A Wanderer in Trader's Point

Thorne sighed, he hasn't had a moment's rest since the attack on Akrai and now he's kept awake by a Deyshian cop. His ID loads before he answers the man, he fumbled for his glasses on the end table, slipping them on before checking the upload. Suddenly the cop heard nothing, not even breathing for a moment from the other end of the line. Total silence, shock.

"Where did you find this man?" he questioned after a moment, the tune in his voice harsh and unwavering.

Dembry stopped as his finger was just hovering over the 'transfer' button.

"There was a shooting on..." He checked his paperwork and cleared his throat tentatively. "Seventy-Third Street, Sector I, about an hour ago. Mr. Steele sustained a gunshot wound to the side of his head and is currently in critical condition. We're not certain of the motive, but we're currently investigating it as an armed robbery."

Thorne exhaled as he leaned forward on the cot.

"What about the kid, where is his kid? A girl, twelve maybe? Fourteen? Was she there?"

The cop thought for a few seconds. The question didn't fully register. Would've needed more caffeine. Even if he would've thought about it a little more, he probably would've guessed Nahdra to be that young - he didn't see her face, after all, and with her slim figure, she could've passed for that age.

"Yes, there was a girl with him at the time. I think she came over with him, but she's...not here right now." He idly wondered where she was at - the weird kid with the face-mask? Wasn't she in the ambulance? He didn't remember seeing her since then. His finger wanted so badly to hit that transfer button and dump the whole ordeal into someone else's lap.

____________________________________________________

Nahdra had seen enough. The guard holding him down, the nurses injecting this and that into him, all the monitors blaring critical warnings...

She had moved closer to the screens now, hovering over the control terminal. This wasn't quite a security guard's station, move of a communications controller. There were a mic in the center of the terminal with inputs to each individual room, to security, administration, the main lobby, EMS, transport, maintenance, and even to the ER comm centers at two neighboring hospitals. She wondered if they were usually left un-staffed overnight, or if there was someone on duty at the very room she was hiding in that would be returning any second.

Taking a shot in the dark, she tested her microphone on the input toggle that read 'front desk'.

"Front desk, do you copy?"

"Yes, Winifred, what do you need?" It was the fat man's voice.

"Winifred is out. This is...Natalie." She tried to make her voice sound more casual than her usually formal, precise tone. A hospital worker in Deysha wouldn't sound like an Ajkadi, she told herself.

"Natalie? Huh. You must be new - "

"I'm a temp," she answered decisively. "Listen, Nancy from the admin office was looking over the feeds and she wants to know what's going on with the guy in Room 4B? She said there is a police officer holding him down, and she wants to know why so the hospital doesn't get sued again. I am seeing it, too. It looks pretty bad. What is going on?"

The fat man audibly sighed. "I don't know who the hell this Nancy bitch is, but you tell her that - "

Nahdra forced herself, against her innately tempered patience, to cut the man off. "I'm only passing on the message. What is the situation in that room?"

"Hell if I know. Ask them. I'm busy."

The mic on the other end clicked off. Nahdra forced a very, very, slow breath through her aggravation. She had no other plan of action. She watched helplessly as the cop and the hospital staff struggled over Nathan's shaking body, unaware that he was in no immediate danger. She had just flipped off the mic and reached to toggle the audio from his room, 4B, when she heard the ID reader on the outside of the comm room door beep.

About two and a half seconds later, a middle-aged woman sauntered in, shut the door, and took her seat in the swiveling chair in front of the screens. A mess of curly red hair fluttered over her rather unattractive face, donning a bored expression. Her name badge read Winifred, Communications Supervisor.

"Let's get him in some proper restraints, he's not calming down at all," the voice of the nurse came over the speakers.

"What the hell? I didn't leave that on," Winifred mumbled in a raspy voice.

Nahdra watched from her uncomfortable new position, wedged tightly in the gap between two towers of servers that were stacked in the corner of the room. She had gotten herself tangled in all the wires and cords and barely had enough room to draw a decent breath, but she was out of sight for now. Winifred faced the opposite wall. She could still see about half of the monitor for 4B. A few seconds passed. She watched as the doctor entered the room in a huff of impatience.

