Chapter 18 The Crucial Clues #2
“They’re on their way,” Steven confirmed to Erica as she moved towards the emergency entrance doorway.
“Darren said he was drawing blood samples on the way, so it gives us a huge advantage here in finding out what is going on. It doesn’t make sense that he would collapse and have the vitals that Darren mentioned unless he was reacting to that Opioid pain reliever we invented again. ”
“WHAT?” Erica nearly shouted. “Reacting to OUR OPIOID?”
“You said that you discovered two vials were missing in your audit yesterday.” Steven kept walking toward the doors as the rest of the team was coming down the hallway at a brisk pace. “And based on how he responded to that medicine before, it sounds like the same thing.”
“Do we have any way to reverse it?” Erica pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. “I can’t let the man I love die because I missed something during my audit,” she said, almost ready to cry, her voice straining to get the last words out.
“We do. I’ll have Tilde grab it when she gets here. It’s like Narcan, but altered toward our Opioid pain medicine,” Steven confirmed. “I’ll have Mary confirm this in our lab as soon as possible.”
“Whatever it takes, Steven. Just save Greg! Please!” Erica pleaded.
“Alright people, look alive. We have a Priority One client inbound. The ambulance is pulling in. Everett, make sure you escort Dr. Mary Swanson Michaels to the Lab as soon as she get’s here.
Gina, ensure you get the blood samples from Dr. Darren Michaels as they bring him in.
You’ll go with Ms. Stamson to the Lab directly to start the testing.
Gary, get the doors jammed open, I want a free clean transit to Trauma Bay One for Greg!
Let’s move it!” Steven directed. The activity was flurried as everyone started performing their assigned tasks while the ambulance was backing up to the doorway.
Erica moved over beside Gina on the righthand side of the inbound hallway.
She waited nervously as the ambulance finished backing in.
The doors burst open and Darren Michaels jumped out with three vials of blood in his hands.
“Give them to Gina!” Steven called loudly, pointing to her.
Darren handed her the vials as they rolled Greg by.
Steven dropped aside the gurney, moving as they headed to Trauma Bay One.
“Oh, GREG!” Erica gasped as he rolled by.
“We’ll get him through,” Darren assured her as he dropped in behind the staff moving Greg. “Just get those tests going. Mary will be here in about thirty seconds,” Darren called over his shoulder as they disappeared.
“I’ve got the blood, Ms. Stamson. Let’s get to the Lab,” Gina called and started running down the hallway toward the Lab. Erica followed, barely staving off the tears that were welling in her eyes.
“You get them in the centrifuge, I’ll set up the slides,” Erica directed as she pushed through the Lab doors. She wiped the stinging tears from her eyes as she moved to get the slides ready by the microscope. “God I hope Mary gets here soon.”
“Did someone call my name?” Mary asked as she was entering the Lab behind Everett. “Erica?!”
“Mary,” she called back through her soft sobs. “We’ve got the blood. Gina is running it in the centrifuge now.”
“Excellent. How many slides do you have ready?” Mary queried as she put on the lab-coat.
“I’ve got six, and Gina has the test tubes ready to run chemical analysis. The Mass-Spectrometer is online, ready to go.” Erica looked at Mary with pleading eyes.
“Good work, Erica. Gina, how much longer?”
“It’s ready now, Doctor Michaels,” Gina called back.
“Alright, get sample one to Erica, while I grab sample two for the Mass-Spec and you can start running the full gambit of chemical interactions testing.” Mary moved over to grab sample two, and Erica grabbed sample one. “Let’s go ladies. Greg’s life may depend on us right now.”
“Greg! Can you hear me?” Steven called as he shined a light into Greg’s eyes.
“Pupils are reactive but,,,” he began and looked over at Darren.
“His eyes are hollow, distant and dim,” he continued.
“Arabella, go tell the Lab to check for Neratuna, it’s the only thing I can think of that might cause this kind of reaction. ”
“On my way Dr. Sanderson!” Arabella called and raced out of Trauma Bay One.
“What are you thinking?" Darren asked Steven.
“I didn’t do four hours of surgery with you on this man after the drive by just to have him die from my own pain medication!” he nearly shouted. “That’s the same reaction that Greta reported that first night he went home.”
“Did someone call my name?” Greta said as she and Tilde rushed into the room.
“Greta Daniels! Outstanding! Come look at Greg’s eyes, and tell me what you see!” Steven demanded. Greta moved in and observed how Greg’s eyes were responding.
