Nine-Tenths

by Meira Pentermann

  Leonard raced across the parking lot and peered into the window of room 101. The curtain was open and an elderly couple sat propped up in bed, reading. He rushed to the next door. 103. The curtains were closed and the television blared inside.

  Leonard pounded on the door frantically. “Open the door,” he shouted. “Natalia, are you in there?”

  No response.

  He hammered with both fists and screamed, “God damn it, let me in.”

  “Dad?” a voice inside the room called hesitantly.

  Leonard kicked furiously and the door cracked and burst open.

  Natalia sat at the end of the bed next to a medium-built boy approximately her age. They appeared to have been watching television, but both of them gazed apprehensively at the man who barged into the room. The boy stood.

  Without appraising the situation, Leonard charged and smacked the boy in the face, sending him stumbling back. The teenager fell hard and hit his shoulder on the bedside table.

  “Dad, stop!” Natalia shrieked.

  The boy, presumably Dishi, attempted to stand. Before he could fully right himself, Leonard kneed him in the stomach. Dishi groaned and buckled in pain.

  Natalia jumped to her feet and pulled on her father’s shirt. “Please, no, Dad. Stop.”

  Dishi made another feeble effort to stand, but he slumped on the floor in defeat. Leonard intended to go for another round, but Natalia’s sobbing roused him from his rage.

  “He didn’t do anything,” she cried.

  Looking his daughter up and down, Leonard discovered that she was fully dressed and her hair neatly combed. Scanning the room, Leonard saw a professionally made bed, the pillows tucked symmetrically against the headboard. Near the television two open Coke cans sat on a desk. On the floor lay a boy with almond-shaped eyes. He was dressed in a school uniform, battered and bleeding from the mouth. The shoulder of his shirt was torn. Leonard sat on the bed slowly, still in shock.

  Natalia helped the boy to his feet and settled him in a pale green chair in a corner by the protruding wall heater. At that precise moment, the ancient device’s fan rattled to life.

  Leonard and Dishi stared at one another, the cold expression in the boy’s eyes caused Leonard to flinch and turn away in disgrace.

  “Not every teenage boy is an animal, Mr. Tramer,” Dishi said. The young man’s words, brimming with accusation, magnified the older man’s shame.

  Leonard glanced up.

  Dishi, clearly in pain, attempted to sit up straight and maintain a level of dignity and self-confidence. “I have a family, too. I don’t want to create an anonymous baby with your daughter any more than she does. I think the Youth Brigade is sick, and I loathe The New Direction.”

  Not knowing what else to say, Leonard mumbled, “I’m sorry, young man—”

  “Dishi.”

  “I’m sorry, Dishi. I should have looked before I reacted.”

  Dishi shrugged. “It happened. What now?”

  “I came to take Natalia.”

  Dishi raised his eyebrows. “Home?”

  “No.” Leonard let down his guard. “Away.”

  “Really? You’ll have a good head start. Garrett cleared us both for the day.”

  “You’re not expected back at school?” Leonard asked, turning toward Natalia.

  “Nope,” she said, smiling.

  “Why did Garrett come today? He said Friday.”

  “He thought I would bail on Friday. And he didn’t want to ruin my birthday tomorrow, so today was as good a day as any.”

  “How kind of him.”

  “He did us a favor, actually. We’ve got a whole afternoon.”

  “You’re free,” Dishi whispered.

  They both looked at the boy. Leonard’s heart sank. He hated to leave him behind, but he knew they only had a few resources and no extra ID.

  Guessing Leonard’s thoughts, Dishi said, “As I told you, I have a family. I won’t be running away any time soon.”

  “Of course.”

  The boy gazed at Leonard, regarding him warily. Eventually he made a peculiar comment. “You never know where you will find the counter-revs and what they are up to.”

  Leonard opened his mouth, but found he had no suitable response to Dishi’s cryptic message. Are the boy and his family members of the underground?

  Suddenly, Dishi’s demeanor lightened. “You guys better get a move on.”

