Operation Subdue

by R. J. Castille

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it,” I huffed back at her. “I would say that would just mean I would die and go see my son sooner, how’s that?” Clearly understanding that she was getting nowhere with that conversation, Dr. Barbosa nodded and thanked me for coming in before disappearing out the door and leaving me alone in the exam room to wait for the nurse to come discharge me.

  After I was given the green light to get out of dodge, I made my way back to the parking structure as quickly as possible. There was something in the air at any one of the facilities for Kellogg Premier that didn’t quite feel right and I knew it. It was not obvious, more like a subdued sense of pending doom that emanated from every patient in the waiting room and was vehemently ignored by each and every staff member. Guiding my car out of the opening to the parking area, the sun splashed across my windshield and bathed me in its warm glow as I turned onto the main street and headed back to my office.

  When I got home that evening, my boyfriend was already making what smelled like a wonderful meal. Roger Culbertson and I had been together for just under a decade and his ability to sense how I was feeling was uncanny. He rarely had dinner ready for me when I got home from a long, hard day at work, but he knew I was on edge and was trying to distract me from what seemed to be a constant source of angst.

  “Can you believe they are still just ignoring my symptoms?” I asked as he flipped over one of the porkchops he was frying, the grease sizzled loudly when he pressed down on the tasty looking piece of meat. Nodding in agreement, he glanced in my direction to indicate that he understood my frustration but did not have much to say on the matter. I went on and on about how dismissive the entire staff had been and how they had solely focused on the cervical cancer screening I was lacking.

  “It’s kind of messed up to your partner to not get that screening isn’t it?” I was instantly annoyed by his ignorant comment. Roger looked at me curiously as I took a deep, cleansing breath and prepared myself for a retort.

  “What they’re looking for, my love, is cancer, not sexually transmitted diseases. Contrary to what you obviously think, the purpose of a cervical cancer screen is to look for just that,” I countered. If he was going to spout off ignorance then I was going to hit him with the facts right between the eyes.

  Roger shook his head and lowered his gaze back down to the pan on the stove in front of him. He knew better than to continue to argue with me over that particular procedure. That, and I had put it quite neatly back onto him and he was clearly uncomfortable with that. Instead of saying anything further, he continued to prepare the food he was cooking as I rambled on about the strange energy at Kellogg Premier, the way they just dismiss every single concern I bring to them and how every medical professional there was keen on doing as little as possible to help me.

  Later that night, as I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling waiting for sleep to come, a thought occurred to me: They do all of it on purpose. For whatever reason, my mind had homed in on that idea. That was actually the way it seemed to me and my overactive brain was calling them out. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was something not quite right about the entire situation. It was not just one occurrence, not at all. Historically, every single thing I had ever presented to the professionals at Kellogg Premier was ignored or explained away, with very little done to treat whatever it was I was suffering from. When I finally slept, my mind was plagued with nightmares so vivid I swear they were real. Scenes of patients suffering inside the walls of Kellogg Premier Hospital without so much as a glance of acknowledgement by the nurses who scurried through the hallways on their way to some unknown destination. It was a frightening thought, but what if I was right and it all was intentional. But for what purpose?

  -6-

  Elaine

  It was a day just like any other. The urgent care department was slammed with patients seeking a quick fix to an ailment that they could have treated at home with a humidifier and some cold medicine. I barely had enough time to sit down all day long when my shift was finally coming to a close. That’s when it happened.

  I received a message that Mr. Carl Steinburg wanted to see me. Earlier that day, the lead Registered Nurse, Brenda Saxon, had informed me that someone of importance was going to call on me and that I should answer the call immediately. As soon as the message popped up on my screen and I read who it was from, my stomach leaped into my throat. She was right, and I had no idea what was coming.

  Racking my brain quickly to see if there was anything in my performance that would have the Chief Medical Officer of Kellogg Premier call me to his office, I could think of nothing. I always made it a point to mind my business and stay out of the other nurses’ way. There should be no complaints about my work ethic or time and attendance as I never called off, barely took my breaks and was always willing to go over and above to help out. Those thoughts made me wonder why Mr. Steinburg was calling on me.

  Instead of continuing to ponder the situation, I pushed my chair back and let the nurse next to me know where I was headed. I told her that Ms. Saxon herself had informed me that it was coming and that I was to respond right away. She barely acknowledged me as she nodded curtly and lifted herself up from her own chair with a patient’s information in her hand and made her way toward the door to call them back. Locking my screen, I turned and walked toward the exit.

  The building really was like a maze. Up the elevator to the top floor, several twists and turns later, I was finally standing in front of the receptionist who guarded the entry to Mr. Steinburg’s office like a Centurion. When I approached her desk timidly, she glanced up at me, her eyes searching for my name badge and reading who I was once she located it. Once she realized who I was, without a word, she picked up the telephone poised on the surface of her desk and pressed two buttons. I heard her mumble a few things into the mouthpiece as she nodded and hung up the receiver. Her eyes found mine as she opened her mouth to speak.

