Chapter 5: The Midnight Extraction
The digital clock on the nurses' station flashed 2:00 AM when the emergency page sounded through the corridor speakers: Code Blue, Room 412. Code Blue, Room 412.
I froze at the medication cart. Before I could even turn around, two unfamiliar orderlings in green surgical scrubs pushed past me down the hallway, wheeling a portable gurney directly toward Cole’s room. Officer Miller stood up from his desk down the hall, looking confused as the orderlies flashed a laminated transfer authorization form.
"Doctor's orders," the lead orderly barked at Miller. "Patient Montgomery is being relocated to the secure basement diagnostic wing for emergency imaging."
I didn't wait for Miller to check the paperwork. I knew as well as Miller did that St. Jude Memorial didn't have a secure basement diagnostic wing.
I slipped into Room 412 just as the two orderlies reached the bed, grabbing the sides of Cole's mattress to slide him onto their gurney. The mastiff was already on its feet, letting out a ferocious, guttural snarl that caused the lead orderly to stumble backward.
"Get that damn dog out of here!" the orderly hissed, reaching inside his green tunic. I caught the unmistakable glint of a silenced firearm tucked into his waistband.
"Hold it right there!" I shouted, stepping between the gunman and the bed, my stethoscope swinging from my neck. "That transfer order is unverified. Officer Miller!" I screamed toward the hallway, my voice cutting through the ambient hum of the hospital monitors.
Heavy boots pounded down the linoleum as Officer Miller appeared in the doorway, his service weapon drawn and leveled at the two fake orderlies. "Hands on the wall. Right now. Both of you."
The orderlies exchanged a quick, calculating glance, realized they were caught, and bolted toward the service stairwell at the end of the hall, dropping their paperwork across the floor.
Miller lowered his gun slightly, staring at me with wide eyes. "What the hell is going on here, Vance?"
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"They aren't transferring him, Miller. They're silencing him," I said, my voice trembling with adrenaline as I slipped the micro-SD card deeper into the pocket of my scrubs. I looked down at Cole, who was struggling to sit up despite his bandaged chest, and then at the massive brindle mastiff standing steadfastly by his side. "And if we stay in this hospital another ten minutes, none of us are walking out alive."
Miller looked down the empty corridor, then back at Cole, his jaw clenching as the weight of the conspiracy finally settled over him. He clicked the safety of his sidearm back into place and nodded once toward the service exit. "The loading dock elevator is clear. Move."
