He held his hands out palms up. 'Cest tout, mon fr amp;e. Be strong. … Suzanne's encouragement was growing hollower by the moment.
'Frank, you can't do this.'
'I can, and I did. You see, Bro, that's been your big mistake all along-not understanding that this is my hospital and that I can do Whatever the hell I want to. I wanted Beaulieu out, and he was out. And now I want you out.'
'Frank, you forget that even though you might not have wanted eaulieu here, you didn't fire him. He was being systematically and deliberately driven out by-'
'By who?'
Zack hesitated, remembering his promise to Maureen Banas. Then he decided that she would simply have to understand. His situation was too desperate. 'It was Ultramed, Frank. He was being driven out by Ultramed.
Just look at that letter from Maureen Banas. That's proof you don't know everything that's going on around here. Do you think she wrote that of her own free will? She was coerced, Frank, by that company we work for.
By Ultramed.'
'Was she?'
'Yes, she received a copy of that letter along with a note that-'
'That said if she told me about receiving it, both she and I would be fired?
' Frank's gloating leer was at once disgusting and terrifying. 'Jesus,'
Zack muttered. 'Nice touch, don't you think?'
'Oh, Frank. You are really sad. Why didn't you just fire him like you're trying to do to me?'
'He was an obstreperous sonofabitch, that's why. I didn't want him making a big stink. I was just learning the ropes then, Zack-o, learning how far I could go. I know them now, and they tell me that it's okay to fire you, so… you're fired.
God, I really love hearing that.'
'You're crazy, Frank. Do you know that? You are absolutely nuts.'
'Maybe, ' Frank said. 'But I am also employed. Which is more than can be said for you.'
'I'm going to fight you.'
Frank shrugged. 'Do whatever you want. As far as the company or the medical staff is concerned, you're a drunken, disloyal troublemaker. I doubt that even your little cardiology fluff will stick up for you.'
'Frank, Guy Beaulieu died because of what you did to him. Died! Doesn't that mean anything to you?'
'You have a good day, now, Zack.'
'And don't you even care that it's possible some madmen are poisoning patients in the operating room of this hospital? What are you?'
'I'll be speaking with the folks at Pine Bough Realty. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to give you, oh, two or three days at least to get out of their house.'
'Jesus. I'm coming to that board meeting, Frank. I'm coming, and I'm going to tell the board and Ultramed what's going on here. The Judge may be paralyzed, but he saw what Ultramed and its policies did to Annie.
He's had time to review Beaulieu's evidence and to convince people how to vote. I'm going to be there to reinforce his position.'
'Well, I spoke with him earlier this morning, and he's promised to keep hands off the whole affair.'
'Frank, that's a fucking lie. I was just up there. The nurse told me the Judge won't see either of us.'
Frank winked. 'Then let's just say that if he had spoken with me, that's what he would have promised.'
'You crazy bastard, Frank… You crazy, crazy bastard.'
'I'll be happy to write you a letter of recommendation, provided the place you apply to is far enough away. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a hospital to run.'
'I'll be seeing you later at the meeting.'
'Try it if you want to, Zack-o.
The security guards will know exactly how to handle things if you show up there. And now, little brother, how about either you leave or I remind you of how much hurt you ended up with every time we fought behind the barn. I probably would enjoy that almost as much as I've enjoyed firing you… You take care, now. Y'hear?
' Numbly, Zack wandered from his brother's office and through the busy corridors of the hospital. The polished linoleum, the tile, the nurses bustling from one patient to the next in their starched whites, the framed prints in every room-how clean it all appeared on the surface, how perfect. The set of a movie. Zack smiled grimly at the thought.
Davis Regional had become a gleaming, movie-set hospital-Hollywood veneer with no soul. It was a nightmare. And now, a nightmare he could do no more than walk away from. He drifted into the intensive care unit.
Suzanne, wearing surgical scrubs beneath her lab coat, was in Toby's cubicle, moving about the heavily bandaged child in a way that could only mean trouble. At the foot of the bed, Owen Walsh, the pediatrician, watched, his perpetually cheerful expression darkened by concern. 'Hi,' she said, glancing over only momentarily. 'Glad you could make it.'
She studied the monitor, and then emptied the contents of a syringe into Toby's IV line. 'Problems? ' Zack asked. Having just been fired from the staff, he found himself strangely reluctant to approach the bedside.
'These last sixteen hours have been like a crash refresher course for me in pediatric pharmacology, ' she said without looking up. 'Every time his temp goes up, his rhythm goes crazy. What we're doing here amounts to nothing more than a holding action. I sure wish we knew what was going on.'
I do know, he wanted to say. Instead, he forced himself to the head of the bed, where he made a quick check of Toby's pupils, eye grounds, and reflexes. While there was still no definite evidence of irreversible damage, there was certainly no sign of improvement. 'We've got the promise of a bed for him in Boston, ' Owen Walsh said. 'But they can't transfer him until late this afternoon or this evening.'
Take him away from this place, away from Jack Pearl, and you take him away from his only chance. Again, Zack's thought went unspoken.
'Anything I can do in the meantime? ' he asked. 'You can review the steroids he's getting.' Suzanne checked the temperature reading from the rectal probe. 'Back down to one-oh-two. And look, Zack-his rhythm's stable again. Damn, what's going on?'
'If you're able to leave, ' he said, 'I'd like to talk to you for a minute.'
Suzanne checked the monitor and Toby's chest, and then glanced over at Walsh. 'Just don't go too far, ' the pediatrician said. 'We'll be right outside in the waiting room, Owen, ' she replied. 'Besides, you're doing fine here.'
Walsh smiled. 'She saves this child's life at least five times in one night, and she says I'm doing fine.'
'Nonsense. I'll be back in a little bit. Hang in there.'
As soon as the door to the ICU waiting room clicked shut, Suzanne threw her arms about Zack's chest and buried her head against his shoulder. 'I knew you'd come back, ' she said. 'I'm so damn proud of you of both of us. Listen, as soon as we get Toby off to Boston, let's go to my place for dinner. Helene's going to take Jen for the night, and I have a batch of shrimp in the fridge and-'
'Suzanne-'
'No, listen, it's my guilt for acting the way I did in the E. R. last night, and only shrimp sauteed in garlic butter will-' He held her by the shoulders and moved her away. 'Suzanne, Frank just fired me.'
'He what?'
'Effective immediately.'
'He can't do that.'
'Can and did. He even was kind enough to present me with a set of the corporate laws to prove he can.'
He held up the book for her to see. Only then did he realize how totally drained she looked. Her face was pale and drawn, her eyes reddened with strain and fatigue. 'This is crazy, ' she said. 'What reason did he give?'
'Actually, according to page seven here, he doesn't need a reason. But just to be fair, he provided a couple, being drunk while on call technically, I was, you see-being a disruptive influence. Hell, I can't even remember everything he said. Listen, you look really wasted. Why don't you find an empty bed and crash for an hour or two? I'll watch Toby. Frank won't even know I'm in the hospital. And even if he finds out, he won't do anything about it. Owen's too panicked about being left alone to allow that. We'll talk later, after we get the child to Boston.'
