Flip

  A light rap came at the door.

  “Greg? It’s Alvin and Beverly Michelson.”

  “Come in,” Greg said.

  Kelley looked slightly rumpled in contrast to Dr. Beverly Michelson’s smoothly pressed slacks, blouse, three-hundred-dollar haircut, and thousand-dollar shoes. Michelson was a thin blonde, but despite being Greg and Aida’s age, she looked haggard and fifteen years older than them.

  “Beverly reached out to me offering to help,” Kelley told Greg.

  “Hi, Greg,” she said with a sympathetic smile and an Oh, you poor dear look as she wrapped his hand in both of hers.

  “Hello, Beverly. You remember my daughter, Natalia, and this is John Holden, a friend of the family.”

  She gave Nat and John a quick nod and went straight to Aida. She whipped on a set of reading glasses to examine the live EEG trace on the screen. “How long has she been in this state?”

  “Since yesterday morning. We’re estimating forty to forty-three hours,” Greg answered.

  Michelson left the monitor and pulled out the paper copies of the traces, which were piling up in a tray beneath the cart. She quickly leafed through them.

  “Greg, a word, if I may?” Kelley nodded toward the hallway. Greg followed him to the door, then leaned against it with one hand; he wasn’t leaving this room.

  Kelley acquiesced. “Greg, we’re receiving more attention here than we’d like, and we’re not really making any progress with helping Aida. I’d like you to consider moving her to Beverly’s facility. She’s already promised full access to all the prototype equipment, scanners, and stimulators there. We won’t see that kind of equipment for years.” He paused for a moment and continued in an even softer voice. “It’s a secure medical facility. She’ll be safer there, given what’s been happening. I hate to say it, but a publicly accessible university hospital isn’t built to keep people out.”

  Greg wanted to snap at him, to tell him that if he had gotten the police involved earlier perhaps the incident with the nurse and the death of the lab tech could have been prevented. And he knew Alvin Kelley’s mind. The man would be trying to minimize the university’s exposure with the grant reviewers here.

  “Greg,” Michelson said softly, and he gave a start. He’d been so intent on Kelley that he hadn’t noticed her come over to them. “We’ll devote all resources at my facility to Aida. It’s the best possible chance of diagnosing her condition.”

  Seeing the opportunity, Greg calmed down. He realized that even a guard at the door wouldn’t have stopped a nurse with proper ID, and having armed police at every entrance to the hospital wasn’t practical either. Still, this seemed a little too convenient.

  “I appreciate the offer, and it does make sense,” Greg said. “Thank you, Beverly. On the other hand, this is our home here, and if this turns into a long-term situation, Nat and I will be able to manage easier here than in Washington state. I just need some time. Can you give us until the morning to think about it?”

  “Moving would be the best thing for her, and—” Kelley started to press, but Michelson cut him off.

  “Of course, Greg. I’ll be staying here in the doctors’ residence. I’ll go through Aida’s records tonight. You can contact me there if you need anything.”

  Taking his cue from Michelson, Kelley eased up. “Just let me know when you make your decision. We’ll do everything we can to support you.”

  Kelley and Michelson stepped into the hallway. The door latched behind them before they were four steps away.

  “Greg needs to sleep, Alvin. He’s exhausting himself standing vigil over her night and day. He won’t be of much use to her in that condition. He isn’t thinking clearly,” Michelson commented as they made their way to the nurses’ station.

  “The local press and the NIH are starting to ask questions, and I can only shield them and the university for so long.”

  He has a one-track mind, Michelson thought as she listened to Kelley. She was silent as they passed the nurses’ station. She knew where this train of thought would lead him and what he would say next; he just needed to get there on his own. Men like Alvin were so easy to manipulate—they just had to think the idea was theirs.

  “I’ll authorize her transfer in the morning without Greg’s permission if I have to. It’s best for her, their careers, and the university.”

  Michelson considered him dispassionately and thought, How easily people justify actions that support their own interests. Then she smiled at him. “You’re right. It’s best for all of them. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll start making the arrangements.”

