Resurgam Conference Room
Day Later
Gabriel Cunningham made his daily walk to the Conference Room to find that everyone, literally- from the angry Maria Torres to the complex Naomi Kimishima, was there waiting... with him being the last doctor to enter. He almost dropped his coffee at the staring fellow staff members. "...Explanation, please..?"
Dr. Tachibana was near the entrance of the room. "Everyone is here. You may begin, Dr. Kimishima."
The medical examiner was at the front- she held a file of papers; this was the second time she had to prepare a speech. "The one behind a recent string of crimes is the same perpetrator of..."
"Ahem..." Gabriel coughed.
Naomi looked at the diagnostician, then the Chief, remembering what the group decided to do. "What happened earlier." To keep the secret for as long as possible. "'Bloody Rose.'"
Those who haven't heard the title yet were startled. The Rosalia virus...does it share a relationship to this 'Bloody Rose?'
"No way..." Maria uttered. That virus had already started a hell of a ruckus in the nation- what idiot wants another epidemic?
"My recent cases involve unsolved murders, this person is using all of the victims as test subjects for these viruses. Now, this hospital may be used to cure these patients." Naomi glanced at Alicia to finish.
Dr. Rosellini completed the summary by saying, "Forcing me to draw my blood. At this rate, this defense will fail." The true Rosalia virus was much stronger than her own.
"We can't let this happen..!" Hank wanted peace- whoever is starting this must have a strong motive, killing is never the answer.
"What did the patient have to say?" Gabriel was a bit serious; he brought up the previous phone call in hopes to gain more information.
Dr. Kimishima closed her eyes in dissatisfaction. "He had amnesia."
CR-SO1 thought of Alicia and himself. He lost his memories from the gases of the Cumberland bio-attack, she lost hers from a virus injected into her before Rosalia was born. These victims were much like how Alicia contracted hers- through viruses.
"You can deduce this person is or was in the health profession... Access to samples of Rosalia is strictly limited." Dr. Rosellini mentioned.
Naomi was surprised the 'master of deduction' was not the first to note this. "They already have begun searching. It'll take time to get results."
"So that...thing was to just get our attention?" The paramedic avoided revealing the bomb event to Esha. Fortunately everyone else understood her meaning. "What an ass..."
"I can't believe such a person exists..." Tomoe whispered. Why must criminals have no honor in the methods they use..?
Gabriel shrugged and sipped some of his coffee. "The world these days." He shot a look back at the forensic expert. "Anything else..?" He wasn't joking or annoyed, just wanted Naomi to hurry up so that he could get to his appointments.
"Let me ask this..." Dr. Kimishima paused to make sure everyone was focused. "Are any of you receiving patients with 'unknown' on the sheets?"
The surgeons, Hank, and Tomoe went through their weekly schedule.
"..! I am..." Dr. Tachibana read through the available information on that certain operation. There were little to none. "Today..."
"I'm afraid I have one today as well..." Dr. Freebird did the same- there was a huge 'unknown' stamped on the diagnostics sheet.
"Hey, Alicia..." Maria tried to stay calm and keep a 'friendly' tone. "I might run into one...Can I..? (Dammit...I suck at this..!)"
Dr. Cunningham was drinking when he heard Maria stammer- he almost spat out the coffee to laugh at the paramedic, but if he did...Well, Maria would kill him, Tomoe- who was standing in front of him- would not be happy, and Esha would make him pay for the carpet.
"...Be careful." Dr. Rosellini warned. Her blood itself is enough to start its own pandemic; one outbreak would be enough.
"If I hear any more...I'll tell ya." Gabriel let out a yawn and left the room.
Chief Patel was obviously confused by the whole conference, but everyone else seem to now be in charge. "...I'm leaving this to you guys. Just don't go get the people angry at us again." She stomped out of the room after Gabriel.
"...This operation is my first for the day...will you assist, Dr. Rosellini..?" Tomoe was half interested in what Alicia could do and half sad to disturb the doctor.
Dr. Sartre awaited for Alicia's response. Her blood will play the main part in saving the patients...
"Of course." Naturally that would be the girl's answer. "I'll assist on both of these operations."
"Very well then..." Dr. Tachibana began her way out of the door. "I'll meet you there." Tomoe vanished without a trace.
Hank began exiting to the hallway. "I'll be seeing you in the afternoon, then."
CR-SO1 was surprised he and Alicia did not receive any patients with these conditions; surgery covered many areas, after all. He trusted the other doctors can follow through, and that Alicia would give them a fair warning on her next death date.
Operation Room D
"Dr. Rosellini are you prepared..?" Dr. Tachibana asked as Alicia walked into the Operation Room.
The girl was shocked to see Tomoe was ten minutes early...and fully ready to start. She nodded and spoke, "Yes. You may begin..." Alicia held syringes; stabilizer, Rosalia, and the deactivator- all set to be used at any time. "This patient has extreme dypsnea...we must hurry."
Dr. Tachibana began navigating to the lungs. "There's hemorrhaging..."
Alicia also saw the pools of blood on the camera. "Following it may lead us to something..."
The endoscope was stopped. Tomoe looked at the situation carefully and informed, "I found a focus...but this is identical to the normal Rosalia."
"Try spraying it with the medicine..." Alicia remembered Dr. Sartre's advice- the normal Rosalia focuses would react to this.
"No effect...!" Tomoe looked at Alicia. "This is the mutation..."
Dr. Rosellini whispered, "It might pop if we inject it now..." Considering the consequences, this procedure was too risky.
Dr. Tachibana lowered her head in thought. "...I'll take that risk." She took the Rosalia blood and inserted it into the endoscope. "I'll do whatever is necessary..."
"? Tomoe-"
"It didn't burst- excising the focus." Tomoe switched to the scalpel tool.
"Please continue...carefully." Alicia sensed the determination emanating in the room.
Tomoe continued on into the left lung. "I found the next focus."
Alicia watched the camera as the endoscopic surgeon made the injection and excision. "...! A black bruise...!" A black marking appeared along the walls of the lungs; it looked similar to the vine-like one before.
"!" Tomoe heard the sharp drop in the vitals. "Begin injecting stabilizer-!"
Dr. Sartre's Office
CR-SO1 held the sheets of all the 'unknown' patients. He was sitting in his desk trying to find more information.
Dr. Rosellini's operation was on the liver and intestines...digestive system.
Dr. Tachibana's operation is on the lungs...respiratory system.
Dr. Freebird's operation will be near the spinal cord area...nervous system.
The Rosalia virus in Alicia covers all these areas...except the heart for some reason. "(So is a patient with a heart-related virus the one to be feared...?)"
