Post by h0ll0wman on Jan 30, 2016 3:24:11 GMT
...my little baby bird.
'Just calm down baby--the police are on their way.'
"Sarah--oh my god Sarah--"
The sobs of the young woman were somehow unnoticable to me. She was a long-standing acquaintance. The best friend of my younger sister. She was always the one holding her hair whenever she got too sick from clubbing; always the one to pick her up off of the ground when she broke up with some fool of a man. Why just tonight they had gone out to enjoy some of New York's more eccentric night clubs. She and I spoke often seeing as how we lived in the same city.
'Baby...what happened?'
I crouched down on the pavement of the dimly lit alleyway. The nightclub was just next door. I could hear the dull throb of bass coming from their massive speakers. The sound of whooping and hollering was as audible as the police sirens that could be heard closing in from afar. I reached out and brushed a strand of hair from Sarah's face--her caramel skin stained with running cosmetics. Her hazel eyes were staring off at the brick wall of the night club behind me. The bare flesh of her torso drowned in crimson from the open wound in the center of her chest.
"I--I don't know sh-she was gone for only a second; she met some guy--it's all my fault, It's All My Fault!"
She slammed her clenched fist against her boyfriend's chest between her broken cries. The young man simply pulled her close against him and looked over to where I was knelt down. The squad cars and first responder unit that pulled up brought the street to life with flashing color and sound. Officers dressed in black leaped from their vehicles and jogged towards the scene. The medical responders rushed past as I stood up from my baby sister and took three steps back.
I could feel the wall of the nightclub shake with the beat of the music as I placed my back against it. The young couple beside me were being questioned as to what happend who we all were. There was another officer standing a foot or so away from me. From the corner of my eye I could see his lips moving; but for the life of me I couldn't hear his voice. I couldn't even bring myself to raise my chin and look upon him. I couldn't tear my eyes away from Sarah.
I watched the first EMT place two fingers against her throat and hold there for a moment. There was only a few moments passing before the EMT shook her head at her partner and removed her hand. The pair of medical responders began their routine as the officer nearest me reached out to take my arm. Before his fingers could touch me he stopped to listen to the objections of my sister's friend. He heard the explanation that I was Sarah's older brother and had only just arrived.
I'd been at home when I'd gotten the call. The loft above a small korean restaurant--Lin Ko's. Sarah and I had often met up to have dinner at my place. Her place was usually covered in papers from her work at the university, or red solo cups from having one too many friends over. We didn't meet up or talk an unusual amount. But when we did get together it was always meaningful...rejuvenating even. We hadn't known parents growing up. Our grandparents had been our guardians; they'd passed away only a few years ago. They had never cared or been healthy enough to watch over us.
So we'd grown up together. Leaning on one another for the affection we so desperately craved and yet so adamently rejected from the world. She was and would always be my baby sister. But she was just as strong and capable as I ever was. She was my little ray of sunshine. It had been my pride and joy to watch every moment of her growing up. Even now I couldn't take my eyes away from her. I was staring--frozen--as the EMT's did their best to fix her forcibly torn undergarments. The clothes Sarah had worn to the club were torn from her small figure--and thrown a few feet further into the alley.
The officer who had been addressing me was gone from my vision. There was now a female officer in his stead; and I could hear her gently coo's as she tried to ease me away from the scene. Her name was Paige--a detective like myself. The EMT must have heard our dialogue taking place--as they proceeded to drape a blanket or tarp of some kind over Sarah. With nothing left to see I let myself be pulled away from the wall and led over to the squad cars. I could hear Paige's voice as she walked me to her vehicle.
'Detective. Detective....Talk to me...Aaron!'
But as the EMT's lowered Sarah into a bag all I could hear was the sound of the zipper sliding to close--a sound I'd heard in my work countless times.
