Luka wasn't the only one in possession of pharmaceutical supplies.
Mateus kept a small stock of liquor and other mood-altering drugs
with which he rewarded informants and members of his group who
performed "above and beyond". Karloj was a frequent beneficiary of
these gifts. His brutish behavior had ended more than one internal
conflict before it could begin. Beasts are not stupid, especially if
they wish to survive. Although he lacked a conscience, Karloj
possessed cunning. He could wait.
Sofia was now sleeping in Luka's box. Theirs was a platonic
relationship but the other members of the group did not know this.
Only Karloj and Mateus knew that Luka had not "claimed" the woman.
Nevertheless, as Luka's "girl", she was let alone. They'd noted the
respect Mateus afforded their doctor and none of them wanted the man
who might save their lives one day to harbor any ill feeling. If
Mateus allowed Luka to keep a woman to himself, Karloj would
inevitably be called upon to settle any disputes over this female. No
one wanted a confrontation with Karloj for if it happened, Luka's
services to the loser would be moot.
One day, a distraught woman came to Mateus. Her son was very ill. She
begged the leader to let their physician come to where she was
living. She could pay for his services. Luka, when summoned by Karloj
agreed immediately to accompany the desperate mother. "I'll get some
supplies and my nurse and go right away."
"No. Sofia must stay here. If something happens to you, she is the
only one who can help my men. I'm sorry Luka, but I must look out for
their welfare as best I can." Mateus objected reasonably. "Get your
medicines, my friend and go help this poor woman." The leader had
agreed to "give" Sofia to Karloj but insisted his rendezvous take
place when Luka was not in the camp. Luka had no choice but to agree
to Sofia's remaining. He quickly stocked his medical bag and went to
treat this civilian patient.
The child was extremely sick and it was hours before Luka returned to
Mateus's camp. As he climbed over a pile of rubble, he heard a woman
screaming. It was Sofia. He scrabbled over the broken bricks and
chunks of concrete. Sofia, her clothes half torn away, was trying to
fight off an attacker. The man had put down his rifle in order to
subdue his victim. Without hesitating Luka picked it up, intending to
fire a volley over the heads of the struggling pair. He squeezed the
trigger just as his feet slipped on the crumbling remains of a wall.
He fell firing the automatic weapon. The bullets traced a path up the
spine of the rapist and who fell dead.
Luka managed to drop the rifle and scramble over to Sofia who was
shivering from the cold and from terror. He put his coat around her
and turned to the man he'd shot. It was Karloj. Before he or Sofia
could think to hide the body, Mateus and several others arrived.
"What's going on here? We heard shots fired."
"It's Karloj! He's been killed! Someone yelled out.
"What happened, Luka?" Mateus asked quietly.
"He was trying to rape my nurse. I didn't mean to kill him. My feet
slipped. I was trying to shoot over his head. I didn't mean to kill
anyone." Luka explained as calmly as he could.
"I see." Mateus said flatly. His lieutenant was dead and with him
went half of Mateus's power. "You!", he pointed to Sofia. "Get your
things and go. I should never have brought a woman into this group.
It makes for bad feelings."
"Wait! Why should *she* be punished? She didn't do anything!" Luka
grabbed Sofia's arm.
"She exists, Luka. How long before someone else decides they want
her? And besides, it's not as if you are enjoying her body. Your
selfishness is responsible for this disaster. Train someone else.
She's out, Luka." Mateus said in a tone of voice that meant his
decision was irrevocable. "Let go of her and come with me."
"No! If she must leave for doing *nothing*, then I must leave also.
*I* was the one who shot that bastard."
"*You* will stay. We need your services too much." Mateus attempted
to soften his tone.
"You mean you need the king's ransom you've been getting for my
services. You're nothing better than a pimp." Luka said bluntly. The
sick boy's mother had tried to give Luka some money of his own and
he'd discovered that she'd already paid a small fortune to obtain his
help. "You're no better than he was!" Luka spat on the corpse. If you
think I'm going to remain in this shit pit one moment longer, you've
lost what's left of your reason! Come with me, Sofia." Still holding
her arm, Luka turned on his heel and walked away. He was finally free.
