Begin The Procedure, OC/Canon fic, Chapter 15
Author's note: Chapter 15 :D It was nearly done last night, but then I realised the ending sucked and rewrote it. OTL Then amideadn0w helped me think of a solution I didn't think of, which was really helpful, so that also leant itself to the need to rewrite it. I only did one rewrite, so hopefully it's good! ^^; Yup, they made a mistake... And don't worry, Nicole isn't going to help them get out of there ;) Anyway, I really hope you guys like it <3 Enjoy!
Chapter 15: Third Sin
Three days passed without much happening at Caduceus. Nicole spent them doing experiments for various research projects within the department - a few even for the shelved Stigma medication, which was unusual. Then again, there had been no sign of activity from the mystery people, so they did what work they could.
On the third day, however, another note arrived. Cynthia was reading it out loud to the rest of the department. “The third day has arrived, and so your third sin will be visited upon you. Man’s lust is another thing that destroys him - whether for power or for women. Judgement draws ever closer - do you really believe what you do is right?”
“Another letter, huh?” Isabella muttered, fiddling with a pen. “And now they’re going to finally release that third sin of theirs...”
“I wouldn’t worry about it, Isabella!” Dr. Cromwell said confidently. “We can certainly cure whatever it is they throw at us, after all, we already did fantastically with Socordia and Avaritia.” His tone was cheerful, despite the bad news the letter implied.
“At least we can prepare ourselves now.” Cynthia said, folding up the note. “Shall I share this with the other departments, sir?”
Dr. Cromwell smiled. “Of course, Cynthia. I figure it’s important that the others know. I’d suggest you share it with the surgical department first though, considering they are the ones directly dealing with it.”
Cynthia nodded. “Okay, I’ll do that now, sir.” She turned and walked out of the department, heading for the surgical department.
“It never ends, does it?” Isabella commented, half to the rest of them and half as a way of voicing her opinion. “Just when we think this madness is over, it keeps going! Well, never mind. We can certainly handle this!”
“That’s the spirit, Isabella!” Dr. Cromwell said proudly, his eyes glinting behind his glasses. “Now, I suggest we get back to work while we wait for responses, everyone.”
There was a general mumble of agreement from everyone, and they set to work as usual. The usual busy, focused atmosphere settled, and that made it a lot easier for everyone to concentrate. Well, it made it easier for Nicole to concentrate. She was still worried, and that had only increased when Cynthia had read out the letter. Had Markus and the others been forced to help with that thing? What if they’d been infected?
No, it was no use thinking like that, and she knew it. Positive thinking, positive thinking... And back to the report on Stigma’s growth patterns. Fascinating. There was a lot of information on the page, written in Cynthia’s tiny handwriting, but Nicole was thankful that Isabella hadn’t written it. Isabella’s handwriting could grow quickly unreadable if she got excited or ran out of patience.
Meanwhile, Cynthia was showing off the note to Dr. Everett and Dr. Tsuji.
“Hm. Yes, it doesn’t sound good, does it?” Dr. Tsuji said seriously as she pushed up her slipping glasses. “Well... If worst comes to worst, anyone from the surgical department can operate along with someone from your own department, Cynthia.”
“Yes, that’s probably the most sensible way to go about it.” Cynthia agreed. “We’re ready in case. I just thought I should inform you so that if this does happen, you two aren’t taken by surprise. I’d better give this to the director anyway.”
“Okay, thank you.” Dr. Tsuji replied. “See you later.”
“See you.”
Dr. Everett sighed. “How can you be so confident about this whole thing, Kanae?”
“I’m not. To be honest, I’m just as nervous as everyone else. But I know I have to be strong, and that’s why I keep going.”
“Wow... Even you get scared sometimes!”
“Shut up!”
Elsewhere, Dr. Angus was paying yet another visit to the kidnapped trio.
“I trust you slept well, you three?”
“What’s your game?” Valerie asked him. “You leave us for days and just expect us to get along with you, you made us operate on Luxuria several times, and now you’re acting like a friend?”
“I just came to check on you, and pass on some news.” Dr. Angus said. His eyes glinted mischievously behind his glasses, and he smiled. “Luxuria’s going out today. So your friends back at HQ are going to get a nice surprise.”
“So you’re already planning to use it on people?”
“Well, you did help me develop it, and it would be a shame to waste it on that.”
“You’re not going to infect people at Caduceus...” Elena whispered. “You aren’t, are you?”
He shrugged as if he wasn’t sure. “Well, I was considering it. But I think I’ll save it for the later strains. And anyway, it’s not like I can do anything about Luxuria now. My boys are already dispersing it among the population of the city.”
“You work fast, huh?” Markus replied.
“Of course. And it’s all thanks to the three of you, really. I couldn’t do it without you. And soon enough I’ll have more help, so not only will you guys not be lonely any more, but SIN will develop faster than ever before!” He laughed. “I know, I know, you’re going to tell me I’m deluded or something. But really, you’ll see.”
Dr. Angus stretched and yawned as if he was bored. “I won’t need anything else from you today, I don’t think, but I’ll be sure to come again later and tell you exactly how it went.” His voice was taunting, and that just seemed to rile Valerie.
“I know exactly how it’ll go! Your stupid virus will be dead, and everything at Caduceus will be fine!” she spat, glaring at him.
“I certainly hope not. That would waste all of your effort now, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah, because we obviously enjoy helping you!”
“Goodbye.” And he closed the door behind him.
“Ugh. I hate him. And I hate the fact that we had to help him!” Valerie groaned, resting her head on her knees.
“It’s okay. I’m sure it won’t be much longer.” Markus said encouragingly.
“That’s what I’d like to think.” She let out a heavy sigh. “And I shouldn’t have lost my temper with him either. He’s probably going to reduce our food rations or something, I don’t know.”
