Gather the Sentient Read Online Free Page B

home.”
    “NO!” he screamed at her, “you’re in it with them!  All of you together!  You’re all trying to kill me but I won’t let you!”
    Jose immediately wished there was another man in the room.  He knew with Unger’s help he could restrain Kirk, but the adrenaline surging through the kid’s veins made him unpredictable.  There was no telling what he would do if they provoked him further.
    Unger turned to Vanessa.  “Has security been called?”
    She appeared poised, but did not take her eyes off the boy.  “Yes, of course, but someone said they were outside dealing with a fight in the parking lot.  Who knows when we’ll see them.”
    Kirk’s eyes darted around the room and Jose sensed he was planning to make his escape.  Lives would be in jeopardy if he was allowed to leave the room and there was no telling what type of chaos would ensue.  He took a step closer to the teen.
    “Hey, border bandit,” Kirk sneered.  “Stay away from me.  I’ll kill you if I have to!  Nobody will care if there’s one less Sanchez in the world!”
    The words sliced a nick in Jose’s composure – no one ever cared he was a fourth generation American of legal descent, but it wasn’t enough to provoke him into action prematurely.  He ventured another step forward with Unger by his side.
    “Ready?” Unger whispered.
    “Yeah,” he replied.
    The men tackled the boy in one fluid motion, Unger on his left side and Jose on his right, pinning him against the wall.  Vanessa fumbled for a set of zip tie cuffs in the bottom drawer of a cabinet as Kirk wrestled to free himself.  Once she found them, she ran to Unger who quickly strapped his left hand into the tie while Jose continued to restrain Kirk as best he could, cautious of the scissors which were dangerously close to his body.
    “Get off me, Chalupa!” Kirk spat as he thrashed his head in sheer defiance.  “I’ll kill you, I swear it!”
    After securing the boy’s left hand, Unger slid behind him in an attempt to reach his other side, but as he lessened his grip, Kirk seized the opportunity to lunge forward, stabbing the scissors into Jose’s thigh.  He cried out but didn’t release the boy, jamming his shoulder securely into his chest.  Within seconds, Unger slipped the tie over Kirk’s right hand and pulled tightly on the restraint, forcing him to the ground.
    “Oh my God, Jose,” Gloria cried out, noticing the blood pooling in a ring on his scrubs.
    He brought his hand to the wound, testing to see how deeply he’d been pierced.  “It’s nothing,” he replied, as she hurried to his side.  “I don’t think it even needs stitches.”
    Security arrived as the police were being called and Gloria led Jose into an adjacent room to look at his injury. 
    “Seriously, it’s fine.  I’ll just change my pants and put on a Band-Aid,” he said.
    Gloria slipped on a pair of latex gloves.  “Nonsense,” she replied as she carefully began cutting a hole in his pants to expose the wound.  “Just let me make sure that little punk didn’t do any serious harm.”
    He allowed her to examine him as it gave her peace of mind, but he knew there would be no lasting damage.  As she cleaned and dressed the puncture, prattling on about how they didn’t get paid enough to deal with crazy people, he allowed his mind to wander to the new ICU patients.  It was always hard when he had to make a choice and tonight he could only choose one person on the floor.  To choose more than one would be far too risky.  He couldn’t chance exposing his intent.  By the time Gloria finished, he’d weighed all his options and made his decision.  He hoped it was the right one.
    The police were escorting a subdued and restrained Kirk out of the ER as Jose sought out Vanessa to tell her he was going on his break.  He slipped unnoticed through the lobby to where the elevators carried him back to the second floor.
    It was still peaceful there as he crept down the