"It's not anaphylactic," he advised the nurses with a hint of frustration in his voice, even over the mic. "I told you, he's military, or something. It must be night terrors. PTSD. He's in no danger, just shackle him down good. Now, come on! We've got an electra overdose in 12C that's about to go into serious withdrawal, I need all hands on deck before we get a remission flatline. This guy is fine. Move it!"

"Doctor," one of the nurses was blocked from Nahdra's view on the screen but her voice came through with some duress, "what if he rips the stitches - "

"Lock him down and come on," the doctor barked. "And you, get out. I don't want to get sued for letting you muscle this guy down. We're getting complaints already." He must have been talking to the cop? She couldn't tell. "If he rips them, it's on him. Come on, everyone out! We need to -"

The voices clicked off. Nahdra saw Winifred's finger slap the toggle off and heard her gravelly voice croon, "Oh, who gives a shit!" The room went quiet for a second. Nahdra watched and saw something else...a pair of shoes? Red heels? Winifred kicked her feet back onto the edge of the terminal.

Nahdra dared to peer out a fraction of an inch further, just enough to see past the corner of the servers. Winifred had leaned all the way back in her chair and now had her nose buried in her DataPad. She was totally oblivious as the monitors flicked back and forth on the screens in front of her as all the nurses and the cop left Nathan's room, as ordered. Nahdra saw a loading screen for something on...was that the red NebFlix logo on her DataPad? Winifred popped her earbuds in, and within seconds, was watching some cheesy home remodeling show.

Nahdra forced herself to breathe softly and without movement. She watched the screen as Nathan was left alone - she saw a new set of heavier shackles on his arms, legs, and around his waist. Even the neck brace appeared to have been chained to the bed, holding him firmly in place. At least one of the nurses had dimmed the lights in his room so he could rest more easily. It made it impossible for Nahdra to see his monitors now, though - it was too dark. She watched and waited.

What the hell, of all times to show up on the radar, why now?, he thought as he tried to figure out what he was going do to.

"I need to talk to your supervisor and in the mean time keep him and the girl safe."

"Of course, sir," Dembry breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "We'll do everything we can." Click. Thank God, this was the sarge's problem now. Dembry listened for the call to transfer, gave as brief an update as he could to the dispatcher, and hung up. He gratefully returned to his tedious paperwork and evidence-sorting.

A man with a grizzled voice answered the phone in an official, no-bullshit tone. "Sergeant Passeus, TPPD," he said. "I understand this is General Axon?"

_____________________________________________

Nahdra watched and waited to see if Nathan would calm down or continue thrashing around as if he were trying to break free. She also observed the monitors in the hallways, seeing the cops and nurses come and go methodically. The guard had initially paused outside the room for a few minutes, but checked his watch a few times. He seemed terribly bored now.

Thorne stood from the cot and paced back and forth while he waited to be transfered, i have to get him out of there, with this rebellion I won't be able to brush him off official watchlists.

"Hello, this is General Thorne Axon, commander of Echo Company and acting General of the Novalysian Military.  I was contacted by one of your officers who found one of my men shot in the streets of Sector I." Thorne spoke steadily, rehearsing the script he had used so many times before.  "Lieutenant Steele was on a classified assignment to protect a possible target for the rebels next assassination.  There was a young girl with him, she is the daughter of as prestigious official in the Novalysian Senate."
Thorne spoke flawlessly, this was something he was used to.  
I just hope he believes this.

Nathan jolted forward, jarring his restraints and, despite them, knocking his IV dolly into the vital monitor. The cords to the monitor ripped free and all signals to the nurse's station ceased instantly, flatlined.

Passeus let all of that sink in for a moment.

"I see. Well, our investigation is pending, but I'll be frank - we've got nothing tangible so far. Someone tried to clip him in an alley, and he probably retaliated before getting fired upon. The doctor says his wound isn't fatal but is advising an overnight in the ICU, with a minimum one-week recovery time. But since this is your man, General, I'll follow your lead." He wasn't about to step on the toes of the 'acting General of the Novalysian Military,' pending investigation or not.

