by Siegel, Alex
"Don't. I'm very glad I met your parents."
He kissed her on the cheek. "I'm glad, too. Will I ever meet your parents?"
"They died when I was fifteen. Murdered, actually. The killer was never caught."
"Oh." His face grew warm.
"That's unfinished business I'll have to deal with someday, but I don't feel like talking about it now. It makes me angry. Let's just enjoy the beautiful night." She smiled. "Isn't the sky gorgeous?"
He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Not as gorgeous as you."
* * *
The man formerly known as Captain Timothy Smythe walked into a familiar hospital room. A teenage girl with brown, curly hair was lying on the solitary bed. He hadn't forgotten his promise to her. As far as he was concerned, Sally was still his patient until she was healed.
He expected her to have a respirator tube down her throat, but she just had an oxygen mask. She's a strong girl, he thought. She looked at him, but there was no recognition in her eyes. He was wearing a very good disguise.
"Hi!" He smiled encouragingly. "I just came to give you a shot."
He placed a black medical bag on a table and opened it. The bag contained hundreds of prepared syringes filled with pale green liquid. He took out one of the syringes.
Sally tried to talk, but her voice was so weak he couldn't hear her. He took off her oxygen mask and put his ear near her mouth.
"Will it hurt?" she whispered.
"I'm afraid so," he said, "but you need it."
He pulled the cap off the syringe.
"I know your voice," she said. "Who are you?"
"Just another doctor. We probably met before but you don't remember." He put the oxygen mask back over Sally's mouth. "Now, I want you to relax and stay very still. This is a big injection."
He found a vein and inserted the needle. Slowly, he pressed the plunger. He would've preferred to give her small doses of antidote spaced over several days, but the security around Saint Athanasius Hospital was almost impenetrable and repeated visits were infeasible. He had to cure her completely with one massive dose.
When the injection was done, he threw away the needle and picked up his bag. "You'll experience nausea and itchiness, but in a day or two you'll feel much better." He smiled again.
The expression on her face showed a lot of anxiety.
"What's wrong?" he asked. He put his ear near her mouth again.
"You're not just another doctor," she whispered.
"How can you tell?"
"There is a strange light. Are you an angel?"
Aaron looked around but saw nothing unusual.
Marina stepped into the room. She wore a nurse's uniform and a brown wig. A fake mole disfigured her cheek.
"Doctor," she said, "you have lots of other patients."
"I know." Smythe stood up straight. "Try to sleep, Sally. Have a long, happy life."
He left the room with Marina.
"What was that about?" she said.
He shrugged. "I don't know. The kid must be delirious. She called me an angel."
"Maybe she was right." She winked at him. "You're carrying a bag full of miracles."
"Not you, too! Come on. I'm just a doctor, doing his job."
"Whatever you say. Whatever you say." She whistled a cheerful tune.
THE END
Table of Contents
Title
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine