Chapter Thirty Seven: Please Hurry

Jack stared at his copy of the photo of Hiro at the airport. He'd had several copies made, in fact, just to be safe. And he was no closer to understanding how his friend had ended up on the footage than he had been earlier. It just didn't make sense. He was so engrossed in his scrutiny that he didn't notice someone approaching him until the last possible moment.

"Hello."

The space captain almost jumped out of his skin. He shook himself before looking up. "Please don't do that," he requested, looking less than happy until he realized just who had interrupted his reverie. "Miss Lopez." His expression turned into a huge grin. "I wasn't expecting to see you there."

Ella gave a bit of a cheerful wave. "Sorry about that. Didn't think you'd startle that easily." She did look apologetic, despite the slightly enamored smile on her face. Jack had seen it too many times not to recognize it for what it was.

Giving her his classic grin, Jack put down what he was looking at to give her his undivided attention. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, actually," Ella kind of hedged, looking more embarrassed than nervous, "it's more like what I can do to help the investigation. See, while the others were focused on looking for bomb fragments, I went in a completely different direction." She waved her arm in the air as she spoke, blue-gloved hands making a striking image for the space captain against her dark jacket.

More than a little intrigued, Jack nodded for her to continue. "I take it you found something."

She let out an exaggerated sound of excitement. "Boy did I ever!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a sealed evidence bag. "Take a look at this."

Jack took the bag with cautious hands. If he wasn't mistaken, this was part of one of the bombs, though how she'd gotten her hands on it was beyond him. He'd thought the initial party had cleared out all the debris and recognizable pieces. Well, anything was possible, as he was more than aware. "What is it?" he finally asked, not immediately recognizing what part it might play.

Ella took it back. "Best as I can tell, it's some kind of timing device. At least that's what I think it is. I won't know for sure until I get it back to the lab. But it reminds me of something from a case a year or so back. It was another bombing, a one off thing. Maybe they're connected."

That made Jack more thoughtful than before. "Another bombing, you say? Did they ever find out who was behind it?"

Shaking her head, Ella made sure she placed the evidence back in her evidence kit. "Not as far as I know." She zipped up the bag just to make sure everything inside was secured. "I like to go through evidence on unsolved cases every now and again. Guess you could say it's kind of a hobby. And I remember going through some evidence that reminded me of this. That's why I brought it up."

"Miss Lopez," Jack said, taking her by the shoulders. "This is very important. I need you to go back to the precinct and pull up the evidence and compare it to what we've got here. If it's a match, I want everything on that case you've got. It might help is figure out who's behind all this and why."

Ella looked up with an air of distraction but nodded at his instructions. She was only slightly fazed by his more formal tone. "Yes sir. Not a problem. I just need to know how to contact you directly. Oh! And what about Detective Decker and Lucifer?"

Jack took a card out of his pocket when she mentioned contact details but paused in thought at the added question at the end. He did have the detective essentially working under him, as much as she hated it. And part of him thought it would be wise to stay on her good side. "Yes, the Detective and Lucifer too," he decided, with only some misgivings. He still wasn't exactly happy about Lucifer's final decision regarding their potential future relationships, but it was what it was and there were many other fish in the sea, as the saying went. "And Ella," he added as she turned to head out, "please hurry."

Ella accepted the card, slipping it into her pocket. She felt a small thrill go down her back knowing she could call him up at any moment, but now was not the time. She dutifully headed back to her vehicle and from there, back to the precinct. She had work to do. Time outside of work could wait until later, if it happened at all.

Lucifer sat in the waiting room of the hospital. It went without saying that he was more than a little bored as he waited for his partner to finish with the doctor, or, rather, the other way around. There were a few good looking nurses, but most of them didn't seem willing or able to give him the time of day. He wasn't about to take attention away from someone who truly deserved it, though there were a few in the immediate area who probably didn't.

After what felt like forever, though was only about an hour, Chloe exited the examination room, sporting a new crutch. She had a piece of paper clutched in one hand. From all indications, the paper was a prescription of some kind, though Lucifer chose not to pry.

