51
I am the new one
Andrey
I arrived at the hospital feeling unsettled.
I had no fucking idea when the shift change was, but it had to be soon.
As I was driving, I turned on the listening device. I heard what seemed to be the end of a conversation. At first, I couldn't piece together who Irene was talking to; I thought it was Yuri, but it wasn't.
The topic of conversation was a poorly treated wound, it was an infection, and someone had been taken to the hospital where Aleksa was. A few sentences later, the mystery was solved. My boss's brother offered to accompany her and take the opportunity to go up to see his sister. The redhead's role would be to distract someone in the cafeteria.
It had to be Nikita, what had happened to my boss? All my alarms went off. I was several minutes ahead of them, and at the pace I was stepping on the accelerator, I planned to gain more, enough to alert R and save Aleksa.
From what I had heard, my boss's life was not in danger; they were going to move her to a room, but the life of the man I loved was.
I shifted into sixth gear with that affirmation buzzing in my head. If they heard my thoughts in Russia, I would be dead. In my country, homosexuality was not accepted. Parents rejected their children, shunning them like lepers. There was no same-sex marriage, and having a child with my condition was one of the worst disgraces that could happen to parents. Few dared to come out and publicly acknowledge they were gay or lesbian. Those who did risked ostracism and daily beatings.
It was better not to talk, to be discreet, and to try not to get caught enjoying your deviation. Fortunately, I was always good at that.
As soon as I crossed the access doors, I headed straight for the stairs, not wasting time with the elevator. I flew up them until I reached the ICU floor. The measures implemented during the COVID protocol turned doctors and nurses into masked heroes.
Behind the masks, glasses, shields, and uniforms, you could hardly recognize these people on the street.
I needed to get one of those outfits to get in there without raising suspicion.
Visiting hours were over, so I had to sneak in. There was no one in the hallway, so I ventured in, trying to avoid any of the busy professionals noticing my presence, when I bumped into a nurse coming out of a door.
I couldn't avoid her.
"What are you doing here? Visiting hours ended a few hours ago."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't make it in time, my plane just landed and..."
"Well, I'm sorry for you, but the protocol is the same for everyone. I'll walk you out, you can visit whoever it is starting at ten tomorrows."
"Could you please make an exception?" I insisted.
"No, I'm sorry."
It was better if she escorted me out and then I could come back in.
"You do important work." I pointed inside the ICU. She looked annoyed.
"Yes," she replied, starting to walk.
"You can see the exhaustion in their eyes, do they work many hours?"
She looked inside the fishbowl, where a clock was prominently displayed on the side wall. I had noticed that Aleksa seemed to be fine, which relaxed me a bit.
"Too many. Many of them are working double shifts, the staff shortage is evident. We've asked the administration for more doctors and nurses, but you see... Fortunately, in five minutes, it's shift change time.
"Being a healthcare worker today sucks, it's no wonder most want to go abroad. Shitty wages and staff shortages, if it weren't for the fact that many of us are vocational, there'd be no one left here.
"Please, come with me."
The nurse wanted to make sure I left. I walked slowly beside her.
"Don't they rest at all? On TV shows there's always a staff room. Or is that fiction?" When I wanted to, I could get information very subtly. Also, the nurse seemed to like my looks because she was making eyes at me.
"Yes, there's a staff room." She nodded involuntarily towards a door very close to the ICU. "But the mattresses are the worst. They stick into you everywhere, and what happens on them is not like on TV. The best thing is to drink caffeine and rest at home." We had reached the door, which had a transparent window to peek through. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."
"Of course, a pleasure, have a good night, and I'll take your advice, I'll come back in the morning." She nodded, calmer. "Thank you for your work." She gave me a final smile, and I left her sight.
I waited a few seconds. The next time I peeked, there was no sign of her.
Inside the fishbowl, there were quite a few people working. I hadn't seen if Andrey's men were already inside or if, on the contrary, they were going to wait for the shift change, as Yuri suggested. I had four and a half minutes to get one of those nurse uniforms and enter without raising suspicion.
I opened the door and crouched down until I reached the staff rest room. I hoped to find some clothes in there. I opened it quietly and blinked twice at the scene unfolding before my eyes.
Far from resting, on one of the uncomfortable mattresses, a man and a woman were panting accompanied by an intense creaking of springs. The man's ass bounced vigorously while the woman's legs wrapped around his waist. That was what you called taking a nap.
