Kildar pos-2

by John Ringo

  “Sorry, had to check,” Mike said, shaking his head as the girl he’d dispatched ran in with the plastic box.

  The case was supposed to be a holder for soap, but Mike had used it for small breakable items he didn’t want to be without. One of which was a small mercury thermometer. He shook it down and inserted it under the girl’s tongue then took her pulse. It was nearly a hundred and a bit thready. He pulled the thermometer out; she was running a hundred and four degree temperature.

  “Okay, we have a serious problem,” Mike said, thinking about the long drive to Tbilisi. “We need to get Irina to a hospital as fast as we can. I’ll need one friend, a good friend, and I’ll take Genadi since he has to go to Tbilisi anyway. You,” he said, pointing at the girl who had brought the thermometer. “Go back up to the room. There is a black box on the top of my dresser. Close the top, unplug it and put it in the small black bag. Then bring them both down here. You,” he said, pointing to the next one. “Go get Genadi. Tell him he has three minutes to pack and be out front. You,” he said, pointing to the last, a really beautiful blonde. “You’re coming with us. She’ll need somebody to hold her hand. This is going to get very bad.”

  “Kildar…” Mother Savina said.

  “You have to stay here and finished getting the house prepared,” Mike said. “So does Mother Griffina. Get her mother headed to the hospital tonight if you can. In the morning if you can’t. Get a taxi or a car or something. There is a bundle of euros in my top drawer, use those. But we have to leave now.”

  “Very well, Kildar,” Mother Savina said, shaking her head.

  “Let’s go, Irina,” Mike said, helping the girl off the table. “You’re going to have a very long, very unpleasant ride.”

  The girl he’d sent for his jump bag was standing in the doorway holding it carefully when he headed that way.

  “Follow us to the car,” Mike said. “Then run and get some bottled water. Where in the hell is Genadi?”

  “Here, Kildar,” the man said, looking at the girl who was bent over double in pain.

  “We’re going to Tbilisi,” Mike said. “Right now. She has an inflamed appendix, I think. There’s a couple of other things it could be,” he continued, making his way through the foyer. “Mother Savina, have clothes for both girls sent with Irina’s mother. Tell the elders she’s gone to the hospital. And pray we get there in time.”

  Chapter Nine

  Mike had given Irina two tablets of hydrocodone and three of Keflex when they got to the car. He then roared out of the compound with the two girls in the back and Genadi up front.

  “Kildar,” Genadi said as the Mercedes took a corner at dangerous speeds. “You might want to slow down. Killing all of us will save nothing.”

  “There’s only so much time,” Mike pointed out. “And it’s, what? Four hours to Tbilisi?”

  “There is that,” Genadi said, sighing. “Are you sure it’s the appendix?”

  “I’m not a damned doctor,” Mike said. “But I was on a mission one time when one of the team came down with it. I talked to the team medic about it and when you get that sort of reaction it’s pretty much a given. He also said that once they burst, you’re in huge trouble.”

  “This I understand,” Genadi said. “But we are in huge trouble anyway.”

  “My driving isn’t that bad,” Mike said, chuckling.

  “No, that is not it,” Genadi sighed. “Kildar, we are two unmarried men in a car with two unmarried females.”

  “Oh, give me a break,” Mike snapped. “If she didn’t go to the hospital, she’d die.”

  “You should have brought Mother Savina or Mother Griffina,” Genadi said.

  “Fine time to tell me, now,” Mike pointed out then shook his head. “I think Savina tried to tell me but I cut her off. How much of a screw-up have I made?”

  “For you, very little,” Genadi said, quietly. “For Lydia and Irina, perhaps much.”

  “Kildar, it is okay,” Lydia said, from the back. “You are the Kildar, you can do as you will.”

  “Don’t tell me things like that or we will get in trouble,” Mike replied. “I’ll fix it. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Kildar…” Genadi said.

  “I’ll fix it, Genadi,” Mike snarled. “If I have to, I’ll make them eat it raw. But they are not going to send Lydia or Irina to town because of my mistake. Get that straight. The absolute worst that happens is I’ll take them in myself. But nobody mentions that option, understood?”

