Begin The Procedure, OC/Canon fic, Chapter 12
Author's note: How did I manage two in one day? I have no idea... |DD I guess it was mainly because I was just all focused on writing and ended up writing the last chapter and heaps of this one together. ^^;; Anyway... Another mysterious note is delivered, a piece of the plan is revealed... and some other interesting stuff. C: Hope you enjoy~ Oh, and I know the villain hasn't been revealed yet, I'm trying to find a good place to work him in ;D Have fun <33
Chapter 12: The Next Move
“So?” Isabella questioned the next morning. “What did you guys get up to?”
Nicole went red, which made Isabella grin.
“It was like that, was it?” she teased.
“No, Isabella, shut up!” Nicole complained. “All that happened was we went to see Greenwood, we had to perform surgery, and then we went out to eat and headed home. Not that fascinating.”
“Surgery, huh?” Isabella replied. “Geez, you sure seem to have a knack for getting yourself into this kind of thing. How’s everyone at Greenwood anyway?”
“They’re okay. But a friend of mine quit.”
“Quit, huh? That sucks.”
“I’m worried about him...” Nicole sighed. “He wouldn’t do that kind of thing...”
“Do you like him or something?”
“Huh?! No, not that way! He’s just a friend of mine.” Nicole blushed. “And besides, despite us being friends he was a real jerk to me sometimes! I just can’t see him as anything more than a friend.”
“If you say so...” Isabella replied. “Better not bring him up too much in front of Markus though, you might make him jealous.”
Nicole only blushed more, shaking her head. “Don’t be weird, Isabella! We’re just friends!”
“First of all, try saying that when you’re looking at me and not bright red in the face. And anyway, you say you’re friends now, but wait and see.”
“D-Don’t you have work you have to do?!” Nicole protested.
“Oh yeah, silly me!” Isabella grinned and headed off to her work area.
In the surgical department, there was a lot of fuss going on over another note that had been sent to Caduceus that morning, specifically to the department.
“The third move is about to be made. We’ll take what we need, and then you will experience punishment for your third sin. The endgame is slowly falling into place piece by piece. Be prepared, doctors. Your time runs out daily.” Dr. Everett read from the scruffy piece of paper, looking confused. “We’ll take what we need? Does this mean they’re not going to let loose the third sin just yet?”
“It certainly sounds like it.” Dr. Tsuji replied curtly. “Honestly, these people and their strangely-worded letters... Do they really think they’re being clever?”
“Obviously, otherwise they wouldn’t be writing like that.” Markus sighed, yawning a little.
“Are you even awake?” Dr. Tsuji asked, giving him an irritated look. “Dr. Vaughn, if you’re half-asleep there’s no way you can do a good job today in surgery.”
“I’ll be fine, Kanae. Sorry. I just couldn’t sleep well last night.”
“That’s none of my concern. All that matters to me is that you can do your job.” She turned to Dr. Everett. “That line “we’ll take what we need” seems to imply either thievery or kidnapping. I don’t know whether I’m just reading too deeply into it or what, but considering what happened during the Stigma outbreak...”
“It’s a possibility, I’ll give you that.” Dr. Everett replied. “But they haven’t done anything yet. All we can do is wait and see.”
“That’s what drives me mad. All this uncertainty.”
“Don’t worry, Kanae. I’m sure it’ll turn out fine in the end. I thought you had an operation scheduled soon, anyway?”
“Yes, you’re right. I’ll see you all later.” Dr. Tsuji replied, before turning with a flourish and walking briskly away.
“I’d better go too.” Dr. Everett admitted. “See you later, guys.”
“Bye, Dr. Everett.” Valerie said, giving him a brief wave, and then turning back to Elena and Markus. “What’s up with you this morning anyway? You don’t look so good.”
“I... Like I said, Val. I just didn’t sleep. I think maybe this SIN thing caught up to me - the reality of it. And as for that note... What if Dr. Tsuji’s right and someone gets kidnapped? It was bad enough that Kidman kidnapped us that time. I don’t want that to happen to someone else.”
“We got out, didn’t we?” Valerie replied stubbornly. “Look... I know it bothers you, but why worry about something before it even happens? You’ll only stress yourself out more.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“And besides, you always have me and Elena. You’re not alone in any of this.”
“She’s right, Dr. Vaughn. We’ll always be here for you.” Elena added.
“Thank you, both of you.” Markus said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you two.”