Something wasn't right.
Dr. Sartre went through all of Alicia's previous operations. There had to be some contradiction.
Of course- the bio-attack. The last patient had a Rosalia mutation in the heart as well; and the blood worked then.
"...(I can't make a single conclusion out of this...)" The surgeon grew frustrated with himself- there must be something he could discover.
"(Ugh..!)" His arm pushed aside a pile of books on the desk to the ground. The years of research and studying were all useless. "(Why can't I do anything...!)" He had no patients with the virus, he couldn't help at all...
"...(It would be difficult to develop such a virus, I still have time...)" He calmed a bit.
What was it that helped Alicia's virus defeat that mutation long ago..?
Operation Room D
Fifteen minutes have already been wasted in the operation.
"(We've used up all this time to stop the hemorrhaging...) There's no end to this...like before, there has to be a source-!" The vital count on the monitor plunged down to the twenties. "The vitals..!" Alicia went to get more stabilizer.
"...I'll begin searching..!" Dr. Tachibana began ignoring the small blood pools.
Dr. Rosellini returned with more syringes. "...Try using the locations to find the source."
"All the focuses were found in dead ends..." Tomoe mentioned. "Are you proposing that we should proceed to the end of the lungs..?"
The vitals rose to the yellow zone. "I know it'll be difficult, but yes."
"Very well then..."
Besides lugging a heavy tube around, endoscopy had more complications. Such as memorizing the many passageways and taking care of not to bump into the close walls. The lungs were a great example of how maze-like the operation can get. For an expert like Tomoe, it wasn't hard- but it wasn't as simple either.
"I've reached the final left lung chamber...!" Tomoe gasped. "A...colony...!" She knew what had to be done. "...I have to ask you...may I..?"
Alicia took empty syringes and began drawing more blood. "Don't worry about me or anything else...You know what to do..."
Tomoe received three full syringes. She used the exact same procedure as the one during the Rosalia epidemic- this time, she's fighting using a lethal virus rather than an anti-body.
"Since this is a focus...we might not need the deactivator here." Alicia watched as Dr. Tachibana carefully injected an exact amount in each focus, ignoring the monitor's awful sounds.
The colony was now swollen.
Tomoe switched to the scalpel and snare. "Beginning extraction..." She must make fast work of the colony until the effects wear off. She then used the forceps to complete the extraction. "I'm fin-!" Tomoe paused her announcement as a flood of black blood clouded the screen. "What is this...?"
"! That colony was creating this substance-!" This black fluid was the one Alicia encountered before. "Drain it before he suffocates-!"
Tomoe drained the flowing liquid- but it continued pouring nonstop. "I can't keep up..."
"..." Alicia looked at the tools at hand.
Scalpel and forceps were pointless to use.
Spray and snare weren't going to benefit.
Drain and hemostasis were both temporary help. So was the stabilizer.
And syringes...
Dr. Tachibana still had one syringe of that virus left.
"Inject the blood into the hemorrhaging areas immediately after performing hemostasis. That should keep it closed."
"!"
"Then inject the deactivator." Alicia concluded. "We have to risk it..."
Tomoe remembered her words. "(Whatever is necessary...) We can't let this patient die...I'll do it." She inserted the final syringe.
The black substance's supply was stopped as the hemorrhaging areas were shut, but then a second bruise began forming.
"The deactivator-!" Alicia placed the gray syringe into the scope.
Dr. Tachibana drained the remaining fluid and administered the deactivator.
Both bruises- the claw and the vine with thorns were eliminated.
"We...did it." Tomoe checked the radar and vitals for any remaining issues, then retracted the endoscope.
"Thank you, Dr. Tachibana." Dr. Rosellini held her hand to her forehead- she predicted she may faint. There was so much pressure- even though she was only assisting.
"You deserve credit as well." The endoscopic surgeon praised. "You seem to be talented at endoscopy...perhaps you have the ability to compete with me..."
Alicia grew nervous. "N-no..!" She had no intention to surpass anyone.
"Of course- I won't allow it so easily." Tomoe gave a friendly smile.
The assisting surgeon felt uneasy at her remark. "...I'm not going to-" She was interrupted by entering nurses who came to transport the patient.
"Well done, doctors!" Nurses were more towards complimenting the gentle Dr. Tachibana, not so much to the well-known Dr. Rosellini.
Alicia started to leave the room. "I..best get Dr. Sartre lunch..."
"Ah, yes. Maria told me that the nearby mall has been empty recently." Tomoe continued her light smile. "Good luck on your next operation."
Dr. Sartre's Office
Dr. Rosellini pushed open a semi-closed door to discover a pile of fallen books next to the desk CR-SO1 was in. "Were you here the entire time..?"
"...I don't have any operations today." Not many patients were flowing into the hospital since the protests. "I was...thinking." Dr. Sartre grew silent after his answer.
Alicia went over to pick up the books. "More like a tantrum..." She placed them above the shelf. "You had a fit..?" It was rare to see such a studious person treat information like this.
"...I couldn't find anything." The words sounded cold to the girl's ears; he really was angry with himself.
"...I have an idea...I'll tell you as we go get lunch." Alicia turned around and faced the door. "I heard the mall has been deserted lately."
CR-SO1 took his lab coat as he followed Alicia out the office.
Hallway
"How was the operation..?"
"Same bruise and same fluid...Are the results in yet?" Alicia recalled the nurse sending samples to the labs for testing.
"...Chief Patel reported that it ended in failure." The surgeon felt that all those efforts were in vain. "Not a single piece of data was found."
"...That liquid...it's blood affected by tumors of Rosalia..." Alicia muttered. "No, this isn't Rosalia..."
"! You're saying this virus isn't Rosalia..?" Dr. Sartre thought his own reaction to the black bruise was enough to say the virus was related to Rosalia.
The girl tilted her head. "I'm not sure...there were only some few similar symptoms. I could be incorrect- it could be just a mutation like we thought it was..."
"Was this your 'idea?'" The surgeon hoped there was more Alicia had yet to say.
"I'll be assisting Dr. Freebird later on...I'll try to be more observant if you wish." Alicia glanced at the surgeon.
"I didn't mean..."
Dr. Rosellini let out a sigh. "I wasn't offended..." She spotted a green and orange jacket stomping out of Gabriel's office. "Is that Maria..?"
"Dammit! Screw you! I'll make sure you-" Dr. Torres saw the surgeons on the other side of the hall. "Oh- Hey, Alicia, heading to lunch?" She ran over to the surgeons.
