on the outside world will think that you have burned to death inside and they will never know anything else. I know, this seems like a lot to go through to protect the secrets that we keep, but hey, it’s our job, what can I say?”

  “Whose body?” I croaked. It was all that I could manage at the time.

  “A young, homeless woman. A Jane Doe. A nobody, she won’t be missed, but you I’m sure will,” Agent White could not resist but put in her two-cents. She was getting off on the whole thing and that disgusted me that much more. I wanted to spit in her face, but she was not close enough and my body was succumbing to the effects of the shot from Nurse Saxon, causing my vision to sway. The way she grinned made me want to vomit, but I had already expelled everything I had left in my stomach, otherwise I probably would have. At least Agent Briggs was just cold and callous, detached even. Connie White was a true sadist, she derived pleasure from inflicting pain on others or even the idea that she was doing so.

  As my vision faded to black, the medication taking complete control, wrapping me in a blanket of darkness, the two who had walked into my life and were to be the ones to carry out my sentence left the room, closing and locking the door behind them with a loud thud.

  When I woke up again, I was still alone. One of my wrists was let loose enough to allow me to reach a tray of food that had been placed at my side. What I was really interested in was the tall, cup of water that was next to it, droplets running down and pooling at the bottom. I wrapped the cup in my grasp and pulled the straw that stuck out of the top to my mouth. My head cried out in protest, every move I made causing spots to dance across my vision. They had bandaged it, but loosely as their intention was only to keep me alive as long as they had to.

  I nibbled at a cracker as thoughts of Riley drifted through my mind. They had not been able to find her, had decided to torture it out of me, convinced I knew exactly where she was. It really was curious to me, it wasn’t like her to just disappear, she really didn’t have anywhere to go, with the exception of the places that they had stated they already checked. The thought didn’t last long, the sound of the door unlocking tearing me from my curious thoughts.

  Instead of the cruel stare of Agent White or the stern look of Agent Briggs, another face peered in at me. The lights had been turned off, the only light provided by the screen of the heart monitor, it was hard to make out who was coming inside. It wasn’t until the figure neared that I could identify the new visitor.

  Nurse Saxon looked down at me, sympathy on her face. I wanted to ask what she was doing there and plead that she just end it swiftly for me. My crazy mind wanted to avoid being offed by the sadist twins, something told me that would not be a very pretty death.

  “Don’t say a word, Elaine,” she whispered so quietly I strained to hear her, “do exactly as I say, and nothing more. I have arranged to have the power cut and to disable the security systems long enough to get you out of here. Do not stop to ask me why or any of that other nonsense, we are on borrowed time. The goal is to get you as far away from here as possible. Gregory Simpson and your girlfriend are waiting for you on the outside. I am only here to get you safely to them. Now, grab ahold of my arm and let’s get you out of here.” I watched as she unfastened my wrist and ankle cuffs and helped me to my feet. She moved quickly, urgency in her every step as she disconnected the IV from my arm and led me toward the door.

  Brenda opened the door, peered outside, craning her neck in both directions to make sure no one was coming. When the coast was clear, she motioned for me to follow her out, grasping my hand in hers as she crept along the corridor. Several twists and turns later, she led me through another door out into a stairwell. Rushing me down as fast as she could manage, I did my best to move with her. At the end of the staircase, a single door stood between me and my freedom.

  We moved quickly across the open field that spread out between us and a parking lot. A dark vehicle stood posted at the edge, two figures standing outside and gazing in our direction. One of them took off toward us as soon as we were within sight. Squinting to see who it was, I was elated when I realized who it was. Riley was bounding down the slope toward us, her arms flailing in the air and her mouth stretched into a wide smile. When I looked again to see who the other figure was, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Gregory Simpson stood, legs spread, and a pair of binoculars pressed against his eyes as he waved his arm above his head.

  Just as soon as I thought it was all going too easy, I heard a loud alarm sounding. It wasn’t until then that I turned to see where they had been holding me. It was a faceless building, surrounded by tall, concrete fencing topped with razor wire and barred windows. I had been right from the beginning: it had been a jail cell.

  Nurse Saxon took off running, pulling me behind her toward the awaiting vehicle. Gregory rushed to the driver’s side as we approached, started the car and readied himself to get the hell out of Dodge. Riley safely at my side, Mr. Simpson looked out the door at Brenda. She shook her head, declining his silent offer to help her escape with us. He hesitated, sighed loudly and nodded curtly at her as he slammed the door and threw the car into drive.

