A/N: Underlined indicates typed conversation.

Chapter Thirteen

"Is that your blood?" Sue asked the silent man as they sat quietly for a moment. He looked down at his shirt.

'No. W's.' He got up and began to re-organize his med supplies. He stopped when Sue put a hand on his arm.

"Tell me your name. It's hard to talk to you if I have to say 'Hey, you'."

The silent man paused in thought. 'You can call me James.'

"Is that your real name?"

'No. Safer for you.'

She nodded. "Okay…James."

He went to work removing Hector's jacket. Since he was still sleeping on his stomach, it was fairly simple. Once it was off, he took a pair of scissors and cut the dark stained shirt up the middle. 'Need hot water. Wash blood.' Gingerly he peeled the shirt layers back to reveal hastily thrown on bandages that were now dull bright red. Sue winced when she came back with the water.

"What did they do to him?"

'Can't talk and fix. Need hands.'

"Sorry. What can I do?"

He showed her how to use the water to loosen the bandages so he could check the wounds underneath. She worked gently and methodically while the silent man—James—cleaned and dressed the multiple lacerations on the sleeping man's back. Biting her lip to keep from crying, Sue wondered at the depravity that people inflicted on each other. James finished the back and prepared to roll the wounded man over. He motioned Sue to back up…just in case. He eased Hector onto his back and waved her over to re-start the process. As he peeled off the shirt remains, they saw more cuts as well as burn marks and bruises from injections.

Sue excused herself to the bathroom and closed the door. She needed to breathe and cry and pray.

He could hear her in the little room, crying. Motioning to Levi to 'come', James went to the door and eased it open enough for the dog to go in. Then he returned to the bed. He needed to finish tending to Hector before the sedative wore off.

A short time later, Sue exited the bathroom, her composure rebuilt. She looked to the bed. Hector was resting comfortably, fresh bandages peeking above the covers. Levi made to go to the bed and she let him. Turning, she saw James sitting at the little table typing madly on a laptop.

"Wow. You're fast."

He looked up and motioned her to sit next to him. Her curiosity piqued, she did as he asked.

'We talk now.' He turned the laptop so she could see the screen. 'Read.'

What do you remember about the diner? Did Wreck say anything that you could see? Did he act irregular? What did you notice?

"Wreck? I thought his name was Hector."

It is. Wreck is his call sign in our unit. It's like a nickname.

"Oh," she nodded. "That explains why you keep calling him 'W'."

What do you remember?

"It was Levi who first noticed him. When I turned to look, he seemed full of nervous energy. His hands wouldn't stop moving. Like he was keeping time to music. I caught a few words. 'Find me' and 'Wreck'. I looked outside to see if there was an accident. There was a glare from a car door opening and closing. When I turned back, he had fallen."

James thought about what she said and started to type another question when she stopped him. "Why aren't you signing? I understand what you say."

In my job, I have to be very brief in what I sign. My unit can read it fairly well. I usually don't have time for long and drawn out conversations.

"What about when you are out with friends?"

My job is my life.

Sue looked at him in surprise. She stared talking and signing at the same time. "Why do you cut yourself off from others? Doesn't your boss take care of you? What if you get burned out? How is anyone going to know? When you keel over dead?" Huffing at him in defiance, she put her hands back in her lap.

Sue, I have always been quiet, even before I was unable to speak. It makes my job easier. Granted, there are times when I want to yell and scream with the best of them but I can't so I re-direct my energy. My boss is a good friend and he keeps close tabs on all of our team. They don't let me angst for long…

"I'm sorry. More than anyone, I know better than to assume. It's just that when I look into your eyes, I see the same loneliness that I used to see in mine."

Not all of that comes from loneliness. I have a high stress job. Sometimes it is harder to handle than others. This is one of those times. We thought we lost him. I went in on the off chance that he might have made it through and if not--. I got him out. You saw for yourself the cost. And he's not safe yet.

"What do you think caused his blindness?"

Bright light torture. His ocular nerves shutdown to save themselves. I'll leave the medical diagnoses up to our Doc but with rest and quiet, I think he'll recover his sight. . It's his psyche that we have to deal with now. When most of the stuff in his system wears off, he'll be disoriented and delusional. (Pause) So you said he was talking to himself.

"Yes. 'Find me' and 'Wreck' are what he kept repeating."

He had a contact a while back that he was going to try to reach. Someone he met in a bar. Wreck liked his nickname. Reminded him of his. Scuttle—Crash—something like that.

Sue went wide-eyed. "Oh, no. It couldn't be…"

'What?' He turned her to face him directly.

"Would you believe I think I know who Hector is looking for?"

James looked at her eyes closely for a moment. Slowly he signed 'Yes, I think I would