"Tell me what you need from my end, and I'll cooperate to the best of my ability."

_________________________________________

Nahdra watched all of this from her corner, frowning in concentration. Winifred didn't notice the disturbance, but of course, the sounds of the beeping alarms from down the hallway intensified. The nurse's station was immediately pinged for an emergency response and, on cue, a trio of responding nurses rushed down the hallway, past the guard, and into the room once more.

Thorne stopped his nervous pacing, I have to get them off Deysha, how? He rubbed his brow which was furrowed and tense, all this pressure was beginning to get to him. The dark circles under his eyes reflected the lack of sleep these last few nights, with Cole off duty and Chase unconscious he was left with the weight of the Colony on his shoulders.

"As soon as Steele is fully conscious and it is verified that he is not in any critical danger I need him and the girl to be escorted safely and discreetly to the Space Docks. Considering that Deysha II was not a planned stop on his route and the break in communications we had between us and him I wouldn't write this off as an unrelated shooting," he paused to let his words take affect. "Something must have happened, when he is able and you are preparing him for transport have him make contact with me directly. I need an update on what happened and why he went so far off course."

_____________
Nathan woke with the last forceful shake, fighting the restraints and shouting as the nurses rushed in. He was drenched in sweat and his breathing was shallow, but he was conscious and not exactly happy that he was strapped down like a lunatic.

"God-fucking-damnit get these off me!"

"I can do that," Passeus answered with a tiny shred of hesitation in his voice. At least this was a man with some experience dealing with military issues, apparently. "I'll classify him as a foreign dignitary. That should at least get him to customs with an escort. You may have to give us some more information to get the transport cleared, but I'll forward everything I have, and if they need any more info, they'll be in touch. I'll get our Novalysian embassy patched in on this too...to make sure everything runs smooth and transparent." He furrowed his brow and thought for a second. "I'm assuming I should bump up the surveillance detail on this guy while he's in the ER, then?"

___________________________________________________

The nurses swarmed in, verifying that Nathan was uninjured, and then went about reassembling the massacred vitals and monitors.

"Sir, please calm down," one of them cooed, "you're safe and in the hospital. You're going to be fine. You need to rest and recover. Can you tell me what happened? Are you in any pain?"

____________________________________

Nahdra could do nothing with all the nurses right on top of him now. She wished she could hear what was going on, but she could only see about half the room. At least it looked like he was physically alright, although she was certain he was under a great deal of emotional and mental stress and probably not cooperating at all.

"I will inform the embassy myself.  Some of the information pertaining to this assignment is highly classified, I don't want the wrong hands getting a hold of his locations."  Thorne cut him off descreetly. "Considering the possible internal threat posed by these terrorists it's not unlikely that some of their informants are mixed in with our own.  As for his security, I would keep keen eyes on him, but don't surveillance him with anything that could be hacked or otherwise externally compromised.  These are high risk targets you're dealing with, the terrorists would like nothing more than to get their hands on either of them at this point."

________________________

Nathan took a deep breath, trying not to scare the nurses after the ordeal.  He fell back as much as possible into the medical bed and tried to relax.  He closed his eyes and exhaled,goddamnit...if it wasn't for these restraints I might have hurt these people.  I can't stay here long, I need to get out of this hospital.
"Where are the officers? I'm ready to make a statement."

"Understood, sir. Anything else?" He transferred over the number to the embassy - along with a direct extension to the supervising Novalysian ambassador for military affairs - to Axon's DataPad. He was already writing the order for extra bodies around this guy because the last thing he wanted, especially in this tense political climate, was to let anything happen to some unlucky schmuck who happened to be here on a delicate terrorist-intel assignment from a colony that would love an excuse to personally shred his ass for breakfast.



                  ___________________________________________________

"I'll go and get them," one of the nurses scurried out with some relief to fetch something with a badge.

"Are you in any pain right now?" the other nurse repeated. The anesthetics hadn't quite worn off yet.


                 ____________________________________________________

Nahdra heard another beep at the door. Winifred barely heard it, and popped her earbuds out to half-swivel around in her chair, glancing at the newcomer. She grinned a sheepish, toothy grin as someone entered. Nahdra peered close. It was the fat man from the front desk.