"You can't let him go." One of the men said. "He'll tell everyone
about this place. We'll spend all of our time fighting off the
motherfuckers who want what we have."
"Calm down, Aleksei. He won't get far. You", Mateus pointed to
another man; their reconnaissance expert. "Follow him and the woman.
Find out where he goes and where he settles. Then, report to me.
We'll deal with the two of them once and for all." Mateus smiled
grimly.
"Alright, Boss." The rat-like little man scurried off into the
gathering darkness. As far as Mateus was concerned. Luka's days on
earth were numbered.
* * * * *
For three days, Luka and Sofia were shadowed. Each night as they
slept, the spy made his report. When he informed Mateus that Sofia
had been taken in by some nuns in a convent, Mateus shook his head.
She'd made her escape. Even he had some remaning scruples. Nuns and
other Catholic religious were off limits. Messing with them created
too much ill feeling and he had more than enough to cope with as it
was.
Luka's truthful outburst had opened a few eyes. He was not the only
one Mateus lied to. Some of the men muttured for awhile then accepted
their lot; still enslaved to regular rations. Others voted with their
feet. During the night, despite the sentries, they slipped off.
Mateus couldn't have all of them followed. The Sons of Thunder ceased
to be. However, one of the escaping men had gone to the real military
police. When they learned of the armaments and petrol stockpiled in
the old theatre, they decided to have it for themselves.
One night, as the few remaining "Sons" slumbered, the true militia
stormed the building. To hold sway over his men and recruit others,
Mateus had been dispensing liquor with a free hand. However, he no
longer slept there citing potential danger from the deserters. So
when he returned to his fortress in the morning, he was confronted
with a smoking ruin. Ducking into an alley, he narrowly avoided being
captured by the military police who were waiting for him.
He rendezvoused with his spy two nights later and learned that Luka
had refused several offers of shelter from people he'd treated. That
meant he knew the group would be coming after him. Mateus thanked the
spy and paid him for his information. He would settle this score
himself. The spy went off into the night once more. By sheer chance,
he'd been present when Luka left his new hiding place to treat a
patient. By a stroke of unimaginable luck, the patient turned out to
be a dear friend of the spy. Now, the little man was having second
thoughts.
Mateus had not kept all of his supplies in the theatre. After giving
his informant a bottle of vodka and some tobacco, he travelled by a
circuitous route to his other den. Here, he assembled a bomb complete
with some of the crystal shrapnel. Luka's hiding place was too
exposed for him to approach his enemy directly, so Mateus bided his
time.
A few days later, Luka woke to find a note on the rags he was using
for bedclothes. Opening the dirty scrap of paper he looked around.
Only one man could have been so stealthy. "He's coming for you, leave
while you can." Luka didn't waste any time. Grabbing the knapsack he
used as a medical bag, he crawled from the ruined building. The sun
had risen and temporarily blinded, Luka did not notice an old car
abandoned nearby. Squinting, he started to walk away when the vehicle
exploded. A roaring; a pain like ten thousand knives, then nothing.
* * * * *
The smell of unwashed bodies, blood, and bodily wastes was barely
covered by the faint aroma of disinfectant. Luka opened his eyes
wincing at the light from a lantern suspended nearby. He didn't need
to ask where he was, he recognized the smells immediately. Somehow
he'd ended up back in the makeshift infirmary at the abandoned
theatre. He began screaming.
"Doctor? I think he's coming to.", a woman's voice, but it wasn't
Sofia.
"Thank you, Sister.", a man's voice also unknown.
Luka finally forced his eyes open. He'd been dreaming. It wasn't a
lantern. It was a mechanic's work light. This place had electricity
or at least its own generator. Now, he asked the question reserved
for all those who regain consciousness after serious injury.
"Where am I?"
