The black Shilton sedan glided to a smooth stop in the private ambulance bay behind the clinic. Scarlet and Rose stepped out into the crisp morning air, their movements free and entirely relaxed as they approached the secondary entrance.
Inside the main corridor, the usual hospital atmosphere was that of murmur and whispers filled with anxious tension. Standing near the central reception counter, Professor Gadhi, Julius, and Adams were gathered in a tight circle, speaking in low, hurried tones.
"The arterial blood gas numbers are still dropping," Professor Gadhi said, leaning heavily against the counter as she rubbed her temples. "If the oxygen saturation to the cerebral cortex doesn't improve within the hour, we're looking at irreversible brain damage. The strangulation caused severe acute hypoxia on top of his existing trauma."
"The state troopers are pulling security footage from the hallway," Adams added, his brow furrowed as he held up a digital chart. "Whoever slipped into room 204 managed to cut off his airway right while his IV line was running. If professor Julius hadn't heard the monitor alarm when he did—"
He cut himself off as the automatic glass doors slid open.
As Rose and Scarlet walked past the lobby perimeter, the three medical professionals instantly froze, their conversation dying mid-sentence. Adams blinked, his eyes widening slightly with a flicker of distant recognition. Both he and Julius recognized the silhouette presence of the two ladies—they were at the last them they encountered them fresh field operatives who had been present alongside Vincent when Klaus first associated with the network. Rose and Scarlet, however, passed by with cold indifference; having never personally met the local clinic staff before, the trio were merely background faces to them.
Before approaching the desk, Scarlet had paused just out of direct line of sight near the hallway directory, her keen hearing catching the tail end of their frantic discussion. A faint change in her expression absorbed the details. "Strangulation while on an IV." She didn't need a forensic report to know Bill Curt had disregarded direct orders, entered the room, and attempted to manually silence the detective.
Rose stepped forward to the reception counter, her expression softening into a polite, concerned smile.
"Good morning," Rose said smoothly, addressing the young nurse standing beside Adams. "We're here to check on Detective Quive. I'm registered as a personal friend of the family." She offered a forged identification card under a seamless civilian alias.
The nurse checked the system terminal, nodding quickly. "Room 204 on the second floor. Take the elevator straight up—"
"I'll take it from here," a voice interrupted.
Janvis stepped out from the administrative side corridor, dressed in a grey linen blazer. She offered Rose and Scarlet a brief, professional nod, gesturing toward the private elevator bank. "Follow me, please."
Once the elevator doors sealed tight and the car began its quiet ascent to the high-security floor, the atmosphere inside instantly shifted back to strict operational protocol.
"I take it you've already caught the wind of the mess downstairs," Janvis said, her tone filled with a bit of concern as she stared straight at the floor indicator lights.
"Protocol requires I deliver the official ground-level report before you enter the room."
"Proceed," Rose said, her hands folded neatly in front of her.
"At approximately 06:00 hours, an unauthorized breach occurred in Ward 204," Janvis reported concisely. "Bill Curt bypassed the corridor guards using forged specialist credentials. Instead of simply assessing the subject's status as instructed, he allowed personal frustration to take over. He assaulted Detective Quive, cutting off his oxygen supply and triggering a sudden cardiac and neurological crash before fleeing through the secondary service exit."
Janvis glanced sideways at Scarlet. "Professor Gadhi's team managed to prevent immediate cardiac arrest, but the resulting hypoxia has left Quive on the verge of total brain death. Bill's recklessness has turned a manageable situation into an imminent critical collapse."
"We're aware," Scarlet replied, her voice smooth and devoid of surprise.
"It's surprising though if we were to think deep about it. I mean I get that he's not known as a one of you guys but the fact that he's been checking in at the station should have made your so called tight security to stop him and ask for his clearance to enter the ward" rose thought out aloud.
"Now that you mention it, that's true since the men who stood guard had seen him several times at the precinct. I guess they might be in in it. I'll request a CCTV footage just to be sure" Janvis assured.
Scarlet having seen the worry in her face reached into her jacket, her fingers brushing against the cold silver case housing Dr. Maru's synthesized serum.
"Well he should be back to shape after we feed him this" she chuckled walking with Janvis in the lead.
The elevator doors chimed, sliding open onto the quiet, heavily guarded corridor of the second floor. Janvis led Rose and Scarlet past the two state troopers stationed at the entry door, flashing her administrative security badge to grant them immediate entry.
Inside Room 204, the air was solemn and the whole place could be said to have a sad aura as the sluggish "beep... beep... beep" sound of the heart monitor resounded around the room.
Detective Quive lay motionlessly on the white hospital bed, his face drained of color and his chest barely rising under the thin blanket. The bag valve mask and supplemental oxygen tubing were still hooked to his face, but his vitals were teetering on the edge of a flatline.
Scarlet stepped up to the IV pole, unzipping her jacket as she pulled out the silver cylinder and unscrewed the cap, revealing the clear, iridescent vial of Dr. Maru's miracle serum.
She drew the glowing liquid into a sterile syringe, wiped the rubber injection port on Quive's central line, and depressed the plunger completely.
Once the final drop entered the clear tubing, Rose raised her wrist, staring down at her watch.
"Ten," Rose counted in a quiet whisper. "Nine... eight... seven... six..."
As she reached two, the heart monitor suddenly went wild.
"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!" The digital line spiked violently, the numbers for his pulse and blood pressure climbing at a frantic pace.