"You are a lucky man. The ax chopped through skin, muscle, and gristle, but it did not damage any vital organs." The doctor swabbed the clean edges of the wound with an antiseptic, then began stitching shut the wound. Cali flinched as the needle pierced the skin and the doctor said, "You really should go to a hospital."
"Will I die, if I do not?" Cali examined the fissure with a mirror. He had seen worst.
"No, but it will leave an ugly scar."
"I have a few others." Cali touched the white line on his cheek.
"Those are a beauty marks in comparison." The doctor tugged the needle through a tough section of skin and knotted the thread. "This will hurt a little. Are you sure you don't want any painkillers?"
"No, it only hurts, when I breathe." Hurt was an understatement, as the doctor stitched up the final centimeters of the wound. Some morphine would be nice, except any lapse of awareness could cost him his life, for while SS Tommy was safely deposited at the bottom of the Elbe, the dead man still had friends dedicated to revenge and Cali needed to stay awake, if he wanted to see tomorrow.
The doctor gave Cali a shot of tetracycline and asked, "Have you ever thought about changing your profession."
"Yes, I'm thinking about becoming a doctor. After all I've been through, I think some of your skill is sticking to me." Cali reached for his shirt.
"Joke all you want, Cali. It's your life." The doctor packed his bag. "If you start running a temperature, call me. While whoever did that might want you dead, I do not like patients dying on me. Stay off your feet and for God's sake, stay away from the Reeperbahn for a few days."
"For once in my life, I will obey your command."
Cali let the doctor triage over to Vanessa. After a quick examination the doctor announced that she was in the first stages of anorexia, but would not suffer any permanent damage. He advised she begin eating rice and broth before trying solids. Cali had not explained any of the particulars of her starvation regime and the doctor asked none, having attended to the pimp's various wounds over the past five years and understanding sometimes it's better to know nothing.
After the doctor left, Cali stood up stiffly. The agony would lessen to an ache, while the wound would scab over and itch. He had experienced this before, but hopefully for the last time. He opened the terrace windows and stepped outside. The rain had stopped and a few stars speckled the sky between the clouds scuttling from the south. Summer had come back to town.
Happy talk climbed from the cafes of Milchstrasse. The people at the tables were having a good night and some might go to the Malchek later for drinks, drugs, dancing, talk, then go home pleased with the evening. Few would care about the owner's death, because there was always someone ready to take his place in the night.
Cali counted the dead.
Four and he was severely wounded. Petra had gone berserk. Vanessa was shell-shocked. Lukas could not have anticipated the stress from the failed money transfer would implode Kurt's heart, but ignorance would not save him from Cali's vengeance. He would strangle the warped aristocrat with his bare hands and his telling where the embezzled money was would not delay his death.
The only other problems facing Cali were the American's bringing him the money and Petra's being on the prowl. Sean would never leave town without her and she would not go, unless she paid Cali back what she owed him. It was only a matter of time, till one or both of them showed up.
In the meanwhile he could only wait and that was easier than it looked for a man in his condition.
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