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Lori’s head swiveled at the barely covered sarcasm she heard in his voice. She glanced around and knew that no one else had connected it. Either that, or she was completely off the mark.
“Good work here today, my man. Extremely good work.”
“Not all my doing, Mayor. You have this here lady to thank. She followed the first kid into the school and stopped his plot. That’s where it began.”
“Oh, no doubt we’ll get to the finer details, but I wanted to shake your hand personally.” Then the mayor turned to Lori. His eyes widened, and his voice softened. “Lookie here now, you poor thing. You need to be in the hospital.” He held her hand and called out to a passing ambulance attendant. “This here young lady needs your help.”
Within seconds, a stretcher appeared and without paying her any attention, they helped her onto it, strapped her down, and whisked her away. The only eye contact she made came from Agent Walker. He mouthed the words “I’ll find you” and she nodded.
Then she closed her eyes and let the world pass by. Whether it took minutes or hours to get to the hospital, she never remembered. Existing in a dreamlike state where she shut down all memories of the earlier trauma, she eventually found herself in a private room, being taken care of by a young nurse with curly hair, a soft voice, and a warm personality.
“You’ve decided to join the world, my dear.”
“I’ll confess, sleeping kept me from remembering.”
“It must have been the scariest thing in the world. Being in the school with an active shooter taking everyone hostage, brandishing an AK-15. Hold it, the news said there were two of them and one had been brought down by a woman… wait, that’s you, isn’t it?”
“Couldn’t help myself. The kid wouldn’t listen to reason, even if I’d had enough time to get his attention.”
“You’re joshing, right? I saw the video. You jumped him from behind, grabbed the gun, and kept him from shooting it again.”
“A video? What do you mean?” Lori felt anger simmer at this news.
“Seems like the school had video feed and they released it so everyone could see your heroics.”
“Well, they bloody-well shouldn’t have done that. I never gave my permission.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you, sugar. According to the TV report, they were thrilled that no one had been killed. They also believe they have you and Agent Walker to thank.”
Lori sat up. Feeling the walls closing in, she spoke firmly, “Why am I in a private room? And who’s paying for this costly treatment?”
“Oh, honey, I wouldn’t worry myself about such things. I’m sure the city will fork over the money now that you’re a star.”
“Considering I can’t pay; I hope you’re right. Where are my clothes?”
“Now don’t you worry your little head about that, dear. I hung everything up in the closet over there. I’m afraid your skirt is beyond repair, and we couldn’t find your shoes, but the rest is there.”
Bloody shoes had cost her a fortune she couldn’t really afford. But looking good for that morning’s interview had mattered. Grinning at her silliness, she wondered exactly how many pairs she had packed away with her FBI wardrobe in a storage facility in California. In the days when she had the money to buy nice things, spending on shoes was one of her perks.
Shaking off her pissiness, she asked in a sweet voice, “Thank you. I do believe I could eat. Is it possible for a bit of toast and juice?”
“For you, of course. I’ll go and make it myself.”
As soon as the door shut behind the zealous nurse, Lori made herself as presentable as possible with what was available. She grabbed some of the dressings and tape from the tray to use herself, and scurried out of the room, found the elevator, and thanked God it was empty. Then wearing hospital booties, a wraparound gown with her jacket overtop, she left the building.
Deciding the day warranted overdrawing her checking account, she opted to spend money for an Uber, and made her way home. Once inside her small condo, she stiffly headed for the shower, shedding her ridiculous outfit as she got closer.
Worrying about the bandages they’d put on some of her deeper cuts, she tried using Saran Wrap to protect them from the water. Of course, it didn’t help much, but she found she didn’t care. She’d taken supplies she could use if necessary.
Spending much longer under the hot water than she usually allowed, always thinking of conserving power and the cost, she let her rioting emotions have rein.
Once the stress of the last few hours eased, her mind returned to her earlier plans, and she began to strategize on how she could organize another interview. No doubt, if she told them exactly what made her miss the last one, they would forgive her no-show.
Heading to the phone, she checked the clock and realized it was too late in the day to make any calls. It would have to wait until morning. Instead of letting that fact get to her, she headed to the kitchen and scanned the small amount of food she had left.
Deciding on bacon and eggs, her fallback meal when cash was low, she began to prepare the food. When the toast smells started wafting around, her stomach growled in anticipation. Feeling starved, she realized her breakfast so many hours earlier had been the exact same feast.
***
