Winter's Storm: Retribution (Winter's Saga #2)

by Karen Luellen

  Last night he had decided to read everything he could get his hands on having anything possibly to do with Meg’s medical condition. He never before needed to study medicine, that was Evan and Mom’s specialty, but now, he felt so helpless that he was determined to at least know what the heck all these doctors were saying when they spoke.

  His mind was moderately dizzy with data. After all the research, the truth of the matter is that nothing was adding up. Nothing about his sister’s illness made sense, at least, not according to regular human biology and physiology. There’s got to be something they were missing, but he didn’t know enough to know what.

  Alik flipped open the laptop he brought with him and linked quickly to the wireless internet. Maybe if he kept looking, something would come to him. Two hours later, Alik was still concentrating on the physiology and anatomy of the human heart when Meg’s monitors woke instantly and screamed behind him.

  “BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!”

  Alik nearly flew out of his chair at the sound of Meg’s machines going off. Something was wrong with Meg.

  Alik looked over at her heart monitor, blood pressure monitor and pulse-ox.

  Oh, my God, no! She’s crashing!

  Two days before, Alik had worked to solve the problem of not being able to monitor his ill sister from different parts of the large house. That’s when he had designed and easily rigged an alert system that would sound if Meg’s machines went off. He was thanking God for his forethought because he was depending on the alarms to get help in here fast.

  With alarms sounding in the living room, bedrooms, kitchen and patio, everyone in the entire house leaped to their feet and ran full-speed toward the lab. Maze howled and panted and howled again instinctively aware that something horrible was happening.

  Knowing every second counted, Alik jumped on the table with his sister and began compressions. “One, two, three, four, five—breathe. One, two, three, four, five—breathe,” And even as his body jumped into action performing CPR on his sister, his mind was praying fanatically for more time.

  Margo was the first person to arrive sprinting into the room, flush and panicked. She saw her son performing CPR on the frail body of her baby girl. “Oh, dear God! No!”

  She ran to her children and took over the breathing part of the CPR while she and her son worked as a team, trying to revive Meg. Not thirty seconds later, Evan ran into the room, and without saying a word, turned on the defibulator.

  “Charging!” he warned. Alik jumped off the table, and Margo stepped back.

  “Clear!” he called out and placed the paddles strategically on his sister’s chest, one in the center and the other closer to her left arm pit. With a loud “WHOMP” the machine shot a jolt of electricity into Meg’s heart, trying to jump-start her like a dead car battery.

  For a moment, everyone stopped and stared at the heart rate machine, willing it to begin beeping a rhythmic tone instead of the flatline scream it was sounding now.

  Nothing.

  “Again. Charging!” Evan called to the room now filled with two more doctors and Creed.

  “Clear!” Evan called as he placed the paddles again and prayed over them. The jolt caused Meg’s body to spasm up and off the bed for a moment, then she flopped back down and lay as still as a rag doll.

  The merciless machine screamed the dead monotone as everyone watched in abject horror.

  “Charging,” Evan’s voice caught in his throat. He glanced at the clock and quickly calculated how long his sister had been without oxygen. Brain damage is likely after four minutes. It had been two minutes, thirty-six seconds. Meg’s lips were blue and her skin ashen. She already looked dead, he thought to himself and pushed the thought aside.

  “Clear,” he pushed the paddles back into place and held the jolt an extra half second. “Come on, Meg!” he pleaded. “Wake up, Meggie! Come back to us! It’s not time to go yet. Not yet, Meg! Fight with me!”

  The room was silent, except for the sound of the machine flat-lining.

  “Charging!” Evan called for a fourth time. Time was slipping away.

  Beep,…beep,…beep,…

  “Wait!” Margo yelled to Evan.

  Beep,…beep,…beep,…

  Evan looked back and forth from the beeping machine to his sister’s lips pinking-up.

