The Doctor and Boys of Holloway

Karl looked at the old madam before him.

“Doctor Von Alden, I believe this husband of mine truly has the head of a pig!”

The madam accused her husband. Her face looked distressed. Her husband seems like he was enduring his wife’s accusation. He truly wanted to criticize her as well, but it seems like the madam wasn’t letting him defend himself. It actually felt awful for the old man to be accused like this.

Karl stayed his professional demeanor. He read his findings, “Mr. Rene. Your work has indeed sustained you and kept you healthy, but you are not young anymore. Please be careful in the future.”

The old man wanted to scold Karl. However Karl handed the results and translated it to words that a layman would understand. The old madam looked at the test result. After she finished reading the document, she pointed her finger at the old man.

“Look at this! You still dare to say that I’m wrong!”

“Sir has been working hard so it’s not so common that he would suffer from shortness of breath. I think that Sir should limit his consumption of alcohol and regulate your smoking habits. Sir is an active man and although it hasn’t hit you, yet. I advise that you take care of your health, please.”

Karl understood that stubborn men like the Sir in front of him wouldn’t listen so easily. So he said that while taking a glance at the Old Madam who had probably sworn in her heart to keep her old man in check.

“But the medicine!”

The old man tried one last ditch effort. Karl thought that the old man might hold a grudge towards him for revealing this to her wife. So Karl had decided that to coax the old man then he must be henpecked by his madam.

Karl clarified, “The medicine will be provided with President Viole’s contribution. It is to ensure that the Mister does not lose his livelihood and health. After all, we wouldn’t want to lose a valuable employee who had quite a track record.”

The old man looked pleased, being told he was valuable. The old madam continued inquiring about the medicine. Alicia Gardenia, who was acting as his assistant, handed the prescription medicine while Karl made sure to warn them sternly that the medicine must be taken in proper dosage -- while also making threatening remarks that if instructions are taken lightly, it would poison the one drinking it. The madam nodded sternly while the Old Man seemed so nervous about drinking the medicine.

“What was in that medicine?”

“Basil and Ginseng mixed with other herbs that lessens the stress in the body and gives the old man energy. It’s one of my old man’s recipes. I had Viole invest in the creation of the medicine.”

“So are you getting money from it?”

“The medicine’s getting produced by Viole. The production cost and the distribution of the medicine is going to be in his pockets and at the same time will be made to accommodate the cost of crafting the medicine.”

“Mister Viole. He might look lax, but he’s a businessman.”

“He agreed because it will benefit him. Our postmen and deliverymen are quite in need of the medicine. We also can advertise it to working folks. Make them believe that it will help them in their long days of work and sell it for a profitable price.”

“I didn’t think that you’d two would have made this arrangement.”

Karl settled down on his chair. Alicia sat opposite of him while placing her hands on her thighs.

“Well, he is a businessman like you said. He must have profit to do good things first. Reputation is key to a good business, Viole told me. And since we are distributing free medicine to our workers and establishing a good reputation among the people. I say that it is a good way to attract customers and workers.”

“We need more, don’t we?”

Mr. Viole wanted to expand his business, Karl thought. He wanted his branches to spread all over the United Provinces and plausibly open another branch to neighboring counties and countries. The air mail and air transport that they provided was a valuable business opportunity after all.

“We are also going to be screening young one’s who’ll make a fine guard for some of the caravans and wagons. We need security for our branches as well.”

Everything has been going well for Viole’s Company. Which means that when it does well there would be wolves trying to take a piece of the meat. Viole knew this himself so he had already made plans to keep his business secured.

Alicia continued listening when another patient came. This time it was an underweight young man who lifted his shirt. Below his left rib there was a bruising. There was pus around his nipple and from the looks of it. The wound was made with a sharp object. Karl inquired about the injury.

The young man carried a razor. Karl runs his finger on the razor. He flipped it over. Discovered the rusted part of the razor.

“Looks like you got infected by this razor of yours. It’s good that you suspected this, Mister.”

“Doctor, will it be okay? My love was spooked after seeing it.”

“Hmm, you need to worry about this first.”

Karl took his tools. He took a clean cloth. Laid his tools on them and flick on a syringe. He injected the young man with the anesthetic. He then took out his tools and started cutting around infection. Producing a bandage. He wrapped the wound. Took a medicine bottle with a cork and handed it to the young man.

“Drink it,” the smell revolted Karl.

The man drank and his face crumpled. “Doctor this is?”

“For infection. A foreigner had recently invented it. It helped during the war. Were you in a war, Mister?”

“I was. I was a messenger. Didn’t see much action.”

“No wonder,” Karl said. “You would have heard of this medicine. Helps in making sure that folk don't get their legs amputated. Smart thing that you came here instead of letting it fix itself. Always go to a Doctor when you have a chance, friend. When it’s too late, you’ll regret it.”

“H-how much do I have to pay, Doctor?”

“Hand me your papers. You should be an employee of the company, right?”

“I am, Doctor.”

“Good,” Karl inspected the document. “Now listen to me. You take this medicine three times a day. After five days you returned to me and I’ll see if you had taken the medicine. Also, make sure the other folks hear about what Mister Viole is doing.”

“T-thank you, Doctor.”

“No problem.”

The man left after bowing his head three times. Karl thought that he’d get a rest when he heard horses galloping outside of the small clinic. Rough voices. Curses being spewed out as one of them rushed to the door and walked in with his spurs hitting the floor.

