Chapter 11
"I told you, we can't meet like this anymore! He'l kill me," Belle throws down her Prada handbag on the diner table opposite Ms Y who is dressed in a plain black tracksuit.
"You've been working as Orson's spy for a long time and I know he trusts you. It's clear the man is not just a CIA director. I know it's difficult and I know you're in love with him but don't you think you've been his side piece for too long? How many promises has he broken?" Ms Y probes.
"Ok, but this is the last time I'll give you any more information." Belle cautiously answers.
"Good girl" she nods. "This 100K cheque right here should help your family back in Eastern Europe. Plus I'll see to it that your brother is released on bail" Ms Y bargains.
"Ok…" the blond agrees.
"So how come he hasn't left his wife for you yet?"
"Sarah is just part of his life as part of a cover so that everyone else thinks he's living a normal life. He calls it the mundane side of life. He doesn't love her and he's used her for over 30 years."
"And do you think he loves you?"
"He says he does, but I know he's holding back."
"Why is that?"
"Because he always compares me to Amber" she frowns. "He even tells me that I look like her."
"Who is Amber?" Ms Y attentively listens, surprised by her revelation.
"Beats me!" Belle shrugs. "All I know is that she was someone who used to be in his life a long time ago, way before Sarah or anybody else entered the picture. I think that was the woman he always wanted to be with but he couldn't. So he had her killed. Apparently she also worked as a spy for him but she wanted out because she had a husband and a kid. They killed him too…."
"Who is 'they'? Could you tell me?"
"You should know Ms Y. Your father used to work with him all those years ago."
"My father worked with many Government Officials and crooked cops. Have you ever seen anything suspicious or out of the ordinary?"
"Yeah…" Belle worriedly nods, glancing back and forth towards the cheque on the table. Her own temptation creeps back in but it's difficult to continue so she takes a deep breath. "If I tell you and he finds out, he'l kill me too" Belle worriedly frowns.
"My brother and I can protect you. We have many soldiers and besides, Briggs is working for us. We won't do anything to jeopardize that. If anything, he is the one in danger from our enemies and so are you if you don't cooperate with us. Once we reboot this city, you will be able to start a new life with my help." She gives Belle a reassuring and convincing smile.
The lady takes another tense breath, shaken up before explaining further. "Lately, I just don't know, Orson has been acting strange. Keeping different passports, coming and going at random times."
"Has he ever messed around with fire in front of you?" Ms Y asks, recalling the other day when his hand burnt her palm after she grabbed hold of it.
"Oh God yeah! I don't know how he does it but he's got this really cool trick where he can just make fire appear out of thin air from one flick of his hand. I still can't figure out how it's done!" She laughs.
"You know what Belle? You have been so helpful to us. I wanna thank you and I promise you I'll never bother you again..." Ms Y sits back in her chair facing her until one of her thugs dressed as a server injects a lethal dose of poison into Belle's neck. For a moment, the woman struggles, holding onto her throat unable to breathe until she passes out, finally dead over the table.
"Dylan, make sure that Orson Briggs or whoever he claims he is, receives her body and clean this shit up fast!" Ms Y demands.
"Yes boss!" The blond haired fighter agrees.
"Oh and leave that handbag for me! I quite like this one" Ms Y grins.
As soon as she gets into the back of her car, she empties the contents of the designer bag then Ms Y reaches for her own cell phone to make a call.
"Brother, it's me. I think I know who our CIA friend really is. Meet me in three hours at the concert hall and don't be late!"
"Honey, I got dinner and champagne delivered here in about 20 minutes time. Then we can celebrate…" Briggs cheerfully opens the door to Belle's apartment.
When he first walks in, nothing is different nor out of the ordinary however, as he approaches the kitchen upstairs, he notices a strange smell. The smell of death.
He quickly pulls out his gun from underneath his jacket then he cautiously makes his way up the laminate staircase, knowing that someone else is either here or they have already been here. He moves slowly and quietly with caution, ready to fight or shoot if necessary.
"Belle? Shit… Oh my God…"
He spots her body lying in the middle of the kitchen counter, pale and motionless. He then rushes forward, frantically listening to her chest and breath but it is too late - she is already dead. Straight away, he reacts quickly and calmly, running for the bedroom upstairs. He hastily opens the wardrobes, digging deep into one of the draws before finding a small black box which he scans his fingerprint over the top of to unlock it.
"Dammit! Where the fuck is it?" Briggs panics when one of his other passports under his real name of Steffan Visser is nowhere to be seen. It dawns on him that someone is out there, an enemy who now knows who he really is. And he has a good idea about who it could be.
He hastily pulls out his cell phone, now more exasperated than earlier.