  “Yes, Kildar,” Genadi said.

  “Thank you, Kildar,” Lydia replied.

  “How is Irina?” Mike asked.

  “Asleep, I think,” Lydia said. “At least very sleepy and quiet. What did you give her?’

  “Enough Loritab to put her under,” Mike said. “And enough Keflex, I hope, to slow down the infection until we get to the hospital. The Loritab has Tylenol in it, so it should get the fever down a bit. I’m not sure what I’m doing, but I’m trying.”

  “It is very cold in here, Kildar,” Lydia said. “Could you maybe turn on the heat?”

  “The colder it is, the harder it is for her body to let the fever run out of control,” Mike said. “We’re just going to have to put up with it.”

  The rest of the drive was mostly made in silence except for when occasional really bad bumps would wake Irina up. Finally they got to Tbilisi after midnight and Mike followed Genadi’s directions to the hospital.

  At the receiving dock for the emergency room, an armed guard waved them away.

  “Right, I’m going on full ugly American mode,” Mike said. “Genadi and Lydia, get Irina out. I’ll handle the rest.”

  Mike got out of the car and stalked over to the guard who reacted by pointing his AK at Mike’s chest.

  “Get that out of my way,” Mike said, slapping the barrel aside. “We have a medical emergency here. Where’s a damned doctor?”

  “You cannot park here!” the guard said, trying to swing the weapon back.

  “Like hell,” Mike replied. He pulled the AK away from the guard, dropped the magazine and disassembled the weapon before the guard could even reach for it. “Where is a damned doctor?” he snapped, grabbing the guard by the collar and lifting him off his feet.

  “Inside,” the guard gurgled, pointing to the doors.

  “Thank you,” Mike replied, setting him down. “I’ll move my car in a bit. If you have any questions about this little encounter, contact Colonel Skachko at the Office of the President and he will put it in perspective.”

  Mike grabbed his jump bag and still made it to the doors before Lydia and Genadi had gotten the shaky Irina to the door. He held them open and then strode into the admissions area.

  “Where’s a doctor?” he asked the woman at the first counter.

  “You will be having a seat,” the woman said, pointing to a set of folding chairs.

  “Nope,” Mike said, leaning over until he was inches from her face. “We have an inflamed appendix. Onset was better than four hours ago. We need a doctor and we need him now. If I have to wake up the president of Georgia, and I can with one call, I will. But you had better get me an internist, one that is sober, in no more than ten minutes or I’m going to make sure you spend the rest of your life in a cheap brothel in Turkey. Do I make myself clear?”

  * * *

  “I am Doctor Platov. What is the problem?”

  The doctor was about fifty and clearly tired, but Mike couldn’t smell any alcohol on his breath.

  “Possible inflamed appendix,” Mike said. “Pain from palpation on the right side, fever of 104 plus, Fahrenheit. She’s had fifteen milligrams of Loritab and seventy-five milligrams of Keflex about four hours ago. Onset was slightly in excess.”

  “Get her to an examination room, now,” the doctor said to one of the orderlies that had accompanied him. The orderlies were large and male and Mike figured they had two purposes.

  “She comes from a very strict mountain society,” Mike said as the orde
rlies brought out a gurney and helped Irina into it. “As long as possible, her friend should be with her,” he added, indicating Lydia. “And a female nurse is going to be required.”

  “The first thing that is required is payment,” Dr. Platov sighed. “I can confirm your diagnosis, but to open her will require assurance that the bill will be paid. I assume she has no insurance if she is from the mountains. And I cannot, cannot, operate without assurance of payment.”

  “Give me an estimate,” Mike said, “and I’ll give you cash.”

  “You do not understand,” the doctor said, tiredly. “Even in this country, such things will be expensive. At least a thousand euros.”

  “Where’s the cashier?” Mike asked as two policemen came in the doors.

  “I believe you threatened her with being sold into slavery,” the doctor said, dryly.

  “Fine,” Mike said. “Just one thing. I know that there are local medicines and foreign and the foreign are more expensive. They’re also better. Use the foreign. I’ll pay for it.”

