Flu
Chapter 11
"What did Montgomery say?" Rick asks, handing Kate her milkshake.
"That he'll make some calls to get DeNuncio into a safe house. He's afraid that even in the segregated population, one of the Scarpellas' people may be able to get to him. Apparently, Corrections has been keeping it under wraps, but he heard a rumor at 1PP that Rikers had an incident. And they've been hit by the flu, like everyone else. They don't have enough guards to cover the regular shifts."
"Sure," Rick considers, "a bug like this would spread through a bunch of people in tight quarters, like wildfire. Even as isolated as Rikers Island is, the staff would still take it home to their families, too. The place is a reservoir for infection. Normally, I'd say that would be a great detail to stick in a book, but after what you went through, I can't take it that casually. A safe house will be less dangerous for DeNuncio in more ways than one, as long as the officers on duty don't bring in the virus. How long did Montgomery think it would take to find a spot for him?"
"He had no idea. The flu's slowed everything down."
Rick lays out their food on the table. "I guess we'll have to hope it slows down any contract the Scarpellas put out on DeNuncio, too."
Groaning, Chris Carlucci downs half of his glass of scotch. He's been trying to enlist his contacts in the Tombs and Rikers to take out Leo DeNuncio, but every one of the mother f****** has the flu. And from the pounding in his temples, he's probably coming down with it too.
Chris checks the time on his phone. It's too late to get anything lined up for tonight anyway. By the time he can close a deal, the prisoners will be in lockdown. He'll finish his scotch and maybe another one and go to bed. Explaining the delay to Dino will be a bitch, but there's nothing he can do about it. No matter when he finds someone to take on the job, DeNuncio will be just as dead. Finding another bombmaker to replace him will be a bitch too.
"So, what would you like to do on your first night away from the hospital?" Rick inquires. "I'll consider any answer but 'work,' as correct."
Kate rolls her eyes. "You're worse than my nurses."
"I'll happily accept that. Despite your best efforts, they managed to get you well enough to come home. So, really Kate, you have all the joys of almost every channel and subscription modern media have to offer, as well as access to my extensive dead tree library. The world outside institutional walls is yours to explore."
"How about channel 575?" Kate suggests, fluttering her eyelashes. "They didn't have that at the hospital."
"Because it's porn. The hearts of some of the patients probably couldn't take it."
"True," Kate admits, "but I've never known you to have a problem with it, and Dr. Arain said my heart is fine."
"Uh-huh, but you're still not supposed to exert yourself, and watching those offerings has made for some lively evenings for us. Much as I'd enjoy that kind of activity, I'm not sure the good doctor would approve."
"We could work something out that would be a little less strenuous. Who knows? We might even pick up some onscreen pointers. Come on, Babe, I've missed you.
"For most of your time in the hospital, I was sitting 2 feet away from you," Rick protests.
"You know what I mean," Kate purrs.
"Well, there was one movie I saw in the previews that featured some hospital antics for accommodating horny patients," Rick recalls. "I think it was called 'The Pair Olympics.' It looked like it might showcase some creative solutions. I believe we can get it on demand."
Kate snuggles against his side. "That might be just what the doctor ordered."
Rick traces his fingers over the curve of her hip. "I don't recall Arain prescribing it, but we'll give it a look. I warn you, though, you might have to put up with me checking your reflexes."
The tip of Kate's tongue moistens her lips. "Depending on how you check them, that could be fun too."
Leo pulls his think blanket over his head, desperately hoping that it was washed before being allotted to him. Some of the prisoners don't look like they've heard of soap and water. Acid burns his throat just being around them. He doesn't understand how Carlucci could have been stupid enough to pay him with marked and bugged bills. Hell, he should have examined them before taking the envelope to Specialty Products. He has a UV light in his shop that could have picked up the markings. He just didn't think to use it.
He's never been sloppy before. His mother always claimed that he came out of the womb screaming for someone to clean him up. She complained that he always cried the moment there was anything in his diapers. But she was proud that he practically potty trained himself – as if she had anything to do with it. Ever since he can remember, he cleaned up after her. He cleaned up after everyone. But with one slip, he ended up in hell.
The fabric over Leo's face makes it hard to breathe. He's smothering – without the relief of death. Maybe if he tied it tightly enough around his neck, that final release would come. But it's dirty. Leo can feel the embedded muck against his skin, and can't bear to let it make any deeper contact.
He hired the best damn lawyer around. Forrester will get him out of here. Until then, Leo will try to do what he's done before when faced with the horror of a filthy world – retreat so deep into his mind that nothing can reach him.
Rick can't help grinning as Kate sleeps, pillowed on his chest. The movie was a treasure trove of ideas, augmented by their imagination. Through a torrent of sensation and satisfaction, the bed didn't even creak once. They're way past the years of teenage stealth, but it's still exciting to know just how much they could enjoy without revealing themselves.
All kinds of guests stay at the loft from time to time, and even some of the best hotels have thin walls. What they learned tonight may also come in handy during their sessions in the abandoned office at the precinct. Everything considered, Kate's homecoming couldn't have turned out much better.
Since long before law school, Lee Forrester has been accustomed to working late into the night. Hours of study while most students were dreaming made him high school valedictorian. He followed that with being summa cum laude in college and making the Law Review at Harvard. His nocturnal efforts serve him well in his practice too, as long as he can grab cat naps when he needs them. But at this moment he could be doing better.
Lee's had his share of odd clients. That's pretty much an occupational hazard, but Leo DeNuncio is among the odder ones. He was more concerned with not receiving his cleaning solution than being charged with multiple felonies. DeNuncio seemed to have little idea what prison or even jail could be like. The alleged arsonist does now and appears on the edge of mental collapse. If Lee is going to do anything for Leo, he'll have to do it fast.