"Sarah? It's me. When you get this please call me. Whatever you do, don't go home from work, stay right there on your shift if you can where it's safer. I'm coming to pick you up and I'll be there as soon as I can, I promise…."
"Can't you give her something else to stop the pain?" Axel asks one of the nurses, feeling annoyed.
"I'm sorry Sir, we're rushed off our feet tonight and our hospital is running out of supplies" one doctor replies.
"I can get one of my friends to pick up whatever you need from another hospital…how much longer is the wait for the scan?"
"I'm sorry Sir, I can't tell you…"
"Hey, I remember you! You saved my brother's life last year back at SkyTrain!" One of the nurses immediately recognises Axel standing outside in the corridor with her colleague. "What's wrong? Is everything ok?" She asks, feeling concerned.
Axel shakes his head. "I understand it's a busy night here, but we've been waiting for almost four hours. The drugs they've provided for the pain aren't working and we still don't know if the baby is alive or not..." he signals to the hospital room behind him. He appears to be worried out of his mind and frustrated at the same time at a situation that is completely out of his control.
Without hesitation, the nurse enters the crowded hospital room where Blaze is quietly sitting on a chair, anxiously waiting for one of the beds to become available. The nurse also recognises the brunette as soon as she spots Blaze. She crouches down in front of her to ask questions.
"Have one of the doctors properly examined you yet?"
"No," Blaze shakes her head.
"Where is the pain?"
"Right here", she points to the right side of her abdomen, struggling to talk.
"Ok, so I'm going to call one of my superiors. She was supposed to finish an hour ago but she's still here and she's a trained midwife. We'll get you seen right away and moved to another ward with a bed, ok?"
"Thanks… I don't need any special treatment. I just want some answers if my baby is still alive..." Blaze exhails.
"No, I insist. And thank you! You and your team saved a lot of people including my own family. This city won't forget that and this is the least I can do" the young nurse gives her a reassuring smile.
It takes less than five minutes for her to live up to her promise and Blaze is moved into a secured room and hospital bed.
"Thanks for your help," Axel nods.
"My superior should be here in a minute. I'll check in on you both later on and I hope everything is ok" she replies.
This time, an older lady in her mid 50s dressed in plain clothes under a white lab coat enters the room, glancing at the folder in her hands.
"Hi, I'm one of the Senior doctors here. I'm very sorry you've been waiting so long to be seen, but I promise I'm gonna look after you." The tone of her voice is warm and friendly with certainty that is reassuring to hear. "Do you think anything may have triggered a potential miscarriage to come on?" She queries.
Blaze looks down at her palms, feeling guilty. "I got into a fight earlier with one of my friends…."
"A fight? How bad was it?" The doctor is surprised, noticing several cuts and bruises on Blaze's body.
"It wasn't so bad, I've had worse… but it was my fault" she admits.
"Well the good news is, unless you had a direct impact to your womb or abdominal area, it's highly unlikely to cause a miscarriage. Has anything been stressing you out or giving you anxiety?"
"Yes, a lot of things!" Axel answers on her behalf, sitting on a chair next to the bed.
"I'm fine though, I can handle it…..owww!"
"Dear, I know you're in a lot of pain but I have to examine the area first." The doctor says, applying some pressure on her stomach. "It appears to be redder here than normal, are you sure you didn't suffer any swelling or trauma in this area during the fight?"
"I'm certain" Blaze heavily breathes.
"Your skin right here is very hot but your bodily temperature has appeared to be normal."
"What does that mean?" She worriedly asks.
"First I'm gonna have to do a scan before we prescribe any more drugs to check if the baby is still alive. If it is, then you probably have some sort of infection or side effect from the anxiety or medication you've been taking for your head injury listed here. Were you planning the pregnancy?"
"No," Axel and Blaze simultaneously answer.
"Then they should have told you that this medication you're prescribed interferes with anything else you may be taking to stop getting pregnant."
"Great to know now!" Blaze sighs.
"And what about the other case scenario?" Axel asks.
"If the fetus is dead, then we'll have to operate to remove it." Her last sentence sends shivers down their spines. Neither of them were ready to hear that.
"The fastest way to find out is if I perform the scan straight away. I'll call one of the nurses now to come and help set up the ultrasound, just give us a minute..."
"This is all my fault…" Blaze glances over towards Axel with tears in her eyes.
"It's not your fault. You heard the doctor, that fight with Estel probably didn't cause this to happen…" he gently puts his arm around her.
"It's not just that. I should have said something when I found out just before we left London. But instead, I kept training, I kept pushing myself. I just didn't wanna let you or Leon down".
