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My vision clears, but my memories remain fuzzy, like fog on a windowpane. All I know is Kaye is in danger somewhere out there. I try to speak, but all that comes out is a dry croak. I try to get out of bed, my only thought that I need to rescue Kaye.
“Easy, there.” Doc Summers places a hand on my shoulder.
“I need…” My mouth’s too dry and my tongue’s thick and twisted; noncompliant when it comes to forming words.
“What you need is a few days of rest. Do you remember what happened?”
“Scott—shot.” The words don’t come.
“It’s okay. Let me fill you in. Brady and Booker found you wandering in the middle of the road with a bullet wound to your chest. You were delirious from losing too much blood.”
“I…” My hands explore something protruding between my ribs.
“Don’t touch that. You yank out my handiwork and we will have words.” Doc Summers gently takes my hand and moves it away from the chest tube.
“Kaye…” I try to wet my mouth, get rid of the cobwebs, but I only succeed in making things worse.
“Here. Have a sip.” Doc Summers notices my discomfort and offers me some water from the cup beside my bed. “You were pretty out of it. Booker had to improvise. Used a straw, if you can believe it, as a modified chest tube. That man is definitely resourceful. Saved your life.”
I don’t doubt that.
“Whoever shot you, nicked one of the blood vessels in your chest. Your chest cavity filled with blood and collapsed the lung on that side.”
I nod, if only to keep her talking. I’m not a fan of these holes in my memory. She holds the cup of water as I suck in the liquid.
“They brought you toInsanity, where I performed minor field surgery to stabilize you, then we moved you here, back to HQ. We gave you blood and antibiotics for infection, then took you to surgery to remove the bullet and fix the damage. You’ve been out of surgery for a day.”
“A day.” I bolt upright, ready to get out of bed, desperate to get to Kaye.
“Hold on.” Once again she presses me back into bed. It’s a testament to how weak I am that she can move me at all.
“They took Kaye.”
“They?” A high-pitched voice calls out from the hall.
My vision’s blurry, but not too blurry that I miss the riot of colors on top of the woman’s head.
“What’s Mitzy doing here?” I manage a few words, then suck on the straw again, needing to hydrate and get rid of the cotton in my mouth.
“Well, hello to you, sunshine.” She flits inside my hospital room like she owns it. “What do you mean by they?”
“Scott…” I take in a breath, surprised at how winded I am. “Ran us off the road.” I pause and suck wind. It feels like I’m in the middle of a sprint trying to hold a conversation.
“Save your breath.” Mitzy’s tone sounds sarcastic, but that’s just how she speaks. “We followed the blood back to where he ran you off the road. The guardrail’s busted and there are two cars in the water. So we already figured that bit out. Highway patrol isn’t happy you fled the scene, but we’re handling them. I take it both you and Kaye survived?”
I nod, but anger builds in my veins, spiking my heart rate and raising my blood pressure, if the angry beeping from the monitor is any indication.
“I take it she’s with him?”
“Yes.” The word comes out more of a growl than anything else. I choke up, but get out a few words between sobs, “Scott and the other man took her.”
“Other?” Doc Summers looks at Mitzy.
“We assumed there was another car.” Mitzy taps her chin, thinking hard. “Unfortunately, there aren’t any cameras near there. I wasn’t able to track anything, but if you can give me details, I can try to work a bit of magic.”
A grin tips the corner of my mouth up. The Guardians call it Mitzy Magic, because none of us understand how Mitzy accomplishes what she does. The woman is a whiz when it comes to anything tech related, but computer systems is where she truly shines.
“I don’t know—seemed familiar…” I close my eyes and drift.
