by CL Hart
"Holy crap, she's bleeding badly...I'll call an ambulance for you."
Cori panicked. An ambulance and more attention was not what they needed. "No! Please just let us in."
"I can't. I don't want any trouble. I'll just call you an ambul-"
"No, you won't." The time for niceties was over. Cori pulled out Kenzie's gun and leveled it at the form on the other side of the door. "Now...open the door!" Her tone sounded more confident than she was as she held the large gun firmly in her grip. She could not believe she was now holding a gun on someone, but she had no choice. "Open the door," Cori demanded firmly as she pulled Kenzie tighter to her side.
"You can't shoot through this door," the woman said with shaky certainty.
"That .45 will blow a hole through that door...and you," Kenzie said without lifting her head or opening her eyes.
Her voice was barely audible, but it was loud enough for the woman on the other side of the door to hear. There was a faint click and the security screen opened slowly. The voice belonged to a woman of appreciable size, with chestnut-colored hair, wearing hospital scrubs with puppy dogs on them.
"Please don't hurt me," she said as she came face to face with Cori holding the gun.
"That isn't my intention, but my friend here needs help." Cori grunted under the strain of Kenzie's weight as they climbed the step up and into the vet hospital. "Grab our bag, close the door, and lock it behind us," Cori said as she motioned to the door with the gun. "And turn out that light."
She did as she was directed and then turned back to face the two battered and bruised women. In the light of the back room, she got a better look at them and she was surprised to realize they didn't look that much older than she was, but it was hard to tell for certain. Their clothes were dirty, tattered, and covered in blood, and their hair was tousled and wet. Both looked like they were on the verge of collapse, especially the dark-haired one who appeared almost unconscious. The other woman still held the gun on her.
"My friend?" Cori reminded the woman as she watched her giving them the once over. Cori didn't care what they looked like, all she cared about was helping Kenzie.
"Oh...ah...this way," she said, directing them out of the back room.
"After you," Cori said with a wave of the gun.
They entered the treatment room of the small hospital where the even brighter lights caused Cori to squint. It was a room similar to its counterpart in a human hospital with its medical equipment and supplies, just a whole lot smaller. There were several rooms off the main one, separated only by glass walls and doors.
"Put the bag on the floor," Cori said as she turned to examine Kenzie. "Kenzie...stay with me."
"I'm here," she mumbled. An attempt to lift her head only caused it to roll to the side.
"Where can I take her?" Cori asked.
"Here...but I don't think she'll fit on the table. It's not made for people, only animals."
"I don't care. Just give me a hand with her, and be careful."
She looked from the gun in the woman's hand to the semiconscious woman at her side, and knew she would be careful for her own sake.
Cori watched with mixed emotion. Part of her was concerned only about Kenzie, but she could see the woman's fear and apprehension. "What is your name?"
The woman was uneasy about the question, but since it came with a gun pointed at her, she felt compelled to answer "Heather ...Heather Siddall," she said as she pushed up her round-framed glasses with her forearm. It was a movement of habit for someone who was used to having their hands otherwise occupied.
"Heather, I'm not going to hurt you...but my friend needs your help. So please," Cori stared hard into Heather's dark brown eyes. "help me."
"Are you gonna shoot me if I don't...or only after I do?" Cori studied the woman's face and considered the honesty of the question. It was not that long ago that she had been in the exact same situation, only it was Kenzie holding the gun on her but she was not the killer that Kenzie was, and her intentions were very different.
"I'm not going to kill you, shoot you, or harm you in any way if you do as I ask. I just want to help my friend, and once shes looked after we'll be out of here. But," Cori made sure that Heather was paying strict attention, "if I have to choose between you and her, or keeping her alive...then all bets are off. Now please help me get her on to the table."
After a moment of thought, Heather complied, and between the two of them, they got Kenzie onto the examination table. The only way to get her to fit was to keep her knees bent and her head at the very end. Heather was right - it was not made to accommodate the human form.
