“Are you with the woman you carried to the back?” asked the doctor walking toward him.
“No. This is her grandson. We were just here waiting to see someone.”
“Oh, right,” he nodded. “Well, we’ll try to do two things at once. You got her back there in time. Her blood sugar was out of control. Nearly six-hundred. We’ve got her on fluids, pumping insulin into her now, but she should be alright.”
“She was takin’ cough medicine from the store,” said the boy.
“That stuff has lots of sugar in it,” said the doctor. “Next time, tell her to call me and we’ll give her something better.”
“What about the cough?” asked Miller. “Is it that strange virus?”
“No. Thank goodness. I’m not sure she would have come out of that. She’s got run of the mill pneumonia but I need to get the blood sugar under control first. We’ll keep her overnight just to be sure she has what she needs. Is the boy alone?”
“His father is on his way,” said Angel. The doctor turned, waving a nurse over to them.
“Val? Can you take this brave young man back to see his BeeBee? He can stay back there until his father comes.”
“Yes, sir,” smiled the nurse taking his hand. The boy turned, smiling at the two men.
“Thanks for the snacks mister!” They both chuckled and the doctor took a seat beside them.
“I’ve got a few minutes, how can I help you?”
They explained what they were searching for and the doctor repeated much of what was told to Gaspar and Nine.
“Listen, just take a look around you. None of these people can afford to travel anywhere. Most of them walked here or took a bus. They don’t eat exotic foods, unless you count squirrel and possum as exotic,” he grinned. “I had a run of folks two weeks ago. Lost six. Since then it’s been the norm. Pneumonia, flu, colds, a few broken bones but nothing like those first few weeks.”
“Any idea where this is coming from?” asked Miller.
“None. Believe me if I knew I’d definitely tell you.” A nurse called to him and stood, turning from the men. “I’m sorry. I have to get back there. Thanks again for bringing the woman back to us. We do our best but shit gets missed.”
“Of course,” nodded Angel.
They turned to leave, staring at the room full of patients. It was a small snippet of the healthcare crisis in America. Folks looking for quality care without health insurance and it seemed to effect those most vulnerable. The elderly and children.
“Come on brother,” said Miller. “We’ve got more stops to make.”
CHAPTER SIX
O’Hara, Max, and Rory were taken to a massive conference room in the state-of-the-art medical facility. There were four buildings, most containing medical offices, with one very large hospital at the center.
Max stared at the paintings on the walls, the sculptures lining the shelves around the room. This wasn’t a low income, no income, no insurance hospital. This was the place garden club ladies came for four days of rest and left looking ten years younger.
A few moments later, a woman entered the room dressed in a designer suit and diamond earrings big enough to choke a horse.
“Gentlemen, I’m Dr. Tiana Bix. I understand you have questions around the virus we’re seeing.”
“Not really questions,” said Max. “We’re just trying to help our own medical team in identifying patient zero.”
She stared at the men, looking from one to another as if they should have been grunting instead of speaking in complete sentences.
“I’m sorry. Let’s start again. Who are you?”
“My name is Max Neill. This is Rory Baine and Luke O’Hara. We work for the Robicheaux Foundation and my wife is one of the surgeons at the medical center. Like all the hospitals in the area, we’ve been overrun with patients and have had several who didn’t make it. We’re just trying to find out what this is.”
“I see,” she nodded. “Well, it’s a virus. That’s what it is.”
“Forgive me, doctor, but we’re well aware that it’s a virus. But we need to find out where it’s coming from before this explodes if it hasn’t already. Our team is working on an anti-virus to stop this.”