“It’s not your fault, Val. He’s got... a grating attitude.”
“That’s putting it nicely.”
“It’ll be fine, I’m sure. We’ve just got to trust the others.” Markus said, staring at the painting of the old man. “They’ll come for us. And they’ll defeat this guy’s “third sin.” You’ll see.”
“Yeah. We’ll just have to wait.” Valerie replied. She didn’t need to say it - it was obvious she was worried about the outcome of this little game. The other two nodded. Now all they could do was stay there and hope that things turned out okay.
Most of the operations were going well at Caduceus, a lot of them just standard procedures that they typically received. There was a patient with Post-GUILT Syndrome, the Savato type, which everyone thought was going to be the only surprise of the day. As time wore on into early afternoon, they were proven wrong.
The first indication that something was wrong was the panicked arrival of several research department personnel in the surgical department. Though some tried to keep their expressions calm and their voices serious, some of them were looking more nervous than others.
“Well?” Dr. Tsuji finally snapped, losing her patience. “Spit it out! I don’t have all day!”
“We’ve got several patients in a critical condition. There’s a chiral reaction, but it matches no known type of GUILT... and it’s not a reaction to the known types of SIN either.” Isabella explained. “We have to assume it’s that new one - Luxuria.”
“This is serious then. I assume that’s why you came to find me and the others?”
“Yes, we figured that you can handle the patients while we try and figure out how to destroy Luxuria. Dr. Cromwell’s already assigned everyone to a surgeon.”
“Trust Robert to be prepared. So who’s working with who, exactly?”
“I’m working with Dr. Everett, Cynthia’s working with Dr. Smith, Nicole will be working with you, and everyone else has been assigned to any surgeons who aren’t currently working.” Isabella told her. “Dr. Cromwell thought it would be best if Nicole worked with you because you’re one of the more experienced doctors in the department.”
Dr. Tsuji nodded. “I suppose I don’t have any choice. Which room?”
“Number fourteen on the second floor. Good luck, Dr. Tsuji.”
“Thank you, Isabella. Same to you. Dr. Williams, let’s go.”
That business-like tone always made Nicole feel nervous, and she just stood there like a fool while the others hurried off to various operating rooms or to the lift. Dr. Tsuji cleared her throat.
“Are you planning on standing here all day, or are you coming?”
“Y-Yes, Dr. Tsuji! Sorry!”
“Then let’s go!”
The two of them rushed down the corridor and towards the lift. As they were heading up to the second floor, Nicole found herself lost in thought again. Did Markus and the others help those people create this thing...? But almost as soon as she thought that, she dismissed it. The main thing about her friends was that they were good people, and they wouldn’t do something like that.
“Here we are.” Dr. Tsuji said, snapping Nicole out of her reverie. As soon as the doors opened, the two of them headed straight to Operating Room 14. Someone had left the chart behind for them, which made it easy for Nicole to get started with the briefing right away.
“Our first patient is Penelope Reeves, aged 17. It’s assumed that she has Luxuria, due to the fact that the chiral reaction is different from those we’ve encountered before. It’s located in... the heart, and due to this and her low vitals... We have to be careful.” She paused. “Though that almost goes without saying.”
“Of course. We don’t have time to waste, so let’s begin.”
With the incision made, the two viruses were revealed, swimming freely about on the heart.
“So this is what they look like, hmm?” Dr. Tsuji commented. “Interesting.” She looked at Nicole. “You’re in research. What do you think we should do next?”
“W-Well, it looks a bit like that GUILT, Kyriaki... And a little like Cheir as well. Maybe we should try using the laser on it.”
Dr. Tsuji rolled her eyes, but said nothing. “Okay then.”
A blast from the laser on each Luxuria paralysed their movement rather than destroying them, much to the surprise of both the researcher and the surgeon.
“Hm. So it doesn’t exactly kill them... Maybe if I try the scalpel...” Dr. Tsuji said, slicing both Luxuria. The viruses went zipping off to opposite areas of the heart, wriggling in pain as they went. “Ah, the scalpel is what damages it!”
“How did you do that?” Nicole asked, amazed.
“What, decide to use the scalpel? I figured it would work if the laser didn’t. And besides, it’s not like there are many tools to choose from.”
“That’s true. Sorry.”
Before Dr. Tsuji could reply, the two viruses crashed into each other and swam off, leaving lacerations all over the heart and severely dropping the patient’s vitals. She swiftly and calmly sutured them, before turning to Nicole again. “Inject the stabiliser.”
“Okay.” Nicole replied, doing so. She didn’t say anything about the commanding tone of Dr. Tsuji’s voice - in the end it wouldn’t be worth it. The stabiliser brought the patient’s vitals up somewhat, but not enough for her to be safe. “You’ll still need to be careful, Dr. Tsuji. Her vitals won’t go any higher than this.”
“Duly noted. Let’s keep going.”
Another hit from the laser froze the Luxuria for the final time, and Dr. Tsuji quickly sliced at them with the scalpel. The two viruses wriggled in pain and then vanished.
“Chiral reaction... is negative!” Nicole smiled.
“Let’s give the patient a check with the ultrasound, just in case.” Dr. Tsuji said.
A check with the ultrasound showed a couple of tumours, which Dr. Tsuji dealt with soon enough. She sutured and bandaged the incision, and then sighed. “That was... interesting. But at least I have some idea of how that thing works now. The rest of the patients shouldn’t be too bad.”
The other operations varied in difficulty. The second patient was relatively stable, and so his treatment wasn’t too hard. They nearly lost the third patient, and only some quick thinking from Dr. Tsuji saved his life. The fourth was in even worse condition, and they had to revive her several times. The fifth was the most stable out of all of them and so her surgery was simple enough for the two to handle.
“Phew... That was nuts.” Nicole sighed with relief.