Cori backed away from the table. "Okay, now do something. Help her."
"What? I'm not a doctor...I'm only a tech."
"A what?"
"A technician. I'm not a vet."
Cori's shoulders sagged in exhaustion and defeat as she looked at Kenzie. Her eyes were closed, her face was flushed and glistening with sweat. "Just do something...help her." Cori looked at the woman with pleading, desperate eyes. "Please, Heather."
"Apparently you're not getting this. I work with animals, not humans."
"We all bleed and we all breathe, don't we? So do something," Cori demanded, her confidence returning after her moment of doubt. "Now!"
Heather looked at the tightly held gun, then at the still woman on the examination table. She didn't think the blonde would use the gun, but she'd been wrong before. Donning a pair of surgical gloves, Heather cut away the bloody top, revealing a wound about four inches long just two inches away from the other laceration Cori had recently sutured. She ripped open a package holding an abdominal pad and placed the sterile bandage on the wound. "Hold that," she said and Cori quickly complied.
The moment Cori applied pressure, Kenzie's eyes flashed opened and she looked from one woman to the other.
"Kenzie...it's okay...you're going to be okay." Cori looked at Heather as if willing her statement to be true. "Isn't she?"
"She has a raging fever and she's lost a lot of blood. I'm...I'm not sure what I can do."
Cori looked into Heather's face. "Do something," she said in aggravation.
"I keep telling you, this is a hospital for animals not people."
"That wasn't a request," Cori said. "Do something, and do it now!"
The rising volume of Cori's voice was enough to push Heather into action. After all, the woman was right - a person bleeding was not much different from an animal bleeding. She took a deep breath and steeled herself to comply. She reached up and pulled down a bright light with a magnifying glass in the center. She positioned the light onto Kenzie's side then reached for a handful of assorted dressings and bandages. Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely open the packet of gauze squares. She took another deep breath and started cleaning the area around both wounds. After a minute or two, she motioned for Cori to remove her hand from the abdominal pad. The flow of blood had slowed considerably, allowing her to examine the fresh wound as she dabbed at the oozing blood. She flushed it several times with a syringe filled with sterile water. Once the wound was clean, she pulled down the light and looked at it through the magnifying glass. "I think there is something in there," she said, more to herself than to Cori, but I think I need to give her something for the fever before we do anything else." She didn't wait for a response as she unlocked and opened a side cabinet where they kept the hospital's supply of drugs and medications.
"She had a shot of antibiotic earlier today, but it hasn't seemed to help any. What do you mean...something in there?" Cori asked as she watched Heather picking through the different vials
"I dont know. It's hard to tell. At the moment I'm more concerned with her fever. You say she had a dose of antibiotics?" Heather selected a small glass vial and read the label
"Yeah but it was past its expiration date. And, it doesn't seem to have made a difference."
Heather selected an antibiotic. "I'm not sure about this " she said as she inserted the
tip of a small needle into the vial to withdraw some of the drug.
"Not sure about what?" Cori asked
"Cephalexin." She held the small vial out for Cori to examine. "Its an antibiotic we would give animals that have an infected wound like your friend has."
"Anything would be better than nothing," Cori said
Heather finished preparing the dose and then turned to her patient. Cutting away the top of Kenzies pants, Heather exposed her thigh. She wiped the area with an alcohol swab and was about to inject the ntibiotic when Kenzie suddenly reached out and seized her hand.
"What is that?" Kenzie said, lifting her heavy head off the table.
The mumbled question startled both Heather and Cori "It's Cephalexin. Its for your infection," Heather said, looking into Kenzie s striking golden eyes.
Kenzie looked at Cori, her question clear.
"It's okay." Cori nodded. "That's what it is."
Kenzie rested her head on the table and closed her eyes. "It better not make me bark like a dog."
