Helping Mr. Gang Leader
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Chapter 3:
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Rio shouted, “I’m talking to you!”
“Don’t snap at my sister like that!” Giovanni’s own voice rose.
And then the new comer, whoever he was, interjected, “Stop fighting, all of you!”
Gianna turned to Rio and looked him straight in the eyes. “Do you know why you have thirty seconds to get out of my operating room?”
“Go ahead and tell me.”
“Because,” Gianna said, muttering a thank you to Zeke when he deposited the tools at her side. “Because you’re the idiot who pointed a gun at me. You’re the idiot who, instead of asking nicely if I could save his friend’s life, demanded that I do so. Because I don’t like you. Because I don’t like violence. And because this is a clinic where I treat people and take care of them, and you are making it very difficult for me to want to do that. Now, your friend is laid out on my operating table, bleeding out from a gunshot wound. Do you want to stay here and be an ass, or do you want to leave now and let me work? Fifteen seconds for you to decide.”
Gianna turned fully away from him then, and instead concentrated on the wound.
It was only the shuffling of feet, and then the quiet shutting of a door that alerted Gianna that she was alone with the victim and Nurse Zeke.
She was able to work in relative silence for a few minutes before Zeke asked, “Is he … do you think he’s going to be okay?”
The trepidation in Zeke’s voice was almost endearing in its uncertainty. Gianna was used to reassuring people and comforting family members, so it was easy for her to say, “Your friend has a lot going for him. He’s young, fit, appears to be in good health, and if one is going to be shot in the abdomen, this is a good place for it to happen.”
The victim had passed out moments ago, and Gianna knew that was a godsend.
She didn’t have an anesthesiologist on hand, couldn’t possibly call for one, and more basic pain medication was something that would have to wait until Gianna could get a better sense of the patient’s vitals.
“Also,” Gianna said, this time giving Zeke a reassuring smile, “the bullet went through and through. In and then out. And it did so in a clean trajectory. If that hadn’t happened, your friend probably would have bled to death before you even got him to me.”
Zeke frowned. “How come?”
The subject was so close to home, but Gianna refused to be anything but professional. “When a bullet goes through and through, in one side and out the other, it makes it much easier for a doctor to not only assess the damage, but also repair it. When someone is unlucky, and depending up on the circumstances around the shooting, the bullet can do one of two things. Either it can remain whole in the person and bounce around, damaging organs and various other things, or it can break apart as shrapnel and lodge everywhere.”
“And Cypher he didn’t … that didn’t happen to him?”
“No,” Gianna said confidently. Then her mouth turned down and she asked, “That isn’t really his name, is it?”
Zeke looked panicked.
“That’s his thug name?”
When he remained staunchly quiet, Gianna shrugged and said, “I think you should know that my surgical skills are going to save this man’s life tonight. But for me as a doctor, what I do is more than simply or clinically treating someone. I bond with my patients. I comfort them and make them feel like they’ve got a lifelong friend looking out for them. For the moments they’re with me, and maybe after, they are my friends. And do you know how that starts? It starts with a name.”
Zeke shook his head. “You shouldn’t--”
“You broke into my clinic at one in the morning,” Gianna said, eyes narrowing. “You set off my alarm, no doubt broke something, dragged your bleeding friend all over the place, you’ve forced me to contaminate an area that another doctor planned to use to help someone else, and you can’t tell me a name that I can use to comfort my patient with?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Zeke said, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, “Giovanni always says what an amazing doctor and brother you are, but--”
Wheezing a bit, and startling them all, the patient on the table rumbled out, “Ferrari… Dan … te.”
“Ah,” Gianna said, peering up at her patient. “So he has a name. Dante.”
Ferrari Dante was an odd-looking man, not overly handsome like Gianna had seen before, but there was certainly something appealing about him.
He was the kind of person who looked like he had a magnetic personality, and looked a force to be reckoned with.
He looked to be the kind of person Gianna liked best, which was interesting, and she was now even more determined to see him to recovery.
“Dante,” She spoke once more, “I don’t know if you heard me earlier, but I’m your doctor. I’m taking care of you. I’ve inspected your wound, and while you most certainly need a blood transfusion, of which I do not have at this clinic, I think you’re going to make a full recovery with enough time. You are going to be okay.”
“Blood?” Zeke asked quickly. “He needs blood?”
“Most certainly,” Gianna said. Then she was surprised by how hard Dante grabbed her hand and squeezed.
She turned to Zeke and wondered, “I don’t suppose either of you know what blood type he is?”
Without saying a word Zeke jogged quickly to the door. He popped it open to speak to someone on the other side.
Trying to keep her face as easy and friendly as possible, Gianna leaned closer to Dante. “I don’t know if I even want to ask how this happened.”
Dante hissed through his teeth in pain before saying, “Disagreement.”
Gianna gave a thin laugh. “A disagreement with guns?”
Dante winced, and for the next few minutes they worked in silence.
Zeke was back in the room by the time Gianna started on the stitches that would hold everything together.
