A Wanderer in Trader's Point

The armed guard frowned.

"Sorry, but I don't think I can do that right now. Boss' orders. It should only take a few minutes - can you hold out a little while longer?"

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Nahdra had seen Nathan trying to escape, and from the awkward angle at the screen, she could see that he was worried and attempting to break free. She couldn't stand it any longer.

Bob and Winifred were practical lost in their unappetizing little moment. Nahdra narrowed her eyes, studying them for a moment, and decided that it would be safe to slink from her hiding spot and pass along the back room of the wall, right past them, as long as she stayed low and silent.

With a practiced, smooth grace that came from many hours of training, she dropped as low to the ground as she could and glided from her cramped hiding spot into the open. She felt the wall lightly against her side as she skirted the room towards the exit.

"Oh, Winny..." she heard a giggle and kept moving. She turned down the small hallway - out of sight now, at least - and the next obstacle stood in her path. The door. She had no option. She turned the knob with an audible click, stood, and slipped out into the hallway.

A quick double-glance confirmed that no one in the hallway had seen her exit. She turned swiftly and then disappeared down another corridor. Once she split away from the surveillance control room, she turned back down the hall that the rooms were located in. She rounded the corner, trying to move swiftly more than quietly, and unexpectedly ran directly into Dembry as he was turning the same hallway.

Nathan kept breathing heavily, squirming and twisting uncomfortably in effort to move the fixed restraint around his neck away from his throat. Hidden under the jarred bed clothes he twisted his wrist painfully against the cuffs still trying to break free of their grasp.

"Please..." he exhaled heavily. "It's too tight... I can't breathe."

The guard had received official instructions not to fuck this up. So, he was reasonably nervous when he popped his head out the door briefly and didn't see his partner around to ask what to do. He came back and, at a loss for what else to do, pressed the 'call' button on Steele's bed to page a nurse.

"I'll see what we can do for you, Mr. Steele. Just stay calm."

The last thing he wanted was for this guy to freak out again. He had to keep him coherent until the Sergeant got there, at least.

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Nahdra stared blankly at the cop as she reactively took a step back. How could you not have heard him, she thought to herself. Foolish. Sloppy.

"Woah, there, young lady," Dembry squinted at her uncertainly. "Are you alright?"

Nahdra recognized him, but he had no way to recognize her - he hadn't seen her without the hood and mask. She wasn't sure how to play this - not only did she not have the element of surprise, but she would be outmanned and outgunned by this cop if she tried to get past him or overpower him in the hallway. Maybe she could pull it off, but it would definitely cause a ruckus - the last thing she wanted. She let the cold calculation in her eyes fade as she took on another role, instead.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I'm just lost - this hospital is so big."

"Ah, right. Where are you going?"

She paused. "I'm not sure."

"...is your name Nahdra?"

She stared at him sharply for a second. "How do you know that?"

"Oh," Dembry nodded, slightly relieved. "Your brother was just asking about you. Steele, right? He said you probably got lost somehow."

Nahdra let a full breath pass before she responded. "Yeah. Can you take me to him?"

Nathan purposefully let his body react, forcing himself to breath rapidly and practically gasp for air. All of course, as a distraction from the straining cuffs mostly covered now by dislodged linens. He felt a tinge in his wrist, he was close to breaking something, the question was now which would break first. The cuffs or his arm.

"Calm down," the guard urged.

The nurse came in at a somewhat leisurely pace. "What's the m - "

"He says he can't breathe and he's going to have a panic attack. He wants the neck brace off - "

"My supervisor said I can't - "

"Then get your supervisor in here now," the guard ordered.

The nurse sighed and paged her.

                                      ______________________________________

Dembry thought for a second. "In just a few minutes, sweetie, sure. He had to get stitches, so he's still asleep."


She knew that was a lie, but she tried not to let that realization flash across her face.

"Okay. I'll just wait outside his room, then..."

"Actually, why don't you come wait with me? I was just about to fill out some paperwork, maybe you can help me, um, make some sense of what happened."

Nathan jerked forcefully against his restraints while the two were talking, grit his teeth and took a deep breath. The pain was intense, but he kept his expression low in comparison I he finally ripped his raw, bleeding wrist from the cuffs. He settled back into the hospital bed as much as possible, keeping the blanket disheveled at his side to cover his arm.

"Just take this thing off, please." he panted. "I can't fucking breath."

"Alright, sir, settle down," the guard urged.

