Lights flashed. Both red and blue. The speedometer raced up to eighty miles per hour.
It seemed like time had completely stopped and they were moving in slow motion. The heart rate monitor had subsided to a low steady beep that was ringing in all of their heads. Wheels screeched on the road. Voices ordered instructions and people rushed to follow.
That was when the stretcher burst through the hospital doors, wheeled by two men, who ran as fast as they possibly could with the weight. Raven was on top, desperately pumping her hands up and down on Iliana's bloody chest.
"Come on Iliana!" she said, almost sounding angry "Don't you die on me!"
The woman's face was still even as they sped her down the hallway. Nero was running after. Blood trailed on the floor after them, making prints from the wheels. It covered Raven's hands and more gushed with every pump.
"Stay with me. Stay with me!" Raven said with teeth clenched to the woman as another man dressed in scrubs ran up from the opposite direction. He grabbed the stretcher and started running with them, talking as he did so.
"Single bullet wound in the upper chest. She'll need an immediate oxygen support. We've got a doctor in there. She's bleeding heavily, a transfusion may be necessary." he said urgently, looking up at Raven "Girl, we got this."
"This is my friend, do you understand me? This is my friend." Raven replied, refusing to move.
"Then let us save her life." the man said, meeting her eyes fiercely. She looked at him for two seconds, before letting go and getting off. They continued to race her down the hall to the E.R. room.
Nero slowed beside her and Raven stared down the hall, gloved hands stained red with the blood. She slowly pulled them off and Nero put a hand on her back.
"You did your best." he said quietly, looking after them "I don't want you to take any responsibility for this."
The assassin shook her head, lips pressed together. She'd seen many bullet holes in her life, but this one was bad. The blood pouring from it was simply too much to survive from.
Her phone in her pocket started going off and she pulled it out, trying not to get blood on it.
Incoming call: Pietor Furan
The nurses had not allowed Pietor past the front desk because he'd been so frantic when he'd brought Iliana in. Anastasia had stay back to keep him there. He clearly wanted information now, but unfortunately there was none to give.
"Who shot her?" Raven asked, shaking her head slightly, while rejecting the call.
###
The men burst through the doors to the surgery room with the gurney and immediately the other people gathered around.
"Thirty-nine year old female. Bullet wound in the upper chest, lung collapsed on the way in." the same man who had ordered Raven away wheeled her up next to the bed.
"Stop compressions." the doctor said, pulling on gloves "Get the oxygen ready. Let's check for breathing."
A nurse pulled off the mask and he put a two gloved fingers on her neck. There was a pulse, but it was abnormal.
"Okay let's get her on the table. One two three." the men heaved up the blanket she was on and laid her on the table. Iliana's hair hung off it and to any invisible viewer, she appeared to be dead.
"Pressure seventy-eight over sixty." the doctor said, leaning over with the blue mask over his face. Blood was splattering onto the floor and he pressed down on the wound.
"It missed her heart, must have gone straight past." he said "The blood is heavy; it could be her lung filling up."
They began to reach into the wound and looking at it closer.
"It's not her lung, this is too much blood to be from there and her to still be alive." the doctor said, pressing on her upper chest.
"Where the hell are you bleeding from?" he muttered.
The machine beside them beeped steadily, but with urgency as the nurses began to look further into the bloody wound.
"Pulmonary vein." the doctor said suddenly, holding out his hand "Clamp."
"Blood pressures still dropping." a nurse said as the wound dripped more blood to the floor.
###
Raven and Nero paced in front of the doors, footsteps echoing off the metal walls. They could hear the people talking urgently inside, but nothing that was giving away her current state. It had been more than five minutes by now.
"Max!"
The pair of them turned as Darkdoom hurried down the hall. He stopped in front of them, slightly out of breath.
"Is there anything?" he asked and as they shook their heads.
"Is she still alive?" Darkdoom asked quickly.
"As far as we know." Nero replied quietly.
"I tried compressions and to stop the blood." Raven said "But there was just too much blood to do anything."
