Chapter 5
Magma
I pack up for the day. I’ll go and get a few hours of shuteye before the borders open at midnight. Grabbing my laptop bag, I walk toward the elevators when my phone starts ringing. In the next heartbeat, several phones start ringing all around me.
Shit!
This can’t be good.
“Magma,” I bark without checking caller ID.
“It’s Reed. We have an incident.”
I sigh, rubbing my eyes. “What happened?”
“A Red shifter crossed the frontline, and your team was forced to take action. He came over at the south coast, low and fast. Our patrol intercepted him but couldn’t get him to turn around, so they brought him down.”
“Did they kill him?”
“Thankfully not, but they injured him quite badly. It was unavoidable. He is unable to shift back into his human form. He is being airlifted by a helicopter on a flatbed to Draig Hospital as we speak. A Code Red has been called.”
“We already signed a peace treaty. This shouldn’t have happened. The borders open at midnight.”
“I’m well aware. We are currently in that gray zone where we still maintain the frontline but are at peace with Mistveil.”
“Our patrol was within their rights to take him down. It had to be done.”
“I know that, but it does put a spanner in the works when it comes to our very infant relationship with our neighbors. I need to inform them of this and to assure them that their citizen will be fine and escorted back as soon as possible.”
“We don’t know that he’ll be fine. It’s too soon for promises like that.”
“And yet, I am going to make them. He’s going to the best facility and will be under our best surgeon. He cannot die,” she says. “Not on the operating table and not by some vigilante or overzealous Draig guard.”
“That’s a tall order, Councilor, but one I am sure Dr. Keller and her team will strive to achieve. I’m assuming you need security on this.”
“Absolutely. I want you there personally to oversee the whole thing.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Take a small detail and keep this quiet. This is a need-to-know situation. I’m in the process of burying this.
It never happened. It’s a false report. The Red is not on our soil.
We don’t need a parade through the hospital.
The Council does not want this on the news.
As far as the Mainland and the public are concerned, this never happened. Are we clear?”
“Yes, of course.”
We end the call.
I’m almost back in the bullpen. Jess is already standing; her eyes narrowed on me.
I wave Flint over as I walk.
Flint comes in at a half-jog.
“Follow me,” I tell him.
“What’s up?” he asks as we enter my office. He closes the door, and we both remain standing.
“A Red crossed the frontline a few minutes ago.”
“Shit!” Flint growls.
I brief him quickly. “You’re on point at the perimeter, and I’ll take the trauma floor. Get me Snare and five of his team, and meet me in the underground parking in five. We’ll take two of the SUVs.”
“Understood.” He’s already backtracking toward the door.
I call Jess in and brief her on the situation. I need someone I can trust here.
“No problem.” She sits at my desk. “I’ll set up here for privacy.”
I nod as I rush out.
We’re in the basement in under four minutes. I take the wheel of the lead SUV. Flint slides in behind the wheel of the second vehicle. Snare and his team jump in three per vehicle, and we’re racing for Draig Hospital.
“This is big,” Snare says. He’s one of my longest-standing captains. We used to fly together back when I was still on the frontline. He was there the day my mate died.
“It is.” I push out a breath.
“Do you think this is an attempt to derail the peace treaty?” Snare asks.
It’s an angle I thought of. “It’s impossible to say. Whether it was or wasn’t, we need to prevent it from becoming an issue.”
It doesn’t take long before we get there. I take us through the rear entrance, and we park. Several males jump out and take the perimeter positions. Flint remains with them.
Everyone has been briefed. They know their duties.
The corridor inside is bright and too quiet. It smells of bleach and disinfectant.
“Snare, you stay with the patient at all times; that includes during surgery and in recovery. I want two guards in here with you and the rest outside the exits and on patrol with Flint. He will take point outside those doors.” I point.
“Got it.”
“I’ve been told I’m in the consult room next to the trauma bay, where I can keep an eye on the floor in case things go to hell.”
“Copy.”
He goes to the trauma bay ahead of me.
I scan the hangar, watching several medical staff prepping a large table. I’m assuming it’s the surgery unit. It’s clear that the patient is due to arrive any minute.
I find the room on my own. The door is open. The lights are on. The whiteboard has been wiped clean, although there’s a faint shadow of old marker still on it. A phone sits on the desk with a code on a pad next to it. A second chair has been dragged in from somewhere.
