"What is that? Unsterilized needles?" the doctor yelled. "That is blatant malpractice! You will give her a massive infection or cause internal bleeding! Security, restrain her!"

Tiffany scrambled to her knees. She pulled her phone from her pocket and aimed the camera directly at Dakota.

"I am recording everything," Tiffany threatened. "You are going to prison."

Dakota tuned out the noise. The world shrank down to the dying woman beneath her hands. Her eyes became sharp and clinical.

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small, foil-wrapped alcohol prep pad. She tore it open with her teeth. She pinched the first silver needle between her thumb and forefinger and swiped it through the alcohol pad.

Her right hand moved so fast it blurred. She drove the needle straight into the center of Audrey's forehead.

The bodyguards flinched. One of them looked away, his stomach turning at the sight.

Audrey's body, which had been thrashing against the pavement, instantly went completely rigid. The violent spasms stopped.

The doctor pushed his glasses up his nose. He stared at the motionless body.

"Impossible," the doctor muttered.

Dakota did not pause. She grabbed the collar of Audrey's silk dress and ripped it downward. The fabric tore, exposing the pale skin over Audrey's sternum.

Dakota sterilized three more needles in rapid succession. She plunged them deep into the flesh around the pericardium. Her fingers moved with brutal precision, hitting the dead spots around the heart.

She flicked the end of each needle with her fingernail. The thin metal vibrated rapidly, emitting a low, humming sound.

The vibration traveled down the needles into the nerve clusters. The dark purple color on Audrey's lips slowly began to fade into a pale pink.

Suddenly, the portable heart monitor shrieked. A solid, unbroken tone pierced the air.

The jagged green line on the screen flattened into a perfectly straight line.

Tiffany dropped her phone. It clattered against the asphalt.

"She killed her," Tiffany screamed. "She is dead."

The doctor jumped forward. "I told you. She is a fraud. Arrest her."

The two bodyguards closest to Dakota moved in rapidly. One grabbed her shoulder with a vice-like grip, while the other drew a taser, its red laser dot fixing directly on the center of her back. The heavy click of the weapon arming echoed loudly.

Dakota felt the harsh grip on her shoulder and the threat of the taser behind her. Her heart rate did not increase. She kept her eyes locked on Audrey's chest.

"Shut up," Dakota ordered.

She reached into the bottom compartment of the hairpin. She pulled out the final needle. It was twice as long as the others and made of pure gold.

Dakota took a deep breath. She gripped the gold needle with both hands. She found the exact center of Audrey's chest, right between the ribs.

She drove the gold needle downward with massive force. It sank deep into the flesh, leaving only a tiny fraction of the metal visible above the skin.

The silence on the highway was absolute. The flatline tone of the monitor screamed in their ears.

One second passed. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Tiffany let out a cruel, hysterical laugh. She looked at the bodyguards.

"Tase her," Tiffany ordered.

The bodyguard's finger tightened on the trigger of the stun gun.

Audrey's chest suddenly jerked upward. Her back arched off the ground. A loud, desperate gasp tore from her throat, like a drowning victim breaking the surface of the water.

The straight line on the monitor spiked. It dipped, then spiked again. A strong, steady rhythm filled the screen. The flatline alarm cut off.

Color rushed back into Audrey's cheeks. Her eyelids fluttered and slowly peeled open.

Dakota stood up. She pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped a drop of sweat from her temple. She looked down at the men holding the guns.

"She is alive," Dakota said.

Chapter 6

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