  “Please go inside and make an immediate left, then a right at the end of the corridor. Mr. Steinburg’s office is at the end of that hallway. He is expecting you,” her voice trailed off as I nodded in her direction and slipped past her desk toward the large, double-doors that she sat in front of. As I approached, I heard a click and the door opened enough for me to grasp the handle and pull it open. When I stepped through the entry and the door closed securely behind me, a sense of impending doom followed me.

  I knocked on the door and waited. For several seconds, I heard nothing, no response to indicate I should open the door, which made me a little nervous. Finally, I heard a commanding voice on the other side of that door tell me to come in, to which I quickly obliged. The door swung inward, disturbing the air as it followed its path and making a small, whooshing sound as I breached the threshold and stepped cautiously inside.

  Three figures greeted me inside. Ms. Brenda Saxon was seated to the right of a large oak desk, her hands wringing nervously in her lap. A short, weasel looking gentleman was on the left, his eyes piercing through the muted lighting and locking onto mine as he looked me up and down before finally allowing his gaze to settle on my face. In the center, seated at the desk was a man I had only seen pictures of, Carl Steinburg. The sight of all three had me instantly on the edge of nervousness. Ms. Saxon did not look at me directly as Mr. Steinburg cleared his throat loudly.

  “Ms. Cooper, I presume,” his voice boomed across the space, causing Ms. Saxon to jump visibly as he greeted me. With a sweeping motion, he indicated for me to have a seat in one of the two, high-back chairs that waited directly across from him. The hot seat. My mind lamented as I stepped around one of the chairs and lowered myself onto the cushion, the soft leather yielding to my weight with a hiss and a creak as I sat.

  “What is this all about? Why have you…” I started to vocalize the dozens of questions that were flying through my mind when Mr. Steinburg held up his hand, indicating for me to stop speaking. For some reason, I did. His commanding presence, combined with my appre
hension, had me closing my mouth in an instant as I stared at him and waited for him to continue.

  “It has come to my attention, Ms. Cooper that you have been poking around in the medical records where you should not. You are assigned to the urgent care department, am I correct?” Mr. Steinburg waited for me to nod my head, acknowledging his question. Once I did, he sat up straight and leaned forward, his chin resting on his index fingers that were steepled to a point beneath his jaw. “I brought you here to caution you, Ms. Cooper. Keep your nose where it belongs, in the charts of the patients you are serving, and nowhere else. You are a good nurse, from what Ms. Saxon tells me. You work fast, are a team-player and are always willing to go over and above. I would hate to lose such a valuable staff member for lurking around where they are not supposed to. Do you understand?” I did not but nodded my head as he spoke. My eyes drifted from Mr. Steinburg over to Ms. Saxon, who sat still, her eyes trained onto the floor like a subservient child.

  “Ms. Cooper,” a high-pitched voice that caused instant irritation as it reached my ears interjected, causing me to snap my head in the direction of that voice, “it behooves you to listen to Mr. Steinburg. We cannot give you any further information, just know that you are being monitored from this point forward and you should be fine.” I had no idea who he was but got the idea that he was of some importance or he would not be there at all.

  “Mr. Powell is right,” Ms. Saxon’s voice was barely a whisper. “Tristen is the Corporate Attorney for Kellogg Premier and is just looking out for the best interests of us all. Please, Elaine, this is very important.” She was hiding something; they all were hiding something and I knew it. I had no idea what it was, but they brought me there to make sure that whatever it was, remained just that: their deep, dark secret.

  I felt like a caged animal, backed into a corner with nowhere to go, and I didn’t even know why I was there. Was it such a bad thing that I was concerned about my patients and their well-being? Why were they acting like I did something egregious when all I did was check on a few people here and there? I had no answers as the questions flew through my mind at lightning speed. It occurred to me that, whatever it was, I had stumbled across the tip of the iceberg and the three people who had dragged me away from my duties were bent on keeping that secret to themselves.

  Normally, I would have argued. I would have defended myself and informed them that I had not really done anything wrong, but by the look on their faces, I thought better of it. Based solely on the look on Ms. Saxon’s face and the way the two men sounded when they spoke to me, I felt it would be best to just zip it and keep any retort to myself. Nodding decisively at them, Mr. Steinburg smiled at me before glancing over at Mr. Powell who continued to glare at me, eyeing me suspiciously as the others prepared to dismiss me and send me back to the trenches.

  “Very good then,” Mr. Steinburg stated and waved his hand in my direction. In response to his gesture, Brenda stood and walked toward me, grasping my elbow lightly in her hand and guided me toward the exit. I spared them one last glance over my shoulder as I was seen out, the attorney’s suspicious stare still trained on me as Ms. Saxon and I pushed through the doorway.

