Karma's Bite

“Put your hands up where I can see them, or the kid dies,” the robber barked, one hand securely wrapped around his chosen hostage, eyes darted around the room. His clothes were filthy and unwashed, his hair hanging in greasy strands past his shoulders.

I hadn’t thought anything of it when he’d wandered into my clinic. Most of my clients were from the less well-off side of town and came in a wide variety of conditions. Now, staring into the terrified eyes of my favorite patient, regret burned through me at my lack of security.

Anna squirmed in the man’s hold, the knife he’d snuck into the clinic now pressed close–too close–to her throat. He hadn’t broken skin yet, but it was only a matter of time with how erratically he was swinging her around.

Panic welled up inside me, but I shoved it aside before it could gain ground. Now wasn’t the time for that. Anna needed me to be calm, collected, and steady. Carefully lifting my hands, palms up, I soothed, “Easy friend, no reason to do anything rash. I’m listening.”

He scoffed, but his grip loosened a hair. “Shut up, pretty boy. What are you, a cop?”

I was still wearing my scrubs, and he’d broken into my clinic. Even drugged out of his mind, it was hard to believe he couldn’t put the pieces together.

No other doctors set up their practices on this side of town either. They knew there were no patients that could pay them here. That's why I’d picked this area to set up shop. Children should never be sick from curable diseases because their parents couldn’t afford the medicine.

Despite all that, he still didn’t know who I was? Shaking aside my surprise, I focused on Anna. Her breathing was picking up, a warning sign I knew too well. She needed her inhaler. Usually, her father had one, but he’d left to go to a job interview while I watched Anna. The poor guy had been ready to have a full breakdown when he finally heard back from the job he'd been hoping for, only to not have a sitter at the last minute. Now, his lack of a sitter was the least of all our concerns…

I had an inhaler she could use, but first, I needed to get her away from that idiot.

Keeping my hands in clear sight, I answered, “I'm a doctor, actually, and that little girl you're holding is a patient of mine. She has severe asthma, and by the looks of it, she needs her inhaler.”

As if to back up my statement, her breathing became labored, the sucking gasps sinking hooks into my chest and pulling. I hadn’t heard her sound this bad since I first met her…

“I don’t like it when I can’t breathe. It’s scary.” Anna sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her father gently stroking her back as the girl scrubbed away the tears on her cheeks. They were new walk-ins, an emergency visit after Anna had broken out in an asthma attack a few blocks over.

I’d managed to get her an inhaler in time to avoid any lasting damage, but it was still terrifying, especially for a child like her. She was hardly eight, too young to scrape against death like that.

Her father was visibly shaken, his copper skin pale and drawn, a haunted edge in his brown eyes. He hadn’t looked away from the miniature version of himself since Anna started breathing regularly. Not that I could blame him. I didn’t have kids, but to see one in such a predicament while unable to do anything?

It must have been hell.

Kneeling to be at the girl’s height, I smiled. “You’re absolutely right that it’s scary, but I’m going to give your daddy something to use whenever that happens. You won’t have to feel that again, okay?”

She sniffed and held out her pinky. “Promise?”

I linked mine with hers and nodded. “Promise. Now then, if it’s alright with your dad, I'd say you’ve earned a lollipop.”

The robber jerked sideways, dragging Anna with him when she didn’t quiet down. The memory fell aside, and I tensed, grinding my teeth against the anger burning hot in my veins at her rough treatment.

I couldn’t lose my temper, not here. She’d been through too much to lose her life to some drug-addicted thug. Hauling my frenzied emotions under control, I tried to cut in before he did any more damage.

“Sir, if you keep doing that, you’ll kill her. Let’s bring this into the backroom, and we can discuss-.”

He stopped dragging her, thankfully, but his teeth bared in a snarl as he shook his head, holding her tighter against him. “She ain't going anywhere until I've got what I want!”

She let out a hiccupping sob, and my temper frayed. “If she doesn't get help, she'll be dead, and you'll be charged with her murder.” My tone was icy and sharp as the knife he wielded. Something about it must have cut through his drug-addled stupor because he hesitated, eyes narrowing.

Seeing the brief indecision, I jumped on it and prayed that I wasn’t making a huge mistake. “Murder of a child will land you in prison for life. You’re just here for drugs, right? I’ll give them to you without all that fuss. Let her go, and we’ll go to my office where they’re stored.”

I didn’t have most of what he’d be looking for, but I’d burn that bridge when I got there. Right now, I needed to get Anna away from him. Her breathing was almost frantic, the wheeze to her lungs dragging against my heart like glass. I didn’t have much time now.

His face twisted into a mask of rage. “You can't tell me to do shit!” The knife dug into Anna’s neck as if to prove that, and I swallowed the bile trying to force its way up my throat. He was right. I wasn’t a cop, I wasn’t even trained in any kind of martial arts.

I couldn’t do anything, except try to make sure that little girl went home with her father. Even if it cost me my life, I would manage that.