Chapter 4
Carla
The hospital is in full preparation mode by the time I get back from lunch.
I take the stairs to the admin floor because the elevators are all tied up with maintenance running new signage and pulling old posters down.
Treaty information is going up on every wall.
I pass two nurses heading the other way with armfuls of laminated protocol sheets.
They give me a quick “hey” and keep moving.
Robyn is in her office on the phone. She gestures for me to come in and points at the chair across from her desk. I sit and pull out my tablet.
“Yes,” she says into the phone. “I understand. No, we’ll be ready. I have the staffing draft on my desk.” She rolls her eyes at me. “I’ll send it through within the hour.”
She hangs up.
“Was that the Council?” I ask.
“You guessed it.” She sighs. “We have the new SOPs. They just came in. I need you to go through them with me, then we need to start cascading the information to the department heads. I want everyone briefed before they leave today. And then I want the night shift briefed before you go.” She winces because it will mean I have to work later than normal.
“On it.”
She slides a printed copy across the desk. “Here you go. I emailed you a copy, as well. Take a look and let me know if you have any questions. We also need to draft proposed changes and get them back to Reed before the end of business.”
I read the document.
The new protocols regarding the Reds are extensive.
The expected casualty rate is what really stops me, though. I whistle low.
“To think we were worried about cutbacks.”
“How are we supposed to scale up by midnight tonight?” I ask.
“We’re not. We’re scaling up over the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours and then recruiting more staff from the Mainland on a contractual basis. They’re not expecting any large numbers to cross the border at first.”
“That doesn’t mean they won’t,” I tell her.
“We’ll have to wait and see.”
I’m already making notes. “I’ll get the on-call list sorted. We’ll need to pull from the locum pool too.”
“Yes. And I want every senior nurse in here by four for a briefing. I’ll do surgical and emergency separately at five and six.”
We go back and forth for the next ten minutes. I jot everything down, ready for action.
She rubs her face with both hands. “Carla, I know it’s a lot.”
“I’m fine. I’ll handle it.”
“I know you will. That’s why I’m dumping it all on you.”
“Dump away.”
She gives me a tired smile. “Go. I have surgeons to wrangle.”
I leave her office and practically jog back to my desk. The next two hours pass in a blur as I run through the list I just made.
I’m halfway through reformatting the cascade memo for the department heads when my phone buzzes in my pocket.
I almost ignore it.
Then I pull it out and see Flint’s name on the screen.
I stop typing, and my eyes go wide; my heart rate picks up a few notches.
I sit back in my chair. The hospital noise around me does not actually quiet down, but it feels like it does for a second.
Hey, Carla. Magma told me you came by today. I’m sorry I missed you. I’m really glad you stopped in. Things are insane here right now – the treaty has us slammed – but I’d love to see you. Coffee soon? I’ll be in touch as soon as I can come up for air. Flint.
I read it twice.
Before I can stop myself, I smile, biting down on my lip. He wants to see me again. The woman at the desk opposite mine looks over, raises an eyebrow at me, and I duck my head behind my computer like a teenager.
I consider waiting before replying and then decide that I’m too old for games and tap out a reply.
Hi, Flint. I probably should have called instead of popping by unannounced. We’re slammed here too, with all the treaty prep. Coffee sounds great. We’ll talk soon. Carla.
I read it back, decide it sounds normal and not desperate, and send it.
I put my phone face-down on the desk and force myself back to the memo.
The rest of the afternoon disappears under a pile of tasks. Robyn does the senior nurse briefing at four. I sit in to take notes. Then there’s the surgical briefing at five. By the time we wrap, I have ticked off almost everything from my list. The last two items will hold until morning.
I’m exhausted. It’s seven. I’ve been here for twelve hours excluding my lunch break, where I didn’t actually take a break.
I’m just packing up my things when the overhead intercom crackles to life.
“Code Red. Incoming. Code Red. Incoming. All available trauma staff to the hangar.”
I freeze.
Code Red means a critical dragon shifter is being airlifted in.
The frontlines have been quiet for days.
Most minor shifter injuries are handled at the smaller clinics.
A Code Red means something serious enough that they’re skipping the clinic level entirely.
Perhaps one of the dragons got injured in training.
That’s rare. We had one last week. We normally only get a couple of those a year. It can’t be another one so soon…surely.
I drop my bag back on my chair and head for Robyn’s office at a fast walk.
She’s already coming out, white coat flying behind her, iPad in hand.
“What is it?” I ask, falling in beside her.
“They haven’t told me yet. The call came in two minutes ago. A chopper is six minutes out.”
“From where?”
“From the south coast.”
“The one that faces Mistveil?”
“The very same,” she tells me.
“Do you think it’s someone from the frontline? Surely not.” I shake my head. “The peace treaty has been signed. We aren’t at war anymore. The borders are supposed to open tonight. If a Red was injured by one of our guys, that could mean the end of the ceasefire.”
Just then, Robyn’s cell starts ringing.
“This is Dr. Keller,” she says, her eyes on me. “Yes…yes…okay.” She makes a noise of agreement. “I understand. Yes…I got it, Councilor. I will do.” She ends the call.
“What?” I ask, my eyes wide.
“It’s a Red.”
“Ohhh shit. A Red is coming here now?” I say in a shrill voice. “We’ve never treated a Red before. This is a nightmare.”
We’ve never treated one because they are killed outright if they try to cross the frontline. That’s obviously changed with the peace treaty now in place.
“Shhhhhhh.” She puts a finger over her lips.
“A Red Dragon got a little overzealous about the borders opening and tried to cross the frontline early. When our guys tried to stop him, he made a run for it, and they took him down. In light of the treaty, they didn’t kill him like they normally would, but he is injured. ”
And there it is. I was right.
“How bad is it?”
“Bad enough that he can’t shift back into human form.
This could destroy all of the negotiation efforts.
We’ve been asked to treat him…quietly. I want only emergency personnel in the hangar.
They are all to be briefed on the delicate nature of this situation.
Draig Island cannot know about this, or it’ll become headline news. ”
“Holy shit,” I whisper.
“Holy shit is right. Get the area cleared while I brief my staff. Security Central has been notified.”
My stomach does a small, slow flip.
“Are they sending a detail?”
“They’re sending Magma to man a team himself. The Council is watching our every move. Word of this cannot get out, Carla. Security is going to set up a perimeter team as well as put guards in place to watch the Red.”
Crap!
“You good?”
“I’m good. I’ll set up the lockdown room and brief Donna at the front desk. Where do you want Magma to base himself?”
“The empty consult room next to the trauma bay in the hangar. He’ll need a desk and a phone. I need you here tonight. I can’t trust this with anyone else. We’ll lock down the hangar, and you need to be our access to the outside.”
“On it.”
She squeezes my arm once as she pushes through the doors to the stairwell, heading for the roof.
I sigh and then get moving.