  “Oh, thank God! Thank you, God! Evan, she’s back!” Margo wailed in relief. And with the strength of a bear, Margo grabbed both her sons, pulled them tightly to her, and kissed both of their cheeks. “Thank you boys! Thank God for you!”

  And then, as any mother would, she draped herself protectively over her daughter’s frame and cried for the preciousness of her life.

  Minutes passed like this, everyone lost in private prayers and thoughts, still recovering from the rush of adrenaline. Margo stood up and locked eyes with Creed. When she spoke, her voice was strong and carried a tone of unwavering certainty. “Contact Williams now; tell him we’re willing to make a deal. If his scientists can cure Meg, I’ll give him the serum. Have him commission an ambulatory jet to leave immediately.” Her bloodshot eyes shown a resolve Creed recognized and respected.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Creed,” she called sternly.

  “Ma’am?”

  “I am trusting you with my daughter’s life. Please take care of her.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Creed said solemnly. He nodded once, turned and walked briskly out of the room. He had a phone call to make.

  34 Conversations at the Edge of a Bed

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m completely serious.”

  “No. I am not letting you put yourself back in harm’s way.”

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  “Don’t you see how useless it is for you to go?”

  “I only see that my daughter is dying, and I need to take her to get medical help. You would do the same if it were Cole.”

  “Margo, this isn’t like you’re taking Meg to a regular hospital up the street or even in another country. This is Kenneth Williams’ hospital.”

  “Theo, I know you’re just trying to be protective of me, and though I think it’s very sweet, it is completely misdirected.”

  “Margo, I don’t care what serum you have to offer as a trade, he still wants vengeance on you. You. Specifically he wants you, Margo Winter, dead! Why can’t you get that through your thick skull?”

  “I don’t care what happens to me, Theodore Andrews. I care about what happens to my little girl. And if it means I have to trade myself for her life, I would do it in a heartbeat!”

  Theo sat at the edge of her bed, exhausted from arguing with the most illogical woman on the face of the Earth. He didn’t know which hurt worse: his head ache or heartache.

  All he wanted to do was curl up in this big old bed and hold that precious woman until some common sense seeped into her. He just wanted a chance to love her, to take care of her. Was that asking so much? Why did everything with this woman have to be so damn complicated?

  “It’s not complicated,” Margo said, reading his thoughts. She stopped packing for a moment and sat beside her best friend.

  “I am a mommy. My daughter is hurt. I need to get her help. Period.” She reached to touch the scruffy beard that had started to grow on his sweet face. Her cool hand acted as a tonic to his soul and he felt himself melt into it. “And if I haven’t said it lately, I love you. Thank you for all you have done for me and for our children. You are a blessing to my life, and I thank God for you, my sweet Theo.”

  Theo’s bloodshot eyes glistened instantly with tears. “I love you too, you crazy woman. I would go to the ends of the earth for you. So if you’re going into the lion’s den, then I am too.”

  “You can’t. You have to stay here and take care of Cole and Maze. You have work to do in the lab, too. You’re still decoding blood samples, remember?”

  “Paulie can look after Cole and Maze, and he can work on the blood samples, too.” Dr. Andrew�
�s voice had taken on a distinct pouting tone that made Margo smile widely.

  “You know what you have to do, Theo, and I know what I have to do. We’ll get this all taken care of and meet back here as soon as possible. Okay? God willing, Meggie’s recovery will be rapid, and we’ll all be back in less than a week,” Margo said hopefully.

  Theo continued to sit on the edge of the bed and hopelessly watch as the love of his life continued to pack her bag for a flight leaving in less than two hours.

  35 The Travelers

  “Okay, I think we’re all packed,” Evan concluded as he zipped the last black bag closed.

  “The ambulance and town car will be here any minute,” Creed said checking his watch.

  The conversation with Dr. Williams was surreal. Creed’s mind was still trying to process it. “Meg’s condition is perilous. Her heart stopped beating for three minutes just now. Evan was barely able to revive her after shocking her with a defibulator three times.”