  ***

  “Dad, we need to do whatever’s best for Mom,” Nat reasoned with her father. “We can manage there. They’ll take care of us too.”

  “You’re right,” Greg agreed. “But I’ve always been a little suspicious of how Beverly gets her funding and the work she does there. They’re not a public institution, so they don’t have to be as transparent with their finances as the university does. And there’s something bigger going on here that we don’t understand yet.”

  “Um…let me step out so you both can talk this through.” John stood, looking a little uncomfortable.

  “No, please stay. You’re part of this as well now. My wife protected you too. I think our chances of helping her and figuring this all out are best if we stay together.” Greg looked between the two of them for agreement. After they nodded, he sighed and was quiet for a moment. “But we have to get out of here. I’ll call Alvin and authorize the transfer.” He picked up his cell phone from the tray table. “The damn battery is dead,” he said, annoyed. “I’ll call from the nurses’ station. I want to talk to them about the prep for transport anyway.”

  “I’ll run home and throw a bag together for us,” Nat said.

  “Can you hang on for a few minutes? It’d be better to have the two of you stay here until I get back,” Greg said over his shoulder, then closed the door behind him.

  Greg’s legs were slowed by the constant ache of exhaustion and the reluctance he felt at trusting Beverly Michelson. It seemed he had nothing but bad options before him, and this was the least of all evils. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t see any other way out. He pushed his way through the double doors and was out of sight of the guard at his wife’s room, as well as the nurses’ station. An elderly man, dressed in a black turtleneck and black pants, walked toward him. His eyes were bright behind wire-framed glasses as he strode energetically toward Greg, who caught the man’s eye and received a warm smile.

  “Dr. Doxiphus? Excuse me, but may I have a word with you?” the man asked, stopping a few feet from Greg.

  “I’m sorry, Father. Not right now. I have to make a phone call about my wife,” Greg replied, thinking the man to be a priest. Who else would be here at this hour and dressed that way?

  “Yes, I know, and that would be a grave mistake,” the gentlemen said with complete conviction. Calmly he continued, “Gia Mia aio̱nióti̱ta kai mia méra.” For eternity and a day.

  That stopped Greg dead in his tracks. “What did you say?”

  “That’s the vow your wife had inscribed in Greek inside your wedding ring. She’s holding to that vow.” The man waited patiently for a moment as he watched the disbelief that had washed across Greg’s face transform into a mixture of curiosity and doubt.

  “Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” the man asked.

  Greg gestured to the men’s room. The lights flickered to life as they entered, and the man led Greg to the back of the room, as far from the door as possible.

  “My name is Matthew, and I can help your wife, you, your daughter, and Mr. Holden,” the man began, his gentle confidence calming Greg’s obvious alarm.

  “How do you know all this?” demanded Greg, though in the back of his mind, he already knew the answer.

  The corners of Matthew’s mouth twitched in a slight grin. No matter how many times I see this moment, he thought, it retains its wonder. In hope, the
mind asks a question it already knows the answer to but hasn’t yet accepted. But through that hope, it is ready and only needs the slightest nudge to start believing. The dawning of awareness.

  “She told me. Your wife is very much alive and active, Gregorio.” Again he watched as relief started to crack the stone wall of disbelief that was Greg’s expression. “Her attention is…well…not focused on this world, not in the way you see it right now. Please, will you allow me to be of assistance?”

  Greg reached out and put both hands on Matthew’s shoulders, hung his head, and let a few tears release the stress from his body.

  9 Certainty

  G regorio Doxiphus ran some cold water in the sink, scooped it, and splashed it on his face. The water got his collar and shirt wet as it dripped down along his neck, but the spreading chill helped revive him. Through more alert eyes, he looked at Matthew’s reflection in the mirror. Matthew’s face and balding head were well tanned, and Greg got the impression that the man regularly shaved the short gray stubble that wrapped around the back of his head and over his ears. Matthew stood there, waiting for Greg.