Heather was not sure how to respond to the patient's attempt at humor. She proceeded with administering the medication. Lidocaine was next, and once Cori gave her approving nod, Heather injected it around the wound site.
"We should wait a minute or so, until it takes effect. I wasn't sure how much to give her, but I used the same dosage that we use for a large dog." She examined her patient, wondering what she should do next. She was not a doctor and she was not a vet, but she was sure she had done everything right. "We should get her clothes off. They are no good to her now."
"Okay," Cori said, and then watched as Heather cut off the remains of Kenzie's clothes. Once they were in a heap, she unfolded a blanket and laid it over her.
Cori was relatively quiet, watching Heather as she re-examined Kenzie's side. She might not have the medical expertise, but she seemed quite competent in what she was doing, or rather, what she had been forced to do - at gunpoint. Cori looked down at the gun in her hand, having almost forgotten that she was still holding it. What have you done, Cori? The guilt was overwhelming. It almost brought her to tears as she laid the gun on the counter. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"
"I think maybe we should x-ray her side. It looks like there's something stuck in the wound. I'm not good enough to go digging in after it, but I could x-ray it and that would tell me..." Heather looked up at Cori and was surprised to see her gun on the counter.
Cori stood there for a moment, looking down at the gun, her head dropped to her chest. She turned back and looked at Heather, no longer the woman with the power of a weapon, but a woman on the verge of tears.
"I'm sorry I pointed a gun at you, Heather," Cori said. "You have to understand, I was desperate." She placed a hand on Kenzie's forearm.
"Apparently," Heather said flippantly.
"I didn't know what else to do. I'm just as scared as you are, and almost for the same reasons." She covered her sob with her hand and then quickly wiped away the tears. "It wasn't that long ago that I was just a student, minding my own business, taking classes and worrying about whether or not I would have the grades to pass this semester, now here I am..." Her voice caught and she stopped, trying to regain her composure.
Heather watched her with conflicting emotions. She was a compassionate person and her heart went out to the woman. In any other circumstances, she would have gathered the woman in her arms, but she reminded herself this was different. Heather studied the haggard, dejected blonde. "I don't understand. If you didn't do anything wrong, why couldn't you go to a regular hospital?"
"Its a long story, and one that I dont have time explain, but... She looked down at Kenzie's face. It was the first time she had seen it so relaxed and peaceful. "We aren't bad people, but I can t say the same for the people chasing us."
"People chasing you?" Heather's eyes darted to the back door as it expecting the bad people to come through at that moment.
"Don t worry. They aren't chasing us anymore " The truth dawned on Heather. "The gunshots...I heard gunshots earlier...and an explosion. Was that you?"
"No...yes well, partly. The gunshots were her. She saved my life...again. She reached out and caressed Kenzie's scarred cheek. "Now its my turn to save hers. Just tell me what we have to do I have a year of pre-med, but I can guarantee that you know more than me. She raised her eyes and looked directly at Heather. "By the way, my name is Cori and this is Kenzie. I can't say anything more than that...actually I'm not sure if I know much more than that but I promise you, we will not hurt you. We just need to get her fixed up and then we'll be out of here."
Heather believed her. They didn't look like bad people, but then again, she did not really know what bad people looked like.
"We need to move her onto the x-ray table. Its in another room."
"Okay," Cori said with tired sigh, "And thank you, Heather." She reached for the gun and slid it back into her waistband. It was a struggle, but the two managed to carry Kenzies unconscious body into the next room and onto the x-ray table. Kenzie mumbled and moaned several times, but never woke up.
Heather was more relayed as she took the x-rays. This was part of what she did on a routine basis, and it didn't hurt that she no longer had a large gun pointed at her. With the developed films in her hand, she returned to the room where Cori was standing over a semi-conscious Kenzie.
"I have the x-rays," she said as she held them up.
Kenzie nodded as she blinked hard several times, trying to focus.
Heather slid a film into a slot on the x-ray viewer and then flicked on the box light. Leaning in to study the film, Heather squinted in question as Cori stepped forward for a better view.
