Chapter 9
The incision was deeper than Nora expected.
Infection had spread through layers of tissue, but whoever had performed the original operation possessed extraordinary skill.
That made the betrayal worse.
This was not a desperate attack.
It was planned.
Measured.
Sterile.
Professional.
Gabriel lay facedown beneath the surgical lights, conscious because Nora needed him responsive enough to report changes in sensation.
She administered medication for pain but avoided fully sedating him.
“Can you feel this?”
She touched his right calf.
“Pressure.”
“Left?”
“Less.”
“Move your toes.”
Nothing.
Gabriel’s hands clenched.
Nora leaned closer to the wound.
“Don’t chase the result. Stay with me.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Nothing about tonight has been easy for me.”
Despite himself, he laughed.
It ended in a groan.
The second outer hinge broke.
Luca moved a metal cabinet in front of the entrance.
“How long?”
“Stop asking.”
“I need to know.”
“So do I.”
Nora widened the incision by millimeters.
There.
Something reflected beneath the light.
A tiny translucent capsule.
She stopped breathing.
“What?” Gabriel asked.
“I see it.”
Luca turned.
“What is it?”
“A reservoir.”
“Of what?”
“I won’t know until it’s out.”
Then another voice came through the speaker.
Dr. Vale.
“Nora.”
She froze.
“I know you can hear me.”
His voice shook.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“Everybody has a choice.”
“You don’t understand these people.”
Nora looked at Gabriel.
He gave a faint, bitter smile.
She returned to the wound.
Vale continued.
“The capsule is anchored. Don’t pull it.”
“I can see that.”
“You’ll tear the nerve sheath.”
“So tell me how you attached it.”
Silence.
Nora waited.
“Vale.”
Finally he answered.
“Two micro-hooks.”
“Material?”
“Absorbable polymer.”
“Angle?”
Another silence.
Vincent shouted something in the background.
Vale spoke quickly.
“Medial and inferior. About four millimeters apart.”
Then the speaker went dead.
Nora almost smiled.
Fear had made one decent decision tonight.
She located the first hook.
Then the second.
Gabriel’s breathing changed.
“I feel something.”
“Where?”
“Right leg.”
“What?”
“Burning.”
“Good.”
He almost lifted his head.
“Good?”
“It means the nerve is alive.”
For the first time since Nora arrived, genuine hope crossed Gabriel Moretti’s face.
It made him look younger.
Human.
Not a boss.
Not a legend.
Just a man who suddenly wanted his feet back.
The door cracked open several inches.
Luca raised his weapon.
“Now would be excellent, Nora.”
“Working.”
She freed the first hook.
Then the second.
The capsule moved.
Slowly.
One millimeter.
Two.
Three.
Nora lifted it clear.
“Got it.”
Gabriel exhaled so hard his whole body shook.
Nora placed the capsule into a sterile steel bowl.
Yellow fluid moved inside.
Luca stared.
May you like
“What is that?”
“Something designed to leak.”