Dr. Cunningham exited his office to see his rescuers. "Whew, saved." He shifted his cigarette at the surgeons.
The surgeons looked at each other, the question of 'what did he do this time' on their faces. It was uncommon to find Maria actually going to Gabriel's office- and if she did, it usually wasn't for a normal chit-chat.
"Yes...?" Alicia answered hesitantly.
"Great!" Maria then looked back at the diagnostician with a furious face. "I'll get you later-! Don't you dare do this again!"
Gabriel had a miniature shiver down his spine and an awkward smile. Maria talked as if she was a mom- she forgot to use her usual cussing language. Perhaps because Alicia was around? Whatever the case, silly Maria's actions can get pretty hilarious with this kid nearby.
"So...what happened..?" Dr. Rosellini spoke for CR-SO1 and herself.
Maria walked ahead of them. "Forget it. I'm going with you, all right?"
"?" The other two doctors didn't understand Maria's meaning- why would she want to come with them?
Dr. Torres looked at their expressions as if she had something distracting on her face. "Don't give me that look; just in case something happens...I'll be there, you know..?"
"Alright..." Alicia continued walking and got a 'serious' curiosity of what possibly happened between the two hating rivals.
ATLUS Mall
"You know..." Maria looked back at her two companions. "You two..." She couldn't put her opinion in words. Her idea that the two 'look like a dreamy couple' would sound revolting to the widow, and extremely discouraging to the man who had no wish of marriage.
"I...know..." Alicia remembered the first time in public with CR-SO1 tagging along. Some people made weird faces and some even whispered 'aw' sounds- if only they knew that:
One, she's already married and was far in her adult years...
Two, this man was her daughter's brother...
Three, just how wrong it was to assume such things. They looked completely the opposite- in physical appearance and mood. There also weren't any displays of affection that proved they were...
Forget it.
Simply put- those people are misunderstanding.
"..?" Dr. Sartre had no clue of who those passing by actually meant; he thought they were staring at their uncommon traits. The red eyes and Alicia's silver hair to be exact. It would take a while for him to realize the embarrassing truth...
"You can be so naïve..." Maria herself, on the other hand, was already at that so-called crucial point in life. She doesn't expect any of those slacking paramedics to ask successfully her out without getting rejected. Romance was a stupid thing.
Dr. Rosellini was glad to see the mall was almost like a ghost town- all those creepy staring people are gone. "Is there a reason why this place has been rather empty recently..?" Still, there was a desolate, eerie feeling lurking she couldn't shake off.
"Mafia and thugs..." The paramedic scorned.
Alicia took her eyes off of the path and looked at the first floor below. Gangs were always hanging around the dark corners of alleys- being in those brought back bad memories. She turned her head to look behind her, and happened to spot a woman wearing kimono and lab coat. "...Dr. Tachibana..?"
"?" Maria looked back and saw Tomoe running towards them. Tomoe rarely goes to the mall alone...what is she doing here..?
The endoscopic surgeon bowed her head when she finally caught up. "Dr. Torres, Rosellini, and Sartre...are you here for lunch as well?" Tomoe had a cheery smile as always. "May I join?"
"Sure." Maria felt the poor kid was left out- being surrounded by three females must be giving him a hard time. "More the merrier." If only Hank was here...
"We're not the only ones..." Alicia looked in the other direction.
Maria Torres was last to turn her head.
"Dr. Freebird-!"
Speak of the devil.
"Dr. Cunningham-!" Tomoe's happy attitude didn't mirror Maria's reaction.
Damn.
"Take a look, Hank...We're at it again..." Gabriel sounded more exhausted than dreadful. Every time he comes to this place he somehow ends up running into one or two of the Resurgam doctors, but an encounter with Maria? Crap. He had no energy for this. "(I knew I should've drank more caffeine...)"
"! You-" The paramedic readied her fists.
The orthopedic surgeon standing next to the diagnostician prepared for the worst. So were Tomoe and CR-SO1.
Alicia rather avoid it all. "We should go..." She spun around and made a few steps before stopping and squeezing her eyelids upon hearing a crash.
"Dr. Torres-!" Dr. Tachibana was the same as Alicia- she opened her eyes to see Dr. Cunningham on the floor.
Gabriel barely managed to keep a sitting position when smacked aside by the raging Maria Torres. "Hey, easy now..." He smirked. That lady will not give up.
"Please try to control yourself..." Hank held onto Maria's right arm.
Maria jerked a bit. "You son of a-" She looked at the innocent Tomoe and Alicia standing nearby. "Don't you dare-"
There was one thing that caught Dr. Torres' attention more than anything else, even the sly Gabriel Cunningham.
Screaming- the call of duty for any paramedic.
"What is..." Dr. Freebird let go of his grip on Maria and watched a small stream of civilians dash by.
Tomoe sensed danger in the vicinity. She spotted a reflection of a laying man on a glass edging of the second floor. "...Someone needs help..!"
"!" The other doctors saw the same picture.
Alicia and Maria we're first to run towards the scene. "We must make haste..!" "What are you staring at-? Move-!"
Gabriel was at the end of the rushing line of doctors. "Geez, what's with this place..?" This mall brought Maria, school buses, random gunners, and now plain trouble.
…
Dr. Torres was the first to approach the source of the problem. "?"
There were two men holding firearms next to one laying on the floor. These guys were the perfect reason why the mall was so bare- it's a gang. The two who were like bodyguards to the one that was down aimed their weapons at the doctors. "Don't move near him-!" That voice was young and sounded inexperienced. "He's with us-!" The second gunman also had a scared tone.
"He's dying-!" Maria searched her pockets for anything that could be of use. "At least let us-"
The guns were pointed at the paramedic.
"Please calm down- we're doctors." Hank didn't know how to negotiate with so many lives at risk.
Dr. Tachibana ignored the danger of weapons and crouched down next to the man on the ground. There were no signs of outside injury; what would cause a man to collapse..? "Dr. Torres, are you able to retrieve some tools?"
Maria nodded and sprinted away to the direction of the hospital garage not far from the mall. Her ambulance should be there waiting.
The men had slow reactions- they were too awestruck by Tomoe and Maria's speed that they couldn't utter a word in objection. The younger man finally spoke, "Don't-" But was interrupted.
The one on the ground tilted his head up slightly. "It's..." He was running out of strength. "Let...them..." His head then went back down.
"But-" Both bodyguards paused.
"Please. There isn't much time..." Alicia spoke. She observed the middle-aged mafia leader that the rookie gunmen were trying to protect- he didn't look like he would last much longer.