  “What’s going to happen to you?” Natalia asked anxiously. “For allowing me to go? The Brigade isn’t going to let you get away with this.”

  Chuckling, he pointed to his torn sleeve and the blood on his face. “I think your dad gave me a good alibi. I look like I put up a fight.”

  Leonard felt like saying sorry for the third time, but he held his tongue. There were only so many apologies a man could offer before he had to accept that he was either forgiven or not. Noticing the soft smile on the young man’s face, Leonard concluded that he had, indeed, been forgiven.

  He stood to leave, offering Dishi his hand. The boy shook it firmly, but he winced slightly. Leonard glanced away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cans of soda.

  “Natalia,” he said. “Would you please bring your Coke?”

  She eyed him in disbelief. “Okay,” she replied, drawing out the vowels.

  A few minutes later, they reached the car. Leonard put a finger over his lips as they settled into their seats. Natalia cast him a quizzical look, but she remained silent. Feeling the right side of the driver’s seat, Leonard nodded appreciatively. Max knows his stuff. He grabbed Natalia’s soda and carefully poured it down the side of his seat.

  “Dad! What are you doing?”

  Leonard scowled and put three fingers over her mouth. Tilting his head to one side, he heard a satisfying sizzle. He smiled.

  “That oughtta do it,” he said as he removed his fingers from his daughter’s lips.

  She examined the mess and shook her head in disbelief. “You’re gaga.”

  “Yes, Nat, I am.” Grinning, he pulled out onto the road and headed for the Neil Nelson Medical Center.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Where the hell have you been?” Alina snapped when Leonard and Natalia rushed into her office.

  Natalia started to speak but Leonard nudged her sharply.

  “We’ll explain when we’re on the road.” He whispered the last three words and nodded at his wife and daughter each in turn.

  “Close the door,” Alina said, gesturing with a flick of her hand.

  Natalia complied, glancing first into the hallway.

  Alina cleared her throat. “Sit,” she said. Leonard plopped down on a guest chair, while Natalia bounced on a swiveling stool. “Here’s what I found—”

  Leonard leaned forward. “Shouldn’t you turn on a radio?” he whispered.

  “We’re safe here.”

  “What makes you so sure? We’re not safe anywhere. You told me that.”

  “This office used to belong to a big shot. I inherited it when I…” Her voice trailed away.

  “But—”

  “A few key individuals have sat in that chair and spoken to me in detail about member profiles and security issues.”

  “So?”

  “Those same individuals refuse to talk in the hallway.”

  “That doesn’t mean—”

  “They even refuse to talk to me when I am in an empty exam room. ‘Let’s go back to your office,’ one guy whispered when we were otherwise clearly alone.”

  “Alone with the WLN.”

  She nodded, one eyebrow raised. “So I’m assuming the difference between the exam room and my office is—”

  “No WLN.”

  “Precisely.” She patted her desk. “This is the only place I feel a sense of privacy.”

  Leonard sat back. “Okay then. What’s the plan?”

  “So here’s what we’ve got. And it’s excellent news.” She smiled. “When I went down to examine the area, the machine was alre
ady set to go. Someone moved it to a secure room. No metal objects lying around. The computer equipment is in an adjacent room, already set up. All we have to do is turn it on.”

  “It can’t be that easy,” Leonard said, a doubtful expression on his face.

  “A log indicates that the machine was used last week.”

  “Do you think someone else had our idea?”

  Alina shook her head. “Not likely. This wasn’t a rush job. I’m thinking some government hotshot needed an MRI. Who knows? Maybe even Stehlen himself.”

  Leonard frowned. The double standard, although not at all surprising, angered him. Of course the Feds would want to keep the technology available for themselves. “Are you sure they haven’t disabled it in the meantime?”

  “I turned it on for two minutes. No one came down. That’s another good sign…They probably left it set up because whomever it was might need a follow-up MRI.”

  Natalia interjected, “Max said he has insider techs. They probably use it, too.”

  Alina’s eyes flew open. “You’re right. That’s priceless.”

