They shook hands, nodding and smiling.
"I gotta move my truck. Don't worry, I'm not leaving my friend."
The officers watched him park, greeting him when he returned. They politely waited on the far side of room, but rose when Anton was called back. Exchanging a look, they stepped forward.
"We're supposed to keep an eye on this man," one explained to the nurse.
"You're not going back there," she stated firmly. "It's busy and crowded enough. What's he supposed to have done?" She crossed her arms around the tablet she carried, eyeing them sternly.
"Suspect in a jewelry robbery."
"Hmm.... See any jewelry to rob?"
"Um...."
"That's not a trick question, sugar." She bit her lip, frowning. "Isn't the law innocent until proven guilty?"
"Yes, ma'am," the other officer said.
"And you've got nothing else better to do than clutter up my waiting room? Out. Both of you. Go. You," she point to Anton. "Dr. Smithers needs to talk to you. Cubicle three on your left. Blue curtain." She blocked the officers as effectively as a linebacker. "No. You leave now, or I'll call the cops."
"Lady, we are the cops," the first one explained in a patient tone.
"Your boss, dumb ass. His friend is sick. He's not leaving." She pointed to the door.
Even though they could have gotten past the woman easily, they left. Anton heard the conversation as they walked to CV's treatment cubicle.
The old man was pale, sweating. He wore an oxygen mask and had a blood pressure cuff on his arm. A small device was clipped to his right index finger.
"You look like shit, Old Man," Anton said as cheerfully as he could, trying to keep the worry from his voice and face.
CV snorted, tilting his head right and left.
"You just didn't want to go fishing, huh?"
"Smart ass," CV wheezed from behind his mask.
A woman walked in, smiling, her hand extended. "You must be the son."
Anton smiled, somewhat surprised. "No. I'm his neighbor. We were fishing when he collapsed."
"Describe that for me?" she listened intently as he spoke.
The nurse was back, transcribing his account on her laptop.
"Does Mr. Carpenter suffer from back issues?"
"Not until lately―the last four months?" He raised a curious eyebrow at CV.
"Maybe five," CV added.
"Describe your pain," the doctor asked CV.
"Sharp, like I'm being stabbed in the kidney. And before you ask, yes. I've been stabbed."
"In the kidney?" She rolled him on his side so she could examine his back. "I see. Very near. You were extremely lucky. When did this occur?"
"Vietnam. I was a Tunnel Rat. I got in a fight with some of the residents. One of them, a girl of about twelve, stabbed me, before I broke her neck."
The doctor frowned deeply, but Anton shook his head. He understood the very real danger that even children had presented.
"That must have been awful for you," the nurse interjected before the doctor could lecture.
"It was a place and time apart. I hated my job, but the fact I survived, shows I was good at it."
"Not our job to judge," the doctor said, collecting herself. "I want an MRI of his lower back," she said over her shoulder to the nurse. "Do we have X-rays yet?"
"Any minute."
"Wait for them before we do the MRI." Her fingers probed CV's back. He howled when she poked something especially painful. "Mr. Carpenter, how did you survive this wound?"
"People in the village, friendlies, patched me up. Kept me alive."
She rolled him onto his back once more. "Did the doctors check you?"
"Yeah. It healed up good. Why?"
"What were you stabbed with?"
"No idea. It was dark and she ran up behind me. Is it bad, Doc?"
"I think you have some scar tissue that's pulled loose, and more that's tangling with your kidney. Maybe your spine. But I also think there might be a fragment in there, that's worked its way up nearer the surface."
"X-rays, Doctor," the nurse announced.
The screen flickered on and was filled with images of CV's back. Dr. Smithers, Anton and the nurse gazed at them.
"There." Anton's sharp eyes spotted a spot on the image. It was too regular to be naturally occurring.
"So it is. Zoom in, Susie?"
The image got larger. "That, Mr. Carpenter, is the tip of a sharpened bone."
"The little bitch got me with a bone? No wonder no one found the fragment."
"Depending on where it was lodged, it would probably not even be seen. I'm guessing it worked loose when the scar tissue popped. We need to get this out," she addressed Anton. "And the adhesions need to be reduced. I'm concerned about the kidney," she directed at CV.
©2021 Dellani Oakes
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