Chapter 37 – Life's a Beach
Calais, France. 10:54am, 30th April 2022.
The beach was empty, no swell for surfers and no nice weather for people to relax on. He thought they wouldn't stay that long at this cold and frigid beach. He stayed inside the car, watching them from a distance as they ran along the beach. As time progressed, which is did by two hours, they still had the energy to run around like like no tomorrow. The only thing that stopped them was the rain that arrived gradually, starting from a spit and growing heavier by the minute that forced the kids to come running towards the car.
"Perfect timing." The weasel mutters to himself as the kids come racing for the car.
"When will it stop?" Alex asks the other two in car next to the beach.
"I don't know." The weasel says as he gets out his phone to check. "Not for a while, get your seatbelts on, we have to go."
"Where?" Alex asks again as he reaches across his shoulder for a seatbelt.
"To a doctor." The weasel answers succinctly.
"What kind of..?" Alex starts to ask.
"You ask a lot of questions. Okay, I'll tell you everything, for legal reasons we have to make sure you are not injured or mentally affected by what has happened to you two. It won't take long." The weasel answers with more detail in order to satisfy the young raccoon's desire to know and to quieten him down; he still has the energy after running around for so long. He turns the key and the windscreen wipers fling the drops of water pelting down onto the windshield in a single stroke. After the view from the inside is clear, he pulls of from the curb and into the road. The rain becomes progressively heavier as they drive the short distance through Calais, the wipers work overtime to clear the water as they pull up to a small house that's not imposing or grand, built with brick that's been weathered by the wind.
"Come on." The weasel says, getting out of the car and moving onto the sidewalk without any concern for the rain and the dryness of his clothes. The kids however do care and run without slipping on the wet tarmac towards the front porch of the house with a sign out the front listing the practising doctors at this general practice. When they open the front door, they see the inside of this converted house and where a dinning room was is now a waiting room. No features indicate that this place used to have somebody living in it, it looks like any other practise on the inside with rooms for doctors to work and a reception. Right now there are 8 chairs available and 3 of them are taken, so there is room for them to sit, although not together due to the four by two configuration. Alex and Erin uncomfortably face the weasel sitting across the room from them. It's not that the weasel is staring them down as if he expects them to bolt out of the waiting area, but this officer is a stranger to them.
The weasel checks his phone and replies to emails whilst they wait to be called in. The kids look around at this room, taking in their surroundings having not seen one before. The TV is set on the 24 hour news channel; nothing about Sly Cooper at all, just the normal set of car crashes, finance, weather and sports.
"Sir?" A male doctor says to the weasel to get his attention away from his phone and towards his eyes. The weasel points across to the kids and goes back to his phone.
"Come in." The doctor says to them, trying to be as friendly as possible. This peeves the other people waiting as they thought that they should get in before them as they had arrived earlier. Alex and Erin get off their seats and follow the doctor into his office which has no menacing medical equipment inside apart from the various medicines and tools stashed in locked cupboards.
"I have been told that something unfortunate has happened to you two and that I'm going to check if you are okay." The walrus says to them. "Any questions before I start?"
There is silence which the doctor takes to be that there are no questions to be asked, so he will ask one to them.
"Okay, who wants to go first?" He asks.
"Me." Alex says straight away, trying to appear tough and brave.
"Okay, come over here and sit on the bed." He says as he show Alex where to go, the plain medical bed, more like a high raised metal bench with a small amount of padding on it, the doctor see him climb up by himself, something most kids his age and height are unable to do. The doctor pulls a pale green curtain across the room, dividing the office in two.
"Are you hurt, do you feel any pain?" He asks.
"No."
"Do you feel okay, in your head?" He asks. Alex gives it some thought.
"I miss my parents, but I don't want anyone to know because that means I'm weak." Alex explains softly to the doctor as a tear rolls effortlessly out of the corner of his left eye
"It must be difficult for you and your sister, I presume." He says.
"You won't tell anyone, right?" Alex asks.
"I not allowed to, doctors can't tell anyone else about what happens in this room." He says, trying to explain patient confidentiality in a way a kid could understand.
"Thanks." Alex hushly replies.
"Now I have to perform a basic check up so open your mouth and say ah." The doctor says as he sticks a tongue depressor inside his mouth to keep his tongue down. The check up continues by sticking other pieces of equipment around his face; an otoscope for his ears and a stethoscope for his chest, a heartbeat slower than it normally is for his age because his physical condition. More tests are performed, they measure his height, weight and blood pressure but nothing shows any sort of illness.
"Okay, finally I need you to stick your fingers into this inkpad and place them onto this sheet of paper inside the 5 boxes." The doctor says as he places the two items onto the bed. Alex knows that fingerprints are used by police to identify suspects but they won't ever be found he thinks, wearing gloves is an easy way to get around that. Because of this, there is no hesitation for Alex as he gets a healthy amount of his on his fingers and rubs them onto the paper to give a nice and deliberately clear set of prints. Job done he thinks.
"Thank you." He says, putting the items away on the bench opposite the bed and goes into a cupboard to get some sterilised scissors. "Now I need some fur."
