Cover Those Arms, Nurse Ashworth

“The transport team had orders to bring me here,” Marcus said.

“I didn't know Voss would be waiting.””

I pulled a chair closer to his bed.

“Who gave the transport team those orders?””

“An officer whose face I never saw. The paperwork carried Rourke's authorization. I challenged it twice, and both times they told me my questions weren't relevant to my medical care.””

“That's not how military medical transport works.””

“That's what I told them.””

Marcus tried to sit up, then grimaced as pain tightened his face. I pressed the call button and checked his vitals.

“Stop moving. You've lost a dangerous amount of blood, and you've just come out of major surgery.””

“I've had worse.””

“You nearly died on my table.””

“Then I owe you another thank-you.””

“You can thank me when you stop making my job harder.””

A familiar flicker of amusement crossed his face.

For a second, I saw the young sailor who used to joke about everything, including the things that should have frightened him.

Then he glanced at the doorway.

“Caroline, listen to me. If Voss gets me downstairs, nobody will know where I've gone.””

“I'm not letting him take you anywhere.””

“You can't promise that.””

“I can promise I'll make him explain every step.””

Marcus shook his head.

“You still think this is about a doctor abusing his authority.””

I leaned closer.

“Then tell me what I'm missing.””

He looked at the ceiling.

“The men who found the drive didn't just discover stolen equipment records. We found proof that somebody had been moving people through medical facilities under false identities. People who were supposed to be dead. People whose families had been told their bodies couldn't be recovered.””

“Like the six of you.””

“Exactly.””

My throat tightened.

“Are the others alive?””

Marcus remained silent for so long that I thought he might have drifted off.

Finally, he whispered, “I don't know where all of them are.””

That was not the same as saying they were dead.

I held on to that distinction.

“Where did you last see them?””

“An extraction site outside the original target zone. We'd made contact with a support team. Then Rourke's orders changed. They told us the recovery aircraft had been redirected.””

“Were you abandoned deliberately?””

“We heard him say it himself.””

“Do you have the recording?””

“The bead contains a copy. Or it did before somebody took it.””

I thought of the property bag.

“Who knew you had it?””

“Three people. Me, the man who gave it to me, and the officer who searched us before transport.””

“Can you identify that officer?””

Marcus's eyes narrowed.

“Not by name.””

“What did he look like?””

“Tall. Gray at the temples. Small scar under his right eye. He wore a plain uniform jacket without the usual unit patch.””

I knew immediately that I had seen someone matching that description.

The man who had accompanied the transport team had remained near the emergency department doors while we stabilized Marcus. He had handed the paperwork to security and disappeared before I could ask any questions.

I stood.

“I'm going to find your property records.””

“Caroline.””

I stopped.

“Don't trust the hospital security office.””

“Why?””

“Because somebody accessed the restricted unit records before I arrived. My escort mentioned it while we were on the transport.””

“Did he say who?””

“He said the person had an authorization code.””

Marcus's grip tightened around the bedsheet.

“Voss wasn't improvising. He was waiting for me.””

Before I could respond, the ICU door opened.

Dr. Voss stepped inside with a woman in a charcoal suit. She wore a visitor badge turned backward and carried a slim tablet against her chest.

Two security officers followed them.

“Mr. Delgado,” Voss said, “we're arranging your transfer to a specialized facility. Your condition has stabilized sufficiently for transport.””

“No,” I said.

Everyone turned toward me.

Voss's eyebrows rose.

“I beg your pardon?””

“His condition remains critical. The surgical team hasn't cleared him for transport.””

“Dr. Feldstein has been informed.””

“Then he'll be happy to tell you the same thing.””

The woman in the charcoal suit stepped forward.

“Nurse Ashworth, I'm Evelyn Pike, medical compliance director for the restricted patient program. The transfer has already been approved.””

“By whom?””

“That's not information you need to know.””

“I'm the nurse responsible for his care.””

“Not anymore.””

She held out a document.

“Your authorization has been revoked, effective immediately.””

I looked at the page.

My full name appeared at the top. Beneath it was a statement claiming that I'd accessed classified military records without authorization and interfered with an approved transfer.

The document had been prepared less than an hour earlier.

I looked from Pike to Voss.

“You've been busy.””

Voss folded his hands.

“Your fixation on this patient has become a serious concern.””

