Kathryn frowned as she leaned back in her chair, pensive as she thought of the many ways that today could go. Grace was a positive person and a good friend. She'd saved Merci's life in Philadelphia, although some of her activities connected with that night led to her fleeing to Las Vegas to build a new life.

But was she a mostly upstanding citizen with shady friends, content to be the positive, friendly voice on the fringe of the business? Or was she willing to go all the way- to get dirty and live as a criminal?

Kathryn wasn't sure. But she was going to find out today. She could also lose a friend. Kathryn paced near the window as she waited for Grace to arrive. 

Grace glanced at the clock in her office and grinned, it was time to call it a day. She pulled her stethoscope off her neck and tossed it on the desk. She had mountains of paperwork to finish up, but for once she was going to leave it. She had gotten a call earlier to stop by and see Kathryn at her office and it was the perfect excuse to be a bit lazy for once about her work. Standing she grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder before heading out the door and locking up for the night. 

She made her way towards Kathryn's office wondering what the woman wanted to talk about, knowing her it could be anything. She pondered what it could be as she hailed a cab to take her the rest of the way. Once she got there she tipped the driver and paid before sliding out of the backseat and looking at the building. "Well, I guess my questions will be answered." She told herself before heading inside. 

"Kat?" she called out as she made her way towards the office her friend usually occupied. Peeking her head in the door and smiled, "Hey!" she said, "Sorry I'm a few minutes late, traffic was a killer." she told her before pulling her purse off and taking a seat in the chair across from her. She was about to say something about Merci not being around when she noticed the look on her friend's face. "You ok?" She asked, her moment of levity gone. 

Kathryn smiled at Grace.

"I'm okay. There are some... troubles in my life. But we'll get to those a bit later. I wanted to talk to you, first. How are you adjusting to Vegas so far?"

She crossed her leg over the other and leaned back in her chair, thinking about the craziness that her life had become since moving here. "Honestly?" she said before giving a little chuckle, "I am so much busier now than I ever was at the hospital." she told her friend. "But its a good kind of busy, I think. Yes, I'm exhausted and yes my days are long. But when I do get a day off I have you guys to spend time with and I'm actually really grateful for that." she nodded her head, "I'm settling in, and it really helps knowing I have people I can spend time with." she said with a shy smile. 

 Kathryn smiled at her friend, but it was a small smile- a concerned smile.

"You're a good friend, Grace. But I need to talk to you about some... potentially difficult things today. You're not an idiot... you're obviously aware that my "business" is much more than simple real estate... but how much do you know?

Kathryn leaned back in her chair and laced her fingers.

So it was going to be one of those conversations, she realized as she listened to Kat's question. "Well, I know that you guys killed that man." she told her, refering back to the night they met. "I know that you have a lot of business associates and they tend to look up to you." she shrugged and then decided it wasn't time to beat around the bush, not with something like this. "I'm pretty sure you're part of the mafia. Which I know has hold here in Las Vegas. People drink here, and drunk people talk." 

Kathryn nodded as Grace spoke.

"Not technically the mafia, but you're close enough. You know I'm involved in the underworld, but you've maintained our friendship, so I assume you aren't horrified. I know that that night in Philly you cut some corners yourself."

Kathryn sighed.

"I have a job for you. Something that'll bring you further into the business. How far are you willing to go for me?"

Grace frowned and leaned forward, "Look, I'm pretty much ok with a lot of things, but I am not about to go against the Hippocratic Oath I took when I became a doctor." she told her. "I can bend it, but I won't be killing anyone." she told her friend. "So please do not ask that of me." 

Kathryn smiled reassuringly at Grace.

"Okay- I won't. I can absolutely respect your decision if that's not something you're willing to do; I have plenty of associates who will never take that step to prove their loyalty. If you ever change your mind, let me know. As for my current problem, I'll find someone else to try to solve it. I'll hopefully be able to piece something together, and even if I can't it's not the end of the world."

Grace can see the gears turning in Kathryn's mind, before she obviously shelves that problem for later and moves on to something else.

"Is that your only restriction? What about theft?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Honestly, I've never given it much thought. Obviously, I can't condemn people who do, since apparently some of them are my closest friends." she chuckled, "I don't think I would have an issue with it. I mean, worse comes to worse I can just convince myself that the person is really annoying and they completely deserve it." she added with a smile. 

Kathryn smiles at her friend.

"Okay, well I'll keep that in mind, Grace. Obviously, anything I say to you stays between us..."

Grace frowned, "Well of course. I'm not one to go running my mouth." she told her friend. But she was curious, "But I would like to know, what task did you want me to do?" she asked her friend. 

Kathryn leaned back, looking uncomfortable.

"Grace, you're my friend. My line of work just may not be suited for someone like you. To be perfectly honest, I'm worried you'll think I'm a horrible person if I tell you. And I'm a worse person than you think I am. I have some positive qualities... but I'm a different person than I was when I first came to Vegas. I've done things and... well, I'll tell you if you really want to know. But only if you're sure you want to know. Are you sure?"

