Hospital of Hell

Two

Scarlett

"Listen, Star, I swear my phone was on silent I just didn't see your call," Kemble rattles off as we leave the OR.

"Oh, but it wasn't on silent once Don Axton called?" I muse, washing my hands vigorously. Irritation floats side by side of the blood in my veins. I have an emergency room full of patients, a handful critical, an angry Don, and just finished a surgery I wasn't supposed to do. I've been here for eleven hours but it seems my day is only beginning.

I walk away, ignoring his voice fading in the background. "Scarlett!" He huffs in annoyance as I pay no mind to his pleas.

Once I walk into the hall I'm faced with Axton and his goons once again. His anger seems to have dissipated a bit, a mixture of worry now lacing his features. He stands when he sees me, his exterior turning cold quickly. I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

Kemble stumbles out behind me and I watch as Axton's eyes turn to him. "So?" He asks Kemble and I can't help but laugh.

Literally laugh. In the Don's face. I'm overwhelmed and exhausted, delirium is taking its toll. Kemble looks as if he may shit himself, and Axton's goonies grip the pistols on their hips. Axton's lip turns into a scowl, hit right eye squinting as he stares at my bloodied figure.

"The fuck is funny?" The goony to the left snaps.

I wave my hand dismissively. "No, by all means, Kemble. Update the man. Let him know how the surgery went," I smile sweetly, patiently waiting on him to either lie or out himself to the Don.

Kemble's face is red, his forehead creasing as he thinks of a fib to tell the Don. "I-I apologize, I only arrived thirty minutes prior to the ending of the surgery. I know he is alive and well and is being taken to the intensive care unit on floor two. Nurse Scarlett completed the surgery without my assistance with the guidance from another surgeon on call and the surgical staff."

Axton's face twitches a bit as he listens. "So where were you, Kemble?" He takes a step forward, sizing up the poor man. I can't help but grin softly to myself. About damn time this motherfucker was held accountable, it's just a shame the Don had to be the one to do it. I glance at him as he talks. Despite being full of unreasonable anger, Axton is an attractive man. Scars litter his skin that is exposed. His brow has a scar going through it down towards the end, going down a bit to his eyelid. It's threatening, but in an intimate way.

"I was caught up with some personal things, I'm sorry Don," Kemble rushes out, looking down. Gasps are heard down the hall when the Don grabs him by the neck of his scrubs, slamming him against the hard concrete wall.

I keep my composure, not fazed by his excessive use of force. "You think some pussy is more important than a man's life, Kemble? Hm?" His nose is an inch away from Kemble's as he talks. His jaw twitches with each annunciation, venom slipping from his tongue.

"N-no! I just, I didn't hear it ring," he begins to sob. Everyone here is scared of the Don. Hell, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. I just simply don't care. After your first few years in this piece of shit, fear becomes a pleasantry, seeing as you spend most of your time finding ways to become numb.

In a way I can't blame him. I've heard stories of Axton; I had just never seen him. He's been in gang activity since the young age of nine. He's been trained and taught in ways that would scar any child. He's killed for sport rather than out of defense or need. He's a cruel son of a bitch, never caring as long as he's out on top. Maybe that's why he's done so well since his father's retirement. He is feared, nationwide people dodge him as much as possible. Axton Tailyn is a name that people run from.

"Get the fuck out of my face," Axton slings Kemble across the hall. He lands on his side but quickly scrambles to stand up, jogging away from the four of us. "I'll be meeting you in your office, Kemble, don't run far!" He yells after him.

Axton finally turns his attention back to me. "Scarlett," he mimics Kemble's earlier statement of my name. "How did the surgery go?"

I smile sweetly, despite my body fighting the urge to curl up in an on-call room and sleep for ten hours. Exhaustion comes too often with this job and unfortunately for me, I never get to bask in it. It is just a constant battle of fighting against it until the emergency room is not as hectic anymore.

"He coded once more during the surgery. Dr. Robbins and I were able to once again resuscitate him and bring him back. We rushed to finish the procedure. His body fought against our efforts, and we weren't able to get him to breath on his own. He is currently intubated, but he is living. We hope within the next few days his body will gain enough strength to fight through the trauma and then we will try and extubate him. He'll remain in the cardiac ICU until then," I finish.

"You know I'm not the smartest, Axe. The fuck she talking about?" One of Axton's men asks, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I don't have time for this shit.

Axton stares at me, one eyebrow drawn down. "A machine is breathing for him, Cameron." Is all he says in response before addressing me again. "You rushed to finish?" Axton takes a step forward, but I stand my ground.

"If I would've taken my sweet time, he would be dead. So yes, we rushed. We did exactly what needed to be done so he could see the light of day again. Any more questions, Don Axton?" I put extra emphasis on his name, quickly becoming even more irritated than I already have been.

I've never been the best at hiding my annoyance. The problem is everything annoys me. When someone taps their finger or a pen, when an item isn't where I left it, prolonged questioning; it all annoys the shit out of me. My tolerance for annoyance is extremely low, and Don Axton seems to want to push the limit as much as possible.

"Watch your attitude. I don't give a damn who you think you are or if you think you run shit here, you can be without a job or a breath to breathe if you keep playing with me," Axton snarls.

I fake pout, glancing at some of the other staff running around the halls. "Does my disrespect hurt your mafia manhood?" This time I do roll my eyes. "I've got an emergency department full of your men, and you want to argue about attitudes. Pick and choose your battles more carefully, Don," I decide to not push my luck, so instead of pushing past his masculine figure I make the smarter decision to walk around the three men. Honestly, half of me expected him to slam my head into the wall once I passed. To my surprise he lets me go on about my business. His business.

I walk back towards the chaos, sighing once I see the number of patients still left untreated.

"Star! Bay three and six both are stab sounds, four and seven are gunshot wounds that aren't life threatening. Two men died on route," Saraphine walks up to me. "Bay three is a twenty-three-year-old male, blood pressure is dropping. Last vital signs were 76/42," I listen closely to her words as we walk, feeling eyes follow my movements. I glance back to see Axton with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed into slits.

I meant it when I told him to pick and choose his battles wisely. We have a sea of injured men and a wave of more on there way, due to a battle of property he chose to start earlier. It's the same fault I see in every single man I treat here.

Pride and arrogance is a quick way to die.