360-362

Chapter 360: Who’s Dr. Clive? 

Ring ring. 

The phone chimed.  

Adam swallowed his latest rant about Alex’s relentless self-sabotage and picked up the call.  

“Leonard?”  

“Adam, tomorrow’s Saturday—got any plans to kick back?” Leonard’s voice hinted at something over the line.  

“Oh, really?” Adam’s lips quirked up as he played dumb. “Time flies, huh? Been so slammed I forgot. Nah, I’m working tomorrow. What’s up?”  

“…”  

Silence from the other end. Even through the phone, Adam could feel Leonard’s mood sour.  

“Hahaha!” Adam couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. “Relax, man, I’ve got it covered. Sunday’s the day—I’ll swing by then.”  

“Heh heh heh.” Leonard’s grumpy vibe melted away, replaced by a goofy chuckle.  

“Just so we’re clear,” Adam warned, “I’m only setting you up with the chance. I’ll introduce you, then I’m out. The rest is all on you.”  

“What?!” Leonard yelped. “You’re leaving me alone with her?”  

“Of course you’re on your own,” Adam shot back. “What, you want me sitting there holding your hand? If it works out, whose win is it—yours or mine?”  

“Uh…” Leonard hesitated, clearly torn.  

He knew Adam was right. But facing his second-favorite goddess solo? The guy barely had the guts to talk to girls, period.  

“How about… it’s your win?” Leonard mumbled, half-serious, half-whiny.  

“…” Adam’s mouth twitched. “You sure about that?”  

“Yeah,” Leonard said, calculating. “You’ve got Dr. Adler already. You’ll ditch Dr. Plimpton eventually anyway.”  

“So you’re ready to swoop in and pick up the pieces?” Adam asked, floored.  

“No, no!” Leonard backpedaled fast. “I just meant, as a friend, I’d be there to… you know, console her.”  

“Not swooping in, huh?” Adam probed. “Good, ‘cause I wasn’t planning on anything more than friendship with Plimpton anyway. She won’t need your shoulder to cry on.”  

Dead air on the line again. Adam’s mouth twitched—Leonard’s disappointment was practically oozing through the phone.  

Not swooping in, my foot! Adam thought, stunned. But then again, this was peak Leonard. Chasing Penny, he’d watched her hook up with guy after guy, never giving up, and still landed her in the end.  

From Adam’s perspective, it was mind-blowing. But in the Western lens? Leonard’s move wasn’t even that wild. How many TV shows had leading ladies with a mile-long list of exes, yet the hero still fought tooth and nail to win her? Leonard, with his shaky confidence, probably thought tagging along behind Adam to play cleanup was some genius shortcut—especially since Adam’s taste was top-tier.  

“This guy!” Adam’s face darkened.  

Leonard might not care, but Adam sure did. No way he’d vibe with a friend poised to swoop in on his leftovers.  

“Two options,” Adam said firmly. “Drop it, or go after her yourself. Don’t even think about playing the rebound guy—I hate that crap from friends.”  

“Adam, I didn’t mean it like that!” Leonard panicked, hearing the edge in Adam’s voice.  

It’d just been a fleeting thought—he’d never risk ticking off his proudest, best bud over it.  

“I swear, I didn’t! Let’s just hang out with Dr. Plimpton together. That’s enough for me,” Leonard rushed to say.  

“If you’re into her, chase her yourself,” Adam softened his tone. “We’re buds, but we’re not gonna be those kinds of wingmen who muddy up the friendship. Got it?”  

“Got it,” Leonard nodded like a bobblehead.  

“Cool. See you Sunday, then.” Adam hung up.  

“What’s with all the staring?” he asked, smirking as he glanced around at the gang.  

“‘Good friends can’t be on the same path’? Why do you have to make it sound so gross?” Meredith snapped, clearly annoyed. “What do you take us women for?”  

“Yeah!” Liz piled on. “We’re people with feelings, not tools! Women don’t belong to anyone. Why can’t a woman who’s been close to you end up with your friend?”  

“Chauvinist!” Cristina added, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  

And just like that, the three of them ganged up on Adam.  

“See you tomorrow,” he said, tossing out the words and bailing. No point in arguing—they’d never see it his way.  

Next Day  

No big surgeries at Green Clinic, so Adam hit up the ER instead. Susan was stitching up a homeless guy’s head wound when he walked in.  

“Adam, perfect timing,” she said. “We’ve got a guy who swallowed keys. Go fish ‘em out.”  

“On it,” Adam replied, heading over.  

“What’s the deal?” he asked, spotting a young couple. The guy was gagging, mouth open, while the woman glared daggers at him.  

“He swallowed my car keys,” she said.  