"I say, it's about time," the devil said as he stood, straightening his suit as she approached. "They certainly weren't in any hurry now were they?"

Chloe gave him a look as she hobbled past him. "They were doing what they needed to do," she retorted, more than aware when he fell into step with her. "And what were you doing while I was in there?"

The two made their way to the reception desk where the detective signed a few additional forms, before being directed to the in-hospital pharmacy. "I was contemplating recent events, if you must know," Lucifer said in a somewhat bitter tone. "Unlike some people, I haven't forgotten that we still need to send someone over to collect the recently deceased's belongings. I thought I'd call up Miss Lopez for the purpose but she claims to be working on something much more important."

Blowing a strand of hair out of her face, Chloe handed the pharmacist on duty her prescription note. "I'm sure she's working with that Captain Jack whatever his name was."

"Harkness," Lucifer supplied in a less than happy voice. "And that's what she said she was doing. I somehow get the impression that if he asked her to walk on the moon, she'd be more than willing to do it."

Chloe rolled her eyes at him as she leaned against the counter. It meant she didn't have to rely quite so much on the crutch. It was a miracle they hadn't decided to make her use two, though it had been a near thing. The downside was that if she had to come back in for that same injury, the doctor promised to inform her captain that she needed some down time until she recovered. The detective had no intention of allowing that to happen and so made a mental promise to herself to at least try and use the crutch more consistently.

Lucifer returned her look with a similar one, though with a hint of protest. "Well it's true. The way she was fawning all over him. Jack this. Jack that. You'd think he was the only important person in her life. And she just barely met him too!"

The pharmacist returned with Chloe's prescription and she signed for it before turning back to her partner. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're jealous."

"Of that Neanderthal?" Lucifer scoffed. "As if!"

She gave him a knowing look before tucking the crutch more firmly under arm. "Uh huh." She gave a bit of a smirk as she started off without him, making him have to catch up as she headed towards the parking garage. It was only a slight irritation that she had to rely on him to drive once more but it couldn't be helped. "Well, since Ella's too busy to gather evidence, and collect Rachel Amesbury's things, I guess that just means you and I will have to do it."

Lucifer stopped short at the door. "Are you suggesting I sift through the things of a woman deceased?"

"Hasn't stopped you before," Chloe quirked as she waited for him to hold the door for her. It took him a moment to take the hint, though she couldn't help but look amused when he did.

Only a bit more flustered than before, Lucifer held the door for her. "But those women were actually interesting! It's not like someone with such a name could possibly have anything that would garner my attention."

"Only one way to find out," Chloe shrugged as she got into car. "Are you going to close the door for me or do I have to everything myself?" She wisely didn't push too hard, mostly because he had insisted on driving her to the hospital in the first place, which meant it was his car, not hers. It wasn't ideal, but she decided to continue to humor him, at least for now.

Reminded of her handicap, he closed the door for her. They had a bit of a moment managing the crutch, but it was safely towed in the backseat and the devil quickly moved to take his place behind the wheel. He let out a heavy sigh as he glanced over at his partner. "Well, I suppose since I'm the one who brought it up, I might as well accompany you in this endeavor. That does mean we'll have to stop by the Hamadas' room to get the key, unless you want to just have housekeeping let us in." He looked almost hopeful.

But Chloe wasn't about to let him off the hook. "I think asking Cass Hamada, or one of the others, for the key should be more than sufficient. There's no need to bother the staff unless we have to." She gave him a sarcastic smile as he put the car in gear. It made her feel a little warm inside to see him squirm.

Cass resisted the urge to smooth her hair as she stood outside of Loki's hotel suite. Technically, she could just let herself in. she did still have the key card, after all. But part of her thought that a little presumptuous on her part. And she wasn't sure how Loki would view such an intrusion, expected or not. So, instead of using the card, she knocked on the door.

