Foreign Threat

by Mitchell Goldstein

  In fact, during one code when a young kid was shot in a drive by shooting, Steve requested to do the CPR. Because the kid was in extremis and about to die, the residents pushed him away and told him to stand back. He wondered then how was he supposed to handle the situation if it happened to him while he was a resident. That scenario would certainly occur during the course of a surgical residency. How was the brand new doctor to assume full responsibility for a sick patient without having managed those patients in the past?

  As Steve continued to stare out the window, he began to feel faint. His skin color turned pale.

  One nurse walking by asked if he was all right. “Dr. Carmichael, are you OK? Do you want to sit down?”

  Steve forced himself to the present. “No, uhh, how did you know my name?”

  “The nametag was a big clue,” answered the nurse with

  a small smile.

  Steve looked down at his nametag. Sure enough, below his picture was printed “Dr. S. Carmichael.” The second line read, “Surgery Department.” The nurse was right. What a smart nurse. “Uhh, no, I’ll be fine. Thanks anyway,” said Steve. As he moved toward the elevator, he saw that a few other people must have been concerned. A group of nurses, probably on their way to the cafeteria for their break, was staring at Steve. So were several visitors.

  “Maybe he has the flu,” said one lady.

  Her husband added, “Those doctors shouldn’t work when they’re sick. They’ll just get the rest of us sick. You think they would know that.”

  This older couple continued to comment back and forth to each other as they walked down the corridor.

  Steve stared at the crowd blankly and turned toward the elevator. He pushed the up arrow and crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for the elevator.

  He thought about the orientation process. It seemed that there should have been more practical information provided to the interns. After all, this was only the first day of internship. They were still just medical students, or close enough that it sure didn’t feel any different. He certainly didn’t feel that he possessed all the knowledge that he needed to be considered a doctor.

  Maybe it wasn’t the orientation process. Maybe the medical schools should have encouraged more practical experience on the clinical rotations instead of so much basic science instruction the first two years.

  Maybe the problem was Steve himself. Should I have spent more time in the hospital, hanging out with the residents? I should have never gone on my vacation. My time would have been better spent learning how to manage post-operative patients!

  When the elevator doors opened, Steve subconsciously

  walked in, paying no attention to the others entering. As he reached out his hand to push the second floor button, a quick hand raced in front of him and pushed it for him.

  “Hi, my name is Erica, Erica Miller. How about you? Does the ozone man have a name?”

  “Yeah, uh, yeah. My name is Steve Carmichael. I’m one of the new surgery interns. Sorry, I was just thinking about something.”

  “I figured as much. It looked as if you were freaking out about the beginning of your internship. Either that or your chief just grilled your ass. Either way, you just look like you were doing some major freaking.”

  Major freaking, that was an understatement. Steve was in total shock about the next several days. “Well, you’re correct on one account: I am a little concerned about the transition from medical school to being an intern. I mean, the next time I’m on call and there’s a code, I’ll have to run it myself. I’m not sure I’m ready for that! You know-” Steve cut himself short when he heard Erica laughing. “What’s so funny?”

  “I’m sure you’re really good and all, but I can assure you that the chief on call won’t let the intern run a code. At least not the first night on call. Maybe by the second call night…naw. I’m just joking! That’s why you take call with a junior and chief resident. They won’t expect you to handle those situations by yourself for a while.”

  “Hey, thanks,” said Steve, much relieved. “That makes me feel better. I really was starting to freak there a little bit.”

  After a short pause, Erica added, “Of course that may be different for surgery interns. They do have such a more vigorous internship. I’m sure the demand of a surgery intern is much greater than any other intern. I would really hate to be in your shoes!”

  Steve looked down and had that queasy feeling all over again. “I liked what you said in the beginning of this conversation better.”

  Erica asked, “Hey, when is your first call night anyway? I’ll need some time to warn all of my friends to get off the streets, refrain from shooting and stabbing each other and if they must do all of that, well, at least request to go to the county hospital that night.”

  Steve slowly looked up and saw Erica smiling. He bowed

  his head again and shook it from side to side as he started laughing.

  The elevator door opened on the second floor, and Steve walked out. Erica stayed inside. “Hey, aren’t you coming?” asked Steve.

  “Nope, this isn’t my floor. I’m not one of those strong, invincible surgery interns. I’m just a little lowlife second year medical resident. I transferred from Chicago this year to finish my residency.”

  “Oh, that’s cool.”

  “Yeah. My dog ran away. The strangest thing happened, though: someone found him up in Minneapolis. I figured, well, if he wants to come up here so badly that he ran away, maybe I should follow. I guess he had enough of the gangs, violence, and drugs that were down in Chicago.”

  Steve looked at her, confused.

  “Hey, lighten up, man. It was a dumb joke. It was really my cat that ran away.”

  Steve laughed. He then placed his foot in front of the elevator door to stop it from shutting. He was grateful that the elderly woman in the elevator just smiled at the two of them. It didn’t appear she was in much of a hurry but was amused at how the two were flirting.

