Arista's Code

I looked at the agreement and laughed. I picked it up and, right in front of them, tore it cleanly in half. Shreds of paper drifted down from my fingers.

"I'm not signing."

I turned to the man standing off to the side, dressed in a white coat, a mask covering his face, his eyes darting away. "You—do you even have a valid medical license?"

His body stiffened. He instinctively took a step back.

"Or are you planning to kill me here, harvest my kidney, and then disguise it as a medical accident?"

Benji's patience finally snapped. His face darkened. He waved at the two black-clad bodyguards by the door.

"I don't know why I even bothered wasting words on her. Hold her down. Give her the anesthetic—now!" He barked viciously, "If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility!"

The two bodyguards rushed at me.

The instant their hands reached for my arms, I pulled out the stun gun I had prepared in advance. Blue arcs of electricity crackled through the air. The bodyguard in front convulsed violently, foam spilling from his mouth as he collapsed, stiff and unmoving.

The other bodyguard froze in place, too afraid to take another step.

I raised the stun gun and pointed it at him. "Under Article 20 of the Criminal Code, when stopping an ongoing unlawful infringement, my self-defense is not subject to limits."

I continued, my voice steady, "Your actions constitute joint crimes of kidnapping and intentional injury. Take one more step, and you become an accomplice."

I leveled my gaze at him. "Think carefully. Is it worth sitting in prison for years for this kind of paycheck?"

The bodyguard silently took a step back and lowered his hands.

"Ah!"

A shrill scream rang out. The supposedly "dying" Carmen sprang off the bed in a single, agile movement, darting behind Benji—looking nothing like someone suffering from kidney failure.

I looked at her and applauded. "A medical miracle. A terminal patient has been instantly cured. I suggest submitting this for a Nobel Prize in Medicine."

Benji's face flushed a deep, liverish red. Humiliation and rage stripped away what little reason he had left. His eyes went bloodshot. He grabbed the metal tray holding surgical instruments and swung it at my head.

"You lunatic! I'll kill you today!"

I twisted aside. The tray slammed into the wall with a loud clang, leaving a dent behind. I shouted, pointing at my chest, "Attempted murder! That makes the second time! Witnesses and physical evidence are all present!"

Missing his first strike, Benji lunged at me like a madman, both hands clamping around my throat. "I'll send you to your grave first!"

The sensation of suffocation hit instantly. My vision began to blur.

Just as darkness closed in, a thunderous bang exploded through the room. The operating room door was kicked in from the outside, the door panel splintering apart.

"Don't move! Police!"

A swarm of armed special police and law enforcement officers from the health department poured in, the black muzzles of their guns trained on everyone inside.

Benji's hands loosened from my neck. The madness on his face froze, replaced by sheer, disbelieving terror.

I sucked in air, gasping, and pointed at the people in the room. "Officers, they are engaging in illegal medical practice, unlawful detention, forced trafficking of human organs, as well as intentional injury and attempted murder."