Before the man could spat. Karl stood in front of him. There was no emotion in Kar’s face. The man didn’t even notice Karl approaching. Behind the man were two young men who saw Karl. Knew Karl from the looks of it.

“Heard you were opening a clinic and didn’t let us hear about it, partner.”

“Are you sick?”

“I ain’t,” he looked over Karl’s shoulders. He noticed Alicia. “Looks like you have a pretty Assistant, Mister.”

“We still have patients coming in, Mister. I advise that you please conduct your business or you might just need medicine from this clinic sooner than you’d expected.”

The man eyed Karl before he laughed. He threw a right hook that Karl caught easily. Karl banged his forehead against the feller’s nose and knocked him out cold. The man fell flat on his back. Eyes rolling forward.

Karl glared at his two acquaintances. “You boys needed healing as well? You look familiar. Both of you.”

“S-sir!”

“It’s Doctor now. Who is this guy?”

“It’s Shaw, Doctor.”

“Mr. Shaw seems ignorant. Is he always like this? Throwing punches and getting knocked. You boys associated with Mooney?”

“No, S-sir. We was an old gang here, but Mr. Mooney already took most of the rackets here in Avaios.”

“That so?”

“Miss Alicia, can you excuse us?”

Alicia looked at the man knocked out cold on the floor and then to the acquaintances. She was a woman who wasn’t unfamiliar with violence. She was a traveling copyist so she must have had her bad days as well. She left after taking her white hat with her.

Karl dragged the chair in front of Shaw and poured his canteen on his nose. The feller called Shaw sat upright, holding his nose.

“You okay, Old man?”

“Fuck,” he spat out water. “You hit hard, Mister.”

“That I do. You try to make a racket here and you get knocked out. Embarrassing really. What? You trying to punch it out again, Mister? I try not to kill, but I’m not going to be shy and not teach you a lesson. Seen folk like you that are too told to learn unless you get beaten. You a gunslinger, Mister?”

“I am. Tsk, you boys kissing up to this fool.”

“We told you he was dangerous. If you have seen him fight in the trenches you wouldn’t. Even Mooney’s crew don’t try to fuck with him, Mr. Holloway. We ain’t fools to make trouble for Doctor Von Alden here.”

“Von Alden?”

“That’s right, what’s your name, Mister?”

“You, how’s Senior Von Alden?”

“He died.”

“What?”

“My father died fighting for a good cause. Held his own against criminals trying to hurt a little girl. If you know my father then you’d know that he’d die like that.”

“Ain’t that true. Shit, so you were the boy he adopted?”

“So you knew my step-father?”

“Fuck, who doesn’t know them and his posse? Shit, good thing that you punch faster than me, Son.”

“Well, on the account of my father and you knowing him. Let’s talk peacefully, Mister.”

“Alright, I admit that I was arrogant. Tsk, look at me, trying to intimidate a boy, only to get knocked out. Shit.”

“Well, I’m always faster and stronger than some folks.”

“I heard that from your pa, alright. Guess this means that I’m foolish still trying to keep this shit going.”

“You should really quit this game, Mister. I ain’t going to spat any moral reasoning on ya, but you should understand that time for folks like you is done. Organized crime is much more popular these days, and if you don’t have resources like Thomas Mooney, then I’d doubt you’d get anything going.”

He didn’t want to listen. His eyebrows met as if he was resisting what Karl wanted to say. His shoulders sagged.

“I know that. Law’s been quite keen these days. But they ain’t looking at them folks.”

“You know why.”

“I do,” he caressed his broken nose. “Shit, my nose hurts.”

Karl searched his drawers and found whiskey. He threw the bottle at him. Shaw caught the bottle and drank it.

“Now that's the stuff.”

“I really do mean it when I say that you keep your nose on this. Law is getting much more vicious these days and small-time and big-time gangs ain’t going to have much time.”

“Well, do you have employment then? All I know is fighting. These fools only know fighting as well. We ain’t folks like you who can become a Doctor.”

“Our Company is hiring security detail. I need folks here around the clinic to guard and carry medicine to folks. Keep them in line during check-ups. You do know that I sell medicine as well.”

“Really?” Shaw cupped his chin. “Clive and Owen here can take up the work. I can as well. But I ain’t working for a pansy, Doctor. No thank you.”

“President Viole’s an airman and a veteran. Most of the employees are veterans of a war. You must have fought in a war once, Mister. So I think you’d fit in. We need muscle and you can handle it. Clive and Owen can help me man the selling part of this clinic. You boys mind it?”

“No, if anything, thank you, Sir.”

Clive, the one with a smaller face, eyed Shaw. “Good thing that you knocked out and got us a paying job, Sir.”

“I’ll knock you out if you speak that way, Boy.”

Clive held his hands up. Owen chuckled at his brother before leaning on the wall. Shaw eyed Karl again.

“Well, we really started off the wrong foot here, Doctor. I admit that I am a cocky bastard who thought he’d get to bully a small clinic, not knowing anything. I am Shaw Holloway, please, I hope you can forgive me.”

The old man wasn’t that proud to admit his mistake. No, Karl was sure that if he was one beaten, this old man wouldn’t be so respectful to him. If anything Karl was sure that he had literally knocked some sense into this man.

Karl shook hands with Shaw and made the trouble history.

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