A couple of hours passed by. Figures and sounds came and went like a montage of blurred images and scrambled audio. Before I knew it I was sitting in the passenger seat of Paige's car--staring out of the window and watching the world trail behind us. We made our way to the station and when we arrived I looked up at the large black letters that hung over the doors. 'New York Police Department.' A sign I had grown fond of seeing every morning.
Upon seeing it I opened up the door and got out of the car.
'Aaron--'
Paige got out and followed me with genuine concern as I began a slow and steady pace towards the door. I walked into the station and went unnoticed past the few uniforms who were standing watch in the entrance lobby. I made my way to the elevator and stepped inside. Paige joined me in the elevator and stood behind me. I could almost hear her the gears of her mind turning. Doing their best to come up with the perfect thing to say. But what was there to say? What was there at all?
'Aaron...come on. Let's get you changed and I'll bring you home. Please.'
I ignored her. There wasn't anything left for her to say. I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to hear anything. I just wanted to stand there silently in the elevator--rubbing my index finger with my thumb and recalling the sensation of brushing Sarah's hair from her face only some hours ago. The elevator doors opened and I stepped forward. The Homicide floor was a rather straightforward mess of aisles and office machinery. There were only a select few working the desks at this time of night. But the few who were there recognized me when I walked in. From the expressions on their faces--I could tell that they'd heard the news.
'Aaron.'
I always found it so comical that people made distinction between first names and last in reference to social significance. If you know someone well enough it doesn't matter what you call them. I used to call Sarah things like sweetheart, smartass, rascal, hellion, baby bird, little tyke...the list went on and on. Some of the things she called me--whoo boy--she was a little firecracker that one. A big explosion in an adorable package.
I made my way straight through the mostly unoccupied desks and towards the captains office. The wooden door wasn't even locked. We were a tight-knit and well organized bunch around here. I walked into his office and Paige stopped at the doorway behind me. I reached into the dark brown leather jacket I was wearing and removed the standard-issue nine-millimeter from its holster. I removed the magazine and placed both items onto the desk. I then reached to my belt and removed the badge I'd put on when I'd left the house earlier on. It was kind of ironic really.
I'd grabbed my gun, backup piece, and badge on the way out because it had seemed practical at the time. But right now I felt as if I hadn't ever seen anything more useless in my entire life.
I set the badge down across both gun and mag. Then I turned away and made my way out of the door--Paige moving aside so I didn't shoulder her out of my way.
'Aaron!'
I followed the same route out of the station that I did every day. My feet seemed to know well enough where I was going; so I let them worry about reality while I lost myself in my mind. I left the station and walked in an aimless direction; not quite sure as to what came next. As if I thought there were some sort of sequence to this situation and I needed only wait to know the next step. I walked for what seemed like only minutes--and yet I could see the orange haze of the rising sun before long.
I was remembering the frantic phone conversation I'd had with Sarah's friend when I realized that I had stopped walking. I came to my senses only to find that I'd led myself back to the alleyway and nightclub where I'd been not long ago. The alleyway was empty now. Cleaner than it had been earlier--like the contrast of such savagery made it seem somehow more acceptable now than it was before. I walked further into the alleyway; beyond the point where I'd initially found Sarah propped against the wall.
I felt raindrops touch against the tip of my nose--and within moments rain began to fall in light sheets across the sky. I lowered my chin so that my hair would protect my field of vision from the water--and my eyes fell on a dash of pink amongst the gray concrete. I knelt down and reached out to pull Sarah's cell phone out from under the corner of a dumpster. The screen was cracked--and there were blood stains swiped across the surface. The rain began to wash the blood away as I touched the power button. The smartphone flashed to life--the cracks of the screen not enough to keep me from seeing what lay beneath.
The screen was locked. Her password was always the same; '8008.' She'd had that perverse sense of humor that I'd been too timid to exhibit. Always mocking me for being a bachelor and never going out on a date. Telling me that I'd better make her a nephew to take care of since she was going to die single--as she always claimed she would. The patter of falling rain almost put my mind at ease as I punched in the lock code and slid my thumb over the 'enter' prompt.
