Karma's Bite

The thug’s chest heaved with angry breaths, eyes wild and feral. I kept my temper under control and my tone steady as I spoke. “I'm not telling you to do anything. I'm offering an alternative so that everyone makes it out alive. You'll still get whatever it is that you want just take me instead. Besides, I'm more valuable as a hostage than she is.”

Anna’s sobs were completely drowned out by her gasps now, and the man holding her scowled, flicking an irritated glance at her as if it were her fault he’d dragged her into this mess. Another flash of rage raked along my skin before I shucked it aside.

Steady, Nikolas…

The thug focused on me again with a scoff. “And why is that Mr. Fancy Pants?”

I gestured to my degree hung proudly on the wall. “Because I'm Nikolas de Santos, the only doctor willing to work this side of the tracks. I've helped most of this city at one point or another, and I also would be more cooperative than a sick child.”

A sick child who was already visibly irritating her captor. He glanced between us, weighing his odds. Time dragged, every second feeling like an hour, before finally, he nodded.

“Fine, but walk nice and slow. Hands where I can see them.”

His grip loosened on Anna and she managed to choke out three trembling words. “Nikolas, I'm scared.”

So painfully reminiscent to our first meeting…

It ripped a blade through my heart, and I nodded, pasting on a comforting smile for her sake. “I know you are, but it’ll be alright, Anna. Once the man behind you gives the okay, you run into the other room and grab the spare inhaler. You remember where it is, right?”

She nodded, as much as she could in his grip, and I slowly walked forward. Once I was within reach, he all but threw Anna toward the door and threaded his grimy hand into my hair. Disgust crawled over my skin, but I didn’t react. Instead, I watched Anna disappear toward the inhaler, relief drenching the fear I’d kept carefully hidden.

She was out of danger now. That was the most important thing.

The sharp edge of the thug’s knife dug into my throat, dragging me forcibly back to the present as he turned us toward the exit, not my office like I expected. Confusion brushed aside my relief, and it only increased as he spoke.

“Nikolas Santos… I've heard about you. Turns out you pissed off quite a few big wigs in the area. Offering free healthcare advice tends to dip into their profits, after all.” Something new lingered under his tone, a dark excitement and anticipation. The sudden shift made the hair on my neck stand to attention, but I nodded, keeping him talking.

“I've seen some of the local clinic prices. At least half are astronomical for even the mildest of things. The people here know that if they need help and can't afford to pay, I'll be there. If the big wigs have an issue with that, then they can sit on a stick and spin.”

I’d had this argument too many times to count over the years with Gerald. He’d constantly fought with me over raising my prices since we’d earned our degrees together. It frustrated me to no end, his refusal to butt out of it… Right about now, I’d happily go back to arguing with him over coffee in our shared, crappy apartment from college.

The thug huffed a laugh, the putrid scent of his breath hitting me like a punch to the gut as he dragged me toward the parking lot. “Under other circumstances, I think we'd make great friends, Nick. But I've got bills to pay and drugs to buy. Your hide will cover the tab for both.”

Alarm surged through me, and I tried to stall. “Wait, I thought you were robbing me for drugs?”

What did I say to make him change his plans so suddenly? All I’d done was introduce myself! He couldn’t possibly think he could ransom me, could he? If so, he’d be sorely disappointed. I had no family, and my only friend was Gerald. He’d always been fiercely protective of his pocket book after living on the streets, so I doubted even he’d step in to save my hide.

The thug grunted, his grip on my hair tightening as he wrenched me around to face him. His expression twisted into one of demented glee as he grinned from ear to ear. “Yeah, but that was before. I don't need them now, not with the Nikolas Santos in my hands. Turns out, one of them bigwigs wants ya gone bad enough to put a pretty penny out on your head. One I intend to collect.”

Everything froze as that slowly sank in. A pretty penny out on my head. It wasn’t possible.

“A bounty?! Someone put a bounty on me?!” I choked, the entire situation feeling like something straight out of one of those garbage tv shows I used to binge with Gerald. This kind of thing didn’t happen in real life, right?

He shook his head and laughed, delight lightening the lines around his face. “You really don't know, do ya?” His knife trailed from my neck down to dig into my shoulder. I jerked instinctively, but his hand in my hair held me still until the blade broke skin. Warm blood oozed from the new cut, trailing down until it disappeared under my shirt.

He leaned in, that twisted excitement all but permeating off him. All traces of his previous anger evaporated, his mood shifting with the swiftness only inebriation could offer. “Guess there’s no harm in telling ya, since corpses can't speak. You can thank your good buddy, Gerald Dale for this.”

And just like that, everything screeched to a halt around us.

Gerald, my best–hell, my only–friend had…paid for someone to kill me?