"In hospital, near D********c. Some people brought you here.", the
man was dressed in what was once a white lab coat. Frequent attempts
to keep it sterile had turned it pale grey. Luka squinted trying to
adjust to the light.
"How are you feeling?"
"Headache, accompanied by nausea. Fever, muscular aches. I'm assuming
I have the usual contusions and abrasions. My right side hurts like
hell, cracked or broken ribs." Luka wiggled his toes then moved his
legs. Although my back aches, I don't seem to have any serious
cerebro-spinal damage." Luka automatically catalogued his symptoms.
"I take it you've had medical experience.", the man smiled for the
first time.
"Yes, I'm a doctor."
"Excellent. All the more reason to get you well. We're short handed
around here and I could use all the help I can get."
"I've heard that before. How much will *you* charge the patients for
my help?"
"Calm down, my boy. This isn't a militia group. We're what's left of
the hospital founded by the Order of the Sisters of Mercy. Patients
who can spare it, usually leave us some grain, eggs, or chickens
which the sick make short work of. We treat any and all who come to
us, free of any charge."
Luka sighed in relief. "What happened to me?"
"How much do you remember?"
"Not a whole lot. I got a note warning me about danger. I went
outside there was an explosion and I woke up here. Was there another
air raid?"
"No, my boy..."
"My name's Luka. Luka Kovac."
"No Luka. One of the people who brought you here said a car bomb went
off. You were standing about five feet away."
"I shouldn't be here."
"You're right. You were lucky. The bastards who planted the bomb used
that East German monument to Socialist engineering: a Brabant. Its
auto body is made of pressed cardboard. Most of the damage you
sustained was due to bomb fragments. That's the first time I've ever
removed lead crystal from anyone."
Luka fell silent. Mateus's group; it couldn't be anybody
else. "Doctor, please do me a favor. Don't tell anyone else I am
here. I know who set that bomb and I don't want them to bring their
argument with me here and jeopardize the sick. As much as I want to
stay and help you, I can't. I'm almost as dangerous to you as the
jackals who want my hide."
"I tell you what. You get well first and then we'll see what we can
do to make use of your skills and not get anyone else hurt in the
process. Sister? Why don't you see if you can find something for Luka
to eat. I think one of the farmers brought in a couple of chickens.
There may be some broth left. No solid foods, however."
"Yes Dr. Markajic. Right away. The middle-aged woman smiled at Luka
and went to get his soup.
"She's English?"
"No, an American. She's here with some other ladies from the United
States. They're oblates of the Sisters of Mercy. They'd originally
planned to make a pilgrimage to Rome, but when their parish heard
about what happened to our hospital, they came here instead."
"America must be a wonderful place if people like that live there."
"The streets aren't paved with gold, but it's the closest I've seen
to heaven on earth." Dr. Markajic smiled.
"Get away with you then, Doctor M. It's also got its fair share of
hell." The Sister had returned with a steaming bowl. "Sure and it's a
grand country but it's not perfect. Don't fill this poor man's head
with visions of people walkin' around in halos and wings. Now, aren't
you late for rounds?"
"Yes sister." Dr. Markajic grinned. "Nurses. They think they run the
place."
"That we do.", the woman replied with a smug smile. "Now, me poor
boyo, let's see if I can get some of this broth inside you."
Luka ate half of the broth, vomited, and under protest consumed the
remainder which stayed put. He fell asleep as the nurse held his
hand. No one had done that for him since his mother died. Years
later, that was the clearest memory he had of his stay in the
hospital: the kind avuncular doctor and the brisk nurse with the odd
speech patterns. Bacteria bred from the source of the sour smells
that woke him resulted in his developing a severe infection. For the
next three weeks, his life lay in the balance.
Copyright Footer', 'This site is not affiliated in any way with "ER", its writers or production company, or NBC, and makes no profit from the show. The ERROS skin is by Brihana. The script is eFiction version 3.4.2© Tammy Keefer, http://efiction.org\r\n