  “So, what? Are they ready to make a deal?” he asked coldly.

  “Yes, sir. Dr. Winter told me to call you and tell you she wants to trade. Your doctors cure Meg, and she’ll give you the original serum. She asks that you send transportation immediately. I know she’s worried Meg won’t make it through the night.”

  “She has the serum?” he asked excitedly.

  “Sir, yes. She wants to trade it for her daughter’s cure,” Creed felt like Williams was only hearing part of what he was saying. He had no compassion. He had no sense of morality. This man was evil. There was no other way to say it. He was pure evil.

  “Excellent! Make the arrangements. Do what you have to do to get the serum here.” Creed could almost hear him drooling in anticipation.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll make the arrangements immediately.”

  And before he heard a click, Creed was sure he actually heard the doctor giggling. He tried not to think of Dr. Williams anymore.

  Instead, he focused on what had to be done to get Meg her cure. So, even as he waffled between bouts of guilt and anger and determination, he functioned on autopilot to accomplish the logistics necessary at this point.

  He hurried to his guest house and used his laptop with secured wireless access to arrange for the transport of one very sick girl and her brothers who would surly want to accompany her. Since money was no object to Dr. Williams, Creed had long ago been authorized to spend whatever he had to during his objectives.

  Commissioning a private ambulatory jet from Hawaii to Nuremburg, Germany cost a small fortune. The flight would leave when he wanted it to. He asked for three hours preparation. The pilot was agreeable once he knew of the large cash payment he’d receive.

  Now Alik was standing beside Evan. Evan had one hand on his sister’s gurney and the other hand on her heart monitor stand on wheels.

  “Can I help carry anything?” Alik asked his brother nodding toward Meg and all her equipment.

  “Yeah, actually. I need us to take this portable defibulator and that case of meds. Thanks.” Evan and Alik exchanged a knowing glance. They were both scared out of their minds and doing their level best not to show it.

  “Where’s the serum?” Alik whispered into his brother’s back.

  “It’s in my front left pocket,” he whispered over his shoulder. “Would you rather hold it?”

  “Sure. You have your hands full with Meg and her stuff,” he mumbled.

  They turned to each other and hugged as brothers do so their exchange was unnoticed by anyone in the room. They felt better about Alik holding the serum. Evan was worried he’d lose it and Alik was just glad to feel some importance.

  “The cars are here,” Creed called back in to the house from the front porch.

  “I’m ready to go,” Margo spoke from behind the brothers.

  “What?” the brothers said at the same time.

  “Mom, you’re not going. It’s too dangerous,” Alik said matter-of-factly.

  “Don’t even bother, boys. I’ve been trying for the last two hours to talk her out of this, but her mind’s made up,” Theo sighed.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Alik looked furious.

  “Mom, we have enough to worry about getting Meg and ourselves in and out of there safely. Please don’t add another liability to the equation,” Evan said logically.

  Margo, suddenly looked very small and frail. Her eyes widened and tears began to stream down her tired cheeks. She hadn’t thought about it that way. She wasn’t strong enough to be an asset to her children anymore, at least, not physically, and she would slow them down. The realization struck her like a punch to the gut.

  “Don’t cry mom. It’ll be okay,” Evan wrapped his long arms around his mother and hugged her gently.

  Alik walked to them and enveloped both his brother and his mom in an even bigger hug. “We’ll take care of Meg, mom. We promise. We’ll bring her home to you.”

  The boys walked their mom to a chair and sat her down carefully. Even through her tears the boys could see fierceness in her. The three huddled together for a moment in silent prayer.

  There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as the travelers grabbed their bags and their sister and headed for the waiting cars.

  36 What’s a Guy Gotta Do to Get a Pretzel on this Flight?

  Tearful goodbyes were said as quickly as possible for everyone’s sake. The boys carefully loaded their sister’s gurney into the ambulance. Evan refused to leave her side so he rode in the back with the paramedic who was ordered, in no uncertain terms, not to touch the patient by a very intense looking Evan.

