«» — ALOHA BOOM BOOM— «»
«» Chapter Ten «»
«» Nurse Revy «»
o0O¥O0o — 10 — o0O¥O0o
At the scene of the autowreck Two Hand by now is at the rear door and grabbing at the handle, only to snatch her hand away at the heat of it and change to the tactic of kicking in the window. The bootfalls set off yet another explosion from the car; flames jet up and the smoke redoubles.
A stunned and injured Kagami is dragged out by the most unlikely of rescuers. For a moment Kagami gazes around blearily and murmurs « Revy? » before she begins to scream.
« Shut it Japass; time for your anaesthetic! »
Revy snaps this out, as she delivers the required medicine with a sharp uppercut. She then drapes the crumpled Suit over her shoulder and makes for the flatbed of the car. Rock can just make out two indistinct figures.
He can only tell which is which when one is dumped down while the other makes a dash to tear the wipers off their car. In the rearview he can see Two Hand kneeling over an invisible-to-him figure. Revy is brusque and terse in her orders; she has her hands full holding Kagami together.
« Drive Rock! We need Doc Heartland rapido an' keep your yap shut I gotta focus here. »
Rock has no plan of talking much anyhow, not if off on a bluelight run, minus windshield. He has plenty and enough to handle; as does Revy in the back. A quick top-to-toe triage shows no damage beyond the immediately obvious. No worrying swellings, bleedings or cerebrospinal fluid, so, hopefully, no internal damage.
Thankfully no crush injuries and the complications of the toxins that go with them. Kagami has glass in her eyes, a headrest truss through her chest and a corkscrewed left arm. The spasmodic pulses of blood from the arm speak the worst — a severed artery.
Kagami's tie and pen are pressed into service, as a tourniquet, but can barely hold back the bloody gouts. Taking a chance, Revy straightens and splints the arm, using the wipers, before tackling the bleeding anymore. It slightly shortens Kagami's chance of life but, if she does live, at least she'll still have a working arm.
One sleeve of the researcher's top is caught under the splint but Revy makes brief work of tearing the rest of it off. With it clear, the wound becomes clearly visible; luckily the strut has only gored the lower sternum. There's no problem of a punctured lung; making Revy free to pull out the truss.
Without the cork of the strut, the very act of breathing makes blood spume out of Kagami. It wells up in rills that stream across Kagami's body trickle down her sides and runnel into every crevice of the flatbed. Revy is drenched in blood by now: she's kneeling in it, splashing in it, feeling it douse her shorts and boots besides streaking her arms, face and torso.
It's nothing more than Two Hand is expecting and she doesn't give it a thought, not as she focuses on bundling up the shirt to pad over the injury. Revy finishes by making the last of the shirt into makeshift bandages to wind over the dressing and apply pressure to the site. It's all good bright blood; Revy relaxes a touch for not seeing the darker shades of blood, those that warn of trouble inside of the body.
Somewhere in the midst of this Kagami has become conscious and conscious of what is happening too. She goes to spring upright, intending to hug Two Hand yet again but the gory angel isn't about to let her patient injure herself and holds Kagami down fast. The Suit mutters a little then falls quiet.
« Owe you three times, Revy. »
Then Kagami goes quiet and still; while she gazes intently at the Gory Angel that is Revy. This doesn't go on for long; as Revy has to press the last ribbon of shirt into use across Kagami's eyes: to stop her peering round and mashing the glass in her eyes even further in. All of this action isn't as fluid as it might be: Revy has to split her care between applying dressings, controlling two major bleeds and being sure the tourniquet isn't kept too tight for too long. Tourniquets! A blessing and a curse, they hurt like buggery when on and if kept fast for too long cut off too much blood and risk the very limb under care.
It is why (as soon as she is happy with all the dressings) Revy liberates the arm from the tourniquet and replaces it with her own weight and vigilance. She braces herself against the car to balance herself atop of Kagami. Revy intends to apply the best pressure she can by pouring all the weight of her body into the spur of her knee, which is pressing on Kagami's brachial point. It is a game and a half to maintain a steady pressure and a firm control, against the buck and jolt of the car but it is better than a tourniquet, for all of the ten or so minutes to Doc Heartland.
For all of the cease of bleeding there's no halt to the sounds bubbling out of Kagami. Revy isn't so inept as to apply another concussion that Kagami might not come round from; so she jams her wrist into the Suit's mouth and bears the clamp of Kagami's agonised bite. It offers Kagami some relief but not scarcely enough. The mewls and whines coalesce into a fog of anguish that sweeps the car till Rock can feel it in his very bones; it sets his teeth on edge and has him grinding them together as his hands clench tight on the wheel.
Rock cannot avoid peeking in the rearview, to catch sight of Two Hand on her knees and staunching Kagami's injuries. It's a familiar and unfamiliar Revy that catches his eye; to stick in his mind. There is blood trailing up her arms past the elbows, her top is dark with it, it dapples her face and even her hair is sticky with gore. It's not new, a bloodsoaked Two Hand, but there's no bared-teeth savagery or ferocity; only tension and concentration.
