First Do No Harm

Elena looked at the monitor. Kael was helpless. He had come out of hiding to save her, and now he was going to burn.

She looked at Aris. He was confident. Arrogant.

He forgot one thing. Elena wasn't just a nurse. She was the Night Charge Nurse. She knew every system in this building.

She looked at the fire suppression panel on the wall by the door. It was behind a glass case.

"You're right, Doctor," Elena said, her voice trembling with rage. "I do care too much. That’s why I’m going to save him."

She grabbed a heavy brass award statue from Aris’s shelf—"Humanitarian of the Year"—and smashed the glass case.

"Don't!" Aris shouted, standing up.

Elena slammed her hand onto the manual override button.

* WHOOSH.*

The fire suppression system in the office activated. But it wasn't water. In the administrative wing, it was Halon gas to protect the servers.

Aris gagged, coughing.

Elena held her breath. The electronic lock disengaged automatically—a safety feature for fire evacuation.

She shoved the door open and ran.

The hallway was chaotic. Strobing lights. Sirens.

She didn't run for the exit. She ran for the Crash Cart parked at the nurses' station. She grabbed the defibrillator paddles and the adrenaline shots.

"Basement," she whispered. "Incinerator."