Scout awoke to Medic tiredly explaining last night's events to an elderly woman with a clipped English accent. "It's quite the shame to lose such a wonderful assistant," the woman told Medic. "But I'm sure that Mr. Bidwell will suffice for now. Thank you for the attempt, doctor." Medic bowed his head. "The thanks goes to you, Frau Administrator."
Scout lifted his head. Miss Pauling's body was no longer on the operating table; it must have been taken away. He saw Medic sluggishly move to clean his surgical instruments, his back turned to Scout. Having regained most of his strength overnight, Scout slowly slid off the infirmary bed and crept into the operating room. Medic hadn't noticed him enter; the doctor was talking to himself. "Why on earth didn't I pull it out sooner? Oh, this is my fault! At least the Administrator didn't seem too upset…."
Medic continued to scold himself, still having not noticed Scout. The boy was frozen in place behind the doctor. That was right: Medic killed Miss Pauling. He messed up and killed the one woman Scout loved as much as his Ma.
And he was going to pay for it.
Medic lifted a tray of scalpels and tweezers and carried it to the sink. Scout looked to the side and saw another tray, full of very long, very sharp needles. Scout snatched the one biggest one on the tray and lithely made his way to the sink. He prowled behind Medic, his shoulders hunched, clutching the needle like a knife.
As Scout quietly lifted his arm to stab into Medic's back, he happened to glance in the mirror hanging behind the sink. He saw his own bruised face glaring back at him, wild eyes glistening and angry. Startled, Scout inhaled sharply, shuffling back. The noise finally alerted Medic to the boy's presence.
Medic looked up at Scout's reflection, and, noticing the needle raised in his hand, whipped around to face Scout. The doctor's jaw dropped, his wide eyes darting around the room. "Scout, what are you-"
Scout didn't want to hear this man speak to him. He didn't want this man's empathy or pity or anything else. He didn't need Medic to console him, drug him, or fix him. Scout's heart hurt, broken beyond repair. In overlooking that one piece of shrapnel, this man killed Miss Pauling, and he was going pay his dues.
A massive wave of rage consumed Scout as he seized Medic's neck and slammed the doctor's head against the mirror. Medic yelped as Scout pushed him against the sink, causing his back to make awful popping noises. Scout grasped the needle tighter and raised it high. "Scout-!" Medic choked, his face red from lack of air. Another wave of emotion crashed over Scout, and he viciously jabbed the needle into Medic's shoulder. The doctor shouted in pain, struggling to free himself from Scout's grip. "Listen here, you kraut bastard," Scout's voice shook. "You killed her! You killed her, you- you psychopath!"
Medic frantically shook his head, grimacing and clawing at the hand around his neck. "I- I did no such thing! Scout, I did everything I could do!"
"Well that wasn't enough now, was it?!" Scout removed the needle from Medic's shoulder and stabbed it into his other one. The doctor jerked in Scout's grip, hitting his head on the mirror once again.
"I'm sorry, Scout! I'm sorry! Please, she meant a lot to me too! She meant so much to all of RED! Ack- Gott in himmel-!"
Scout twisted the needle further into Medic's shoulder. "You could have saved her! She could be standing here right now if it wasn't for you!" Angry tears spilled from Scout's eyes. "You killed her!"
Medic's eyes widened in fear as the needle glinted in Scout's hand, just above his chest. "No, Scout, please no! You don't know what you're doing! The team needs-"
Medic went slack in Scout's grip, his sentence cut off by the shock of the needle in his chest. Scout squared his jaw and released Medic's neck, wiping his trembling hand on his pants and stepping back. Medic's knees buckled and he collapsed on the cold floor of the infirmary. Scout watched as his victim weakly sat up and leaned against the cabinets.
Medic's chest rose and fell unevenly as he lifted a shaky hand to the needle. He hissed in pain. With much effort, he pulled it out of his chest and let the needle fall into his lap. The doctor looked up at Scout, who was still quivering with anger. The sudden contortion of Medic's strained expression to that of animosity snapped Scout out of his fury. He jumped backwards, hands out on defense. "You stupid boy. You stupid, stupid boy! Letting your grief get the best of you…." Medic growled.
Scout watched as Medic struggled for air. His coughs sounded wet and blood spattered on the front of his coat. The doctor finally inhaled sharply and convulsed. Medic shuddered once and then became limp, the air slowly leaving his body. His glassy eyes seemed to bore into Scout's soul.
Scout staggered, knocking into the operating table. He gaped in horror at the scene in front of him. It was a murder, a murder that he had committed.
He had just murdered Medic.
Scout flinched at the sound of the infirmary doors bursting open, revealing the entirety of RED team. They looked from Scout to Medic's dead body in silence. Scout leaned heavily against the operating table, his bottom lip trembling. It felt like a million years before Engineer finally managed to sputter: "What- what the hell have you done?!"
Before any of the team could move, Scout had sprinted to the infirmary's window, thrown up the catch, and sprung away from RED base.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this second chapter! I truly appreciate the reviews and advice I've been given so far. As I said, I'm always looking for ways to improve and I'd love to know that you think. Thank you again for reading!