"Whoever the sniper was, they were aiming for the heart." Nero said "If you hadn't moved her out of the way, I think she would have been dead instantly."
"It's not like that'll do me any good if she dies anyway." Raven replied. Nero just looked at her for a moment, eyes hard.
"Pietor's not happy back there. In fact I'd say he's panicking. They still won't let him through." Darkdoom said quietly.
"If she dies…" Nero sighed and seemed to have a hard time coming up with words. "Let's just say that won't affect the Furans very well."
Darkdoom nodded and scratched his neck "Iliana's the one that grounds them. Especially Pietor. And if he's stable, so is Anastasia. And with Juliana gone…"
"He tried calling, but there's nothing I can tell him." Raven said.
"Have they not said anything? How bad it is? Anything?" Darkdoom asked, looking at the doors incredulously.
Nero shook his head "They're just trying to stop the blood at this point and keep her alive."
Raven ran a hand through her hair "She was losing way too much blood." she said quietly.
###
"I need the suction." the doctor said and was immediately handed the tool. Iliana's face hadn't changed except for the fact that it was completely pale. She had a breathing tube running up to her face as they worked on her.
"I've sewed up the vein, but her pressures still dropping." the doctor said, scooting around her "She must be bleeding from somewhere else."
"Seventy-two over fifty-eight." a nurse said.
The doctor leaned in closer to the wound that was no longer bleeding externally and with the clamp in hand.
"She's bleeding into it, that's why there's no blood. It's compressing her heart." he said "Scissors."
"Vitals still falling." the nurse said as she handed him the tool. He reached into the wound with the blade.
"Get the stitches ready and turn up the oxygen. Keep her breathing." he said just as the machine next to them went into a long steady beep. They looked up urgently.
"She's going into Vfib." the nurse said urgently.
"Get the paddles." the doctor said, releasing her "'Charge for ten."
"Charging." she said as the man grabbed the two small circular devices.
"Clear."
He pressed them against her chest and there was a sharp zapping sound. The machine continued with the long beep.
"Charge to twenty." he said.
"Charging." the machine whined as it gathered enough energy to shock again.
"Clear."
###
Darkdoom leaned close to the door, face anxious as he waited. Nero paced the floor, too nervous to sit still.
Raven was against the wall, leaning with one shoulder. She listened to all the voices inside the room, recognizing every step that was taken to save a person's life. She wished she was in there for about two second before dismissing the thought.
Her phone began to buzz again and she looked down.
Incoming call: Pietor Furan
Raven shook her head, about to reject it again when Nero spoke.
"I'll talk to him." he said and Raven gave him the phone. He answered it and put it to his ear.
"Pietor."
"Max." came the assassin's agitated voice. He sounded the most frantic Nero had ever heard him. Then again he hadn't been there when Anastasia had attempted suicide.
"What's happened? Is she still alive? What are they-?'
"We're waiting outside the room." Nero said, trying to sound calm "They haven't told us anything."
"Did they say anything about how bad it was?"
"No there's…" Nero trailed off at the sound of the extended solid beep. He looked at Raven and Darkdoom, who stared back at him, eyes wide.
"Max." Pietor said anxiously "What is it?"
"It's…" his mouth seemed to go dry when he tried to speak. Nero slowly lowered the phone, unable to reply. Pietor was still talking as he ended the call.
There were a few moments of silence between them as they looked at one another. Nero's gaze settled on the doors, pleading silently.
He heard the word 'clear' and winced. He heard it again and nothing after that.
Darkdoom slowly put a hand to his mouth and bit his lip. Raven closed her eyes.
###
"It's not working. Still in Vfib." the nurse said, looking at the monitor.
"Charge to twenty." the doctor repeated, watching the monitor before reaching forward "Clear."
"Blood pressure's decreasing rapidly." the nurse said "We're losing her."
"One more time. Charge to twenty." the doctor ordered. He waited, eyes on the machine for several seconds.
"Clear."