  Erica continued, “Actually, my two kids wanted to come up to Minneapolis. Since their father found a job up in Minneapolis, well, they thought they should move too.”

  Both Steve and the elderly lady in the elevator looked disappointed. “Well, it was nice to meet you. And thanks for the words of encouragement. Actually, that was more than the orientation program had to offer today. I guess I’ll see you around.”

  Erica picked up on the disappointment from both Steve and the lady. “It’s OK, we’ve been divorced for about three years. I just thought the kids should be by their Dad. How about lunch some time?”

  Steve perked up at the idea. “That sounds great.”

  As the elevator door closed, Erica shouted out, “Hey, I’ll look for ya at the next code!”

  Steve turned around and walked toward the nurse’s station. He had a grin on his face that could have been seen for miles. Although a very handsome man, he had never really spent much time seriously dating women. There were always other important things to do. For example, the last four years of medical school had been his first priority. There were a few women who attempted to establish a relationship, but school, studying, and surgery always interfered. It wasn’t as if Steve didn’t want to have a relationship, but with everything going on, arguments soon focused on time spent with his girlfriends versus time that should be spent on school or other activities. Steve was the type who didn’t like to argue and face any confrontation. Consequently, it was much easier not to date.

  But there was something different about Erica. He sure hadn’t known her for very long, but something made her stand out from other girls he had dated.

  As he strolled to meet his residents at the nurse’s station,

  he continued to think about this new woman. She had a very warm sense of humor. It was like she had this compassionate side to her, but before anything would get too serious, she would calm everything with a joke. That was refreshing. Everyone he had dated before was always too serious about life. They were worried ab
out this and that, anxious how other people felt about them, and mostly upset that Steve wasn’t spending enough time with them. Erica, on the other hand, appeared to be more calm and relaxed in just one wonderful encounter. She could lighten the most serious conversation with a joke. She recognized Steve’s anxiety about his first day and took a moment to calm his fear as no one else could. Besides her sense of humor, she was beautiful.

  Steve entered the nurses’ station, wondering how someone so beautiful, smart, and funny could be divorced. How could some idiot let that perfect person go?

  “Dr. Carmichael, we have been waiting for you. Where the hell have you been? Orientation finished twenty minutes ago!” yelled Sally.

  “Uh, hi, yeah. I, uh, I just met a friend in the elevator, and, uh, we got to talking and one thing lead to another and-”

  “Shut up, Carmichael! I’ve been taking care of all the patients and floor work, and you’ve been socializing. There seems to be something wrong with this picture. Let me assure you that while you’re on this surgery service, I will not do your scut work for you. And furthermore-”

  Before Sally could finish chewing Steve out for being late, a firm but calm voice interrupted her over the loud speaker. “Code Blue, Room 204. Dr. Jenson stat to room 204. Code Blue, Room 204. Dr. Jenson stat to room 204.”

  “Shit!” screamed Sally. “That’s Mr. Springer. Come on,

  Carmichael, help me run this code!”

  Steve froze. He could not move. The adrenaline pushed his heart rate to speeds he had never experienced before. His face, hands, and back became sweaty and warm. He felt as if the room was spinning around him. There was this rush of nausea that crept within his stomach. He felt like he was going to faint.

  Just then, he heard an incredible scream that got his attention. It was Sally. “Carmichael! Snap out of it, I need your help!”

  Steve looked at Sally for a few seconds as she ran down the hall. He had no choice but to follow. By the time he arrived at Room 204, a number of people were already there. Steve was grateful that he wasn’t the only person present, but when Sally yelled for Steve to do chest compressions, the nausea and dizziness came back in a flash.

  Chapter 5

  It was almost 9:00 P.M., and he had just finished reviewing the final applicants for the job. None of the people really applied for this position, but he took the liberty of analyzing their lives, including foolish economic mistakes. He found the three who needed money more than anything. However, he also had to find someone who would be willing not to ask too many questions. Of the three who were broke, one stood far above the others for this job: Dr. Jake Douglas.

  Dr. Douglas was the perfect screw up who needed money so badly that he would probably not ask many questions. If he did, he was the type not to care about the social and professional immoralities that were associated with this job. Unfortunately, as with any half-wit with a conscience, if he discovered the truth and implications of this project, he would not only turn down the offer but would most likely reveal the entire project to the appropriate authorities. In fact, most of the applicants would do the same.

  As he gathered all the information on Jake, he looked at his watch again. He needed to make contact tonight or else they would call him again at his home. The more they called at home, the more likely he would be exposed.

  He put on his overcoat and grabbed a manila folder. He walked out of his apartment and to the elevator. As he approached the elevator, he saw two men come down the opposite hall. They both wore dark suits that he knew too well. He quickly turned around and headed toward the door for the stairs. He took one more glance before the door closed. They were nodding to each other. One walked down the hall, and the other headed toward the stairwell.

