“What am I supposed to think? If he dies, Maria will never forgive me,” he said, looking at the hospital staff still working on Othello, whose blood now soaked their scrubs, bed, and floor. “Find out who set this up, Iago, and bring them to me.”
“Yes, Papa.”
Iago didn’t leave right away, and Alessandro could feel his reluctance. Alessandro knew Iago was worried about his brother. They had been close since childhood, sharing woes and joys.
“Go, I’ll keep you in the loop,” Alessandro told him.
Iago sighed, hugged him, then left. Minutes after Iago left, the doctor approached Alessandro.
“Doctor, how's my son?” Alessandro asked.
“He’s stable for now. We got the bullet out, but it caused a lot of damage that will require surgery immediately.”
“Do whatever it takes,” Alessandro told him, his tone raw and emotional. “Just save my son.”
“I’ll make sure he gets the best on staff.” He smiled and then turned to the nurse at his side. “Contact Doctor Ellington. Let him know he’s needed in the ER.”
“Yes, Doctor.” The nurse left, but the doctor stayed.
“Is there something else?” Alessandro asked.
“Yes, I must warn you. The surgeon will have questions. Normally, we need to report a gunshot wound to the police.”
“Then get someone else, or you do it,” Alessandro said.
“I’m not as good as he is. He’s our youngest and best surgeon on staff, and with him, your son will live; with me, you’d be taking too many risks. His heart stopped once already. I don’t want to take the chance. Julian might be my brother, but I know even he wouldn’t be able to protect me if your son dies by my hand.”
Just as Alessandro was about to speak, the machines around Othello started beeping madly. The doctor cursed and ran to his side, barking out orders that Alessandro couldn’t understand. “Fuck, we need to get him to the OR now. Tell them we’re coming!”
Before Alessandro could ask any questions, they wheeled Othello away.
“Sir, I need you to follow me to the operating waiting room,” a nurse told him. They could not move too fast because of his hurt leg, so the gurney with Othello was long gone. “We’re about to have your son operated on, and I will need you to sign off on it.”
“Get me the paperwork now,” he ordered gently. As they walked, she handed him a clipboard. He scanned it, signed his name, and returned it to her. Once they got to the waiting room, Alessandro released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He looked around the room, spotting the rest of his men. “Tallen, spread the word until we know Othello is fine—no one tells Maria.”
“Yes, Don.” Tallen ran off to do his bidding.
Alessandro sat in a chair and dropped his head in his hands, sending prayers to every god in the universe, begging them not to take his son from him. He was going to kill whoever did this. Someone must have thought he had become soft and that they could strike at him by taking out his beloved son. They had another thing coming because he would wreak havoc on their lives when he found them.
“Marco, find out who the surgeon is and how we can ensure he doesn’t talk. See who's on our payroll, who’s a part of the hospital board,” he said, looking up at his soldier. “Also, get me the name of everyone who died and got hurt.”
“Yes, Don.”
With everyone gone off to do the tasks he ordered, Alessandro leaned back in his chair and waited because that was all he could do.
SCENE II
DES
Desmond Ellington, or Des to those close to him, was the surgeon on call. He had just completed one surgery and was preparing for another. He’d gotten the report on Othello Romano-Moor, his patient, who was in critical condition. Doctor Moretti stabilized him before removing the bullet.
Still, there were fragments near major blood vessels, posing several risks to the patient’s survival, which was why he needed to operate immediately. Des knew it was going to be a long and difficult surgery.
Once he was ready, Des entered the operating room and greeted the staff. With their masks on, Des couldn’t tell who they were, but he knew that he had never worked with this group of staff before. He wasn’t sure why that thought came to him at such a moment, but he couldn’t deny that he had questions and hoped to get the answers later.
“Alright, people, talk to me.” He walked over to examine the X-ray again.
“His vitals are stable,” Nurse Campos said.
