And that’s when I snap.
In the medical field, you always hear stories of people taking on almost super-human abilities in crisis situations, like mothers lifting entire cars off their kids after an accident or something. I’d never believed those stories, but that was before that exact moment. Because in that moment, I move faster than I could have ever imagined.
Or Javier, for that matter.
It’s like the whole world except me goes into slow motion as my hand jabs down into my medical bag to the side of my chair. My fingers push through gauze and wrappers and and bandages until they touch cold steel and lock around it. And before my brain can really process what I’m doing, I’m yanking my hand back out of the bag and sinking the surgical blade deep into the side of Javier’s neck.
And that’s when all hell breaks loose.
Javier screams as he clutches at his neck and falls back onto the floor; blood gushing out from his fingers. Both of his goons look frozen to the spot, and just start to scream at him while Logan starts yelling my name.
I’m froze for half a second, drowning in the surging chaos of the moment around me before I stand from my chair.
“STOP!” The room goes silent at my scream. The two goons whirl on me with guns drawn, and Logan strains at his ropes. But for some reason, I’ve never been more focused in my life.
“I’m a doctor,” I say evenly, leveling my gaze at the two men with guns; “And I’ve just cut his artery.” I glance down to Javier, choking and sputtering and holding his neck on the floor; “He has one minutes until he goes under; two before he bleeds out entirely.”
One of the two guards cocks his pistol and my eyes dart to his; “And I’m pretty fucking sure I’m the only one here who knows how to fix that!”
The room goes still like a frozen scene from a movie.
“Untie him, now.” I say, my eyes blazing fire at the two goons. They quickly turn to each other and shrug and I feel my fists clench tight; “Now, motherfuckers!”
One turns and gives me a quick nod before he goes over and and starts to cut away the ropes holding Logan, who looks up at me with this wild grin on his face.
“I like this side of you, Doc.” He mumbles out, grimacing as he tries to grin.
“I’m working on it.” I toss him the cell-phone from my bag; “Now figure out how to call the cops while I save this piece of shit’s life.”
29
Logan
I don’t remember making the phone call at all, but I’m on the floor and barely conscious when they come for us. I’m aware of the flashing lights, the cops with guns drawn, and Javier’s two guys being shoved against a wall and cuffed. Medical personal swarm over Javier, who looks pale lying in a puddle of blood on the floor. But then they’re hooking him up to a respirator and loading him up onto a stretcher, and they’re not covering him with a sheet, so it looks like Quinn actually managed to stop the piece of shit from bleeding out.
I can’t pretend I’d have done the same in her shoes.
I peer up as another group of EMTs start to load me up onto a stretcher of my own. ‘Tallahassee Emergency Medical Response’ is says on the their jackets. I realize I’ve never been to Florida before, and the thought that this is my first trip here has me almost laughing and mumbling something about “beating the lines at Disneyworld” before I realize I might be in way worse shape than I even think I am. The world starts to fade a little at the corners as I trying to cling to consciousness, and suddenly I’m glancing wildly around, trying to look for her.
Quinn.
“Hey, hey; keep still, pal, don’t move aroun-”
“Quinn!” I’m pushing their hands away from me and struggling to sit up before my head swims and I drop back down to the stretcher with a grimace; Quinn.
But then she’s just there, leaning over me as as they wheel me out of the concrete room and into the steaming heat of the night as we wheel towards an ambulance. Her face is tight and there are tears in her eyes as she clutches at my hands.
“I thought we said no hospitals?” I mumble out, trying to grin and hoping it doesn’t look too horrible with the state I’m sure my face is in right then.
But she’s choking out a laugh; “You used up all my band-aids, dummy,” She says, the tears starting to run down her cheeks.
“Hey, hey, I’m gonna be fine you know.” I wince as the stretcher hits the side of the ambulance and the EMT guys lift me up and into the back.
Quinn starts to jump up after me, but one of them stops her; “Ma’am, I’m sorry bu-”
“I’m his Doctor, and I’m coming with him.” Her voice is bold, firm, and demonstrably confident in a way I realize I’ve never actually heard from her before, and the thought makes me smile.