Jerry led the way down the corridor and around two corners to the sickbay.The doors automatically slid open.Inside, Phil pressed a thick pad to Daniel Swanson’s abdomen while Tim Waller ransacked cabinets for supplies.Blood covered Daniel Swanson’s white dress shirt and his forearms up to his elbows.
Olive assumed Tim had started the saline IV and placed the pulse oximeter and blood pressure cuff while Phil managed the wound.She rushed forward and went straight to the sink.“What do you need?”
Phil lifted the towel on Daniel’s abdomen and probed the wound.“A surgical theater would be nice.”
Tim turned with a look of relief and announced, “Swanson, Daniel.Older than dirt male.Single GSW to the lower right abdomen about 20 mikes back.I carried him here, maybe 10 mikes back.It was not a fun trip.Ozzy just showed up.Entry with no obvious exit, likely lodged internally.No other injuries noted.”
Jerry spoke from behind her.“Bourbon.You’re with me when you can break it off.”
“Roger that,” Waller nodded, then spoke to Olive again.“Patient is conscious but in a lot of pain—rating it 8 out of 10, oriented times three.BP’s low at 92/58, pulse 112 and thready, respirations 24 and shallow, O2 sat 94% on room air.Skin’s pale, cool, and clammy—signs of early shock.Likely internal bleeding.No allergies reported, no meds on board yet.Just found morphine and fent.I’ve got a 16-gauge IV in his left AC with normal saline wide open, about 500 mL in so far.BP cuff and pulse ox are on.No active external bleed now, but abdomen’s rigid and tender.Haven’t done a FAST yet.”
“Anything else?”Olive asked.
“No time to look around.Got what I needed when I saw it.There’s probably a surgery or clean room further in.”
Jerry asked from the doorway, “You good?”
Olive gave Phil a thumbs-up, and Phil said, “We’re all good.Go.”
Tim and Jerry hurried away.
Phil lifted his chin toward the door that led further into the sickbay.“I haven’t been able to leave him yet, either.See what we have back there.A theater would be nice, but if not, see if you can find a surgical kit of any kind.I need—everything—but scalpel, forceps, clamps, sutures, gauze at a minimum.”
“Yes, doctor,” she said automatically, her speech somewhat slurred as if she had a lisp.
The cold of the tiled deck seeped into her bare feet as she went through the door into the inner part of the sick bay.Her head throbbed with every step.She passed a nurse’s station, grabbed a stethoscope from the back of a chair, and then went through a treatment room into a back corridor that showed signs for X-ray and a procedure room.When she peeked in there, she looked around and rushed back to the front room.“Found one.Small surgical room.”
Phil taped the IV against Daniel’s arm and looked at the wheels on the bed, kicking the lock loose.“Let’s get him back there.”
“I found scrubs.”
“Good.We’ll get dressed for success before we really get going.”
Olive made note of Daniel’s blood pressure while Phil expertly applied Betadine all around the wound.He lifted his chin toward her.“Take out the earbud, will you?It’s distracting me.You can just set it down somewhere.I can compartmentalize it if it’s not right in my ear.”
Olive stripped her glove off and took the earbud out of his ear, then put his phone on speaker.He held his hand out.“Scalpel.”
While she assisted Phil, she prayed.The pain in her head and jaw distracted her.Her jaw throbbed with each heartbeat.Soon, the full metal jacketed steel core bullet he pulled out of Daniel plinked into a metal dish.
“Vicious round.Surprised it didn’t go right through or bounce around a little inside you, Pot Pie.Let’s see what you did,” he murmured, then said, “Shine the light this way, please.”
Phil thoroughly searched the path of the bullet, making sure he didn’t have to stop any more bleeding.When he felt sure he hadn’t missed anything, he began closing.Watching Phil’s beefy fingers perform this delicate work fascinated Olive.
She anticipated his needs, having the instruments and implements in hand before he even asked for them.She secured the needle with the suture thread in a pair of needle forceps and held them out as he opened his mouth to ask for them.
His eyes crinkled around his mask.“Anyone ever tell you that you should be a nurse?”
She chuckled and said, “More than once.”
Jerry, Tim Waller, and Emma Peña silently moved through the ship, taking precautions and letting Anderson guide them while watching out for anyone out of place.They did not encounter anyone.
The chapel door did not open automatically.He tapped on the door and waited.Marshal Stalling called from the other side of the door.“White dress!”
Jerry said, “Bowtie!”
Marshal Stalling opened the door with his Glock 47 ready.The group slipped inside.A body lay against the back wall, covered by a tablecloth.He assumed the tablecloth had been pilfered from the back room, and he assumed the corpse was once Marshal Black.
Jerry asked, “Everything okay?”