Gabriel guessed the same. This guy was pale- even with his dark skin, it was evident. So was the bloody sputum... "(Gotta bad feeling...)"
Alicia's appearance was eventually noticed. "Hey-" The older guard pointed his weapon at the girl. "Not you." He then moved the gun back and forth- aiming at all the doctors. "And if he dies, you all will die, too."
Dr. Sartre saw Dr. Rosellini shrug- she gave the cold shoulder to the situation by turning around. The public suspicion took a heavy toll on her reputation- her ability to operate and treat as well. He was lucky they have not yet recognized him.
"Alright." The restricted doctor was now the farthest one from the scene. "I'll sit out." She seemed rather calm than concerned. She signaled CR-SO1 to take lead by nodding.
The men then backed off.
Tomoe scanned the surrounding area- the tiled flooring wasn't the safest nor cleanliest place for an operation; the lighting wasn't sufficient either. "This place will not be the best to operate at..."
"We may have no choice..." The police would only complicate things, and the public's curiosity would be another burden. Dr. Sartre then stared at the laying man- he knew an operation was unavoidable, but exactly what should he operate on?
Dr. Cunningham, the 'master of deduction,' was also scrambling to figure out. "(Where's RONI when you need her..?)"
"The kidneys..." Alicia whispered. "His wasn't out of breath...and his position..." Her last advice was in an upset tone. "I'm sure." The girl became quiet to avoid getting the gunmen too anxious.
"All we need are the tools..." Tomoe prayed that Maria would return soon.
Gabriel looked back at the 'patient' and saw something really abnormal that Tomoe and CR-SO1 couldn't spot from their point of view. "The veins...they're black..?" This was his first time encountering this symptom.
Dr. Sartre looked at the other half of the patient- the legs had black lines all over. "The virus-! We need..." He exchanged traumatized looks with Tomoe and Alicia- who also had no idea that this would happen.
Alicia knew those grunts wouldn't let her draw blood directly in front of them. That means Maria must bring...
"I'm back-!" Dr. Torres panted as she made her entrance. She held a medium-large white box with a red cross printed on it. It was her personal kit.
Gabriel pretended not to acknowledge the arrival. "(Damn...now my suspicions of her learning Tomoe's vanishing act are close to being true...) Ahem, did you happen to see any good empty operating spots...?"
"! You..." Maria dropped the thought and ran through her head to see of there were any kinds of those places. "Whatever, this way-!"
The bodyguards transported the 'boss' personally while they and all the doctors followed Maria to an area full of long benches.
Dr. Freebird saw some civilians near the spot. "I'll handle the crowd...I trust you can save him..?" Hank ran past Alicia and left the four available doctors to handle the rest.
Gabriel thought he should be the one to do that job, but arguing over stubborn folk was not his strength. Negotiations and speeches were Hank's things.
"I don't know if I can do much..." Alicia followed Hank- if anything went out of control, she could direct the people's attention to herself instead of the operation.
Dr. Sartre and Tachibana went through the first-aid kit. Everything was there- including the necessary blood and deactivator syringes.
"You brought it..." Dr. Sartre was amazed. Drawbacks usually came first before miracles.
"Just in case he had it ,too." The paramedic saw the black veins and learned that she just made the heroic move of the day.
Gabriel refused to see Maria's luck. He mumbled, "Hank and Alicia better hold them off." His frustration accidentally made him not think straight while talking. "(Dammit...)"
Dr. Torres doesn't miss a beat. "You...didn't call her a kid-!" Maybe the girl's act wasn't in vain at all.
"...Oops." The diagnostician decided to shut his trap before mouthing over again.
Maria had no chance to laugh- Tomoe interrupted by yelling, "Please pay attention-!"
CR-SO1 had already begun the emergency procedure.
Maria made a small apology and ran over to check on the status of the operation. "That's his kidney-!" She spotted obvious inflammations and hemorrhaging- the signature black bruise was also there.
"We need the inflammatory and blood..." The male surgeon's words caused Tomoe's immediate retrieval of the tools.
Dr. Tachibana administered both of them- the bulges lowered slightly, then came back; the bruise, on the other hand, only vanished for a few seconds before reappearing. "No effect-!"
"What...?" Dr. Sartre kept his thoughts from becoming verbal. Those gunmen were already worried.
Everyone else knew the same. It was too late to ask Alicia now.
The diagnostician rephrased Dr. Rosellini's words. "! She said 'kidneys'- check the other one!" He then felt that his memory was too good for an average old man; maybe he could compete with the spirited Maria Torres, after all.
It was dangerous to make two opening incisions at the same time. Tomoe used forceps to gently hold the other side closed while the other surgeon made an incision on the opposite side.
"...The same." CR-SO1 concluded both of the kidneys were equally infected.
"Inject both at the same time with it- we might get something." Maria looked at her syringe supply- six of inflammatory, three of the blood, four of the Rosalia deactivator, and ten of stabilizer; of course there are some empty ones, but getting samples from Alicia was off-limits with those weak bodyguards close by. There were also other various syringes the paramedic had yet to think about- even so she was quite pleased with her record-breaking collection; maybe it was worth lugging around.
The operating surgeons used two separate syringes of the plagued blood- but only injected half of each into the kidneys.
Dr. Tachibana watched the black veins return to normal along with the countless bumps on both sides. "It's working..!"
"The deactivator-" Dr. Sartre quickly took out the necessary syringes and handed on to Tomoe.
The doctors witnessed the bruises starting to dissipate. Having this being her first time meeting this 'Bloody Rose' virus, Maria mumbled, "Rosalia is actually fighting..."
Gabriel let out a weak sigh. "So...happy ending after all..?" He saw Alicia return to see how things were holding up- she looked tired...maybe she was having a marathon with her dedicated fans?
Tomoe had her hand on the 'patient's' neck- she checked the pulse. Uneven. "...Something's wrong-!" Her yell prevented Dr. Sartre from closing up the incisions.
"?" The doctors all looked at the man once more.
Surely enough, the warning was dead on- the dark veins and bruises were slowly returning. The bulges were also multiplying on the kidneys once more.
"I thought the virus was gone for good...!" Maria turned to the leading surgeon for a plausible reason of the sudden relapse.
CR-SO1 thought for a moment. "(Both kidneys had the virus...but now...!) The entire tract is infected- he needs a transplant..."
"What-?" Dr. Cunningham didn't see an organ transplant operation since Tillman came to Resurgam.
"You mean-" Maria stomped her foot on the floor in anger. "Dammit- where the hell can we get a kidney..?" She obviously did not have have a spare organ laying around.
