"Yes, and even though it wasn't my fault, the jury decision was against me," said the Doctor. "My peers cleared me of all charges, and the criminal case was thrown out - so they filed a lawsuit in civil court. They ended up bankrupting me with legal charges and with a settlement."
"Wow," said Makoto. "What happened?"
"I was a pediatrician who worked some in the ER, a family lost their daughter when she was in an accident," recited Doctor Mizuno. "When we tried rescue medications after she was brought in, she had reactions to them and died. It turned out there were illicit drugs in her system and there was an interaction. If she'd been completely healthy, we might have been able to save her anyway. She wasn't, and she died even with all the effort to revive her being made."
"Whoa," said Makoto. "So how did you end up here?"
"They saw me as the culprit since I was the doctor who first saw the child," said the Doctor, her hand coming up unconsciously to touch a recent scar along her bicep. "They were apparently well connected with some lawyers. When the criminal board and physician review failed to convict me, the civil case was invoked and they went after everything I owned. In order to keep my child safe and her welfare cared for, I set up a trust fund and my sale went to that."
"So, as a doctor you at least have some major skills and you aren't full use," pointed out Makoto. "You probably have a fair amount of leeway."
"I'm only here because of certain abuses that occurred with the last master," said the physician, closing her eyes and letting her head rest against one of the hot tub's ledges. "After which, they put my license on suspension and re-registered me for 'light duty' until I'm deemed fit."
"Worked you to exhaustion, huh?" said Makoto, noting the odd fresh scars. "Whippings?"
"The previous Master used a cane of bamboo slats tied together," said the Doctor wearily. "As a result, I'm between Masters at the moment."
"Urk," said Makoto. She didn't comment about the illegality of such a thing - it looked like Doctor Mizuno was taking a nap. Probably needed it.
Hmmmmm. Her own Master had some money squirrelled away from that one tournament.
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(Posted Sun, 22 Aug 2004 09:44)
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