Chapter 7

"Not everyone is a fan of your stupid noblesse oblige, damn it!" He yells, "I'm sure this woman would rather die than be indebted to rich scum like you," he says as he pulls out his pistol and points at the woman.

"Wait stop!" Jacob yells, getting to his feet, "Please don't do it, she still has kids and grandkids that need her" he says in a pleading tone. Antonio stares at him and laughs.

"You're hilarious man," he says with a chuckle, "I guess you'll go in her place" he adds as he pulls the trigger.

"Pow!" The sound of a gunshot resonates through the air as Jacob drops to his knees, eyes widened and almost lifeless, before falling face first on the floor.

"No Jacob!!!!!" Mia screams as she watches his body drop to the floor.

Antonio then turns to the woman. "You should be grateful to him. He's the reason you're still alive" he says with a wink, and then turns around, "Alright boys, let's move out" he says cheerfully with a smile as they walk out.

Jacob lays there on the floor, at a loss for words as he hears Mia's cry getting fainter and fainter.

Yet another encounter with death? Just when will this ordeal end?

Tears roll down his cheeks as he shuts his eyes, enveloping his mind in the eerie blanket of eigengrau.

One month later>>>>>>>>

*** At a five-star Chinese restaurant ***

       Around one of the tables sits Dr Richard, his daughter Emily, and a man in a black suit, white shirt, and a red tie. They can be seen discussing and laughing as they nibble on the pieces of dumplings on their plates.

"Oh come on Dad, you're embarrassing me" Emily blushes as she smiles cutely, hitting her dad teasingly on the shoulder.

"Hey, what did I do? I just said I wanted a grandchild, I didn't ask how you are going to make it happen" he says as he uses his other hand to hold his punched shoulder, "Though there is only one way....."

"Stop it, Dad!" She says with her cheeks red from blushing, "I think I gotta use the ladies' room" she says further as she gets up from her chair and walks away.

"Don't be long or you'll miss the main course" Dr Richard says to her as she walks away, totally ignoring him, "Hmph, kids these days" he mutters.

"She is something, isn't she?" The young man at the table says. He is a brown-haired Hispanic guy with dark brown eyes.

"You can say that again" Dr Richard responds as an Asian waiter dressed in martial arts attire walks up to them and serves their food on the table. It's chow mein with chicken sauce. As the waiter leaves, Dr Richard talks to the man. "Alright now to business. We need to talk about your future with my daughter and with this company" he says.

"Now I'm no Dr Phil or anything but, I can tell that Emily likes you a lot. I've seen the way she looks at you." He says with a a nod of approval, "But I've seen your surgical skills and they're quite poor frankly, but having talked to your dad, I think this marriage would make for a worthy alliance" he says, "However though, I need you to climb up the corporate ladder and in the medical world, that simply means producing valuable research".

"Well I don't have any research articles published yet," the young man says, "but I hope to......"

"No, we don't have time for hope" he interjects, "I'm going to give you some research papers and I want you to study and finalize them then publish them. That's the fastest way for you to garner the respect of the medical world. Are we clear?" He asks.

"Yes sir" the man replies.

"Good. So meet me at my office by nine o'clock tomorrow morning. I'll give you the papers there" he says.

"I'll do my best not to disappoint you" the guy responds with a slight bow of the head. Just then, Emily returns.

"What are you guys talking about this time?" She asks as she sits down.

"Oh nothing" her dad replies, "Just wondering how my first grandchild would look," he says teasingly.

"Dad!" She whines as Dr Richard laughs.

"Okay okay, I won't talk about it again," he says, "Now let's dig in on this chow mein before it gets soggy," he says as he picks up his chopsticks. They keep talking and laughing into the night.

____________________________________________________________

*** At the makeshift hospital ***

         It's been over a month since Jacob and the patients here had seen or even heard from Mia. Jacob is now the resident and only doctor in this makeshift hospital and since his tenure began, there has been a surge in the popularity of the hospital. He keeps a low profile though and has made all his patients know the allegations against him. Being the people's doctor, he has been secure all this while.  

        After doing his rounds with all the patients, he sits for a while and turns on the TV. He rarely does so except when he's really tired and has nothing else to do. Turning on the TV, however, a news headline slides across the screen.

 the headline reads.

Jacob's interest is immediately piqued on hearing the name of his former workplace. He watches attentively as a video of a press conference held at the hospital is being played. With the sporadic flashes of the cameras brightly but briefly illuminating the backdrop behind him, Dr Richard speaks to the reporters.

" This is a great day in the history of this company." He starts, "............. Of course, a feat like this is quite unheard of, especially by a doctor so young. So we take pride in introducing our newest prodigy to the world. Please welcome...Dr Antonio Roberts!" He announces as a young man mounts the podium. His face is quite familiar.

"Wait a minute...." The old lady on the bed says as she points shakily at the TV screen,