“Didn’t want her to leave,” the guy said, looking smug despite the discomfort.  

“Didn’t want me to leave?!” she exploded. “Where were you earlier?! I’m done with you—swallowing keys won’t keep me here. Swallow the whole car for all I care—I’m not coming back!”  

“Let’s get an X-ray first,” Adam cut in. He wasn’t here for their soap opera.  

With Adam on the case, the X-ray tech bumped them to the front of the line—shot and printed on the spot. The film showed the keys lodged in the guy’s esophagus.  

“I’m gonna use an endoscope to pull them out, Mr. JP,” Adam explained, noting the treatment plan. He paused, feeling a weird twinge at the name. JP—flip his old initials, PJ, and you’ve still got bathroom vibes either way.  

The endoscope was a thin tube with a tiny camera and magnet. Adam had JP lie down, slid the tube through his mouth, past the throat, and onto the screen. The keys popped up clear as day—one quick pull, and they’d be out.  

Alex, mid-rectal exam nearby, wandered over and smirked. “We’re not so different, you and me.”  

Adam ignored him, focusing on easing the keys out.  

Outside  

“Who’s Dr. Clive?” a low, gravelly voice asked.  

“I am,” Alex said, peeling his eyes off Adam and turning with a hand raised, flashing his brightest grin.  

“Alex Clive?” the voice pressed.  

Adam’s eyelid twitched, alarm bells blaring in his head.  

BANG! 

A gunshot rang out.  

Time slowed to a crawl. Adam watched the bullet streak through the air. Alex’s smile froze, his eyes wide with terror, mouth still shaped around “That’s me…”  

Chapter 361: Well, You’re Having a Blast Now, Huh? 

Medical Center. 

Emergency Room.  

A gunshot rang out.  

“Holy shit!”  

In a world slowed to a crawl, Adam’s mind was buzzing like crazy.  

“Here it is, here it is—I knew it. Happy America, gunfights every day. Nine years since I crossed over, and I’ve barely seen a handful. Almost thought it was all hype.  

The target? Alex.  

The shooter triple-checked before pulling the trigger. Looks like a personal grudge, not some nutjob playing real-life Call of Duty.”  

Adam couldn’t help but feel a tiny wave of relief. If this was like that terrifying video he’d seen in his past life, even he’d be in danger. Chicago typewriter-level firepower? No amount of foresight would save you. Dodge one bullet, sure—but a whole storm of them?  

Relief aside, the bullet was still flying. Adam’s brain kicked into gear again. “What kind of grudge escalates to straight-up shooting?”  

He wasn’t that shocked, though. With Alex’s track record—insulting patients, nearly killing them—getting shot wasn’t exactly a stretch. It was bound to happen eventually.  

But he’d only been an intern for a couple of months. The two patients he almost screwed over? Liz and Adam saved them both. They’re still kicking, so the odds of this being some over-the-top revenge for that were slim.  

The giant-tumor girl he’d called a disgusting freak who deserved it? She was too insecure to even report him, and her mom was a spineless pushover—no way they’d go this hard.  

The old guy he told should’ve died already, whose condition Alex worsened? Now that could be it. Maybe the guy passed away by now, and a family member heard something, snapped, and went full-on revenge mode. That tracks.  

“Wait, hold up.”  

Adam suddenly clocked the bullet’s trajectory. Something was off. Normally, you’d aim for the chest—big target, easy hit, plus the heart’s a kill shot. But this bullet was way lower. In a flash, he calculated it: the shooter was aiming for Alex’s, uh, fifth limb.  

“Oh, right—last night he hooked up with that hot older woman.”  

It all clicked for Adam. The revenge vibe was screaming loud and clear.  

Right then, he yanked the bronchoscope faster, pulling it out just as Alex screamed. He barely managed to suck a key out of patient JP’s mouth in the nick of time.  

“Ahh!”  

Alex let out a howl as the bullet’s force knocked him back into the ward door, crashing through into the room.  

“Shit!”  

Adam cursed under his breath, dragging JP and his shell-shocked girlfriend to a corner away from the door. He yanked over the bronchoscope monitor’s metal stand and some other cabinets to shield them. Sure, he figured it was a “green” revenge thing—personal, not random—but you don’t take chances. People lose it and go overboard all the time.  

Risk his life to save Alex? Sorry, despite all this slow-motion thinking, that idea didn’t even cross his mind.  

Outside, panicked screams erupted, echoing Alex’s wails.  

A tall, imposing guy stepped into Adam’s line of sight.  

“Alex, you really pissed off the wrong dude this time,” Adam thought, sizing him up. Military vibes were obvious—every move screamed discipline.  

