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Two Hours to Save a National Hero

Two Hours to Save a National Hero

Short Story · Emotional Realism
By:  Sky HazeCompleted
Language: English
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Synopsis

Familial Bond

Feel-Good Story

Plot Twists

Male POV

Freak

Face Slapping

Regret

Crime

At the high-speed train station security checkpoint, a security officer stops me. "What's inside the case?" he asks. "A living donor heart. It's scheduled for transplant in two hours," I reply and hand over the emergency transit pass. After verifying the documents, the officer is about to let me pass when a hand suddenly shoots out from behind and grabs the case. "He can't go! That case contains illegal stuff!" I turn around. To my shock, it's my brother-in-law, Edward Austin. Pointing at me, he shouts, "Officer, I'd like to report him! He's my brother-in-law. There isn't anything medical-related in that case. It's drugs he bought on the black market. He's planning to use his status as a doctor to smuggle them out and sell them!" Armed police officers immediately surround me with their weapons lowered into ready positions. My eyes redden with panic. "Have you lost your mind, Edward? There's a donor heart in here! The recipient only has two hours left to live!" He rolls his eyes and sneers. "Oh, spare me the act. My sister says you've been acting suspiciously lately. You're obviously up to something. If you've got nothing to hide, why don't you open it right here in front of everyone?" Everyone within the vicinity falls silent. The leading police officer steps forward with a stern expression. "Please cooperate with the inspection. Open the case immediately." I glance at the countdown timer on my watch. My back becomes drenched with cold sweat. If the heart is contaminated, then Michael Ellis—the national hero whose life depends on this transplant—will not survive this.

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Officer, please! You cannot open this container!" I yelled, clutching the cooler to my chest with one hand while thrusting the emergency transit pass toward the police officer with the other.

"Look! This is emergency clearance certificate for organ transport issued by the Department of Health. It has the official seal!

"There is a donor heart inside, kept at a constant 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit. If it's exposed to the air for more than three minutes, the cardiac cells will die. There's no reversing it!"

The lead officer took the permit and flipped it over a couple of times. His expression softened.

He was just about to let me through when my brother-in-law Edward Austin's shrill voice rang out again. "It's fake! The permit is a fake!"

He turned right around to face the crowd of onlookers in the waiting area. "Everyone, look at this guy! He's using a doctor's disguise to smuggle drugs!

"There's no heart in that box! It's meth! Meth disguised as medical cargo! I'm his brother-in-law! I saw him packing this stuff at home in the middle of the night with my own eyes!"

The crowd went into an instant frenzy.

Some pulled out their phones to take photos, while others scrambled back, pulling their kids away.

"A drug smuggler? Lock him up!"

"People will do absolutely anything for money these days!"

"Don't let him get away!"

I was shaking with pure rage.

"Edward, you're full of shit! When did I ever pack anything at home? This heart was removed in surgery at 3:00 am this morning!"

Edward completely ignored me.

Determined to stop me from leaving, he whipped out his phone and started livestreaming right in my face.

"Look at this, everyone," he said, forcing a look of utter heartbreak for the camera.

"This is my brother-in-law, Conner Randall, chief of the organ transplant department at Galdoria Hospital. He's a lifesaver on the outside but a drug smuggler and organ trafficker behind closed doors! I don't care what it takes. I'm stopping him right here today!"

Viewers flooded into the live stream, and comments started flooding in.

"Corrupt doctor! Call the cops!"

"Human trafficker! Organ thief! Rot in hell!"

"Kudos to you for exposing him!"

Noticing the situation spiral out of control, I stomped my feet in sheer panic. "Edward, turn that stream off! This is defamation! You can go to jail for this!"

Edward raised his phone even higher, and his voice grew sharper. "Defamation? Then open the box and prove it to everyone! You won't open it? That's because you're guilty!"

That did it. The officer's demeanor changed instantly.

Drug smuggling, organ trafficking, and a named whistleblower report. Any single one of those was too big for him to just let me through.

"Mr. Randall, please come with us for further investigation."

"No!" I held the cooler even tighter.

"The box cannot leave the cold chain! Look into me all you want, but you have to let this box go!"