  “Okay, tell me what’s going on with my wife.” Greg tore off some paper towels and patted his face and hands while turning to face Matthew.

  Without pretense or drama, Matthew answered, “Dr. Doxiphus, there’s a very narrow window of opportunity to get your wife out of this hospital and to a place of safety. It is her wish that you, your daughter, and the paramedic accompany her. There isn’t time for me to fully answer your questions beyond what I’ve already said—that she’s alive and active. You’ve all seen her, haven’t you? She can be returned to you, but the four of you have to get out of here now.”

  “To where? Who do we need to be kept safe from?”

  “Safe from the people who employ the police officer you recently met and the nurse who your daughter deflected…from those who arranged to have your wife’s lab technician killed, the same people who tried to murder Mr. Holden, the same people who are now trying to isolate your wife and study her…”

  That fits better than anything I’ve been able to come up with, Greg thought. “Okay, I believe you. Aida’s been…”—he fumbled for the words to explain what he understood to be happening—“…in contact with you, and somehow this whole set of events is being orchestrated. How do we get out of here?”

  He’s grasping this very well. “There’s a white ambulance in the emergency entrance parking lot. You must get your wife and the three of you to the vehicle, but don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourselves,” Matthew said, and looked at his watch. “I must leave now. We’ll talk more later.” He took a few steps toward the door, then turned back to Greg and said, “One more thing: turn left.”

  Greg stood quietly for a moment, trying to puzzle out how to move his wife out of the hospital and into an ambulance and drive away without drawing attention. Would John be willing to do this? Something told him that yes, he would, but it had to be his decision. You just don’t move a patient who’s being watched around the clock without a doctor’s ord—his head snapped up as he realized all the pieces were already in place. Greg quickly left the men’s room and turned left. He strode down the hallway feeling better than he had for days. There finally was something he could do to help his wife and protect his family. At the end of the dim hallway, the light of the nurses’ station awaited him.

  ***

  Matthew walked calmly toward the main entrance of the hospital, hoping Greg would accept his offer of help. He knew Greg was a strong man and accustomed to doing things for himself. Pride was a difficult force to overcome in anyone who was trying to protect his or her family. But with just a few words, Matthew had given him the ability to do just that. He had only to come to that conclusion on his own; however, given his present state, that was an uncertain outcome.

  As Matthew left the hospital, the cell phone in his pocket rang. Now he would find out. “Hello…that’s good. Please make sure everything is ready for our arrival. She’ll be weak, and we won’t have much time.”

  For the first time in two days, Matthew smiled too.

  ***

  “Excuse me,” Greg said to the nurse behind the desk. “My wife is going to be moved to a private facility. I understand the ambulance is ready. She needs to be prepped for the trip.”

  “Oh, okay,” the nurse said, a little surprised. She looked up from the row of monitors in front of her. “Dr. Kelley told us to prep your wife in the morning, Dr. Doxiphus, but we can do it now. Just give me a few minutes to get some help. You’ve already told Dr. Kelley you’ve agreed to move her?”

  Kelley was going to order the move without my approval, Greg realized, and he knew the nurse would have to report everything as well. “Yes, I already let him know. He’s been very supportive,” Greg lied. “I just needed a few minutes alone. Clearly this is the best thing to do for her. Thank you very much.” Without realizing it, he smiled and looked relieved.

  “Of course, Doctor. We’ll be there in a few minutes,” the nurse said, then picked up the phone to request assistance. Greg nodded to her, then headed back to the room.

  ***

  “Nat, John,” said Greg as he closed the door behind him. “We’re leaving, all four of us. John, I hope you’ll forgive the presumption, but the transport ambulance is already downstairs in the emergency lot. I don’t know where we’re going or exactly what’s going on, but—”

  John cut him off. “So we’re not going to Beverly Michelson’s facility? Good. Greg, your wife saved my life. In the past two days, I’ve seen things I can’t explain, and things that I can, and I’m more scared by the things that I can. I’m in.” He had people to protect and help; this was his job, and it was what he had always done.

