Peter listened intently. He couldn’t see past the small room he was in. The curtains were pulled across the doorway, but he could hear voices, male and female. None familiar.
A man wearing a white lab coat over an Air Force uniform came in.
“Mr. Welis, I’m Dr. Capilano.”
“What happened?” Peter croaked.
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Running to get on a helicopter.”
The doctor nodded. “You were shot in the back. The bullet nicked your liver and severed a major artery. You lost a lot of blood, but the surgery went well. You should be back on your feet in a few weeks.”
“How many weeks?” Peter gasped and coughed. He couldn’t be out of action for more than two. He had a date in Hawaii in two weeks.
“That depends on you.” Dr. Capilano shrugged. “Think of it as an extra-long vacation.”
“Was anyone else injured?”
“A few bumps and bruises here and there, nothing serious.”
Peter wet dry, patched lips. “Any chance I could talk to the base commander?”
Dr. Capilano nodded. “I’ll pass along your request. But you need to rest. We’re arranging for a flight to take you home, Stateside. Likely in a couple of days.”
Peter’s head spun and he closed his eyes for a second. “I’d like to talk to the base commander as soon as possible.”
The doctor looked at him. Something about his expression must have told the doctor that he wouldn’t rest until he’d talked to the base commander. “I’ll see if he can come now.”
Peter let himself slip into the dark vortex.
A moment later, footsteps echoed outside his room, and Peter shoved his eyelids up.
A man of medium height came in. What little gray hair he had was cropped short. “Mr. Welis? I’m Brigadier General Turner.”
Chapter Seventeen