IV
A Sight to See"Jay?"
"Kay! Hey, where are you, man? I tried to find you at lunchtime to see if you wanted to go get some burritos down at the Speedy Feedy, and no one knew where you were! How come you didn't tell me you were leaving?"
"Had to run an errand, kid. Look, I need you to prepare and unlock one of our holding rooms. I'm bringing someone in who's going to need accommodation for a few days."
"One of those errands. Gotcha."
"Make it one of the big rooms, with a living room and wet bar and all of that."
"Right."
"And make sure the pillows are fluffy and the candy dish is full and the cable television has been turned on."
"Man, who you bringing in? Royalty?"
Kay opened his mouth to answer, but the car suddenly jolted to the right, as if being hit by something. He swerved just in time to avoid hitting a parked ice cream truck, but was struck again by some unknown force with a very bright light. "I'm going to have to call you back," Kay said calmly, dodging a stray dog and heading down an alley way. "I think I got company."
"All right. Take it easy."
"Will do," he said brightly as another flash of light narrowly missed the car and destroyed the brick wall to his left. Kay toyed with the notion of sending the car into hyperspeed, but decided against it as they were only a few blocks away from headquarters. He had wondered when the Dlrow would catch up to them. Knowing that he had probably gotten Elizabeth out of Massachusetts just in the nick of time, he'd prepared himself to fight on the journey back. He knew she'd be safe in MiB headquarters, and had every intention of fighting the Dlrow off long enough to get her there.
The jet black Mercedes flew out of the dank alleyway onto 38th street, roaring towards headquarters as fast as Kay would let himself go with such precious cargo in the backseat. The Dlrow Salta craft kept up easily, firing at odd intervals. However, seasoned agent that he was, Kay wasn't expecting that direct hit to the car. Especially a direct hit through the windshield.
Everything went white for a moment. Kay felt another sharp jolt to the car, this time from another car, and felt a jagged something-or-other slice into his skin in several places. The airbag deployed, blinding him and adding to his general sense of delirium. However, no minor car accident was going to keep Agent Kay from fulfilling his duty – he floored it and hoped for the best. His vision returned a few seconds later, and he sped towards the clandestine back entrance to the MiB. What looked like a solid wall to most inevitably admitted the now defunct automobile into the clutches of the MiB underground garage. The Dlrow spacecraft, following Kay's example, attempted to enter the same way – only to learn that some solid walls are exactly what they appear.
Kay took a quiet breath. They were safe. She was safe.
"I saw the whole thing!" Jay shouted as he ran towards the mangled car, followed by a dozen MiB doctors and mechanics, all intent on fixing a broken body. "Here you go," Jay said as he leaned in the [broken] car window, handing Kay a handkerchief.
"What?" Kay panted in a dazed voice, staring quizzically at the handkerchief.
"Man, you really did a number on yourself," Jay said quietly as he began to mop up some of the blood on his partner's face. He had seen Kay hurt before, but never confused like this. It was strange. And unnerving. "I think you're going to need some stitches."
"We need to get her out of here," Kay said in a weak voice, gesturing faintly to the backseat. Jay looked to the back to see a raven-haired lady who was most definitely unconscious. He nodded.
"All right. I'll take her to the holding room."
"I want to go with you."
"Kay, seriously man, you need to get with these doctors here. You're bleeding all over the place – "
"Don't argue, junior, I didn't come all this way for nothing." Sighing, Jay knew it was just better – and easier – to let him do what he wanted. Kay stood up unsteadily from the car, holding onto the roof for support.
"I think I should at least carry the girl. You don't look like you can carry yourself, let alone someone else."
"You're right," Kay said, knowing full well that although he didn't come all this way not to see Elizabeth safely to her room, he certainly didn't come all this way to drop her, either. Jay scooped up Elizabeth in his arms and he and Kay set off towards the holding rooms on the third floor below ground.
Usually used for prisoners, some of the rooms were used when aliens just passing through were at a loss for accommodation. Prisoners cells were, of course, just cells – but the "holding rooms" were actually like a suite in a hotel. A suite with stainless steel walls and no windows.
Jay walked slowly, not wanting to call attention to the fact that Kay was having a hard time keeping up. They got many inquisitive glances – an agent carrying an unconscious human walking next to an agent covered in blood and straggling along as best he could was an uncommon sight in the MiB hallways.
"She's pretty," Jay said, breaking the silence while gazing down at the lady's face. "Who is she?"
Kay looked away. "My ex-wife."
"Your what?"
"The Dlrow are after her, this was the only safe place."
"Why are they after her?"
"To get to me. I just got to her before they did, that's all."
"Was that them chasing you?"
"Yup. Surprised I got as far as I did."
"It was a good thing they didn't find you before they did. You had a hard enough time beating them off for just a few blocks." A dark look from Kay let Jay know he'd said the wrong thing. "Hey, look, I didn't mean – "
"I know what you meant, slick. Here it is." Holding room I-5B stood ready and waiting to receive its visitor.
"Kay, I didn't – "
"You said it yourself, son, I need some medical help, so put Elizabeth down and I'll be on my way."
Jay put Elizabeth down on the bed gently then turned to his partner. "Man, what is with you lately?"
"What do you mean?" Kay asked in a flat voice, covering Elizabeth in a blanket.
"This attitude. Jumpin' down my throat all the time." Jay sighed. "Never mind. This is neither the time nor the place. Go on, go get some stitches," he said quietly, swiftly making his exit.
Kay stared after him for a moment, then turned his attention back to Elizabeth. He put some pillows underneath her head, took off her shoes, and turned out the lights. He ran right into a young doctor standing in the doorway.
"Sir…ah, your head is bleeding," he stuttered, having never stood near anyone half as important to MiB as Kay was. Kay looked at him for a moment.
"Well sir I thank you for that. I was wondering what all this pesky red stuff running down my face was. Are you gonna sew me up, or what?" he said snappishly. He closed his eyes. "Sorry. Bad day, you know what I mean? Come on. You can walk me to the hospital wing."