Perfect Match (33 page)

She snapped. “Don’t ask any more favors of me. I’m so far
out on the limb now I’ll probably end up getting fired because of all this…this
crazy idea of yours. Trevor probably got caught doing something unauthorized,
and is being fired as we speak. This is a damn mess, all because of you,
Fallington.” She knew she’d vented too much toward a patient, but Roscoe had
tried her patience to the nth degree. Hell, the devil wouldn’t even want his
aggravating soul, she thought.

“Now, Rachel, just calm down. You’re not going to lose your
job. You’re too good a nurse. Cobalt needs you.” He paused a moment. “If it’s
worth anything, I need you. So any chance of delaying my release?”

Rachel gave him a penetrating glare, and then wheeled around
and stalked from his room.

Roscoe thought a moment. That means she’ll see what she can
do.

Lunch came. Roscoe feasted on his assortment of fresh
fruits, nuts, and juice. Still no call back from Trevor. Where was he? Maybe he
did get fired. Okay, he needed to eat. Maybe he had an accident. Maybe he had
some class work. He did mention being a double or triple major. Maybe he just
didn’t want to be involved with this situation. The questions kept banging
around, but Roscoe had no other option except wait.

He reached for his Tablet again going through his plans that
may never materialize. He’d never had to worry about plans working or not. In
his past life it didn’t matter. He always had the safety net of wealth ready to
catch him after any blunder. With that who needed a plan? But now his plan
either works or he falls flat. Hell, I don’t even have a backup plan. Wonder if
that’s what it feels like a hundred miles offshore in a rowboat without a
paddle, radio, or life preserver?

He mentally went through his plans again, and then again. He
reclined the adjustable sitting chair, closing his eyes to give his brain a
brief rest.

He awoke two hours later with Rachel tapping his arm.
“Fallington. Wake up.”

He was confused coming out of his sleep. “What? What’s going
on?”

She chuckled. “I’m glad to see that some people can snooze
when they want to. Some of us have to work whether we want to or not.”

“Oh, sorry about that. I don’t know what happened. Last
thing I remember, I was doing some computer stuff.” He shrugged.

“I wanted to let you know Selena asked if you would come to
her room.” Her face was blank.

“Is she okay?”

She shook her head. “Don’t be surprised when you see her.
She’s very pale.”

Roscoe moved quickly to get in his wheelchair. They headed
for Selena’s room. Two other nurses were finishing up. One had just given her
some additional sedative; she’d been agitated and restless.

He rolled up to her bedside. Pale was an understatement. He
spoke softly. “Hi, Selena. What’s going on?”

She responded weakly, “Rough night and rough day. My typical
roller coaster ride.” A weak smile spread across her teenage face.

He reached for her left hand. She gave his large hand a weak
squeeze. “Thanks for coming by. Her right hand reached inside her worn messenger
bag, bringing out a blue flash drive, placing it in his other hand. “This is my
completed novel, Roscoe. You’ve really been supportive of me in the short time
I’ve known you. For some reason I’ve come to trust you like no other.” Her
bottom lip quivered. “I don’t feel like I’m going to see my novel published, so
I’d like you to see if you can get it published someday.” She took a deep
breath. “If not, I’ll be happy just knowing that you and my mom have read my
romance story.”

Roscoe’s heart was pounding. He’d never been this
emotionally affected by the experiences of another person. This was unchartered
territory for him.

Selena looked up at Rachel standing behind him. “Rachel,
make sure he follows through with this. You know he can be stubborn sometimes.”
Her mischievous grin flashed briefly.

He said, “Listen to me, Selena. I’m expecting you to see
your book published. I’m feeling very hopeful that something good is going to
come off that transplant list. I want you to hang in there and fight with me.
Okay?”

Her voice growing weaker and sleepy, she said, “You’ve
turned out to be a pretty good optimist. I like that…you’re a special… Her eyes
closed.

Roscoe looked around at Rachel. “Is she…I mean…

Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a warm
squeeze. “She’s fine. She just drifted off to sleep.” Rachel had been eyeing
the monitors. “Her vitals are becoming stable. That’s good for her. The
sedative will help her body calm down and rest.”

