From Rags to God of War

Investigating the Culprit

"Patient in critical condition!" a paramedic shouted. "Severe bleeding from the back and chest! Pulse weak, blood pressure dropping!"

"Get the OR ready, stat!" The attending doctor barked orders.

As they pushed the gurney, Martin pulled out his phone, calling Jessica.

"Jessica, it's Martin," Martin said, his voice tense and rushed. "General Nicholas is in critical condition. I've brought him to the Military Central Hospital."

On the other end of the line, Jessica gasped.

"What happened? How is he?"

"Severe bleeding. There's a stab wound to the chest and a slash on his back," Martin explained, out of breath.

"I'm on my way!" Jessica hung up, leaping out of bed. In no time, she was in her doctor's scrubs and racing to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Jessica ran straight to the emergency room. The smell of disinfectant and panic immediately hit her senses. She saw Nicholas on a gurney, surrounded by a medical team struggling to stabilize his condition. Nicholas's face was ashen, the wounds on his chest and back looked horrific.

"Nicholas!" Jessica cried out. She immediately took command.

"Full report, now!" Jessica demanded, her voice firm.

An attending doctor approached. "Massive bleeding, Doctor. A stab wound near the heart, and a slash on his back. He's also showing symptoms of nerve poisoning. A poison we're unfamiliar with."

Jessica scanned the monitor, seeing Nicholas's unstable heart rate graph. "Get an OR ready, ASAP! Give me your best team. I'm leading this operation."

Everyone moved quickly. Within minutes, Nicholas was in the sterile operating room. Surgical lights blazed brightly. Jessica stood at the operating table, leading her team with intense focus.

"We need to stop the bleeding first!" Jessica instructed. "Get the instruments ready."

Jessica worked with high precision. She sutured severed arteries, cleaned the slash wound on his back, and worked to stabilize Nicholas's irregularly beating heart. The poison continued to be a problem. Nicholas's body was extremely weak.

"Pulse stabilizing," a nurse reported. "Blood pressure slowly rising."

Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. The bleeding stopped. Nicholas's heart began beating normally again.

After the operation was complete, Jessica exited the operating room.

"Jessica! How's the General?" Martin asked.

"Jessica pulled off her mask. Her face looked grim. "The operation was a success. The bleeding's under control. He's alive."

Martin breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness!"

But Jessica's smile wasn't as bright. "But..." She paused, as if the next words were incredibly hard to utter. "The poison in his body, it's incredibly potent. While not lethal, it has permanently damaged Nicholas's motor nervous system."

Martin frowned. "You mean...?"

Jessica looked straight into Martin's eyes, her voice soft. "Nicholas is completely paralyzed, Martin. From the neck down. And, I don't know how long the effects of the poison will last."

Martin froze. "No way! He's the God of War!"

Jessica shook her head. "The poison worked in tandem with the fatal attack, accelerating the paralytic effect."

Now, another task came to Jessica's mind.

"How am I going to break this to Isabella?"

...

Nicholas's phone, which Martin had taken from his jacket pocket, rang.

Martin decided to answer it.

"Hello?" Martin answered.

"Nicholas? Nicholas, is that you?" Isabella's voice sounded panicked from the other end. "Where are you?"

Martin took a deep breath. He couldn't say anything explicitly. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Isabella. This is Martin. Mr. Krause isn't available to talk right now."

"Martin? Martin, what's going on? Why are you answering Nicholas's phone?" Isabella pressed. "What happened to Nicholas?"

Martin tried to reassure her. "Ma'am, I can't give you any details right now."

Martin couldn't lie further or answer all of Isabella's questions. The longer he spoke, the more questions Isabella would ask, and that risked leaking sensitive information.

"I apologize, Ma'am. I can't say anything more." Without waiting for a reply, Martin immediately disconnected the call.

Martin immediately went back to Jessica, who was still in the doctors' lounge.

"Jessica," Martin said flat-out. "Isabella called. She's worried. She'll probably try to find Nicholas. We can't let her come here."

Jessica sighed. "That absolutely cannot happen. If Isabella comes to this military hospital, she'll see Nicholas's true condition. Nicholas's identity as the God of War will be exposed, and we can't jeopardize Nicholas and his mission."