  “You, stop right there,” one of the policemen said, placing his hand on his pistol.

  “If you draw that, you’ll end up on a border post shaking down Chechens,” Mike replied, glancing over his shoulder. “I’m quite serious. If you think I’m not, you’d better wake up Colonel Skachko at the office of the President of Georgia. Right now, I’m going over there,” Mike said, pointing at the functionary at the desk, “and I’m going to pay her for the services this doctor is about to perform. Come on over. We’ll talk about whether I’m under arrest over there, okay?”

  The doctor looked at them and nodded, then gestured at Lydia to accompany him as the gurney was wheeled away.

  “Hi,” Mike said, smiling at the woman who was looking at him with a mixture of wariness and anger. “Sorry about all that, I was just trying to get through to you.” He dipped into the jump bag, ignoring the police at his back, and pulled out a thick bundle of euro notes. “The doctor estimated that the operation will be a thousand euros,” he said, opening up the bundle and counting. “That’s fifteen hundred. The extra is for good medicines. I’m, personally, good for any additional treatment. Is there any question?”

  “What is she, your whore?” the woman asked, eyeing the money on the desk.

  “No, she’s in the nature of a retainer,” Mike said. “As far as I know, she’s a virgin. She’d better be one when she leaves the hospital. Pass that around.

  “Right,” he continued, turning to the cops. “Mind if I pull out my cell phone?” he continued, ignoring them as he did just that. He hit the speed-dial list and held the phone up where they could see it. “That is the personal, home, number of the Georgian Undersecretary of State for Military Affairs, Vladimir Svirska. Would you like me to hit Send?” he asked, hovering his finger over the button.

  “No,” the policeman in the lead said, holding up both hands. “Not a problem.”

  “I was on a medical emergency,” Mike said. “You might talk to the guard and explain to him the term ‘medical emergency.’ I will now go move my car so that ambulances can pull up.”

  * * *

  “Are you okay?” Mike said, sitting down by Lydia. He’d sent Genadi off with some money to arrange a hotel room with instructions to get a suite at the Hilton. Be damned if he was going to stay in any fleabag.

  “She wouldn’t wake up,” Lydia said. “The doctor was very concerned. I left when they started to undress her. It was women doing it. The doctor promised there would be women present at all times, but I had to leave. She was very hot and she moaned but she wouldn’t wake up.”

  “She had a lot of painkiller in her,” Mike pointed out. “It hits some people that way. She’ll be fine.” As long as they don’t screw up the anesthetic from her having Loritab in her. Or bungle the operation. As long as the appendix hasn’t burst already and she doesn’t die from peritonitis. Bad thoughts that he set aside.

  “Will it be very long?” Lydia asked.

  “Probably not,” Mike said. “Pulling an appendix is a very straightforward operation. In fact, a doctor once did it to himself.”

  “How?” Lydia asked. “And why?”

  “Traffic in Cairo is very bad,” Mike said. “The doctor knew he had a swollen appendix and was going to the hospital but he got caught in a very bad traffic jam. So he removed it himself and then drove to the hospital. Now, I don’t know that I’d want to do that, it would probably hurt like hell, but it has been done. So, you see, it’s very straightforward.”

  “The Fathers will be very angry,” Lydia said, looking at the floor. Mike desperately wanted to hug her, hell, he wanted to screw her, but he refrained.

  “Because this puts the Family in debt?” Mike asked. “Or because I screwed up and didn’t bring a chaperone?”

  “Both,” Lydia admitted.

  “Well, on the debt thing, I warned them,” Mike said. “I should have brought Father Kulcyanov in earlier, so we can get his heart checked. He’s got a case of congestive heart failure if I’ve ever seen one. And as for the other, they can kiss my ass. If they’re that worked up about it, I’ll sell the land back to the bank at a loss and go find some other insular society to bug. And then they won’t be able to throw their hands up in despair and say ‘The Kildar!’ ” Mike finished, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

  Lydia smiled at that and ducked her head.

  “You are very funny, Kildar,” she said, looking up after a moment. “And very kind.”