The machine suddenly spiked and began beeping in rhythm again.
"We got her." he said under his breath.
He set the defibrillator down quickly and grabbed the scissors again. He began to cut away the excess tissue that was covering the wound and her collapsed lung.
"She's lost too much blood, prepare her for immediate blood transfusion." he said "Let's get the bullet out. And onto life support before she goes into Vfib again."
"The bullet exited out through her left shoulder blade." the nurse said.
"That's impossible. It was heading straight for her heart." he replied, maneuvering around her.
"I know, doctor, the bullet was, but…then it seemed to change directions. Its unexplainable." the nurse replied. "Whatever it was, it saved her life for a little while longer."
"Watch the oxygen levels." the doctor said and didn't stop moving. He inserted a needle in the woman's arm, taking it for granted that she was unconscious.
The multiple other men around the table began to help him as they brought in a big machine to complete the transfusion.
"We need to clear the excess air in her chest from the collapsed lung." he said. The nurses clicked buttons on the machine next to her.
"Be ready for any sign of rejection." the doctor ordered "Or her other lung, we don't want to overbear it."
###
Nero walked down the hall, away from the E.R. room. Raven and Darkdoom followed him at a slow pace. He saw Nathaniel sitting with the students, hand over his mouth and chin. He didn't see either of the Furans for a moment, but then Pietor appeared, pacing the room, face anxious. Anastasia was standing next to him, arms folded.
The male assassin stopped for a moment and said something to Anastasia. She replied with the slight shake of her head.
Nero watched as she reached forward to hug him, one hand on the back of his head.
Raven and Darkdoom came up behind him so he walked forward into the lobby. Nathaniel looked up immediately and got to his feet. The students looked over.
"They haven't said anything yet." Nero said and Pietor turned quickly. Anastasia followed, face carefully blank.
"The last I heard, they successfully restarted her heart, but that's it." he went on.
Pietor stared at him and second, eyes narrowed, before shaking his head slightly and looking away.
Nathaniel maneuvered over "How bad is it really, Max?" he asked quietly, glancing back at the Furans.
"Exactly what I said." Nero replied with a sigh. He knew his father well enough to know that he was worried his son was cushioning it for the Furans. But he most certainly wasn't.
###
About an hour later…
It seemed like days before the man walked through the doors and into the waiting room. He had a clipboard in one hand and was dressed all in white.
Pietor was sitting now as he walked into the room and everyone in there was in a solemn silence. They glanced up and stood up, holding their breath.
"Mr. Furan." the man said, walking out and stopping in front of them.
"Yes." Pietor replied, clearly not worried about introductions. The man gestured for them to follow him and they did so. He took them to a room on the first floor and stopped outside it.
"We've stabilized your wife's condition." he said and the assassin blinked slowly in relief.
"But even so, her chances of surviving without life support are currently very slim." the man continued "The doctor is doing what he can, but with the collapsed lung and loss of blood, there isn't much we can do. Unless the treatment works right now, her chances are about a thirty percent." he paused "However, your wife is very lucky, if you would be willing to see the good in this at all. The bullet seemed to be heading straight for her heart and then just changed directions. It seems impossible, but it did."
Pietor didn't say back anything to him, but he shot Raven a glance. Anastasia thanked the man to excuse him after a few seconds. The man nodded and turned to leave.
"I want her moved." Pietor said and his sister looked at him.
"Where?" she asked.
"Home." Pietor replied.
Anastasia nodded as if she had been expecting that "We'll have to wait a few hours to be sure her wound won't hemorrhage."
###
Nero and Darkdoom looked down at the young woman hooked up to the multiple machines in the room. She looked calm even as the machine pumped oxygen into her lung. She lay in the Furan's medical room, still as ever. They had been able to leave the hospital that evening with her in an ambulance to maintain the healing process.
This was the first time since they had arrived that Pietor had left her alone. Anastasia had dragged him out to eat dinner since he insisted he stay with Iliana.