“You’d be in trouble, that’s what!” Valerie laughed.
“Pretty sure I would, Val.” He grinned. “Well, I suppose we’d better get started with work ourselves, huh?”
“Yeah, let’s get started.”
“We’ve got a fair amount of patients to deal with this morning... Most of them have some form of SIN - Socordia and Avaritia.” Elena told them.
“That’s okay, we can easily handle those. Right, Markus?” Valerie asked him.
“Yeah, it’s no problem. Let’s get started.”
The rest of the morning was busy with the various SIN operations, but most of the patients were in good condition with high vitals, which made their work much easier. All of them did their best with the patients, but the note was still an irritating mystery. There was no doubt as to who it was from, though. The same people who were spreading the SIN virus.
Eventually, they were all allowed to stop and have a short break before they performed more operations. A lot of people were wandering around randomly and talking to their friends about various operations or just work in general.
“How’s it going, you guys?” Isabella said, coming up to talk to the three of them.
“Just fine, thanks! The operations weren’t all that difficult.” Valerie replied.
“Good to hear. But then both of you know what you’re doing, plus you have Elena’s help, so I’m not all that surprised.”
“I don’t know about that, but we’re doing our best. How about the research department? How are you guys doing?”
“Oh, us? We haven’t been tremendously busy. But we were given that note that was sent to you guys...” Isabella paused. “So it’s been a bit awkward around there. But we’re taking a careful look at it and we’re going to hand it over to the director later. After all, if anyone is going to know what to do about it, it’ll be her.”
“True. I just wonder if whatever this third sin they’re planning is going to be worse than Socordia.”
“Don’t think like that. We’re working here specifically because people believe we can do this!” Isabella replied, full of determination. “I’m sure you three will be fine, seriously.”
“Hey, Isabella! Why did you run off like that?” Nicole protested, walking up to the brunette woman. “I looked around for one minute, and you were gone.”
“You were talking to Dr. Cromwell, weren’t you?”
“Yes, about the note, but that’s not the point! The point is that you just vanished! I nearly had a heart attack!”
“Sorry, sorry...”
“Markus, you don’t look so good. Are you feeling all right?” Nicole changed the subject slightly, giving Markus an anxious look. “They couldn’t have already...?”
“No, I’m just tired. Don’t worry about me.” Markus said calmly.
“You... Of course I care. I don’t... I don’t like it when anyone’s down or feeling bad. And if you’re worried, you can always come talk to me, or talk to Elena and Valerie. They’re your friends, right? And I just want to help.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“It’s no big deal...” Nicole muttered, going a bit pink. “After all, you were really nice to me yesterday...”
“I just didn’t want you to worry, that’s all.” Markus said, which made her go red.
“Thanks...”
“To quote you, “No problem.””
“Can’t you come up with anything original?” Valerie teased.
“Everyone’s a critic.”
“Just be glad it’s not Dr. Cromwell. He’d have something to say about it.” Isabella giggled.
“Yeah, he wouldn’t be happy with you at all, Markus!” Nicole added, smiling.
“He’d probably just give me a lecture and that would be the end of it.”
“Maybe after about five hours.” Valerie said.
“I think I can handle that.”
The rest of the break was spent talking and joking about various things, and then they had to split up and head back to their departments.
“I’ll see you later, Dr. Vaughn, Dr. Blaylock.” Isabella said cheerfully. “Keep them in line for me, okay, Elena?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Elena replied, jokingly saluting.
“Especially Dr. Vaughn, he’s the badly-behaved one!”
Elena and Nicole both went red at that statement.
“Don’t worry, I will!” Elena managed, and Isabella gave her an approving smile.
“How come I’ve got such a bad reputation around here? Especially from you, Elena!” Markus said in a mock-hurt tone. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are, Dr. Vaughn! I’m just listening to instructions!” she replied shyly.
“Well, can you just ignore Isabella?”
“No!” Isabella interrupted. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Nicole and I had better go.”
“See you later!” Nicole said cheerfully, and she and Isabella walked off.
“Geez, back to work, I guess.” Markus sighed. “Come on, let’s go!”
The other operations were mostly simple procedures, with the occasional Socordia or Avaritia patient thrown in. It was a bit dull, but both Markus and Valerie were relieved that they were getting to do average patients as well. Occasionally there was the challenge of a mature Avaritia, but otherwise it was business as usual.
And elsewhere, William and Sam were talking to their boss.
