Chapter 2 - The Identification Tag
Major Dunn slid to a halt near the scrub sink, her breathing shallow as she clutched a mud-caked leather wallet and military identification card.
She looked between Colonel Pike and me, her face drained of color as she held the dog tags up with trembling fingers.
"Colonel Pike... sir," Major Dunn stammered, her voice barely audible over the sterile hum of the nearby ventilation unit.
"We just verified the casualty's dog tags and military database record."
"The young soldier on the operating table... his name is Specialist Lucas Pike."
"He is your son, sir."
Colonel Pike froze instantly, his arrogant posture shattering into a thousand jagged pieces right in front of my eyes.
The color drained entirely from his face, leaving him looking sickly grey beneath the bright fluorescent lights of the hallway.
"What... what did you just say?" Pike whispered, taking a slow, unsteady step back until his shoulder hit the tiled wall.
"His blood pressure dropped to forty-six before Nurse Holloway deployed the balloon catheter," Major Dunn added, her eyes wide with shock.
"If she had stepped away from the bed as you ordered, he would have suffered massive brain death within thirty seconds."
Pike stared at me, his eyes wide with a terrifying mix of sheer horror, profound guilt, and sudden realization.
He had nearly murdered his only son to protect his fragile ego and hospital hierarchy.
He dropped his clipboard onto the floor, the loud plastic slap echoing down the empty scrub corridor.
May you like
Without a word, he turned and sprinted toward the elevator bay leading directly to Operating Room 4.
I didn't waste a second watching him run; I rolled my sleeve back down over my Task Force 17-Charlie tattoo and followed him.