As Roscoe and Rachel headed back to his room, Trevor came
around the corner of the hallway, walking briskly, but with a blank expression.
Something inside Roscoe told him not to be angry with Trevor, just listen.

Once in the room, Roscoe stood alongside Rachel and greeted
Trevor. “We were worried about you. Everything okay with you…any problems?”

Trevor’s face was sad. “I owe both of you an apology. After
my session in the lab I had to check one of my notebooks in my car. Saw
something leaking underneath, so I ended up having to take it to repair a brake
line. My phone was dead, and I didn’t have my charger…left it in my lab
desk…had to squabble with the repair shop…nothing has gone right. I’m really
sorry I didn’t get back in touch with you.”

He paused, and then pulled the lab sheets from his lab coat.
“I cross checked everything and ran the data again, and this is what I got.” He
gestured with the sheets.

He paused a moment.

“Roscoe, you’re a perfect match as a living donor for a
kidney transplant for Selena.” Trevor smiled the first time in thirty-six
hours.

The three reached for each other and hugged in a circle.
Rachel’s shoulders were shaking as emotions loosened. Roscoe patted her and
Trevor. They stepped back.

Roscoe said, “How sure are you, Trevor?”

“Completely. One hundred percent.”

Silence reigned briefly.

“I triple-checked all my work. No mistakes. A malfunction
with one of the printers caused a reverse print of that row of data you
questioned.” He looked at Roscoe. “How did you know to question that?”

“I didn’t. I have no idea where that question came from…no
idea.”

Rachel spoke up, “Now what?”

Trevor jumped in with, “What about Selena? Is she okay?”

“Stable, resting.” She looked at Roscoe. “So?”

He glanced at the wall clock. “Can you tell me the schedules
for the transplant teams for the rest of the day?”

Rachel walked over to the computer terminal and entered her
ID and password. She scrolled through several screens. “How do you know about
transplant teams and schedules?”

“I’ve been doing my homework, been all over the internet and
Cobalt’s website. And while you’re checking, tell me who the best ones are?”

She peered over her shoulder. “Well look at you, sounding
like a hospital administrator.” She continued scrolling.

Trevor said, “Roscoe would be better than the stingy
administrator we’ve got now. We’ve got more malfunctioning equipment than any
hospital I’ve ever heard of.” He shook his head. “And I’m one of the backup
techs for tonight.”

Rachel said, “Right now we’ve got two teams removing and two
transplanting. They’re scheduled to finish up about six tonight, but it looks
like they’re both going to do a back-to-back. That’s probably going to push
them to ten or eleven tonight, unless they finish up early.” She studied the
schedules. “The hospital has two teams in reserve.” She logged off and wheeled
around to Roscoe and Trevor. “Cobalt is a busy hospital. Patients fly in from
all over.”

“Who are the best surgeons?”

“They’re all highly rated, but Roscoe that doesn’t matter at
this point. If you’ve made a decision you’re still going to have to have a session
with the transplant office, and then everything has to be handed off to the
transplant coordinator.”

“Rachel, that’s not going to work for me or Selena.”

“This is a major decision. There are protocols and
procedures that we have to follow. You just can’t go shoving your weight
around. It won’t work.” She threw both hands up and let them slap against her
thighs.

Roscoe knew he’d better be respectful. He took a deep
breath. “In my past life I abused and badgered people. I’m not going to
mistreat anyone. But I do know the value of brinksmanship and split-timing
decision-making. It tends to speed things along, even breaking through a
bureaucracy. I promise you I will be very respectful of everyone from here on.
I’m just going to present people with some important opportunities. They get to
decide.”

He paused. “When was the last time Selena had anything to
eat or drink?”

She looked at him, with a shake of her head. “She had a good
breakfast…nothing but juice for lunch. Since she’s in sedated “twilight territory”
she’ll miss supper, but she has her IV.” She studied him. “So that’s why you
had a light lunch? You are one calculating cuss, but I have to admit you’ve got
the optimism.”

“Trevor can you print me a copy of your report, and how
would a doctor confirm your data?

