Part nine
It's darkest before dawn
Bling was definitely not happy about dragging Beverly Shankar into this mess but the morgue had two heavy set smiley faces in front of it and he was fresh out of other ideas.
He had found the young medical examiner sitting at her desk dejectedly, having been informed of the news by the collegues on the morning shift, who were just leaving, whispering among themselves. He had presented Beverly with his plan of action, asking for her help and now he was waiting for her decision.
The formaldehyde smell permeating the air on this floor of the building irritated his nostrils and increased his impatience. „So, do you think we can pull this off?" he asked the woman engrossed in thoughts, trying to give her a way out, if she felt things were too dangerous.
The way Beverly looked away for a few seconds didn't bide well for Bling's plan. Even for him, it wasn't really about the danger involved, rather about seeing his one time employer, friend and hero under these circumstances. And Beverly might have been a very capable ME but that didn't mean she was immune to such matters when things hit close to home. The battered pencil she was nervously twisting in her hand proved it.
„Max is right, you know. I guess I really didn't want to put myself through this. We'll make it work somehow. Actually, a few minutes ago I did try to get a hold of the preliminary report done at the scene but they are keeping a tight lid on everything, they even brought their own ME to replace ours."
Bling frowned at the news. „Figures. I was kind of amazed they even brought him here, considering the circumstances. Anything on the office grapewine?"
They were whispering in her room, waiting for Dr. Shankar's collegue next door to get off work so they could go about things with more ease.
„Bennett Cale was here this morning and word is, he was so distraught by what he saw, he couldn't even sign all the forms. That's my loophole, but we'll probably only get a few seconds. Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if they moved the body before tomorrow."
Beverly got up and looked at her watch, pacing nervously. The moment her collegue went out the door and the adiacent room remained empty, Beverly went to retrieve a quarantine suit from the hallway locker. Bling looked on, slightly puzzled as she handed the suit to him. Their eyes met for a brief moment, before Beverly looked away, eyes shimmering moist. Now was the moment to ask what had been on her mind all day.
„Bling, he really was.... wasn't he?"
He didn't respond immediately, instead studied the medical equipment with sudden interest.
Finally, he answered, eyes fixed on the grey zipper of the suit he was fumbling with. „Do you really want me to answer that?"
Did she, really? If he had indeed been Eyes Only, than a lot of her hope for a better world was gone. If he hadn't, Logan's death would serve as a decoy. Curiosity wasn't the best strategy either way.
His sharp tone brought her mind back to the task at hand. "Do I put this on?"
„Yes," she answered, taking him back to her office to change. "You'll only have seconds and I can't be with you there. Do you know what to look for?"
Bling nodded grimly thorugh the transparent face piece of the suit and they headed for the morgue. Once they were in, the course of events couldn't be stopped anymore.
Closely followed by Bling, Beverly boldly approached the two soldiers guarding the dimly lit room full of metal drawers and produced her ID.
„Dr. Beverly Shankar, ME. It was brought to my attention that the IW/602 form regarding epidemiological clearance was not signed by the doctors handling the case of one Logan ...hmmm… Cale," she completed, taking a long look at the papers on her clipboard.
„Madam, you are not authorized to access this area", the huge blond man swiftly responded, not without a quick distraught glance at the quarantine suit Bling was wearing.
„The hell I'm not authorized, when I just got a dead body on my examination table with the same exotic disease this..." she looked at her papers again „...Cale… suffered from a week ago."
She looked the MP straight in the eye and continued. „It's highly contagious and there is no known cure for it. Here, look for yourself."
She shoved a pile of papers into the MP's hands, partly some of Logan's actual medical records, partly some gruesome pictures of various infectious diseases. The moment the man cast a glance at the pictures, she knew she had him. Bling didn't miss the way the other guard drew slightly back from Beverly.
„And then I find out that there was no epidemiological release form signed for this body! For all I know, he could have died of Ebola and infected half the hospital in the process. I even heard he was involved in a case where the CDC rushed in a while ago." The poise she was presenting her case with would have fooled even Bling.
Slightly green around the mouth, the second guard tried to sound threatening without really succeeding, „Madam, there is no one here to sign the papers now. You'll have to wait until tomorrow."
She bullied right back, „And have half the hospital die on me? Are you going to be responsible for that?" Then, satisfied with the guard's reaction, her voice softened a bit. „Anyway, all I really need is to make sure the man did not suffer from an infectious disease at the time of death. Then we can all sleep happily."
Bling couldn't help admiring the young doctor. For one who worked with stiffs all day, she was really adept at psychological manipulation. He didn't want to jeopardize the process, so he kept quiet, as planned.
„That's why Dr. Lyle is here in full containment suit. He'll just check and then we can leave. Otherwise I'll have to put the whole hospital under quarantine and we don't want that now, do we?"
The blond guard finally gave in. He got his tazer out and pointed it to the man in the containment suit. „No sudden moves, we're watching you. And make it quick."
Bling stepped forward and opened the drawer shown to him. Concentrating on shutting out all the murmurs and background noises, afraid the guards might see him hesitate even for a second, Bling turned the body around, feeling the lower back for scars, all the while intent on avoiding a closer look at what once had been a face. Someone's face.
He was just going to turn and announce that there had been no infectious disease, when the world around him faded to black and he crumpled to the ground.