The heart monitor beeped steadily and in rhythm. She had an I.V. line in her arm that extended to a bag of water hanging next to her. The oxygen mask added an eerie affect to the whole thing.
There was a white bandage wrapped tightly around her chest which rose and fell peacefully. Her vitals were tracked on the screen next to her and they appeared alright so far.
"How old did they say she was again?" Nero asked slowly, unable to take his eyes off her.
"Thirty-nine." Darkdoom replied "But that just means she's stronger and has a better chance of surviving, Max."
"Or she's going to have an incredibly short life because she got messed up in all of this." Nero said.
Darkdoom sighed "She's young and healthy; the doctor said if she responds to this treatment she should be alright."
"That's not all I'm worried about." Nero said.
"What?" his friend asked, turning to him slightly.
"Whoever shot her clearly knew what they were doing." Nero replied "They knew where we were, who we were, and they are obviously an expert marksman. The only reason Iliana's still alive is because Natalya shoved her aside and probably kept her alive before the other doctors got to her."
"You can't possibly think it was one of the Furan's men." Darkdoom said, eyes wide.
Nero shook his head "No I don't. But this doesn't make any sense. I know Pietor would never go this far, but something's off. Who?"
"I don't know." Darkdoom said "We can ask Natalya the vantage point it came from, but that won't be of much help."
"I'm sending a message to the G.L.O.V.E. counsel." Nero replied "They need to be on their guard. Several of them already blame the Furans for everything, but as everything seems to be pointing away from that conclusion, someone else has to be threatening us. So if they knew here we were, they could quite easily find the rest of the counsel."
"Are you going to tell them the extent of what's happened?" Darkdoom asked and Nero shook his head.
"That'll only lead to more questions."
Darkdoom nodded with a sigh "Do you think it would be alright if we left? I'm not sure what Pietor wants, but it makes me sick to see her like this."
"He'll be back in in a minute." Nero replied "I think we're alright. Did you see where Natalya went?" he asked as they turned.
"I think she's just with Nathaniel and the students out there." Darkdoom said, studying his friend "Do you think she's blaming herself?"
"No, but I doubt she feels very good." Nero replied "It was too close."
They walked out into the main room, falling silent. Raven and the others were out there in a solemn group. Nathaniel was the only one who bothered to look over. Nero didn't say anything as he walked over and joined them. Darkdoom stopped and looked at all of them.
"Why don't we all cheer up? She's alive." he said.
"For now." Raven replied.
Darkdoom sighed. Iliana was the one person out of all of them that they all trusted and liked and now that she was out of the picture temporarily, they were already dipping back to their despondent selves.
"How is she doing in there?" Nathaniel asked, leaning as if to see her "Did the move seem to damage anything?"
Nero shook his head "Everything seems to be intact."
Nathaniel nodded as the kitchen door swung open. Pietor came out and turned right to his bedroom instead of the medical room. Everyone unconsciously stared over at the empty doorway.
"Has Anastasia come out yet?" Nero asked, glancing at the door.
Nathaniel shook his head "That's the first time I saw anything of them." he paused "Did you speak to the doctor? The one here?"
"No, I believe he was running a few tests for her." Nero replied.
His father nodded and they all lapsed into silence again. It was several minutes later that a man came hurrying out of the medical room. He looked at them.
"Where's Pietor?" he asked.
"He's in his room." Darkdoom replied, standing up. Nero got up too, looking at the man intently.
The doctor walked quickly to Pietor's room just as the assassin came out.
"What is it?" Pietor asked.
The doctor took a big breath "Iliana's pregnant."
Pietor's eyes shot open and his mouth fell. Everyone else in the room did the same and the doctor nodded.
Pietor pressed his lips together for a second, scowling in deep thought and concern. He looked back "How long?"
"She's about fifteen weeks along." the doctor replied "But her current state isn't ideal to hold a baby. She can't even keep herself alive, let alone another person."
Pietor turned right around and went into the medical room. He pushed the door open in such a way that even the doctor hesitated a moment.