My legs buckled beneath me as the phone fell from my trembling fingers. My knees hit the pavement hard and I placed my elbows against the ground. I couldn't hear myself think over my own heartbeat. Sarah's phone was still glowing in the rising sunlight; and the only thing on-screen were the ten digits of my own phone number. Just one press away from calling my phone. One press away from my being here in time.
Who would let this happen? My long hair fell in messy layers around my face as I shook my head, 'no.' I wanted to reject it. To deny it so much that my conviction made the reality of it obsolete. What God would take such a precious thing from the world? What angel made to watch over us would leave me here--take from me the only piece of me that ever really mattered--and let her suffer from cruelty? From brutality?
Sarah.
I wanted to scream her name. But what are words, to me, now? What relevance has communication or interaction? What the fuck do I care if this world keeps spinning or explodes in an instant? I hadn't seen Paige pull up. I hadn't seen her stop to find a gathering of civilians who were looking in on the screaming madman and wondering what the hell was going on. I just reached into my jacket and dug my fingers into my belt, on my backside.
Sarah.
There wasn't anyone more gentle or sincere. Not a soul as caring and warm. Give her back. Someone's up there, right? That's what this is. It's personal. I didn't go to church enough. I didn't pray enough. I had killed too many men in the line of duty. I hadn't been a decent enough person. So this is what I get. This is what I deserve. That's all I needed to know as I drew the HK P30-L handgun from my belt and pulled back the slide. I could hear Paige's footsteps suddenly rush in the alley behind me.
'Aaron!'
At the sound of Paige's voice I remembered the soft and delicate tones of my little baby bird. I remember her shouting my name in prideful delight when I'd told her I'd graduated the academy. Remember her saying a million times that she'd lose her head if I didn't keep track of it for her. It was too much to bear. I didn't hold back anymore. My cheeks were soaked more from tears than rain. My eyes were shut so tight I thought they might never open again. My chest was so tight that it hurt to breathe. I screamed only once at the brick wall staring in front of me before I put the barrel in my mouth--and squeezed.
---------+++--------+++---------
'Get that woman outta here!'
The doctor's pulled Paige away from the trolley that was rushing Aaron's corpse towards the E.R. She'd been frantic when she saw the blood spray from the back of his skull--run up out of sheer desperation to pick him up and see if he was okay. But to her utter surprise it turned out that he was indeed <i>still alive</i>. His heartbeat was faint and the surgeon's didn't look or sound hopeful--but it was enough faith for her to cling to. Just enough for her to pace back and forth as the doors opened and the doctors got to work. Paige settled in and dialed the station; leaving a message to inform the chief of what had taken place.
Fourteen hours had come and gone. Paige had fallen asleep for only minutes at a time before coming to again in the hopes that she might find some surgeon standing over her with good news. A few bags of chips from the vending machine to keep her going as she waited for the word. After the first twelve hours she'd been surprised to find that the Chief himself had shown up to thwap his hat on her shoulder. She woke up and burst into tears at the sight of her partner having done his best to kill himself.
Two hours after his arrival--the surgeon that had initally taken Aaron away came strolling into view. His exhaustion was clear in the way he stopped to lean up against the wall. His clothes were clean but the look of utter fatigue on his face made it clear that he hadn't spent a moment outside of that room. Paige clasped her hands over her mouth; unable to even ask the question that hung in the air between the three of them. The Chief was made of sterner stuff however.
'Let's hear it.'
The doctor nodded and stood straight. He spoke firmly. "The fact that I'm able to say this is nothing short of a miracle...but he's going to be alright." Paige half-gasped, and half-screeched in delight at the very sound of it. The Cheif arched an eyebrow, and spoke clearly.
'Just how alright, son? He didn't exactly fall down the stairs.'