Stumbling noises could be heard from inside the suite, though they didn't start until after the second set of knocking. At the very least, they told Cass that Loki wasn't quite as far along in his recovery as Baymax had theorized he would be. That or there were other complications the healthcare companion hadn't foreseen. The only other option she could see was that someone else was in the room, possibly holding the god of mischief against his will. That idea made her feel all the more antsy as she knocked for the third time, just a bit more urgently.

By the time she started fumbling for the key card in her pocket, the door opened. She looked up into the very exhausted eyes of one Loki of Asgard. Seeing him, she practically threw herself at him as she enveloped him into a hug. The force pushed them both into the room, the door closing behind them.

Loki let out an almost hesitant chuckle as he tried to not fall over. "If I'd known I would receive this kind of greeting, I would have tried to hurry all the more to open the door," he admitted. His feet faltered a bit despite his efforts and Cass had to hold on so he wouldn't fall over. What he didn't tell her was that he'd almost decided not to answer in the first place, sure she'd have used the key card to enter instead of knocking.

Cass gave an answering laugh that was interrupted as Loki's knees buckled, making them both go down. Though she was strong, she wasn't strong enough to hold up the man in her arms. Unfortunately, as they went down, she banged her already bruised knees into the floor and she gasped in pain, her arms sliding away from him as she rolled to one side.

The Asgardian let out a grunt as the air was knocked from his lungs, the both of them lying there on the floor next to each other for several long moments. Cass was the first to roll to a sitting position, sucking in her breath as her knees throbbed. But her immediate concern was Loki, who looked more than a little like a fish out of water. "Breathe!" she ordered as she leaned over him.

It took several more seconds for Loki to suck in a lungful of air, still looking stunned. "Not exactly what I had in mind," he admitted, sounding more than a little oxygen-deprived. He turned his head to glance up at her, noting the pain in her eyes. "What about you?"

Hints of moisture filled the corners of Cass's eyes as she bit her lip. "Oh, I'll live," she managed, resisting the urge to pull her pant legs up enough to investigate the damage. Chances were good her already purpling knees had gone a shade or two darker. "I thought you were doing better when we left you," she added, trying to avert his attention.

"Yes, well," Loki began, drawing in another slightly painful breath," I was trying to not make you worry." Though the idea that she might have done that anyway was more than a little flattering. "But, if you feel up to the challenge, I would be more than grateful if you would help me to one of the chairs, or even the couch."

Cass winced as she got to her feet, resisting the urge to press against her knees as ballast s she returned to a standing position. It hurt, but she'd felt at least similar pain before. It wasn't insurmountable, just annoyingly persistent. Before she could have any second thoughts on the matter, she moved in to try and grasp Loki from one side. After a few more uncomfortable moments, and a lot of huffing and puffing on her part, the two staggered towards the coach, where they fell onto the cushions, side by side, more than happy to just sit there for a while.

Several minutes passed while each tried to recover from this unexpected turn of events, at which point Loki turned to her. "Now why don't you tell me just how badly you've injured yourself this time? And please do try not to downplay it for my sake."

"And here I was coming to check in on you," Cass said with a sigh. Her words came out just as breathless as she felt. Loki wasn't exactly as light as her nephew, even though he'd tried his best to help with things. And even with the few minutes to rest, she still felt more than a little out of breath.

Loki managed to lean towards her, looking a bit more in control of himself than before, though things were certainly coming along a lot more slowly than he'd hoped, simply based off of what he'd heard of Hiro's experiences. Apparently his body had yet to accommodate the unexpected differences in energy. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I feel someone needs to look after you as much as you look out for your nephew. With that in mind, I want to see what damage you have inflicted on your already injured knees."

Still more than a bit hesitant, and more than a little embarrassed, Cass pulled the fabric up and away from her lower legs, revealing the nicely darkened flesh around her joints. "I don't think I chipped the bone or anything," she stated, sure she'd be able to feel the difference. "I should be fine in a day or two."