“It was certainly interesting, though I’m sure Dr. Cromwell would have been able to tell me what damaged Luxuria without such guesswork. Or at least without voicing his guesswork.” Dr. Tsuji took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “The others should be done by now, let’s head back to the surgical department.”
“Okay...”
By now, it was heading towards late afternoon, with the sunlight reflecting through the wide windows at Caduceus. As they headed back down to the surgical department, Nicole couldn’t help but feel a twinge of annoyance at Dr. Tsuji’s attitude. Even if they didn’t like each other, she did try to help... She tried her best to push the irritation away, with not much success.
When they arrived at the surgical department, everyone was already there and discussing the procedures. Dr. Everett was congratulating Isabella on a job well done, and Dr. Cromwell was discussing the events with another surgeon. The research department members were excitedly chattering away to each other about Luxuria and what they’d just seen, and the other doctors were discussing the patients involved.
“Ah, Dr. Tsuji!” Isabella said, waving to her. “How did the operations go?”
“Perfectly, thank you. There was minor trouble with two of the patients, but otherwise it went off without a hitch.”
“Good to hear!”
“We really did good in there, huh?” Dr. Everett commented, grinning.
“We sure did!” Isabella replied. “I bet whoever is responsible has got to be annoyed with this.”
“You’re probably right.” Nicole said.
Isabella was correct. When William and another operative brought back the news, Dr. Angus was most definitely not happy with the situation.
“What do you mean there were no recorded fatalities?” he asked, his voice cold and dangerous.
“None yet, sir, from Caduceus at least.” William said. The nervousness was evident in his shaking voice. “The patients who were sent to Caduceus all survived... A few at the other hospitals have died, according to Sam.”
Dr. Angus let out a deep sigh. “Well, a minor victory, but a victory nonetheless. We’ll put the next part of the plan into action tonight.”
“Yes sir.”
“In the meantime, I’m going to pay a visit to the doctors. Excuse me.”
They followed him out of the room, and then headed down the corridor in the opposite direction. When he arrived at the room, he hurriedly typed in the code and entered.
“Oh good, you again.” Markus said, looking unimpressed. “Come to give us the news?”
“Of course. There were a few fatalities...” Dr. Angus told him, watching him and the others tense up with shock before continuing. “But none at your precious hospital. Apparently your doctors are more talented than I took into consideration.”
“See? I told you so!” Valerie said. Her dark brown eyes were bright with relief and satisfaction. “Your stupid virus isn’t as great as you think it is!”
“Mmm, maybe not this strain. But you forget that there are still four others waiting to be developed and released. And of course, there’s the matter of help, which I’ll be seeking tonight. So you can look forward to that this evening.”
“Nobody’s willing to help you.” Markus said coldly.
“Which is why I might be forced to use coercion.” Dr. Angus chuckled. “Either way, it works out for me. I just thought I’d drop in and inform you. Goodbye, doctors.”
When Dr. Angus left, Markus felt even more frustrated. Here they were, unable to even warn anyone, especially whoever the hell this guy was going to kidnap. But the bright side was that no-one was hurt in the attack.
“Dr. Vaughn?”
“What is it, Elena?” he asked quickly.
“Nothing, you just looked tense. Whoever he takes, we’ll take care of them.” Elena said, trying her best to make him feel better.
“I know. But I don’t want anyone to get kidnapped. And... I don’t want Nicole to find out who this guy is, if he really is Dr. Angus.” He groaned and ran a hand through his short brown hair. “Damn...”
“That just shows you care, Markus.” Valerie said sympathetically.
“She’s my friend, of course I care!” he replied.
“Yeah... We’re worried too...”
“It’ll be okay, Dr. Vaughn.” Elena said. “Whatever they throw at us, we can bounce back! And I’m sure Dr. Williams will be fine as well.”
“I know. I just can’t help worrying about her.” Markus said. He let out a weak laugh. “Funny, isn’t it, when I told her not to worry about him? Well, we just have to wait until we see their plan.”
As the afternoon wore into evening, most were too busy to notice as they were doing paperwork, and those in the research department were using the data to write a report on what they’d discovered. It was going to be submitted to the director, and then sent on to other hospitals in the area. Dr. Cromwell was insanely excited by the prospect, and so thanks to his help a lot of the main work was on its way to completion.
“Right!” he said eventually, as it was coming near to the end of the day. “I’m not expecting you to stay late like I have the previous two evenings, but in exchange I want you here earlier tomorrow and work on this at home!”
Everybody eyed each other, unwilling to say anything, but a murmur of thanks went around the room. All of the researchers took their work and began leaving the lab. The main topic of chat was Luxuria, but there was talk of other things too - the missing people, what work was still left to be done...
And elsewhere, Sam was driving out to carry out the plan. He repeated the description the boss had given him several times - a woman with dark brown hair known as Isabella, medium height, wore a lot of red... And the boss had commented that it was unlikely she would be willing to go, but it was best to try anyway - she was talented and knew exactly how to work with viruses and many other things besides. She would be an asset to their group.
By the time he arrived at their destination, he was ready to go. He’d brought more of the anaesthesia pens, like the boss had suggested, and he had the gun loaded as well in case worst came to worst. Hopping out of the black car, he made his way down the streets towards Caduceus. The fact that it was dark made it fairly hard to tell people apart, and Sam sighed with annoyance. How was he going to find this Isabella person if he couldn’t see her?
But the boss had said it would be a better idea to go at night, especially because that would make it harder to see his face. Oh well, those were the orders and he had to obey them. He arrived in the parking lot moments later. There was a woman there, and she looked about the same height and build as Isabella... She didn’t seem to be wearing any red as far as he could tell, but maybe the boss had just got that detail wrong. It was a minor thing.
“Hey, you.”
