The Bird in a Cage
Summary: Howl, a wealthy CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, is threatened by anonymous letters. Bodyguards are all the rage and Howl hires only the best… ending up saddled with the infamous Mad Hatter. Sophie and Howl, AU.
WARNING: Waiting is very hard to do.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Murdering the time!
Ever since he was very young, Michael had picked up the habit of listening to the police scanner. As a child, he'd enjoyed the thrill, until he'd heard the death of his parents over the radio. Sophie herself had encouraged him to go back to listening to it, since it might someday save someone's life.
Michael didn't want to think of it as irony as he sat in the hospital room at two in the morning, having heard the report of a ginger haired woman unconscious in the middle of the street. He'd woken Calcifer and driven like a madman to the hospital, jumping out of the car just in time to see the ambulance pull Sophie out on a gurney. He yelled to get their attention and told them he knew her. A single male nurse separated from those that surrounded her, coming to him in order to ask him questions about the woman they had found. As a precaution, Sophie did not carry a single ID with her, so the details of her blood type, allergies or anything else where a mystery to the staff. Michael was able to answer most of their medicinal doubts, since he knew Sophie like that back of his hand, and the staff allowed them to sit in the waiting room at the ER, shutting the doors after they had pulled the unconscious woman in.
Two hours had passed and they had yet to hear word of what was going on inside.
Calcifer had promptly fallen into a nap the moment he knew Sophie was in the emergency room, something Michael both admired and loathed. The younger bodyguard could not sit still for a single minute, instead falling into a habit of stalking in circles like a caged tiger. Every once in a while, Calcifer would wake to hear Michael muttering as he paced, though he could never catch the words and fell right back to sleep.
As they had arrived at the hospital, Michael had called Master at his home, and it surprised the boy Ben had yet to arrive with both Hatter girls in tow. It surprised him even more when Benjamin Sulliman arrived bereft of wife and sister-in-law. The hospital nurses allowed the wizened man to saunter into the waiting room; Master Sulliman had a free government pass that permitted him to roam where he pleased. Michael's eyes must have been shouting his questions, for old Ben chuckled low and shook his head.
"Both of them were deeply asleep and I spoke with the Superintendent of the hospital, Sophie's wounds are not life-threatening, but they are difficult to deal with. I did not want to put them in a panic they have no reason to be in," said Ben in a gentle tone, clasping a warm hand over Michael's thin shoulder. He sighed and shook his head as he looked at Calcifer, who popped one eye open in his direction. "I'm afraid your friend has been taken. The perpetrators cleaned up after themselves well, but Sophie made too many of them bleed and drop their weapons in shadowed places. The police managed to find a few and samples have been taken from the scene. Multiple skid marks reveal where they drove off in a hurry and Sophie even managed to smash their back window, I think, from the debris left over."
Calcifer's shoulders tightened even more and Michael realized the man was just as worried as he was, if not more. His best friend had been nowhere to be seen and Michael realized sadly that Calcifer had a lot more to lose. Sophie, however hurt she might be, was alive.
Howl was MIA.
His thoughts were interrupted as a doctor came out, his scrubs dirty with blood as he stiffly removed his gloves, dropping them into the bin beside the door. He faced the three men in the visitor's lounge and smiled wearily. "She's going to be fine, the head trauma was a tough one, but it seems she does not have a concussion and the brain suffered no damage. The shards in her legs were removed and the crack along her rib should mend in a few weeks. I saw from previous reports she had a hair-line fracture in her right leg, but it's healed remarkably well. However, the exertion she put on her legs caused an internal hemorrhage in her thighs and her blood pressure bottomed out twice during out procedure. We've put her on an IV to replenish her supply, and she should be fine in a matter of days."
Benjamin was nodding as he smiled at the doctor, pleased by the news.
"Is she awake?" Calcifer demanded, standing ramrod straight and every inch the fearless leader of a multi-billion dollar company. His glare was intent and the doctor shrank away from him a bit, shaking his head quickly.
"No, sir, not at the moment," he was cut short by a sudden and loud disturbance coming from inside the ER. He turned to look, brows furrowed, and the doors swung open, smashing into the walls on each side. Sophie lowered a trembling leg and leaned heavily on the IV pole she was dragging with her, resisting the hands of the male nurses that tried to forcefully persuade her to get back in the bed. She impatiently shrugged them off and practically crawled forward using the IV as support like a mountain climber.