“Don’t kill me!” Alex pleaded, the threat to his life momentarily overriding the agony in his crotch.  

“I’m not gonna kill you,” the tall guy said coldly. “I only kill people who wrong me. You didn’t wrong me.”  

Alex didn’t find that comforting. Adam could figure it out—how could Alex, the guy in the crosshairs, not?  

The second the shot went off, he’d recognized the shooter. Last night, at the hot older woman’s place, he’d locked eyes with this guy’s face in the wedding photo on the wall for a good long while. Back then, he’d been smug as hell. Now? He was scared shitless.  

Damn it! She’d said her husband was overseas on rotation, not back for ages. Alex figured he’d have a few rounds of fun and bounce. Judging by her vibe, he wasn’t the only sidepiece. By the time her husband rolled back, she’d probably have forgotten his name.  

No way he’d have messed with a Marine otherwise, no matter how bold he was. He never dreamed that after one night, payback would hit this fast. The searing pain down there was killing him—and so was the regret.  

The woman’s husband, stone-faced, planted one foot on Alex’s leg, then used the other to pry apart Alex’s curled-up second leg, forcing him into a trembling, spread-eagle heap on the floor.  

“Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth!”  

The Marine raised his gun, aiming at Alex’s blood-soaked crotch with a cold smirk. “Had a real good time last night, huh?”  

Bang! 

“How about now?”  

Bang! 

“Feeling even better?”  

Bang! Bang! Bang!  

He fired six shots, one for every taunt, straight into Alex’s “little brother.” Alex passed out cold.  

Peeking from behind the metal cabinets, Adam winced on Alex’s behalf. Ouch.  

“Ahh!”  

Just when Adam thought it was over, Alex screamed again. Looking closer, he saw the Marine, still fuming, slam a heavy combat boot down on Alex’s mangled crotch—then twist it back and forth.  

“Hiss.” Adam sucked in a breath. That was brutal.  

“Doctor, come save him!” the Marine barked, satisfied with his “enemy’s” ruin, glancing at Adam behind the cabinets.  

Without waiting for a reply, he strolled off like a badass.  

Adam didn’t have time to process the absurdity—like he was waiting for cops to “clean up the mess.” Doctor’s duty kicked in. He rushed over to check Alex’s condition.  

One look, and he sucked in another breath.  

It was bad. Real bad.  

“Drop the gun!” 

“Get on the ground!”  

Hospital security’s shouts rang out from outside. No more gunshots followed.  

Adam hoisted Alex onto a gurney and bolted for the OR, yelling to nurses along the way: “Call Dr. Green, Dr. Burke, Dr. Shepherd!”  

Whoever could make it, get here.  

The nurses snapped into action—some ran to fetch the docs, others cleared a path.  

“OR 3’s open!”  

Adam wheeled Alex into OR 3. While stabilizing his vitals, Leonard and the others showed up.  

With the surgical chief out, Dr. Burke stepped up to run the show and took charge of the rescue. He despised Alex—had pushed to get him fired more than once—but not like this. Right now, Alex was just a shot-up colleague.  

They had to save him, full stop. Everything else could wait.  

PS: Thanks to “Resurrection Armor So Many Days” for the tip!  

Chapter 362: The Most Tragic War God Returns 

Medical Center 

Operating Room 3  

"Put on your goggles."  

As soon as Dr. Burke said it, everyone in the room got the hint.  

The news about Alex, the Patient Zero of the hospital’s aphrodisiac poison scandal, was no secret around here. If something went wrong during treatment—like blood spraying—it could get into your eyes and infect you.  

Thankfully, it wasn’t AIDS, so they didn’t need full-body protective gear. That would’ve taken too much time anyway. Goggles and a mask to cover the face? Good enough.  

Time wasn’t on their side.  

Adam had already been treating patients, so he was geared up with gloves and the usual stuff. When he lifted Alex onto the stretcher, he’d been extra careful. No issues there. Still, the second he stepped into the OR, he had a nurse slap goggles and a mask on him.  

Seeing Adam suited up like that, Dr. Burke immediately remembered Alex’s special case—the aphrodisiac poison patient. Normally, they’d just wear masks for surgery.  

Once everyone was ready and they got a look at Alex’s wounds, they couldn’t help but exchange glances.  

"Call Plastics," Dr. Burke told a nurse.  

With injuries like that, Plastic Surgery would definitely need to step in later to clean things up.  

With so many attending surgeons in the room, the procedure went smoothly.  

"Who did this to him?" Dr. Burke asked, eyeing Alex’s wound again, unable to hold back.  

"Probably some soldier husband of a female patient Alex slept with," Adam summed up casually.  

"No wonder," Dr. Shepherd chimed in. "The guy’s aim was dead-on."  

