As in "Waking Up".
Thanks again to all who are still hanging in there with me. Sorry Steampunk-Archer, this chapter is even shorter. Lynnutte and NRA both gave me their input to help me smooth out some of the rough edges on this chapter. It's still rough, but here we go.
A quiet, yet annoying beep sounded.
A second later, it sounded again. Then again, as if signifying time that was passing. It created a sense of urgency, a reminder that things were happening and that things we being missed.
Grudgingly, pushing his desire to rest aside, Artie struggled until he opened his eyes. He saw a white ceiling partitioned with black strips and sighed. The colors in his world had been dulled since being affected by the teleportation reaction in Joshua's lab.
His eyes snapped open. Joshua! "Claudia!" his abused throat croaked out. He struggled to sit up, needing to find out what happened to her; if they were able to replace what the process took out of them both. If she died; if he killed her….
Artie grunted against his own body not responding fast enough. He got up on an elbow before a voice startled him.
"I wouldn't advise getting out of bed at this moment Arthur."
Artie turned his head so suddenly that the room spun. His brown eyes rolled unnaturally and he fell back down to the pillow. His chest rose and fell with his deep breaths, renewing his energy. After a moment, the old man smiled a bit, realizing that his lungs were working again.
He looked to his side and saw a black woman settle back into a chair. Her dark skin contrasted fashionably with the pink tweed suit that she was stuffed into. Her thickly rimmed red glasses and matching her patent leather purse completed the tightly composed persona of Mrs. Frederic. Relief flooded over Artie at seeing his boss. She put the color back into his world, again confirming that everything was working properly again.
"Mrs. Frederic." Artie said in greeting and acknowledgement.
The woman smiled as much as she did; reserved, yet not unkind. "Hello Arthur. How do you feel?"
Artie groaned. He felt like road kill with fifty pound weights tied to his extremities. His nose hurt badly, everything else was sore. Instead of focusing on himself, he asked, "Claudia, the girl. Is- is she ok? Where is she?"
Mrs. Frederic took a breath, giving him a rather annoyed look at his misplaced concern for the juvenile delinquent that kidnapped him. Alarmed at her reaction, Artie said, "Is Claudia ok? What happened?" He struggled to sit up, managing to prop himself up on his elbow before he realized that he wore only a flimsy medical garb. He ripped an annoying tube from his face to focus a worried look at her.
"Arthur, the girl is fine. You got the information to the medics in time to save her life. They were able to replace enough missing metals to get her to the hospital where her brother instructed the doctors to save you both." The woman informed him.
Artie hesitated at learning that Joshua helped treat him. Mrs. Frederic saw his hesitation. "It was a very near thing. You are both lucky to be here- in spite of your own actions." She let her voice go serious and shifted slightly, intending it as a rebuke to his recklessness.
The meaning wasn't lost on the supervisor. The side of Artie's mouth twitched under his pepper gray goatee. He looked like hell. Artie hadn't slept well in the days prior as he hunted down the troubles that Claudia sent into the Warehouse. He hadn't shaved in even longer. Aware of how he must have looked, Artie glanced up at his boss.
Mrs. Fredric sighed and stood up. "We will discuss this later." She pressed her lips together then added with a hint of annoyance, "After Leena has a chance to get some of her chicken soup into you." She knew there was a better time to discuss the consequences of Artie's actions than the present, especially considering his current condition.
Suddenly self conscious with only a thin excuse for a shirt he was wearing, Artie pulled up the only slightly thicker blanket. "Uh… I had… a shirt somewhere…" He blushed, embarrassed, glancing down at his partly exposed chest covered by the shirt that was held closed only by a dangerously loose knot.
The old agent glanced up and opened his mouth to apologize to his boss, but she was already gone. Expecting her to have disappeared, he was mildly surprised to see her retreating back through the window in the door. Artie took the rare chance to watch his mysterious boss leaving. He thought that perhaps he was beginning to figure her out after all the years of working with her. Maybe he was starting to crack her façade.
He huffed at finally getting one up on his boss. Artie shifted the elbow propping him up. Without the benefit of his glasses, Artie caught some earth color out of the corner of his eye. He did a double take at his clothes that appeared neatly folded at the foot of his bed. He glanced up and through the window, saw Mrs. Frederic turn and meet his eyes, as if knowing his surprise, before she turned around the corner.