Ch. 31 – The Black Sheep

“Get you all home in one piece?” Derrick asked, instantly regretting that he had said that out loud. “Okay, right. I’m here to witness the surgery by Dr. Devito.”

“Could you take the gun off my head now? So I can go scrub and gown up?” Devito said, still facing forward. His lips kept trembling after he finished the sentence.

“Okay, go. But remember, my friends here will follow you until you get to the operating room. And then they’ll be waiting by both entrances,” Theo said. “You’re not leaving until you finish your job.”

“Okay, okay,” Devito said, bowed head shaking up and down.

The White Leopard withdrew the gun from his head, and Devito sighed. “I’m going to go scrub now. Is that fine? Can I go?” he said, taking a few tentative steps in the direction of the scrub sink.

“Yes, hurry. Ah Jun is waiting to get his receiver fixed,” Theo said. He glanced down at the table, where a sterilizer packet containing a cochlear implant receiver was sitting. The receiver being ostensibly the one that Alan had Tony and Derrick steal from inside Ah Jun’s head—and it would be going back in his head.

Derrick walked alongside Doctor Devito to the scrub sink. The doctor was on the shorter side, so he stood fully upright when scrubbing. White Leopards stood at the wall behind them, staring at them as they scrubbed their hands in silence. Silence, that was, until Devito finally broke it.

“So, who are you?” he whispered, giving Derrick the side-eye, behind thick, horn-rimmed glasses. He was quiet, but the White Leopards standing by the wall could surely still hear him. “Why’d they ask you to come watch me do the surgery? I thought I was dead meat when they threw me in that room, but now here I am, scrubbing and gowning again.”

“It’s a long story,” Derrick whispered back, unsure how much information he should give away to the strange doctor. He stared at the short man’s pudgy hands. It was better to play it safe and mysterious, in case Devito tried to throw Derrick under the bus, and make the White Leopards turn on him. It would be smarter to make it seem like Derrick might be the wrong person to fuck with. “To sum it up: I’m responsible for keeping you honest, and to learn a bit myself as well.” It was technically the truth, although Derrick had come up with the last part just now.

“Finding a replacement for me, huh? Well, I guess it’s better than dying tonight,” Devito muttered under his breath, in his scratchy voice. “Have you seen this procedure before?”

“Yeah, Ton—I’ve seen other people perform it. Well, he performed the implantation more often than the removal, but—”

“Look, I’m not going to try anything funny. You know the drill, right? It’s delicate work, and I’m not used to working with a gun in my face. So if you see me doing something weird, please just ask me or let me know, alright? I don’t want these guys getting the wrong idea . . .”

“Okay, that’s fine by me,” Derrick said. He didn’t want to see someone getting shot right in front of him, either. “But I need to pay attention, and I will ask questions. So make sure to explain everything well, while you’re doing it.”

Devito hissed and sputtered. “Wow, look at you, waltzing in here, and suddenly calling the shots. I’m a doctor: a real doctor. And here I am getting told off by some mod-doc. I never should have taken this job.” Devito said.

“There’s no use complaining now,” Derrick said. “Just do the surgery right, and they’ll probably let you off the hook, easy.

Devito scowled, but said nothing back. They finished scrubbing in silence, and walked back to the operating room, Devito looking over his shoulder at Derrick the whole time. Theo met them in the airlock, as he and his men came out of the operating room. He nodded at Derrick, and then locked eyes with Devito, who shrunk back a bit.

“I’m counting on you two to do this right,” Theo said. “If something goes wrong . . . someone’s gonna pay. It won’t be me, but I’m not going to enjoy it either.” He called out behind him as he and his entourage passed the doctors. “We’ll be watching the OR’s camera feed. Good luck.” The doors closed behind them with a click.

Derrick and Devito walked into the operating room without a word, and the nurses helped them gown up.

The started talking about the case, in a stilted exchange of knowledge. Devito had consulted the radiologist beforehand, and scans showed no other major problems for Ah Jun besides the receiver in his head.