"He said it was ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ Nothing personal against Alex," Adam added, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.  

"…"  

The room went silent.  

Because the shooter had really followed through.  

Whoever wronged him got payback—every single shot landed right on Alex’s "brothers." And afterward, he’d stomped on them for good measure.  

One look, and you knew it was over. Completely wrecked.  

"Did they catch the guy?" Dr. Burke asked, frowning.  

He was the acting Chief of Surgery right now, and Alex was an intern in his department. For someone gunning for the permanent Chief spot, having this kind of mess pop up the second he took over wasn’t exactly a good sign.  

"They probably did," Adam replied while assisting Burke with the surgery. "After those six shots at Alex, there weren’t any more gunshots. The guy didn’t seem like he was planning to resist."  

Thinking back to how the shooter told him to "clean up the mess," Adam added, "He was eerily calm."  

"That’s not calm," Dr. Shepherd said, glancing at the wound again, his tone heavy. "That’s terrifying."  

Normally, when someone pulls a trigger, they’re aiming to kill. If that were the case here, death would’ve come quick. But this guy? He held back from killing. His aim was insanely precise, and the fact that he showed up at the hospital made Adam wonder if he didn’t want Alex to die.  

If he’d wanted Alex dead, he could’ve stalked him, taken him out somewhere quiet with no cameras, staged it, and walked away. With the cops’ track record and the military’s influence, it’d probably get buried.  

But he didn’t.  

He risked getting caught instead.  

Sure, there was the thrill of public revenge, but Adam’s gut told him something else—based on the shooter’s cold, calculated style, he didn’t want Alex to die fast.  

Wounds this bad? Anywhere outside a hospital, Alex would’ve been a goner—no chance of making it to the ER. Inside the hospital, though, he had a shot at surviving.  

So why go through all that just to keep Alex alive?  

Because living like this would be a million times worse than dying quick.  

"Life worse than death" fit the bill perfectly.  

When the plastic surgeon arrived, the team handed things over. But honestly, with damage this severe, Plastics didn’t have much to work with.  

It was gone. All of it.  

Only option? Full removal.  

Surgery wrapped up, and Adam stepped out of the OR, heading straight to scrub down head to toe.  

"Oh my God!"  

"That’s insane."  

The hospital buzzed with freaked-out exclamations.  

Empathy’s human nature, after all. Whether Alex deserved it or not, he was a doctor—one of their own. Even colleagues who couldn’t stand him felt a little queasy about the whole thing.  

"Adam, you okay?"  

Bianca came over, her voice full of concern. She’d moved out of Adam’s place because she couldn’t deal with him anymore, but her feelings for him still ran deep—way deeper than his for her, at least. Hearing he’d been at the shooting? She freaked.  

"I’m fine," Adam said with a smile and a shake of his head.  

Liz and the others crowded around too.  

"How’s Alex?"  

"He’s… well, alive," Adam said. "But he’s done for."  

"That’s too much," Liz snapped, her face flushed with anger. "No matter what Alex did, this is way too brutal."  

"But I heard Alex stole the guy’s wife first," George countered.  

"It takes two to tango," Meredith shot back. "Alex didn’t force her. She came onto him. Yeah, he messed up, but this? This is over the line."  

"Exactly," Liz said, getting more worked up. "The guy’s been stationed overseas forever. If his marriage fell apart, that’s on him too. Who leaves their wife alone that long?"  

"Let’s not jump to conclusions," Adam cut in. "Maybe it’s not just about the cheating."  

Westerners tend to shrug off affairs pretty easily. You don’t risk prison over something like that unless it’s the last straw. Because when you’re locked up, you’re the one who loses—your gorgeous wife isn’t gonna sit around pining for you.  

"What do you mean?"  

Christina, always the cool-headed one, caught on quick. "You think Alex passed the aphrodisiac poison to the wife?"  

"Could be," Adam said. "Picture this: A soldier, gone for months overseas, comes home early to surprise his beloved wife. Things heat up, she’s all over him, and then he spots these weird red marks. He’s seen enough to know exactly what they mean…"  

The war god returns, finds his wife "in the doghouse," and loses it—cue the poor pup whimpering.  

"No wonder he went that hard," Christina said, shaking her head.  

Liz and Meredith just stared, stunned.  

In Hollywood blockbusters, those homecoming scenes are always heartwarming—quick, easy ways to sell the audience on a couple’s bond in under two hours. Family and friends don’t cut it for that kind of moment. It’s unmistakable.  

Unless it’s rated R, of course.  

But that’s exactly why Adam’s twist hit them so hard.  

"I fought tooth and nail to come back, and this is what I get?"  

Talk about tragic.  

(End of Chapter)