"What do we do?"

Jessica thought quickly. "We don't have much time. Assemble a special team. We're transferring Nicholas to a private hospital. Find one with the strictest security and the most ability to maintain confidentiality. Keep him away from anyone who might investigate."

Martin nodded decisively. "Consider it done!" He immediately contacted his security team, giving clear instructions to prepare for a clandestine transfer. He also reached out to his intelligence network to find a private hospital that met the criteria.

In less than half an hour, a special team arrived. They wore civilian paramedic uniforms. An ambulance was also waiting in the back area of the hospital.

Nicholas, still unconscious, was transferred from the intensive care unit.

"Take good care of him, Martin," Jessica said, looking at Martin, who was also overseeing Nicholas's transfer. "His life is in your hands."

Martin nodded, his gaze sharp. "I'll protect him with my life."

Nicholas was carefully placed inside the ambulance. Martin got in too, taking a seat beside the gurney. The ambulance doors closed tightly, and the vehicle drove away slowly, leaving the military hospital complex.

...

Nicholas now lay in an isolated private hospital room, far from public reach.

Jessica entered the room, her gaze immediately falling on Nicholas. Then she turned to Martin.

"Martin, you've ensured the security is extremely tight, right?" Jessica asked.

"Yes, Jessica. No one can enter here without your direct approval. I personally supervised the installation of all cameras and sensors," Martin replied, nodding confidently. "Even the hospital staff are restricted."

"You can go now," Jessica said. "Isabella will be here soon. I don't want her to see you or all this tight security."

"Got it." Martin nodded. He turned and left. The door to the room automatically closed.

Jessica pulled a chair up next to Nicholas's bed. She sat down, gazing at Nicholas's serene but pale face. Her eyes remained fixed on the monitor displaying his heart rate and other vital parameters. Several minutes passed in tense silence. Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor.

The room door opened slightly, and Isabella appeared.

"Nicholas! What happened?!" Isabella's eyes widened at the sight of her husband's condition.

Jessica immediately stood, blocking Isabella's path. "Calm down, Isabella. He's inside, but you can't go in yet."

"What? Why not? He's my husband! I *have* to see him! Why are you stopping me?!" Isabella looked at Jessica in disbelief.

"His condition is still very critical," Jessica explained, emotionlessly. "He hasn't regained consciousness."

Isabella's face instantly paled. Her hands trembled, and she covered her mouth. "Critical? No way. What happened to him?"

"That's what we're going to find out," Jessica said, firmly. She led Isabella to a sofa in the corner of the room. "Sit down for a moment, Isabella. I need you to calm down. Panic isn't going to help anyone. I need every detail you remember. What exactly happened last night?"

Isabella sat. "We just had dinner. That's all. Nothing weird. Nicholas was fine." She tried to steady her breathing. "Then, suddenly there was an attack. I don't know where it came from."

"Where did you have dinner?" Jessica asked, her gaze sharpening.

Isabella went into too much detail explaining where they had dinner and the whole situation at the time.

Jessica observed Isabella carefully. "Isabella, I want you to get a blood test."

Isabella was surprised. "A blood test?"

"It's possible you were given something too," Jessica speculated. "There's a chance your food also contained the same poison Nicholas ingested."

Isabella's eyes widened. "Poison? No, that can't be!"

"We can't take any chances," Jessica asserted. "A blood test will help us rule out that possibility and might give us some clues. I'll ask a nurse to take your blood sample right away."

Isabella still looked shocked, but she didn't argue. "Alright. I'll do the blood test."

Jessica glanced at her, then rose from the sofa. "I'll have a nurse come in. I have to go now; there's something I need to do. Once your blood test is done, I'll have Martin send you home with an escort. You need to rest. He'll make sure you're safe."

Jessica didn't wait for Isabella's reply. She quickly stepped out of the room. As the door closed behind her, she pulled out her phone and called Martin.

"Martin, listen to me very carefully," Jessica commanded. "Investigate the restaurant. Immediately. Check all CCTV footage, staff, even their food and drink inventory from the night of the incident. I'm sure someone put poison in Nicholas's food. Find out who did this and who gave them the order!"