Power Play (Book 2)

Chapter 16: Decisions Made

When I started dealing drugs, I did it for the money. I needed the money for my family, or at least that's what I told myself. I was helping the best way I could, and I pushed the people who were being hurt by the drugs out of my mind. I didn't like it, but I justified it. Those druggies were making their own decisions. It was their own fault, and someone was going to make money from it, so why not me?

I didn't have many friends back then. I was a high school drop-out who thought he was smarter than everyone else. The irony of that being totally lost on me. It was that arrogant, young, moron who had the world kicked out from under him when he met Nicole at a party.

She was beautiful, smart, and had this laugh I was addicted to. I would do anything to hear it, from telling stupid jokes to showing off in front of my friends. I was pretty messed up at the time, but she saw something in me that caused her to stick around. It made me want to be a better person. I hope I'm living up to that now.

Miguel yanks the bag off my head and my eyes burn for a moment as they adjust to the light.

I was right - we're in a different helicopter. This one is designed for medical transport and has several places where patients in stretchers can be secured. There's only one at the moment.

We're flying low over Hong Kong and moving incredibly fast. Dr. Daley is watching over Ryan and frowning. Miguel returns to his seat near Lau on the far side of the chopper, tossing the bag on the floor. They both watch me closely.

The pilot says something briefly in Chinese, and I know it means we're almost there. If I heard more Chinese I think my nanobots would be able to translate completely. I wish I could download info into my brain like in the movie the Matrix. Wait... could I do that?

"Your friend isn't doing well," Daley says. "But we're almost there."

The helicopter banks and comes in to land on the medical helipad of an enormous hospital. Doctors rush out to meet us, running low to fight the wind of the blades. Miguel and Lau release Ryan's stretcher and help transfer it to the gurney the doctor's brought out. Daley yells information to one of the new doctors, showing him readings on the tablet. She hands him the tablet and follows as they speed Ryan inside.

They're still talking when Ryan begins to thrash wildly. His eyes flutter open, and he bucks and twists on the stretcher. If he hadn't been strapped down, he would have thrown himself to the ground. The doctors begin yelling at each other and start running even faster, with Ryan's gurney hurtling down the hallways of the hospital.

I try to rush to his side but a strong grip on my arm holds me back. It's Miguel. He shakes his head at me.

"You can't help him. Let the doctors work," he says.

I glare at him, wanting to hit him out of sheer helplessness, but I don't. I nod, and he lets go of my arm. They push Ryan through some swinging double doors and towards an operating room. Dayley and Lau follow, and I stand there with Miguel watching the doors close and feeling helpless.

After I met Nicole it wasn't long before I began spending less and less time with my friends and more time with her. We would go to the movies, go out to eat, or sit at home and watch TV. That may seem dull, but it was the best thing in the world. Being with her gave me the promise of something more in life. That I had a chance at a future.

My friends gave me a lot of crap for it, but I began to realize that most of them really weren't my friends. Their world was selling drugs and partying, and they were just mad I had something they did not. Nicole saw something in me that I hadn't, and it changed me.

I pulled back from them, both because they worried Nicole and because I honestly wanted something better. One of the few exceptions was Zach. I'd known him for years, and Zach had been there for me many times. His family was worse off than mine, and he had nothing. He'd been saving money from the drug deals trying to get out, and was getting close to having enough cash to move his family to a new place. Nicole liked him, and he liked her in return. He was happy for me.