Chapter 5 - The Hospital Room
At 9:30 PM, the St. Jude Women’s Pavilion was quiet. The halls were dimly lit with soft blue night-lights, the hum of central air conditioning the only sound breaking the silence of the maternity ward.
Victoria lay in Room 412, dressed in a standard white hospital gown. Her heart rate monitor was attached to her finger, throwing steady, rhythmic bleeps into the dark room. To anyone watching through the glass partition, she looked like a vulnerable, frightened pregnant woman hiding from a threat.
But beneath the hospital bed, hidden behind the heavy privacy curtains, sat Maya with a tactical laptop, monitoring the building's thermal cameras. In the adjoining bathroom, William Sterling stood in the shadows, a suppressed Sig Sauer pistol held loosely at his side, his eyes fixed on the door.
At 11:45 PM, Victoria’s phone buzzed on the tray beside her.
Midnight is coming, Victoria. Are you ready to sleep?
Victoria didn't answer. She took a deep breath, her eyes locked on the handle of the patient room door.
At 11:58 PM, the handle turned.
May you like
The door slid open without a sound. A tall figure dressed in the scrubs of a senior hospital technician stepped into the room. He wore a surgical mask, a heavy blue cap pulled low over his forehead, and latex gloves. In his right hand, he held a pre-loaded, industrial-grade syringe filled with a clear fluid.
He didn't look at the monitors. He didn't hesitate. He marched straight to the IV line connected to Victoria’s arm.
