Chapter 6: Flight Through the Grey Rain
The midnight rain slicked the asphalt of the St. Jude Memorial loading dock as Officer Miller backed his cruiser up to the freight bay. The metal door rattled in the wind, a loud metallic clatter that felt entirely too exposed in the quiet city night. I kept one hand on the edge of the gurney while Cole leaned heavily against the back seat, his face pale under the harsh amber security lights. The big brindle mastiff climbed into the footwell with surprising agility, settling its heavy head across Cole’s knees like a weighted anchor. Miller slammed the cruiser trunk shut, his breath pluming in the cool air as he hurried around to the driver's side and killed the dome light.
"We have twenty minutes before the next security shift change notices the missing terminal logs," Miller said, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel and threw the transmission into drive. The tires spun briefly on the wet concrete before catching traction, spitting gravel against the loading bay wall as we surged out onto the county highway. I twisted around in the front passenger seat, checking the rearview mirror for headlights, but the hospital access road remained dark and empty. Cole let out a low groan, his fingers clutching the side of his leather jacket where the micro-SD card rested safely inside my stethoscope tubing.
"Where are we heading, Miller?" I asked, keeping my voice low to avoid startling the injured man or the vigilant dog.
"My brother's old hunting cabin outside of Clayton County," Miller replied, his eyes darting between the dark road and the rearview mirror. "It's off the grid. No hospital Wi-Fi, no corporate fiber lines, and no security cameras watching the porch."
The cruiser accelerated past the neon signs of the outer bypass, the steady rhythm of the windshield wipers cutting through the sheeting rain. I reached back, letting my fingers brush against the thick fur of the mastiff's neck. The animal let out a deep, rumbling sigh, its warmth grounding me against the swirling panic in my chest. We had crossed an irreversible line back in that hospital room, trading our quiet professional lives for a fugitive's gamble on a lonely stretch of highway.
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"Sterling won't let this go," I murmured, watching the blurred city lights fade into the dark expanse of rural farmland. "He has the entire hospital board in his pocket."
"Then we make sure he can't reach us long enough to find what's on that card," Miller said, his jaw set in a hard line as he steered the vehicle deeper into the downpour.