  As we drove away, I dared look behind me. Riley was safely in my arms sobbing into my shoulder. Several figures ran around behind the area that we just left, one of them fell to the ground as we watched, a flash of light before she met her demise. I silently thanked Nurse Brenda Saxon for her role in helping give me a second chance. Inside, I always knew that there was something deeper about her, she was just living up to the expectations of those in control and doing exactly as she was told.

  Mr. Simpson drove on into the night, his headlights cutting through the darkness. My head still throbbed, and I hurt beyond belief, but I was alive and that was all that mattered. Riley and I had both made it through and we knew, as long as we stuck with Gregory, I had a feeling we would all be fine.

  We stopped as little as possible as we moved onward. Gregory told me that it was necessary for us to get to his bunker safely. There was enough food and water inside to last us for several months while he worked on getting us away from the United States permanently. I didn’t like the sound of that, but I knew that, as long as I was alive, the Secret Directive Force would be after me. Reluctantly, Riley and I both agreed, hoping there would be enough time for us to escape for good.

  -17-

  Ragan

  Things went well for me for a good while after the doctors at Kellogg Premier finally pinpointed what was happening. I imagined if they had not figured it out, I could possibly be much worse, or even dead. When I took that nasty spill i
n my living room and ended up in the emergency room, I knew it was necessary that I force them to keep looking. With several loud-mouthed people at my side, I knew there was no way they would allow things to continue the way they had been. They were pretty much forced to listen, and it turned out better in the end.

  One of those people was Elaine Cooper, the nurse I initially met at the urgent care department and then later in the emergency room. Although I had several visits at Kellogg Premier after my nuclear stress test, I lost track of her entirely. After meeting me at the mall to shed some light onto the situation, it was like she vanished off the face of the earth. It was no matter, I knew she was out there somewhere, waving her banner of victory for me and anyone else who may have fallen through the cracks.

  Roger had gone with me to my follow up appointment after my diagnosis, just as he said he would. He was a little combatant with Dr. Garrison, but she seemed to understand and took his verbal assault with a smile fixed on her face and did not utter a word in retort. My protector, that’s what he had deemed himself and he wanted everyone to know that nothing would happen to me on his watch.

  Dr. Garrison answered Roger’s unending questions as he fired away, hitting her directly between the eyes with the fact that their lack of timely care could have very well cost me my life. She stood her ground, nodding where appropriate and looking apologetic the rest of the time. It was almost as if she had rehearsed those responses in advance, knowing exactly what was coming. How she could have discerned that conversation in advance was a mystery to me, although it made a little sense considering they had been caught red-handed attempting to brush me under the rug as they had countless others over the years.

  It was almost comical, the look on Roger’s face when he realized that he had come in full combat gear and had met the enemy head on, the only problem was that they were not up for a fight. The enemy just wanted to get rid of the bad air and move forward. The doctors and nurses at Kellogg Premier appeared to be bound by the rules they had to follow, mistakes such as misdiagnosing or missing a diagnosis was part of an overall picture of being rushed to treat or not being allowed to run a huge battery of tests all at once and figure it out. It was Kellogg Premier who outlined those protocols, not the staff, so it made sense to just forgive them and carry on.

  They put me on a low dose of blood pressure medication and assigned me a regimen of exercises that were good for the heart. The medication would keep everything moving, keep my blood from turning sludgy, a term they used when the blood thickened and became more difficult for it to flow through the veins properly. The exercise, well let’s face it, we can all use a little workout in our daily routine, even if it is just a walk to the corner and back. Too many people are complacent to live out their lives from the couch cushions. In addition, Roger joined me on my evening walk. Dr. Garrison suggested it because it was good exercise, but also because getting some fresh air and sunshine would do wonders for my mental health as well. God knows after everything I had been subjected to, I definitely needed help in that department.

  Based solely on the way I was being treated after my diagnosis versus how I was getting the complete run-around before, I deduced that it was the system that was flawed, not the professionals themselves. Again, they are bound by policy and procedures and some places make you go through every, single motion before getting to the bottom of things. I was lucky, I made it through, and it was all thanks to those who served at the healthcare organization I had started to loathe.

  Nurse Cooper couldn’t have been right, it was evident at that time, that the doctors actually do care for their patients. The speed at which I was taken care of after my trip to the ER was lightning fast. I was put on medication and had a treatment plan faster than I could blink, dispelling her theory all together. Perhaps there had been some isolated cases she witnessed in which a patient met their demise due to untimely care, but that couldn’t be the case for everyone. I completely dismissed anything that went down prior to that point in time, forgetting the hassle and frustration I had felt back then. Everything happened in good time and had worked out in the end.

