Chapter Eleven

En Route, Somewhere in New York

In the back of the limo, Mathilda looted the mini-bar for napkins and held them against Leon's shoulder. It was bleeding pretty steadily, but seemed to be slowing. It was the bullet that she was worried about, it needed to come out.

She picked up the limo's phone and dialed Tony's. Thankfully, he answered himself.

"Tony, it's Mathilda. I need a doctor for a bullet wound. Someone trustworthy."

"Are you hurt?" he asked, concerned.

"You said you wouldn't ask questions," she reminded him.

"That was for the limo favor, doesn't apply here. What's going on?"

"I'll explain everything later. Please?" Silence hung on the other end of the line, then a heavy sigh.

"Okay, kid, lemme talk to the driver."

"Thanks, Tony," she told him, putting him on hold and paged the driver to pick up the phone. She checked Leon's makeshift bandage again and was satisfied that he at least wouldn't bleed to death, then looked at his face. She was still amazed that he was actually here with her.

"I'll be fine, Mathilda," he told her softly, thinking she was still worried about the gun shot wound.

"I know," she told him, then gently lowered her head to his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "So will I."

Leon brought up his good arm to place around her shoulders and pressed his cheek to her forehead, feeling her warmth and savoring her closeness.

She was Mathilda, he knew that, but it was almost as if she was a parody of Mathilda. Her voice, her smile, her solemn gaze, but occupying a body with womanly curves and an intoxicating scent.

He was beginning to feel lightheaded, thinking thoughts and experiencing sensations he'd had nothing to do with since he was 19 and still living in Italy. Or maybe it was just the pain and blood loss from his shoulder.

When Mathilda snuggled closer and gave a contended sigh, Leon reflexively tightened his grip and caressed her hair.

The limo came to a stop in front of a brownstone and the driver opened the back door to help Leon. Mathilda reluctantly relinquished her hold on him and followed them up the steps to the front door. They passed through the vestibule and into the living room where Tony was deep in conversation with a man around his age with an old-fashioned black leather doctor's bag at his feet. At their entrance, Tony quickly looked over Mathilda for signs of injury. Seeing none, he turned his attention to her companion. And nearly fainted. His vision actually went black and he saw stars. He had to put his hand out to the back of a chair to steady himself.

"Leon?" he asked shakily. Leon nodded and gave him a ghost of a smile.

"Hello, Tony."

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" Tony blurted out, crossing himself. He then picked up the crucifix from around his neck and kissed it just for good measure. He turned his bewildered expression to Mathilda.

"Coma guy," she said helpfully.

"Leon!" he shouted happily, walking over with outstretched arms, grabbing Leon by the back of the head and pulling him close to kiss him on both cheeks. "How the hell are you?"

"I'm good," Leon told him, a little embarrassed by the attention.

"He has a bullet in his shoulder," Mathilda said, pointing to the wound. Tony looked at it and turned to the man with the bag.

"Giovanni, what are you doing just standing there? Fix my friend's shoulder!" The doctor picked up his bag and helped Leon down the hall to a back bedroom. Mathilda started to follow, but Tony touched her arm and shook his head.

"We need to talk." Mathilda glanced down the hall and back to him, nodding. He gestured to an armchair, which she sank into, then took the one next to her. "So, explain." That she did, from Valley Stream Hospital to Aegean Restaurant to the D.E.A. building. By the end, Tony was rubbing his temples as if in pain.

"Two federal agents?" he asked incredulously. "You killed two federal agents?"

"Technically, Pace killed the other guy," Mathilda pointed out. Tony glared at her until she squirmed. "Okay, probably no one's gonna believe that," she admitted.

"Did you at least wear gloves and a disguise?"

"Not exactly," she said. More glaring, more squirming. "No," she clarified. Tony sighed and shook his head. He sat for a full minute deep in thought. He sighed again and turned to face her.

"You two have to leave the country," he stated. Mathilda's mouth dropped open.

"What? Why?"

"Kid, whacking bad guys is one thing, but when the bad guys happen to work for the government, killed in a government building, that brings all sorts of shit down on us. This won't go away." He let this sink in before he spoke again. "I'll get you two some passports and I have a friend at British Airways who can get you to London. From there . . . I don't want to know where you go. It's better for everyone." He picked up the cordless phone and left the room to make some calls.

Author's Note: My apologies, I know these past two chapters have been short, but at least they were posted within a decent time frame;) I would like to take this moment to plug 'Leon: The Uncut Director's Version'. It has almost 30 minutes of extra footage. Mathilda assists Leon with some cleaning jobs, a lot more interplay between Leon and Mathilda, AND we get to know about Leon's past, why he left Italy and ended up a cleaner. Since I put that last reference in this latest chapter, I'll explain a bit. When Leon was 19, he was seeing a girl from a powerful rich family. The father didn't approve and forbid her to see him. When she snuck out to see him anyway, her father killed her. He spent 2 days in jail and was released, charges dismissed. Leon killed him, his first kill. Then moved to America. He hadn't been with a woman since. See what you're missing with that watered down 'Professional'? Until next time . . .