The doctor's mouth snapped shut as Sophie reached Calcifer, who did not even attempt to help her. Michael was held back by Master Sulliman, who understood what was going on more than his pupil did.
Sophie's cadmium eyes met Calcifer's unforgiving gaze evenly, though they swam in tragedy and pain as she fought to stay upright on legs that trembled like those of a newborn calf. She dragged a deep, uneven breath and stood up straight, managing to stay upright despite the shooting sparks of agony.
"It was after the dinner date with Miss Lily Angorian that Howl was taken. They left me behind to pay and jumped him as he exited the hotel. I followed after and received a blow to the ribs." She reported in an even voice, completely detached from the events that had crippled her and wrested her charge from her grasp. "There were a total of forty-two men around me, including the two that held Mr. Jenkins, the one that held Miss Angorian and the ring-leader. All thirty-eight integrants of the barricade were heavily armed, though none held a single gun. Mr. Jenkins and Miss Angorian were put into the vehicle and I chased after it. I managed to cut down a total of twenty-seven men and broke the back window to fetch Mr. Jenkins but the leader interrupted and threw me off of the car. I continued to give chase until a bat slammed into the nape of my neck, knocking me unconscious."
The doctor was growing paler and paler as Sophie revealed with icy calm exactly what had put her in such a state. He had been the doctor who had saved her that fateful day long ago, but she still managed to amaze him with her strength. He swallowed heavily and continued to listen as the woman went on, stoic and unaffected.
"The ring-leader was a man I had met at the tournament by the name of Daniel Shang, a professional mercenary. His services are expensive but he gets the job done. He informed me to go this Saturday, at eight pm, to the Wastes Arena, a stadium that hosted three of the five Dark Tournaments I was involved in. He also referred to me as Maddy, a nickname known to select few during my days as a slave to the Witch." As she spoke, for the first time, anger sparked in her eyes and Calcifer felt gratified to see it. He could blame her all he wanted for not doing her job right, but the current state she was in proved exactly how hard she had tried against all odds to save his friend. Though it would not bring Howell back, it certainly made it easier to hate the perpetrators rather than to put the blame on the eldest Hatter. Sophie was obviously blaming herself despite the fact that her chances were slim to none at getting him back, and the Vice-CEO decided it was punishment enough for letting his friend fall into the clutches of their enemies.
"Good work, Hatter," Calcifer said in a dry tone that revealed none of the sympathy he held for the woman. It would do her no good to receive compliments or reassurances when she would never believe them, so the man withheld them. Turning to the doctor, he nodded curtly. "You may sign her release papers," he said, his voice brooking no argument even as his eyes cut the doctor's protests to shreds.
Sophie looked at the doctor and smiled, though it wobbled and was a little thin. "I understand your concerns, doctor, and I thank you for them. However, these are special circumstances and I cannot remain in the hospital." A glance at Master Benjamin Sulliman told him the man was more than willing to support both Calcifer Couch and Sophie Hatter, so the doctor backed off from a fight he knew he'd lose.
"Please do be seated, then," said he, and in a flutter of coattails, he vanished down the hall.
Benjamin finally allowed Michael to surge forward and snag Sophie's arm, helping her stand and letting her lean on him even as she protested the treatment. When she sat, it surprised her when Calcifer took up her hand and held her gaze. His eyes were a rich shade of black dotted with slivers of cobalt blue around his darker pupils. They swirled with emotions his face refused to show and Sophie felt herself relax into the warmth of his commanding presence.
"We will get him back, Sophie," he said with firm finality, even as his voice was achingly gentle. "But you need to get better first. Can you do that for me?"
She nodded as the doctor arrived with a clipboard in his hand, furiously filling out the release papers and handing them over to Ben, who signed them.
"I will," she vowed, a fire igniting in her eyes that had been previously doused by uncertainty and fear. Calcifer jerked his head in a slight nod, his entire body radiating confidence and resolve.
"Come," said he, standing and offering his arm to her. "Let us head home and get some rest, we shall plan better once rested and with our bellies full."
The doctor had removed the intravenous drip and handed her a few pills to help replenish her iron and blood supply. She was also given two bottles of oral electrolytes so that she did not have to eat heavy meals and upset her stomach right away. The doctor gave her strict instructions to keep her body limber with light exercises and to try to massage her legs to encourage decent blood flow. For all of his bossiness as she stood at the door, Sophie reached out to grasp his hand and smiled beatifically at him, "Thank you, Doctor Percival."