It's turning his ideas of her all upon their head and the image haunts him all the way to Doc Heartland. That's reason enough why Rock stays in a daze: he doesn't know what to think or say or do and so plays statue. He doesn't so much as go to help carry the Suit to the Doc's door. For all of that, Two Hand moves with such alacrity and efficiency it is plain she is used to moving hurting bodies and Rock is more likely to be an impediment than an aid. Yet more letters to add to the haunting crossword that is Revy.
Doc Heartland tags with Two Hand at the doorway; it's a professional and competent switch of patient and information. In the last instant before the door swings closed the Doc moves a shade awkwardly and Rock catches one full-front view of the bandaged, battered and blinkered Kagami. It's a sight that pierces him as surely as any thunderbolt. Revy is back in the shotgun seat and ready to get off but Rock is frozen, tense and inert — breathing the name "Kagami". Revy has little patience with this.
« Right on Rock; that's Fujiyamako Kagami — seems the only one in town who doesn't know her is me. Stop dicking around and drive; I wanna grab a shower. »
« NO ! ! ! Not "Fujiyamako" … Okajima … Okajima Kagami. »
« How the hell ? »
Rock responds brokenly, disjointedly.
« She's my cousin; no not "cousin" but related. Few years younger than me. Always hero worshipped me. Must've not wanted me dead. Don't know. Going to talk to her. »
BAM ! ! ! Rock is slammed back and pinned to his seat as Two Hand thrusts her face into his.
« Save it Rock; she's all outta time. It was a corpse I pulled outta that autowreck. If the Doc hasn't got her under by now all you can do is put flowers on her grave. Better pray he's got some blood on tap; most of her's is here. Move your ass an we're outta here. »
Two Hand raises her crimsoned arm in the air (to where they both can see it) some of the blood is still raw and wet. She shifts her grip from pinning Rock to pulling him and drags him over the gearbox to the shotgun seat, the one that she's backing out of. Soon as she's made the exchange and he's become the passenger, she goes around and seizes the driving seat. As they move off Rock begins to speak; even adding in a seated bow.
« Revy I know we're not big on manners in Lagoon but it's not how I was brought up and I gotta thank you; I owe you. She'd never have made it here at all if you hadn't done what you did. Revy, there's a skill in your hands that'd bring you a tycoon's ransom in Roanapur; why're you blowing that playing gunslinger? Even if I'd chugged all the rum from Bao's I'd not've thought of you as a Band Aid Maid. What's with that? »
« Don't you go sniffing round my past again! There's nothing there but a row of rusty old tin cans waitin' for guys like you to come along an' kick them over. Guy? You're just a Tokyo Boy, same as those Nip Kids in the park; dreaming of gunfights that end clean an' fade out in a golden sunrise. There's nothing clean down where we are. »
WHAM ! ! ! Revy slams a dirty, bloody handprint onto the dash in front of Rock
« You got jigsaws in your country Rock? They've got them in New York but never for the urchins running past the storefronts. Only time I got to do jigsaws was in a gang I was in back when. Their medic got his legs blasted clean off so all he could do was sit an' teach me jigsaws — human jigsaws. We'd got ourselves in some wars an I hadda pick up all the human scraps an put them back together. You gotta know Rock it scars your soul; who you can save, who you can't. Don't keep fooling yourself Rock.
SMASH ! ! ! Revy punches out the driver-side window. Rock jumps; looks scared at her.
« We're all playing in the Devil's Casino an' the dice are loaded. Nobody gets saved. Body or spirit they're broken an' the only cure is six foot of earth. Why dick around; put a bullet through their heart an' be done. »
« Then how come you're shrouded in her blood; it's like your second skin and your wrist; I guess you could mould dentures from it. Is she still nothing but a bowling pin to you? »
« Sure she is, what else could she be. You. Me. Her. Thats all we are. Only she's got a face an' a heart now that I don't wanna hear stop beating. Don't you ever repeat that Rock; the town'd laugh itself sick. »
« Revy, whatever happens between me and my cousin after this … well, it wouldn't even be possible if you hadn't been there. I'm not laughing. »
Rock puts two cigs in his mouth; lights them; puffs them up and puts one in Revy's lips.
Before he can add words to his actions the phone goes off from the glovebox. It is Chang wanting a meet, with the two of them most specifically, and an immediate meet at that.
« That's fucked my shower. Don't wanna keep Boss Chang hanging when our last job just got blown to hell. Rock, call up Dutch; lettim know what's gone down an' where we're going. He can do the report to Sis Yolanda for us an' all. »
With all outstanding business taken care of, Two Hand lets Rock play the automaton while she looks as near like a zombie driver as anything with the amount of crimson sheeting her. The pair of them have no idea of what Chang could be wanting with them but, being as they cut out Kagami before she could reach bosstown, and she is the only kewpie doll in town the interview doesn't promise to go easy. Rock fears they'll be adding their own blood to Two Hand's responder dappling all to soon.