4

Haven looked at her boss, who was shaking his head. “That was Dr. little he was requesting that you not visit his patient for some reason.”

“I don’t care what Dr. Little requested. I am asking for time off, so I am not on the clock when I go up there to check on my old friend.” Haven replied.

“He is one of the best doctors in the hospital.” The man in front of her said.

“And?” Haven asked. She was not the type to rock the boat often. Something was really not sitting well with her right now though. Mack was in over his head right now as well and she knew he wasn’t able to fight for himself.

“Well, most people won’t go against his wishes.” He said as he steepled his fingers and looked at her as he sat back in the chair as he stared at her across the desk. Haven looked at the near balding man and knew this was the best job for him. He was a paper pusher who seemed to enjoy that part of the job. Though he was a medical examiner, he was not a doctor like her. He had just been there longer. The stand-off was going to begin, but she always had an ace in her pocket. She was in high demand. She had job offers coming in daily from places all over the world. She had no loyalty to this hospital and would quit in a heartbeat if necessary.

“I don’t care about his wishes. I care about my friend, who was shot.” Haven responded.

“I am sorry, but I will have to remind you that you are a member of the staff here, and we do have to follow the rules.” The man said as he looked her over.

Haven thought to herself, so that is how it is going to be…. Okay then. She repeated the last part out loud, “okay, then.” It was soft but clear, “Then I put in my notice effective immediately.”

“What?”  the man nearly came out of his seat and looked at her. She had already stood up. “You can’t do that!”

“I just did.” She replied as she walked out of his office and to her own. Though she had a few things there, like her wall of papers and some books, she didn’t have much in it that made it hers. She grabbed a box that was in the hallway that was empty and a cart. She began tearing her things off the wall and placing them in the box. Soon she looked around, and there was nothing left of hers there. She quickly did a back up of her computer and then put that in her pocket.

She planned on staying in the area, so if the DA needed her to testify, she would be happy too. Though she knew it would be difficult. One of the last places to offer her a job was the state crime lab. That had seemed to be interesting to her though she had been comfortable in this job. She shot off an email to them and hoped the position they wanted her for had not been filled though it had only been a day since she received the offer.

She wheeled out the cart as the others looked at her. Security was now at the end of the hall. Haven had to laugh at how predictable her boss had been. She smiled as she walked to the end of the hall where they were. They looked down at her. “We have to check the box to see if you took hospital property.”

“Of course,” Haven said as she sent her former boss a look that made him take a step back and right into the wall, which looked like he wanted to melt into at the moment. As the men looked in the box, they both nodded as they turned to the man and shot him a glare as well.

“There is nothing there remotely hospital property.” One of them said as he looked at the man.

“Honestly.” Haven said with a sigh, “it isn’t like someone can quit and not get harassed to the last moment.”

“You quit?” the security guard asked as he looked at the man with narrowed eyes. “We were told you were just let go because of things going missing.”

“Oh really?” Haven asked. “No, I quit because apparently one can not be concerned about a friend who was shot without stepping on other doctors' toes. So I decided to leave so there will be no conflict of interest.”

“Wait, what?” the man asked. “That makes no sense.”

“What doesn’t?” Haven asked.

“Hospital policy states that you can not work on a family member or friend, but nothing about going to see them.” The guard said as he was clearly confused.

“I know.” Haven stated, “but you see, some doctors overstep their boundaries because they think everyone is below them. I don’t want to deal with the politics here, so it was an easy choice. My friend is more important than this job.” her email dinged on her phone, to which she looked and smiled, “Which I have already replaced with another.”

“But. But.” The man who was her boss was bristling at the fact she could walk away and then have another before she had even left the building.

“But nothing.” She said as she turned on him. “Like I said before, my friend is more important, that is all.”

Haven looked at the two guards and smiled, “Can I go put this in my car. I will stop by the admin office to hand over my ids in a moment.”

“No need.” The guard said. “They have already been canceled in the system.”

“Okay wonderful.” She said as she looked at the small bald man and smiled again. She wanted to throw him off even more. She placed out her hand to shake his. When he looked at her like she was a serpent, she laughed, “Well, it has been a pleasure to work with you.”

She began pushing the cart to the doors. “Let us help you with that.” One of the guards said as she continued out the door and then to the elevator. “That was a class act.”

“Thank you. I try.” Haven said with a laugh. “Not that it has been a pleasure of any sort. That man is a weasel.”

The two men laughed, and she smiled. “Must be some friend.”

“What?” Haven asked as she looked at the two men.

“The friend you quit over. Must be special.” The guard said.

“He is.” Haven said, “He was only one of the few who ever cared about me while I was growing up. This job is nothing compared to him.”