Dr. Tachibana perceived that those gunmen will not wait much longer, especially with them panicking. "(He'll die if we don't do anything...)"
Dr. Rosellini made a statement to the doctors. "If a normal kidney is used, the result is that it'll just get reinfected..."
"Now what..?" The paramedic saw the girl's words as another con.
That means one thing: they needed an organ that had something to fight this virus with. Alicia answered, "Use mine."
There was a complete silence that lasted for a few seconds.
This kid had to know that she had to be related to this guy in order to donate. "Are you joking? It has to be a-" Gabriel was cut off.
"Just trust me on this one."
There was a second long pause.
"...And Hank's operation?" That was the only question Maria could spit out.
"Dr. Sartre can assist in my place..." Dr. Rosellini saw a desperate look from the surgeon.
CR-SO1 only wanted to help in the beginning. He had no idea his wish would cost the girl this much- first her own organ and her spot in a highly advanced operation. Now he would have to perform both operations in her place.
"Are you sure...?" Gabriel got a nod for an answer. He didn't know what the kid was thinking, but she seems to know what she is doing.
"Here is the procedure..." Tomoe made a last minute conference. "We'll remove one infected kidney from the patient, extract one from the donor and transplant it, and finally remove the other infected kidney- we also must remember to use the deactivator at the end."
"(Man, I didn't sign up for this...)" Gabriel pulled another bench nearby.
The gunmen watched the scene carefully- they couldn't really understand what was happening except that the 'angel with black wings' was risking her life. "Is the boss gonna be alright?"
"Uh...Yeah." Maria didn't want to sound too hostile since they're the one with the guns. She whispered, "Guys, don't screw this up."
Alicia was already set for the organ removal.
Dr. Tachibana and Sartre were starting the first step. Tomoe passed a gray syringe to the leading surgeon. "The constrictor...Use it to close off the gateways and temporarily suture them closed before continuing with the incisions...Be careful."
CR-SO1 was swiftly completed the instructions. "Scalpel." He received the tool and took no time to remove the unwanted organ.
"Kidney's out-" Maria wasn't preparing for and organ transplant, so the infected kidney had to be put in a sealed bag- to prevent the virus from spreading. "Gabe and I will take over here while you operate on Alicia." She hardly noticed that she was stuck with her rival until she said his name. "(Damn...but it's for the kid...)"
"...Almost the process here, Dr. Sartre..." Tomoe said as they arrived to the second bench with Alicia.
Dr. Sartre had no problem operating- still, he had a stronger sense of atonement when it came to this certain girl. There were many reasons why: she has information from the past he believes may help him recover from his amnesia, she freed him from a mistaken prison sentence, she was Rosalia's mother, and the one main reason- she was a patient, one that respected him for who he was. Only a few doctors and friends were the same. "...I finished the removal. Get ready for the transplant."
The organ was speedily set and fit into the dying 'patient' by Tomoe as CR-SO1 finished off Alicia's half of the procedure. Dr. Torres and Cunningham switched sides with the other surgeons. Everything went quite rapidly in this large-scale operation; there were four moving doctors and two patients.
"Forceps and sutures-"
"...It's working..." Dr. Tachibana has always trusted her fellow doctors; here was no different. "...Now we must remove the second infected kidney..." Tomoe speculated and was confident this surgeon was too skilled for Resurgam- he was the best they ever had, far more professional compared to the many residents and interns there.
It was obvious that there was a violent reaction between the two viruses. The black veins were halfway gone and black bruises overlapped. The two pathogens were equaled in strength.
"Okay-" Maria placed the deactivator syringe next to Dr. Sartre and went to bag up the organ and seal it for good. "Finish it off, kid."
The gray syringe was administered; it worked like magic- eliminating the Rosalia along with the 'Bloody Rose' virus fighting it.
"We're done..." Dr. Tachibana checked the pulse on more time. He was stabilized.
Everyone let out various types of sighs.
Gabriel muttered to Maria, "You totally forgot..eh?" He was surprised the paramedic could still stand next to him. After all of those insults and events in the past years...and what happened that day, it really seems like he was getting old to the loud first responder.
"I'll kill you later..." Dr. Torres' threat wasn't as aggressive as it used to be.
The diagnostician turned away."Gimme a break..."
The bodyguards saw the doctors backing away from their leader. "Let's get outta here..." "Yeah." They put their weapons away and escaped lifting the 'boss' to the darker reaches of the mall.
"! Wait-" Tomoe knew it wasn't safe to transport the patient so abruptly after an operation. Her words were useless. "...They left..."
Maria picked up the unconscious Alicia from the bench, having the kid hold her first-aid kit. "We better go." She saw Hank return, meaning they can't stay much longer.
Dr. Freebird joined the group. "No need to tell me." He didn't see what happened form where he was, but it was clear that Alicia was out. "...So Dr. Sartre will be assisting me this afternoon..?"
CR-SO1 nodded. It was now his responsibility. "..." He was partly struggling trying to hold on to the container- he wasn't the type to do heavy-lifting.
Gabriel saw people drawing closer to them. "Let's scram before anything else happens..." This mall was seriously cursed.
The group moved towards the nearest exit of the place- the one connected to Resurgam.
Tomoe slowed near the doorway and said, "I will get everyone some lunch..."
Hunger- now that began to ring a bell. It was almost one o' clock- way past their meal time.
"Thank you, Dr. Tachibana." Hank words were the last spoken of the worn out doctors.
Dr. Rosellini's Office
"You know...you're light..." Maria said as she was about to leave the room.
There was no response.
The paramedic knew Alicia has yet to wake up. "...I going to make this bastard pay... you already lost too much..." She turned around to find Tomoe standing there with many bags of food. "!"
"Here's lunch..." Dr. Tachibana murmured. She somehow heard Maria speaking when she approached the doorway.
"Oh..." Maria was handed a brown bag. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Tomoe's face was melancholy as she glanced at the sleeping girl. "Dr. Rosellini takes such extraordinary measures..."
"Yeah." The paramedic gave a small smirk and glimpsed at Alicia one last time. "She can be a pain sometimes..."
Dr. Tachibana tightened her hold on the sacks. "Well, I must continue on my way..." She looked back at Dr. Torres before distancing too far away. "I hope Dr. Freebird's operation goes smoothly..."
"It will." Maria spoke with ambition. "I'm going there."
"!" Tomoe was stunned by the paramedic's pure ferocity- not the one from violence; it's the kind of determination a warrior would have. "That's...honorable of you, Dr. Torres."
Maria didn't really care for this 'honor path' Tomoe followed- she was always doing the right thing. "Uh...Yeah. I'll go now." She left the lunch in the room for later and ran off.