"Mics off, Winny?" The fat man asked.

"Sure are," Winifred drew out her smokey voice in an attempt to sound seductive. It didn't work.

"Long night, baby, all the crazies are just leaving me alone for a minute...I couldn't wait to come see you..."

She giggled like a school-girl, but it sounded more like a juvenile crocodile's bark. "You're so cute, Bobby-boy..." She scooched her chair a little closer, and he took a step towards her and tentatively placed his chubby hand at the side of her face, framed in wiry red hair.

Nahdra cringed and closed her eyes. She really, really. wished that she wasn't seeing this.

Bob moved in a little closer to Winifred, who coochie-cooed his nose in response. They started kissing on each other and Nahdra shuddered inwardly, ducking back into the corner further. She heard the wheels on the swivel chair rolling against the floor for a few inches and tried not to imagine what that could mean. There was a quiet click, and then another voice in the room.

The edge of Winifred's chair had mistakenly toggled one of the mics. It wasn't attached to a video feed, but was rather a transferred external line from a call that was originally placed within the hospital's data networks and as such, it was rather quiet - Nahdra didn't know this, of course, and had no idea what she was listening to. She assumed it was just one of the staff rooms, as she heard two men's voices calmly and authoritatively wrapping up what seemed to be the tail end of a conversation.

"... high risk targets...dealing with, the terrorists...get their hands on either of them at this point." And then, "Understood, sir..."

"Oh, Bobby," Winifred giggled aloud, completely oblivious to the hushed audio. Nahdra craned forward to hear better as it barely picked up the two voices. This sounded like a police or military-related call - definitely out of place in a hospital.

Thorne sighed, I'm in the clear, he thought at he ended the transmission.

"That will be all. Ensure I am contacted immediately when he is able and update me if there are any complications with the current objectives."

____________________________________________________

Nathan waited impatiently for the officers to return, whatever I tell them, I doubt they will believe me. If I tell them the truth I might be able to clear Nahdra, goddamnit. I can't keep running for the rest of my life, but if I stop I die. Thoughts coursed through his mind as he desperately tried to come up with something that the police might buy into. The nurse broke his attention from the turmoil, he glanced over to her briefly.
"Nothing I won't live through miss. . . I'm sorry about shouting at you. What's your name, I want to put in a good word for you before this is all over."

"Yes sir, General. It's been a pleasure. I'll update you as soon as Steele is out of critical and en route to the docks with the girl. My police escort will be waiting. Call me any time if you need anything, sir."

He waited for the expected click on the other end.

          _________________________________________________________

"You're in a lot of discomfort and stress, I understand," the nurse smiled her compassionate forgiveness at Steele. She was a veteran of the healthcare profession, older and more stoic in the face of chaos than all of the rest, and her mousy brown hair was tucked back into the neatest of buns. She seemed kind, but unwavering - and most of all, efficient. "I'm Bonnie." Her tag read 'supervisor' under her name in fine print. She spent an extra few moments fussing over him, seeing if there was anything else she could do to make him more comfortable.


The armed guard and his cohort Lt. Dembry were fetched by the other nurse and entered the room. Dembry, looking rather ruffled, rubbed his forehead. He had gathered up a legal pad, a pen, and a small recorder.

"You said you're ready to give a statement, Mr. Steele?"

                        _________________________________

Nahdra listened to the discreet call, and the name Steele shot out at her. They were talking about Steele and...her? Had that man said General? She couldn't even begin to fathom everything that they were wrapped up in now and a subtle fear jolted through her...almost immediately afterwards, she saw police entering Nathan's room on the screen, and the panic intensified.

"Thank you for your cooperation in this matter, I appreciate it more than you know. Take care Sergeant Passeus, have a good night..." he said, assuming their time zones were at least similar. Thorne shifted the datapad touch screen, ending the transmission before sinking onto his cot. You would think a general might have better accommodations than the small chair, end table, and old metal cot that were strung across the room in no particular order. Thorne hunched forward, head in his palms hung low. What is happening to me?