  Leonard smiled. “What are we waiting for?” He stood up and reached for Natalia’s hand.

  “I was waiting for my husband and daughter.”

  “Touché.”

  Alina joined them, grabbing a stick near the office door. “One thing. There are cameras in the stairwell leading down.”

  Leonard furrowed his brow. “That’s a pretty big one thing. We should take the elevator.”

  “Continuously monitored. Even more risky. However, oddly enough, the cameras in the basement have all been turned up and locked into place.”

  “Possibly so security doesn’t spy on the government hotshot?”

  “That’s what I was assuming.”

  His heart racing, Leonard questioned his wife’s cavalier attitude regarding the cameras. “What do we do about the stairwell?”

  Alina held up the stick in her hand. “This extends to about ten feet. We use it to open the sky windows in the cafeteria. I was hoping we might turn the cameras from a distance.”

  “I don’t know, Alina. We might be better off sneaking by and hoping someone assumes we’re getting supplies. Security will notice cameras going dark before they worry about a few bodies descending the staircase.”

  “Bodies, Dad?” Natalia snickered. “You make it sound like we’re dead.”

  He tipped his head from side to side. “That might be a good cover also.”

  Natalia giggled.

  “Nah,” Alina said, as if they were serious. “But you might be right about leaving the cameras alone.” She looked at Leonard quizzically. “Just amble down the stairs and they won’t assume we’re up to something?”

  “Do you have extra lab coats?”

  “What about Natalia?” Alina said.

  “What about her?”

  “We don’t have many child genius doctors wandering around the hospital.”

  “Any short nurses?”

  Natalia folded her arms and scowled. “I’m standing right here, you know.”

  “Be realistic, Nat. Even in a lab coat, it’s obvious you’re a child.”

  “A teenager as of tomorrow,” she corrected.

  “Okay, a teenager, but not exactly a med school graduate.”

  Alina sat down on the chair that had been occupied by Leonard only a few minutes ago. “I should have taken better care to plan this. I was so excited that the MRI was set to go, I didn’t think past turning the cameras.” She tossed the stick aside in frustration.

  Leonard straddled Natalia’s rolling stool, while Natalia wandered around the desk and sat in her mother’s chair. She held her head high and swiveled slightly back and forth.

  Leonard rolled forward and took Alina’s hands. “We’ll figure something out.” They stared at one another, but no brilliant ideas surfaced.

  “Why don’t you wheel me down in a laundry basket?” Natalia suggested. “Like they do in the movies.”

  Leonard smiled. “It would look even more ridiculous to carry a laundry basket down the stairwell.”

  “But,” Alina said, her voice rising. “It wouldn’t look so weird in the elevator.”

  “You said the elevators were constantly monitored.”

  “Yes, but after considering your look natural strategy, I realized that you’re right. They won’t take much notice of a doctor heading to the basement for supplies. That’s why I wandered down the stairs this morning with little concern.”

  Leonard raised an eyebrow. “How about two doctors and a laundry tub?”

  Alina thought for a moment. “We have a wheeled basket Natalia would fit in. If I dump some supplies on top of her, it will look like I’m returning surplus supplies. It could work.”

  “The stuff you dump on me…can we make that blankets?”

  “A couple of blankets to cover you up and some bandage boxes on top. Keep it light. The guys in security aren’t going to care what a doctor is taking to or from the supply room.”

  “You hope,” Leonard said.

  “They’re just looking for erratic behavior. What’s erratic about two white-coats and a laundry tub?”

  “Nothing, I guess.”

  “Wait here,” Alina said, as she jumped from her chair and exited the room. A few minutes later she returned with a beige canvas laundry tub on wheels. Two blankets, a white coat, rubber gloves, and five dozen boxes of gauze rested inside.

  Leonard grabbed the coat. “A little snug, but it’ll do.” They helped Natalia climb into the basket. “No one will find it odd that you just wheeled a laundry basket into your office?”

  “Stop worrying, Leonard. The sooner we get going the better.”

