Part XVI
Threatened
When I awoke again it was completely dark outside. No one else was in my room. I sighed deeply, the pain in my lower abdomen only slight. A few nurses and doctors sped down the hall outside of my room; one doctor was speaking loudly into a walkie-talkie. "I need all available personnel in the ER! We have a serious case of cardiac arrest on our hands!"
That would be a horrible and painful way to die, I thought, and winced as my abdominal pain grew worse. I'll just go back to sleep. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning…I dozed once more.
…
Ryuzaki was there again when I awoke; I felt him brush his cool fingertips against the back of my hand before I opened my eyes. "Good morning," he said.
"Good morning yourself," I replied weakly. "Did they say anything about my condition?"
"You're going to be fine," he said reassuringly.
"I know that much," I told him. "I'm not dead."
He glared, then sighed and lowered his eyes. "I hate to be the one to tell you, but depending on how your insides heal, you… may never be able to have children. At least not without d-" he trailed off.
My heart sank. Burn in Purgatory forever, Brandon, I thought with animosity. "So I would die, then," I concluded softly. Ryuzaki nodded. " I wasn't planning a future like that anyway. It doesn't matter." Was I lying? Yes.
"I see," Ryuzaki replied. "But there's only a chance you won't heal properly. At this point, the doctors say everything is fine. Those cuts were very deep, though, yanno."
I nodded, feeling better… for the time being.
…
I remained in the hospital for a week before they sent me back to Wammy's. Watari and Roger had brought a few of the children in each day to see me; they all greeted me happily when Ryuzaki brought me home. That's what it was, after all. Home…
…
Three months later, after several doctor visits, I had made a full recovery and turned nineteen. Brandon was sentenced to 10 years in prison without a trial.
…
Then, it was 2am on September 2nd. Someone urgently shook me awake. "Kita, you have to get up," Ryuzaki pleaded.
I groaned. "What's wrong?"
"You have to get out of here!" The detective began grabbing my clothes and shoving them into my duffel bag with one hand, clinging to something I couldn't see with the other.
"What are you doing? Why do I have to go?"
He stopped his maniacal packing and looked at me. I didn't like what I saw: Ryuzaki's eyes were cold and frightened, his face as pale as I'd ever seen it. "Three men blew a hole in the side of the prison with their bombs. They killed four inmates and Brandon escaped."
I jumped out of bed quickly. "But I don't have to leave…"
"Yes, you do," he murmured, pain in his voice. I tried to interrupt, but he continued. "I had cameras and microphones set up in the interrogation room before he was questioned. Brandon admitted to following you here.
"They searched his computer and found the threatening messages that were sent to me. Evidence was also found to link him to Al Qaeda.." Ryuzaki paused to gauge my reaction.
"So he's a terrorist?" I felt my blood run cold.
Ryuzaki nodded. "Yes. He's been trained as one since a young age. "
"But that still doesn't mean I have to leave."
The detective lowered his eyes and winced. "At the end of his interrogation, Brandon said he was going to find you and kill you as soon as he escaped from jail."
End Part XVI