The door opens behind me.
“Hi, Magma.”
I turn, and it’s Carla.
She’s in the same suit she had on this afternoon, but the jacket is gone, and the sleeves of her blouse are pushed up. Her ponytail is looser than it was. There are smudges of mascara under her eyes, and that’s all that’s left of her makeup.
She has an iPad in one hand and her cell phone in the other.
“Evening, Carla.”
“I’m sure you didn’t expect to see me again so soon.” Before I can answer, she continues. “I’ve set this room up for you. The phone is connected to an outside line. The Wi-Fi password is taped to the wall by the desk. If you need a second handset, I can get one from the admin floor.”
“This is fine. Thank you.”
“Robyn will brief you the moment she’s out of the helipad. The Red is on the way down now. The chopper landed about a minute ago.”
“What’s the timing on surgery?”
“Less than ten minutes. They’re prepping the bay.”
“I saw that.” I nod once.
She goes to the desk and puts the clipboards down.
She gestures to a stack of clipboards on the table.
“These are for your guards. Sign-in sheets, shift handover, incident logs. Standard hospital protocol. The Council has asked for everything to be documented to the minute. They’re going to want a paper trail on this one, even though it’s strictly confidential. ”
“No problem.” I pick up the top clipboard and flip through it. “I’ll sort this out.”
“Is there anything else you need?” she asks.
“Perhaps coffee for the team. There are eight of us, including me. We’re all off the day shift, and it looks like we’re going to be pulling an all-nighter.”
“Done. I could do with a cup myself.”
“And I’ll need a list of everyone on shift tonight with access to the trauma floor. I need to make sure everyone is properly debriefed when this is over.”
“I have it ready. I’ll bring it in with the coffee.”
“Perfect.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I start setting up. It isn’t long before Carla is back, this time with a tray of mugs and a printout. She puts the tray down, hands me the printout, and waits.
I scan the list. She’s flagged two locums brought in this afternoon and attached their vetting paperwork. She’s added her own cell number at the top.
“Is this everyone with access to the trauma floor between now and six in the morning?”
“Yes, it’s everyone including cleaners and the porters.”
“No porters or cleaners are permitted to stay on the floor.” I shake my head. “Essential staff only. The fewer people who know about this, the better.”
“Understood.”
“Where will you be once we’re done here?” I ask her.
“I would normally be at my desk on the admin floor, but Dr. Keller has asked me to set up in the hangar to tackle anything that arises. I’m just outside.” She gestures to the door.
“That’s a good call.”
“I’ll be at my desk if you need me,” she says as she leaves.
I walk out into the hangar and start pacing.
It doesn’t take long before the doors of the trauma bay open, and the shifter is wheeled in. Dr. Keller is at the head, wearing scrubs. There is a smear of blood across her sleeve.
I walk over there.
“Stand back!” she yells.
I don’t walk any closer. “And? How is he?”
“I’ll know more once I open him up, but he’s pretty bad. It’s a fifty-fifty chance he makes it.”
“He can’t die.”
“I’m not God, Magma. I know the ramifications and all I can do is my best.”
I nod. “Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it.” She runs to catch up. Snare and the two assigned guards are there too, keeping a safe distance. The swing doors thump closed behind them.
I realize that Carla is standing next to me, a frown marring her forehead.
“If anyone can save him, it’s Doc Keller,” she says, her eyes still on the swing doors.
“I hope so,” I say.
Carla starts back toward her desk, which has been placed to the side and away from all the activity.
Then the front entrance buzzes open.
Flint comes through it. Hair damp at the temples, and a radio in one hand. He sees Carla halfway down the corridor and his face changes. His eyes brighten, and he smiles.
She smiles back. It’s shy and sweet. She gives him a little wave.
He winks and then jogs over to me.
“The perimeter is set,” he says. “Two on the back entrance, one at reception, one on the helipad stairwell. Snare’s men have the operating bay covered.”
“Good.”
“What’s the word on the Red?”
“It’s touch and go.”
“Shit. I’d better get back out there.”
He glances at Carla, who has her head down. She’s working on the iPad. Then he heads back out. I go to my makeshift office. I need to make sure that we’re all set to move the frontline at midnight.
I need to brief my captains to ensure that we are all ready for what could be coming our way.
This Red is not a good start.