The woman almost jumped in fright when she heard his voice. “Who are you?”
“Someone who wants to help.”
He could hear the suspicious note in her voice when she answered. “Help who? What do you want?”
“If I could tell you where your missing friends were, would you like that?”
“Yes, but... How do I know I can trust you?”
He shifted uncomfortably. This had NOT been part of the plan. “Look, as soon as I tell you, you can go. Plus, I’m unarmed, and shorter than you. I think you could get away from me if worst came to worst.”
There was a momentary hesitation, and then the woman nodded. “Fine, I’ll come with you.”
“Glad to hear it.”
He led her back to the car along the side streets, figuring it would make it more difficult for Isabella to escape if he confused her a bit. Eventually, the two came out of the alley and ended up in a dark, deserted area.
“So? Let’s hear it.”
Sam sighed and reached into his pocket. “Don’t scream, okay?”
“Don’t scream? What - ”
He grabbed her arm and clicked in the anaesthesia pen. Before she could react, he injected it and she fell to the ground, dizzy. “There. Now just be a good girl, Isabella, and go to sleep.”
“I... What’s going on...?” was all the woman managed before she blacked out.
The journey back to headquarters was an immensely enjoyable one for Sam at least. With the objective completed, surely the boss would be pleased? Well, it was his time to shine anyway, William was the one the boss was always praising for something. Now he could show he was competent too.
He left the car outside while he went in to tell his boss. Sam could barely contain his excitement as he knocked on the large wood door, his hand shaking and his heart thumping loudly. “Sir? Mission accomplished.”
“Ah, Sam? Well done. So you managed to bring Isabella back here.” Dr. Angus said, opening the door to get a better view of his subordinate.
“Yes, sir.” Sam replied, though his uncertainty was showing slightly in his voice.
“Where is she?”
“Outside, sir. I wanted to inform you first. And there’s no danger of her going anywhere - she’s been out like a light the whole time.”
“Bring her in then, and take her to the prisoners’ room. She can stay there for now, and then we’ll bring her to the lab tomorrow to work on Acedia.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sam hurried back outside, lifting her from the car, and headed back inside. In the light of the building, though it was dull, he realised that who he had was definitely not Isabella. For a start, she was wearing a lot of grey and purple, and her hair was black. She was also slightly more tan - Sam had been informed that Isabella was pale. He swore softly. The boss wouldn’t be pleased with this outcome.
Typing in the code as quickly as he could, Sam resolved to be in and out there ASAP. He shoved the heavy door open to the prisoner’s room.
“Nice to see you again.” Markus said sarcastically.
“Shut your trap. I’m not in the mood for this kind of thing. All I came to do was leave her here and discuss the next plan of action with the boss.” Sam sighed. “I made a mistake, the boss is going to kill me...”
“You made a mistake?” Valerie repeated.
“Yeah, I was meant to bring some lady called ‘Isabella’ here. Trust my luck to mean I brought somebody else. Later, doctors. I’ve got things to do.” He left the woman on the ground and then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
“A mistake... Tch. It still means someone got captured.”
“You think that next plan of action thing means they’re working on something, Val?” Markus said.
“Could be.” Valerie shrugged. “Though... I’m not sure whether that means it’s to do with us or to do with their SIN virus.” She paused. “Wait, is that Nicole?”
“Do you think she’s okay?”
“Well, we have the equipment, so I can check.” Elena offered. She headed over. “Let’s see... Vitals are normal, breathing rate is normal, and the pulse is good... She’s fine. And this definitely is Dr. Williams.”
“How do you know?” Valerie asked.
“When I was checking her pulse, I saw the scar on her neck.” Elena explained.
“Great... First us, and now this.” Markus sighed. “Let’s just hope they’re not planning to bring anyone else into this.”
The door swung open once again, and Dr. Angus was standing in the doorway. “Huh. Sam can’t even get a task this simple right. Unbelievable. Well, at least we have a researcher, even if it isn’t someone as competent as I’d have liked.”
“People aren’t just your pawns, you know.” Valerie pointed out.
“Don’t even bother.” Dr. Angus replied. “This is a disappointment, but I’ll make do. You’ve got another operation scheduled for tomorrow, so I expect you to be up bright and early.”
“We’re not doing this for you.” Markus said.
“I know, I know, you’re doing it for the patient. Goodnight, doctors.”
And the door slammed shut.
“Perfect. We’re trapped here and we have no way out, plus he brought someone else here.”
“At least he doesn’t seem to be planning to experiment on anyone.”
“There’s always a bright side, huh?”
“Where... am I?” Nicole sat up and yawned, half-awake. The blank in her memory was annoying - all she could remember was that jab. And now, here she was in a strange room that she didn’t recognise... “This place is weird...”
“Nicole? Are you okay?” Valerie asked.
“Huh? Valerie? Is that you?” This seemed to wake her up. “Oh my god, Valerie!” At first, she was surprised, but then happiness and relief at their safety took over. “And Markus, and Elena! You have no idea how glad I am that you’re all okay!”
“Of course. We’re hardly going to let something like this take us down!” Valerie teased.
“Yeah, I know, you guys are so focused and so calm, I didn’t think you’d worry! But I was worried sick about the three of you... I’m glad that was all for nothing in the end.” Nicole smiled, but then her expression turned worried. “It’s just a shame we had to meet up again in a place like this.”
“It’s not exactly a welcoming place or a good situation, I’ll give you that.” Markus replied.
“That’s putting it lightly.” Valerie said.
“I know, but I figure it’s better than saying that this is pretty depressing.”
“Fine, fine, you win.”
“Anyway, if that guy says we need to be up early, we’d better get to sleep.” Markus sighed. “After all, whatever he’s planning, if we’re not awake enough we can’t do anything to stop it.”
