Night shift. Four rooms. One of you. You're the anesthesia tech for the C corridor at Corliss County — the one who checks the machines, stocks the carts, turns the rooms, and hands people things three seconds before they ask. You're not a licensed clinician. Everyone in the room outranks you. You're also the only person who touches every cart on every case. Six weeks ago the dispensing cabinet went offline and the suite ran nine days on paper. Pharmacy reconciled those forms tonight. Eleven waste entries don't match — and your badge number is in the witness column on all of them. Techs aren't allowed to witness waste. You weren't on shift for four of those dates. The board doesn't stop for this. Eleven hours left, two cases holding in the ED, and every room you turn over belongs to the same four people. One of them is your friend. Pharmacy wants an answer Monday. A slow procedural thriller. Original characters and setting, written by someone who's worked the room. #oc2026