The man smiled back in return, tracing her knuckles with a fond thumb. "Take care of yourself, Soph."
Then he was gone, disappearing back into the ER to help with the clean up. He coughed and swept into the room, trying to forget that Sophie was not much older than his own daughter and that this was probably not the last time he'd have to pull her back from the brink. He sighed, shaking his head.
Sophie was lead into the car with ease and she smiled at Calcifer as he helped her inside. Ben waved as he walked to his own vehicle and Sophie barely remembered to remind Calcifer to fetch Howl's sleek, black Lamborghini from the Parc Hotel's parking lot. The redhead had simply snorted and pulled out his phone, pressing seven on speed dial and barking short orders to have someone pick it up. The look he shot her through the rearview mirror clearly said 'happy now?' and Sophie couldn't help the giggle that erupted at his deadpan expression. The crooked grin that curled the edges of his thin lips spoke volumes, but he said nothing more.
The drive home was spent in silence, and Sophie desperately tried to take her mind away from the fact that her charge was currently in the hands of the people who had sent those horrible Polaroid pictures. If she didn't calm down by the end of the day she'd probably end up having kittens, but she couldn't seem to build up the energy to care.
Mr. Jenkins… no, Howell was right now at the mercy of people who seemed to take great sadistic satisfaction in torturing others. Sure, they had basically invited her to fight, but that did not guarantee Howell's safety. In fact, they could be pulling teeth or nails… or electrocuting him or burning him or cutting off his fingers and she was completely helpless to stop them.
Silently, she stewed in her own whirl of despair; once they arrived at the Old Police Station, it was almost like a physical blow to pass by the door of their shared apartment.
"Oh, Sophie, isn't it grand? This is ours now! So, welcome home!"
Sophie bit back a sob, Michael pulling her away from the door and ushering her into his and Calcifer's apartment. She shook her head and croaked out a request. Calcifer nodded and stepped out, coming right back in a matter of instants, toting a wriggling Midnight in one hand while the other held the cat's scratching post and litter.
"If he makes a mess, you will clean it up, Hatter," Calcifer said drily, dropping the cat and Midnight landed neatly, yowling indignities and scampering to curl beside Sophie on the sofa. Michael rolled his eyes, used to Calcifer's gruffness as the other man excused himself and went to bed.
The younger bodyguard tried to cajole Sophie into taking his room, but she declined with a watery smile, snuggling Midnight into her chest as the cat tried to console her with loud purrs.
"I'll be fine."
Michael nodded reluctantly and bid her good night, heading off to the bathroom to wash up and go to sleep.
The minutes passed and Sophie stared at the clock, unseeing. She laid down, ignoring the pain shooting up her legs and the one on her side, and continued to watch as time ticked with agonizing slowness. Calcifer was rather old fashioned and did not have a single digital clock in his house. The hand that counted the seconds was hardly a comfort and Sophie continued to watch it unblinkingly, listening to the sound of Midnight's contented rumbles. The cat had curled right to sleep under her chin, pleased to have her back and simply happy to enjoy her warmth.
Finally, Sophie allowed herself to cry, her sounds of misery muffled by her hands as she could do nothing to push back the feelings of inadequacy and self deprecation. Mentally belittling her performance, she tried to think of how she could have prevented his taking. If Miss Angorian hadn't insisted of having him as her escort, if Sophie hadn't taken those side-trips for the waiter and the Chef, if she had been at his side then…
Something in her mind clicked and all tears stopped. She stared at the wall, a fire burning within her.
Curious…
To be Continued…
Maddy has caught on, I think. Have you guessed the riddle yet?
MIA- Missing In Action
I still use dollar despite the fact it is set in Wales because theirs is an international company. Pendragon and Co. began using dollars as currency instead of the pound Sterling that is used in England, Scotland and Wales, because it's much simpler to use in their overseas deals. Even when it comes to trading with England, the Welsh pound is not legal tender, though it can be used as a promissory note. Calcifer was the one who put in the idea of having their bank convert any and all currency to dollars, especially since (though I never said it), their main clients are based in the United States. Because of this larger percentage of clients in US soil, Pendragon and Co make their dealings in dollars. Calcifer is practical like that, though recently their deals in Russia have been conquering a large part of their income. They've been considering switching to the Russian ruble.
Anyone catch the book reference?
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