CHAPTER 13

"Help please! We need some help here!"

The pain in the stomach was worse than Samantha had assumed. It kicked in so quickly that they barely had time or capacity to make some decent plan, provided by Sumire tucked in the dark at some safe place. They carried their phones with them, along with the old buttoned one but didn't think it to be a good idea to bring weapons inside a hospital filled with ill and defenseless people; unless they want to scare the people away who are going to treat them and call unnecessary police drama.

"Please! Help us!" Gustavo feebly said, like a newborn puppy.

As soon as they stepped inside the entrance of the hospital four nurses came running with gurneys to take them in. It took everything for Samantha to rip her arm off of Gustavo's shoulder and not to laugh at the ridiculous act they were going to accomplish their mission with. But the pain was there to remind her cheek muscle to stay in place.

"What happened?"

"We were t-tricked! Me and my cousin were trying to get some shit and they poisoned us! They aghh! They f-freaking poisoned... !"

"Do you have any idea what poison is it you have consumed?"

"It's probably Lily of the Valley!"

The oxygen masks were put on their faces when the nurses took them to a different direction. Giving away the name of the poison was not something she had planned before, but it would only have taken them a very long time to figure that out; which they couldn't afford to let them take in the next less that seven hours of darkness remaining on the chest of the city.

Samantha exchanged a last look with Gustavo signing a phone hand gesture from the blind spot of the people surrounding her.

"Ma'am, where are you experiencing the pain?"

"It's everywhere, especially in the upper stomach. Ahhhh!"

She tried to jerk off of the gurney but they forced her down again. The pain was getting worse every minute, ceasing her ability to think clearly and making her want to fast forward time by some miracle and just take the vial from inside her bra, pouring it deep into her throat. She was resistant to common poisons to some extent, so was Gustavo and everyone in the team except little Sumire-chan; Atticus made sure of that, so they had to consume a more that necessary amount of the poison to make it look like a normal poisoning.

"Pupil is responsive. Temperature is a bit high, start on fluids and check abdomen and page cardio! And withdraw blood sample, quick!"

The young doctor, probably in her residency years handled the situation very quick as soon as she entered the room. With the little torch roaming back and forth her eyes and the needle poking inside her veins on her scarred hands, she felt a wave of relief across her stomach as the fluids entered her body. She was hoping with everything they don't question the origin of her scars, especially the ones inflicted by her friend a couple of years ago.

Another doctor with messy hair, probably sleeping in the on call room before he was paged, came running.

"Talk to me Warner!"

"Patient in her mid twenties, arrived poisoned which she mentioned to be Lily of the Valley, responses are okay; claiming pain in upper abdomen and ragged breathes. Temperature is 102°C, BP high 140-100. Just started on fluids and stable so far. Blood sample already sent to the lab."

"Ma'am, can you take a deep breath for me please?" The doctor's blurred image instructed her.

With sweat running down her forehead, Samantha forced her lungs to consume some air with an excruciating pain. Her mind was slipping away thirteen years ago when she was being taught to fight poisons and spent a span of 48 hours inside the pain. She was left alone for the whole time so that she wouldn't scream for help or anything, all for her learning to deal with extraordinary situations like this. Each time they infused a new poison in her blood, she dealt with the symptoms, praying for death every single second; once even hurting herself due to the hallucinations. But gradually she got used to it. To be honest, the only thing that kept her going was the envy she felt when she had heard that Gustavo also had to go through the same before her. If he can do it, she can too.

"Heart is in stress, push epinephrine and diazepam for now. Page me when the lab reports come in." His silhouette turned towards Samantha, "you're gonna be fine ma'am. Just relax and as soon as we come up with the antidote, you'll be totally okay."

The doctors walked outside the chamber and she heard some incoherent mumble about police and social services. She immediately got up straight.

"There's no need for it!"

"Ma'am you need to lie down!" The nurse tried to hold her but she threw her away, not so roughly.

"What's your name?" The male doctor asked, coming back to her.

"Stacy" She groaned.