  He couldn’t wait any longer. He spun on one foot and raced

  down the stairs, jumping three to four steps at a time. While going down the four flights of stairs, he considered why these men in dark suits were already following him. He didn’t think any mistakes had been made. There were no reasons for them to be suspicious yet…or were there? Maybe he wasn’t being cautious enough, or maybe he hadn’t realized that he was leaving behind a trail of clues.

  At the ground level, he reached for the door to the street as he had done so many times before. This time the door was locked. He was left with no time to understand the change and no other choice but to walk through the lobby. He peeked around the lobby door and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Two parking attendants loitered at the bell stand. One he recognized, and the other one he could not make out fully but looked like the new guy they had hired three weeks ago.

  He suddenly realized that the new hire might have been a way for them to follow him more closely.

  Since there were no other people in the lobby, he dared to walk through. He heard footsteps coming down the stairwell. This made him move quicker, but he didn’t want to attract attention to himself. Raising his left hand to the men at the bell stand, he made a gesture to say hello and act composed. “How are you gentlemen doing tonight? Looks as if it will be a good night for dinner at Pasal’s. See you when I get back.”

  Pasal’s was a small Mexican restaurant that had outdoor seating. It had a nice ambiance with good food, good margaritas, and a nice atmosphere. Tonight it would serve as a testing ground to see if any unusual people showed up. For the most part, the clientele were all regulars around the neighborhood. If unusual diners showed up, they would stand out like a sore thumb. If by chance some people were there asking about him, well, two parking attendants were the only

  people who knew he was going to be there.

  “Do you need your car tonight?” asked one of the attendants.

  “No, I think I’ll walk on such a beautiful night.” He didn’t need to stick around and wait for the guy coming down the stairs anyway. He continued to walk toward the doors. He had never appreciated the mirrors alongside the double arched doors, but now was a perfect time to make use of them. As he pushed one of the doors open, he glanced at the mirror. Sure enough, the new attendant was picking up the phone. A phone call to his girlfriend, a phone call to order pizza or a phone call for back up at Pasal’s?

  When the door was fully open, the mirror was not visible. He didn’t want to stop his stride to continue to look at the mirror, but he wanted to notice anything else he could without making it too obvious. He glanced at the glass door and saw a reflection of the entire lobby. He saw the stair door opened, and out came a tall man in a dark suit. The man on the phone made eye contact with the tall man coming through the stair door, and he pointed a finger toward the double arched doors as he placed the phone back on the receiver. That was certainly not enough time to talk to a girlfriend or order a pizza.

  Without any further hesitation, the man with the overcoat continued through the door and ran to the corner. He ran halfway down the block, and turned up an alley that led to a neighboring street. He quickly glanced over his shoulder but did not see a soul. No men in dark suits, no vendors, no street cleaners, no one. He continued up the alley to the next street into a busy area of town. A taxi was parked just in front of the alley. He opened the back door and jumped in.

  “Hey, mister, the light’s not on! Can’t a guy take a break?”

  the driver complained.

  The man in the overcoat pulled out a hundred dollar bill and

  shoved it through the partition between the back and front seats.

  The driver saw it and his eyes opened widely. “I guess I can take that break later. Where to?”

  “Let’s start by going to Sixth and DuPont.”

  The driver looked confused. “That’s way on the other side of town! It will take at least-”

  “Shut up and start driving. I’ll double the rate if you get me there in twenty minutes. I’m late for a meeting.”

  As the taxi took off from the corner, he looked back. Still no one. Great, he thought. Now we’ll see who shows up at Pasal’s for dinner.

  Th
e ride was not the most luxurious as the taxi bounced him around the back like a sack of potatoes. Someday soon, very soon he would be able to ride in a beautiful car with a chauffeur driving him to his golf games. Until then, he was stuck in the back of this dirty, smelly taxi.

  When he was not being bounced so badly, he took out a manila folder and began organizing some papers. One sheet had all sorts of fun-filled facts about Jake Douglas, things that Jake probably would not even remember, horrendous facts that he would have struggled to forget. But the man with the overcoat sitting in the back of this taxi had a large smile as he reread some of the information contained in the files. He especially was amused by the amount of financial debt Jake had accrued in his short, screwed up life. The man was over four hundred thousand dollars in debt in addition to alimony and childcare. The taxi passenger couldn’t help laughing as he read this number over and over again. There was no way Dr. Douglas would turn down his offer.

  If Jake did turn down the offer, the man in the overcoat

  would have to resort to plan B. It was simple: expose Dr. Douglas and make public his attempt to sell hospital narcotics to lowlifes for enough money to cover his childcare payments. If that weren’t enough to sway him, then his patients and his future employer would hear about his drinking problem. Most damning was the time he operated while drunk on a five-year-old girl for presumed appendicitis. She never had appendicitis, but she did have an outrageous scar on her lower abdomen to remind her of that unnecessary surgery.

  The taxi driver looked confused as he turned on to DuPont Street. There were hardly any occupied buildings. The streetlights were few, providing an eerie aura.