Morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, hitting Ana's face.
She opened her eyes, wincing.
Her entire left side was dead, crushed under Leo's weight.
The door swung open.
Auguste marched in, followed by Elwyn and three agents.
He held a clipboard in his hand.
"We are moving out in ten minutes," he announced to the room.
Ana snapped fully awake.
"Are you insane?" she hissed, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't wake the boy. "He can't be moved!"
"The outer perimeter is compromised," Auguste said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Staying here is a death sentence."
"You can't take a patient without the attending physician signing an AMA form!" Ana argued.
Auguste tossed the clipboard onto the foot of the bed.
Ana looked at the paper.
At the bottom was the messy, unmistakable signature of Alistair Cromwell, the hospital's Chief Executive Officer.
Her stomach plummeted.
Two agents stepped forward and carefully lifted Leo off her chest.
The loss of contact woke the boy instantly.
Panic flashed in Leo's eyes, and he reached out, his small fingers grasping for Ana's shirt.
Auguste stepped in, his large hand gently stroking his son's hair.
"Daddy promises Mommy will come find you later," he said softly.
Ana opened her mouth to protest the lie.
Auguste shot her a look so lethal it froze the words in her throat.
Leo sniffled, letting go of her shirt.
The agents placed him into a specialized, enclosed transport wheelchair that hid him entirely from view.
Within seconds, the room was empty.
They left without giving her a phone number, an address, or a backward glance.
Ana sat alone on the wrinkled bedsheets, staring at the dried blood on the floor.
A sudden realization hit her like a physical blow.
Her deal.
The urology exam she forced him to agree to was gone.
"Lying mafia bastard," she muttered, grabbing her hair in frustration.
She rubbed her stiff neck and walked out of the PICU, heading toward the urology department to change her clothes.
Nurses were huddled in the hallways, whispering frantically about the men in black suits who had locked down the building.
Ana kept her head down, turning a corner.
She slammed right into a solid chest.
She looked up and saw Dr. Earnest Hayes, her mentor and department head.
His face was dark with anger.
"Where were you last night, Dr. West? You abandoned your shift. Patients complained."
Ana stammered, her hands sweating. "I was in the ER. I donated blood, and then I got caught up in... a situation."
Hayes pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
His eyes darted down the hallway.
"My office. Now."
Ana followed him, a knot of anxiety twisting in her gut. She needed this fellowship to become a permanent attending.
They walked into his office.
Hayes immediately locked the door and pulled the blinds shut.
The room plunged into dim, oppressive shadows.
Hayes didn't sit behind his desk. He stood right in front of her.
"Do you have any idea who you saved last night?" he asked, his voice slow and deliberate.
Ana bit her lip. "Some Washington mafia boss who pissed off the wrong people?"
