by Holly Law
Kristen dropped the last bag of groceries onto the counter at home. She put away everything that needed to be refrigerated or frozen in a rush. Then she raced to the bathroom. She slipped Devon’s jacket off her shoulders and examined her arm.
Devon had been correct. Just the hint of gold and black showed on her upper arm where her carefully applied makeup had rubbed off. If that tattoo was seen, it would mean her life. They were banned by the Eranians that made up most of the government of Duras.
Kristen reached into the medicine cabinet and pulled out the specialized foundation that normally did its job so well. She carefully dabbed the makeup over the spot on her arm where the tattoo was showing and then went over the rest of the seemingly invisible tattoo as a precaution. She smoothed the edges meticulously until there wasn’t a hint of it. She had practiced that skill for years and was satisfied with the result.
She walked back into the kitchen and started putting away the rest of the groceries. It was quick work and there wasn’t much left to do. She was just throwing out the last plastic bag when she noticed the message button on the phone was blinking. She walked over to it and pressed the button.
The message proved to be from her mother. “Hi Kristen, I tried to call your cell phone on my last break, but it’s not working again,” her mother said in a quick rush of words that showed her hectic schedule. “I just wanted you to know I won’t be home until late tonight because of a new patient. I was hoping you could help me out. I forgot my lunch and would really appreciate it if you could bring it over. I hope I’ll see you tonight. Stay out of trouble.”
Kristen thought her mother sounded exhausted, but that was nothing new. Her mother pulled the longest shifts at work. Kristen pulled out her cellphone to figure out what the problem was. She lifted it up and the battery on the back clattered to the floor. Kristen sighed and clicked it back on. It promptly fell back to the ground. Kristen opened a drawer and pulled out duct tape. She carefully applied it to the back, ensuring that the battery was secure.
She then set out to make dinner. She took quick stock of everything they had and got to work. She settled for a traditional Dorite meal with a bead-like pasta and chopped vegetables. She covered it with a slightly tangy sauce. She ate her portion quickly and threw the other half into a plastic container. Her mother would be very hungry after working all day.
Kristen went to the driveway and climbed in her car. She turned the key and her car gave a sick, whining sound. She cringed and bit her lip. That sound was not encouraging. She tried the key one more time and the sick sound continued, but the car turned on. She sighed in relief. The last thing she needed was car trouble.
She carefully backed out of the driveway and the car felt horrible. She put it in drive and started heading to the hospital. The car groaned as it moved and shimmied slightly. She noted that the engine light was on a few minutes from home.
“Stupid car,” Kristen said shortly. It always gave her problems
The hospital was another fifteen minutes down the road and she bit her lip the entire way, hoping to make it. She pulled into the parking lot for the hospital and noted the engine light was flashing. She cringed as she pulled into the nearest spot and turned off the car.
She was more than glad to get out of the car with both her purse and the lunch bag for her mother. She walked to the hospital and noticed the difference instantly. There were four guards at the entrance who looked stern and distinctly unfriendly. Their colors marked them as Eranian and she found that strange. She went to step into the main room and they instantly stopped her.
“Everyone entering is subject to search,” one of the security guards told her.
Kristen frowned. “Since when?” Kristen asked.
“Since today,” the guard said coldly. “Either submit or leave.”
“I’m just bringing my mother her dinner. Everyone here knows me.”
“That doesn’t matter. What’s it going to be?”
“I guess you’re going to have to search me,” Kristen said uncomfortably.
They opened the food and checked it, taking a quick bite. That bothered her immensely and offended her. They searched her purse, dumping the contents on a table and then shoving the non-dangerous items back inside. They found her ID and checked it against her, scrutinizing her with care. Then they patted her down. Kristen found it humiliating and nerve-racking. Kristen always kept an old family knife under her clothes for protection. Eranian men were notorious for not keeping their hands to themselves. She had to shift carefully to keep them from finding the family heirloom and she felt it spin around her calf out of their reach.
“You’re good to go,” the security guards told her dismissively.
“How long is this security in place for?” Kristen asked them as she retrieved her things.
“As long as necessary.”
“That’s descriptive,” Kristen said irritably and walked away. She headed straight to the elevators. She stepped inside and pressed the button for her mother’s floor. She would have to straighten out her purse when she got there.
She stepped out of the elevator and straight into more security. She was forced to submit to a full search for a second time. She clenched her jaw and suffered the humiliation. These security guards seemed even more stern and unfriendly.
Kristen smiled at them pleasantly. “Have a nice day,” she told them with a friendliness she did not feel.
Kristen walked straight to the front desk. The nurse behind it looked frazzled. Her face was slightly pale and her eyes were darting back and forth over things on her desk. Her eyes looked wide and vaguely frightened as she looked up. Relief washed over her features as she recognized Kristen.
“What’s going on, Paula?” Kristen asked. “I was searched twice on the way up here.”
“There is a new patient,” Paula said softly. “Some big wig from Erania.”
“Fun. Who gets the joy of dealing with that patient?”
“Your mother,” Paula said with a rueful smile.
“Ugh,” Kristen said, making a face of disgust. Her mother did not like Eranians. They had never treated her well and they had nearly cost her mother her career and life’s work. Her mother would not be happy about the extra security and the hassle of it. If the patient was already that much of a pain in the neck, she knew her mother would be putting in a lot of long, sleepless nights.
“That doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
“I brought my mother her dinner. Is that going to be a problem?”
“From here it shouldn’t be. I can give you a security pass,” Paula told her with a confident smile. She produced a pass Kristen had never been required to have before. Kristen fingered the new plastic warily. She shouldn’t need that just to bring her mother her dinner. Eranians always complicated things. “You can bring it back to the staff room. You probably won’t get to see your mother. She’s been occupied with meetings all night, when she’s not with the new patient.