She thought about it for a moment. Did she really want to know? Did she want to see her friend in a different light. Would knowing actually ruin their friendship? She thought about how she had felt when she found out about Merci and Kat killing the man in Philly. The relief had ben the strongest emotion, followed by the mind numbing kiss in the alley. She felt her face flushing slightly at the memory. She bit her lip and tried to recollect if she had been upset at all about finding out the truth. 

"I...I can't promise to be over the moon about it." she told her friend, "But, I like to think I'm a better person than one who would just up and end things because they hear something they don't like." she sighed and thought about how to phrase things, "I'm not ignorant to the world. Bad people exist, and do bad things. I've seen enough of it in the hospital." She said. "I would like to know." She told her,

Kathryn leaned forward in her chair and sighed slightly. 

"There's a state senator who wants to eliminate legal gambling. Before you think he's a saint, it's because his brother has his hands in a lot of the old school private room gambling scene. They've been losing money like crazy since the law changed and Fitz started taking advantage of it. Anyways, State Senator Thompson has been a fixture in Nevada politics for forever- he's 60something. Going in for some kind of minor heart procedure- or as minor as those get. Regardless, it's a surgery that's expected to go well... but there can always be complications, especially with a man of his age."

Probably best to just be direct.

"I was going to arrange for you to get a job at the hospital where he's having a procedure- which should be in a few weeks. You'll blow these desert docs out of the water, and I know you'd be in the room, if not outright running the surgery yourself. I was going to ask you to ensure that he doesn't survive the surgery."

Kathryn looked at Grace with steady eyes.

"Yes, it's horrible. But the way I see it, the government kills people every day. The government steals from people every day. Why them and not me? "

"It's not something I enjoy doing. I'm not the kind of person who just pulls the trigger on someone without trying other options. But he doesn't gamble unless he's in his own places. There's no blackmail on him- I've tried to lure him in with three different dancers from the club... two women and a man, just in case... and he didn't bite. He's too tied up in the family business to back off, so if I'm going to protect my interests, and the interests of my people, he needs to go."

Kathryn looked at Grace again, wondering how she'd react.

Grace folded her hands in her lap, picking at her cuticles as she thought it over. Good people died all the time, so why shouldn't a bad one die if it was for the good of the many. She bit her lower lip, tugging on it while she thought about what she might feel after doing such a thing. She knew she was in deeper than she ever thought she would be. Yeah, she had brushed the fringes of the underworld a few times in Philadelphia, but here in Las Vegas she had practically jumped right in, even if it was a slight accident. She looked down at her hands, the hands that could save a life, or hands that could destroy it. 

She looked up at Kathryn with her eyes full of questions, "If I do this, can you promise me that I can keep my medical office?" she asked the woman. "If it gets out that it wasn't a simple operational error, I could lose my license." she frowned, "I can't give up the thing that I most am, the thing that defines me, and I won't. Without it I am and have nothing." she said softly to the woman across from her. "Even if my patients are just members of," she paused to wave her hand, "Whatever you're a part of, I still need them." 

Kathryn looked at Grace carefully.

"Think about this, Grace. It's not a decision to make lightly. No matter what happens, you keep the office. And there's no way it'll get out- because you and I are the only people who know about this. Maybe Merci'll know. But that's it. And you're not going to lose your license; it's not like you're going to blow out his brains in the operating room: just find a way to make it an accident. Nick an artery, swap a medication... whatever works. You'll stick around that hospital for a couple weeks after to make it obvious that you're not just running away- then you'll get offered more money to expand your private practice in your clinic.

But again... I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to sleep on this. It's... a big step. One that you can't go back from."

Grace nodded her head, "you're right, it is something that needs to be considered carefully." she told her friend. "Can you give me a few days to think it over? I'll come back and see you once I decide, either way." she told her. 

Kathryn stood and walked over to her friend, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course. And Grace... you really don't have to do this if you don't want to. I can try to find another way."

She sat at her desk head in her hands staring at a pro and cons list that she had written up once she had returned to the office on an empty folder. 

Pros: It would help Kathryn and other people out. 
I'd get to be in a hospital again for a while
He's not a very nice man

Cons: I would have to willingly take a life
Can I take a life??????????????????
 

She had written the list and was now staring at it. It had been two days and she thought she had made up her mind not to do it, but for some reason, the decision had never stuck. The actual killing would be easy, Kathryn was right there. Things went wrong in surgery all the time, and no doctor was infallible. Even those with egos larger than the moon. She snorted to herself before realizing she had doodled a tiny little gun in the corner of the folder with flowers around it. She took it as a sign and got up to head back to Kat's office. 

She took a seat across from the woman and then with a nod simply said, "I'm in."