“Alright, listen up,” Devito said. Despite his attitude, and Theo’s thinly-veiled threat, he sat at the surgical chair and summarized the procedure like it was another day at work. Devito pointed towards the ridge of skin on Ah Jun’s head that Tony had just sewn up the night before. A black line had been drawn over it in marker. “We’re using his surgical wound from the day before as the entry point, so we’re going to proceed with care.”

Devito looked at the scrub nurse, who glanced away and rolled her eyes, before meeting his gaze. The doctor wasn’t well liked here, it seemed. “I’ll need you to help me control the bleeding.”

“If you could control yourself, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” the old anesthesiologist muttered, as he fiddled with the anesthesia machine.

“Shut it, Phil,” Devito said. “I only shoot up when I have to see your ugly face, so would you just shut up, and DON’T LOOK AT ME!” Devito panted, glaring at the nurses—who stared back—and Phil the anesthesiologist, who just shook his head.

“Calm down, Doctor Devito,” Derrick said, leaning in towards Devito as close as he could without touching him. “Like you said, this surgery is a delicate one, and we need your full attention for it. I don’t know what your problem is with your coworkers, but I’ll be assisting you today, so you can count on me, alright?”

Devito breathing slowed down as he stared at Derrick. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m still messed up, ah Jesus. I need a minute.” How recently had he shot up? The man swallowed, and looked away: looked towards Ah Jun, the patient. “Okay, let’s get started.”

The nurses bustled about, making the last preparations for the surgery. Derrick and the scrub nurse glanced at each other, and then took their positions around the operating table, and Devito clipped off the sutures, beginning the surgery.

#

Using the forceps, Devito gripped the broken transmitter that Tony and Derrick had installed, and eased it out, giving the long, thin electrodes plenty of time to unravel from the cochlea.

It was a long, excruciating process, and Derrick kept his eyes open for the entire thing. He hadn’t moved his feet since the surgery began, to ensure line of sight to both of Devito’s hands. There hadn’t been any malpractice or foul play that Derrick could tell. So far, at least.

Devito pulled the rest of the electrode out, and held the receiver up and away from Ah Jun’s body. “Now that it’s out, I can see the defect. It’s right here,” Devito said, pointing at the cochlear implant receiver with an implement. “Sweat, please.”

One of the nurses, who had been trying her best not to look Devito in the eye, finally yanked her gaze towards him and dabbed at his forehead, before backing away and, once again, staring at the opposite wall, with all the interest of a garbageman staring at his next bin.

“I’ve stemmed the bleeding in the inner ear, but it’s still swollen. We can insert the new receiver,” Devito said, glancing at Theo, who had returned, and was sitting at the far end of the operating room, dressed in scrubs, “but there’s a chance that the injury will open up again. Are you sure you want me to do it?”

“Since when did you care about Ah Jun’s health?” Theo asked. “You were ready to install that custom receiver with the torture device, until we caught Alan.”

Devito chuckled nervously. “Yeah, but I kinda figured maybe you’d be upset if he got hurt after the surgery.”

“You’re right. I would be upset,” Theo said. “Do it anyways. You’d better hope he doesn’t get hurt from this, because I’m holding you accountable.”

“Okay,” Devito said, his voice shaking as he sighed. “God, why did I agree to work with that guy.”

“We all know why,” Theo said. “You’re an addict, and he had the supply. Now stop wasting time and do your job.”

Devito took one last look at Theo, and turned back to Ah Jun. “Inserting cochlear implant.”

They continued the surgery, re-inserting Ah Jun’s original implant—which Theo had insisted that they use—and which had since been sterilized.

“It’s in,” Devito said, turning around to look at Theo.

Theo had been craning his neck to see the operating table. He called the White Leopard boss, and confirmed that he was able to establish a connection with Ah Jun’s new implant.

And with that, they were over the hill.

The gauze count and the rest of the surgery went smoothly. Devito finished up the rest of the sutures, and he, along with Derrick and the scrub nurse, breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright. It’s done,” he said, walking away from the table, toward the scrub area.

Derrick blinked his eyes rapidly. They were dry, and he had been awake for so long. But there was still so much to worry about. How far into Tony’s surgery was Doctor Adebayo’s team?

Theo followed Devito, and barred his way to the airlock. “Well done, Doctor Devito. I shouldn’t need to say it, but don’t leave the hospital without us,” Theo said. “We’ve got men watching the entire building, so that would just cause a lot of unneeded trouble.”

