Page 60 of Mercy Written in Blood

Reina understood what he was doing.

"Enough."

"Minamoto?"

"Alive."

"Good."

His eyes closed. Reina squeezed his hand hard enough to hurt.

"Haruki."

The ambulance doors opened. White light flooded the interior. Voices surrounded him.

"Multiple penetrating wounds."

"Pressure seventy over forty."

"Possible internal bleeding."

"Mass casualty incident from the southern tunnel network."

The trolley moved. Cold air gave way to the sterile heat of the emergency department. Haruki saw masked faces above him — blue scrubs, bright lights, hands reaching. Then a man stepped into view at the head of the bed. Dark hair. Calm eyes. A voice that cut through the chaos without rising.

"I'm Dr Takahara."

The name struck somewhere beneath Haruki's fading awareness. Takahara. The journal. The white lotus. He tried to speak. The doctor leaned closer.

"What happened in the tunnels?"

Haruki looked at him. For one impossible second, the painted lotus filled his mind.

Then the darkness took him.

Chapter Six

Emergency Department

The first thing Renji noticed about the man from the tunnels was the blood. Not the amount — he had seen more. It was the pattern. One deep penetrating wound below the ribs. Another through the upper arm. A long laceration across the back. Bruising along the jaw and temple. Dust ground into the skin of his hands and face. These were not random injuries. Someone had tried to kill him. More than once.

"Transfer on three," Renji said. "One, two, three."

The trauma team moved Haruki Ishida from the ambulance trolley onto the bed. The name had arrived ahead of him. So had the warnings — head of the Ishida Family, high-profile patient, security concerns, potential press interest. Renji discarded all of it the moment the man crossed the threshold. In the emergency department, status was useful only when establishing next of kin. Blood pressure did not improve for authority. Haemorrhage did not pause for reputation.

"Pressure seventy-four over forty," Aoi called.

"Heart rate one thirty-eight."

"Two large-bore lines. Full trauma panel, cross-match six units.Activate massive transfusion."

"Already activated."

Akiko moved to the head of the bed.

"GCS ten. He was talking in the ambulance before he deteriorated."

"Airway?"