Page 40 of Hollow State

By the time he made it to the garage area, his entire foot ached and throbbed, but he didn't care.

Gideon leaned against the cement wall with a tablet in his hands. "Six minutes."

"What?"

"Off their last ping. At the speed they were making through the cut-line, maybe only four if Zadie drives like Zadie." Gideon twisted the tablet so Darwin could see. "Have you ever been in an SxS with Zadie? She thinks she's driving a sports car around Daytona. It's terrifying."

"Somehow, I think you like that about her."

"I like everything about her." Gideon smiled. "I'd give up the world for her, including windows."

"Do you have something to say to me?" Darwin leaned on the hood of one of the SxSs and folded his arms. "Because that sounded like it had a hidden message."

"Wow, you heard that. Impressive." Gideon tapped the screen. "It's time for the two of you to just embrace what's happening." He moved toward the end of the tunnel. "They're here."

He pressed the button, and the garage door rattled as it opened. Seconds later, the engine noise filled the space as two SxSs rolled into the bunker.

Coulter's vehicle entered first, water still dripping off the roll cage. Zadie's followed hard and fast, sliding the last two meters on the smooth concrete.

Darwin raced to the side of the vehicle. "Hey you." Reaching inside, he pressed the release on Wynn’s harness.

She turned her head.

"I'm glad to see you," she said.

"Not sure you're going to be saying that when I dig into your leg."

"You might be right about that." She palmed his cheek. "And you know I'm better at stitching people up. I leave less of a scar."

"That you do." He got two fingers behind her ankle and hunted the posterior tibial pulse under cold skin. Weak. But there. "You’ve lost more blood than I thought." He turned. "Hey Coulter, I'm gonna need your help."

"Name it."

"Help me get her on the gurney," Darwin said.

"Sure thing." Coulter stepped in beside Darwin.

"Under the shoulders and under the knees. Keep that right leg straight, and don't let it swing. Nobody touches the tourniquet." Darwin got a hand behind her neck as Coulter took the weight. "I've got the OR prepped. We'll take her there. I'll need one person to assist with the removal of the bullet."

"I'd like to, if that's okay?" Zadie shifted to the front of the vehicle with dried blood on both hands and her sleeve torn open to the elbow. "I've got field trauma experience. Not much. I'll do exactly what you tell me, and I won't ask questions."

"Works for me," Darwin said as he and Coulter gently placed Wynn on the gurney. "You'll need to wash your hands in hot water, use the brush, and put gloves on, and⁠—"

"I know the drill."

He let Coulter push as they made their way carefully to the OR. Wynn didn't say a word. Every once in a while, her eyes fluttered, and she caught Darwin's gaze, but that was it.

"Help me get her on the table," Darwin said.

Coulter did as asked. "Do you need anything else?"

"We're good. You can wait outside." Darwin cut off her pants and covered her upper body. He found a vein, started a peripheral IV, and then started two liters of warm crystalloid running wide open through the sixteen gauge in her left arm. TXA in over ten minutes. The first unit was spiked into the warmer line and pressure-infused. The second the blood went in, her vitals started improving. Her pulse went from one-twenty-two down to one-fourteen and landed on one-oh-nine. Her pressure came up off the floor and began climbing.

"How ya doing, sweetheart?" He glanced between the covered wound and Wynn.

"You've never called me anything like that before."

"I haven't?" He gave her a weak smile, placing his hand over her forehead and running his thumb across her brow. "We should change that, but this probably isn't the right time. Right now, I need to see if the bleeding has stopped, okay?"