“We had your message delivered, sir. A third agent confirmed its arrival at Caduceus.” William stated, smiling smugly. “And we also have information - the sample X3 is progressing well towards maturity.”
“I see. And have you any idea when the patient will begin exhibiting symptoms?”
“In precisely one week, we believe. Though considering the state of X3, it may indeed be sooner.” Sam told him, looking just as proud as his partner.
“Good, good. And since you sent out the note, I assume you know the next plan?”
“Yes. We’re to kidnap the subjects and bring them back here, correct?” William stated, his grey eyes nervous.
“Exactly.” The boss’s voice was amused, but in a cold way - as if he was happy that someone like William managed to understand the plan at all. “You know who we want, don’t you?”
“Markus Vaughn, Valerie Blaylock, and... the nurse, Elena Salazar.” William replied uncertainly.
“Correct. And we want a researcher as well.”
“Does it matter who?”
The boss chuckled. “I’m considering someone in particular, but the main thing is to capture the doctors and the nurse. If we get them, we can get the researcher, but that isn’t 100% necessary.”
“You want someone to test the SINs, don’t you, sir?” Sam asked. “But what makes you so sure they’ll agree - if you’ll excuse the impertinent nature of my question.”
“I’m not offended. But my reasoning goes like this - if we already have their friends, and we threaten to hurt them, they’ll co-operate to protect their friends, yes? Even more so if their friends happen to suffer some unfortunate damage.”
“I see. So when do we engage the plan?”
“Follow them around - I showed you the photos, didn’t I? As soon as the time is right, strike.” The boss fished around in his pockets, and handed both Sam and William a few pen injectors. “Use these. Since anaesthesia can be administered by pen injectors nowadays, I figure you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting them under control.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Dismissed.”
At Caduceus, everything continued, smoothly as always. The research team were working on Socordia further, and checking Avaritia to see if there were any similarities. There was also the topic of the note, and whether Socordia too could possibly mutate and mature as Avaritia had. In the surgical department, the average procedures were being carried out by the various surgeons on duty.
And Dr. Cromwell had gone to see the director to get her opinion on the matter of the note.
Her face was grave as she scanned the paper, taking in every word as if she had to burn it after she was done, and when she had finished reading, she folded it and placed it in front of her on the desk. Then she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out an exasperated sigh. “My goodness... It never ends.”
“I know. I’m just saying that we must be on our toes, and that the - the person who’s behind this is obviously planning something big. And if there are seven sins, that means there must also be seven SIN viruses... The fact that they’re considering kidnap, going by this letter, is also disturbing.”
“It is... But considering we don’t even know who sent it, and the fact that no move has actually been made as of yet, that makes our life much more difficult. Thank you though, doctor. This is very useful. At least now we know that they’re still active and we can watch out.”
“It’s no problem, madam.” Dr. Cromwell replied, giving her one of his typical slight bows. “I’m glad this could be of use. And perhaps the fact that it was sent to the surgical department indicates that if they are going after anyone, it’ll be people from that specific department.”
The director looked thoughtful. “That could be, that could well be. But of course, we don’t know. You do make a very good point though, Dr. Cromwell. You can go now if you wish.”
“Of course, madam. Goodbye.” And with that, the tall, slightly balding blonde researcher left the room.
There was a lull in activity somewhere in the late afternoon, and everyone took advantage of it to finish work and pass on reports, as well as gossip and joke around when none of the various department heads were looking. Nicole and Cynthia were handed reports to pass on to the surgical department - Cynthia’s had to go to Dr. Everett and Nicole’s was meant to be given to Elena to be handed on.
Cynthia had headed off as soon as she was given the report, but Nicole had had to wait for hers because the researcher responsible wanted to double-check it for mistakes. As soon as it was handed over she rushed off too.
She looked around for Elena, but didn’t see her around. As she was rushing through the surgical department, getting increasingly nervous, she nearly collided with the blonde woman.
“S-Sorry, Elena! I wasn’t watching what I was doing!”
“That’s okay, Dr. Williams!” Elena replied. “You were obviously in a hurry for something.”
“Yeah... I’ve got the report you guys need. Would you pass it on to Markus and Valerie for me?” Nicole asked, holding out the folder.
Elena took it from her. “No problem. Thanks for bringing it here.”
“Well, you need it, plus I was heading here anyway. If you weren’t here I would’ve just given it directly to either Markus or Valerie.” Nicole replied, shrugging.