The doctor nodded his head, throwing his hands up in defeat. "We have no idea how--but the bullet seemed to miss most of his actual brain. There's some damage to his skull and he'll suffer from a few deficiencies but we expect him to--again, miraculously--recover full mental faculty if no other issues arise. Which is another very slim chance, I assure you. We're still holding onto him for quite some time. You can't see him yet...but we'll let you in as soon as we can."
Paige threw her arms around the doctor's neck, and the older gentleman laughed lightly at the gesture. She kissed him on the cheek and he gently pushed her off. The Chief shook the man's hand and gave a sentimental nod. The doctor returned the gesture. "If you'll excuse me--I have to get back to it." The two of them nodded their understanding and the doctor returned to the same corridor he'd arrived from. He left their sight and began down the hall.
He arrived at the room that they'd just placed their miracle patient in. The young man was standing as if he'd never been injured in his life by the window on the edge of the room. Bandages were wound around his head but they were certainly for show. The doctor shut the door behind him, and then proceeded to shut the blinds that hung from the glass that looked into the hallway. Once all means of visual contact were obscured the doctor turned to face the young man and spoke in a much gentler voice than he'd used on the two law enforcers in the waiting room.
"I--I told them everything you said. Just like you wanted it. They bought it--they seemed really happy about it. So can...can you do what you said...for me?"
The young detective turned around to face the doctor and smiled warmly in his direction. His dark brown eyes were just as kind as the smile he offered with them. The young man reached out and placed his hands on the surgeon's shoulders--as if caressing a long lost friend.
"Of course, my dear friend..."
I pulled the doctor closer to me and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. I led him over to the window and looked out onto the evening. The rain had passed long ago--and sunlight was beginning to stream through the window. <i>"After all--"</i> I said lightly as I pulled the man close enough to shake him under my powerful arm, as if we were brothers and I was showing tentative affection. I looked back out to the window and took a deep breath of air.
My brown eyes shifted from their chocolate hue to a much less appealing sickly-yellow shade, and I exhaled that breath I'd held for just a second
"--this here...is the land of opportunity."
'Just calm down baby--the police are on their way.'
"Sarah--oh my god Sarah--"
The sobs of the young woman were somehow unnoticable to me. She was a long-standing acquaintance. The best friend of my younger sister. She was always the one holding her hair whenever she got too sick from clubbing; always the one to pick her up off of the ground when she broke up with some fool of a man. Why just tonight they had gone out to enjoy some of New York's more eccentric night clubs. She and I spoke often seeing as how we lived in the same city.
'Baby...what happened?'
I crouched down on the pavement of the dimly lit alleyway. The nightclub was just next door. I could hear the dull throb of bass coming from their massive speakers. The sound of whooping and hollering was as audible as the police sirens that could be heard closing in from afar. I reached out and brushed a strand of hair from Sarah's face--her caramel skin stained with running cosmetics. Her hazel eyes were staring off at the brick wall of the night club behind me. The bare flesh of her torso drowned in crimson from the open wound in the center of her chest.
"I--I don't know sh-she was gone for only a second; she met some guy--it's all my fault, It's All My Fault!"
She slammed her clenched fist against her boyfriend's chest between her broken cries. The young man simply pulled her close against him and looked over to where I was knelt down. The squad cars and first responder unit that pulled up brought the street to life with flashing color and sound. Officers dressed in black leaped from their vehicles and jogged towards the scene. The medical responders rushed past as I stood up from my baby sister and took three steps back.
I could feel the wall of the nightclub shake with the beat of the music as I placed my back against it. The young couple beside me were being questioned as to what happend who we all were. There was another officer standing a foot or so away from me. From the corner of my eye I could see his lips moving; but for the life of me I couldn't hear his voice. I couldn't even bring myself to raise my chin and look upon him. I couldn't tear my eyes away from Sarah.