  He hesitated. “People will know I’m not a doctor. Someone will stop us in the hallway and ask, ‘Who are you?’”

  “Already thought of that.” Alina pulled a surgical hat and mask out of her pocket and handed the items to him. After he put them on, she wet her hands and patted the hat.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Walk ahead of me,” she instructed. “Slowly, like you’re tired and it’s been a long day. Look past anyone who tries to make eye contact. I’ll meet up with you in the elevator hallway—”

  “Which is where?”

  “About twenty feet down the hall and to the left.” She carefully covered Natalia with the blankets and bandages. “When no one is looking at your face, take your mask off and wipe your brow. We’ll enter the elevator together and chat about the weather or something.”

  Leonard puffed out his cheeks. “Down the hall. Look exhausted. Enter the elevator hallway on the left. Remove mask. Wipe brow.”

  “You got it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Leonard followed her directions precisely. He avoided eye contact with passing hospital staff. If his ears did not deceive him, Alina and the rolling cart followed several paces behind him. Gaining confidence, he marched toward the hallway. What he had not expected was three giggling nurses waiting for an elevator. He stopped briefly and glanced over his shoulder, praying Alina had a follow-up plan. Then he continued toward the trio of nurses.

  Two elevators on either side hummed dutifully. The nurses had pushed the up button, and they chattered among themselves, somewhat oblivious to the approaching doctors. Still, Leonard faltered, wondering if at any moment they might look up and regard him with curiosity. It seemed very unnatural to keep his mask on at this juncture, so he removed it hastily and wiped his brow.

  Thankfully, at that moment, Alina waltzed past him and addressed him playfully. “And you owe me, you know that?” she teased as she pressed the down button.

  Two of the nurses glanced absentmindedly in Alina’s direction.

  “After all, I spent thirty minutes down there searching for your favorite blue Jimnie Gel pens. It’s the least you can do to help me put this stuff away and find the wider gauze.”

  Leonard paused only for a moment before
catching on. “Dr. Marsh. I’ve had a long day.”

  “I don’t want to hear it,” she lilted, obviously flirting.

  The up elevator binged and the nurses entered nonchalantly. Not to be outdone, Leonard headed for the same lift as if he didn’t intend to join the dark-haired doctor. One of the nurses put her foot out to stop the doors from shutting.

  Alina grabbed Leonard’s arm. “No you don’t. You owe me, and you know it.”

  Leonard waved the nurses on and they allowed the elevator doors to close.

  Fortunately, the down elevator binged a second later. Alina continued with the charade and the two bantered all the way to the basement. Only when they stepped out and the elevator door closed behind them did Alina drop the pretense and pull the blankets off of her daughter.

  “You guys are weird,” Natalia said as she climbed out of the tub. “Is that what you doctors do all day? Gather supplies and hit on each other?”

  Leonard raised one eyebrow and scrutinized Alina’s face. “I hope not.”

  She swished her hand down, dismissing their frivolous remarks. Pulling three pairs of latex gloves out of the basket, she said, “Put these on and let’s go.”

  Alina handed the largest pair to Leonard and the smallest to Natalia. Then she skillfully snapped on her own gloves while the others fumbled with the awkward protective gear. Before Leonard and Natalia were properly gloved, Alina jogged down the hallway to their right. Struggling to straighten the latex over their fingers, Leonard and Natalia followed obediently.

  A few minutes later, they entered a small room containing an MRI machine. A gray gurney lay adjacent to a large, white, doughnut-shaped device with a man-sized hole. The rest of the machine nearly filled the entire room. Off to the left, what appeared to be a temporary wall contained a door with a window. Alina led Natalia to the table.

  “Okay, lay here, sweetie. It’s noisy, but it doesn’t hurt.”

  “Wait.” Leonard grabbed Alina’s arm. “I should go first…In case something happens. Like what if the transmitter melts or explodes?”

  Alina rolled her eyes. “I doubt it will explode, but I guess you’re right. Let’s be cautious. Dad’ll go first, Natalia.”