Chapter 8 - Shadows in the Sterility
The handle of Room 314 turned with an almost imperceptible click.
In a normal hospital, a nurse entering at 4:45 AM would knock, or at least push the door open with the casual confidence of someone performing routine vitals. But this handle moved slowly—deliberately avoiding the metal creak of the latch.
Gabriel did not draw a weapon immediately. He gently withdrew his hand from Elsie's, pulled the white hospital sheet up to her chin, and stepped silently into the blind spot behind the door.
The door swung inward. A man dressed in surgical scrubs, wearing a blue paper mask and holding a metal clipboard, slipped into the room. His eyes weren't on the monitors. His eyes went straight to the bed—and his right hand was slipped deep inside the oversized pocket of his scrub top, gripping the outline of a suppressed pistol.
Before the intruder could take a second step, Gabriel struck.
A massive, iron-hard hand clamped over the man’s mouth and nose from behind, cutting off any possibility of a scream, while Gabriel’s other arm hooked around the man’s neck in a lethal, crushing chokehold. With terrifying fluid motion, Gabriel pulled the intruder backward into the shadowed corner of the room, using his body weight to pin the man against the wall.
The clipboard clattered, but Gabriel caught it with his foot, nudging it silently onto the carpeted runner.
"Make a sound, and I tear your windpipe out through your throat," Gabriel whispered, his voice right against the man's ear, cold as liquid nitrogen.
The assassin’s eyes bugged with raw panic. He clawed at Gabriel’s massive arms, his fingers digging into Gabriel’s suit, but Gabriel didn't flinch. With a swift, calculated twist, Gabriel wrenched the man’s right arm behind his back until the shoulder popped with a muffled, sickening crunch. The suppressed pistol dropped harmlessly into Gabriel’s waiting palm.
Gabriel kicked the door shut, locking the deadbolt with his elbow.
He dragged the gasping man toward the private bathroom attached to the suite, shoving him inside and shutting the door behind them, ensuring not a single sound would disturb Elsie’s sleep.
In the sterile glare of the bathroom lights, Gabriel shoved the man down over the edge of the porcelain sink. He ripped the surgical mask from the man's face, revealing a terrified, broken-nosed mercenary Gabriel recognized instantly.
"Dante," Gabriel murmured, leaning over him like an angel of death. "Vincent didn't send his best. He sent a dog."
"Gabriel—wait—please—" Dante choked out, clutching his dislocated shoulder, blood pooling from his split lip. "He paid me a hundred grand! He said you were alone! He said the girl was unprotected!"
Gabriel pressed the barrel of the suppressed gun against Dante’s kneecap.
"Who gave you the doctor's scrubs?" Gabriel asked calmly. "Who authorized your keycard for this wing?"
"The... the administrator!" Dante sobbed, sweat pouring down his gray face. "Dr. Harrison! Vincent has him on blackmail! He gave us three keycards! There’s... there’s four more guys on the roof!"
Gabriel didn't blink. He pulled the trigger.
The muffled *phut* of the suppressed shot was no louder than a dropped book. Dante’s scream was muffled by Gabriel’s hand shoving a towel into his mouth.
"Thank you for the information," Gabriel whispered.
Gabriel pulled out his personal phone, tapping Dominic’s direct line. "Roof. Four targets. Clean sweep. And secure Dr. Harrison in the basement until I can speak with him."
Gabriel hung up. He looked down at Dante, who was writhing on the tiled floor in silent agony.
"If you bleed on that floor," Gabriel said coldly, "I will make sure your family pays for the janitorial bill."
Gabriel washed his hands thoroughly in the sink with antibacterial soap, checked his cuffs for blood, and stepped back out into the quiet room.
May you like
On the bed, Elsie sighed softly in her sleep, her tiny fingers curling once more around the crumpled blue star. Gabriel walked back to his chair, sat down, and took her hand again, his face completely serene, as though the violence of the world did not exist.
***