I watched the first EMT place two fingers against her throat and hold there for a moment. There was only a few moments passing before the EMT shook her head at her partner and removed her hand. The pair of medical responders began their routine as the officer nearest me reached out to take my arm. Before his fingers could touch me he stopped to listen to the objections of my sister's friend. He heard the explanation that I was Sarah's older brother and had only just arrived.
I'd been at home when I'd gotten the call. The loft above a small korean restaurant--Lin Ko's. Sarah and I had often met up to have dinner at my place. Her place was usually covered in papers from her work at the university, or red solo cups from having one too many friends over. We didn't meet up or talk an unusual amount. But when we did get together it was always meaningful...rejuvenating even. We hadn't known parents growing up. Our grandparents had been our guardians; they'd passed away only a few years ago. They had never cared or been healthy enough to watch over us.
So we'd grown up together. Leaning on one another for the affection we so desperately craved and yet so adamently rejected from the world. She was and would always be my baby sister. But she was just as strong and capable as I ever was. She was my little ray of sunshine. It had been my pride and joy to watch every moment of her growing up. Even now I couldn't take my eyes away from her. I was staring--frozen--as the EMT's did their best to fix her forcibly torn undergarments. The clothes Sarah had worn to the club were torn from her small figure--and thrown a few feet further into the alley.
The officer who had been addressing me was gone from my vision. There was now a female officer in his stead; and I could hear her gently coo's as she tried to ease me away from the scene. Her name was Paige--a detective like myself. The EMT must have heard our dialogue taking place--as they proceeded to drape a blanket or tarp of some kind over Sarah. With nothing left to see I let myself be pulled away from the wall and led over to the squad cars. I could hear Paige's voice as she walked me to her vehicle.
'Detective. Detective....Talk to me...Aaron!'
But as the EMT's lowered Sarah into a bag all I could hear was the sound of the zipper sliding to close--a sound I'd heard in my work countless times.
A couple of hours passed by. Figures and sounds came and went like a montage of blurred images and scrambled audio. Before I knew it I was sitting in the passenger seat of Paige's car--staring out of the window and watching the world trail behind us. We made our way to the station and when we arrived I looked up at the large black letters that hung over the doors. 'New York Police Department.' A sign I had grown fond of seeing every morning.
Upon seeing it I opened up the door and got out of the car.
'Aaron--'
Paige got out and followed me with genuine concern as I began a slow and steady pace towards the door. I walked into the station and went unnoticed past the few uniforms who were standing watch in the entrance lobby. I made my way to the elevator and stepped inside. Paige joined me in the elevator and stood behind me. I could almost hear her the gears of her mind turning. Doing their best to come up with the perfect thing to say. But what was there to say? What was there at all?
'Aaron...come on. Let's get you changed and I'll bring you home. Please.'
I ignored her. There wasn't anything left for her to say. I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to hear anything. I just wanted to stand there silently in the elevator--rubbing my index finger with my thumb and recalling the sensation of brushing Sarah's hair from her face only some hours ago. The elevator doors opened and I stepped forward. The Homicide floor was a rather straightforward mess of aisles and office machinery. There were only a select few working the desks at this time of night. But the few who were there recognized me when I walked in. From the expressions on their faces--I could tell that they'd heard the news.
'Aaron.'
I always found it so comical that people made distinction between first names and last in reference to social significance. If you know someone well enough it doesn't matter what you call them. I used to call Sarah things like sweetheart, smartass, rascal, hellion, baby bird, little tyke...the list went on and on. Some of the things she called me--whoo boy--she was a little firecracker that one. A big explosion in an adorable package.
I made my way straight through the mostly unoccupied desks and towards the captains office. The wooden door wasn't even locked. We were a tight-knit and well organized bunch around here. I walked into his office and Paige stopped at the doorway behind me. I reached into the dark brown leather jacket I was wearing and removed the standard-issue nine-millimeter from its holster. I removed the magazine and placed both items onto the desk. I then reached to my belt and removed the badge I'd put on when I'd left the house earlier on. It was kind of ironic really.