"What is that?" Cori asked, looking at a long, thin shard contrasting brightly against the dark of the negative.
Heather stepped back, tilting her head back and forth. "It looks like a sliver of wood, maybe."
Then Cori spotted something else on the x-ray that should not have been there. "What the hell is that?" she asked, her eyes focused on the abnormality.
Heather slid another film up next to the one in place and looked to see if the item in question was on both pictures. It was. "I have no idea."
Kenzie struggled to sit up, placing most of her weight on her left elbow as she studied the film. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the small dot on the x-ray. "I do," she said angrily.
Chapter 16
The sun was setting on the West Coast and Winston Palmer was out on his sundeck enjoying an expensive, albeit illegal, Cuban cigar. Soaking in his pricey waterfront view, he did his best to relax Life is good, he thought as he drew deeply and blew out the sweet-smelling smoke. He heard the phone ring. Not wanting it to intrude on his quiet time, he chose to ignore it. The second ring was cut short, and he knew that his driver had probably answered it. Moments later, the young Asian appeared with the phone in his hand.
"It's for you," Derek said.
As he accepted the phone, Palmer snapped, "Did you think it would be for anyone else?" He waited for Derek to leave. When the driver delayed, Palmer inquired brusquely, "Is there something else, Derek?"
"No sir." He bowed slightly and turned away. "Rat dung " he whispered under his breath as he returned to the house.
Once Derek was out of earshot, Winston spoke into phone.
"Palmer''
Ennis Nelson was at his desk in the office next to Winston Palmers, on the top floor of the Palmer Building, one of Seattle's tallest and most glamorous office towers. He had been Mr Palmers executive assistant for just over seven years. He enjoyed his job, despite the fact that there were times it required him to cross lines both illegal and immoral. "Good evening sir. I wanted to let you know that the last of our protestors will be arriving next week in Davos, Switzerland, for the WTO demonstrations. I have a meeting scheduled with them and will make sure everyone is on board with what will be expected."
"Very good, Ennis. Its essential that they understand what theyve been hired to do.
<
br /> "They do sir. I don't think it will take much to ignite this group into a riot. They're quite passionate about their cause."
"I don t give a rat's ass about their cause. I just want a riot as big as the one in Seattle in '99. The riots, not the World Trade Organization, should be the lead story in European and Asian markets, as well as around the world."
"Our reporters and insiders have been advised what is to be mentioned and what is to be buried, but unfortunately, sir we have no control over what is on the Internet."
"Well, thankfully, most people don't pay that much attention to the news on the Internet."
"Not yet, sir, but I think the time is coming."
"Ha. That's what people said about television. 'No one will read newspapers anymore,' they said. 'They'll be glued to their TVs for the morning news.' Bullshit. John and Joan Public still like to drink their morning coffee while they read their newspapers, filled with stories that are made of half-truths and glossed over media events. Trust me, Ennis. You get that riot big enough, and most people won't read anything more than what is under the headlines. Now, is there something else?" Palmer asked, anxious to get back to enjoying his cigar.
"No, sir. That was it. Will I see you in the morning?"
"At some point," Palmer replied with dismissal. He ended the call and placed the phone on the table, then leaned back and took a puff. The phone rang again.
"Palmer," he answered gruffly, annoyed at the new interruption.
"Calvin is on his way to retrieve the body," the caller said.
"Finally."
"Not her. Cobra." Bucannon sighed heavily into the phone. This was not a call he had wanted to make, but he had no choice.
"For Jesus..." Palmer slammed his hand down on the arm of the chair, knocking expensive ash all over his clothes. He jumped to his feet and attempted to brush it off, but only succeeded in rubbing the dark ash into his khaki pants. "Do you people not understand what's at stake here? How hard is it to kill these women?"
"Calvin set the explosive, Cobra confirmed it, but somehow they got away."