Clearly, he was in a rush. Whatever it was, the matter was very urgent.The doctor snapped to attention when the phone was answered. "Mr. Sloan?" After... a pause he said, "We have an emergency down here. A young female is here in Emergency. It's a gunshot case. Two bullets, both still in the body, one lodged in the shoulder while the other severed the small intestine and lodged against the spine. We need permission to operate immediately. The woman's life is in immediate danger. She will be dead. " With that the two of them ran off, though Frances kept glancing back, trying to get a peek at whatever they'd brought back with them."Fred, Peter, come on," Josh said, waving them over. "Mom's getting something to help carry the heavy one, so let's grab the new one first. But don't take it into the house yet," he instructed as he helped pull back the tarp, exposing them to the elements.Peter, lighter and more wiry than the others, hopped into the bed of the truck. He and Cynthia lifted the. Gagged in this fashion, I was assured of near silence. She could only make muffled whimpering and whining sounds.Her eyes were round as saucers as I proceeded with the next order, "Grab onto the edge of the desk at either side of your body." The desk was wide enough that only her head hung over the edge. Grabbing a handful of hair I yanked her head back, forcing her to look up at me with her frightened eyes. (Is that also excitement I see?) "Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this. Thanks for the advice.”“Don’t thank me for advice unless you’re going to take it. All of it.”“One last question, something that just crossed my mind, what if this is some kind of test?”She was silent for a moment, then asked, “Did you actually have sex with her at all?”“No. She made me get naked, but then she just sat and talked to me.”“And you’re sure she’s underage?”“I’ve seen enough naked teenage girls to be a pretty good judge,” I chuckled. “The first time I saw her, I’d have guessed.