  Alik and Creed slipped into the town car and sat silently for the twenty-minute drive to the airport. Alik kept looking behind them at the ambulance, making sure they were still back there and that everything seemed okay. He couldn’t stop recalling with his perfect clarity the image of his mother, Theo, Paulie, and Cole waving softly and hugging each other as they watched them drive away. Maze obeyed orders to “stay” but was howling his worry after the doors to Meg’s ambulance closed. His mom kept whisking tears away from her cheeks, and Theo kept a protective arm over her shoulder. Paulie, in his own way, was terrified for everyone, but he only stood with his arms crossing his ample belly and nodded encouragingly his farewell.

  Cole was not at all discreet about his frustration at being left behind, again. He stood somewhat separate from the others, hands crammed into his pockets and chewing on his bottom lip. Cole had become even more distant over the last several weeks and Meg’s illness seemed to have pushed him further away.

  Alik recalled the way the palm trees danced in the ocean breeze, and the way Paulie’s house stood happily on the hilltop. He remembered the way his mother’s brown hair whisked into her eyes and how she, without thinking about it, reached up and tucked the errant locks behind her ear with those hardworking hands of hers. He saw Maze’s body tense as he tossed his head back in frustrated howls. He loved his family so much.

  All Alik wanted, more than anything in the world was to have his family healthy and happy and living right here with their friend Paulie on the beach. Alik sighed deeply, so lost in thought he was unaware that he’d made a sound there in the back of the town car.

  “There’s our jet,” Creed said softly as he nodded toward the medium-sized liner parked on the tarmac.

  “It’s larger than I expected,” Alik said, making conversation.

  “It has to be at least that size so it can carry enough fuel to get us stateside. We’ll refuel at LAX.” Creed was very much aware how tense Alik was, so he was really just trying to make idle talk, too. He was also very aware how dangerous this guy could be, especially when he felt his family threatened. He heard stories of what happened back at the Institute. And though Creed thought he could take Alik, he wanted to avoid a battle with him if possible.

  The time was nearly three in the afternoon local time. The pilot stood at the doorway monitoring the lift that was bringing Meg and her gurney up to the special ambulatory door on
the side of the plane. Getting her settled in the plane and properly situated was less difficult than Alik imagined. Everyone was very professional and adept at their jobs. Williams had spared no expense in hiring this team to transport his precious serum and, by proxy, his ill sister. Though Alik was thankful for the smooth transition from Paulie’s laboratory to here, he was maintaining his skepticism. Williams was evil however you try to sugar-coat it. None of this was out of the goodness of his heart. He wanted that serum, and he was getting it.

  Alik settled into a plush, burgundy upholstered passenger’s seat. Creed sat closer to the pilot’s cockpit and Evan was toward the back of the plane, where they had secured Meg’s gurney. He was carefully hanging a new I.V. bag for Meg and discreetly checking her catheter bag that hung below the bed’s mattress. Alik appreciated his brother’s medical knowledge now more than ever. How would he be able to transport their sister safely without his brother’s expert care? They would have had to bring another person, and that would have just complicated things, just as Evan had said to their mom an hour before.

  He smiled affectionately at his brother as they caught each other’s eyes. The three of them had always made one heck of a great team. Meg was the moxie, Evan the logical planner and Alik was the muscle. Without thinking, he whisked a tear away from his eye.

  The pilot came over the intercom with a robotic hissing sound, “Good afternoon, Mr. Young and guests. This is your pilot, Captain Bob Jacobi at your service. Our copilot today is my good buddy, Vince Trainer. It is, uh, three-sixteen local time. The temperature is steady at eighty-one degrees, wind five to ten knots south-south-west, and visibility clear. Please listen carefully as our flight attendant, Missy, reviews the safety features of this aircraft and proper safety protocol.”

  The overhead intercom hissed then went silent before Missy began her spiel at the front of the plane.