OWT-Chapter Does-it-really-matter-by-now?

Blood Drive

Boris reached over to Tucker's pocket, but he stopped himself. There was something about Tucker's behavior that made him suspicious. "Tucker, tell me what's in your pocket; I need to know."

"It's-it's a vial." Tucker stammered. "Of blood/"

"Why?" Boris asked. Tucker just shook his head, knowing that he couldn't answer that. "Is this about...?" Boris didn't want to say what it was,though, fearing that someone might overhear him.

"Yeah." That was the only response Tucker offered, one single word. Although Boris wasn't pleased with the answer, he was grateful that Tucker didn't say why he took the blood out loud, just like he hadn't.

"Understandable." Boris said with a reassuring smile. He didn't want the younger man to think that he was in trouble, seeing that he still had his hands crossed over his chest and his eyes glued to the ground- both of them being defensive postures, Boris recalled. He was used to seeing the behavior in some of his past doctors when he told them he was going to find a new doctor, but to see Tucker with the posture was something different entirely. Instead of saying that he was upset with Boris and that he could do better than he was getting credit for, the posture said that he didn't mean to cause any trouble and begged for him not to be punished. It made Boris realize that Tucker wasn't used to people caring about what he did, most likely due to his father always being gone.

Boris was snapped out of his thoughts when Tucker cleared his throat, obviously trying to get Boris' attention.

"I'll just, uh, go now..." Tucker mumbled as he crept toward the door of the bathroom. Just as he reached for the door knob, Boris grabbed his arms. Tucker visibly flinched at the movement, causing Boris to let go. He wasn't expecting the reaction. "W-what is it?"

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Boris suggested.

"I would, but I have to go. My dad's expecting me home soon." Tucker lied.

"Alright; I suppose you should be on your way home, then."

"Thank you." Tucker replied as Boris pulled the door open. He practically ran out of the bathroom, trying to get away from the tension in the air.

"And Tucker?" Boris called out, the boy already halfway down the long hallway. Tucker turned around to look at him. "Be careful, okay?"

"Yes, of course." Tucker said, offering only a small nod as he left Boris' house.

Boris watched as the young boy left, having a bad feeling about what his letter had asked him to do...

Tucker placed the vial of blood in a safe spot in his car, heading off toward the hospital. He knew how to get Hank's blood, and he also knew how to get his own blood. He would have to make it look like an accident, of course, but that would be easy enough. As soon as he pulled up into the hospital's parking lot, he whipped his car key out of its rightful hole and examined it. Smiling a little to himself as a new idea came to him, he jabbed the key into his arm, creating a narrow cut on his arm. He grabbed the vial with his name on it and held it underneath his arm. In less than a minute, the vial was completely full. He sealed it and wiped off its sides, getting all the extra blood of the container. After putting the vial next to Boris', he shut his car door and headed off toward the hospital's entrance.

"Tucker!" he heard someone call as soon as he entered. He turned around to see a worried Jill heading toward him. "What did you do?" she asked.

"My key got jammed, so I tried to yank it out. When I pulled it, it loosened, but it was still stuck. I tried again, and, well, I got it out..." Tucker said, motioning to his arm, "but I also got cut."

"Why didn't you call Hank?" Jill asked as she lead Tucker into a vacant room.

"It just happened a few minutes ago. I was up the road at the store, so I decided to just come here. I thought it would be quicker than trying to get Hank up tot he store, you know." Tucker sighed.

"Yeah, of course." Jill muttered as she took care of his arm. "I'm glad you came. With hemophilia, you just can't take that risk. It looks like it's going to clot, so I don't think we have to worry this time, though."

The sound of a pager going off stopped Jill. She looked at it, seeing it was a signal that her help was needed.

"It's okay if you have to go. I know what to do from here." Tucker said with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks Tucker. Could you wait here for a second? I just want to make sure it clots."

"Yes, of course." With that, Jill left.

Once Tucker was sure Jill was out of sight, he got off of the bed and made his way to the room he was looking for. He entered cooled room, surprised to see that the door was wide open. He had recalled Hank telling him that the hospital had a sample of his blood for a mandatory physical to work as a doctor in the Hamptons. He quickly scanned the shelves for the vial until he found it. He pocketed it and carefully walked out of the room, trying not to be seen. Happy that his plan had worked fairly well, Tucker left the hospital without looking back...

When Tucker got home, he was happy to find that his father wasn't. He sighed in relief before heading back to his room to grab the letter that he had dropped off earlier. He put the three vials safely into their rightful box, complete with stuffing to protect the glass. Once they were in the box, he carried it back to his car, heading over to the cafe to give the box up...

Tucker nervously walked to the back of the cafe, box in hand. He walked past a group of people and hoped that one of them would say something about the box. Finally, the tall, slim man at the end of the group stepped in front of Tucker.

"Tucker Bryant?" he asked with a thick Louisiana accent.

"Yeah." he replied as he handed the box to him. The man took the box and offered Tucker a small smile. "What do I do now?" he asked.

Before he knew what was happening, a man came up behind him and put a cloth up to his mouth.

"Now you keep quiet." he snickered.

Tucker could barely make out the two shapes carrying his now limp body into a van. Once he was in, another man that was part of their little group blindfolded him. He thought it was useless, though, because he was on the verge of passing out. And as the van started moving for its parked spot, he did in fact lose consciousness. He did have time to think about one thing before passing out, though:

'I have the feeling I'll be seeing Evan and Divya soon...'