“It’s okay. I’ll pass it on.”
“Thanks, I owe you one Elena!”
And then Nicole headed off back to her department, thankfully not running this time. Elena headed carefully around the main floor to Markus’s office - seeing as it took him a while to check these things, it would probably be better to give it to him so he could pass it on to Valerie.
When she arrived, she knocked carefully on the door. “Dr. Vaughn? It’s me.”
“Huh? Oh, Elena. Come in.”
She opened the door, waving the folder. “Dr. Williams gave me the report on Socordia and Avaritia, so I thought I should hand it on to you.”
Markus stood up from his desk and walked over. “Thanks, Elena. I’ll read it right away. And I’ll give it to Valerie as soon as I’m done, otherwise I’m sure she won’t be happy with me.”
“It’s no problem, Dr. Vaughn.” Elena smiled, handing it over to him.
“See you later.”
“You’ve only got a few more operations scheduled, so you can read the report properly once you’re done.”
“It should be no trouble, right? I’ve got you and Val.” Markus replied, smiling too.
“Yes, together we’re a good team.” Elena nodded, feeling her face go slightly warm. Luckily, as far as she knew, she was only going pink. “Bye!”
And with that, she left the office and headed off to get the operating room set up. Even if that was only a small amount she helped, even if she often only helped with small things, Markus and the others still appreciated it, and that meant a lot to her.
The first operation that she and the others had to do was a simple enough one - immature form Avaritia. These were easy enough to do, especially as the immature Avaritia didn’t need as much laser exposure to be destroyed as mature ones. The second was a Socordia patient, but with the help of the research department’s medicine, that virus was soon destroyed as well.
The third operation was a pump unit replacement surgery, which Markus handled easily. Elena walked him through it easily - she knew pretty much exactly how it worked, considering she had needed a similar surgery herself when she was younger, and Markus had been the one to perform it.
The fourth operation was an operation on the heart to fix the patient’s condition with a pacemaker. With precision and care, Markus and Valerie managed to hook up the tiny machine and get it working right away, which was a relief. The last time they’d done a similar surgery was to replace a pacemaker with a new one, and the patient had flatlined multiple times.
As soon as they were done, the group split up to go get on with various other work. Elena had to double-check several doctors’ paperwork from operations, Valerie had her own work to start, and Markus had to read the report Elena had given him. Almost as soon as he opened it, he recognised the writing style as Dr. Cromwell’s and groaned. Sure, he could understand what was written, but Dr. Cromwell had trouble with being brief - he would rant on for paragraphs and then eventually get back to the point, usually by the time everyone had lost it.
“Better get this done. Valerie will kill me if she doesn’t get to see it.”
And so everything kept going as usual at Caduceus. By leaving time, most of the work was done, which everybody felt pleased about. If nothing else, they always got the work done, and that was one of their strong points.
Nicole, meanwhile, felt grateful that Dr. Cromwell didn’t deem it necessary for them all to stay behind that evening. She and Isabella, as well as a few others from the research department, left the building in a group. The other departments were mostly leaving in groups as well, and Isabella dragged her over to see the others.
“Hey, good to see you! You got the report, didn’t you?” Isabella said to Markus, Valerie, and Elena.
Elena nodded. “I passed it on, thank you.”
“Good, thanks.”
“No problem.”
“Um... Did you guys see that note?” Nicole said nervously, interrupting their conversation.
“Which one? You mean that weirdly-written one? Yeah, we saw it.” Valerie confirmed.
“Sounds stupid, but... you guys be careful, okay?” she replied, slightly embarrassed. They were all adults, it was a bit silly saying something like that.
“Thanks. You be careful too, Nicole.” Markus said. “And you too, Isabella.”
“Duly noted.” Isabella smiled. “See you later.”
“Bye!”
And they walked away from each other. As they walked the rest of the short distance, neither she nor Isabella talked. For some reason it would’ve just been awkward.
“Hey, Nicole?”
“Huh?”
“You really are worried about him and the others, aren’t you?” Isabella commented.
“It’s...” Nicole began, but was quickly interrupted.
“Not like that, I know. But you keep blushing around him like that, and you can barely talk. At this rate, you’re going to give me the wrong idea.”
“Shut up, you’ve already got the wrong idea!”
“Mmhmm, if you say so. See you later then!”
“Bye, Isabella!” Nicole half-yelled from embarrassment.
