Out of the Black - Lee Doty [121]
"Wyler." He said as he transferred the hospital's incident key to the officer's tablet. "Anything else you need from me, Officer Woods?"
"What's up with them?" she said in an offhand manner that struck him as somewhat contrived. Maybe she was new on the job, nervous.
"The one with the head trauma is pretty straightforward... multiple blows to the head, concussion, some fractures patched by the kit on his head. We should have him out of surgery within an hour. Only weird thing was that the medkit's logs show that it's been on him for about two days. Now, the other one is deeply strange. My portable couldn't find anything wrong with him, but the IV in his arm's been there for two days too... Maybe the deep scanners or the neural mappers can pick up some clues. I'm having the scans forwarded to neurography for analysis. Hopefully we'll know more soon."
The officer looked thoughtful. "They were found in the ambulance run outside the ER. Any other weird stuff happen here recently?"
"Heavens yes!" The doctor chuckled. "We're Harm central around here. It doesn't get much weirder than that. You see someone try to eat their own fingers and pretty much everything else is boring as cold oatmeal."
The officer gave her head a knowing shake. "Yeah... when will that fad die out?"
"Not soon enough." The doctor said. "I long for the return of Heroin."
"Yeah... I'm going to poke around the scene where..." The officer was interrupted by a woman's disoriented shriek from outside.
The doctor gestured toward the entrance. "And here's tonight's first Harm, no doubt. Care to stick around for the show?"
"There aren't enough donuts in the world... Thanks doctor."
The officer moved toward the interior doors, then turned back. "Where's your security post? I'll need to see the logs from the place where the victims were found."
"Straight ahead. Follow the signs... you can't miss it." The doctor turned away as the exterior doors burst open. Two EMTs wheeled in a gurney with a screaming woman strapped to it. Her platinum and red-tipped hair was disheveled, soaked in sweat. Her fancy black, holo-traced party clothes were ripped from her struggle against the restraints.
Rae rounded the corner and pushed the call button outside the hospital's security post. After a few seconds, the buzzer sounded and she pushed into the small room.
"What can I do for you officer?" The room's only occupant was a lanky surfer type. He sat before a panoramic display, reading a publication about really fast looking cars on his tablet. The display before him held multiple open windows, which monitored the entry points and key areas of the hospital. The room was dark; the smell of stale coffee colored the air.
"I need access to a security feed. Need to do some research on two John Does found in the ambulance run."
"Sure thing!" The guy leaned forward and made the necessary checks of Rae's credentials. Satisfied that she was in fact Jeanette Woods, faithful minion of the CPD, he authorized her for the access. Rae's tablet chirped as the interface opened to the hospital's security systems.
"Just camera logs?"
She nodded, "Yeah, thanks."
"No prob. They were actually found off camera, so I don't know how much this will help."
"Yeah. Maybe I'll find a clue or something." She gave him a wink.
"So, how's life in the big leagues?"
"Big leagues?"
"I've been thinking 'bout giving the academy a try for a while now."
"You should... it's a great job. Not like the videos though."
"What's the best part?"
"Pulling cats out of trees."
"I thought the fire department took care of that."
"Helping old ladies across the street?" She gave him a smile.
"You get to help old ladies a lot here... maybe we should switch."
"Too many Harms here. I couldn't stand all the action."
He beamed, sitting perhaps a little straighter in his chair. "Yeah, it's a rough and tumble job. Hospital security, it's not for everyone."
Behind him, on the wall, the doctor stalked the Harm on the gurney, waiting for the right moment to make his move with his