"But he's already got some." Alex retorts.
"It won't hurt a bit." He says reassuringly. "Hold still."
A few hairs of fur are cut and placed into a small plastic container with a complicated computerised label on the front. Alex thinks to himself that even with DNA they won't catch him in the future.
"Is that it?" Alex asks.
"Just one last thing." He says. "I just need to measure your tail volume."
"Do you think I'm going to commit a crime at some point?" Alex asks, wondering about this unnecessary procedure to the doctor who grabs a circular ring of about 30 centimetres diameter from a drawer.
"I'm just doing what I am told." He replies as he flicks the switch of the tail scanner, a tool used on those with tails mainly for genealogy and identification purposes. It creates a 3D image of a tail, or any other thing placed inside it, and gives the exact colours and density at certain layers. The doctor puts the ring around the tail from the base and slowly draws it up until it reaches the tip, the image comes up on a computer screen about 5 seconds after it is finished and shows a very accurate reproduction of his tail. Alex is surprised at it's accuracy.
"That's cool." He says, but also wary of it's possible use in forensics.
"Yep, that's what you tail looks like." He says, pointing to the screen. "Okay, that's it, I'll let your sister in now. You can wash your hands in the basin over there." He instructs as Alex gets off the bed and approaches the sink to remove the purple ink that covers his fingers. Having heard almost everything that they said, Erin walks towards the bed knowing almost everything that is going to happen once she is seated up on the bed. She was especially touched by the fact that he misses their parents, something which she does very much so as well, but she's not going to tell him that she overheard what he has said. She enters through the curtain just as Alex walks through the other side to get out.
"Do you need a stool to get up?" He asks. But he sees her jump up to the bed without assistance and knows that the answer is no.
"Okay, Are you hurt? Is there any pain?" He asks as he grabs a few of A4 paper with large typeface written on each one.
"No." She replies, puzzled to what the purpose of the papers are.
"Mentally are you okay?" He asks.
Do ask about these papers or what is on them, read as I speak. The first one says as he hands them over to her
"I'm fine." She replies, her eyes darting between his face and the written message.
"Okay then, I am still required to perform the necessary checks for your health." He replies back to her as he collects the instruments needed.
I know of your father although we have never met. Just like my dad knew your grandad.
"Open your mouth and say ah." He says as he inserts the flat wooden stick into her mouth. She has to hold up the next sheet further up so she can see it.
Help is coming for you two, just be patient. You'll always have friends to help you out.
"Now I'll check your ears." He states, grabbing the otoscope and looking into her ears.
I am forever indebted to your grandfather. This is a small way to make up for it. She can see him move around to the other side to check the other ear.
"Now read the chart from top to bottom." He instructs, pointing to the rows of progressively smaller letters on the eye chart attached to the white brick wall. Erin begins to list off the letters one by one from 3 metres away until there are no more to read.
"Good." He says. "Now can you put your fingers into this ink and press onto this sheet of paper. He says, placing a sheet of grid paper on top of the other sheets she placed on top of the bed. The whole time he acts as if he has made no such plans to help them out, carrying out the same checks in the same fashion he did with Alex. Some hair is cut, a tail is scanned and that is the end of it.
"You both can go now." He says with a tone that commands authority, he just wants them to leave normally, as if nothing suspicious happened. They both walk out of the door and as soon as they do, he shreds the sheets of paper quickly so no one finds out about it.
"All done?" The weasel asks, answering more emails and texts on his phone. They don't respond but nod instead.
"Okay, come on." He says as they brush past the people that have to wait some more to see a doctor. Once they are outside, he gives them some good news, both for himself and for them.
"Good news." He says gleefully, not an emotion he shows often, to them as they walk towards the car still under a barrage of rain. "I've already received 4 applications for your adoption, you'll be off to a new home in no time."
"Can we see them?" Erin asks as she gets in the car first, shuffling over to the left side before Alex goes in.
"It's not your choice who you get to go live with." He explains.
"That's not fair, you're not the one going to be living with them." Alex tries to argue.
"It's not your choice, that's the rule." He reiterates, facing forwards to focus on the task of driving.
"So unfair." Alex quietly mutters in frustration under his breath as he watches the rain pelt down from the heavens. The drive is short back to the motel accommodation they are using for the moment, and even quicker to walk up the 2 flights of stairs to the small 3 room motel. The weasel is still in the process of reading more emails as more information is posted to him about the adoption applicants. He walks straight onto the couch and lies down, continuing to read the emails as he sits down. Alex and Erin try to make a discrete peak at what he is reading on his phone but nothing makes full sense to them.
"Can you please go to your room while I work?" He asks. "Or perhaps you can sit here and watch TV while I work on this in your bedroom, your choice."
"Bedroom." Erin says confidently, thinking of the very precious cargo stored in there and the possible consequences of an Interpol agent finding their true contents. Alex looks at her to just make she is making the correct decision. She looks back to him and walks into the bedroom followed by Alex. They shut the door and go to get a board game from the top shelf, just like they wanted to before.