“Well, good luck with that,” I said, hoping to put the kibosh on this right now. “A doctor can only do so much without the necessary equipment and supplies. And even then…”
My voice trailed off at how unaffected and disinterested Eduardo seemed at my words.
“We have all of that here already,” he said. “Believe me, you will not lack for tools and drugs needed to treat anyone wounded.”
I didn’t want to know how they’d gotten it. We’d gotten no reports of theft or burglary at the hospital, but maybe they’d raided another. Maybe someone had smuggled some in. It was shady territory either way, and I was a doctor, not an investigator.
That might be Zack’s job.
“So then why me?” I said. “I’m a young doctor. There are plenty of other experienced doctors who would help you much more than me.”
Eduardo nodded.
“You already know.”
“I do?”
Zack. The Reapers.
“I can see it on your face. You know exactly why we reached out to you. It’s not because of your experience as a doctor. It’s because of your experience with certain people in our city.”
Yep. Damnit.
“You’ve helped the Reapers. You’re sympathetic. Perhaps you are even falling in love with one of them.”
“What?” I said, but my laugh gave me away. He wasn’t entirely wrong. I had just tried to slow my feelings down, but if I played them out for where they’d eventually wind up…
“You can act like you have no idea what I’m talking about, Dr. Elks, or you can drop the facade I already see as a facade and we can have an actual conversation.”
I said nothing.
“Practically, your presence takes away a valuable asset to the enemy, and from a morale standpoint, it will weaken them greatly to know that their lover is working for us.”
“Well, just to be clear, I don’t have much of a choice in coming here since the alternative was death, but I’m not risking my career or my life to—”
Eduardo pulled out a gun.
I froze.
And then he put it on the table, chuckling to himself like he’d just pulled a quiet, easy joke that he didn’t want anyone else to know about.
“Who said anything about you working two jobs?”
Shit. No, this can’t be happening.
“I’m not quitting a good job at a downtown hospital to serve some criminals who say they’ll pay me a million dollars per year but probably won’t even pay me a hundred bucks.”
Eduardo arched an eyebrow, again doing so in a toying, amused fashion. This time, he pulled out his phone, scrolled through something, and then turned it to me. The voice of an older man, I would guess in his fifties or so, began speaking.
“Eduardo. You and your Bandits have begun making great progress in Santa Maria, far greater than anywhere else.”
King.I knew nothing of this man or what sort of spread he had, but his voice just carried a certain gravitas to it, as if the mere tone and presence of voice were enough to imply he had power. I felt a shiver go down my spine listening to him speak.
“It is time that I supply you with greater financial resources at your disposal. You have unlimited funds to do what you want, but be warned: do not frivolously waste this money. Use it to eliminate the Reapers once and for all. Use it to set up whatever you must. And use it to build my empire.”
That was the end of the voicemail. I gulped and looked up at Eduardo.
“So you see,” he said, “I don’t particularly care what the hospital was paying you. We can pay you more.”
