Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Carter breathed in deeply, feeling the gush of the cool but dry evening air as it flushed out the almost permanent hospital smell of disinfectant from his lungs. "One hell of a day" he thought as he reclined onto the worn out wooden bench facing the park. He’s spent many an evening on those benches, taking in every little moment- the swish of leaves as the wind gushed by, the occasional flutter of the wings of city pigeons taking off as people walked by too close, the low screech of brake pads pressing against the wheels of intercity trains slowing to a halt at the station, the honking of cars and endless chatter of people from the busy city behind him - for that moment he felt quiet inside, overwhelmed by his surrounding and drifting aimlessly in thought for the 15 or so minutes before he stood to walk off to his city apartment.
He took the usual path – across the street up to the city mall and past the church, where he’d cut through the car park towards the library and took a left, leading him through a shortcut to his condo on Sixth Avenue. The hardwood floors, fine furniture and small yet valuable collections of art have been the luxuries he could afford as a consulting surgeon. He got himself a beer from the fridge while picking up the tablet from the counter, just as he'd left it in the morning; but with seven notifications. "No wonder..." he thought as he typed in his four digit pass-code while making his way to his home office. The main attraction being a polished, mahogany office style desk; cluttered with a few documents and his laptop sitting at the center. He powered it up as he went through the notifications – the usual: app updates, a few emails and messages. There was knocking on the door as he opened his email app, twice. Pause. Then twice more.
He got off his chair with the tablet at hand as he walked across the elegantly lit library toward the door past the kitchen counter. "Must be Helen" he thought as he clicked open his first email and reached for the door knob, just as he did so; as if he clicked for it to happen the door blew open off its lock, and flash! Blinding him as the opening door knocked him to his feet, the scorching screech from the flash disorienting him as he tried to make it to his feet.
Two men walked in through the open door. Carter tried crawling to his feet, holding onto the counter for support as he tried calling out for help; he felt air gushing through his vocal cords, making no noise other than helpless gasps. He tried again desperately as the taller one pulled out his .45.
He sprawled back to the floor with a flash before he could even breathe in.
"That's near Carter's" Helen thought holding onto the side handle as the ambulance rushed it's way through the evening traffic; braking, and then speeding up again and so on. Helen was a physician by profession and second year out of medical school, often working with Carter on his patients at a professional capacity. Recently though, their relationship had become more intimate, it started off with Helen making the diagnosis and referring her patients directly to Carter, who'd drop her a visit to update her on the patients and sometimes even invite her to his surgeries - it was almost as if they were bending the rules to allow themselves opportunity to work together. Carter was a ruggedly handsome half Italian 'boy' in his mid-thirties. He was gifted with a deep, soothing voice and mild British accent to go with it - just the right amount of sexy. Oh! And did I miss the ever-present shady stubble - as though he carefully maintained it each morning.
As you'd imagine most girls her age would have killed to have him - the only thing keeping him away from them was his brains, which called for him to be a calm and thoughtful guy; the type that always makes calculated decisions. Ones which kept him a safe distance from the gold-diggers and pointless relationships while revealing his true nature to only those of whom he cared for, one which she's had the pleasure of experiencing - the 'honey-side'. They were both clear on the growing feelings they had for each other, and the only thing holding them back from taking it to the next step was their professions. There were too many 'what ifs?' and Helen being at a turning point of her career certainly didn't want to rush it and destroy an otherwise perfect relationship.
"It's at number 20" the nurse called out to the driver as the ambulance flew past a red light and made a hard left on Fourth Avenue to avoid the direct traffic. 'Hey did you say the twentieth?' Helen asked the nurse, "yea, 20th. 6th floor." she replied while unstrapping a few of the equipment to get to a portable oxygen tank. Helen pulled out her phone and hurriedly speed dialed Carter, her thoughts racing as she listened to the dial tone and then come to a dead stop. It went directly to voice mail - "Heya! This is Carter Agosto. Leave a message and I'll get back to ya ASAP." She hung up and redialed, her heart racing. "How long?" She asked the nurse while waiting for an answer on the phone. Nothing. "2 minutes. Everything ok doc?", "Yea. No it's nothing - unstrap the stretcher, and get that pack ready" Helen replied, trying to keep clam. But something was definitely wrong - she felt it. Carter should be home by this time, he'd clocked off at 5, which means he has no reason to not pick up. The ambulance came to a halt right behind the first responder.
The police had just got there. The detective, Felipe ran towards them with his rifle as Helen got off and the nurse hurriedly got to pulling out the stretcher. "We're going in now. Follow behind - but keep a safe distance, they could still be inside" he order while guiding them to the entrance.
The detective led the way up the stairs to the 6th floor, three uniformed officers followed and behind them Helen and then Chris the nurse with the light stretcher and emergency pack. Her heart raced with every step, but it was her job to keep clam; how else was she to do it anyway. The suspense suddenly plummeted as they reached the 6th floor; the detective took a look around the corner at the hallway. "Second door's open!", He signed for the second officer to take point on the corridor as he proceeded towards the door. Unable to overcome her rush of emotion and dread; Helen tried to rush towards the open door - The detective pulled her back roughly, almost throwing her on the floor "God dammit! Are you trying to get yourself killed! Stay the hell back" he shouted, followed by "Metropolitan Police Department!" as the other officers raced through the doors shouting out "Clear!", "Clear!", "Clear!" as they checked all the rooms. The detective let go of his firm hold after the final clear, eyeing her sharply he said "what the hell were you thinking!". Helen rushed in pushing him aside shouting "is anybody hurt! is Carter inside!?" - leaving an astonished detective behind. "Carter!" she repeated catching the attention of the officers as she entered, and then she saw it, past the kitchen counter and between the two officers, lying in a fresh pool of blood; two men.
Helen pushed the officers aside who said "nothing to save here doc" as if to relieve her of her duty; clearly not understanding her situation. She turned the taller body up, her arms shaking and then the next - neither one was Carter. "Missi you ok?" asked the confused detective who had hurriedly followed her in. Gradually, the suspense subsided and she began to feel serene as her thoughts cleared and finally replied "Carter's supposed to have been here, he should have been home - he's a surgeon from the hospital.".
