Ethics [Lude]

[Will Tagg]

It was a hectic evening in the ER of Tundratown General Hospital. Will, who had originally been enjoying his scheduled day off, was now bustling about the hospital with all the other physicians who'd been called in to handle the latest surge of activity. These sorts of random spikes weren't out of the ordinary, though, and Will didn't mind; after all, he was here to gain experience, wasn't he? Besides, with the staff stretched as thin as they were, he was enjoying far more autonomy than normal. Other than checking in with his supervisor every forty minutes or so, the reindeer was operating almost as a full-fledged doctor.

And that, he felt, was worth losing his time off.

Normally timid and anxious, Will was in his element tonight. With the more experienced doctors handling the urgent emergency patients, he was largely left with those the triage nurses felt weren't in need of critical care: sprained limbs, upset stomachs, and some mild stitches here and there. Will treated each patient gently and reassuringly, providing an almost jarring sense of calm in the maelstrom of activity that was the ER. That was, in his opinion, simply part of being a doctor--no matter how crazy things may be or how flustered he might feel, he had to seem like a rock of stability and comfort to his patients. It was simply his duty as a physician.

As the evening wore on into the nighttime, things only gradually began to slow down. Will had just set a broken arm and checked in with his supervisor when he was distracted by what sounded like a heated exchange going on at the check-in desk. For a few moments, the reindeer told himself that it wasn't his business, and that he should just check for new patient assignments; however, curiosity eventually got the better of him, and he made his way over to the counter. "E-excuse me," he interjected, curiously eyeing the wolf who'd been arguing with the nurse. "Is everything here quite alright?"

[Lude]

  As the night grew long, taking the time to pre-treat a bullet wound by stuffing it with Gauze in an attempt to staunch bleeding and hide it from general view was a luxury he was attempting to do in his car.  The job went well, all things considered.  The gazelle troublemaker had actually hired some thuggish help of some bizarrely dressed Rhino gangers in an attempt to guard himself.  The anti-pred propagandist had hacked several government databases over the past few months, and had probed databases belonging to some crime lords as well.  Unfortunately he had no idea he had patched himself into the wild security networks set up by the complete tech-wizards employed by Mr. Big and his subsidiaries.

  He changed his gauze for a final time, the agonizing burn of cloth absorbing moisture from everything it touched was never something he enjoyed.  But he had to, he had almost stopped the bleeding, thanks to at least some of the training he'd received in the ZPD.  With a final tug on the bandage he had finally figured it would be worth actually entering the hospital.  Generally, shady wolf, late at night, long coat and combat boots got stares or opposition, as a necessity though it had to be done.  He pushed open the ER doors and walked directly to the front desk.

  "I need a doctor, preferably with as few questions asked.  And as much as I know its against procedure, this can't be on file."  He tried to keep his weight off his wounded leg, as well as turn attention away from his wounded arm.

  "I'm sorry Sir, but we have to put this incident on file, and all of our doctors are occupied at the moment."  The receptionist, although a kind young stag intern, simply stated what she was taught, and stuck to her doctrine.  He wasn't surprised.

  "Listen, tonight isn't exactly a normal night, and it would be easier in the end for myself, and for you, if you simply find me a room, and find me a doctor.  Simply stop trying, and look the other way."  He was a bit more stern this time, he began to pad his paw against the desk for emphasis.

  "Sir, I can't just let you waltz in and demand a doctor.  If I want to keep my job, I have to put the incident on file, and I have to mark exactly what the problem is.  Personally, I prefer my job, over you."

  In the middle of his arguing, which he'd tried his hardest to keep as low as possible and still get his point across, another visitor graced the conversation.  A rather timid reindeer actually.  At least he was a doctor.  His wounded side was clear as day from the angle the doctor walked in at, and frankly, it had really caught him off guard.  Despite this, he felt relived that he could talk to a doctor.

  "You there, doctor.  I have something to ask of you."

[Will Tagg]

As the wolf turned to face him, Will caught a glimpse of his reason for being in the hospital: or at least, the red-stained evidence of it on his clothes. As professional as he normally was at work, the reindeer couldn't hide a look of shock. Had it been only one wound, he may not have been--but there was no mistaking what the wolf had been up to before stumbling into this emergency room. From the look of things, he was lucky to be alive, let alone walking and talking.

"You there, doctor. I have something to ask of you."