Operation Room E
"The spinal cord...This will be dangerous..." Precision would be everything in this procedure. Dr. Freebird was slightly intimidated by the high risk of failure.
"We should-" Dr. Sartre was wanted to finish as soon as possible since the patient was already in a terrible condition, but his words were stopped when the operation doors opened. "!..Maria?"
Maria Torres thought she took forever to arrive. "I'm watching- so don't mess up."
Hank thought the words were bittersweet- it was the Maria talking and standing there, but it was nice to have an extra hand in case something goes bad. "Very well, then let's begin."
…
"I've entered the spine," Hank gently moved aside the spinal cord and saw a tumor waiting for him. He took the scalpel and let out a deep breath.
"How many are there..?" Maria saw only one- there was no black bruise or anything that was eye-catching...yet.
"I only see one now." Hank slowly made the incision, then took the forceps. "Extracting tumor..." he realized more tumors showed up as he placed the one he was working on in the tray. "!"
"There's more..." CR-SO1 stood next to the orthopedic surgeon and was slightly ill at ease since this was his first time watching this type of surgery.
Maria saw Hank has already removed two of those things. "There has to be a source like before...right?" She became tired was watching repeated extractions- slow and steady was not her.
"True..." CR-SO1 muttered. His train of thought was halted as soon as he saw the black bruise. "(Argh...)" He could stand it last time, but since he wasn't the one actually operating- his headache was more intense.
"It's starting-" Dr. Freebird was prepared for a raid of problematic tumors. "We must make haste with discovering this source.." He took the scalpel promptly.
"A source..." There was only thing that the paramedic could think of. "Could it be..?"
Dr. Sartre was distancing himself from the table to control the pain without disrupting operation. He somewhat recovered when he heard Maria's question. "The brain... is the source..?"
"That is possible..." Hank extracted the last visible tumor. "But this is orthopedics..."
"Well, just keep going." Maria put her hands on her hips and persisted with the slow-paced procedure.
"I suppose..." The orthopedic surgeon turned back at the spine. There was a tumor much larger than he has ever seen. "What- is this-?"
"Huge..!" Maria wondered if such a size was possible- it was big enough to take the place of two vertebrae.
The assisting surgeon came out of his headache and back to the operation. "..You're going to have to get the blood vessels out of the way, then extract it piece by piece." This seemed logical to him.
Hank followed the instructions, but the pieces came back together instantly after his incision. "It's just regenerating..."
"!" Maria went over the tools platform and got the syringe of Alicia's plagued blood. "Is this a good time?"
"This tumor is fairly black..." Hank stopped his scalpel and took the syringe from Maria's hand/
"Inject the blood directly into the tumor." CR-SO1 waited for a reaction.
Hank saw that the target seemed to...harden. "It's..."
"Cut it, now..!" Maria yelled to get Hank to take action. Even she knew what to do; if something was stuck on a wrong spot, get it off.
"It isn't regenerating..." He managed to pass this obstacle. "Rock solid."
The surgeon saw smaller tumors reappear. "There are more..." That distracting bruise was still in sight, following it was another headache. Memories came back to him whenever he saw this mark- but it wasn't happening. Do memories only return through Rosalia bruises?
"How about the deactivator?" Hank mentioned.
"Since the tumor has already been excised, we might not need it." CR-SO1 still thought it would be wise to have it availible- with this virus, anything could happen.
C.I.F.M.
Dr. Kimishima's Office
"Dr. Kimishima? Any ideas..?" The agent said through the line.
Naomi went through the evidence cards again. No matches left. She then spoke softly, "These are all dead ends..." The examiner cleared her throat. "We have to keep it simple. Little Guy, run through the database one more time- who could have access to Dr. Rosellini's and Bienati's data?"
There was a small wait before the agent could answer. "Same results. They're all dead."
Dr. Kimishima sighed, "Need I remind you that I'm not dense..?" Those words were not clear to the agent, but this was message was heard: "Assume that they're alive." She recalled how Rosalia's mother was thought to be deceased but in actuality was very well among the living.
"Then...who?" Little Guy could never understand what was going through Naomi's complicated mind. "There are a number of people on this list..."
"Who in the list of yours would have the most acessibility to Dr. Rosselini's data?" Naomi sounded more impatient than curious.
"A fellow researcher...a relative..?" Navel paused to check something. "Dr. Kimishima...the one you are talking about is dead as well..."
The forensic expert hated when her agent daydreams when she talks. "Didn't you listen to what I said..?" She strictly commanded, "Look him up."
The agent on the line was a bit embarrassed to be scolded at. He made a few clicks on his computer and read the reports. "They...didn't locate the corpse yet...so-!"
"Hm." The student has failed to surpass the master.
"A hit!" The agent's yell coursed through the speakers. "This man also worked with Dr. Bienati!"
Naomi gave a little smirk at the enlightened Little Guy. "At least we have a trail- now we follow it."
Operation Room E
"Was that the last one?" Dr. Torres was bored of the numerous extractions of the same kind of tumors.
"It seems so..." Hank put away the scalpel. "But the bruise is still here..." He began placing the vertebrae pieces back and screwing the plates in. "Should a neuro-surgery be performed?"
"Yeah...hey kid, get ready." Maria ran to the cabinets and collected various equipment. "They're some tools here."
CR-SO1 hasn't fully rid of his headache, but an operation could help distract him from the pain. He went over the the operation table as Hank finished stapling and taping the opening incision.
"I'll prepare the patient..." Dr. Freebird knew the brain was hard to operate on, but even more difficult to get to. "Be careful."
The paramedic replaced the old tool tray with the new one. "Make no mistakes." She attached the vital monitor wires to the patient and turned it on. "This is the brain we're talking about.
Warnings always had a way of sounding like a threat when they come from Maria's mouth."...Commencing surgery." Dr. Sartre never took much care to them, anyhow.
There were black-colored spots scattered on the surface of the brain. It looked similar to the swollen black bulges from the previous operations...
"Hurry up already..!" Maria understood that the abnormalities were important to observe before taking action, but the vitals were already dropping.
"Scalpel, drain-" The method CR-SO1 was using was same as the operation Alicia performed on her 'unknown' patient. The only problems were that there were no tumors; draining the black fluid only left him with what looked like an inflammation. "We need the inflammatory..."
"On the brain..!" Dr. Torres saw that this was completely guessed up, but those swollen red spots made from that black liquid really did seem to be inflammed.
Hank handed the surgeon a blue syringe. "...If you're sure...use it wisely..."