  Once we were clear, Brenda breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She looked at me sympathetically and I could tell she had something else to say. As I waited for her to speak, I heard her name drift through the doorway from inside Mr. Steinburg’s office. A look of disappointment made its way across her features and her eyes cast down once again. Instead of accompanying me down the hall and back to the main entryway, Ms. Saxon backed into the office once again and spared me one more glance as she closed herself inside. Whatever it was that was on her mind would have to wait until they were no longer around to prevent her from saying it.

  That strange exit replayed in my mind numerous times as I wound my way back to the urgent care department. The look on Brenda’s face was filled with both fear and the need to give me information she shouldn’t. I found it strange that the three of them had ganged up on me and what was even more strange was the way the Corporate Attorney looked at me, as if I had already done something to compromise whatever it was they were hiding. Instead of wanting to steer clear of it all, the whole scenario just caused me to be even more curious and want to dig deeper. I knew I shouldn’t, but I could not help but wonder what in the hell it was.

  I made it through the rest of my shift just going through the motions, like the rest of my co-workers. Every so often I noticed one of the others glance over at me as they shifted nervously in their seat or leaned over to whisper in the ear of the nurse next to them. Everyone was acting strange and it was beginning to grate on my nerves. I bit my tongue when one of them actually pointed at me before leaning into the ear of the young man next to her. As she spoke, his eyes met mine for a brief moment before he diverted them and looked quickly away.

  By the time I clocked out for the day, my nerves were shot, I had a pounding headache and my heart was heavier than it had ever been. I had gotten into nursing to help people, to give them the feeling that someone cared about them as they traversed the difficult path to recovery and now it seemed I was targeted by some unknown force within the walls at Kellogg Premier. Somehow, just for checking up on a few of my patients, I landed myself in the crosshairs of the CMO and the Corporate Attorneys. From that point forward, I would have to be that much more careful and watch my back. That part was especially clear as I headed toward the parking structure to go home for the day with Security close on my tail. I had not noticed them before but apparently, I had been deemed a possible threat to them and was now being tailed by a young man in a black uniform.

  That night, as I described the scene to Riley, she looked as concerned as I felt. I even told her the last part about the Security Officer following me out to my car and the others whispering about me as I passed them in the halls, which only added to her angst. Riley was a bit paranoid overall and what I was telling her most likely had her mind working overtime.

  “Elaine, you know I don’t usually get involved with your business at work, but I think this situation is a little more than you can handle. I think you should listen to them and back off of your crusade and let whatever it is you have been searching for go.” I was a little disappointed in her, but completely understood her fears. Riley was only looking out for me; I knew that but was still a little annoyed at her. I had told her everything over the last few weeks and would have thought she would be a little more sympathetic toward the patients who were needlessly suffering at the hands of Kellogg Premier. I knew she meant well and was only concerned for my health and safety but still, it annoyed me how everyone around me was content to just stick their head in the sand and ignore the elephant in the room. That wasn’t who I was, I didn’t operate like that and had hoped that the one person in my life I could count on would have sided with me. Instead, she was pretty much telling me the same thing that everyone else was: stay out of it. Even the look on Brenda Saxon’s face as she retreated back into Mr. Steinburg’s office told me that something was amiss, there was something more than meets the eye and I was being ordered to just let it go. That bothered me to no end.

  -7-

  Ragan

  Fortunately, I was able to make my appointment for the building closest to my work to receive my cardiac monitor. The main medical facility was quite a distance and I would waste a lot of time on the freeway trying to get there and then back to work again. Instead, I was already upstairs and waiting in the small space designated for cardiology patients. Not too long after taking a seat across from an elderly gentleman seated closely next to a woman around his same age, a scrub-clad female stuck her head out of the door and called my name. Instantly glad I had gone with my gut instinct and made my appointment there, I hopped up and followed her into the back.

  Since I was just there to pick up the monitor, the usual routine went out the window. The other nurses spared me but a glance as we bypassed the scale, the blood-pressure machine and the tw
o triage stations and made our way into one of the small rooms that lined the halls. The woman said next to nothing, informing me that someone will be in to assist me shortly, and disappeared from sight leaving me alone with my thoughts.

  Unlike the main facility, where the urgent care and emergency room departments were, the smaller, satellite locations were usually less crowded. I was certainly grateful for that. There was nothing in the world that I hated more than wasting my precious time at doctors’ offices who did next to nothing for you anyway. I waited for less than ten minutes inside that room, my thoughts wandering back to the last time I visited my primary and what a hard time I had given her. Ultimately, she deserved it, she always went back to the same old thing, no matter what I was there for and that irritated me to no end. At least I was finally getting somewhere, even if it was only one step at a time. In addition to the monitor, my primary had given me a referral to get an echocardiogram and a follow-up with a cardiologist, all things that seemed promising.

  Before too much time had passed, a knock at the door tore me from my inner lamentations. The door cracked open and a tall, dark-haired woman peered inside. She looked between me and the paperwork in her hands, as if she could determine my name with just a glance.