Retribution

    Meanwhile in the new Holistic Healing Ward, Hannah Hedwig waits for the nurse to finish taking her vital signs. She sounds gentle, “Thank you Dear. I am going to take a nap so I don’t want to be disturbed.”

  “Of course Mrs. King. If you need me, use this call button. She points to a button on the side of the bed. “I will come immediately.”  I wish all my VIP patients were as amiable as Mrs. King.

  Hannah Hedwig waits until the nurse leaves then picks up her phone on the nightstand. She was fuming after hearing from Rui that her illness was caused by an insidious poison. It didn’t take long for her to figure out the Gu worm was acquired by Fu Wan. Years of her life were manipulated by her husband and Fu Wan to keep her power in check. She could never stray too far from his side or she would be beset by horrible pain.

     After realizing Gunnar must know the source of the poison she was enraged. It became obvious that he never planned on telling her the truth to protect his adopted sister and the baby. 

    She clenches her teeth. How many doctors have I seen? How many hospitals?  Previously, I was going to ignore Fu Wan’s daughter Ning’s seduction of my son. Gunnar was happy because of the baby in her womb so I chose to let him handle his own life. 

  She clutches the phone tightly.  “Is it done?”

  “Madam, we did as you instructed. If Fu Ning survives her face will be ruined and the baby will be gone.”

  “Very good. I will send payment to your account. What about Fu Wan?”

  The assassin hesitates then admits, “We haven’t been able to locate Fu Wan. But when she hears of her daughter’s accident I’m sure she will appear. I have people keeping an eye on the hospital.”

  “I wouldn’t count on that. The scheming bitch has a strong sense of survival. Fu Wan won’t risk her life for her daughter or the bastard she is carrying. Keep looking. Remember, don’t kill the woman I am going to give her a taste of the hell I have been living in all these years.”

  “Yes Madam. We will continue to search.”

  After she hangs up she leans back on the pillow. Gunnar, I am very disappointed in you.

  Gunnar Hedwig is pacing outside the operating room when a nurse passes him carrying two blood bags. She isn’t the woman he sent to draw blood from Feng LiMei. He stops the nurse, “Is that the blood for the patient in Operating Room Four?”

  “Yes, Nurse Fu asked me to deliver it.” Nurse Fu is afraid of Rui’s temper. She knows when he finds out Feng LiMei gave blood and is unconscious, he will be furious. 

  He nods and the nurse continues into the operating room’s side door. Ning’er , Feng LiMei’s blood should give you the best chance for you and the baby’s survival.

  When LiMei passed out, Nurse Fu called her friend Dr. Barrow. He quietly pulls her aside so the two bodyguards can’t hear them. He admonishes her for taking too much blood. “You idiot! You should have only taken two units.” 

  “You don’t understand, the extra unit..well the man is paying me a small fortune. I will split with you if you take care of the situation, don’t mention me or the extra unit. I only wrote down the two units of blood for the surgery. Henry, believe me the little slut volunteered to give blood. The two bodyguards are witnesses to that.”

  “ You and your greed! I don’t want any part of the money. If it weren’t for the fact you helped me when I first came to China back then, I wouldn’t do this.  I will cover for you but…this is the last time!”

  “Thanks, Henry.”

 “Leave. I will handle this.”

  Nurse Fu hurries out the door and leans up against the wall clutching the blood bag. The money from this… I don’t need to work anymore. Ten million dollars for a bag of blood, that man is insane.

   She looks around to make sure no one is in the vicinity and dials the number the man gave her earlier. “Yes. I will meet you at the back of the hospital in ten minutes.” She rushes to the nurse’s locker room. Opening her locker she takes out an insulated bag filled with chilled coolant packs. Nurse Fu has a satisfied smile as she closes the bag and grabs her coat.

  Another nurse comes into the locker room and comments, “Nurse Fu, are you leaving?”

  “I am not feeling well so I asked if I could go home.”

  The nurse opens her locker and looks in a mirror on the door. She takes out a tube of red lipstick. “Well, I hope you feel better.” Nurse Fu doesn’t look sick..more like she is up to one of her tricks.

  “Thanks.” Nurse Fu’s heart is racing as she nervously grabs the insulated bag and leaves the locker room. For a moment I thought she saw me put the blood in the bag. She rushes down the stairs to the parking lot excited that she will make ten million dollars so easily.

  A tall muscular man standing by a dumpster is smoking a cigarette. He eliminated the man Gunnar Hedwig sent and disposed of the body by stuffing it into the dumpster. When he sees Nurse Fu he motions to a man sitting in a black Audi who starts the car.

  Nurse Fu walks across the dark and deserted parking lot towards him. He crushes the cigarette on the ground with his leather shoe. The man has a French accent as he asks in Chinese, “Is that it.”

  “Yes. But before I give it to you, I need payment.”

   He smirks, “You don’t trust Mr. Hedwig?”

  “I want the money first.”

  The Frenchman laughs as quickly grabs her and sticks a needle into her neck. “Stupid woman.” He drags Nurse Fu to the Audi and shoves her into the backseat. 

  The driver looks in the rear view mirror, “Are you sure about this?”

  “I overheard them talking. This blood is worth millions.”

 “How can a fucking bag of blood be worth that much money?”

 “ I don’t know but Hedwig said he would give the nurse ten million. I think the Madam would match that and be happy we stole it from her son.”

  “What are we going to do with the woman?”

  He glances down at Nurse Fu then calls Hannah Hedwig, “Madam, I have a surprise for you.”

 “You found Fu Wan?”

 “No but I have her other daughter and a bag of blood she stole for your son.”

  “Fu Wan has another daughter?”

 “Yes. She is a nurse at Qiao’s hospital. I was watching  to see if Fu Wan would make contact. It is strange though she doesn’t seem to be aware that Fu Ning is her sister. Anyway, while I was observing her movements, surprisingly your son asked her to have a woman named Feng LiMei give blood specifically for Fu Ning’s operation. He told her to also steal a unit of blood from the woman. He offered Nurse Fu ten million dollars.”

 Hannah Hedwig takes a sip of orange juice. “Why would Gunnar want that woman’s blood? Why pay ten million for it?”

  “I have no idea. I don’t think the nurse does either. What do you want me to do with the woman and the bag of blood?”

  “Sell the woman. The blood…let me make a call.”

 “Let me know then.”

  Hannah Hedwig calls a laboratory in France, “Marcel, do you know anything about a woman named Feng Limei’s blood? What is special about it?”

  He stands up from his desk. “Madam, why do you ask?”

  “From the sound of your voice you have information. Tell me.”

  “Madam, you should ask your son.”

 “Marcel, if you want to keep your cushy little job as Director you will tell me and not mention to Gunnar we had this conversation.”

  He doesn’t want to say too much, if it gets back to Gunnar Hedwig he will lose more than his job. “Well, the woman’s blood is very rare. I do not know all the details but her blood has regenerative qualities.”

  Hannah Hedwig purses her lips, “You are saying if a person is severely injured and received this blood it could save their life. Their injuries would heal more quickly?”

  “I think that would be the case.”

   She hangs up then throws the glass of orange juice in her hand across the room. The glass shatters when it hits the wall but because the room is soundproof no one can hear. Dammit! After considering the situation she calls the assassin. “Take the blood to the lab we have in Bashu City. Give it directly to the Director. Don’t say anything about the blood except I want it properly stored until I visit the lab next week.”

  “Yes Madam.”