"Er...yes, I'd imagine you do," Will replied, still slightly dazed by the thoughts racing through his brain. Once he realized how obvious his distraction must look, he shook his head a bit and focused more properly on the wolf. "But I think we can handle your uh...request, later. When you're in a less dire condition?" When the intern at the desk opened her mouth to protest, Will forestalled her with a raised hoof. "I'll handle it later, Emma, don't worry."

Turning his attention back to his new patient, Will gestured down the hallway. "This way, I can tend to you." Though he was quite certain the wolf was a shady mammal, he maintained a friendly, innocent smile. Until he had any reason to be afraid or distrustful, he wasn't going to treat this patient any differently than the myriad others who'd come through the ER already.

[Lude]

  Rather surprised with the Doktor's willingness to help him without question he followed Dr. Tagg into the first available room.  With the door closed behind them, Lude sat on the table and took off his coat and shirt, revealing a bare torso already pre bandaged but still bleeding through.  His arm had a clear hole stuffed with gauze.  It was a mess that could use more help than Lude had available to him.
 
  "I'm sure its not nearly as bad as it looks."  He said, shrugging and wincing at the same time.  His uninjured arm passively covered the wound on the other.

  He had to at least look over the Doktor, make sure he was trust worthy.  He carried himself well enough, perhaps a bit stiff considering his predicament.  He could tell Will didn't trust him, and it made sense since a shady wolf barged his way in, argued with a clerk until he got help, and then revealed he was filled with holes.  Thankful of the lack of cameras in the rooms themselves, he unbuckled his belt holster and placed it cautiously on his coat, the custom piece almost shining in the light.

  "I uh... Ran afoul in a job I had.  They were a bit more armed than usual.  I'm sure you can somewhat understand the need for secrecy."

[Will Tagg]

Once they were in the room with the door shut, Will tried to get himself into a more typical 'bedside manner' mindset. Sketchy circumstances or not, the wolf was still a patient, and deserved to be treated with the same respect and compassion as any other. As the reindeer pulled on gloves, he took a deep breath and began. "Alright, why don't you take off your shirt and we--" he started, but as he turned, he saw that the wolf already had that covered. Or rather, uncovered.

"I'm sure its not nearly as bad as it looks."

"I should hope not," the doctor murmured. The patch job Lude had already done was probably adequate to keep him from passing out and possibly dying on the sidewalk, but it was still a rather shabby affair; he doubted the wounds had been properly sanitized, and at least one of them appeared to require stitches. Will was amazed that he hadn't simply keeled over on his way into the hospital. He'd seen other mammals laid low by a lot less than this.

"I uh... Ran afoul in a job I had. They were a bit more armed than usual. I'm sure you can somewhat understand the need for secrecy."

There were many ways Will could interpret the wolf's placing his gun in plain sight. The more cautious side of him pegged it as a threat--a show of power meant to keep him in line, should he think of reporting the situation to his superiors (or the police). However, his patient hadn't made any other aggressive overtures toward him, so the reindeer chose to interpret it as a show of good faith. Besides, if the wolf had really wanted to hurt him, surely he would have done it by now.

"I don't pretend to understand, but I can and will respect your discretion if you're so concerned," Will replied as he examined the bandaging. After a few moments, he nodded to himself, then looked up at his patient. "I'm going to have to remove your dressings and clean you up properly. You may need stitches on your arm, as well. Shall I proceed?"

[Lude]

  "Do your worst Doktor.  I'm sure it won't hurt that bad."  He relaxed himself and allowed Will to remove his dressings.  They were shoddily done but effective.  But a usual sight of raw bullet hole greeted him none the less.  They were fresh, within the past hour or so.  He didn't doubt Will's experience with these things, but he still felt he had to apologize for barging in with something as serious as this. 
  "I'm sorry, You probably didn't need something as serious as this at this time of night."  He assisted and unwound the other arm for him.  The joy of low caliber rounds, not a whole lot of punch, but you could get hit by quite a number.  His recent target had been a small hide-out of gang enforcers.  Little guys with little weapons.  With a job to smash the place up a bit, get them to leave, hopefully without violence, it didn't go nearly as planned.  He managed to chase them out, A couple thug-like foxes, a wolf or two as well.  He left at least three unconscious before he called the police.
  "I'll drop your name to my boss and be sure you're amply paid for your work Doc.  I can't thank you enough."