“That’s exactly what they did on that long terrible night,” she confirmed.
“Darren, give him four cc’s of antitox, in the second cabinet there, on the right. We made this after all that work we did last year for Greg,” Steven directed. “Tilde, check his feet for response. I need to know if the nervous system has been affected.”
“On it Doctor!” Tilde replied as she jumped into action.
“I’ll take the other side!” Greta announced and they both started checking muscle stimuli responses from the feet upwards.
“He’s reactive, but sluggish on the left side,” Tilde stated.
“Same on the right side,” Greta confirmed.
“Steven, his vitals are stabilizing,” Darren confirmed as the last of the four cc’s of antitox went into his IV. “His breathing is leveling out, and his heart rate and blood pressure are coming back.”
“Good. GREG! Can you hear me?” Steven called again. Greg didn’t respond. “Okay, people, we’ve got a stable patient. Let’s move him to room one-o-two please.” They moved like a platoon storming the beaches as they gathered everything to reposition Greg to another room. “Let’s go!”
“Hello?” Darren said into his cell phone as they moved Greg down the hall.
“WHAT?!” Darren yelled out as they turned the gurney into the room.
“You have to get us that information ASAP David! Greg’s life might depend on that!
” he loudly stated as the team situated the bed in the room.
“Yes, as soon as you can. Get it to me, Steven and Mary!”
“What is it Darren?!” Steven demanded
“There’s new information that Keith and Brick Stanton uncovered about Greg being targeted by ‘The Family’ at the reception,” Darren replied with deep concern. “This wasn’t just exhaustion or a reaction to medication. They were trying to assassinate Greg because of his ties to the Tashugi family.”
“Are you kidding me?” Greta interjected. “Does that mean Thomas could be in danger too?”
“I don’t know, Greta,” Darren replied with a soft voice. “David’s got to get the information from Keith so he can get it to us. Apparently they are on their way to a safehouse.”
“What in the hell is going on here?!” Steven demanded again. “Are you telling me that the Mafia have a hit out on Greg?”
“Yeah, over that same family they tried to take out in the drive by last year,” Darren confirmed.
“Greg paid for the security that protected them, so now they are targeting him.” The room went completely silent except for the monitors that were beeping.
“We need to find out what they’ve done, because I don’t think they used the Neratuna alone.
If they had, the antitox would have already worked, Steven.
We need to know more about what he received. ”
“Veronica?” Bill called, but she just stood there in a daze watching down the street where Greg had just been taken away in the ambulance. Carry was frozen beside her, also staring down the same street. “Miss LaFayette?” he called again as he got closer. She still didn’t respond.
“Miss LaFayette?” Alice called as they closed the distance and were only about ten yards away now. There still was no reaction. “Miss LaFayette? Veronica?”
“Huh?” she said, shaken in place. Slowly she turned toward the voice that had pulled her back. “I’m sorry, did someone say my name?”
“Yes,” Bill replied firmly as they arrived beside her. “Are you alright?”
“Um, I’m alright, I think,” she said placing her left hand on Carry’s left shoulder without thinking about it, just trying to steady herself.
“NO!” Carry shouted. “WE’RE NOT OK!” She crumpled to the ground and started crying profusely.
It triggered Veronica who started to sob at first, then burst into tears.
Bill didn’t hesitate to wrap her in his arms to console her, while Alice moved to try to assist Carry.
“GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!” she screamed with all the effort she had left then curled into a fetal position, bawling so hard that Tessa heard her over the conversation David was having with Darren on the phone.
Tessa realized what was going on and rushed to her side.
She dropped down on the ground beside her and gently soothed her with long strokes of her arm.
Carry lay there in the fetal position weeping.
“Carry,” Tessa softly called. “I’m right here for you.
Greg’s going to be fine, trust Darren, Steven and Mary.
They’ll make him all better,” she said with confidence building in her voice as much for herself as for Carry.
Bill slowly released Veronica, then turned to hold Alice as Veronica knelt down beside Carry.
“Carry, he’s going to be fine. You know him as well as I do.
He’s a fighter and stronger than anyone else I’ve ever known.
We need to believe this, because any other concept is too much for me to bear.
” She lightly stroked Carry’s shoulder. “I need you to believe this as much as I believe this.” Carry began to slow her sobbing, sucking in deep breaths.
“I need you Carry, as much as you need me.”
“Really?” she muttered out through wet sobs. “You need me?”
“Yes, Carry. I need you because Greg needs you. Please, stand with me.”