He gave her a knowing look. "And just how long did it take for your nephew's bruised knee to heal that one time after the earthquakes? I saw that much in his memories before he pushed me out. I admit that might be because I overstepped my promise a bit to only look at the memories in question. In my defense, it was difficult not to catch a glimpse of some of the others while I was poking around."

Cass fell back against the back of the couch, letting out her breath in a heavy sigh. "Weeks," she answered, knowing she probably would have the same time frame to look forward to. He'd even worn a knee brace for part of the time, something she hoped to avoid. Then the rest of his comments caught up with her and she sat back up again. "Wait, you got a look at some of his other memories too?"

Loki looked a bit uncomfortable at this line of questioning and looked away. "Yes, well, his mind is perhaps a bit more disorganized than others. Or, rather, I should say differently organized. I wasn't exactly expecting for his memories to come at me like a hoard of swarming bees. I'm sure it was no more comfortable for him than it was for me. At most, I only caught glimpses of those memories." While not strictly true, it was close enough to count. He'd just tried focusing on a few that he probably shouldn't have while sifting through it all. That had resulted in consequences he really hoped to never repeat.

That comment stayed any further questions Cass might have on the matter, at least for the moment. "What about you?" she asked instead. "Did you eat anything while I was gone? I know Baymax said part of the problem was low blood sugar levels."

A laugh escaped Loki's lips. "While I trust your healthcare companion to know things pertaining to human bodies, I think I can safely say he is only guessing where it comes to mine. It is not so much a matter of low blood sugar as of low energy all around. I'm sure your nephew didn't intend for that energy to rebound inside his body, but until my own can replenish what was lost, I'm just as stuck in my situation as you are."

Cass frowned as she thought about that. He probably knew more about it than either she or Baymax did, but it didn't negate the possibility that food would help either. Then thoughts of the conversation with the others only a half hour earlier filtered into her thoughts. "About those memories…" she hesitated to continue but knew if anyone had any idea, Loki probably did. "The detective printed a photo from the airport off of their surveillance equipment and it showed an outline of Hiro in it from only moments before the bombs went off. Any ideas?"

Loki frowned as he thought about the possible implications this might present. "I do hope they don't think he was the culprit, or physically there when it happened." His expression showed his slight disdain for authority.

Waving her hands a bit, Cass quickly assured him, giving him a quick rundown of the conversation, including ideas tossed around by Stark and Banner. "They don't seem to have any more idea than Hiro or I do, though I'm not entirely Hiro doesn't have any ideas about this."

The god of chaos looked thoughtful as he contemplated this new information. "It is possible he somehow managed an astral projection," he mused. "It's not unlike a similar ability I'm rather fond of." Thoughts of all the times he'd essentially doubled himself to fool his brother, or others, filled his mind. "Of course, without seeing the image in question, I couldn't tell you for sure. What I can tell you is what you've heard before, that Hiro did somehow manage to connect with the equipment there. It is possible he somehow manifested that energy in a physical form without realizing it."

"Can he really do that?" Cass asked, looking more than a little surprised. She recalled hearing that Hiro was no longer quite human, thanks to mutated DNA, but she'd no idea what all that meant.

Loki shrugged. "At this point I think it safe to say anything's possible as far as Hiro's concerned. I am no more closer to understanding what has happened to him than he likely is."

Cass couldn't help but look more thoughtful at that. "Well that makes two of us, I guess," she sighed as she turned to face him more fully, one foot tucking under the opposite leg. "But what about you? How are we going to get your energy back? It's been a couple hours now. You'd think you'd at least have some of it back by now."

"I'm as in the dark as you are," he confessed. "I can't say I've ever experienced anything like this before so your guess is as good as mine." He reached for her closest hand and brought it to his lips. "But I don't mind you waiting with me for a while, just to make sure nothing else happens."

A hint of color crept up Cass's neck and cheeks, but she didn't pull away. There was something sincere and vulnerable about him, and not just because of the whole lack of energy thing. He'd had a hard life and she could sense it. "I'm not going anywhere," she confirmed as she looked into his eyes.