"Okay Stacy, we just need to make sure if everything is fine with you and your cousin. It's just a couple of questions, nothing else!"

"I know what you're thinking. Look, nghh" , she swallowed hard, "I practice at a dojo since I was a child. My cousin too. These are just fighting scars! We get them. And about the drugs, I can just give you a name. Tuco or something like that; it's our first time trying so we don't know anything about the network or whatever... "

"It's fine. We can talk tomorrow morning about it. Rest for now."

"Dr. Russell, lab report is here!"

With the dizziness Samantha tried to fight off the sedative and listened to them.

"It turns out that she's saying the truth. What about her cousin?"

"It's the same Doctor."

"Good. Start the antidote and if anything occurs page me. The Glycosides are a bit higher in amount in her blood stream."

"Right on sir." The nurse replied and rushed to the pharmacy.

"How did she even learned what she was poisoned with?"

Soon enough, the room was empty and Samantha took the chance to remove the sedative needle from her hand, placing it under the tape to make it look like it was still there and took out the vial from her undergarments. Quickly, she opened the cap and drank the whole thing just before the nurse came back with the small pouch and connected to the drip.

"Wait, how's my cousin?"

"He's doing just fine Stacy. Don't worry."

"Thank you."

Now they just have to wait until the devil's hour approaches.

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A suppressed voice brought Samantha out of her slumber and she shot her eyes open, realizing she had dozed off.

"What the fuck?"

"I could ask you the same. Why weren't you responding to the texts?"

She took her phone out from under the pillow and checked. 13 messages from Gus screaming silently to wake her up and one paragraph from Sumire, about the patients' details in coma.

"Sloppy work Sam, this is no time to sleep."

"I know. I haven't slept in two days. Did anyone see you coming here?"

"No, but we need to be careful though."

It was already 2 in the morning and the lights in the hospital were dimmed. Samantha removed the rest of the vials from her veins carefully and peeked outside of her room. They were on the right side of the corridor and the nurse's station was at the front end of it. The other end led straight to the on call room and then the pharmacy.

'Nice location, unlike the last mission in the Great Sapphire Regency.' Samantha thought.

"Alright, send Sumire your location. She'll disable the CCTV."

"You do it, precious leader sama!" She said with her own precious toothy grin.

"Dude, seriously.... "

The way Gustavo brushed off the slight embarrassment didn't escape her eyes. The pain in the abdomen was gone, leaving only a little high caused by the sedative she consumed earlier, but there was the rush again. The adrenaline was kicking in with every passing second as they were about to start playing on the edge.

A message came in within two minutes and they both smiled. That puny girl is really something!

"Split up. I'm going to the pharmacy, you take the hall. I'll be back with the sedatives in no time but before that, if anything happens text me."

Without further ado, Gustavo picked up the pace and walked away to the certain direction. There was no telling if he was having any problem due to the poison looking at his stance of walking. Tough and unpredictable, as always.

Samantha sighed and looked around cautiously. There was not a single shadow in sight from where she stood. The patient's room were across the hallway opposite to where the nurse's station was. According to the text Sumire sent her, two coma patients were on that floor and one was upstairs. If what they're here for is supposed to happen this night, the culprit must have already infiltrated the hospital just like them. For now she needs to check if the patients are still untouched and then wait to keep a watch for the rest of the night.

She decided to visit the first floor before anything else. Silently she climbed up the shallow stairs that led to directly in front of the desk. A fat old nurse was sleeping soundly on the desk with no idea of the outside world whatsoever and Samantha took the chance to sneak into the patients section, passing through the waiting lobby. Walking past a few rooms, she came across the destined place.

Room no. 106

An old lady was laying on the bed with chest tubes and IV fluids inserted into her body. Samantha tiptoed towards her and watched keenly for a while. She tried to sense if anybody else was there with the conscious and unconscious ones; and when she felt nothing she slowly forwarded her hands towards her abdomen, where her hands were also resting.

Suddenly there was a rustle of fabric and sneaking of shoes behind her; and before she could make a defence stance turning around, her eyes widened as she saw the figure standing in front of her.

"Well hello stranger!"