Free Recon Marines III: The Marine's Doctor by Susan Kelley

but going as fast as his muscles allowed.
The movement jarred Pender, but he bit his lip against crying out.
When Mak hit the dock level, he sprinted toward the ship. He
twisted his head and used his chin to tap his radio. “Open the
door, Box. Now!”
    The ship’s door opened and the four
steps slid out just as Mak reached them. Box’s mouth dropped open
as he jumped out of Mak’s way. Mak carried Pender directly into the
lab and lifted him onto a table. Tubes and small bags of samples
scattered but the doctors reacted as well as combat
surgeons.
    Molly snapped out orders. “Hector,
universal blood and an IV. Helen, get antibiotics and a stitching
kit.” She swept her gaze up and down Mak’s body. “Are you
injured?”
    Mak looked down, realizing blood
covered his front. “All Pender’s.”
    “ What happened?” Molly
bent over Pender’s arm. He still held it tightly and squeezed his
eyes shut nearly as much. His breathing came shallow and rapid.
“You did an excellent job applying pressure, Kory, now let go so I
can see.”
    “ Can’t, sir.”
    “ Yes, you can. I know it
will hurt, but I need to look at it.”
    “ Not allowed to,
sir.”
    Mak put his hand on Pender’s shoulder.
“You have my permission, soldier, and you may pass out
now.”
    “ Thank you, sir.” Pender’s
grip on his forearm loosened. Fresh blood flowed out. His face
looked gray as his eyes rolled back in his head.
    Molly clasped a thick wad of sterile
pads on the fist-sized wound and then glared at Mak. “He wouldn’t
let go because you ordered him not to?”
“Had to keep pressure on it, and I needed both hands to carry
him.”
    “ You carried him the
entire way down?”
    “ It was only five floors.”
Mak stepped out of Dr. Loren’s way as he moved to put the IV in
Pender’s uninjured arm.
    Molly scowled at Mak but then turned
her attention back to the wound, lifted the dressing she held on it
to take a quick look. “What happened?”
    “ It sounded like a small
explosive device. I’m going back and have another look.”
    “ Why was he messing around
with explosives?” Molly let Dr. Shear take over holding the
dressing tight. She walked over to a sink and began washing her
hands.
    Mak joined her and scrubbed Pender’s
blood from his hands. “It was a trap. I didn’t stop him in
time.”
    “ Why would someone booby
trap a deserted place like this?”
    “ To hide their
destination, I hope. I’ll see what I can salvage.” Mak looked over
his shoulder at Pender. The soldier looked younger in his helpless
condition. “Will he be all right?”
    Molly shook water off her hands.
“He’ll live but I have to get a closer look to know how much tissue
damage there is. I don’t think you should go back to a room where
you know there are traps.”
    “ We need the information.”
Mak dried his hands off and walked out of the room.
    Box caught up to him at the steps to
outside. “Do you want me to go with you, sir?”
    “ Stay by the radio, Box.
No one leaves the ship.” Mak didn’t want anyone else stumbling
around where there could be more traps. Pender’s injury was his
fault. The nagging tension had disappeared when Pender sprang the
trap. Now that Mak understood why his instincts had been whispering
to him, he could do what needed to be done. He should have realized
the place was too sterile, everything too neatly cleaned up but the
control room left intact.
    This time Mak paused in the doorway of
the sprawling room and looked around. Where would he place traps?
The communications unit made perfect sense. Anyone investigating
the abandoned station would turn that equipment on looking for
details. Pirates would try to steal it.
    Mak avoided the comm unit, moving
around the rest of the workspace. He found a pressure sensitive
explosive in front of the elevator, waiting for someone to step
out. An old computer sat with tempting clarity on the commander’s
desk. He turned from it and found another small bomb attached