Several hours later, the sun completely gone from the sky, Jacob coughed and sputtered. Sin jumped up, wiping the sleep from her eyes before crawling over to where he lay.
"J, J can you hear me?" she gasped, shaking his non damage arm.
"I can hear you," he groaned, trying to sit up despite his sore muscles; he winced whenever he moved his arms. Groaning and wiping his face, he looked down at his arms. Several bandages were wrapped around each of his wounds, the purple discoloration subsiding.
"What the hell happened?" she asked, smacking him in the head.
"I'm not even sure," he groaned, rubbing his head.
"Dude the SCPD and EMS band went nuts," she went on, sitting back and folding her arms over her chest. "They were saying you lit up an entire block.
"Didn't seem that big," he chuckled. "All in all, i think it went well."
She rocked up to her knees and moved to smack him in the head again, Jacob easily blocking her with an arm.
"Least that shits working," she grumbled, withdrawing her hand and sitting back down.
"Told you it works," he chuckled, moving to stand up. After considerable effort, he managed to make it to his feet before looking down at his battered chest. Several new bruises blossomed all over, the yellow grey splotches standing out. He turned over his left arm,, finding more bruises, these a nasty purple.
"Did you get that blood sample?" he asked, stretching out his arms and working over his muscles.
"Two of them," she confirmed, standing up and walking over to the desk where they lay. "What do you plan on doing with those?"
"Not me," he grunted, working one of his black shirts over his shoulders and wincing as the fabric brushed against the fresh bruises. "Henry."
"What's Henry going to do with a blood sample?" she asked, frowning.
"Hopefully," he grunted, finally settling the shirt in place. "He can tell me what poison that was. If i can find out what it is, maybe i can find out where or what it came from."
"Shit," she muttered, shaking her head. "I didn't think of that…"
A few hours later, Sin helped Jacob stumble into Henry's clinic, hat pulled low over his eyes.
"I told you I'm fine," he grumbled at her quietly.
"Tell me that after I didn't see you almost fall over the roof," she shot back.
"Well hello again, you two," Henry called, hearing the curtain fall behind them. "What have you gotten yourselves into now?"
"I need you to analyze something," Jacob started, motioning for Sin to hand him the vials while leaning against a gurney.
"Of course, of course," Henry nodded, taking the vials and holding them up to the light. "Who's blood might this be?"
"Mine," Jacob groaned, the room starting to spin in his eyes.
"Good God man," Henry spouted, watching as Jacob all but turned green, wobbling slightly in the shadow. "Are you not well?"
"I'm fine, Doc," Jacob groaned, shaking his head and standing up a little straighter. "Can you analyze the blood?"
"I believe i can, but what exactly would i be looking for?" he asked, turning around and heading to a small centrifuge tucked back into a corner.
"Some type of poison, I don't know exactly," Jacob shrugged. "I was attacked last night."
"In your line of work," Henry chuckled, flipping open the plastic dome of the machine. "That seems to be a normal occurrence, no?"
"Not like this," Jacob said, shaking his head. "This was different."
"See that worries me," Sin cut in, holding her hand out and pointing at him. "He looks like crap."
"Gee thanks," Jacob muttered, glaring at her from the shadows.
"Do I need to do a full examination?" Henry asked, turning in his chair.
"Just the blood, doc," he said shaking his head and wobbling again slightly.
"Well it will take some time," Henry sighed, turning back towards the centrifuge and pressing a few buttons on the base.
"We'll be back then," Jacob nodded, turning and taking a few shaky steps towards the door before pausing. "Thank you, Henry.'
"Of course," Henry smiled, looking at him in the reflection on the screen. "Take care, would you?"
Jacob shrugged, leaving the clinic without replying as Henry turned around to face Sin.
"Keep an eye on him," Henry said, giving her a grave look. "Make sure he doesn't fall over."
"I plan to," Sin grunted, looking out the way Jacob had gone. "Falling isn't the worst thing that could happen."
Henry smiled, nodding before he turned back around to his computer. Sin sighed, shook her head and followed after Jacob.
"I said I had it," Jacob grumbled as the elevator doors slid open, the two walking into the main room of the clocktower.
"Tell me that after you can stay on your feet without looking like you're about to pass out," Sin argued, staying a step behind him as they exited.
"I've dealt with things like this before," he grunted, tossing the Rockets hat to the table and picking up his bow. "It will pass."
Jacob picked up an arrow, knocked it and drew back, sighting on the foam practice target. Pausing for a second as the room started to spin, he released the bowstring, the arrow glancing off the corner and bouncing off the wall. He frowned, nostrils flaring out a breath before reaching over and plucking another arrow from where it sat. Repeating the process, he drew back and fired, the arrow glancing off the opposite corner. Frustration building on his face, Jacob grabbed up another arrow, bow beginning to shake in his left hand.