“Just a little while longer,” Gianna promised as she threaded the needle through Dante’s skin. “I know this hurts, but honestly, I’ve seen grown men cry over things less than this. You’re doing well.”
A smile that was all teeth greeted Gianna as Dante said, “Gotta … impress …my hot doctor.”
“You’re so greasy,” Gianna teased him. “You’re lucky I like greasy. It’s one of my character flaws that I find greasy endearing.”
Dante said assuredly, “Best … doctor … ever.”
He was gasping for air, fighting through the pain, and Gianna was only more impressed by the fortitude being displayed.
For fifteen minutes Dante endured stitches being applied to his already inflamed skin without pain medication or a numbing agent.
Through it Gianna talked to him about the much worse gunshot wounds she’d seen, how much worse it could have been, and how she was confident that Dante was a very lucky person.
A quick check of Dante’s blood pressure satisfied Gianna enough to finally say, “Okay, now you get your reward.”
“Lollipop?” Dante asked, sweating profusely across this nearly naked body.
Gianna hadn’t allowed herself to look much before, but the muscle definition was impossible to miss now.
Dante, before his brush with death in the form of a bullet, was likely a perfect male specimen. Toned legs, developed arms, and a strong, wide chest, probably drove countless people crazy with want.
Gianna hadn’t had a date in five months.
She hadn’t had sex in almost a year. And Dante flirting with her, dangling about like a piece of meat, was not helping.
“This is a local,” Gianna said, producing a syringe, and filling it with a carefully measured dosage of liquid. “It’s not the strongest stuff I could give you, but something tells me you don’t want to be completely dead to the world, unable to defend yourself if trouble comes knocking.” Gianna paused, giving Dante a suspicious look. “I know you won’t be bringing any more trouble to my clinic, though, right?”
Dante cracked his eyes open and gave a weak shake of his head. “No, ma’am.”
“Then this,” Gianna told him, “will provide relief from what must be an excruciatingly painful throbbing in your side, and help you sleep. But you’ll still have your senses should you need them.”
Zeke tensed up, having been silence since he returned, and Dante caught Gianna’s wrist sharply before she could administer the syringe.
Gianna asked plainly, “You don’t want the pain relief?”
She could see the conflict on Dante’s face. Gianna could see the uncertainty and the panic and the hint of fear.
“I’m a doctor,” Gianna told him evenly, not pulling her wrist back in the least, despite the almost painful grip Dante had on it.
“That means, above all else, that I help and protect people. You are my responsibility as long as you’re under my care, and I won’t let anything happen to you. That is my promise to you, and you should be aware, I don’t make promises I can’t keep. I haven’t broken one yet, and I don’t expect to start with you.”
Slowly, almost excruciatingly so, Dante’s hand released on her wrist.
“You’ll feel better with this and a little rest,” Gianna promised, then slid the syringe tip into the crook of Dante’s elbow gracefully. “Trust me.”
Dante gave a small nod before his eyes closed and he was out.
Gently Gianna snapped her fingers, and when Dante didn’t react, she told Zeke, “He’s going to be fine.”
Zeke nodded and replied, “Blood is on the way.”
Eyes widening, Gianna asked, “And did you break into a different clinic to acquire it? Or the local blood bank? Because that is absolutely not something that--”
Before she could finish, the door burst in and Giovanni rushed out. “Gia! The police are here!”
Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 4: .Giovanni rushed out, “Gia! The police are here!”Gianna whipped off her bloodied gloves at once, giving a worried look down to Dante’s still body. “Figures they’d pick tonight to be the one time they make it here within an hour of an emergency.”Uncertainly, Giovanni asked, “What are we going to do?”There was a lot implied in that simple sentence. Gianna knew at one that whatever her brother was mixed up in, whoever Dante or Cypher was, it wasn’t good. And the police were a complication that could possibly endanger everyone.Gianna was certainly going to rip her brother a new one at the first chance she got, but she wasn’t going to let anyone else hurt him. She wasn’t going to let Giovanni be in danger, and she wasn’t going to expose him to the police.And then there was Rio to consider, with his gun. The clinic couldn’t afford a shootout, and Gianna couldn’t let anything happen on her watch that endangered people, including her patient on th
Helping Mr. Gang Leader.Chapter 5: . “Talk,” Gianna demanded, and she wasn’t going to let Giovanni go until she had all the answers.“You’re not going to like it,” Giovanni warned.Gianna told him plainly, “Somehow, I already figured that.”“Don’t you think instead we should talk about how you almost had a heart attack tonight?”Gianna narrowed her eyes at her brother. “You’re attempting to distract me.”But then she wasn’t so sure, because Giovanni looked absolutely serious and worried as he insisted, “Oh, we can talk about all the things you want to know in a second. I’m fully prepared for that lecture, I have readied myself. But Gia, you almost … it looked like …”“Your friend,” Gianna said tersely, “the one with the gun, he startled me.”“We almost lost someone we’d do anything for.”Gianna sighed. There was never an excuse for bringing a weapon into a house of healing. But instead of fighting the matter, she told her brother, “I can tell all of you care very much for each ot