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11 Chapters
Chapter 1
"Officer, please! You cannot open this container!" I yelled, clutching the cooler to my chest with one hand while thrusting the emergency transit pass toward the police officer with the other."Look! This is emergency clearance certificate for organ transport issued by the Department of Health. It has the official seal!"There is a donor heart inside, kept at a constant 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit. If it's exposed to the air for more than three minutes, the cardiac cells will die. There's no reversing it!"The lead officer took the permit and flipped it over a couple of times. His expression softened.He was just about to let me through when my brother-in-law Edward Austin's shrill voice rang out again. "It's fake! The permit is a fake!"He turned right around to face the crowd of onlookers in the waiting area. "Everyone, look at this guy! He's using a doctor's disguise to smuggle drugs!"There's no heart in that box! It's meth! Meth disguised as medical cargo! I'm his brother-in-la
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Chapter 2
"Have the platform staff take the container straight to the train! Someone will be waiting at Lythoria Station to pick it up!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.As long as that heart got on the train, there was still a chance.The police officer hesitated for a split second.And in that brief window, Edward moved. He lunged forward without warning and kicked the bottom of the cooler.With a thud, the cooler flew out of my arms, crashing onto the marble floor.The lid popped open, and the preservation fluid splashed everywhere.Through the frosty white mist, the donor heart—wrapped in its sterile bag—rolled out, flipped twice across the floor, and came to a stop against the base of a trash can."No!" I shrieked, throwing my entire body forward.My knees slammed into the ground. The pain made my vision go black, but I didn't care.I scooped the heart up with both hands. Its temperature was rising rapidly.The preservation fluid was still leaking from the torn sterile bag."No
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Chapter 3
The interrogator's expression softened a fraction.He was just about to say something when the click-clack of leather shoes echoed from outside the door.Edward pushed his way into the room, taking a sip from a cup of coffee he'd bought from a vending machine."Oh, look at that. Calling in help already?"He strolled over to my side. As he leaned down and glanced at the phone screen, he scoffed. "Officers, don't let them fool you. This Carissa woman is his secret lover. They've been in this organ-trafficking ring together for years."My sister already gathered all the evidence on this. She was planning to report it to the disciplinary committee tomorrow. The only reason he was in such a rush to run today was to get this shipment out before everything hit the fan."On the screen, Carissa's face turned red with fury. "That is an absolute lie! What the hell is going on over there? Who is this guy?"Edward tilted his head toward the camera. "I'm his brother-in-law, and I represent th
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Chapter 4
Oscar's voice was completely shot. "The recipient is already on ECMO! But he can't hold out much longer! His liver and kidneys are starting to fail!"A surgical team of 30 people has been waiting here for four hours! Just tell me exactly when the heart is going to get here!"I opened my mouth, but not a single syllable came out.What was I supposed to say?Was I supposed to tell him that the heart was sitting on a tray in an interrogation room, already reduced to a discolored piece of dead tissue?"Dr. Hooper…" My voice trembled. "The heart… It's already…"I couldn't finish. I covered my face and broke down sobbing.The other end of the line went dead silent for a long time. So long that I thought the call had dropped.Then, Oscar spoke, his voice tightly strained. "Conner, do you have any idea who this recipient is? Do you know how long the entire hospital has been preparing for this surgery? Do you know—"Before he could finish, the rapid beeping of equipment alarms blared i
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Chapter 5
Edward continued, "Sara told me if you wouldn't listen to reason, we'd have to do it the hard way. You're suspended, and your reputation is completely trashed. That apartment is useless to you now."Just sign the papers, transfer the deed over to my name, and I'll withdraw the report. I'll even help you clear your name online. If you don't…"He flashed his phone. On the screen was a screenshot from his earlier live stream, capturing me kneeling on the floor, my face covered in dirt and tears."If you don't sign, these pictures go straight into your hospital's group chats. When that happens, you won't just be banned from surgery. Public backlash alone will drown you alive."I clenched my fists so hard that my fingernails dug deep into my palms.So that was it.From the very beginning, Edward never cared about reporting drugs. His target was never the cooler. It was the apartment I had spent ten years of my salary saving up for.In his eyes, that 72-year-old man and the heart that