I'd grabbed my gun, backup piece, and badge on the way out because it had seemed practical at the time. But right now I felt as if I hadn't ever seen anything more useless in my entire life.
I set the badge down across both gun and mag. Then I turned away and made my way out of the door--Paige moving aside so I didn't shoulder her out of my way.
'Aaron!'
I followed the same route out of the station that I did every day. My feet seemed to know well enough where I was going; so I let them worry about reality while I lost myself in my mind. I left the station and walked in an aimless direction; not quite sure as to what came next. As if I thought there were some sort of sequence to this situation and I needed only wait to know the next step. I walked for what seemed like only minutes--and yet I could see the orange haze of the rising sun before long.
I was remembering the frantic phone conversation I'd had with Sarah's friend when I realized that I had stopped walking. I came to my senses only to find that I'd led myself back to the alleyway and nightclub where I'd been not long ago. The alleyway was empty now. Cleaner than it had been earlier--like the contrast of such savagery made it seem somehow more acceptable now than it was before. I walked further into the alleyway; beyond the point where I'd initially found Sarah propped against the wall.
I felt raindrops touch against the tip of my nose--and within moments rain began to fall in light sheets across the sky. I lowered my chin so that my hair would protect my field of vision from the water--and my eyes fell on a dash of pink amongst the gray concrete. I knelt down and reached out to pull Sarah's cell phone out from under the corner of a dumpster. The screen was cracked--and there were blood stains swiped across the surface. The rain began to wash the blood away as I touched the power button. The smartphone flashed to life--the cracks of the screen not enough to keep me from seeing what lay beneath.
The screen was locked. Her password was always the same; '8008.' She'd had that perverse sense of humor that I'd been too timid to exhibit. Always mocking me for being a bachelor and never going out on a date. Telling me that I'd better make her a nephew to take care of since she was going to die single--as she always claimed she would. The patter of falling rain almost put my mind at ease as I punched in the lock code and slid my thumb over the 'enter' prompt.
My legs buckled beneath me as the phone fell from my trembling fingers. My knees hit the pavement hard and I placed my elbows against the ground. I couldn't hear myself think over my own heartbeat. Sarah's phone was still glowing in the rising sunlight; and the only thing on-screen were the ten digits of my own phone number. Just one press away from calling my phone. One press away from my being here in time.
Who would let this happen? My long hair fell in messy layers around my face as I shook my head, 'no.' I wanted to reject it. To deny it so much that my conviction made the reality of it obsolete. What God would take such a precious thing from the world? What angel made to watch over us would leave me here--take from me the only piece of me that ever really mattered--and let her suffer from cruelty? From brutality?
Sarah.
I wanted to scream her name. But what are words, to me, now? What relevance has communication or interaction? What the fuck do I care if this world keeps spinning or explodes in an instant? I hadn't seen Paige pull up. I hadn't seen her stop to find a gathering of civilians who were looking in on the screaming madman and wondering what the hell was going on. I just reached into my jacket and dug my fingers into my belt, on my backside.
Sarah.
There wasn't anyone more gentle or sincere. Not a soul as caring and warm. Give her back. Someone's up there, right? That's what this is. It's personal. I didn't go to church enough. I didn't pray enough. I had killed too many men in the line of duty. I hadn't been a decent enough person. So this is what I get. This is what I deserve. That's all I needed to know as I drew the HK P30-L handgun from my belt and pulled back the slide. I could hear Paige's footsteps suddenly rush in the alley behind me.
'Aaron!'
At the sound of Paige's voice I remembered the soft and delicate tones of my little baby bird. I remember her shouting my name in prideful delight when I'd told her I'd graduated the academy. Remember her saying a million times that she'd lose her head if I didn't keep track of it for her. It was too much to bear. I didn't hold back anymore. My cheeks were soaked more from tears than rain. My eyes were shut so tight I thought they might never open again. My chest was so tight that it hurt to breathe. I screamed only once at the brick wall staring in front of me before I put the barrel in my mouth--and squeezed.