“Okay. I get it,” Devito said, trembling. “Please . . . just . . . don’t kill me. I didn’t actually do anything wrong. I even fixed your problem! Right?”

“We’re still gathering the facts,” Theo said. “Wait patiently, and I’ll let you know what the boss decides.” He turned to Derrick. “Thank you for watching over the surgery. Now, we’re holding you accountable as well, but I’m sure you already knew that, right?”

Derrick nodded his head, weary from helping Devito throughout the entire surgery. “I want to go back and see how they’re doing with Tony.”

“Alright, one of my men will guide you back towards that room. They know where it is.”

“Goodbye, young man,” the anesthesiologist said. “Stay safe, and don’t end up like Devito.”

Derrick scrubbed at the sink with Devito, and then they went their separate ways, watched by different White Leopards. Derrick followed his minder across the winding hallways of the emergency department, until they came to the entrance of the operating room where Tony was undergoing surgery.

There was the sign: “O.R. 18.”

The white and red “DO NOT ENTER” sign was lit up, and the touch-free sensor used to open the doors was glowing red, meaning it was not activable.

Derrick hadn’t thought to check the clock before he left Ah Jun’s operating room and came to Tony’s. “How long have they been in there?” Derrick asked the nurse who had accompanied them.

“Two hours now,” she said, supporting her back as the three of them settled around the entrance. She was a large, old woman, and had had trouble keeping up with Derrick and the White Leopard as they had rushed through the hallways. “Your friend will be fine. Dr. Adebayo’s one of the best doctors I’ve ever worked with.”

Derrick offered the uncomfortable low-back chair directly opposite the doors to the operating room to the nurse, who nodded and plopped down in it, wiping her sweat with lint-free wipes from a box she had been carrying around. Derrick leaned up against the wall instead, closing his eyes against the blinding fluorescent lights that shone down against the wall.

He jerked awake more than once, after nearly falling asleep, and off the wall, until finally settling into a stable position, leaning against one of the stretchers parked in the hallway, and dozed off.

#

The rattling of wheeled hospital stretchers grew louder and louder. Derrick opened his eyes, finding that he himself was half-draped on the hospital stretcher he had been leaning on. Just then, the “DO NOT ENTER” sign turned off.

The nurse had long since left Derrick. And the White Leopard, who was now sitting in the uncomfortable seat, arms crossed and head down, was sound a sleep.

The doors clacked open, and Dr. Adebayo walked out, eyes smiling as he spotted Derrick. “Tony is fine,” Adebayo said. “He had blood build up in the sac around his heart, coming from the injury caused by one of his stab wounds. We drained the blood and repaired the stab wound to his right ventricle, and he’s hemodynamically stable now.”

“Thank you so much, Dr. Adebayo,” Derrick said, shuffling to the side of the hallway as the nurses and assistants rushed out of the room to their next surgery.

Adebayo stood near Derrick, so that were facing each other. He raised his eyebrow. “Your intervention in the golden hour likely saved his life; that bleeding could have been fatal. We’re sending him in for additional radiology right now to verify the situation in his abdominal cavity, but . . . well done. What’s your training?”

“I’m a mod-doc, more used to fitting people with prostheses. Cutting Tony open on my own was the most stressful moment of my life.”

“Most stressful so far, maybe,” Adebayo said. He glanced from side to side at the empty hallway. The White Leopard who had come with Derrick was still asleep, or seemed like it at least. Adebayo leaned in closer and whispered, barely audible through his face mask. “Advice for you, mod-doc. You came here with those gangsters, so you must be wrapped up in their business. Get out. The longer you stay with them, the more dangerous your life will get.”

“I wish I could,” Derrick whispered back. “But they’ve been in my neighborhood for as long as I can remember.”

“Then you better get out of town, kid,” Adebayo said, before moving away. “Alright, I’ve got to get to my next patient. One of the nurses will let you know where they’re putting Tony up while he recovers. Those gangsters paid in advance. Good luck, I’m ready to put this behind me and move on with my life.”

Derrick nodded and waved as Adebayo walked away.

Tony was safe. For now.