THE MAFIA DOCTOR

It’s nighttime on a protocol road in a small town in southern Italy. The traffic situation is chaotic as all the vehicles, which had been using the road equally, rush to the left and right sides, leaving the center lane empty.

There was panic as several men dressed all in black with matching colored glasses were seen removing half of their bodies from the glass of their car doors to shout at road users who had not realized the presence of their car behind them.

The men also did not hesitate to fire their guns into the sky. 

The situation lasted until the car with the armed passengers stopped at a city public hospital.

"Get out of the way or I'll crack your heads off one by one!" snapped a man holding a firearm and pointing it at everyone in his path.

"Get a doctor over here! Hurry!" said another man with the same appearance who was seen hurriedly carrying the bloodied man on his back.

"Doctor! Doctor! Where's the doctor?! Hurry up or I'll kill everyone here!" snapped the first man as he pulled the trigger of his firearm and 'Bang!' the gun went off into the ceiling of the emergency room, shattering a light bulb.

One of the nurses, frightened by this, grabbed the receiver and dialed someone with shaking hands.

The gunman saw the nurse's agitation. He walked up to her at a brisk pace.

"Hey, you. Don't you understand what I'm saying, huh?! You really are a brave woman. We're not in the mood to play with the police right now. We need a doctor to treat us, aren't you listening to me?!" said the furious gunman, pointing his gun right at the nurse's forehead.

"Be polite and put your gun down if you want to help your friend!" said someone from behind in a white robe.

A young, handsome man in medical robes with the tag name ‘Dr Ivo Brizzi’ walked over calmly and held the armed man's arm carefully with a smile.

"Doctor Ivo, help us..." a soft call came from another nurse near the young doctor.

"Oh, so you're the doctor? Come, come with me and help my father," the gunman directed at Doctor Ivo and immediately grabbed Ivo's hand.

"You're criminals," Ivo responded after seeing many men dressed in the same clothes covered in blood, plus a very weak-looking man, who he felt was the boss of the group.

"If you already know and want to help me, then hurry up, young man. I can't linger in this place," the middle-aged man said breathlessly.

‘’Dad, calm down. Don't talk too much, or your body will weaken!" said the man who had yelled at Ivo earlier.

"Alright, sir, I'll check you first," Ivo replied and then started to touch the boss man's body, "The bullet wound is deep. He needs to be treated immediately!" muttered Ivo after seeing what the problem was.

"You can heal our boss. Because I don't take no for an answer!" said the other gunman in a tone that wasn't lowered to Ivo.

"Do I still have a choice? So you and your other friends please keep quiet, if you want your boss to survive. Otherwise, maybe in half an hour, the grim reaper will pick up his dinner," Ivo replied, not to be outdone.

"Who are you to tell us to leave, huh?! Could you do it now, and hurry up? No one will get out of here, because we don't trust any of you!" snapped the man, still holding the gun.

Then he pointed the gun right in front of Ivo's face.

"I don't like being pointed at. Do you think this is polite to do, brandishing a weapon like this?" Although Ivo was a little scared, he had to hide his weakness calmly. "Do you want your boss alive or dead? It's all your decision. You may be the ruler out there, but in this unit, I'm the one who rules everything."

"Follow my rules or your boss will die!" Ivo turned the man's harsh words around.

"Bloody doctor! Hurry up and don't make any mistakes, or your eyes will see the corpses of your colleagues lying here!" threatened the gunman. However, he finally agreed with Ivo's words, although his response was insulting.

"Sam, send them all out. Let the wounded stay inside and give them treatment, and the others, call the surgeon's office to prepare. Don't let the grim reaper come early or we'll die with this guy!" Ivo said with some stern words to the colleagues and nurses in the unit.

Everyone was rushing around and running a bit, as they didn't want to waste time.

While waiting for the operating room to be set up, Ivo tried to suppress the blood flowing from the gunshot wound near the heart of the man the mafia thought was their boss. Meanwhile, his fellow doctors were treating the other injured mobsters.

"Doctor Ivo, the surgical room has been prepared. You can operate on the patient now!" said the nurse who had just received the call from the operating room.

"Good. Let's get to work tonight," Ivo said with a smile as he looked at the mafia boss's pale face. "Hang in there and don't give up. Otherwise, my partner is in danger, and I'm not ready to die," Ivo told the mob boss.

Inside the operating room, Ivo began his profound work on the severe gunshot wound on the man lying in front of him. Detail by detail, Ivo worked slowly but surely.

Time seemed to slow down to two in the morning when the light above the operating room door went out, signaling the end of the operation.

Ivo came out of the operating room looking tired. Some of the mafia men approached Ivo with worried, questioning faces.

"The bullet removal operation has been completed. The patient has passed the critical period. Wait until tomorrow morning when he regains consciousness, and tonight let the patient rest!" Ivo said with an exhausted sigh.

He was so tired that he walked away, leaving behind the mafia men, who were not even satisfied when asked about their boss' condition.

"You investigate who that arrogant doctor is. We don't have much time here," one of the criminals said to his partner while watching Ivo walk away.