“Bye, Nicole!”
On the way home, she couldn’t decide what bothered her more, all this anxiety going around Caduceus, or Isabella’s stupid comments. Whatever, she could worry about it another time. After all, tomorrow was another day.
Next chapter
Previous chapter
Chapter 12: The Next Move
“So?” Isabella questioned the next morning. “What did you guys get up to?”
Nicole went red, which made Isabella grin.
“It was like that, was it?” she teased.
“No, Isabella, shut up!” Nicole complained. “All that happened was we went to see Greenwood, we had to perform surgery, and then we went out to eat and headed home. Not that fascinating.”
“Surgery, huh?” Isabella replied. “Geez, you sure seem to have a knack for getting yourself into this kind of thing. How’s everyone at Greenwood anyway?”
“They’re okay. But a friend of mine quit.”
“Quit, huh? That sucks.”
“I’m worried about him...” Nicole sighed. “He wouldn’t do that kind of thing...”
“Do you like him or something?”
“Huh?! No, not that way! He’s just a friend of mine.” Nicole blushed. “And besides, despite us being friends he was a real jerk to me sometimes! I just can’t see him as anything more than a friend.”
“If you say so...” Isabella replied. “Better not bring him up too much in front of Markus though, you might make him jealous.”
Nicole only blushed more, shaking her head. “Don’t be weird, Isabella! We’re just friends!”
“First of all, try saying that when you’re looking at me and not bright red in the face. And anyway, you say you’re friends now, but wait and see.”
“D-Don’t you have work you have to do?!” Nicole protested.
“Oh yeah, silly me!” Isabella grinned and headed off to her work area.
In the surgical department, there was a lot of fuss going on over another note that had been sent to Caduceus that morning, specifically to the department.
“The third move is about to be made. We’ll take what we need, and then you will experience punishment for your third sin. The endgame is slowly falling into place piece by piece. Be prepared, doctors. Your time runs out daily.” Dr. Everett read from the scruffy piece of paper, looking confused. “We’ll take what we need? Does this mean they’re not going to let loose the third sin just yet?”
“It certainly sounds like it.” Dr. Tsuji replied curtly. “Honestly, these people and their strangely-worded letters... Do they really think they’re being clever?”
“Obviously, otherwise they wouldn’t be writing like that.” Markus sighed, yawning a little.
“Are you even awake?” Dr. Tsuji asked, giving him an irritated look. “Dr. Vaughn, if you’re half-asleep there’s no way you can do a good job today in surgery.”
“I’ll be fine, Kanae. Sorry. I just couldn’t sleep well last night.”
“That’s none of my concern. All that matters to me is that you can do your job.” She turned to Dr. Everett. “That line “we’ll take what we need” seems to imply either thievery or kidnapping. I don’t know whether I’m just reading too deeply into it or what, but considering what happened during the Stigma outbreak...”
“It’s a possibility, I’ll give you that.” Dr. Everett replied. “But they haven’t done anything yet. All we can do is wait and see.”
“That’s what drives me mad. All this uncertainty.”
“Don’t worry, Kanae. I’m sure it’ll turn out fine in the end. I thought you had an operation scheduled soon, anyway?”
“Yes, you’re right. I’ll see you all later.” Dr. Tsuji replied, before turning with a flourish and walking briskly away.
“I’d better go too.” Dr. Everett admitted. “See you later, guys.”
“Bye, Dr. Everett.” Valerie said, giving him a brief wave, and then turning back to Elena and Markus. “What’s up with you this morning anyway? You don’t look so good.”
“I... Like I said, Val. I just didn’t sleep. I think maybe this SIN thing caught up to me - the reality of it. And as for that note... What if Dr. Tsuji’s right and someone gets kidnapped? It was bad enough that Kidman kidnapped us that time. I don’t want that to happen to someone else.”
“We got out, didn’t we?” Valerie replied stubbornly. “Look... I know it bothers you, but why worry about something before it even happens? You’ll only stress yourself out more.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“And besides, you always have me and Elena. You’re not alone in any of this.”
“She’s right, Dr. Vaughn. We’ll always be here for you.” Elena added.
“Thank you, both of you.” Markus said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you two.”
“You’d be in trouble, that’s what!” Valerie laughed.
“Pretty sure I would, Val.” He grinned. “Well, I suppose we’d better get started with work ourselves, huh?”
“Yeah, let’s get started.”