“The guy who brought us here, right?” Nicole asked.
“Yeah. Night, Val. Night Elena.”
“Goodnight everyone.”
“Goodnight Dr. Vaughn.”
The four of them fell into an uncomfortable sleep, curious as to what the morning would bring.
Next chapter
Previous chapter
Chapter 15: Third Sin
Three days passed without much happening at Caduceus. Nicole spent them doing experiments for various research projects within the department - a few even for the shelved Stigma medication, which was unusual. Then again, there had been no sign of activity from the mystery people, so they did what work they could.
On the third day, however, another note arrived. Cynthia was reading it out loud to the rest of the department. “The third day has arrived, and so your third sin will be visited upon you. Man’s lust is another thing that destroys him - whether for power or for women. Judgement draws ever closer - do you really believe what you do is right?”
“Another letter, huh?” Isabella muttered, fiddling with a pen. “And now they’re going to finally release that third sin of theirs...”
“I wouldn’t worry about it, Isabella!” Dr. Cromwell said confidently. “We can certainly cure whatever it is they throw at us, after all, we already did fantastically with Socordia and Avaritia.” His tone was cheerful, despite the bad news the letter implied.
“At least we can prepare ourselves now.” Cynthia said, folding up the note. “Shall I share this with the other departments, sir?”
Dr. Cromwell smiled. “Of course, Cynthia. I figure it’s important that the others know. I’d suggest you share it with the surgical department first though, considering they are the ones directly dealing with it.”
Cynthia nodded. “Okay, I’ll do that now, sir.” She turned and walked out of the department, heading for the surgical department.
“It never ends, does it?” Isabella commented, half to the rest of them and half as a way of voicing her opinion. “Just when we think this madness is over, it keeps going! Well, never mind. We can certainly handle this!”
“That’s the spirit, Isabella!” Dr. Cromwell said proudly, his eyes glinting behind his glasses. “Now, I suggest we get back to work while we wait for responses, everyone.”
There was a general mumble of agreement from everyone, and they set to work as usual. The usual busy, focused atmosphere settled, and that made it a lot easier for everyone to concentrate. Well, it made it easier for Nicole to concentrate. She was still worried, and that had only increased when Cynthia had read out the letter. Had Markus and the others been forced to help with that thing? What if they’d been infected?
No, it was no use thinking like that, and she knew it. Positive thinking, positive thinking... And back to the report on Stigma’s growth patterns. Fascinating. There was a lot of information on the page, written in Cynthia’s tiny handwriting, but Nicole was thankful that Isabella hadn’t written it. Isabella’s handwriting could grow quickly unreadable if she got excited or ran out of patience.
Meanwhile, Cynthia was showing off the note to Dr. Everett and Dr. Tsuji.
“Hm. Yes, it doesn’t sound good, does it?” Dr. Tsuji said seriously as she pushed up her slipping glasses. “Well... If worst comes to worst, anyone from the surgical department can operate along with someone from your own department, Cynthia.”
“Yes, that’s probably the most sensible way to go about it.” Cynthia agreed. “We’re ready in case. I just thought I should inform you so that if this does happen, you two aren’t taken by surprise. I’d better give this to the director anyway.”
“Okay, thank you.” Dr. Tsuji replied. “See you later.”
“See you.”
Dr. Everett sighed. “How can you be so confident about this whole thing, Kanae?”
“I’m not. To be honest, I’m just as nervous as everyone else. But I know I have to be strong, and that’s why I keep going.”
“Wow... Even you get scared sometimes!”
“Shut up!”
Elsewhere, Dr. Angus was paying yet another visit to the kidnapped trio.
“I trust you slept well, you three?”
“What’s your game?” Valerie asked him. “You leave us for days and just expect us to get along with you, you made us operate on Luxuria several times, and now you’re acting like a friend?”
“I just came to check on you, and pass on some news.” Dr. Angus said. His eyes glinted mischievously behind his glasses, and he smiled. “Luxuria’s going out today. So your friends back at HQ are going to get a nice surprise.”
“So you’re already planning to use it on people?”
“Well, you did help me develop it, and it would be a shame to waste it on that.”
“You’re not going to infect people at Caduceus...” Elena whispered. “You aren’t, are you?”
He shrugged as if he wasn’t sure. “Well, I was considering it. But I think I’ll save it for the later strains. And anyway, it’s not like I can do anything about Luxuria now. My boys are already dispersing it among the population of the city.”
“You work fast, huh?” Markus replied.
“Of course. And it’s all thanks to the three of you, really. I couldn’t do it without you. And soon enough I’ll have more help, so not only will you guys not be lonely any more, but SIN will develop faster than ever before!” He laughed. “I know, I know, you’re going to tell me I’m deluded or something. But really, you’ll see.”
Dr. Angus stretched and yawned as if he was bored. “I won’t need anything else from you today, I don’t think, but I’ll be sure to come again later and tell you exactly how it went.” His voice was taunting, and that just seemed to rile Valerie.
“I know exactly how it’ll go! Your stupid virus will be dead, and everything at Caduceus will be fine!” she spat, glaring at him.
“I certainly hope not. That would waste all of your effort now, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah, because we obviously enjoy helping you!”
“Goodbye.” And he closed the door behind him.
“Ugh. I hate him. And I hate the fact that we had to help him!” Valerie groaned, resting her head on her knees.
“It’s okay. I’m sure it won’t be much longer.” Markus said encouragingly.
“That’s what I’d like to think.” She let out a heavy sigh. “And I shouldn’t have lost my temper with him either. He’s probably going to reduce our food rations or something, I don’t know.”
“It’s not your fault, Val. He’s got... a grating attitude.”
“That’s putting it nicely.”
“It’ll be fine, I’m sure. We’ve just got to trust the others.” Markus said, staring at the painting of the old man. “They’ll come for us. And they’ll defeat this guy’s “third sin.” You’ll see.”
