“Not much since I was promoted. Honestly, it’s like my suit of armor. A little Fani Bremen protection.” Gwen laughed some more.
Kim patted her arm. “I love it.”
The sun glare blocked her view to the west. She noticed Kevin adjusting his position. Tapping her comm, she asked, “Boomer, we okay?”
“Can’t see. Would you mind heading inside? Cafeteria? Lobby?” he replied.
“Roger. Kim, they can’t see. Would you mind going inside? We can get something in the cafeteria or head up to my office. It’s comfortable.” Gwen’s eyes scanned as she asked.
“Sure.”
“Rainman and Boomer, we’re ready.” Gwen was completely focused when the air suddenly changed, the hair on the back of her neck rising.
The two women headed to Tower 2. “Brody said he grabbed something to eat before his appointment. He said your cafeteria has Yelp reviews. Is he teasing?”
“No, it does have good food. And staff gets their food for free.” Gwen opened the door, and they walked inside. Both women grabbed an ice cream concoction. “If he doesn’t get out of surgery soon, I’ll need insulin.”
At 1530, the cafeteria was busy but not too crowded. “Business continues,” she mumbled, choosing an isolated corner table.
“Gwen?” Kim’s brows crunched.
“Business continues—one of the execs said it this morning. He was feeling torn about waiting versus working,” she sighed. Looking up, she saw a man walking toward them. “That’s another thing uniforms do. They attract everyone.”
“White male, blond hair, blue eyes approaching,” Noah’s voice said through her comm.
She watched the man approach as Noah and Kevin moved to intercept. The man sped up, making it to Kim and Gwen first. “Sir, may I help you?”
“No, I’m here to finish some old business. Hey, Kim,” the man said.
When Kim crunched her brows, Gwen saw realization strike her new friend. “Luka, I didn’t recognize you. How did you find me?” her voice shook.
“This was luck. I made an appointment to see someone about a problem. Once inside, I’d have no issue catching up with my old friend, Bremen. I came in to get something to eat,” Luka said, brandishing what appeared to be a white letter opener.
He read her name plate. “North…what’s your first name?”
“Gwen.” She sat up taller.
“Well, Gwen North, tell your two goons not to come any closer.” He grabbed Kim by the hair and pointed the letter opener against her belly.
Gwen tapped her comm. “Boomer, Rainman, stand down, Epsilon. Kim and I are having a conversation with Luka Valent.”
* * *
Tensionin the operating room was thick. Trask watched the surgeons struggle to free up Troy’s bowel to reconnect. They’d switched to the open surgery. Mac, Hunt, Ethan and Patrick rotated around Mac as they tried to get to what now was clearly a bone shard.
“Look at that. It’s sitting in the iliac artery above a large cyst. This is why the infection dropped him so fast.”
“The surgery is going to drop him if you folks don’t finish up,” Morgan, one of the anesthesiologists, said. “His heart is throwing more frequent PVCs.”
“If I pop this cyst, we will infect the whole site. Montgomery, Miller, a little assistance,” Mac asked.
“Damn it, Troy, we need one more hour,” Beth yelled at him.
“Are you okay to continue?” Jayden asked.
“Wipe,” Elizabeth called. Tim walked over and wiped her eyes. “Troy’s family. Pat and I were there August fourteenth when Troy came into the ER. We’ve been with him since.”
“Well, then, Troy, we need you to be that cooperative patient. Mac, where are you at?” Jayden asked.