“We’ve got a fair amount of patients to deal with this morning... Most of them have some form of SIN - Socordia and Avaritia.” Elena told them.
“That’s okay, we can easily handle those. Right, Markus?” Valerie asked him.
“Yeah, it’s no problem. Let’s get started.”
The rest of the morning was busy with the various SIN operations, but most of the patients were in good condition with high vitals, which made their work much easier. All of them did their best with the patients, but the note was still an irritating mystery. There was no doubt as to who it was from, though. The same people who were spreading the SIN virus.
Eventually, they were all allowed to stop and have a short break before they performed more operations. A lot of people were wandering around randomly and talking to their friends about various operations or just work in general.
“How’s it going, you guys?” Isabella said, coming up to talk to the three of them.
“Just fine, thanks! The operations weren’t all that difficult.” Valerie replied.
“Good to hear. But then both of you know what you’re doing, plus you have Elena’s help, so I’m not all that surprised.”
“I don’t know about that, but we’re doing our best. How about the research department? How are you guys doing?”
“Oh, us? We haven’t been tremendously busy. But we were given that note that was sent to you guys...” Isabella paused. “So it’s been a bit awkward around there. But we’re taking a careful look at it and we’re going to hand it over to the director later. After all, if anyone is going to know what to do about it, it’ll be her.”
“True. I just wonder if whatever this third sin they’re planning is going to be worse than Socordia.”
“Don’t think like that. We’re working here specifically because people believe we can do this!” Isabella replied, full of determination. “I’m sure you three will be fine, seriously.”
“Hey, Isabella! Why did you run off like that?” Nicole protested, walking up to the brunette woman. “I looked around for one minute, and you were gone.”
“You were talking to Dr. Cromwell, weren’t you?”
“Yes, about the note, but that’s not the point! The point is that you just vanished! I nearly had a heart attack!”
“Sorry, sorry...”
“Markus, you don’t look so good. Are you feeling all right?” Nicole changed the subject slightly, giving Markus an anxious look. “They couldn’t have already...?”
“No, I’m just tired. Don’t worry about me.” Markus said calmly.
“You... Of course I care. I don’t... I don’t like it when anyone’s down or feeling bad. And if you’re worried, you can always come talk to me, or talk to Elena and Valerie. They’re your friends, right? And I just want to help.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“It’s no big deal...” Nicole muttered, going a bit pink. “After all, you were really nice to me yesterday...”
“I just didn’t want you to worry, that’s all.” Markus said, which made her go red.
“Thanks...”
“To quote you, “No problem.””
“Can’t you come up with anything original?” Valerie teased.
“Everyone’s a critic.”
“Just be glad it’s not Dr. Cromwell. He’d have something to say about it.” Isabella giggled.
“Yeah, he wouldn’t be happy with you at all, Markus!” Nicole added, smiling.
“He’d probably just give me a lecture and that would be the end of it.”
“Maybe after about five hours.” Valerie said.
“I think I can handle that.”
The rest of the break was spent talking and joking about various things, and then they had to split up and head back to their departments.
“I’ll see you later, Dr. Vaughn, Dr. Blaylock.” Isabella said cheerfully. “Keep them in line for me, okay, Elena?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Elena replied, jokingly saluting.
“Especially Dr. Vaughn, he’s the badly-behaved one!”
Elena and Nicole both went red at that statement.
“Don’t worry, I will!” Elena managed, and Isabella gave her an approving smile.
“How come I’ve got such a bad reputation around here? Especially from you, Elena!” Markus said in a mock-hurt tone. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are, Dr. Vaughn! I’m just listening to instructions!” she replied shyly.
“Well, can you just ignore Isabella?”
“No!” Isabella interrupted. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Nicole and I had better go.”
“See you later!” Nicole said cheerfully, and she and Isabella walked off.
“Geez, back to work, I guess.” Markus sighed. “Come on, let’s go!”
The other operations were mostly simple procedures, with the occasional Socordia or Avaritia patient thrown in. It was a bit dull, but both Markus and Valerie were relieved that they were getting to do average patients as well. Occasionally there was the challenge of a mature Avaritia, but otherwise it was business as usual.
And elsewhere, William and Sam were talking to their boss.
“We had your message delivered, sir. A third agent confirmed its arrival at Caduceus.” William stated, smiling smugly. “And we also have information - the sample X3 is progressing well towards maturity.”
“I see. And have you any idea when the patient will begin exhibiting symptoms?”