Helping Mr. Gang Leader.Chapter 6: A little lie doesn’t hurt .Hagrid pressed further into Gianna’s personal space and Gianna had no idea what would happen next, only that it probably wasn’t going to be good. Whenever anyone from Infinite came around, it never was.“I assume you’ll answer my questions now?”Gianna breathed in deeply, then gave a nod.A dubious smile stretched its way out across Hagrid’s face. “Good. Very good. Let’s get started.”It was like this:You had to either be completely oblivious, or incredibly stupid not to understand who owned the area.Gianna had grew up in one of Sangrid’s most affluent neighborhoods. She had gone to private school, and rarely been exposed to the underbelly of the city. But even she, at least vaguely, had known about the gangs. And she had heard rumblings of Infinite.Infinite.All the gangs were a little different, with specific ways of running things, different rules, and methods of operation. The last thing Gianna had wanted to do
Helping Mr. Gang Leader.Chapter 6: A little lie won’t kill you, or Will it? .Hagrid pressed further into Gianna’s personal space and Gianna had no idea what would happen next, only that it probably wasn’t going to be good. Whenever anyone from Infinite came around, it never was.“I assume you’ll answer my questions now?”Gianna breathed in deeply, then gave a nod.A dubious smile stretched its way out across Hagrid’s face. “Good. Very good. Let’s get started.”It was like this:You had to either be completely oblivious, or incredibly stupid not to understand who owned the area.Gianna had grew up in one of Sangrid’s most affluent neighborhoods. She had gone to private school, and rarely been exposed to the underbelly of the city. But even she, at least vaguely, had known about the gangs. And she had heard rumblings of Infinite.Infinite.All the gangs were a little different, with specific ways of running things, different rules, and methods of operation. The last thing Gianna ha
Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 7: a gang war isn’t that far away . “Tell me about Mariposa,” Hagrid commanded. “And know that my patience and cordiality is gone.” “I have no idea who Mariposa is,” Gianna said swiftly, “Other than the things I’ve heard about them. And when men broke into my clinic and set off my alarm, I had no idea who they were until much later. Yes, there were people who broke into my clinic, that much is true. But it’s not like I sheltered them. I’m not stupid. This clinic belongs to Infinite, not Mariposa.”“You treated them?”“One had some bruising,” Gianna relayed, as if having to think about it. That was Zeke. Not that Gianna was going to tell Hagrid anything, but Zeke had been the one with the facial bruising. He’d had the bruises that were so bad it was a miracle he hadn’t broken his jaw. Someone had punched him nearly hard enough for it to happen, and Gianna was willing to bet if it wasn’t Hagrid who was responsible, then it was one of his men.He l
Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 8: aren’t all gang leaders the same? .“Giovanni ,” Gianna said a little breathless. She made her way back to the kitchen, feeling nauseous, and in need of her medication. “You need to call me as soon as you get this. Hagrid … Infinite’s Hagrid, was just here. He came by and he was asking all these questions about Mariposa and I tried to lie, I think he believed me, but you need to call me. I need to talk to you.” She forced himself to stop, hating how scared she sounded. “Call me.”She swallowed down a large red pill and a small white one, drank half a glass of water and wished like hell she had gone out for drinks. She certainly wouldn’t take enough to be considered drunk, and with her medical condition it wasn’t something she could risk doing in general, but maybe if there had been any alcohol in her, she could have handled Hagrid with a bit more delicacy. She had let her anger and her attitude run away from her and said things she shouldn’t
Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 9: to be remembered .“Cypher isn’t like the other leaders, Gia,” Giovanni said; his statement making her frown. Gia scoffed. “Oh please, they are all gang leaders, what could he be doing differently?.” “He doesn’t just throw me into danger and expect me to keep myself afloat. My loyalty and dedication earns me a paycheck for a reason, and I’m even moving in with one of the members next month.”“That seems fast.”Giovanni shrugged. “Zeke and Jovani are getting a new place within the week, and well Rio needs a new roommate to help with the rent. I need a place to stay, so it just kind of worked out.”Trying not to wince, Gianna asked, “What about the other one? The one with the round face?”. “Sal?,” Giovanni laughed. “He would never live with the others, even if it means all the money he’s got goes to his bills. Sal, I know you wouldn’t think it to look at him, is pretty clean and quiet. He says the others are too loud and dirty.”There was worry
Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 10: there was nothing she could do about it.Between the two of them, and over the next half hour, they consumed an entire pizza. The meal, along with the easy banter and fun conversation, reminded Gianna of the better times they’d had. There had been a time, no matter how long ago it seemed, when Gianna had been less preoccupied, and more attentive to her brother.Maybe if she hadn’t let her need to help people and open her own clinic overtake her, Giovanni wouldn’t have been so deprived for attention that he turned to Mariposa.Before they left, and as Giovanni slurped up the last of his coke, Gianna said gently. “If this is what you want to do with your life, regardless if I like it or not, I will support you. I won’t turn my back on you and I will trust that you won’t hurt others. But this is a dangerous thing you’re a part of.”“I won’t hurt innocent people,” Giovanni promised. “In fact, I’m only with Mariposa because they’re the gang that’s