Chapter Eight
Two weeks later
Ava had only occasionally talked to John since their time at the cabin, but she knew that his job kept him busy. So when she saw her phone light up with John's call, she thought it would him telling her that he and Dorian had wrapped up his latest case.
"Hi, John. Are you finished with your latest case?" she answered the phone.
"Ava, this is Dorian. We caught our suspect but John was hurt while we were apprehending him. He's at St Mary's Hospital right now," Dorian told her. She sat up straighter.
"How bad is it?" she wanted to know.
"John was shot in the arm. He'll recover fully but they had to perform surgery. Would you like to see him?" Dorian asked.
"Yes. When are the visiting hours of the hospital? I can't just drop everything here at work right now," she explained.
"I understand. The visiting hours are 1800 to 2000 hours. John's room is 3F in the day surgery ward," Dorian told her.
"Thanks. I'll be there as soon as I can," Ava said. A moment later she ended the call. Ava tried to get back to her work but she was distracted most of the rest of the day with her worry about John. She knew that this was hardly the first time he'd been injured on the job. That was just part of being a cop. But she knew her boyfriend well enough by now that Ava also knew if John was forced to do anything else, he wouldn't be nearly as satisfied with his life. So she had no business asking him to change careers despite her worry about his personal safety, she resolved.
As soon as she could get free from work, Ava drove to St Mary's Hospital. Once she found the right floor she quickly made her way to the reception desk for the ward. A nurse looked up from behind the desk.
"Can I help you?" she asked Ava.
"Yes. My name is Ava White and I'm here to see John Kennex in 3F. I was told he was in this ward," she said.
"Just let me double check for you because sometimes they move patients for tests and so forth. Yes, Mr Kennex is in that room. But he's requested that only two people, specifically his next of kin and his police partner, can visit him right now. I'm sorry, but you can't go in there," she replied.
"But I'm his girlfriend. Are you telling me that he doesn't want to see me right now?" Ava asked.
"All I know is that you're not on the approved list of visitors for Mr Kennex. But thank you for your concern about his welfare. Do you know the way out of the hospital?" the nurse replied.
"I can find it. Good evening," she replied. Ava wasn't in any mood to be polite at that moment, but her mom had raised her to be polite in spite of her emotions. Besides, it wasn't the nurse's fault that she couldn't see John, Ava thought as she waited for the elevator. Once the elevator arrived, the door opened and Dorian stepped off.
"Hello, Ava. How are you?" he asked in greeting.
"Hello, Dorian. Are you here to see John?" she asked.
"Yes I am. How is he doing?" Dorian asked.
"I don't know because they won't let me see him," she stated.
"You care a lot for John don't you?" Dorian asked as he looked at her more closely. Ava looked down at the floor briefly.
"Yes I do. But perhaps I care more than I should," she realized.
"What do you mean by that?" Dorian wondered. She raised her head to look at him.
"I've noticed that John only lets me into his life so far and then I seem to run into a thick metal wall," she told him. If anyone could relate to John's behaviour it was his police partner, she thought. Dorian probably knew John much better than she did, Ava suspected.
"John doesn't trust anyone easily. Don't take it personally," he told her.
"I don't. I've learned to live with him maintaining some distance between us because I'd rather have some of John in my life than not be with him at all. Anyways, I need to get back home now," she replied.
"Can I tell John that you tried to visit him tonight?" Dorian wondered. She smiled at him briefly.
"I'd appreciate that. Have a good evening, Dorian," she told him.
"Same to you, Ava," Dorian said. While Dorian walked towards the reception desk, Ava made her way back to the elevator. She'd talk to John once he got released from hospital, she resolved. Right now she was tired and just wanted to have an early night, she thought.
Three days later was when Ava next saw John. He'd come over to her place and she had ordered Thai take out. Once they had both finished eating, Ava pushed the cartons and utensils aside and looked at him more closely.
"So are you feeling any better now?" she asked. She knew from Dorian that he had started working again yesterday.
"Yeah, my arm is almost as good as new. Sorry that you couldn't visit me in the hospital. Dorian told me that you came by," John answered as he looked at her.
"Do you dislike all visitors or do you only want cops to visit you?" she wondered.
"I just didn't want to upset you, that's all. After all, I get injured more than I'd like," he told her.
"I don't get upset by injuries easily. Can I ask you a personal question?" Ava wondered.
"Sure," he agreed.
"I understand that you value privacy and like to live alone. I prefer to live alone myself. But is there any other reason that you haven't invited me to your place?" she wondered.
"Of course not. I'm not hiding anything from you," he swiftly told her. She narrowed her eyes slightly. If that was the case, than why did he still not trust her? Dorian was right that John didn't trust easily, she thought. Wait a minute. John said that Dorian had told him of her visit to the hospital. Had Dorian also told John what the two of them had talked about in the hospital, she wondered.
