Chapter 9
Ana walked down the ramp from the transport as the ship took off. Several men followed her, carrying Nick. She walked over to the medical team that was waiting, "We have several wounded." They nodded, heading into the transport to help. "It is him?" an older man asked, looking at Nick as they laid him on a stretcher. Ana nodded, "Yes doctor, it is." The man smiled as a few of his attendants started to push Nick out of the docking bay towards the medical wing. Ana followed them, "He put up quite a fight." The doctor nodded, "I'll make sure he's fully examined."
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"Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck!" A.J. hit Howie on the arm as the ship disappeared from their sight, "Dude, stop. He's gone." Howie glared at him, "He can't be! God, can't we do something?! Can't we go after them?!" Tamara walked up to them, "Come on, we're going back to the hotel." A.J. wiped his face with the back of his hand, trying to force the tears away, "Is that it then? They got him and we can't do anything to get him back?" "I didn't say that," Tamara said, "Let's get back to the hotel." A.J. grabbed a rather hysterical Howie and pulled him back into the van.
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Ana stood in the medical wing watching as the nurses and the doctor examined Nick. They had removed his restraints and the silencer from his mouth. "I want the gambit run," the doctor said. The nurses nodded, pulling Nick's sweat shirt off. They all cringed. "What are those?" the doctor asked, disgusted. Ana laughed, "They call them tattoos. They seem to be very popular here." "Do they wash off?" one of the nurses asked. Ana shook her head, "No they are permanent. I'm sure we could come up with a way to remove them without leaving a trace, but if he has them, it means he wanted them. I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to tell him we took them off because we thought they didn't look good." The doctor ran his fingers over the tribal band on Nick's arm, "How barbaric. This world isn't as civilized as I believed it to be." Ana laughed, "I'm sure they would say that about us."
The nurses took several vials of blood from Nick. One even cut off a small strand of his hair and took it to be tested. They moved him to a large machine and ran him through it, getting images of all his internal organs, muscles and bones. They had moved him back to the bed and had started an IV, when Nick moaned and started to move. "Get me a sedative. Quickly!" the doctor instructed.
Ana moved to the side of the bed as Nick opened his eyes. She could see his fear as he quickly glanced around, realizing he was in some sort of hospital. His eyes moved to the IV in his arm, then up to the bag. The liquid was a translucent red, like nothing he'd ever seen before. "They call you Nick, right?" Ana asked. Nick looked at her for a moment, then tried to sit up. Ana and a couple of the nurses grabbed him and forced him back down. "We won't hurt you," she said, "We're trying to help you." Nick shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks, "Let me go!" Just then the doctor appeared next to the bed with a strange looking gun like device in his hand. Nick took one look at it and screamed. "No! Please .... let me go, please!" he screamed as he tried to force his way out of the bed. The doctor grabbed Nick by the hair and held his head still as he placed the device to his neck and pulled the trigger. Nick jerked as the drug entered his body, then he collapsed unconscious.
Ana moved out of the way as they got him settled again. "He is a feisty one," the doctor said, setting the device down, "Are you sure he'll be ready by the time we arrive?" Ana shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. But it's my job to at least try." The doctor smiled at her, "I don't evy your job. There's no telling what they've told him about us, about him." Ana sighed, "I get the feeling they've told him what they wanted him to believe. Convincing him of the truth may be more difficult than we thought." "That's why the King sent you," the doctor grinned, "You're the best." Ana laughed, heading for the door, "Let me know when he's been taken to his quarters." "Yes my lady," the doctor said, as she left the room.
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Brian moaned, opening his eyes. Kevin was right next to him, "Bri?" Brian blinked a few times, trying to get the cobwebs in his head to clear. Then it hit him. "Nick! Kev, they took Nick!" he cried. Kevin nodded, "I know. They went after them." Tom came over, "Brian are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Brian shook his head, trying to sit up. Kevin helped him. "God, I feel like I got hit by a truck," Brian said. "That's the affects of the stun rays. You'll be back to normal in a few hours," Tom assured him. Brian looked over and saw Shane sitting up, looking much like he felt. "You OK?" he asked. Shane nodded, looking very apologetic, "I'm sorry. One second there was nothing, and the next they were right in front of me." Brian nodded, rubbing his face with his hands, "God please let them get Nick back," he mumbled.
Tamara walked into the room, in heavy conversation with someone on her cell phone. A.J. and Howie followed her in. Brian knew by the looks on their faces it wasn't good. "We lost him," A.J. said, "We fucking lost him!" Brian put his head in his hands, beginning to cry, "No ... God no!" Howie sat down next to him, putting his arm around Brian and letting him cry on his shoulder. Tamara ended her conversation, looking at them, "The ship will be ready in the morning." Tom nodded. Kevin looked at her confused, "What ship?" "The one going to Celeste," she said, "We're going after him."
Chapter 10