“In precisely one week, we believe. Though considering the state of X3, it may indeed be sooner.” Sam told him, looking just as proud as his partner.
“Good, good. And since you sent out the note, I assume you know the next plan?”
“Yes. We’re to kidnap the subjects and bring them back here, correct?” William stated, his grey eyes nervous.
“Exactly.” The boss’s voice was amused, but in a cold way - as if he was happy that someone like William managed to understand the plan at all. “You know who we want, don’t you?”
“Markus Vaughn, Valerie Blaylock, and... the nurse, Elena Salazar.” William replied uncertainly.
“Correct. And we want a researcher as well.”
“Does it matter who?”
The boss chuckled. “I’m considering someone in particular, but the main thing is to capture the doctors and the nurse. If we get them, we can get the researcher, but that isn’t 100% necessary.”
“You want someone to test the SINs, don’t you, sir?” Sam asked. “But what makes you so sure they’ll agree - if you’ll excuse the impertinent nature of my question.”
“I’m not offended. But my reasoning goes like this - if we already have their friends, and we threaten to hurt them, they’ll co-operate to protect their friends, yes? Even more so if their friends happen to suffer some unfortunate damage.”
“I see. So when do we engage the plan?”
“Follow them around - I showed you the photos, didn’t I? As soon as the time is right, strike.” The boss fished around in his pockets, and handed both Sam and William a few pen injectors. “Use these. Since anaesthesia can be administered by pen injectors nowadays, I figure you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting them under control.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Dismissed.”
At Caduceus, everything continued, smoothly as always. The research team were working on Socordia further, and checking Avaritia to see if there were any similarities. There was also the topic of the note, and whether Socordia too could possibly mutate and mature as Avaritia had. In the surgical department, the average procedures were being carried out by the various surgeons on duty.
And Dr. Cromwell had gone to see the director to get her opinion on the matter of the note.
Her face was grave as she scanned the paper, taking in every word as if she had to burn it after she was done, and when she had finished reading, she folded it and placed it in front of her on the desk. Then she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out an exasperated sigh. “My goodness... It never ends.”
“I know. I’m just saying that we must be on our toes, and that the - the person who’s behind this is obviously planning something big. And if there are seven sins, that means there must also be seven SIN viruses... The fact that they’re considering kidnap, going by this letter, is also disturbing.”
“It is... But considering we don’t even know who sent it, and the fact that no move has actually been made as of yet, that makes our life much more difficult. Thank you though, doctor. This is very useful. At least now we know that they’re still active and we can watch out.”
“It’s no problem, madam.” Dr. Cromwell replied, giving her one of his typical slight bows. “I’m glad this could be of use. And perhaps the fact that it was sent to the surgical department indicates that if they are going after anyone, it’ll be people from that specific department.”
The director looked thoughtful. “That could be, that could well be. But of course, we don’t know. You do make a very good point though, Dr. Cromwell. You can go now if you wish.”
“Of course, madam. Goodbye.” And with that, the tall, slightly balding blonde researcher left the room.
There was a lull in activity somewhere in the late afternoon, and everyone took advantage of it to finish work and pass on reports, as well as gossip and joke around when none of the various department heads were looking. Nicole and Cynthia were handed reports to pass on to the surgical department - Cynthia’s had to go to Dr. Everett and Nicole’s was meant to be given to Elena to be handed on.
Cynthia had headed off as soon as she was given the report, but Nicole had had to wait for hers because the researcher responsible wanted to double-check it for mistakes. As soon as it was handed over she rushed off too.
She looked around for Elena, but didn’t see her around. As she was rushing through the surgical department, getting increasingly nervous, she nearly collided with the blonde woman.
“S-Sorry, Elena! I wasn’t watching what I was doing!”
“That’s okay, Dr. Williams!” Elena replied. “You were obviously in a hurry for something.”
“Yeah... I’ve got the report you guys need. Would you pass it on to Markus and Valerie for me?” Nicole asked, holding out the folder.
Elena took it from her. “No problem. Thanks for bringing it here.”
“Well, you need it, plus I was heading here anyway. If you weren’t here I would’ve just given it directly to either Markus or Valerie.” Nicole replied, shrugging.
“It’s okay. I’ll pass it on.”
“Thanks, I owe you one Elena!”