"I'm calling Sara," Sin grunted, walking over and extending her hand towards where Jacobs' phone sat on the workstation.
As her fingers closed around it, an arrow suddenly protruded from the table mere inches from her hand.
"Don't you dare," Jacob growled, bow suddenly coming down from his readied stance.
"You could have hit me," she shot back, spinning around to stare at him wildly as she moved her hand away.
He shook his head, the motion amplifying the spinning room to the point he had to throw out a hand to keep himself from falling.
"You cant even stand," she went on, folding her arms over her chest. "Give me one good goddamn reason I shouldn't call her."
He sighed deeply, frustration building before he chucked the bow in his hand to the table. The rest of the weapons rattled, threatening to fall off.
"I'm fine," he mumbled, pressing both his palms to the cold steel of the table and taking a few steadying breaths.
"Bullshit," she called out, eyes glaring at him. "I know you well enough to see that lie. I've seen you shrug off bullets. You come back after a raid and you almost die." She paused, waiting for him to reply but getting nothing.
"Talk to me," she repeated, putting her hands on her hips. "Or talk to her."
Jacob remained silent, eyes firmly closed and hands still outstretched on the table. Sin turned around, reaching for the phone again. A sudden slam made her freeze, turning her head to look at him.
"I don't know what happened," he muttered so quietly she had to turn around and lean forward to barely hear him. "I was leaving that stash house, my head was still ringing. Then there was this flash of metallic green. Everything happened so fast, I tried to defend myself but it kept coming. Then these," he paused, touching the bandages wrapped around his body. "I don't know many blades that can cut through kevlar, let alone a poison that strong."
"So shake it off," she offered, shrugging. "Or get someone to help you."
"I did," he grunted, looking up to stare at her eyes. "You. Henry."
"Henry is doing what he can and you won't talk to me," she shot back. "Sara would be better equipped to handle this."
"I can't go running to her for everything, he groaned, pushing away from the table and beginning to make his way towards the bed. "I just need some rest."
Sin let out a sigh, glaring at him until he fell onto the bed, listening to him groan.
"Keep an eye out for a call from Henry," she heard him call as she turned away. "Don't you dare call Sara."
"Fine," she grunted, shaking her head and looking down at the phone.
Sin sat down in the workstation chair, hand resting on her head and pushing the hair back from her face. Tapping a few keys on the computer, she brought up the 3d designer, fiddling aimlessly with a schematic. Within a few minutes, she sighed in frustration, spinning around to see Jacob asleep, the extremely slow cadence of his breath the only sound she could hear. She reached for the phone while watching him sleep, his warning echoing in her mind. Double thinking, she froze.
He said not to call, she thought, a smirk playing across her face. She quickly dove into her own pocket, pulling out her own phone and pulled up Sara's name. Clicking on the icon to send a text message, she paused and thought about what to say. Thumbs moving across the screen, she quickly tapped out:
It's Sin, need to talk. Can you meet me somewhere?
And hit the send button. With a silent smile, she locked the screen and sat her phone on the table. No sooner than she had taken her hand away then her phone lit up displaying an incoming message.
When and where, it read simply.
Looking over her shoulder to where Jacob continued to sleep, she quickly replied. After locking the screen on her own phone, she stood up. Pausing for a second, she snatched up Jacobs phone, grabbed her jacket and hit the call button on the elevator. Within seconds, she was squeezing out between the chained doors and into the quiet nights streets.
Sweat began to bead up all across Jacobs body, pooling on his forehead as he tossed and turned. The minimal blanket and sheets began to wrap around his body, forming an almost soggy cocoon. Images began to flash in his head, adding to his discomfort.
Jacob lay on his back in the simple quarters the league had allowed him, sweat and blood clinging to his body. The simple bed coverings beneath him were also similarly coated, the drying blood beginning to cause the sheets to stick to his skin. The old healer stood a few paces away at the small wooden table, mashing an herbal mixture in a stone mortar and pestle. The mixture gave off an awful smell, mixing with the stench of blood and clouding the air.
With calm composure and barely a sound, Nyssa walked in through the door, one of the two guards reaching in to pull it shut after she passed. Looking around the room, she noticed the older woman and paused, sniffing the air. As the smell made it to her nose, she grimaced. She took another step forwards, her feet barely making a sound in the room as she moved. The older woman looked up for a split second, nodded to Nyssa quietly before turning back to her mixture, which had taken a paste like composition as she worked.
"What's wrong with me?" she heard Jacob ask as he attempted to sit up, straining before falling back to the bed with a groan.
"You have been stabbed," the old healer stated dryly, scooping the mixture from the mortar and onto a leaf. "Your wound is infected and the poison inside is attacking your nervous system viciously."
"Is there not an antidote?" Nyssa asked, quietly walking around the bed to view the wound herself.