_________________________________

Nathan smiled as much as possible at the nurse before the officer entered the room. He turned to him and exhaled.

"I am." he said pointedly.

Nahdra tried to take in all the information as logically as she could, but she could make no sense out of it. The only thing that was certain was that Nathan Steele had some connection to something much greater than himself, and now she had been drawn into it as well. An escort? Terrorists? Should she make a break for it and disappear before all of this blew up into more than she knew how to handle?

Winifred oogled with delight as Bob the fat man tipped her back into as romantic a kiss as he could muster. It was rather revolting, to say the least.

_______________________________

"Well, go ahead. Start from as far back as you can remember this evening that led up to the events of the shooting."

Nathan took a deep breath before he began, clear Nahdra, she has nothing to do with any of this, that is my top priority.

"I've been in Deysha for a few days now, crashing from place to place, trying to scrape by. I managed to hold up in a apartment in Sector I of Trader's Point, I was there by myself." he began slowly. "I stepped out for a smoke, some goddamn druggy hit me up. I didn't have anything on me so he pulled on me. I had no choice, he was high, incoherent, he didn't belief me. I had no other choice, so I disarmed him...that didn't go as planned."

Dembry flipped on the recorder before Nathan started, and jotted down some notes as he spoke. He glanced up at him a few times, reading his expression as he scribbled.

"Mmmhm, I see. And this individual, the shooter, can you describe him for me? When did you first see him?"

"I didn't see him coming, he must've come out of one of the alleys behind the apartment building. I don't know the area, I couldn't tell you what direction he was coming from. He was behind me at first, wearing a hoodie and baggy pants, I don't know much else. I broke the gun away from him, its somewhere in the alley." Nathan paused to take a breath. "The next thing I remember was my sister shaking me awake."

Dembry's interest was peaked. He didn't know if it was necessary to the investigation or not, but the fact that this guy's sister - the weird hooded kid - had virtually disappeared at the hospital was enough to make him curious, since that foreign General had asked about her too.

"Right. Your sister was with you - what's her name? And do you know where she's at now?"

"Her name is Nahdra, I haven't seen her since we got to the hospital." Nathan's voice gave no hint of the weariness he was using with the officer, trying desperately not to say something out of line.

"That's very unusual, Mr. Steele. Why do you think she wouldn't have come in with you?"

Nathan attempted to shrug, not that the braces and restraints would allow any movement of his shoulders or neck.

"Maybe she went home, or got lost in the hospital somewhere..."

Lieutenant Dembry regarded the man curiously for a moment. He'd been on the beat long enough to know when something wasn't quite right, and this popped out as a red flag to him for some reason.

"...right. So, Mr. Steele, did you say - "

Dembry's pager went off, beeping softly and interrupting his train of thought. He paused to check it. Damnit, it was the sergeant.

"I have to take a call. I'll be back."

__________________________________

Nahdra watched on the screen as the cop left the room and entered the hallway . She took a deep, silent breath. Bob and Winifred were still playing grab-ass right in front of the monitor terminals, only a few feet away from her.

_____________________________________

Dembry sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Yes sir...yes, I'll just lock down the area until you can get here. Yes...understood."

Slightly confused, Dembry entered the room once again after having received the very brief orders from Sergeant Passeus, and promptly asked the nurses if they could finish up their work and then leave the room. Once they had gone, leaving only Dembry and the armed guard, he relayed the message specifically as he had heard it.

"Mr. Steele, my supervisor has asked me to stop with your statement until he can arrive in a few minutes himself. He wanted me to let you know that he is aware of your special circumstances for your assignment and that you will be kept safe here."

Without elaborating, Dembry turned to leave the room, motioning for the armed guard to wait with Steele inside.

Nathan watched blankly, special circumstances of my assignment, he thought...fuck. He remained calm as he began to twist his wrists against the cuffs that held him. When the guard entered he stopped, shifting his weight awkwardly to play as if he were uncomfortable and just trying to relieve the pressure of the restraints.

"Hey, could you get the nurse? My neck isn't broken and I can't stand this neck brace much longer," he said as he increased his breathing rate. "If I can't get this thing off I might have another panic attack..."