"You haven't and I know you won't…" Axel suddenly pauses his sentence, feeling alarmed when the doctor removes her stethoscope to set up the machine, revealing her name badge underneath it.
"What's wrong?" Blaze quietly asks.
"I'll explain later…, don't worry right now". He glances back to take a second look at the name badge, displaying 'Dr Sarah Briggs'.
"Sir, you have the option to stay or wait outside. But if we have to operate right after the scan, you'll need to leave immediately"
"I'm staying here, whatever happens." Axel answers, this time with a more serious tone in his voice.
"Ok, I'll see what we can do," she replies, avoiding his eye contact.
For a split second, Blaze has a flashback in her memory to a very long time ago back in Lima to the first and only time she ever had one of these scans. The feeling back then was very different compared to now. She was on her own in the room, the place in the middle of a danger zone whilst she and Shiva fought to defend themselves against Electra and the syndicate.
"I'm glad you're here this time, whatever happens" she says to Axel holding her hand. He appears to be more anxious now than earlier as the imaging on the monitor starts to appear.
The seconds feel like hours whilst the two of them wait for an answer until the silence is finally broken.
"... Its good news! I can hear a strong heartbeat and the baby is alive and well." The couple let out a huge sigh of relief before smiling at each other, feeling the luck on their side.
"You're actually almost 4 months along now, but you're barely showing anything. All that fighting with your friends must physically keep you in check" the doctor says, making them laugh.
"I'll try not to get into any more fights with my friends. Lesson learned," Blaze smiles back.
"You ok?" She asks Axel next to her who is lost for words and in awe of the screen in front of them. He nods back with a huge grin on his face with happy tears in his eyes.
"Ahh, I can see now what's causing the pain here in your stomach…" The doctor replies, pointing at a small curve on the screen above the baby.
"Shit, is something wrong?" Blaze panics.
"No, it's just heat energy in the womb that is irritating you on the inside. It appears to be reducing right now, so we'll give you some painkillers, maybe take some rest, keep your heart rate normal and everything should be ok."
"Please don't scare me like that again" she sighs.
"I'm sorry," the doctor smiles. "Would you two like to know if you're having a boy or a girl?"
The couple glance at one another then they both nod at the same time, grinning from ear to ear excitedly at each other.
"Well after the events of today, I think you two deserve some nice news and it's a nice way of ending my day also…. Despite almost losing the baby, your little girl here is a fighter just like her parents". She smiles, passing them a photo of the scan.
"That's amazing! Thank you so much," Blaze looks up at her with hope on her face.
"My pleasure. Most of my staff here know what you and your friends did for this city after what happened last year and even before that. I'm very happy for you both." She smiles then turns to leave. "I'll send the nurse in with the painkillers you'll need before you're discharged."
"This is the best feeling in the world. I wouldn't have minded either way but… to have a daughter also...wow this is amazing." Axel smiles at Blaze.
"I know. Love you so much".
"I love you too" he kisses her.
"So what happened back there? You looked startled at one point" Blaze queries.
"Shit, yeah! Wait, I'll be back here in a minute…" he replies, kissing her once again before rushing out of the hospital room to find the doctor.
"Dr Briggs…!"
"Is everything ok?" She turns around, puzzled to see Axel again.
"It's Sarah Briggs, right?"
"Yeah, why?" She asks, feeling defensive.
"Your husband, he…"
"I know who you are, you don't have to explain" she abruptly says, catching him off guard.
"You do?" Axel asks, confused.
"Yeah, your Amber's boy…" There is an awkward silence between them.
"Look I'm sorry we bumped into each other like this but I'm asking you not to tell your husband that we're here or about the baby..."
"Mr Stone, I take my job very seriously and patient confidentiality is part of our code of conduct. I know the truth about what happened with my husband and your mother before we got married. Over the years, I've come to realise that my husband has many secrets hidden from me and I understand his motives. So if you have to kill me for my silence, I expect that's what you'll do. Just make it quick," she bravely requests.
"No! I'm not gonna kill you. I'm nothing like him…"
Sarah immediately exhales a sigh of relief, however still slightly shaken up.
"When Blaze is discharged, the two of you can take the stairs down at the back of corridor C. It leads to the supply entrance of the building. Steffan is on the way here now to pick me up. I suggest that the two of you leave as discreetly and as quickly as possible. You'll need this to open the doors," she hands over to him her key card.
"Thank you for everything. I promise no harm will come to you. But I can't promise that I wont kill him this time…" Axel replies before turning away.
"You know he still has the scars from the night you burnt him alive after he told you he was your father…" Sarah remarks, stopping Axel in his tracks.
"Good. He deserved to suffer after what he did to my real parents. I hope we never cross paths again," he hastily walks away from her without looking back.