  “That was fast, though. Did they just have an ambulance waiting downstairs?” said Nat.

  Greg shook his head. “They didn’t, but someone else did.”

  “What do you mean, Dad? Who has an ambulance ready?”

  “It’s someone your mother’s been in contact with. His name is Matthew. Your mom evidently trusts him. I believe he’s here to help us…all of us. I don’t have much in the way of answers yet, but he seems to.”

  Seeing the determination and surety on her father’s face, Nat thought better of asking any more questions for the time being. “Okay, let’s go,” she said, standing up. “Can I run home and get some stuff?”

  Greg moved around the room and started to gather their belongings. “No. Matthew said we have to get her out of here and into the ambulance right away and without attracting attention to ourselves. I just asked the nurses to prep your mother for transport. They’ll be here any minute, so there’s no time to go home and pack.” He stopped and added, “Don’t worry. Like you said, we can manage.”

  Nat joined her father, picking up the clothing and effects that had made their way into the hospital room the past few days and crammed them into her backpack and messenger bag. While the two were busy collecting their things, John went over to Aida and started to remove the EEG and EKG leads.

  Suddenly the door opened, startling them all. The nurse and an aide came into the room, pulling a gurney behind them to prep their patient for transport.

  “Oh, good, you’re still here,” said the nurse when she saw John. “We can use an extra set of hands.” John was the expert in the room on packaging a patient for transport, and the nurse knew that. In a few minutes the job was complete, and the nurse and aide left the room.

  “So far, so good.” Greg looked at his wife—who was practically mummified in blankets, tubes, and equipment—and thought she would be too warm, especially on a summer night. “Won’t she overheat?” he asked John.

  “She can’t tell us if she’s too cold, but we’ll be able to tell if she’s too hot. She’s not moving around, so she’s not generating a lot of body heat. This is standard care, Dr. Doxiphus. It helps protect against shock.”

  Greg nodded. “That makes sense.”

&nb
sp; “Okay, stuff’s all packed up,” said Nat. “Now what?”

  “Well, uh, now…,” her father started, but he trailed off.

  Seeing the lost expression on Greg’s face, John realized the man didn’t know what to do next or what was about to happen. I have to get them all out of this hospital, he thought. “The nurse and the doctor will come back in. The doctor will check Aida and release her for transport. There’ll be papers to sign, and we’ll take your mother downstairs to the emergency entrance.”

  “What about the ambulance?” asked Nat.

  “Yeah, I should get downstairs and get the rig ready to go. I guess I’m driving. I’m not needed for the release papers anyway, and it would look better if I were with the ambulance.”

  “What if someone starts asking questions?” Nat asked. “What do we say?”

  This time it was her father who answered. “I don’t think there’ll be any questions. We’re doing exactly what everyone expects us to do. We just have to hope Kelley or Michelson don’t show up.”

  On that uneasy thought, John went ahead while Nat and Greg waited in the hospital room. A few minutes later, a bleary-eyed resident came in and did a quick inspection of Aida; then he scrawled his signature on the release papers. “Have a safe trip to Washington, Dr. Doxiphus,” he said shaking Greg’s hand. “I hope you can find some answers there.”

  ***

  The automatic ER doors swung inward toward John as he stepped out of the building. Across the lot, parked in a corner slot, sat a white ambulance with blue-and-red striping and yellow plates with red lettering that he wasn’t familiar with. That must be our ride, he thought as he walked to the vehicle. The door was open, which wasn’t too much of a surprise, but the note he found taped to the steering wheel was:

  Your skills as a medic and your military training will be required in the coming days. They need you. The keys are where you usually leave them.

  “Well, someone expected me to be the one to find this,” he said to himself, then crumpled the note in his pocket. He reached under the dash and found a magnetic box with the keys. The engine started easily. Seems like the rig is in good shape, he thought. Hope it’s well stocked. After slipping it into gear, he rolled toward the ER entrance, where the Doxiphus family had just emerged. The nurse and aide were handling the gurney.