Chapter 998: The Brewery Clinic Loses a Tooth

The middle brace struck its seat at the end of a left-pump stroke. JJ crossed the trolley rail to watch the spring rocker shut the right contact; the relief worker kept his palm on the handle and called the count.

"Left pump’s at twelve; the wall brace is moving between strokes," the relief worker said.

JJ kept her eye on the rocker. "Keep the left pump running; I’m watching the wall braces," she said.

The tank sat on its Meren trolley in the brewery clinic’s east row, its cut engine plate still supported beneath the pumps. The tank woman remained submerged. She had pushed two fingers through the service sleeve and pointed past JJ to the middle brace in the west bay.

The brace’s upper tooth lifted from its seat. Between pump strokes, the crack lengthened through the plaster and reached the west ramp’s top bolt.

"Look at the middle brace. Keep the tank level while the crew moves the beds."

"Leave the trolley here until you ask for a move. We’ll keep its return hose clear."

JJ pulled the hose away from the wheel. The tank woman watched the move through the narrow glass, then lowered her two fingers. Behind her, the graft remained under its jacket. The sleeve kept her hand above the pump housing, clear of the moving rod.

Fenn stood at the west post and checked the ramp before looking at the brace. "The west ramp is the short way to the beds. That top bolt is lifting; when it goes, the lower landing is blocked."

"The east stair stays open. Tell each patient where the beds are going and wait for their answer."

The nurse crossed to the first cot. Its patient gripped the frame, studied the east landing, and nodded. The second asked how far the walk would be; the nurse measured it from the doorway and waited until he agreed. A third kept her blanket around her shoulders and chose to stay. "My blanket’s dry here. If the brace slips again, tell me before you roll the cot," she said. She had a tin cup of broth balanced on the sill. The nurse put it in her lap and wedged a folded towel beneath the west wheel.

Before the next stroke, the nurse brought her a floor plan. The patient marked the east stair and the closed ramp with a charcoal stub, then drew a line around her own bed. She tucked the paper under the cup and kept it there.

JJ turned to the clinic engineer. "We can move two beds. The west ramp needs support before we touch its brace."

"The outer seats carry the wall. The ramp hangs from the middle tooth."

"Then the ramp goes. Keep the east stair open and the trolley within hose reach."

The tank woman tapped the service sleeve twice. JJ leaned close to hear her through the opening.

"Keep my trolley in the east row. I can see the pump; the west hose is out of view."

"I’ll keep the hose in view. Tell me before you need the trolley moved."

The nurse and two orderlies rolled the first cot across the east landing. Its patient held the water cup in both hands and called out when the wheel hit the floor joint. They paused, lifted the frame over the crack, then waited until the patient chose to continue.

At the next left-pump stroke, the brace jumped. The relief worker caught the handle before its return spring struck the stop. The right rocker clicked. JJ saw the pressure needle climb as the spring snapped across the contact.

"The brace takes more pull at the pump change. Ease the next stroke until I read it."

"I’ll hold at the halfway mark. You tell me when the gauge drops."

The engineer fetched a timber prop from the repair rack. Fenn took the far end and set her heel against the wall post while he raised the upper end toward the cup. The wood slipped on the cracked floor. It struck the engineer’s shoulder, and he caught it before it rolled under the trolley.

"That prop is too short for the upper cup. We’ll need a shoe under the foot."

"Use the metal wedge beside the tool tray. Keep it outside the pump path."

JJ braced the lower end while Fenn drove the wedge beneath it. The nurse came back to report that the first patient had reached the east row; the second waited at the doorway, still deciding whether to cross.

"I cleared the landing. He can stay or cross on his own word; nobody lifts him without asking."

The tank woman’s fingers appeared again. She pointed through the sleeve toward the trolley’s return hose, which had begun brushing the cracked wall each time the right pump switched.

"That hose is catching on the wheel. Raise it before the next change."

The relief worker lifted it while keeping his other hand on the pump handle. JJ hooked the line over the trolley rail, leaving enough slack for the tank to remain level. The next stroke carried through both pumps without pulling the hose.

The engineer set the prop against the upper cup. Fenn kept her shoulder under the wall post while he asked JJ to read the other two seats. She checked each by the depth of the notch and the fresh scrape through old grease. The outer pair remained seated. Only the middle tooth had moved.

"The prop takes the wall. The ramp still hangs from that tooth."

"The east stair will carry the beds. Close the west landing before we unload the brace."

Fenn crossed to the ramp and called the warning to the workers at either end. They pulled a cart of blankets away from the landing and set a barrier across the stair. The second patient watched them finish, then told the nurse he would take the east route with his own walker.

The clinic engineer loosened the center tooth with a wrench. The metal resisted. When it moved, the wall settled onto the timber and the west ramp twisted at its north bolt.

"The tooth is ready to come out. The prop has the wall; the ramp is on its own."

"Take it from the side. I’ll keep the pump handle at half stroke until it clears."

JJ watched the relief worker hold the left pump. The right rocker rested open. She tightened the trolley brake with her good fingers and kept her damaged thumb folded against her palm. Its joints still hurt when she forced them straight.

Fenn planted both hands on the wall post. The engineer drew the tooth outward, a quarter turn at a time. It scraped along its groove and came loose with a flat clack.

The west ramp dropped onto the barrier. One bolt snapped through its plate. Fenn and the engineer held the post while the prop took the wall load. The trolley stayed level in the east row. The nurse kept the doorway clear as the second patient crossed on his walker.

"The ramp is gone, but the east stair is clear. Keep the west landing closed until we build a new bracket."

The engineer brought the tooth to the work light. Three square marks had been cut into its inner face, with a fourth square broken by the groove. JJ had seen the same mark on the freight post beyond the split sill. She ran her nail over the shallow cut without letting the warm metal touch the patient area.

"The stamp matches the freight post. Those file marks were made to fit this seat."

"We have a matching stamp and a clean fit. We still need a route or record to name its carrier."

The nurse returned the trolley’s pump log to the service sleeve. The tank woman made a short mark for each completed stroke, then paused when the left handle stopped halfway. The relief worker held it there until JJ checked the rocker. Its spring had cleared the contact; the right pump stood ready for the next count.

"I’ll show the next shift the rocker before I leave. Nobody takes this handle by guessing."

"I’ll train the relief pair myself. The pump count stays beside my bed."

The nurse placed the paper where the tank woman could reach it through the sleeve. The woman marked another stroke and pressed the pencil back against the glass, signaling for the next worker to take over.

JJ set the removed tooth in the repair tray. The clinic had stock for one new ramp bracket, not a second attempt at the old foundation. She wrote that limit on the board and asked Fenn to keep the freight-post side shut until the broken sill could be inspected.

Across that sill, the sealed brass tube remained beneath the empty post. Its cloth wrap had not been opened. JJ left it where it was and carried the tooth to the east workbench, away from the beds.

The right pump clicked on its next stroke. The woman in the tank watched the handle, then recorded the count herself.