Page 123 of Lethal Game

He handed the rifle to Smoke. “I’ll carry River.”

“Hospital?” Smoke asked.

“Yeah, best place to hide him.”

“Wait here.” Smoke slipped out of the room, and came back with three traditional Middle Eastern robes long enough to cover up their uniforms.

“Where’d you steal these from?”

“Not far. Laundry.”

It took both of them to get River into a robe, but they managed it and Con hoisted him over his shoulder. Good thing the guy wasn’t Smoke’s size.

They walked relatively slowly to the hospital. No one paid them much attention, mostly because they weren’t the only ones. By the time they got there, they were part of a procession of about four groups taking someone to the hospital.

Con got River into a cot. “Stay with him. I’m going to look for the doctor,” he said in Dari. There were a lot of people in the hospital tent, most of them were on cots, sick or already dead, but there were still a lot of aid workers amongst the ambulatory family members taking care of the sick.

But no Dr. Blairmore. Where could he have gotten away to?

He found the good doctor behind the tarp of the staff-only area. He was sitting on a cot staring at his feet like they were fascinating.

Con limped over and crouched next to him. “Hey, Doc. I need you to check out my friend.” He spoke in English, but Blairmore didn’t seem to notice what language he was using.

“I’m sorry, your friend will have to wait his turn.” He glanced up and understanding flooded his face. “Sergeant Button? I thought you were dead. I heard gunshots and saw bodies at your camp.”

“Not quite there yet.”

Blairmore glanced around uneasily. “So you know Len is a...a murdering monster?”

“Yeah, my cracked ribs let me in on that little secret. Has he hurt you or the other aid workers?”

“No, not yet, but he says he will if we interfere with whatever he and that madman are doing.”

“That madman the same guy who told you Dr. Perry was a problem?”

“Yes.” Blairmore shook his head and his bottom lip quivered like he was going to cry. “I was a fool.”

“There’s a lot of that going around.” Con patted his shoulder. “Listen, there are only three of us left and my buddy Len kicked River pretty hard in the head. Can you take a look at him?”

“Of course, but be careful. Len comes through the hospital every so often. He might notice your man.”

“As soon as he realizes we’ve escaped, he’ll probably be too busy searching for us to bother with your patients or you.” Con smiled at him and winked. “You’re no threat to him, right?”

Blairmore stared at him, blinked, then nodded and said slowly, “Yes, of course, I’m no threat and far too busy with people who really need my help to watch for some stupid soldiers. Besides you guys are a bunch of arrogant assholes and that woman with you needs to be taken down a notch or two.”

“That sounds good. He’ll buy it sight unseen.”

Con led Blairmore to River’s cot, and the doctor did a quick exam.

“He’s got a nasty concussion, and I don’t have the equipment here to do anything about it. I can give him some medication that might help reduce the brain swelling, but that might not be enough.”

“Any help is better than none,” Con said, working hard to sound like Dari was his first language and English was an afterthought. “Do you have a way to call for more help? More medicine or machines?”

“No, I can’t seem to get a signal.”

Shit, Len must be blocking it.

“Battery dead, maybe,” Con said, then gave him a little bow and limped away with Smoke beside him.

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