“Thanks, I hope things calm down for you,” Kristen told her.
“Not until the new one leaves,” Paula said with a sigh.
Kristen gave her a sympathetic smile and moved down the main hallway. She was promptly stopped and asked for security clearance. Kristen presented it immediately and was allowed to continue. She turned a corner and headed down another hallway. She was stopped again and forced to show the badge for a second time. That was going to get very old.
“I think you guys are just after my mother’s dinner,” Kristen said as the security guard scrutinized her badge and glanced at the food in her other hand. The guard clearly was not in a joking mood and let her pass.
Kristen entered the staff lounge and was relieved to see that there were no security guards in there. There was another doctor in there relaxing and sipping coffee. “Your new security is intense,” Kristen commented.
The doctor made a face. “Trust me, you don’t know the half of it. They interrogated each of us in turn. Not a friendly
bunch.”
“And you’re even Eranian,” Kristen commented with a smile. She had always gotten along well with Dr. Delis. He was an older man only a couple years from retirement. His face was good natured and friendly around his wrinkles.
“I think your mother got the worst of it.”
“I would imagine so,” Kristen said as she carefully labeled her mother’s food. “Will you make sure my mother knows this is here? She forgot to bring dinner with her.”
“I’ll let her know,” Dr. Delis promised and then gave her a mischievous smile. “Though considering it’s your cooking, I may have to eat it myself.”
Kristen laughed. “That may be the last of it for a while if the security is going to be this insane.”
“I think we may need your cooking more with this mess.”
“I’m going to head home before I run into anymore security guards.”
“Wise decision. They’re not very friendly or understanding.”
“I’ll see you later.”
“Stay out of trouble.”
Kristen stepped into the hallway and the security guards watched her as she left. She turned a corner and saw a tall Eranian man speaking with a nurse. The nurse looked pale and terrified as he spoke.
“Do you or do you not know how to do your job?” the Eranian man demanded and his accent gave away that he was a true Eranian and not one of those who lived in Duras. “Do you even care about doing things correctly? I had my thoughts on the effectiveness of this place and I fear I won’t be disappointed if your incompetence is any indication. If I wanted my father to have substandard care, I would have placed him in the hands of a senile wesha. I have scullery maids who take more care in their work than you. Get out of my sight, you worthless Dorite.”
Kristen cringed at the exchange, even as the nurse hurried by her, but understood some of it. She had a strong hunch that the man before her was likely under a great deal of stress and worry. The only Eranians that came to her mother were in the worst of shape and near death. She glanced at the nurse scurrying away who was fighting back tears, her face ghostly white.
Kristen hesitated a moment and approached the man who was busy glancing at his cellphone. “They really do care you know,” Kristen volunteered. The man cast an irritated glance at her. Up close, he was far more intimidating. He was dressed in an expensive looking and well-fitting suit that displayed the wealth Eranians were known for. Despite that, his hair was brushed into a more Durashite style that didn’t look natural on him. He clearly was trying to be inconspicuous—and failing.
“What do you know about it?” the man said arrogantly, giving her a dismissive glance that was full of contempt. “And you have no business addressing me.” He turned back to his cellphone making it clear any conversation was unwelcome.
“My mother is Dr. Morrin,” Kristen volunteered then and the man’s fingers paused on the screen of his phone. “I would suspect, given your behavior, that you’re related to this new patient I’ve heard she got today.”
The Eranian man looked at her again. His gaze was steady and assessing. Then he nodded to her imperiously, giving her silent permission to continue and affirming her suspicions. There was still nothing friendly on his face.
“My mother cares very much about what she does and helping her patients. My mother is good at what she does, even if she is not highly respected,” Kristen informed him. She knew from his earlier statements that he must have known something about how poorly her mother was regarded in her field. “No one who works with my mother would be here if they didn’t care about doing what is best. They could make more money in other places.”
“I heard,” the Eranian man said in a cold, clipped tone, “that Dr. Morrin’s husband died of Bourne’s Syndrome. I do not find that information encouraging.”
Kristen felt frustration at that comment. That fact was always thrown in her mother’s face and sometimes in hers. It was painful, but no one cared. No one did enough research to find out why that had happened.
“If you had done some research,” Kristen said in a forced calm she did not feel, “you would have discovered that her husband, my father, died before even half of her new treatments were okayed for testing. Eranian policies blocked that research for years. I was only trying to reassure you. Dealing with Bourne’s Syndrome sucks, I know that from personal experience. My mother and her staff do care and will do their best, whether you believe it or not.”
Kristen continued down the hallway, not bothering to wait for a reply. The Eranian irritated her. She had known some arrogant Eranians, but he took the cake by far. She found it difficult to believe that someone like him would bring a relative to her mother if he had such strong feelings against her.
Kristen stopped by the front desk to see a friendly face before she left. Paula smiled at her and commented, “You look annoyed. Did the guards bother you too much?”
“The relatives of that new patient aren’t too pleasant,” Kristen said shortly.
Paula flinched, then whispered, “I would be careful of him and his family. They’re dangerous people.”
“I’ll avoid them whenever possible.”
“Good. They’re not ones to cross. Have a good night.”
“You, too,” Kristen said with a forced smile.
She was glad to be in the elevator and even more glad to be out of the building and beyond security. She went to her car and plopped into the driver’s seat with a sigh. She stuck her key into the ignition and turned it. Nothing happened.
Kristen turned the key again and heard a small sound. She leaned her head back against the seat and moaned. This was not turning out to be a good night. She gave the key one more try and the engine turned over. Sort of. Smoke started coming from the hood of her car. Kristen let out a startled cry and turned it off. Kristen hit her head on the steering wheel. This was not a good night.
Empress in Hiding is available from Kindle Books.