Page 9 of Thor
“So, how’s the other guy?”he joked.
“One dead, one ran away.”
A startled look replaced the easy smile.“Two against one?You’re lucky to be here.”Unwinding a stethoscope from around his neck, he continued his exam.A few minutes later, he straightened up.“You are lucky.The knife missed your aorta by about half an inch, and any other major organs as well.It left a nasty gash though and we can’t know how dirty the weapon was, so I’m going to clean it out and then stitch it up.I’ll numb the area first.”He addressed Janet, jerking his chin toward the waiting room.“You can wait out there.The nurse will let you know when we’re done.”
Before she could react, I reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back to my side.“She stays.”
The doctor shook his head.“This will be messy, and we may need to restrain you.It’s best if your friend isn’t present.”
I narrowed my eyes.“No.She stays.I’m sure she’s seen worse.”
The idiot actually softened his voice like he thought he was talking to someone missing a few brain cells.“I’m sure she has, but she knows you, and people don’t react well to seeing someone they care about in pain, even if it’s necessary.”
I started to sit up.“She goes and I go with her.”
“You’re wounded.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”I pressed down on the bandage on the wound and swung my legs over the side of the bed.
“Fine.”The doctor scowled at Janet.“But if you get in the way, I’m getting security to haul your ass out of here.”
That pissed me off.No one talked to my woman like that.“Touch one hair on her head, and I’ll personally make sure you know why one of those guys is in the morgue.”
The doctor turned on his heel and walked out without a word.
I looked at Janet, who shrugged like it was no big deal, but I could see that worried little crease on her forehead.Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut, but that wasn’t something I was good at.
The doctor returned moments later, followed by a nurse pushing a cart neatly covered with what appeared to be a dish towel.You know, those big white ones they use if you have to wash the damn plates by hand.She gave me what I assumed was supposed to be a comforting smile.She greeted Janet before turning to me.“Hi there.My name is Samantha.Janet can tell you I’m the best nurse in the hospital.Just relax, and we’ll try to make this as painless as possible.”
Ignoring Janet completely, the doctor glared at me.His bedside manner wasn’t nearly as good as the nurse.“Lie down and behave.”
I looked over at Janet, and she gave me a slight nod of her head, so I did as I was told.This was her turf, and I didn’t want to cause her any grief.
The doctor and the nurse conversed in hushed tones over the towel covered cart.The nurse removed the towel and picked up something.She turned, and I could see the big fucking needle in her hands.I wasn’t sure if that smile was reassuring or evil.I took a deep breath and gritted my teeth.
The whole thing went as well as could be expected.I wasn’t good at lying still and letting people manhandle me.Went against everything I fucking believed.Yeah, the needle was to numb the area, but it only worked after they finished playing with the fucking thing.Once that took hold, the doctor kept up a running conversation while he worked.I didn’t think he was expecting me to answer so I let him ramble on.He used a needle and a synthetic thread instead of staples which were more common these days, explaining what he did and why as he worked.He was old school and thought stitches healed better with less chance of infection than staples.I didn’t care what he used as long as we got this over with.Once he was done, he warned me to take it easy and left the nurse to bandage me up and clean up the mess.
She’d just finished when there was a commotion in the lobby and Ace came in, followed by Daryl, the club lawyer.The nurse packed up her little trolley and left the room.Janet was back at my side, and after a piercing appraisal of my condition, Ace turned to her.“Do you mind letting us have a few minutes alone with this idiot?”
Janet gave my hand a squeeze.“Sure.I’ll just go check to see what the doctor put on his chart.”She’d been around the club long enough to know we didn’t discuss business in front of anyone not a patched-in member, and that included our old ladies or girlfriends.
After Janet left, I told Ace and Daryl how things had gone down.Daryl made notes in a little pad he kept on him.Most guys would use their phone and record stuff these days, but Daryl didn’t trust technology for that kind of thing.“They can hack just about anything, “he’d told me once, “but they can’t hack a pad of paper jammed in your pocket.”
“Self-defense.”Ace’s mouth formed a grim line.“It sounds like someone has it in for you.”
“Any witnesses?Camera footage from the pub, maybe?”That was Daryl, into proof mode.
I shrugged, wincing as the movement pulled at the stitches.Freezing sure didn’t last long.“The girl was in on it, so not likely any help there even if we knew how to find her.Not sure about cameras.It would be nice, but you’ll have to go ask them.I was too fucking busy trying to stay alive to check for entertainment systems.”
Daryl scribbled some more notes.“The cops are going to want to talk to you.Dead bodies make more work for them, and they don’t like that.”
“They were here already, but Janet threw them out before they got anywhere near me.”
“Good for her.”Ace narrowed his eyes and turned to Daryl.“Can you set up a time for them to interview him?At the clubhouse would be great, but I doubt they’ll agree to that.”
“No problem.These things always go better when we control them.”He eyed the bulky bandage on my torso.“If they keep Rambo here in hospital, we can do it once he’s in a room.Nice neutral ground.If not, I’ll make a point of you and I both being there.Play up the wounded victim thing.They’ve already talked to Joker, but he wasn’t there until after the fact.”
“It’s Thor, not Rambo,” I muttered.
