Page 126 of Capuleto

"Yes, there's a staff room." She nodded involuntarily towards a door very close to the ICU. "But the mattresses are the worst. They stick into you everywhere, and what happens on them is not like on TV. The best thing is to drink caffeine and rest at home." We had reached the door, which had a transparent window to peek through. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."

"Of course, a pleasure, have a good night, and I'll take your advice, I'll come back in the morning." She nodded, calmer. "Thank you for your work." She gave me a final smile, and I left her sight.

I waited a few seconds. The next time I peeked, there was no sign of her.

Inside the fishbowl, there were quite a few people working. I hadn't seen if Andrey's men were already inside or if, on the contrary, they were going to wait for the shift change, as Yuri suggested. I had four and a half minutes to get one of those nurse uniforms and enter without raising suspicion.

I opened the door and crouched down until I reached the staff rest room. I hoped to find some clothes in there. I opened it quietly and blinked twice at the scene unfolding before my eyes.

Far from resting, on one of the uncomfortable mattresses, a man and a woman were panting accompanied by an intense creaking of springs. The man's ass bounced vigorously while the woman's legs wrapped around his waist. That was what you called taking a nap.

Clothes lay scattered on the floor, very close to the door. It was clear they had been in a hurry to take them off. They were more than entertained in their frolic, so I doubted they would catch me if I hurried.

I crouched down, extended my arm, and pulled towards me everything I could grab, including a pair of clogs that, judging by the size, would be a bit small for me.

That was the least of my worries; I would have walked over burning coals to save Aleksa.

I grabbed the pile of clothes and ducked into a bathroom across the hall.

I had three minutes left. I had two to spare. I put on the nurse's scrubs over my own clothes, slipped on the clogs, and crossed my fingers, hoping I had enough time to enter the ICU and get one of those PPE suits.

The anteroom was empty. So I went to one of the carts and grabbed a mask like the ones they used inside.

"There are two minutes left until the shift change," commented a female voice behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed she wouldn't discover me.

"I'm the kind who prefers to arrive early; it's my first day..." I thought of the name tag the nurse in the hallway wore. "María mentioned that you've been requesting reinforcements for a while and that you're doubling shifts today."

"Are you new? I thought they might have transferred you from another ward... It's true we've been asking for help for a long time."

"Yes. You know how these things go; today, I got the call to join."

"Why didn't they tell me anything?" I shrugged.

"You know how public administration works."

"For once they listen to us, I won't complain. What we lack here is hands. In that cart, you have the PPE. Remember to disinfect your hands well before putting on two pairs of gloves; you can't be too careful with such delicate patients. The pandemic left us with protocols we still follow. I see you've already put on the mask." I nodded. "There you have the goggles, the gown, and the face shield. Have you been in an ICU before?"

"In the war, I don't think there's much difference." I sensed a smile under her mask.

"Military nurse?"

"Exactly. Russian father and Spanish mother," I made up.

"Great, you're made of different stuff. Come on, let's get to it, I have a lot to tell you. When you're ready, look for me, I'm Catalina."

"Igor."

"Nice to meet you, I'll be waiting inside. Welcome to the team."

With all the clothes I had on, it would be hard to reach my weapon if they attacked Aleksa. I had to get whatever I could inside to defend us.

A group of doctors and nurses passed by as I entered the bed area. You could tell they were eager for a well-deserved rest.

There was quite a commotion in the hallway; I didn't want to peek because I guessed the bed-wrecker had realized his clothes were stolen.

Luckily, Catalina took a different path from where Aleksa was.

When I turned my gaze to where my intubated man was, two unusually tall men caught my attention.

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