Chapter 7: The Dark Side of Medicine
The day had started off like any other for Loraine and Conrad. Their routine shift had begun with the usual hustle—responding to minor accidents, stabilizing patients in transit, and delivering them safely to the hospital. The hospital was their second home, and the emergency room was always a whirlwind of activity.
Loraine and Conrad had just finished treating a burn victim from a kitchen accident and were finally taking a moment to catch their breath. Loraine stretched her arms as they stood near the ambulance bay, watching the clouds rolling in. A storm was brewing, both outside and within the hospital walls—though they didn’t know it yet.
"Maybe we’ll get through the rest of this shift without any more chaos," Conrad said, leaning against the ambulance with a tired grin.
Loraine smirked, knowing better.
"You know you’ve just jinxed us, right?"
Conrad chuckled.
"Yeah, probably."
As they were about to head back inside, a group of men walked past, looking suspiciously out of place. They were dressed in scrubs, but something about the way they moved—their quick glances around the area, their whispered conversations—set off alarm bells in Loraine’s mind. She nudged Conrad.
"Those guys seem off to you?" Loraine asked, her voice low as she gestured subtly toward the group.
Conrad frowned, following her gaze.
"Yeah… They’re not regular staff, that’s for sure."
The two watched as the men disappeared through a side door that led to a restricted area of the hospital—one that housed the surgical suites and organ transplant storage.
Loraine’s gut twisted.
"Something’s not right."
"Let’s check it out," Conrad said, his voice now serious.
"But be careful. If they’re up to something, we don’t want to spook them."
They quietly followed the men, moving through the hospital’s maze of hallways until they reached a door marked *Authorized Personnel Only*. Loraine hesitated for a moment but then glanced at Conrad, who nodded in silent agreement. They pushed open the door, slipping inside unnoticed.
The room they entered was dimly lit, the sterile white walls reflecting the glow from the surgical lights beyond the glass window. Loraine and Conrad peered around a corner, and what they saw froze them in place.
Inside the room, a doctor in a bloodied lab coat was speaking with one of the men they had followed. On the table between them sat a cooler—one Loraine immediately recognized from her time in the ambulance, used to transport organs. The sight sent a chill down her spine.
"Is that…?" Loraine whispered, her voice barely audible.
Conrad nodded grimly.
"Yeah, it’s an organ. And I’m pretty sure that’s not a legal transaction."
The men exchanged a briefcase with the doctor, and Loraine’s heart pounded as she realized what they were witnessing. This wasn’t just an ordinary organ transplant. It was an illegal black-market deal happening right under their noses, inside the hospital they trusted.
Loraine’s breath caught in her throat as the doctor handed over the cooler and the man passed him a wad of cash. The conversation between them was muffled, but the intent was clear. Panic surged through Loraine.
"We have to report this," she whispered to Conrad.
"This is a black-market organ sale!"
Before Conrad could respond, one of the mercenaries glanced toward the doorway. His eyes narrowed as he spotted the two of them.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing here?" the man barked, his hand moving toward his waistband where a gun was holstered.
Loraine and Conrad exchanged a panicked look. There was no time to think, only to react.
"Run!" Conrad shouted, grabbing Loraine’s arm as they bolted from the room.
Behind them, the mercenaries sprang into action. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway as they gave chase. Loraine’s heart thundered in her chest, and adrenaline flooded her system as they sprinted toward the ambulance bay.
"This way!" Conrad shouted, leading them down a side corridor.
Loraine’s mind raced as they dodged gurneys and other hospital staff who were blissfully unaware of the danger. The footsteps behind them were growing louder, closer. She glanced over her shoulder and saw one of the mercenaries pulling out his gun.
"They’re armed!" she shouted, her pulse spiking in fear.
Conrad swore under his breath. "We need to get to the ambulance, now!"
They rounded the final corner and burst into the ambulance bay. Conrad flung open the doors of their rig, and Loraine scrambled inside, her heart pounding. Conrad jumped into the driver’s seat and slammed the door just as one of the mercenaries appeared in the bay, gun drawn.
"Go, go, go!" Loraine screamed, clutching the back of Conrad’s seat as he gunned the engine.
The ambulance roared to life, and they shot forward just as a bullet pinged off the rear bumper. Loraine’s breath hitched in her throat as she clung to the seat, her mind racing. How had they gone from a normal day to being chased by armed criminals in a matter of minutes?
"They’re not going to stop," Conrad said, his voice tight as he maneuvered the ambulance through the streets, swerving to avoid traffic.
Loraine glanced out the rear window. Sure enough, a black SUV was tearing after them, the mercenaries inside not willing to let them escape.
"What do we do?" Loraine asked, panic rising in her chest.
Conrad’s jaw clenched. "We lose them. I’ll try to get us out of their sight, but you need to call the police."
Loraine nodded, fumbling for her phone with shaking hands. She quickly dialed 911, her voice trembling as she explained the situation.
"We’re being chased by armed men. They’re part of an illegal organ trafficking ring operating inside St. Michael’s Hospital," Loraine said, her voice barely steady.
"Stay on the line, we’re dispatching units now," the operator responded.
Loraine hung up, her hands trembling as the chase continued. Conrad swerved the ambulance through a narrow alley, the tires screeching against the pavement as he tried to shake the SUV. The mercenaries weren’t giving up, though, and they were closing the gap fast.
"They’re right behind us!" Loraine cried, glancing over her shoulder.
Conrad’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he gritted his teeth. "Hang on. I’ve got an idea."
He took a sharp left, narrowly missing a parked car as he sped toward a construction site. The path ahead was littered with debris and half-finished structures, but Conrad plowed forward, dodging obstacles like a seasoned pro.
The black SUV followed, but as it entered the construction site, Conrad slammed on the brakes, causing the mercenaries to overshoot the turn. The SUV skidded on the loose gravel and slammed into a stack of steel beams, bringing the chase to a sudden, jarring halt.
Loraine let out a shaky breath, her heart still racing as she stared out the window at the wreckage. "Did… did we lose them?"
Conrad nodded, though his expression was still tense. "For now, yeah. But they’re not going to forget about us. We just blew open their entire operation."
Loraine slumped back in her seat, the weight of the situation settling over her. They had just uncovered something huge, something dark and dangerous. And now, they were in the crosshairs of a powerful criminal syndicate.
"We need to be careful," Conrad said, his voice low.
"This isn’t over. Not by a long shot."
Loraine nodded, still trying to process everything that had happened. She glanced at Conrad, her heart still racing from both fear and adrenaline.
"What do we do now?"
Conrad’s gaze hardened, his resolve clear.
"We expose them. We take this all the way. No matter what it takes."