“Yeah. We’ll just have to wait.” Valerie replied. She didn’t need to say it - it was obvious she was worried about the outcome of this little game. The other two nodded. Now all they could do was stay there and hope that things turned out okay.
Most of the operations were going well at Caduceus, a lot of them just standard procedures that they typically received. There was a patient with Post-GUILT Syndrome, the Savato type, which everyone thought was going to be the only surprise of the day. As time wore on into early afternoon, they were proven wrong.
The first indication that something was wrong was the panicked arrival of several research department personnel in the surgical department. Though some tried to keep their expressions calm and their voices serious, some of them were looking more nervous than others.
“Well?” Dr. Tsuji finally snapped, losing her patience. “Spit it out! I don’t have all day!”
“We’ve got several patients in a critical condition. There’s a chiral reaction, but it matches no known type of GUILT... and it’s not a reaction to the known types of SIN either.” Isabella explained. “We have to assume it’s that new one - Luxuria.”
“This is serious then. I assume that’s why you came to find me and the others?”
“Yes, we figured that you can handle the patients while we try and figure out how to destroy Luxuria. Dr. Cromwell’s already assigned everyone to a surgeon.”
“Trust Robert to be prepared. So who’s working with who, exactly?”
“I’m working with Dr. Everett, Cynthia’s working with Dr. Smith, Nicole will be working with you, and everyone else has been assigned to any surgeons who aren’t currently working.” Isabella told her. “Dr. Cromwell thought it would be best if Nicole worked with you because you’re one of the more experienced doctors in the department.”
Dr. Tsuji nodded. “I suppose I don’t have any choice. Which room?”
“Number fourteen on the second floor. Good luck, Dr. Tsuji.”
“Thank you, Isabella. Same to you. Dr. Williams, let’s go.”
That business-like tone always made Nicole feel nervous, and she just stood there like a fool while the others hurried off to various operating rooms or to the lift. Dr. Tsuji cleared her throat.
“Are you planning on standing here all day, or are you coming?”
“Y-Yes, Dr. Tsuji! Sorry!”
“Then let’s go!”
The two of them rushed down the corridor and towards the lift. As they were heading up to the second floor, Nicole found herself lost in thought again. Did Markus and the others help those people create this thing...? But almost as soon as she thought that, she dismissed it. The main thing about her friends was that they were good people, and they wouldn’t do something like that.
“Here we are.” Dr. Tsuji said, snapping Nicole out of her reverie. As soon as the doors opened, the two of them headed straight to Operating Room 14. Someone had left the chart behind for them, which made it easy for Nicole to get started with the briefing right away.
“Our first patient is Penelope Reeves, aged 17. It’s assumed that she has Luxuria, due to the fact that the chiral reaction is different from those we’ve encountered before. It’s located in... the heart, and due to this and her low vitals... We have to be careful.” She paused. “Though that almost goes without saying.”
“Of course. We don’t have time to waste, so let’s begin.”
With the incision made, the two viruses were revealed, swimming freely about on the heart.
“So this is what they look like, hmm?” Dr. Tsuji commented. “Interesting.” She looked at Nicole. “You’re in research. What do you think we should do next?”
“W-Well, it looks a bit like that GUILT, Kyriaki... And a little like Cheir as well. Maybe we should try using the laser on it.”
Dr. Tsuji rolled her eyes, but said nothing. “Okay then.”
A blast from the laser on each Luxuria paralysed their movement rather than destroying them, much to the surprise of both the researcher and the surgeon.
“Hm. So it doesn’t exactly kill them... Maybe if I try the scalpel...” Dr. Tsuji said, slicing both Luxuria. The viruses went zipping off to opposite areas of the heart, wriggling in pain as they went. “Ah, the scalpel is what damages it!”
“How did you do that?” Nicole asked, amazed.
“What, decide to use the scalpel? I figured it would work if the laser didn’t. And besides, it’s not like there are many tools to choose from.”
“That’s true. Sorry.”
Before Dr. Tsuji could reply, the two viruses crashed into each other and swam off, leaving lacerations all over the heart and severely dropping the patient’s vitals. She swiftly and calmly sutured them, before turning to Nicole again. “Inject the stabiliser.”
“Okay.” Nicole replied, doing so. She didn’t say anything about the commanding tone of Dr. Tsuji’s voice - in the end it wouldn’t be worth it. The stabiliser brought the patient’s vitals up somewhat, but not enough for her to be safe. “You’ll still need to be careful, Dr. Tsuji. Her vitals won’t go any higher than this.”
“Duly noted. Let’s keep going.”
Another hit from the laser froze the Luxuria for the final time, and Dr. Tsuji quickly sliced at them with the scalpel. The two viruses wriggled in pain and then vanished.
“Chiral reaction... is negative!” Nicole smiled.
“Let’s give the patient a check with the ultrasound, just in case.” Dr. Tsuji said.
A check with the ultrasound showed a couple of tumours, which Dr. Tsuji dealt with soon enough. She sutured and bandaged the incision, and then sighed. “That was... interesting. But at least I have some idea of how that thing works now. The rest of the patients shouldn’t be too bad.”
The other operations varied in difficulty. The second patient was relatively stable, and so his treatment wasn’t too hard. They nearly lost the third patient, and only some quick thinking from Dr. Tsuji saved his life. The fourth was in even worse condition, and they had to revive her several times. The fifth was the most stable out of all of them and so her surgery was simple enough for the two to handle.
“Phew... That was nuts.” Nicole sighed with relief.
“It was certainly interesting, though I’m sure Dr. Cromwell would have been able to tell me what damaged Luxuria without such guesswork. Or at least without voicing his guesswork.” Dr. Tsuji took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “The others should be done by now, let’s head back to the surgical department.”