Before the surgeon got a chance to inject, another black mark appeared next to the original one. Any remaining spots disappeared from the operation field. "!"
"Rosalia...she's up here fighting, too..." Maria mumbled as she exchanged syringes with the astonished surgeon. "Here."
"(The deactivator...)" Dr. Sartre recognized the gray syringe he received. He injected it directly into the bruises, ending both of the viruses. "...It's over." It was relieving to see that those menacing bruises have went away.
"Phew..."
Dr. Freebird grinned at his fellow doctors. "Thank you both." He turned his head to the clock and continued, "It's has become quite late...we all should get dinner."
Maria looked at the surgeon's small frown. Oh, he has a problem when it comes to getting food... "You're staying, right...? I guess I can ask Tomoe to get you dinner..." She quickly ran off as the nurses entered the room.
Hank looked at CR-SO1; other than restlessness and hunger, there was a hint of regret in the surgeon's silence. "(How unfortunate that she is still unconscious...)"
Dr. Rosellini's Office
Near Midnight
The sleeping girl woke up to find that:
She's alive. The transplant was successful, it seems.
It's night. Same day or day after, she cannot tell.
She has a vistor. Scratch that. A dormant surgeon in her desk.
"(Sheesh, that doctor...)" Alicia couldn't sit up or stand in her condition. "You have freedom, you know..." She knew this surgeon was a light sleeper, there was no need to yell.
"!" Dr. Sartre's head raised a little, but couldn't go up any further due to lack of strength. He then realized that he tried to take advantage of the sleeping Dr. Rosellini and read the books on her office. Sadly, he never paid any attention to his health and fell asleep. "...The operation was sucessful." That was a good excuse: he waited for her to awaken to tell the news and happened to drift off doing so.
"...Thank you..." Alicia couldn't tell which operation he meant, but both seemed to end okay. "..." She turned her head away from the surgeon; she didn't mind him reading her books, but to actually stay in her office, again? "...I'll become an adipocere when I die, right?"
CR-SO1 was surprised by the odd question- it was out of subject and easy to answer. "...It's...possible." He thought a straightforward 'yes' would be too much for her.
"...I guess I still have much to do before then..."
The words resonated throughout the office. CR-SO1 thought for a full hour by her meaning before falling asleep.
Resurgam First Care Hallway
Next Morning
Gabriel was nagging at RONI when he walked into a small blockade of doctors. "!...(What did I do this time..?)" He heard conversations, but they weren't focused on him. "What's the commotion about?"
"...Those guys from yesterday. They had something to say." Maria Torres was staring through the window while answering.
Dr. Cunningham had a blank face. Maria's answering him? "(This has to be serious if she's like this...)"
The surgeons overheard Maria's words as they drew near the expanding group. "So that medical examiner is here...?" Alicia asked; she still felt too weak to be walking.
Dr. Tachibana nodded. "Dr. Kimishima decided to personally interrogate...she should be finished by now..."
It was that moment the door was opened. Those two bodyguards ran to the exit of the hospital upon leaving the room. Naomi came out and noticed the large gathering of doctors.
"Did we get any information?" Hank said before anyone else could ask.
"Yes. We narrowed down a suspect." The forensic expert glanced at Alicia.
Maria didn't notice; she was about to explode of curiousity. "Well? Who is it?"
Dr. Kimishima didn't answer right away, she shot another look at the girl. "..."
"?" Gabriel has never seen Naomi hesitate to speak. He traced her point of view and turned to Alicia. "(The kid..?)"
"Does it have some connection to me again...?" Dr. Rosellini figured, there would be no other reason why to directly face her.
The other doctors were quiet at that question.
"Yes and no." Naomi finally answered.
'Yes and no?'
"What does that mean..?" Maria clenched her teeth- something really unexpected will be said.
The silver-haired woman closed her eyes. "We believe...your husband is behind this." She opened her eyes to the doctors' stunned faces.
"'Ex-'...isn't he dead..?" Alicia's voice was cold.
"It he is deceased, then how is he a suspect?" Tomoe questioned.
Naomi turned to face the direction of the main lobby. "The body was never discovered...it was ruled dead."
"Then it's possible..." Alicia also turned away from the group.
Dr. Cunningham looked at the young widow. "You don't sound too happy." He himself didn't care much about his divorce, but lives were lives. He remembered Alicia saying something about family in her act back then...
"It was arranged." The topic was returning her some painful memories.
Gabriel knew she did have a romance, there was no lying to him. He broke up, too- but never expected that they had this much in common.
"Do we know where he is?" Maria really wanted to beat this guy up. What kind of guy messes with women like that? He just leaves her in the dust, goes off committing murder, and wants a epidemic- damn, men do suck.
"We're tracking a dead man." Naomi responded.
Tomoe interjected, "Didn't you receive a description from the victims?"
"I did." The medical examiner lifted her phone. "They are looking him up." She then walked away from the doctors.
The group ran out of words to say.
Gabriel broke the silence by asking, "Anyone with an 'unknown' patient?"
"That won't help; it can be sudden, like yesterday." Alicia noted.
"Let's just hope that doesn't happen..." Hank muttered as everyone split up and went on their separate ways.
Dr. Sartre's Office
"?" CR-SO1 was reading through his schedule when he saw the office door was opened.
Dr. Rosellini stood in the doorway with a worried face. "Do you...still have the journal..?"
The surgeon reached for the old, torn journal on the higher slots of his desk. He had permission to read it, but its true owner was the girl. "...You wrote that he...changed. What did you mean..?"
Alicia walked over to retrieve the tattered diary. "...When I first told him that I was...you know...he started to work much harder..." She lowered her head. "We researched the same subject...and...he became insane with his work." She looked back at the surgeon in regret; she couldn't supply a name and Dr. Kimishima didn't give her one. "That's all I remember."
Dr. Sartre couldn't react- another person interrupted by entering the room. Make that: Maria sprinting into his office.
"We got a patient with the virus- the blood has no effect!" The paramedic was amazed to see that she hit two birds with one stone. Both kids were in the room, heaven knows why.
"It's a heart-located virus..?" CR-SO1 put on his lab coat.
"How did you know..?" Maria's volume dropped with the question. "This guy keeps having all of these cardiac arrests..."
Alicia set the journal on the desk. "The final defense has been breached...let's go..!"
Operation Room A
Outside
"Dammit...we can't do anything..." Dr. Sartre watched the doctors already in the O.R. They couldn't take any action in this situation. The line of cardiac arrests just won't stop. Even if they had time, they couldn't do much about the virus.