  “I’m just trying to get you in bed,” Mike said, then clapped his hand over his mouth. “Sorry, sometimes things like that just slip out.”

  “I am promised,” Lydia said, primly. “To Oleg.”

  “Well, Christ, now I’m in trouble,” Mike replied, thinking of the massive Keldara. “He’s gonna break me in half!”

  “He will not,” Lydia said, patting him on the arm in comfort. “He likes you. He wants to be a leader in the militia.”

  “Well, I’m gonna see you two married if it’s the last thing I do,” Mike replied. “And with a passel of kiddies. See if I don’t.”

  “Perhaps in summer,” Lydia said, shaking her head, sadly. “There are problems.”

  “We’ll work them out,” Mike promised. “One way or another.” He looked up as the doctor came in the room, still stripping off his gloves, which were spattered with blood.

  “It is good,” Dr. Platov said, nodding. “It was an inflamed appendix, yes, very bad. But it had not burst. She should be well. There is no infection of the bowel. Peritonitis, yes? None of that.”

  “Good,” Mike said, more relieved than he was willing to admit. “Thank you, Doctor.”

  “She will stay here overnight for observation,” Platov said. “Then can be moved tomorrow, perhaps tomorrow afternoon. I have placed her on what we call a priority regimen,” he added, smiling ironically. “This will increase the cost, it uses German medicines instead of Russian, but you can be sure the bottles have drugs in them and not distilled water.”

  “I can afford it,” Mike said. “When can we see her?”

  “She is in recovery and it is well after visiting hours,” the doctor said, yawning. “I would suggest that you find a room in town. Come back tomorrow not before eight. She should be awake by then.”

  “We’ll see her tomorrow, then,” Mike said, standing up. “I’m unsure of the customs and I hope this is not an insult. Is a gift in order? For a life?”

  “Always,” Platov said, nodding. “Make sure she is not sold to town by the damned Keldara. I did not work on her as hard as I did for her to be a whore. But if you are talking about money, no.”

  * * *

  “Kildar, this is too much,” Lydia said when they were shown to the suite. It really wasn’t much from Mike’s point of view. A small living room and kitchenette with bedrooms on either side. The furniture was 1970s chic. It looked freshly made, which meant some designer somewhere needed to have their head examined.

  “Do
n’t worry about it,” Mike said, yawning. It had been a long day. “Genadi?” he called.

  “In here,” Genadi said from the left-hand room. He popped his head out and grinned. “I’d missed television.”

  “The boobtube will rot your brain,” Mike said. “But I wonder if they get ESPN? I might be able to catch a game.” He thought about the time of year and shrugged. “Never mind, the Superbowl’s even over. Lydia, you get that one,” Mike continued, pointing to the right-hand bedroom. “I’m sure the door locks. Lock it. There will be a bathroom and all that. Get cleaned up, long day tomorrow. Then get some sleep. We’ll be getting up in about…” He glanced at his watch and blanched. “Two hours. So get some sleep fast.”

  * * *

  Mike was sitting on a chair down the hall from Irina’s room when the Ambassador Wilson entered the corridor, followed by a couple of functionaries including one of the hospital administrators.

  “Hi, Mike,” the ambassador said, sitting down next to him. “Really, Administrator, I’m just here to talk to my friend.”

  “If there’s anything we can do for you, Mr. Ambassador…” the administrator said.

  “Not a thing I can think of,” the ambassador answered, smiling. “I’m just going to talk to Mike for a bit and then head back to the embassy.”

  “If you need anything,” the administrator said, “have one of the nurses call me. If there are any problems at all…”

  “I will,” Wilson said, smiling. “We’ll be fine.”

  When the administrator had left, Wilson looked over at the former SEAL.

  “So, any problems you need fixed?” he asked, chuckling.

  “Why do the words ‘follow the money’ come to mind?” Mike asked.

  “Because we dumped about six million dollars into this place three years ago,” Wilson replied. “Most of it went down the usual corruption rathole, but some of it stuck. The surgical suite your friend was fixed up in for example. And we’ve got an ongoing cross-training program for doctors. They like us very much, yes?”