Clean Cut Read Free

damage. So, you want it straight?’
    Anna nodded; he was so calm and easygoing, she felt relaxed. She noticed that both Lewis and Barolli were calmer, too.
    ‘Okay. We have two ferocious machete wounds–one to the chest, and one to the front of the left thigh. Theone to his chest sliced through his ribs, just above his nipple, thankfully avoiding, by some miracle, his heart.’
    Huntingdon had a clipboard; he flipped over a couple of pages until he found one blank, and took out a felt-tip pen. ‘Okay,’ he said, rapidly sketching, ‘this is the chest and lung area: his right lung is incised, and so are some of the blood vessels. This has caused a haemopneumothorax, which makes breathing very difficult, and that’s why he’s been on a ventilator since he was admitted. This situation can be fatal. One of the reasons we are keeping him in the ICU is to avoid any kind of possible contamination; if he were to get pneumonia, I doubt he’d have the strength to combat it.’
    Huntingdon looked at his cell phone, on silent; he clicked the caller onto his voicemail and then returned it to his pocket. ‘Sorry about that. Okay, I have no wish to sound such a doom courier, but you wanted it straight. Mr Langton lost a lot of blood, so he needed transfusions; he also had to have his chest drained. All this, combined with his leg injury…It’s really very serious. The wound to his leg has affected the joint. He will need an operation but, due to the chest injury, we’ve got that on hold for the time being. The most important thing right now is we keep him clear of infection. Knee joints are buggers, and he’ll be in a lot of pain, but now for the good news: he’s one hell of a fighter and he is right now holding his own, so all I can say is: keep your fingers crossed.’
    He smiled and flipped the pages back over to cover his drawing. ‘You were lucky to have him brought here. We’ve got a great team working on him. I’m one of the best around!’
    Huntingdon stood up and shook their hands. His cellphone must have trembled again in his pocket; he took it out as he walked off down the corridor.
    They remained silent for a moment. Then Anna stood up too.
    ‘He’s going to make it, I know. I liked that doctor a lot.’
    ‘Me too,’ said Lewis.
    Barolli remained sitting, looking at the floor. ‘Yeah, but that’s his career down the tubes. He’s never going to be able to get back to work.’
    Anna turned on him angrily. ‘Yes, he will, and don’t even go there. He’s going to be working and he won’t need any kind of negative response; we keep his spirits up when we are allowed in to see him. Agreed?’
    They all nodded, but there was a very uneasy feeling between them. They each, in their own way, adored their Gov. It was just unthinkable that he would not pull through.
    SIX WEEKS LATER
    It had been six frustrating weeks with still no result. Anna had been given special leave, and she had spent the time visiting Langton daily. There had been emotional moments that she had found difficult to deal with, not just because of her relationship with Langton: it brought back memories of visiting her beloved father when he was dying of cancer. They were similar in many respects, both such fighters, but her father was resigned to his death and, by the end, wanted to go quietly and peacefully. They had been so close; his love for her and his constant encouragement never faltered, and she adored him. There was never any need for any kind of reproach.His intention was that she should be strong when he had gone. He worried that she would be on her own, but she assured him he had given her a backbone like his; she would be able to cope with life without him. He asked often if she was lonely; she had always insisted that she had lots of friends and had made many new ones at the Academy. This was not actually the truth; she did not have many close female friends and had no boyfriend at the time. Her father had died peacefully,