"It was a sudden one..." Maria felt guilty dragging the surgeons into the impossible operation, but they were the best ones in the hospital.
Dr. Rosellini knew the stabilizer will not last forever. "...Do you have a blood sample from the real Rosalia...?"
"What?" The paramedic knew they couldn't get blood from an adipocere.
"The real Rosalia is much stronger- if the virus we're dealing with is not exactly related to Rosalia...it might work." The surgeon doesn't know if his words made complete sense to Dr. Torres, but she seemed to get the gist of it.
"...I don't know if we have any..." Maria grumbled.
"We'll keep the patient alive for as long as possible- go look for it..!" With Alicia's words, Maria dashed down the hall and towards the hospital's medicine storage area.
The surgeons made quick preparations and entered the O.R.
Operation Room A
"Move aside, we're taking charge-!" CR-SO1 moved to the operation table as the other doctors and nurses moved back.
Alicia observed the bruises to the veins of he patient. "Black everything..." There were also swollen red spots spread across the heart. "We need the inflammatory-!" The nurse handed a blue syringe over to her.
A flat line appeared on the monitor. "Cardiac arrest!" Dr. Sartre resuscitated the patient and continued draining the black fluid from the discolored bulges on the organ.
The other staff members in the room could only watch the two struggle. The surgeons' movements were at a blinding speed- so fast that they could not lift a finger to help.
"I treated all the inflammations..." Alicia saw that the surgeon was not far behind with the removal of the black substance. "All we need is the blood..."
"Come on, Maria!" Dr. Sartre had done his part- all he could do now was wait.
Wait for death or Maria.
Medicine Storage Area
Maria Torres went in the Special Materials Room and was surrounded by cabinets and bottles of all colors- but what she really needed was just one of the many vials. "(Where can I find Rosalia's blood..?)"
She then saw a tube of pollen way in the back row. "(Oh yeah, the flower sample...)" She took the pollen off of the rack it was on and ran back out into the hall.
"(This isn't blood though...)" The paramedic looked around and saw the blood transfusions and donations were stored right next-door. "(Dammit, can this place get any more confusing?)"
Maria grabbed some type O blood vials from a fridge and brought them along with the pollen to a counter. "(Wasn't very good in chemistry...Oh well...)" She poured a little of the pollen into the blood and hoped it was right. "(That should do the trick...)"
Dr. Torres returned the flower sample to its rightful place and then began heading back to the O.R., begin careful not to spill the blood.
Operation Room A
"...The patient doesn't have much longer..." Alicia saw the vitals nearing the twenties, there were only two syringes of stabilizer left.
The sliding doors gave way to Maria, who had three vials in hand. "Here- use this-!"
Alicia already had a empty syringe ready in her hand; she received one vial and drew from it carefully. "You made this..?" She handed the filled syringe to Dr. Sartre.
Dr. Torres was bent over and gasping for air- she held out a thumps up to answer the question.
The staff members in the room were dumbfounded to see the hot-tempered Maria Torres in such a state.
"It reacted-!...The deactivator...!" The surgeon's call got the nurses running through the supplies. He was given a gray syringe by Alicia, who found it first.
"...! It's working... Vital's stabilized!" Alicia closed her eyes in relief as the nearby nurses transported the patient gratefully.
The other doctors who didn't participate felt like beginning interns after such a demonstration; they left with their heads lowered, but were appreciative to have their operation end in success.
CR-SO1 now realized how Alicia's virus defeated the heart mutations- with the presence of the Rosalia virus. "Rosalia's blood interacted with yours...and got the third virus involved; the deactivator shut down all three." He looked at Dr. Rosellini, who was saddened to hear that she could only reach to Rosalia through viral reactions.
"Great! Now we can take on anything..!" Maria cracked her knuckles at their accomplishment.
"This procedure is only to be used for this virus..." Alicia took off her gloves and the ribbon she rushed to tie on.
The doors to the O.R. gave way to a green-haired diagnostician- Gabriel Cunningham. But this guy didn't look like her was here to mess around. "...You guys might wanna check the news."
Dr. Torres scanned the guy's face. Yep, no joke. "...This way-!" She ran past Gabriel.
The surgeons followed; Gabriel let out a sigh. "You expect this old guy to just run after ya, huh..?"
Conference Room
The closest TV to the operation rooms was here- but Maria discovered they were beat to it. Hank and Tomoe were there already watching.
Dr. Tachibana reported as soon as the others arrived, "Dr. Kimishima and the police have found the crinimal..." She then noticed her bad wording- this was Dr. Rosellini's husband she was talking about. "!"
Dr. Freebird cleared up Tomoe's mistake by saying, "Professor Gwein Rosellini...there is a threat of release of some chemical that is preventing his capture."
The doctors then waited for anyone's response- especially Alicia's.
"Maria-!" The girl's words were clear to the paramedic's ears.
"You wanna go there, right..?" Dr. Torres knew this kid; a word from her was all she needed.
Gabriel saw Alicia's nod and stepped back. "Woah- what...?" He's surprised that he didn't get hurt yet- this kid's bravery always led to danger.
"It's going to be another stand-off..." Alicia began walking to the doorway with Maria. "It's best if someone he'll recognize confront him."
"Anyone else?" Maria was sure the kid would follow.
Tomoe looked at everyone's faces, plenty of hesitation was showed. "We're all Dr. Kimishima's friends...we should all go."
"Count me out..." Gabriel hated the last time he hanged out with Naomi- leg cramps all over from standing.
"Gabriel, isn't Dr. Kimishima your friend as well..?" Hank mentioned. He knew Gabriel made calls to the medical examiner.
"Yeah," Sure, he was her news reporter for the hospital- but he wasn't the one to give the teddy bear to her, not that close (even if it was a bomb like she said). "But I wouldn't wanna-"
"A chicken;" Maria shrugged and continued into the hallway. "Might as well leave it in the pen." She didn't want to rely on similies- but Tomoe and Alicia were there.
"W-what?" Gabriel didn't expect those words to come out of Maria's mouth. "Oh, I get it- sweet revenge, huh?" He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Now I really don't wanna go."
"Humph. If Naomi asks, 'Where's Gabe?' I'll say: Taking a coffee break." Maria's face was turned away while she was talking, there was a smirk across her face.
"Why you-!"
"Dr. Cunningham-!" Tomoe shouted; this was no time for an argument.
The smoking diagnostician clenched his teeth and took out his cigarette. "Fine! I'll go..." He never thought Maria would pull this with everyone else was around- peer pressure.
"Took you guy's long enough..." Alicia enjoyed seeing the man give in to the paramedic. Still, time was of the essence.