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Chapter 6
The interrogation room fell into a pin-drop silence. No one in the room dared to even breathe.Michael Ellis.Any adult with a shred of common sense knew that name. It was in high school physics textbooks and appeared regularly on the national evening news.During the National Day military parades, he sat in the very front row of the viewing grandstand.The interrogator's legs went weak, and he nearly lost his footing.He turned to look at the ruined heart on the tray. His lips trembled for a long time, yet not a single word came out.Still pinned to the floor, Edward looked completely blank. "Michael Ellis? Who's that? Never heard of him."He genuinely hadn't.For someone who never watched the news and spent his entire life scrolling through short videos and shopping on live streams, the name meant absolutely nothing.But the interrogator beside him knew exactly who it was.He stood frozen, and his legs shook violently. The color completely drained from his face.He remembe
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Chapter 7
That was the trace of preservation fluid and blood left behind when the heart rolled out.The moisture was almost completely gone, leaving a dark stain."That mark," I said, pointing at the floor, "is the last remaining trace of that heart."It was vibrant and alive. It was still pulsing inside that fluid. But you ruined it with a single kick. It's gone, and Professor Ellis is dead."Edward stared at the puddle for a couple of seconds before looking away. "Ha! You're the one who didn't hold onto it properly. How is that my fault?"The general didn't waste any more breath on him. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Ma'am, the suspect is secured. The heart… It's completely ruined."Silence fell over the other end of the line. The silence stretched on, dragging out the seconds.Then, an old, choked-up voice came through the speaker. "Michael's… gone?"The general closed his eyes. "Yes, ma'am. 15 minutes ago."Muffled sobbing echoed from the phone.A long moment passed.
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Chapter 8
Kaeden stared out the window at the pale horizon. "Professor Ellis' wife, Azaria Alston, is 81 this year. They've been together for 53 years. She said she refuses to believe he's just gone. She wants to see with her own eyes exactly who did this."I asked, "W-where are we going?""Lythoria Hospital," Kaeden said. "Mrs. Ellis is over there. She wants to see you, and she wants to see that man."The helicopter sliced through the clouds.About 40 minutes later, we touched down on the rooftop helipad of Lythoria Hospital.An elevator took us straight to the ICU floor.The corridor was lined with medical staff on both sides. The tension stretched to an absolute breaking point.The ICU door was cracked halfway open.A hospital bed sat in the center of the room, covered entirely in a white sheet.Seated by the bedside was an old lady with stark white hair. She wore a thick, dark blue padded jacket. Her frame was frail and hunched, and her face was lined with deep wrinkles.Her hand r
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Chapter 9
"It would've been enough," Azaria whispered, repeating herself. "It would've been enough."Edward stood there, a red handprint forming on his cheek. He opened his mouth to speak, but Azaria didn't give him the chance.She turned away, sat back down in her chair, and reached her hand beneath the white sheet again. "Kaeden.""Yes, ma'am.""Handle this through the military tribunal. Let them sentence him exactly as the law prescribes. Don't go easy on him just because he claims it was a misunderstanding."Kaeden snapped to attention and saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"This finally broke whatever courage Edward had left. His legs gave out, and he slammed onto his knees. The impact echoed through the room."Ma'am, I was wrong! I'm so sorry! I didn't know he was a professor! If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to do this in a million years! I was just trying to scare my brother-in-law to get an apartment! I really didn't mean to kill anyone!"He was a crying, sobbing mess, banging his head
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Chapter 10
"She's lying." My voice was dead calm."Edward confessed in the interrogation room itself that Sara told him to 'do it the hard way'. The room has surveillance, and Edward mentioned it during his live stream too. If you check the security footage, it'll all be perfectly clear."The voice on the other end gave a brief acknowledgment. "We will verify that. Thank you for your cooperation."The call disconnected.I set the phone on my lap, watching the screen go black.Throughout our three years of marriage, I had always thought Sara was just weak-willed and soft-hearted, constantly letting Edward walk all over her.It wasn't until today that I finally saw her for what she was.She wasn't weak at all. She and Edward were cut from the exact same cloth. When it came to personal gain, they were capable of absolutely anything.Kaeden walked over and took a seat next to me. "Dr. Randall, Mrs. Ellis wants to see you. Don't be nervous. She isn't looking to place blame. She just wants to t
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