"What?" John asked in response to her silence.
"Dorian told you what I said to him in the hospital, didn't he?" she guessed.
"Yes. Was he not supposed to tell me?" John wondered.
"No he wasn't, because I was thinking out loud. I know you don't like to talk about your feelings and so the last thing I wanted to do was send you running if I did that," she told him.
"Hey, I have no problems talking about my feelings," John protested.
"I beg to differ. Tell me, is the example of the emotionless MXs you work with rubbing off of you?" she wondered.
"I hate MXs. If I had my way I'd shoot them all in the face," John declared.
"You shot a MX in the face?" she exclaimed in astonishment.
"The MX was insulting Dorian," he stated as if that was enough justification.
"I'm glad that Dorian has your back. But I do know that you'll always be closer to him than you could ever allow yourself to be with me," Ava stated.
"What do you mean by that?" he wanted to know.
"Intimacy is about more than doing activities together, having a conversation, or sex. It's also about vulnerability and openness, neither of which you like," she informed him.
"That's enough. You're not my therapist," John declared as he stood up from the table. She stood up as well and than turned to face him.
"No I'm not. I'm not in this relationship to change you. But sooner or later, you'll have to decide for yourself if you want to let go of your past or forever let it define who you are," Ava declared. Before he could reply to that she walked swiftly towards her front hall closet and grabbed a jacket.
"Where are you going? You don't have to leave," he protested as he followed her.
"Yes I do. Arguing with you is a waste of my time when you have your mind made up," Ava insisted as she put on her shoes and grabbed her purse.
"So you're just going to walk out on me instead?" he snapped.
"Yes I am. By the time I come back I want you out of my house, or I'll call Dorian and ask him to make you leave," she concluded. Before John could reply, Ava had swiftly left her house. She briskly began to walk around the neighbourhood in an attempt to calm down. By the time she had returned to her house half an hour later, John had left. Ava was glad of it. She'd had enough of emotionally unavailable men at the moment, she thought as she settled into the couch.
There must be a reason John was so closed off, and Ava suspected it had to with his synthetic leg. Had John received it by being injured in the line of duty, she wondered. She walked to her office and started up the computer on the desk. She typed major gang attacks 2045-2048 in the City into the internet search engine. Given the high crime rates and numerous gangs in the City, there were multiple hits which didn't surprise her. But Ava was looking for an incident that more than one news outlet had covered. On the fifth page of search results, she clicked on a promising link. She read the article on the screen:
March 15, 2046
Police Raid Turns Tragic
William Wong
AP News
Yesterday, a police team in the City led by Detective John Kennex raided one of the main warehouses of inSyndicate, a major criminal organization. Details of the incident are still being investigated by police, but we can verify that all twenty MX units were destroyed and all eleven human police officers were killed except for Detective Kennex. Detective Kennex remains in hospital in serious condition.
When Captain Sandra Maldonado, Detective Kennex's superior officer, was asked whether the knowledge of the raid could have been learned beforehand by inSyndicate, she had no comment. Further developments on this breaking news story will be forthcoming.
Annoyed at the fact that article had almost no information, Ava clicked on the related link below the article which read as follows:
March 15, 2046
Another Police Raid Unsuccessful
Natalie Young
New York Times
The high crime rate in the City is well known among its residents. Various gangs and criminal organizations overwhelm the limited resources of the local police force. Perhaps that is why the latest police incident yesterday in the City ended in failure. Detective John Kennex was the leader of a team that raided one of the main facilities of inSyndicate, a major criminal organization. During the raid, all human police officers were killed and all MX units were destroyed, with the sole exception of Detective Kennex. He remains in hospital in serious condition.
When asked how such a regrettable incident could have occurred, Captain Sandra Maldonado, Detective Kennex's superior officer, had no comment. Detective Kennex's record until now has been excellent, so why this failure happened remains unclear. Was Detective Kennex or another member of the team coerced into revealing police information that allowed inSyndicate to prepare for the raid? Do inSyndicate have members working as police officers? Can the safety of everyone in the City be trusted to police officers who cannot control the criminal activity in their own back yard? For the safety and security of everyone who call the City home, these vital questions must be answered.
After she read that article, Ava shut down her computer and sat back in the office chair. 'Well, that explains a lot about John,' she thought. Should she confront John with her knowledge, she wondered. No, she decided. He would immediately tell her nothing and would also be annoyed at her for prying into his past. Perhaps it was best to remain quiet and not let him know what she had learned tonight. She yawned. She would go to bed early tonight, Ava decided.