Living in Max's Shadow – Chapter 38
By MyNameIsCAL
Gazzy has been gone for two weeks now. Bentley is keeping us at the house in case he comes back. So far the FBI has managed to round up a few Itex scientists. Fortunately, there have been no new attacks recently. Things are slow. It hardly seemed like it mattered whether we obeyed the FBI or not now. I guess that's how Gazzy always felt.
"This was a stupid idea, agreeing to help the FBI," I mutter to Max. "We're trapped. We can't even fly. I wish I could just go out there and spread my wings and just keep going."
"Me too," she says quietly. "But we thought we could help."
I look out the window. "We thought a lot of things, Max."
She drops her head to my shoulder. "I guess so."
Angel hasn't told anyone else her prediction and when Bentley knocks on the door at 3AM, I know it can't be good.
"I have bad news." Bentley closes the door.
"About Gazzy?" I ask.
He blinks. "Uhm, yes…How…"
I shake my head. "Just a feeling."
"Someone threw him out of a car, stabbed and beaten up. We need one of you to come to the hospital to give blood," Bentley explains in a fluster.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
He opens the door and we rush back to the car. I call Max as we speed off.
"Fang…Why aren't you in bed?" she answers groggily.
"I'm on the way to the hospital. The FBI found Gazzy," I tell her.
"Shit," Max sounds more awake now. "Should I wake the others?"
"No. Bentley says you need to stay there. Keeping the media away from the hospital is going to be hard. I'll be home soon after the doctors collect blood from me," I tell her.
She hesitates. I know Max wants to argue.
"I'll call you after I'm done," I add.
"Alright," she sighs.
"And Max?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Fang."
The smell of the hospital crawls under my skin. Bentley leads me to a doctor. They begin to hook me up to machine to get my blood for Gazzy.
"They're paying me not to say anything to anyone or to ask questions," the doctor says quietly, "But I can't believe there are more people like you."
I wince as he sticks the needle into me.
"Don't like needles, huh?" He gives a small laugh.
"No," I mumble.
It only takes a few minutes for the machine to finish. The doctor rushes the blood out, leaving Bentley and I in the room alone.
"How bad is he?"
"Bad." Bentley doesn't lie. "I don't know how you all heal and stuff, but Fang, he lost a lot of blood. The blood, it was everywhere, all over the sidewalk."
I gulp.
"You should call Max. She's probably woken everyone by now," Bentley fills my silence. "I'll see if I can find out what's going on now. Stay here."
I dial, feeling a little lightheaded.
"Fang?" Max answers immediately.
"It's not looking good," I whisper into the phone, as if saying it any louder might jinx something.
There's no response.
"Max…" I lean my head back against the chair.
"How are we going to tell Angel?"
"I think she already knows."
It's leaking to the media that Gazzy is in the hospital. Hospital security has been turning reporters away. Now that the sun is out, reporters sit outside waiting. They know Bentley is here and they remember he's in charge of the investigation. It's obvious there's something to hide.
The doctor informs us that Gazzy was revived twice during surgery. It's still not looking good, but he was stable now and on a respirator. I sat on the couch in his room, trying to guess when Max would call again. It keeps me busy from thinking too much.
"You know, you're an idiot," I say to Gazzy even though I know he's not listening. "But I've been an idiot too. And I just think you and I need to talk and sort ourselves out. We need to get over ourselves and, I don't know, start over again and forget that you're famous and that I'm an alcoholic. Maybe, Gazzy, maybe we can help each other."
I could barely tell it was Gazzy under the blankets and all those bandages. His face bruised and cut, a tube shoved down his throat. I can't stand to see him like this. I need to get out of here.
Bentley bursts into the room, turning on the TV. The news focuses in on the outside of the hospital. At least twenty reporters are out there.
"I want to move Gazzy," he says after staring at the screen for a while.
"Move him where?" I frown.
"Anywhere, just out of here," Bentley replies.
"He needs medical treatment," I point out.
"I know," Bentley is frustrated now. "But we cannot keep him here. The media will find a way in. If Itex knows you're here, they'll attack."
"What makes you think the house is safe?"
"It's safer than here. Bombing a house won't prove a public point like bombing a hospital," Bentley counters.
He isn't giving me a choice, really.
"Your mom knows some medical stuff, right? I mean, just enough that if anything happened she could patch things until a doctor came?" Bentley asks.
"Sure, I guess so."
"Well, then, we'll move him tonight, if that's alright with you," he continues. "I'll have the doctor, the same one that treated you in the base, ready to go if anything happens."
"Alright."
"What?" He can tell I don't totally agree with this.
I need someone else here giving me guidance. This was something Max or Angel should be deciding, but I tell him, "Nothing."
And he's off to talk to the doctor.
Thanks for reading! More soon!