Clothes lay scattered on the floor, very close to the door. It was clear they had been in a hurry to take them off. They were more than entertained in their frolic, so I doubted they would catch me if I hurried.
I crouched down, extended my arm, and pulled towards me everything I could grab, including a pair of clogs that, judging by the size, would be a bit small for me.
That was the least of my worries; I would have walked over burning coals to save Aleksa.
I grabbed the pile of clothes and ducked into a bathroom across the hall.
I had three minutes left. I had two to spare. I put on the nurse's scrubs over my own clothes, slipped on the clogs, and crossed my fingers, hoping I had enough time to enter the ICU and get one of those PPE suits.
The anteroom was empty. So I went to one of the carts and grabbed a mask like the ones they used inside.
"There are two minutes left until the shift change," commented a female voice behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed she wouldn't discover me.
"I'm the kind who prefers to arrive early; it's my first day..." I thought of the name tag the nurse in the hallway wore. "María mentioned that you've been requesting reinforcements for a while and that you're doubling shifts today."
"Are you new? I thought they might have transferred you from another ward... It's true we've been asking for help for a long time."
"Yes. You know how these things go; today, I got the call to join."
"Why didn't they tell me anything?" I shrugged.
"You know how public administration works."
"For once they listen to us, I won't complain. What we lack here is hands. In that cart, you have the PPE. Remember to disinfect your hands well before putting on two pairs of gloves; you can't be too careful with such delicate patients. The pandemic left us with protocols we still follow. I see you've already put on the mask." I nodded. "There you have the goggles, the gown, and the face shield. Have you been in an ICU before?"
"In the war, I don't think there's much difference." I sensed a smile under her mask.
"Military nurse?"
"Exactly. Russian father and Spanish mother," I made up.
"Great, you're made of different stuff. Come on, let's get to it, I have a lot to tell you. When you're ready, look for me, I'm Catalina."
"Igor."
"Nice to meet you, I'll be waiting inside. Welcome to the team."
With all the clothes I had on, it would be hard to reach my weapon if they attacked Aleksa. I had to get whatever I could inside to defend us.
A group of doctors and nurses passed by as I entered the bed area. You could tell they were eager for a well-deserved rest.
There was quite a commotion in the hallway; I didn't want to peek because I guessed the bed-wrecker had realized his clothes were stolen.
Luckily, Catalina took a different path from where Aleksa was.
When I turned my gaze to where my intubated man was, two unusually tall men caught my attention.
One was almost my height, the other, ten centimeters shorter but quite strong. Those two weren't there when I checked the room with María.
They were approaching Aleksa. I looked them up and down again. Those couldn't be healthcare workers, especially not with that footwear. Hadn't anyone noticed?
I glanced around. I took a pair of sharp scissors from an instrument tray and grabbed a wheeled crash cart.
Upon hearing a word in Russian, I knew I had to attack. They were already close to Aleksa's bed.
I jumped like a predator and stabbed the scissors precisely between the C1-C2 vertebrae. A precise and deep puncture usually resulted in the loss of involuntary movements, like breathing. Yuri's man collapsed to the floor, needing air that wouldn't come. The taller one turned around in surprise. I saw the glint of his weapon in his right hand, and he received a kick to the wrist before he could shoot me. It flew several meters away.
The man growled and grabbed his hand. The crack I heard indicated a broken ulna or radius. Despite the pain, he lunged at me.
I hid behind the crash cart with one thing in mind.
In the army, I learned to use a defibrillator. Receiving an electric shock was just what that bastard needed. I raised the paddles to maximum power and fried that pig, who fell to the floor.
"What is happening?" Catalina's voice slapped my back. She screamed upon seeing the scissors protruding from the short Russian's neck and the pool of blood soaking his lifeless body. "I'm calling security!" she screamed, terrified. I wasn't going to chase her, not without finishing the job. Her threat wouldn't stop me.
I ran to where the weapon had fallen, and as soon as I had it in hand, I turned back to where Yuri's second worker had collapsed. Unfortunately, he was no longer there.
Where the hell had he gone?
Screams from the area where I had put on the PPE set off all my alarms. The Russian ran out like a damn coward in front of the fishbowl, knocking over María, who was returning with her clipboard.
I didn't think. I aimed and fired.