  I sat comfortably next to Roger who stared mindlessly at the television. His favorite show, one that glorified the abuse and mistreatment of women at every turn, starring one of my childhood crushes, Charlie Sheen, played on as I pretended to watch. I hated that show, but it was Roger’s favorite and I endured it for him. As long as he didn’t allow it to affect his behavior toward me, I suppose I really didn’t mind it. I am a woman after all.

  The show came to a close and as the credits rolled up the screen, a small screen appeared at the bottom, right hand corner of the television. Breaking News! A bold declaration that they had some information they would be giving that the general public did not want to miss. I wasn’t a big fan of the news, they typically did not much more than spew their political views and try to sway the population to see things their way. The caption caught my eye, however, and I was glued to the screen at that point.

  I couldn’t move once the newscast came on. Frozen in place as a young, petite, blonde woman gave the basic information, I took in everything she had to say. She was reporting on my very own healthcare organization, Kellogg Premier. Someone had given them information that those who worked at Kellogg Premier were intentionally sabotaging the health and safety of their patients. In cahoots with the United States government, a document of monumental proportions had been delivered to the local news channel and from there, the story took flight and had a life of its own. Stay tuned, the woman advised, the Chief Medical Officer of Kellogg Premier will be making a public statement after these messages.

  Sitting through several commercials, I found myself biting my nails, nervously awaiting the news to come back on. Considering all that I knew, I definitely wanted to hear what he had to say. Nothing in the world would have dragged me from that spot on my couch at that point. I was very close to the situation and needed to know from Kellogg’s perspective, exactly what was going on.

  One lone soul stood before the cameras. A tall, slender, elderly gentlemen with what appeared to be a very expensive hairpiece and thin, rimmed glasses faced the crowd, his shoulders squared off in a defensive posture. Two shorter men stood behind him to the right, shifting their weight nervously from one foot to the other. The man at the podium cleared his throat loudly and prepared to speak, the group of reporters in front of him were all ears.

  “Good evening, my name is Dr. Carl Steinburg. I am the Chief Medical Officer at Kellogg Premier. I have been joined by our corporate attorney Mr. Tristan Powell and his associate, Mr. Justyce Randall. I have been authorized to make the following statements,” he paused, looked briefly toward the masses, his eyes grazing the crowd before turning his attention back to a piece of paper in front of him. “A handful of disgruntled employees, let go for not fulfilling their employment obligations, have concocted what I would consider the biggest farce I have heard in a long time. We were contacted early this morning by Channel 4 News, who proceeded to assault my office with a barrage of questions. A copy of a document was given to one of their reporters that outlines what can only be described as a plot to a really bad movie. It essentially accused Kellogg Premier of ignoring the health concerns of its patients, and that they did it on purpose and with the encouragement of our own government. These types of conspiracy theories come and go, and I assure you, this is nothing more than that. Sometimes, people who are not happy with being fired strike back and attempt to discredit the reputation of their former employers and this is no different.”

  A murmur rose up in the crowd. I could hear several people shouting, demanding answers of Dr. Steinburg. He waited patiently until the outbursts died down before clearing his throat again and continuing.

  “At this time, I would like to go on record: at no time has Kellogg Premier agreed to do their patients harm. We at Kellogg Premier pride ourselves in the care we provide our patients and will uphold our mission statement without question. I
ask that you read into this situation, exactly what it is: a conspiracy theory cooked up by someone who seeks to do us harm, not the other way around. Make no mistake, the patients at Kellogg Premier are and have always been our priority. This small group of individuals are out for blood, for whatever reason, and as the investigation gets underway, everyone at Kellogg Premier has been instructed to cooperate with those conducting it. The outcome of this investigation will show that Kellogg Premier has never, nor will it ever, consider any actions like this for money or any other reason. I will not be answering any questions at this time, considering the pending interrogatories, so please bear with us. Mr. Powell will keep you all appraised and WHEN Kellogg Premier is cleared of these ridiculous charges, we will be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you.”

  Without another word, Dr. Steinburg left the podium and conferred with the two men standing close at hand. They both nodded as he spoke. The crowd came to life again, their shouts and demands for answers louder than before. An occasional flashbulb light lit up the room as photographers snapped pictures as the CMO and his Corporate Attorney shook hands. All three men took their leave at once, leaving the mob to yell their questions to an empty stage.