scenes from my dream

2 - Rescue

Antonio's POV

We were on the way to a meeting when a little girl runs in front of the SUV. My driver, Derek, steps on the brake and doesn't touch her as he calls out "Hey Kid. you OK?" I can see in her face she's terrified and I hear shouts...a group of despicable looking men are chasing her. With guns...

As Derek and I get out of the car with my bodyguard, Bryce. "You two. Stop those men. I don't care how. I'll go after her and see if I can help" Bryce tries to object..."it's fine; she's a terrified child. what can she do to me?" I started going after her...trying not to scare her. Just then I hear gunshots behind me...those idiots just tried to shoot Derek and Bryce. And the fire is returned almost instantly. I'm about 15 feet from the child who is clad in a men's tee and barefoot. She wipes tears from her eyes at the sound of the shots and stumbles...falling facefirst unto the payment catching herself with her hands. I catch up "It's OK. we won't hurt you."  I hear Derek and Bryce behind me. And as I reach out to pick her up, she's starts struggling.

"It's Ok. Honey, I've got you. No one will hurt you." but her struggles intensify. I take a look and she seems to be struggling to breathe...

"She needs to calm down" I look at Bryce...who is also my personal medic (and who carries sedatives with him for occasions when I need to bring someone with me quietly."

He looks at her and estimates "maybe a half dose?" as he reaches for his pocket medical kit.  I can tell he us trying to estimate her weight and state of health.  Her thigh was exposed during her struggles and he injects a small dose of a sedative into it. It should take a couple minutes to take full affect but she's already weakening.  "Give me your jacket" and Derek's passes me his jacket and i carefully wrap it around her so I can give her as much dignity as I can. 

Oddly the child hasn't said anything. But we can find out about her later...the important thing is to get her treated. I don't want to risk taking her to a hospital...I think that would result in uncomfortable questions for us. And the only people I want to have uncomfortable questions are the people who were chasing her. "Take those scum to the warehouse. Call Frank...whoever this child is...she needs a doctor"

She has started to calm down and I pick her up and carry her to the SUV..It's white because my brother Gideon said he was sick of the Black SUV cliche so we only use black SUV's when we want to appear threatening. (Anything for our baby brother)

"Did you call Frank?"

"He's on his way. Also, I took the initiative and called Anna and told her to cancel your appointments for the rest of the day and tomorrow. I figured you would be busy either with the girl or at the warehouse."

"Good thinking."

Bryce  opens the door to the vehicle for me, but instead of sitting in front he foes around the car and sits in back with me and the child. I look at him..."I want to monitor her. That drug is pretty strong, even at that dose " He reaches for her impossibly delicate wrist to take her pulse. "It's a little weak but steady."

We wait a few minutes because I don't want to leave those scum until we see the maroon SUVs favored by my head of security, Stefano and his team pull up. He likes to drive a block or two from me so he's close but not so close that I feel like i'm in a convoy. I roll down the window "Take them to the warehouse. Have them patch their gunshots...I don't want them bleeding out until I figure what's going on. Tell the med team that they don't need to be gentle about fixing them. If my suspicions are correct, a gunshot will be the least of their worries. Let's go." True to Stefano's nature...he doesn't ask questions. He just orders the men and they start dragging the men to the SUV as we pull out.

We drive to the house. Bryce occasionally checking on the child. I look at her and I can't think she looks familiar. But I don't know any 12 year little girls. She might be younger..but not by much.

As we pull up the house, Bryce offers to take the child. "I've got her. Just open the door for me." She's impossibly light. 

Frank pulls up and gets out of his dark green SUV still wearing his scrubs from the hospital. We basically own the hospital so he can leave when he wants for family emergencies.

"What's the emergency?" then he sees the child in my arms...and runs over..."Who is she?"

"We don't know. She was being chased by some scum who fired at her..." Bryce then interrupts...as we continue through the house, opening doors for us.
"She was hysterical so I gave her approximately a half-dose so we could bring her here safely. That was about 15 mins and it took about a minute and a half to take affect, so it might have been too much for her weight. Pulse is weak but holding steady." He passes Frank a biohazard bag with the partially filled syringe so he can see how much was given. 

"Let's get her to the clinic. And see how we can help her."