Chapter 5 - The Unspoken Debt
"Nurse Holloway... Lieutenant Colonel..." Pike stammered, his voice choked with raw emotion and deep humiliation.
"I... I don't know what to say. I didn't know it was Lucas in that ambulance."
"It shouldn't matter who was in that ambulance, Colonel Pike," I replied coldly, stripping off my surgical gloves and tossing them in the trash.
"Every service member who rolls through those trauma doors is someone's son, someone's daughter, someone's parent."
"You don't get to treat civilian contractors like disposable labor while playing petty rank games with human lives."
Pike lowered his head, unable to meet my cold, penetrating gaze as the weight of his actions crushed him.
"I'm going to report this incident to the regional medical command," Pike whispered, trying to regain a shred of control.
"You defied a direct order from a superior officer in a military medical facility."
I let out a soft, mocking laugh, stepping close enough to him that he could smell the antiseptic on my scrubs.
"Go ahead and file your report, Colonel," I said softly, leaning in close so no one else could hear.
"Because while you were standing at the scrub sink threatening my job, Major Dunn alerted the Pentagon."
"And if I know my old commanding officers, someone very important is already on their way here in a helicopter."
May you like
Pike's eyes widened in sudden, fresh terror as the sound of heavy rotor blades echoed over the hospital roof helipad.
The floor beneath our feet vibrated as a massive Sikorsky VH-60 Black Hawk helicopter touched down directly above us.