“Okay...”
By now, it was heading towards late afternoon, with the sunlight reflecting through the wide windows at Caduceus. As they headed back down to the surgical department, Nicole couldn’t help but feel a twinge of annoyance at Dr. Tsuji’s attitude. Even if they didn’t like each other, she did try to help... She tried her best to push the irritation away, with not much success.
When they arrived at the surgical department, everyone was already there and discussing the procedures. Dr. Everett was congratulating Isabella on a job well done, and Dr. Cromwell was discussing the events with another surgeon. The research department members were excitedly chattering away to each other about Luxuria and what they’d just seen, and the other doctors were discussing the patients involved.
“Ah, Dr. Tsuji!” Isabella said, waving to her. “How did the operations go?”
“Perfectly, thank you. There was minor trouble with two of the patients, but otherwise it went off without a hitch.”
“Good to hear!”
“We really did good in there, huh?” Dr. Everett commented, grinning.
“We sure did!” Isabella replied. “I bet whoever is responsible has got to be annoyed with this.”
“You’re probably right.” Nicole said.
Isabella was correct. When William and another operative brought back the news, Dr. Angus was most definitely not happy with the situation.
“What do you mean there were no recorded fatalities?” he asked, his voice cold and dangerous.
“None yet, sir, from Caduceus at least.” William said. The nervousness was evident in his shaking voice. “The patients who were sent to Caduceus all survived... A few at the other hospitals have died, according to Sam.”
Dr. Angus let out a deep sigh. “Well, a minor victory, but a victory nonetheless. We’ll put the next part of the plan into action tonight.”
“Yes sir.”
“In the meantime, I’m going to pay a visit to the doctors. Excuse me.”
They followed him out of the room, and then headed down the corridor in the opposite direction. When he arrived at the room, he hurriedly typed in the code and entered.
“Oh good, you again.” Markus said, looking unimpressed. “Come to give us the news?”
“Of course. There were a few fatalities...” Dr. Angus told him, watching him and the others tense up with shock before continuing. “But none at your precious hospital. Apparently your doctors are more talented than I took into consideration.”
“See? I told you so!” Valerie said. Her dark brown eyes were bright with relief and satisfaction. “Your stupid virus isn’t as great as you think it is!”
“Mmm, maybe not this strain. But you forget that there are still four others waiting to be developed and released. And of course, there’s the matter of help, which I’ll be seeking tonight. So you can look forward to that this evening.”
“Nobody’s willing to help you.” Markus said coldly.
“Which is why I might be forced to use coercion.” Dr. Angus chuckled. “Either way, it works out for me. I just thought I’d drop in and inform you. Goodbye, doctors.”
When Dr. Angus left, Markus felt even more frustrated. Here they were, unable to even warn anyone, especially whoever the hell this guy was going to kidnap. But the bright side was that no-one was hurt in the attack.
“Dr. Vaughn?”
“What is it, Elena?” he asked quickly.
“Nothing, you just looked tense. Whoever he takes, we’ll take care of them.” Elena said, trying her best to make him feel better.
“I know. But I don’t want anyone to get kidnapped. And... I don’t want Nicole to find out who this guy is, if he really is Dr. Angus.” He groaned and ran a hand through his short brown hair. “Damn...”
“That just shows you care, Markus.” Valerie said sympathetically.
“She’s my friend, of course I care!” he replied.
“Yeah... We’re worried too...”
“It’ll be okay, Dr. Vaughn.” Elena said. “Whatever they throw at us, we can bounce back! And I’m sure Dr. Williams will be fine as well.”
“I know. I just can’t help worrying about her.” Markus said. He let out a weak laugh. “Funny, isn’t it, when I told her not to worry about him? Well, we just have to wait until we see their plan.”
As the afternoon wore into evening, most were too busy to notice as they were doing paperwork, and those in the research department were using the data to write a report on what they’d discovered. It was going to be submitted to the director, and then sent on to other hospitals in the area. Dr. Cromwell was insanely excited by the prospect, and so thanks to his help a lot of the main work was on its way to completion.
“Right!” he said eventually, as it was coming near to the end of the day. “I’m not expecting you to stay late like I have the previous two evenings, but in exchange I want you here earlier tomorrow and work on this at home!”
Everybody eyed each other, unwilling to say anything, but a murmur of thanks went around the room. All of the researchers took their work and began leaving the lab. The main topic of chat was Luxuria, but there was talk of other things too - the missing people, what work was still left to be done...
And elsewhere, Sam was driving out to carry out the plan. He repeated the description the boss had given him several times - a woman with dark brown hair known as Isabella, medium height, wore a lot of red... And the boss had commented that it was unlikely she would be willing to go, but it was best to try anyway - she was talented and knew exactly how to work with viruses and many other things besides. She would be an asset to their group.
By the time he arrived at their destination, he was ready to go. He’d brought more of the anaesthesia pens, like the boss had suggested, and he had the gun loaded as well in case worst came to worst. Hopping out of the black car, he made his way down the streets towards Caduceus. The fact that it was dark made it fairly hard to tell people apart, and Sam sighed with annoyance. How was he going to find this Isabella person if he couldn’t see her?
But the boss had said it would be a better idea to go at night, especially because that would make it harder to see his face. Oh well, those were the orders and he had to obey them. He arrived in the parking lot moments later. There was a woman there, and she looked about the same height and build as Isabella... She didn’t seem to be wearing any red as far as he could tell, but maybe the boss had just got that detail wrong. It was a minor thing.
“Hey, you.”
The woman almost jumped in fright when she heard his voice. “Who are you?”
“Someone who wants to help.”
He could hear the suspicious note in her voice when she answered. “Help who? What do you want?”
“If I could tell you where your missing friends were, would you like that?”