“It's interesting that you were worried about my sleeves this morning and suddenly you're worried about classified records.””

“Security officers,” Pike said, “please escort Nurse Ashworth from the unit.””

One of the officers approached me.

I didn't move.

“Before you remove me, I'd like Dr. Feldstein to examine the transfer order. His name is on the surgical clearance, and I know he hasn't approved it.””

Pike glanced at her tablet.

“Dr. Feldstein has been advised of the circumstances.””

“That isn't what I said.””

Voss stepped toward Marcus.

The patient recoiled so sharply that his monitoring leads pulled taut.

“Don't touch me,” Marcus rasped.

Voss stopped.

“Mr. Delgado, you're disoriented. We're attempting to provide appropriate care.””

“No,” Marcus said.

“You're attempting to put me somewhere nobody can find me.””

The color drained from the woman's face.

It lasted only a second.

Then she smiled.

“That's an unfortunate interpretation.””

Marcus raised his voice despite his weakness.

“Tell Commander Rourke I remember the recording.””

Silence spread across the room.

Pike's tablet slipped slightly in her hand.

Voss looked at Marcus as if the patient had just revealed a gun beneath his blanket.

“What recording?”” Voss asked.

Marcus stared at him.

“The one where he orders six men left behind.””

Voss's expression changed.

There was no concern in it now. No professional courtesy. No pretense of medical authority.

Only anger.

“You have no idea what you're talking about.””

“I know what I heard.””

Pike turned to the security officers.

“Take him out.””

One officer caught my arm.

I pulled free.

“Do not drag me through this hospital because your transfer paperwork doesn't hold up.””

The officer hesitated.

That hesitation gave Dr. Feldstein enough time to enter the room.

“What is happening here?””

Pike turned toward him.

“We're executing an authorized transfer.””

“You're executing nothing until I review the patient's condition.”” Feldstein moved to Marcus's bedside and checked the monitors.

“His pressure is still unstable. We are not moving him.””

“The program's medical director has approved—”

“Then the program's medical director can come down here and explain why he wants me to transport an unstable patient.””

Voss moved between them.

“Samuel, don't make this difficult.””

Feldstein stared at him.

“You brought a restricted transfer order into my ICU and tried to remove a postoperative patient without my clearance. You made it difficult.””

For a moment, it looked as though Voss might call the security officers again.

Instead, he looked toward Pike.

She tapped something on her tablet.

“Transfer postponed,” she said coldly.

“Pending further review.””

Voss leaned toward Marcus.

“This isn't over.””

Marcus met his gaze.

“No. It isn't.””

Pike and Voss left with the security officers.

Dr. Feldstein watched them disappear before turning to me.

“Caroline, my office. Now.””

I followed him into the corridor.

He closed the door behind us.

“Tell me what you know.””

I explained the bracelet, the mission, the false extraction report, and the recording Marcus claimed was hidden in the brass bead.

Feldstein listened without interrupting.

When I finished, he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

“That's a serious allegation.””

“I know.””

“Do you have evidence?””

“Not yet.””

“Then we need to be careful. Voss has friends in administration. Pike has access to the restricted program. If you're right, they already know Marcus has started talking.””

“That's why we need to find the bracelet.””

Feldstein nodded slowly.

“Security has logged every item removed from that property bag.””

“Can you access the records?””

“Not directly. But I can ask the hospital's independent compliance officer to preserve them.””

“Will Voss know?””

“Eventually.””

“Then we don't have much time.””

Feldstein looked at me.

“Caroline, I need to ask you something. Four years ago, were you officially declared medically unfit for further military service?””

“Yes.””

“Did you receive any kind of confidentiality order?””

I hesitated.

There had been paperwork. Several forms with legal language I hadn't fully understood while recovering from surgery. I had signed what my commanding officer placed in front of me because I wanted the medical board to finish.

“I signed documents during my recovery.””

“What did they say?””

“I was told they protected operational information.””

Feldstein opened a drawer and removed a blank sheet of paper.

“Write down every name you remember from that mission. Every officer, every contractor, every medical facility. Leave nothing out.””

I took the pen.

Before I could write, my phone vibrated.

An unknown number.

The message contained a photograph.

It showed six men standing beside a military transport vehicle, their uniforms dusty, their faces exhausted.

I recognized Marcus immediately.

The other five men stood shoulder to shoulder around him.