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Bobby “Bit” Nowacki
February 2024
Sunday — 2:56 pm
With every step across the vinyl flooring, the rubber soles of Bit’s shoes gave off a high-pitched squeak. Anxiety gnawed at him over the thought of calling Zoey. It wasn’t that he hadn’t sent her messages regarding the emergency at work, but he also hadn’t gone into specifics.
Not about Sylvie, the team, Jacob, or his job.
Given how he had a tendency to blur the lines between legal and illegal activities, it had been best to stick to other topics. Zoey was quite proficient with computers and software, and he was always careful about his choice of words. He had done his best to work within the confines of the law since Brook had brought him on board. Unfortunately, there were times when extreme measures had to be taken when it involved life and death.
Bit wasn’t sure how some of the others couldn’t see the need for such actions, especially in those types of situations. Brook was the only one who could see his point of view. She had blurred those same lines in her pursuit of Jacob, but she had valid reasons to be concerned regarding the FBI’s interest in his extracurricular activities.
He would never allow anyone on the team to take the blame for his decisions. Still, he also wouldn’t go around talking about those choices that could ultimately land him behind bars, either. It wouldn’t be fair to Zoey to put her in that type of position.
Unfortunately, Zoey might have been brought into the situation without his knowledge. Theo’s call regarding how Lorena Dobbs had posed as one of Mia’s patients proved that Lorena had not only been looking for ways into their lives, but that she had also spent time monitoring their daily routines.
Living in Washington, D.C. had made it easy for Lorena to blend in with the crowd, but her ability to do so made it evident that they could be just as vulnerable as their very own clients. Awareness like that didn’t sit well with Bit.
Theo had only met Mia in November, which was probably around the time that Lorena had decided which team member she could first make contact with through another person. Bit had already questioned his sister, but Paula was the only one he trusted with the truth outside of the team. She claimed to have never seen Lorena before, which meant that there was a good chance Zoey had been a potential target.
“Would you call her already?” Sylvie murmured from her bed. She had barely moved her lips, but he had heard her loud and clear. “My ears can only take so much, and the soles of your shoes are sounding a lot like fingernails on a chalkboard.”
“Sorry, Little T,” Bit replied as he forced himself to lean against the wall next to the large window. He still had to tap his toes to try and expend some of his angst. “Go back to sleep.”
The blinds had been pulled closed even though there was thick cloud coverage outside. The snow from the stormfront was already falling, but he had gone ahead and dimmed the lights so that Sylvie could get her rest.
He regretted that his pacing hadn’t helped her in that endeavor.
“I think I’m building up a tolerance to this pain medication.” Sylvie peered at him through one eye, her eyebrow arching with the motion. “It’s not working like it was earlier today.”
“They’ve already lowered the dosage,” Bit responded reluctantly. He hadn’t wanted to be the one to tell her about the nurse’s plans, but Sylvie was going to figure it out eventually. “They want you up and walking before dinnertime. I think that’s why they’re going to try to give you some solid food tonight.”
Sylvie groaned, but she didn’t really complain upon hearing the news.
“Would you hand me my glasses, please?”
“Go back to sleep,” Bit urged, not making his way over to the second tray that he had brought in. It had some of her personal items on it, such as her glasses and her favorite Chapstick. “I can wait until later to call Zoey.”
“No, you can’t wait until later.” Sylvie lifted a hand and motioned toward the rolling tray. “Glasses, Bit.”
“Fine, but don’t think that I don’t know what you’re doing.” Bit shifted his weight from the wall to his feet before making his way over to her. “You almost died, Little T. They aren’t going to discharge you. At least, not for a few more days.”
It always amazed Bit at the speed at which doctors discharged their patients. Granted, the body’s ability to heal was an amazing accomplishment in the grand scheme of things. Still, he would rather Sylvie be in the care of professionals rather than at home with a dying father who wouldn’t be of assistance should an emergency arise.
“Patients who have open heart surgery are sent home within days, so me being stabbed a few times is nothing in comparison.” Sylvie took her glasses, but she didn’t adjust her body. Instead, she reached for the remote on the bed and pressed a button. The way she closed her eyes indicated her level of pain at the minuscule deed. “Call Zoey. If she has had any interaction with Lorena Dobbs, then you need to warn Zoey to call the police if she sees her again.”
“There is so much that she doesn’t know,” Bit muttered as he walked over to one of the laptops that he had set on the windowsill. Facing away from the window would allow Zoey to see him better. “I’d like to keep it that way.”
“You’ll figure it out.”
“Here goes nothing.”
Bit clicked the call button to initiate the video call.
Sylvie wasn’t in the frame, so he wouldn’t need to worry about explaining why he was at the hospital. He would merely ask a few simple questions, explain that there were some complications with a case, and then let her know it might be a few weeks before he was free to get together again.
Bit had tried to reach Brook earlier, but the number that she had preprogrammed into their phones had gone straight to an automated message that the caller could leave a message. She had probably turned the phone off before starting her search of potential locations where Lorena could be staying, but he would keep trying her throughout the day.