“I’ll print you a copy at the nurse’s desk in two minutes.
Umm…the surgical team, mainly the surgeon, is going to need to double check
everything. My lab work will need to be verified, but that should be a breeze.
The critical thing is going to be my compatibility data. On this copy there are
no names, yours or Selena’s. On the copy I give you full identification will be
part of the print out, patient ID, account and room number, names…everything.”

He pulled another flash drive from his pocket. “Everything
is on this. So the doctor will know or can verify that the data is legit.
Rachel, you’re safe, but my cover will be blown, because they’ll know I
violated network security and accessed unauthorized records, Selena’s, but at
this point, I don’t care. If you’re in this race with a kidney, I’m in it with
my reputation and job.” His voice cracked. “I can’t thank you enough for giving
a kidney to the most special girl I’ve ever met.”

He left the room in a sprint.

Rachel had taken a seat in the chair. “I can’t believe all
this is happening. Lord help us all.”

Roscoe sat on the edge of his bed facing her. “Rachel, I
don’t want you to worry about this. I believe everything is going to work out
okay.”

Her brow furrowed. “Aren’t you worried, afraid? This is not
you. Where did all this come from? Just a few weeks ago you were the most
cynical patient I’ve ever seen.”

“I don’t know. I just know I’m driven by something that has
never been inside me before. I don’t know. I don’t have an answer. Afraid? No.
I haven’t even thought about any of that. I simply want to see Selena live a
normal life. For some reason that makes me happy, just thinking about it.” A
smile crept across his face.

Trevor was back in a snap.

Roscoe said, “I sent you an email earlier. Open it and the
two of you scan the list to see if I have the correct addresses of the
transplant doctors.”

Trevor was already on task, checking his email. “Rachel, do
you spot any errors in this list?”

“I can compare it on the master list in the computer.”

After the three had checked through everything that Roscoe
had concerns about, he said, “I thank both of you for everything you’ve done.
Without your help this would not be happening.”

Rachel harrumphed, “Well, I’m still not sure what exactly is
going to happen?”

“For the next few hours, I’m going to lounge on this lumpy
hospital bed, check a few things on my Tablet, and then the night is going to
get awfully busy.” He smiled. “Try to get some rest. I’ll keep you posted.”

The building vibrated with the rumbling thunderstorm moving
in on Asheville.

8:55 p.m., Tuesday,
Asheville

8:55 a.m., Wednesday,
Hong Kong

The Antelope Taxi snaked its way up the winding drive of
Cobalt Medical Center. Rain whip-lashed across the city. Ned Stringer eased up
to the passenger drop-off and pick-up. He put his emergency blinkers on, pulled
his cap down, and scurried up the covered sidewalk, and into the main entrance.
Sitting off to his right was his favorite passenger, Roscoe Fallington.

Ned started yapping right away. “Hey, man, what’s the big
deal. We’re too late for a Starbucks. They’re closed.”

Roscoe folded the newspaper he’d been hiding behind for the
past fifteen minutes. He stood. “Thought it’d be a good night for some fresh
air.”

“You are totally nuts, man. That thunderstorm is vicious.”

Roscoe laughed. “Well, let’s go for a ride anyway.”

After they got in the cab, Ned pulled away from the curb.
His wipers were fighting a losing battle with the rain. “Where to my friend?
Ain’t nothing much open with all this rain.”

Roscoe handed a piece of paper to Ned. “I need to go to this
address. Ever been in that neck of the woods?”

“Yeah, that’s out there in that section where a bunch of
doctors live.” Ned looked at his passenger. “Not being nosey or anything, but
you just left the hospital that’s crawling with doctors. Don’t they suit you?”

Roscoe laughed. “You should work for the FBI or CIA. You
really dig for information.”

Ned sat a little taller at the compliment. “I’m just
curious, that’s all.”

Traffic was light, the storm having driven most people for
cover. Ned blinked his lights between dim and bright, as he tried to navigate
through the sheets of gusting rain. He made his final turn down Flannery Lane,
a street with perfectly landscaped houses positioned in clusters of hardwoods
and ornamentals. Hearty spring flowers and bushes lining driveways and
properties relished the pouring rain.

“Right here, pull in right here up the circular drive.”