"There is always an antidote," the woman chortled, clacking her remaining teeth together. "But the poison itself is in question. It is not one I have seen in many a year."
The old woman grunted to herself before scooping a handful of the foul smelling mixture from the leaf and applying it to Jacobs wound with a wet smack. Jacob let loose a groan of pain before falling silently onto his back, sinking unconscious to the bed.
"Do what you can," Nyssa murmured, watching Jacobs' pale face as the sweat dropped down.
A loud thump broke the silence in the room as Nyssa turned away from the bed. Taking a few quick steps from the bed, she began to hear shouting from the corridor outside. Another loud thump rippled through the air before Nyssa wrenched the door open, causing one of the guards to spill into the room, clearly knocked unconscious.
"What is the meaning of this?!" she roared, hand on her swords handle where it hung from her belt.
Two voices tried to answer at once, overlapping and becoming straight noise. Nyssa held up a hand silencing them both. Turning to face where they had originated, Nyssa found both Al'Faar and one of the guards she had passed on the way in, both in combat stances with weapons drawn.
"Sheath your weapons," Nyssa hissed, her voice like ice in the echoing hall. "Now!"
Al'Faar glared vilely at the guard before sheathing the two short bladed daggers she held; the guard mirrored her, sheathing the curved sword it held before taking a step back.
"Explain yourself, now," she growled, pointing at Al'Faar.
"I heard about what happened," Al'Faar replied, continuing to glare at the guard. "I immediately ran here to find this 'abalah blocking my way to Al'Shahurur's quarters."
"What do you know about the situation inside?" Nyssa asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Perhaps we should speak alone, Mother?" Al'Faar asked, her eyes slightly losing their edge.
"Very well," Nyssa sighed, taking her hand from her sword and waving it to the guard. "Picking this incompetent fool up and rouse him."
The remaining guard nodded swiftly, retrieving his comrade and dragging him from the room. Both Nyssa and Al'Faar waited until the doorway was clear before Nyssa motioned for her to enter. Al'Faar nodded before darting quickly into the room, Nyssa following and slamming the door firmly behind her.
Turning back around, Nyssa found Al'Faar routed to the spot, staring at Jacobs unconscious body slumped on the bed. Her eyes were still, anyone who looked into them would have just seen the anger in them, but Nyssa knew the woman well; she was worried.
"Will he recover?" Al'Faar whispered, eyes still locked on Jacob.
"Trust in our healer," Nyssa told the younger woman, nodding to her.
"How did it happen?" Al'Faar asked, stepping closer and touching the bed lightly.
"Someone was waiting for him in his quarters," Nyssa explained, watching as the young woman stood close to Jacob. "There were no signs of a struggle. Thankfully, one of your siblings happened to be checking on him and found him unconscious and bleeding. The guards were alerted and his room protected when I arrived."
"Who was it?" Al'Faar whispered, hands retreating from her touch and clenching at her side.
"It will be handled," Nyssa whispered back, arms folding over her chest and voice becoming hardened.
The two women stood in silence as they watched the old healer work, Al'Faar's anger beginning to reach her face. Nyssa watched both the old healer and Al'Faar, mind racing at the smallest thoughts.
Have I failed you? She thought, eyes flicking over Jacobs sweat soaked body. As I have failed my beloved…
"May I have a moment alone with him?" Al'Faar asked, voice breaking the older woman's thoughts and the silence. Nyssa nodded, motioning for the healer to join her before turning away from the bed and heading for the door. The ancient healer spat out a phrase in something, a language Al'Faar couldn't place, before wiping her hands on a brown rag.
"No physical exertion," the old woman crooned, pointing a gnarled digit directly at Al'Faar's face. "If he wakes up, pour the cup down his throat."
Al'Faar nodded, eyes darting from the old woman's finger to where she had indicated, spying an old, wooden cup sitting close by. Once the two other women had left and the door shut behind them, she turned to where Jacob laid. Pulling the sheet back gently, she inspected his wound, scowling at the mess that was left.
Stab wound, she thought as she gingerly touched the area surrounding. Short blade, freshly sharpened. The bruising surrounding it turned all manor of colors, making her wince slightly. It will be a glorious scar, If he survives...if…She stopped herself, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and mentally taking a breath. Fever, erratic breathing, obvious poison. But who would wish him harm that would use…
She stopped, pieces falling together in her mind.
"I swear," she whispered, her eyes flashing in the dark of the room. "I swear to you, I will punish the person responsible for this."
She paused, anger completely obscuring her words. Looking down, she noticed her hands starting to shake with rage. With a quick, deep steadying breath, she closed her eyes and squeezed her hands shut then back open. After a few seconds, her hands became still. Opening her eyes, she reached up and brushed a strand of darkened hair from his eyes.
"This too shall pass," she whispered, fingers brushing his cheek.