---------+++--------+++---------
'Get that woman outta here!'
The doctor's pulled Paige away from the trolley that was rushing Aaron's corpse towards the E.R. She'd been frantic when she saw the blood spray from the back of his skull--run up out of sheer desperation to pick him up and see if he was okay. But to her utter surprise it turned out that he was indeed <i>still alive</i>. His heartbeat was faint and the surgeon's didn't look or sound hopeful--but it was enough faith for her to cling to. Just enough for her to pace back and forth as the doors opened and the doctors got to work. Paige settled in and dialed the station; leaving a message to inform the chief of what had taken place.
Fourteen hours had come and gone. Paige had fallen asleep for only minutes at a time before coming to again in the hopes that she might find some surgeon standing over her with good news. A few bags of chips from the vending machine to keep her going as she waited for the word. After the first twelve hours she'd been surprised to find that the Chief himself had shown up to thwap his hat on her shoulder. She woke up and burst into tears at the sight of her partner having done his best to kill himself.
Two hours after his arrival--the surgeon that had initally taken Aaron away came strolling into view. His exhaustion was clear in the way he stopped to lean up against the wall. His clothes were clean but the look of utter fatigue on his face made it clear that he hadn't spent a moment outside of that room. Paige clasped her hands over her mouth; unable to even ask the question that hung in the air between the three of them. The Chief was made of sterner stuff however.
'Let's hear it.'
The doctor nodded and stood straight. He spoke firmly. "The fact that I'm able to say this is nothing short of a miracle...but he's going to be alright." Paige half-gasped, and half-screeched in delight at the very sound of it. The Cheif arched an eyebrow, and spoke clearly.
'Just how alright, son? He didn't exactly fall down the stairs.'
The doctor nodded his head, throwing his hands up in defeat. "We have no idea how--but the bullet seemed to miss most of his actual brain. There's some damage to his skull and he'll suffer from a few deficiencies but we expect him to--again, miraculously--recover full mental faculty if no other issues arise. Which is another very slim chance, I assure you. We're still holding onto him for quite some time. You can't see him yet...but we'll let you in as soon as we can."
Paige threw her arms around the doctor's neck, and the older gentleman laughed lightly at the gesture. She kissed him on the cheek and he gently pushed her off. The Chief shook the man's hand and gave a sentimental nod. The doctor returned the gesture. "If you'll excuse me--I have to get back to it." The two of them nodded their understanding and the doctor returned to the same corridor he'd arrived from. He left their sight and began down the hall.
He arrived at the room that they'd just placed their miracle patient in. The young man was standing as if he'd never been injured in his life by the window on the edge of the room. Bandages were wound around his head but they were certainly for show. The doctor shut the door behind him, and then proceeded to shut the blinds that hung from the glass that looked into the hallway. Once all means of visual contact were obscured the doctor turned to face the young man and spoke in a much gentler voice than he'd used on the two law enforcers in the waiting room.
"I--I told them everything you said. Just like you wanted it. They bought it--they seemed really happy about it. So can...can you do what you said...for me?"
The young detective turned around to face the doctor and smiled warmly in his direction. His dark brown eyes were just as kind as the smile he offered with them. The young man reached out and placed his hands on the surgeon's shoulders--as if caressing a long lost friend.
"Of course, my dear friend..."
I pulled the doctor closer to me and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. I led him over to the window and looked out onto the evening. The rain had passed long ago--and sunlight was beginning to stream through the window. <i>"After all--"</i> I said lightly as I pulled the man close enough to shake him under my powerful arm, as if we were brothers and I was showing tentative affection. I looked back out to the window and took a deep breath of air.
My brown eyes shifted from their chocolate hue to a much less appealing sickly-yellow shade, and I exhaled that breath I'd held for just a second
"--this here...is the land of opportunity."