Clayton looked out the window nervously. He had no idea how long it would be before they were discovered. What he did know was that his friends were in desperate need of medical attention. Lian was still not awake, the wound had been so deep. The doctor was worried about internal damage. The nurse had convinced Clayton that Martin and Qi Lian needed to be taken inside the building, they would have a better chance inside.

Clayton had agreed, knowing that they would receive the best care from doctors, not just the nurse. They had tried to keep Clayton out of the room but he had shown them his credentials and demanded that he be able to move freely about the place. He wanted to be able to check on both of his friends. Reluctantly the staff had agreed so long as he dressed in the proper attire to avoid contamination.

The staff had also tried to convince him to move Lian and Martin to the hospital. They would get better care there was the reasoning. Clayton had refused, because of what Qi Lian had told him. He believed her when she said the first place Han Xin would look for them was the hospital. He knew he stood no chance of fighting back against whatever was left of Han Xin's army.

Clayton was pacing back and forth trying to calm his nerves. He was looking out the windows frequently and made sure to check in on both Qi Lian and Martin at regular intervals. At one point he had gone in to Qi Lian's room and heard the doctor say to the nurse, "I have never seen this before, she is healing internally at a rate I never knew possible. It is a miracle, she is going to be fine!"

Clayton had snickered at that remark and left the room. If only the good doctor knew what Clayton knew. He decided to go check on Martin. He was relieved to discover that Qi Lian would be just fine. Martin had not sustained injuries that were as terrible, but nonetheless he was not in great shape. Clayton had learned that Martin had a concussion and some internal bruising and it would be quite a while before Martin would be back to normal. But at least he was going to survive.

Martin, unlike Lian, was awake and was actually in pretty good spirits considering the situation.

"So when ya think I will get out of this place to see my honey bunny?" Martin asked.

"Ha, soon enough Martin, soon enough." Clayton responded.

"Ya know that is a good woman over thar." Martin said, nodding his head in the direction of the next room over.

"I know Martin. She is a really good woman. And she is going to be fine." Clayton said.

"That is good, caus' I sense this fight ain't over yet." Martin replied.

Clayton shook his head in agreement. He knew the fight wasn't over, not in the least.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"You know Martin, this is not your fight. You shouldn't die for something that has nothing to do with you." Clayton explained.

"I don't want to hear none of that talk thar. I will fight, till I die if need be, to help my friends."

Clayton nodded again. He understood there was no use in fighting with Martin about this. His mind had been made up. At that moment the doctor and nurse came in to visit Martin.

"You know Clayton we really are not staffed for this. We should send your friends to the hospital." The doctor stated, trying again to convince Clayton to move his friends.

Clayton shook his head in the negative.

"It is too dangerous. You have to understand doc, sending them there could be a death sentence." Clayton replied truthfully.

Not wanting to get into another long argument, Clayton left the room. He walked next door to go visit Qi Lian. He was startled when he walked in.

"You are a sight for sore eyes." Qi Lian said.

"Oh Jesus, you are awake now. You scared me." Clayton said, holding his chest.

"Yeah and I am feeling much better thank you. How long have I been out?" Qi Lian asked.

"About 40 minutes." Clayton answered.

"It is time to move Clayton." Qi Lian said, unplugging herself from the machines.

"Wait you can't...."

"Clayton we have to go. The Red Tide will be here any minute."

Clayton nodded his head, he had learned by now to trust that whatever Qi Lian said about the Red Tide would be true. He began pulling off his scrubs, as he knew they were no longer necessary.

"OK, we need to grab Martin too." Clayton said.

"Oh Martin, how is he doing?" Qi Lian asked, taking off the hospital gown in front of Clayton.

Clayton turned away, embarrassed at having caught a glimpse of Qi Lian's naked body. It was apparent that she hadn't grown up with the same kind of boundaries as he had.

"Uh, um, oh, um Martin is um, he is fine." Was all that Clayton could muster.

"Great, I am glad to hear it." Qi Lian said while trying to get dressed.

"Um Clayton could you help me get my pants on? I still am in quite a bit of pain at the moment when bending down in that way." Qi Lian asked.

Clayton turned to see that Qi Lian had already put on her shirt and underwear. "At least she isn't completely naked now." Clayton thought as he headed over. Clayton walked over and bent down, helping Qi Lian to put on her pants and her shoes as she laid on the hospital bed.

Qi Lian began putting on her bloodied tactical gear as well. Clayton looked at her face as she was doing this. "She is quite beautiful." He thought to himself. Then he felt even more embarrassed and looked away. At that moment he saw a line of SUV's getting off the exit for Plattsburgh.

"We gotta go now!" Clayton said, pointing at the window.

Qi Lian looked over and shook her head yes.

Clayton ran out of the room, with Qi Lian behind him. He ran over to the room with Martin and burst through the door.

"Martin, we have to go."

"Been waitin for that." Martin said.

Martin hopped out of bed. He was clearly in pain as well, but he could move.

"Hold on you folks can't just leave. You are in no condit...." The doctor began.

"Doc it is time for us to go. What kind of car do you drive?" Clayton asked.

"I drive a van, why?" The doctor replied.

"No time, come with us, we need that van." Clayton demanded.

"But..." The doctor complained.

"Please doctor, we need your help on this." Qi Lian said entering the room.

"You are.... awake?" The doctor asked shocked.

The nurse then grabbed the doctor and pushed him toward the door.

"Let's go doctor, they need our help." The nurse said.

The five of them left the room, heading for the doctor's van.