And then Nicole headed off back to her department, thankfully not running this time. Elena headed carefully around the main floor to Markus’s office - seeing as it took him a while to check these things, it would probably be better to give it to him so he could pass it on to Valerie.
When she arrived, she knocked carefully on the door. “Dr. Vaughn? It’s me.”
“Huh? Oh, Elena. Come in.”
She opened the door, waving the folder. “Dr. Williams gave me the report on Socordia and Avaritia, so I thought I should hand it on to you.”
Markus stood up from his desk and walked over. “Thanks, Elena. I’ll read it right away. And I’ll give it to Valerie as soon as I’m done, otherwise I’m sure she won’t be happy with me.”
“It’s no problem, Dr. Vaughn.” Elena smiled, handing it over to him.
“See you later.”
“You’ve only got a few more operations scheduled, so you can read the report properly once you’re done.”
“It should be no trouble, right? I’ve got you and Val.” Markus replied, smiling too.
“Yes, together we’re a good team.” Elena nodded, feeling her face go slightly warm. Luckily, as far as she knew, she was only going pink. “Bye!”
And with that, she left the office and headed off to get the operating room set up. Even if that was only a small amount she helped, even if she often only helped with small things, Markus and the others still appreciated it, and that meant a lot to her.
The first operation that she and the others had to do was a simple enough one - immature form Avaritia. These were easy enough to do, especially as the immature Avaritia didn’t need as much laser exposure to be destroyed as mature ones. The second was a Socordia patient, but with the help of the research department’s medicine, that virus was soon destroyed as well.
The third operation was a pump unit replacement surgery, which Markus handled easily. Elena walked him through it easily - she knew pretty much exactly how it worked, considering she had needed a similar surgery herself when she was younger, and Markus had been the one to perform it.
The fourth operation was an operation on the heart to fix the patient’s condition with a pacemaker. With precision and care, Markus and Valerie managed to hook up the tiny machine and get it working right away, which was a relief. The last time they’d done a similar surgery was to replace a pacemaker with a new one, and the patient had flatlined multiple times.
As soon as they were done, the group split up to go get on with various other work. Elena had to double-check several doctors’ paperwork from operations, Valerie had her own work to start, and Markus had to read the report Elena had given him. Almost as soon as he opened it, he recognised the writing style as Dr. Cromwell’s and groaned. Sure, he could understand what was written, but Dr. Cromwell had trouble with being brief - he would rant on for paragraphs and then eventually get back to the point, usually by the time everyone had lost it.
“Better get this done. Valerie will kill me if she doesn’t get to see it.”
And so everything kept going as usual at Caduceus. By leaving time, most of the work was done, which everybody felt pleased about. If nothing else, they always got the work done, and that was one of their strong points.
Nicole, meanwhile, felt grateful that Dr. Cromwell didn’t deem it necessary for them all to stay behind that evening. She and Isabella, as well as a few others from the research department, left the building in a group. The other departments were mostly leaving in groups as well, and Isabella dragged her over to see the others.
“Hey, good to see you! You got the report, didn’t you?” Isabella said to Markus, Valerie, and Elena.
Elena nodded. “I passed it on, thank you.”
“Good, thanks.”
“No problem.”
“Um... Did you guys see that note?” Nicole said nervously, interrupting their conversation.
“Which one? You mean that weirdly-written one? Yeah, we saw it.” Valerie confirmed.
“Sounds stupid, but... you guys be careful, okay?” she replied, slightly embarrassed. They were all adults, it was a bit silly saying something like that.
“Thanks. You be careful too, Nicole.” Markus said. “And you too, Isabella.”
“Duly noted.” Isabella smiled. “See you later.”
“Bye!”
And they walked away from each other. As they walked the rest of the short distance, neither she nor Isabella talked. For some reason it would’ve just been awkward.
“Hey, Nicole?”
“Huh?”
“You really are worried about him and the others, aren’t you?” Isabella commented.
“It’s...” Nicole began, but was quickly interrupted.
“Not like that, I know. But you keep blushing around him like that, and you can barely talk. At this rate, you’re going to give me the wrong idea.”
“Shut up, you’ve already got the wrong idea!”
“Mmhmm, if you say so. See you later then!”
“Bye, Isabella!” Nicole half-yelled from embarrassment.
“Bye, Nicole!”
On the way home, she couldn’t decide what bothered her more, all this anxiety going around Caduceus, or Isabella’s stupid comments. Whatever, she could worry about it another time. After all, tomorrow was another day.
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