CHAPTER 1

Blaring sirens forced morning rush hour commuters to the sides of the frontage road running along the busy interstate. Neither the passenger nor the attending paramedic noticed the rays of light reflecting off Lady Bird Lake. Morning joggers and cyclists were fulfilling their passions for exercise before the heat of the summer day set in.

"Almost there, Yvonne, almost," Mo said placing a cool hand on her sweating shoulder attempting to calm the groaning woman.

"Please hurry," came her breathless voice as she squirmed on the thin mattress.

They flew past the University Medical Center and continued to the highway entrance. A scratchy voice crackled from the radio, "Six-fifty-seven, what's your status?"

"Seven minutes out," said Kevin, the emergency medical tech weaving in and out of hurried morning drivers. He smirked, "Have I said lately, traffic sucks in this town?" Even with the siren's rise-and-fall resound, people took their time figuring out how to give the ambulance passage over to the fast lane of the roadway.

"Copy that. FYI. Destination reports demonstrators in the area. Proceed with caution," came the dispatchers reply.

CONTINUE HERE…

"Right-oh, dispatch," returned Kevin hearing intense gasps coming from the back. "I'll tell the gal in the rear to kick back and relax. Maybe peruse a gossip magazine or two." He rolled his eyes, smacked the radio off and transitioned to another freeway, happy to find less congestion enabling him to increase speed. Five minutes later he exited the highway and headed towards an upscale suburb of Austin, Texas. 

As Kevin turned down another road, Mo looked into Yvonne's red eyes, trying his best to keep her focused on him. "Don't hold your breath. Deep breaths now," he said nodding his head in approval as she drew in a long inhalation and blew it out slowly. "There you go."

The ambulance turned and Kevin yelled out, "Hang on." 

They came to a sudden stop. Mo held his patient's hand as her body propelled forward from the force. "Concentrate on me," he repeated. "Your breathing. In and out. In and out. Yes, good."

Kevin stared out his window at thirty or forty protesters milling in front of the driveway he needed to enter. He switched off the sirens and blasted his horn to entice the stubborn crowd to budge from his path. "Get out of the way people," he complained out loud as he raised his hands. "A fly caught in molasses," he mumbled.

Sign carriers from the mob fixed laser beam glares upon him. "Babies deserve life," they bellowed. "Babies deserve life!"

Angry people swarmed around them. Inside Yvonne jumped at abrupt bangs on the side of the ambulance, but her best friend in the world right at that moment, the stranger seated right by her side, would not allow her to become distracted.

The transport eased through the agitated group at a snail’s pace. Their faces contorted in rage, their fists flailing as they chanted, "Let the babies live! Let the babies live!" 

One long blonde-haired woman in her early twenties garnered Kevin's attention. She peered up at him with translucent blue eyes. Perhaps she proved more reasonable so he smiled and using his index finger indicated the back of the building. To his disappointment instead of cooperating she joined in the cries of the others, "Let the babies live!"

A skinny middle-aged woman with short blood-red hair startled him when she slammed her hand hard against his window, her twisted face an inch from the glass. "It's life, not convenience!" she screamed.

"Shit," Kevin muttered, his heart jolted into rapid pounding. He waved his arms in exasperation, "Get the hell out of my way." Tempted to nudge a handful of picketers with his front bumper, he laid on the horn. They shuffled to the side allowing him to break free of the swarm. 

Kevin hastened past the massive glass block wall of the grandiose lobby. He advanced along manicured flowerbeds brimming with apricot daffodils and white hibiscus. "How's she doing?" he called out as he rounded the end of the white stoned building following the words, 

THE POSTPONEMENT CENTER — PICK UP AND DELIVERY — AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

"Excellent," replied Mo smiling down at Yvonne. "She's got this." Through a face drenched with perspiration, she simpered up at him. 

Male and female nurses dressed in blue scrubs stood waiting at an open roll-up door. Kevin backed into the bay, then clamored out to unlatch the back. He and Mo slid out the stretcher as the nurse shoved forward a second gurney. With one coordinated movement, the patient transferred from one bed to the other. The female nurse lifted the side rails while her male counterpart accepted the handheld device from Kevin.

Two weeks shy of a full term pregnancy, Yvonne winced and grabbed hold of her contracting belly. She stared up at Mo for reassurance. He grinned and stroked her sweat-drenched forehead, her face puffy and rosy. "You're gonna do great." Her eyes squeezed shut and he turned to the nurse, "Contractions are two minutes apart." 

She nodded and wheeled the uncomfortable woman through swinging doors saying, "It won't be long now." 

"What's with the yoyos out front? Haven't seen them in a while," Kevin asked.

The male nurse consulted his watch, logged the information and touched his thumbprint on the portable tracker before handing it back. "Seventh anniversary of Placer v. Grassmen."

"Ah," Kevin nodded understanding all the excitement. "Makes sense." 

The paramedics reloaded the empty bed into their vehicle and climbed in the front seats. After they pulled out, the nurse engaged a wall button causing the door to close with a faint grinding sound.

The gurney moved down a pale yellow hallway. Another one of Yvonne's contractions subsided as a woman with hazel eyes and shoulder length mousy brown hair approached. At fifty years of age, her slender figure fit well into pressed black pants and a forest green knit polo top. Her arms grasped a grey tablet tight to her chest rubbing against her company issued name tag reading, 

NORA COLLINS, CLIENT LIAISON

When Nora reached them, the nurse stopped, leaned against the wall and retrieved her phone to respond to a text.

"Hello, Yvonne," said Nora with a cursory smile. 

"Hi," she responded relieved to see a familiar face. 

The liaison placed the tablet into Yvonne's hand, gave her a lightweight stylus and pointed to the screen. Another labor pain would hit at any moment so the pregnant woman scratched a rough signature, then paused to think. 

"June second," Nora confirmed and Yvonne scribbled the date. "A little earlier than anticipated."

"Yeah and my husband's out of town."

Yvonne's head fell back and she grunted letting the tablet slip from her hands. Nora made a catcher's save before it smashed on the linoleum floor. 

"We gotta go," said the nurse shoving her phone back into her pocket. She began advancing the gurney further down the hall.

Nora strode alongside, "They're going to take you into pre-op, now." 

Irritated, the nurse said, "All right. I think we've got things figured out." 

Nora stopped walking, clenched her jaw and watched her client roll away. She turned and walked a few steps in the opposite direction stopping in front of a secured door. A slow breath exhaled from her lips, as if laboring herself. The first genuine smile of the day spread across her face. 

In bold letters the placard on the door read, 

CRYPOD HOLDING — AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

Nora swiped her employee badge and heard a clunk as the lock disengaged. She gripped the smooth stainless door handle and pushed.