Chapter 23 #2
“Infatuation? Does she…do this a lot?” I asked as he shielded a keypad and typed in a code before he opened the door and motioned for me to enter.
“I will not discuss her highness’s personal affairs. If you wish to know it, ask her yourself.”
“Right,” I said, my attention drawn to the silver tube in the center of the room.
The metallic sheen of the silver tube caught the faint overhead light, giving it an almost otherworldly glow. My breath hitched as I approached, the hum of the machinery filling the silence.
My eyes widened as I approached it, completely in awe of what I was seeing. Inside that tube, a man–his lips blue–who should have been dead but instead, looked like he was sleeping peacefully. I checked the information on the panel giving me temperatures and more. Impressive.
I stared down at him, wondering if he had the same dark eyes that Nattie did. I hoped to find out one day when I revived him.
“I’ll, uh, need to see his medical files to assess his injury. And also all of the notes about this process,” I murmured, still mesmerized by what I was seeing.
“Of course. I can show you to doctor’s office the moment you are ready.”
I peered at the tube for a moment longer. “Fascinating,” I whispered as I straighten. “Lead the way.”
The man crossed to another door, typing in another code he refused to let me see before he let me into a spacious office with a large desk. Notebooks filled the shelves behind it.
“You should find His Highness’s medical files in the top drawer of the file cabinet. And the previous doctor’s notes on that shelf.”
“Right. Is it possible to get any coffee? I’m still feeling the effects of whatever Nadia injected into me.”
“Of course, doctor,” Stefan said. “I will leave you here to peruse the files while I retrieve it.”
“Thanks,” I said as the door slammed shut behind him. I crossed to it and jiggled the handle, finding it locked. “Of course.”
These people really trusted me. I went to the file cabinet and pulled out the thick medical file, sinking into the soft, leather desk chair. A quick perusal of it showed a bullet wound with a small piece still close to the spinal cord.
Even if I could pull off the thawing process without killing him, he’d need surgery to ensure that piece of bullet didn’t finish him off.
“Tricky,” I murmured, though my skill as a surgeon made me confident that I could do this. What I wasn’t certain about was the whole thawing thing.
This technology was beyond anything I’d ever seen before. I closed the medical file and tossed it onto the polished wood before I spun to grab a few of the notebooks from the shelf.
Stefan returned with my coffee, and I took a long sip as I dove into the research.
Over an hour later, I was still thoroughly engrossed when the door across the room opened. Nattie and Nadia hurried inside.
“Nattie,” I said with a grin as I shifted my latest notebook onto the desk and rose to greet her.
“Hi,” she said as she crossed to me, kissing my cheek before she glanced at the messy desk, then returned her gaze to me, expectant. “How is it going?”
“This is fascinating,” I said, my eyebrows raising.
Disappointment danced in her eyes for a moment.
“Uh, sorry, I know this is your father. I didn’t mean to make it sound like a science experiment.”
“Well, it rather is, isn’t it, doctor?” Nadia said, crossing her arms.
“Well, but it’s important to Nattie. It’s family.”
Nattie placed a hand on my chest, her eyes searching mine. “Please tell me you can bring him back. Please tell me you can save him.”
“Uhh, well, I’m still reading through this. If I can get the thawing process correct, I know I can remove the bullet fragment. But we have to reverse the freezing process properly.”
“Yes, I understand,” Nattie said. “When can we begin?”
I furrowed my brows. “Oh, uh, I really don’t know.”
She furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I still have a lot to get through. And that’s just a first read. I need to then take some detailed notes. To do some experimenting with the process with something less…precious.”
“How long, doctor?” Nadia asked.
I set my hands my hips, a sigh escaping me. “Uhh, if everything goes well, maybe a few weeks. A few months, if not.”
“Months?” Nattie said, her eyes widening.
I bobbed my head, but from the look on her face, that was the wrong answer. “This isn’t a simple process. And I can’t afford to make a mistake.”
“No,” she said, her voice concealing a sob. “That can’t be. Kyle, we don’t have that kind of time.”
I furrowed my brow. We couldn’t speed things up any more than this. But that didn’t seem acceptable to Nattie or anyone else in the room. Would that be the thing that killed our relationship?
“Doctor, are you saying you cannot pull this off within the next day or so?” Nadia asked, one eyebrow arching high. Her tone seemed calm, but it was laced with a chilling edge.
“No, there’s no way,” I said.
Nadia’s eyes shifted to Nattie, her lips tightening into a thin line. “Then, we have a major problem.”
The finality in her voice sent a shiver down her spine. Whatever was coming next, I wasn’t sure I was ready for it.