“Yes, but... How do I know I can trust you?”
He shifted uncomfortably. This had NOT been part of the plan. “Look, as soon as I tell you, you can go. Plus, I’m unarmed, and shorter than you. I think you could get away from me if worst came to worst.”
There was a momentary hesitation, and then the woman nodded. “Fine, I’ll come with you.”
“Glad to hear it.”
He led her back to the car along the side streets, figuring it would make it more difficult for Isabella to escape if he confused her a bit. Eventually, the two came out of the alley and ended up in a dark, deserted area.
“So? Let’s hear it.”
Sam sighed and reached into his pocket. “Don’t scream, okay?”
“Don’t scream? What - ”
He grabbed her arm and clicked in the anaesthesia pen. Before she could react, he injected it and she fell to the ground, dizzy. “There. Now just be a good girl, Isabella, and go to sleep.”
“I... What’s going on...?” was all the woman managed before she blacked out.
The journey back to headquarters was an immensely enjoyable one for Sam at least. With the objective completed, surely the boss would be pleased? Well, it was his time to shine anyway, William was the one the boss was always praising for something. Now he could show he was competent too.
He left the car outside while he went in to tell his boss. Sam could barely contain his excitement as he knocked on the large wood door, his hand shaking and his heart thumping loudly. “Sir? Mission accomplished.”
“Ah, Sam? Well done. So you managed to bring Isabella back here.” Dr. Angus said, opening the door to get a better view of his subordinate.
“Yes, sir.” Sam replied, though his uncertainty was showing slightly in his voice.
“Where is she?”
“Outside, sir. I wanted to inform you first. And there’s no danger of her going anywhere - she’s been out like a light the whole time.”
“Bring her in then, and take her to the prisoners’ room. She can stay there for now, and then we’ll bring her to the lab tomorrow to work on Acedia.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sam hurried back outside, lifting her from the car, and headed back inside. In the light of the building, though it was dull, he realised that who he had was definitely not Isabella. For a start, she was wearing a lot of grey and purple, and her hair was black. She was also slightly more tan - Sam had been informed that Isabella was pale. He swore softly. The boss wouldn’t be pleased with this outcome.
Typing in the code as quickly as he could, Sam resolved to be in and out there ASAP. He shoved the heavy door open to the prisoner’s room.
“Nice to see you again.” Markus said sarcastically.
“Shut your trap. I’m not in the mood for this kind of thing. All I came to do was leave her here and discuss the next plan of action with the boss.” Sam sighed. “I made a mistake, the boss is going to kill me...”
“You made a mistake?” Valerie repeated.
“Yeah, I was meant to bring some lady called ‘Isabella’ here. Trust my luck to mean I brought somebody else. Later, doctors. I’ve got things to do.” He left the woman on the ground and then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
“A mistake... Tch. It still means someone got captured.”
“You think that next plan of action thing means they’re working on something, Val?” Markus said.
“Could be.” Valerie shrugged. “Though... I’m not sure whether that means it’s to do with us or to do with their SIN virus.” She paused. “Wait, is that Nicole?”
“Do you think she’s okay?”
“Well, we have the equipment, so I can check.” Elena offered. She headed over. “Let’s see... Vitals are normal, breathing rate is normal, and the pulse is good... She’s fine. And this definitely is Dr. Williams.”
“How do you know?” Valerie asked.
“When I was checking her pulse, I saw the scar on her neck.” Elena explained.
“Great... First us, and now this.” Markus sighed. “Let’s just hope they’re not planning to bring anyone else into this.”
The door swung open once again, and Dr. Angus was standing in the doorway. “Huh. Sam can’t even get a task this simple right. Unbelievable. Well, at least we have a researcher, even if it isn’t someone as competent as I’d have liked.”
“People aren’t just your pawns, you know.” Valerie pointed out.
“Don’t even bother.” Dr. Angus replied. “This is a disappointment, but I’ll make do. You’ve got another operation scheduled for tomorrow, so I expect you to be up bright and early.”
“We’re not doing this for you.” Markus said.
“I know, I know, you’re doing it for the patient. Goodnight, doctors.”
And the door slammed shut.
“Perfect. We’re trapped here and we have no way out, plus he brought someone else here.”
“At least he doesn’t seem to be planning to experiment on anyone.”
“There’s always a bright side, huh?”
“Where... am I?” Nicole sat up and yawned, half-awake. The blank in her memory was annoying - all she could remember was that jab. And now, here she was in a strange room that she didn’t recognise... “This place is weird...”
“Nicole? Are you okay?” Valerie asked.
“Huh? Valerie? Is that you?” This seemed to wake her up. “Oh my god, Valerie!” At first, she was surprised, but then happiness and relief at their safety took over. “And Markus, and Elena! You have no idea how glad I am that you’re all okay!”
“Of course. We’re hardly going to let something like this take us down!” Valerie teased.
“Yeah, I know, you guys are so focused and so calm, I didn’t think you’d worry! But I was worried sick about the three of you... I’m glad that was all for nothing in the end.” Nicole smiled, but then her expression turned worried. “It’s just a shame we had to meet up again in a place like this.”
“It’s not exactly a welcoming place or a good situation, I’ll give you that.” Markus replied.
“That’s putting it lightly.” Valerie said.
“I know, but I figure it’s better than saying that this is pretty depressing.”
“Fine, fine, you win.”
“Anyway, if that guy says we need to be up early, we’d better get to sleep.” Markus sighed. “After all, whatever he’s planning, if we’re not awake enough we can’t do anything to stop it.”
“The guy who brought us here, right?” Nicole asked.
“Yeah. Night, Val. Night Elena.”
“Goodnight everyone.”
“Goodnight Dr. Vaughn.”
The four of them fell into an uncomfortable sleep, curious as to what the morning would bring.
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