Chapter 9 - The Chemistry of Survival
Olivia grabbed a heavy fire extinguisher from the wall.
She swung it violently against the padlock of the veterinary supply door.
The lock shattered, and she kicked the heavy metal door open.
The room was filled with bulk chemicals used for treating large guard dogs and racehorses.
"Are you insane?" Leo asked, following her inside.
"You cannot give him dog medicine."
"Chemistry is chemistry," Olivia fired back, grabbing a large bottle of industrial saline.
She found a sealed box of veterinary-grade antibiotics and antipyretics.
The active ingredients were exactly the same as human medications, only formulated in massive, dangerous concentrations.
"I have to calculate the conversion ratios in my head," Olivia muttered.
"If I am off by a single milligram, I will fry his liver instantly."
She grabbed a sterile mixing bag and began drawing the chemicals with a large syringe.
She closed her eyes, remembering her pharmacology textbooks and the complex mathematical equations.
She worked with furious precision, creating a custom intravenous cocktail.
She carried the bag back to the surgical room and connected it to Vincent's central line.
Leo stood in the corner, his hands folded across his chest in silent prayer.
Ten minutes passed like ten hours.
Vincent's violent seizures slowly subsided.
The bright red flush of the dangerous fever began to fade from his skin.
His breathing deepened into a natural, restful rhythm.
Olivia collapsed into a rolling chair, completely drained of all physical and mental energy.
She had done the impossible.
She had stabilized the most dangerous man in the city using horse medicine.
Leo placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"You saved his life twice tonight," Leo said quietly.
"Your father's debt is entirely forgiven."
Leo walked over to the small television mounted on the clinic wall and turned on the local news.
A breaking news banner flashed across the bottom of the screen.
The Costa estate was engulfed in massive, towering flames.
A man in an expensive suit was giving a press conference outside the burning gates.
The news anchor identified him as the legitimate new owner of the property.
Olivia stared at the screen, her heart stopping completely in her chest.
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The man smiling on the television was Jimmy Hayes.
It was her dead father.