Bonnie hustled into the room about two minutes later and ushered the other nurse out. She'd been flagged that there was some kind of security concern with this guy, and the nurses were supposed to keep clear.

"What's the matter, honey," Bonnie approached Steele as she checked over all of his vitals swiftly and thoroughly. She was very caring, but matter-of-fact, as she looked down at him with concern etched on her face.

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"I'd very much like to see my brother," Nahdra reasserted. "I've been very worried about him." She had noticed one of the nurses walk past them down the hallway - one that had been in Nathan's room earlier.

"Well, he needs more time to recover first," Dembry tried his pitch again. Nahdra didn't buy it.

"Room 4B, right? That's what I'm looking for." She started to walk in that direction. Dembry dumbly followed her.

"Now, Nahdra, hold on a minute..."

She turned around another corner and saw the nurse supervisor enter Nathan's room.

Nathan settled down but kept his rate of breath increased and irregular, keeping this up caused his heart rate to increase again but not to the levels it was during his nightmare.

"Get this brace off my neck, " he pleaded again. "I can't breathe, its too tight. . ."

Nathan knew that allowing her near him now might blow his cover, but he had to give it a chance. Besides, he thought mournfully. "I could just grab a hold of her if I have to. Goddamnit, I hate dragging people into this but if I have to...I might have to kill these people.

Bonnie started to lean in to remove the neck brace, but the guard barked at her, causing her to stand back up straight.

"You can't do that, lady! We have orders not to - "

"This is my emergency room, officer, and unless you show me a signed police order from the district judge, I will treat my patient as I see fit."

The guard stared dumbfounded for a second, unable to respond.

Bonnie, satisfied with the guard's flabbergasted reaction, leaned back over to remove Nathan's neck brace.

he watched them both carefully through the guise of a panic attack, a slit second decision raced in his mind.  Take the nurse and use her as a mean of escape, or wait for the sergeant and possibly, more officers.  He knew there were at least two cops with him, this one and Dembry, two he could handle, but the more time he wasted thinking the more armed guards likely entered the building, the harder his departure.  And yet he hesitated, not raising his arm to clutch her throat.  If I hurt them now...  

Nathan sighed and let the weight of his body drop back into the bed.  His breath slowed back to normal after the brace was removed and laid there staring blankly at the white ceiling waiting.  

"How much longer?" he asked monotone.

The guard was even more on alert now, with the nurse having actively disobeyed the orders. The sergeant would be pissed, but there was nothing that he could do about it without making a scene.

"I don't know, sweetheart, but you just relax. You're in good hands here," Bonnie explained as she fussed over Nathan. "You need anything else, honey?" She had now taken a personal interest in him, almost in spite of the mouthy guard.

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Nahdra picked up her pace swiftly towards Nathan's room with Dembry trailing after her.

"Stop! You can't go in there! Come on, wait for a second - "

He moved in manipulated directions as she took the straps off the brace around his neck. He winced slightly as she brushed against the partly shaven part of his scalp where they had stitched his wound. He looked around the room, the guard he could take, but he couldn't bring himself to hurt the nurse, she had to leave.

"Could I get something to drink when you're done? Coffee, something?"

"I can't give you coffee because of the meds, sweetie. I can get you water, or juice, or some light soda..." She read off the options like a well-rehearsed menu. She finished up what she was working on and then stood over him, taking a moment to look down and listen for what he wanted before she scurried off to the next eagerly waiting patient.

"Just water then..." Nathan sighed. He needed to get her out of the room if he had any hope of escape. He turned his attention to the guard briefly, taking note of any visible weaponry he had on his person.

"Alright. Water it is then. I'll be right back." With the last sentence, she swept her gaze purposefully over the guard, sharply regarding him for a moment, as if offering him a chance to object. He didn't.

Bonnie spun on her heel and turned for the door. As she turned the knob and opened it, the sound of yelling came from outside. A man's voice.

"Hey! Don't go in there!"

A younger woman appeared bustling through the doorway, long dark hair swaying messily behind her as she wedged through the open door and into the room. It was Nahdra.

The guard raised his assault rifle - not pointed at her, yet, but at the ready - and there was an audible click of the safety.

Nathan's instincts kicked in at the sound of the safety, the girl in the doorway, and the exchange overheard. He had no idea who this girl was but that doesn't matter. Not even a half a second passed, his arm was free from the blanket and grasping the barrel of the gun, forcing it in his own direction. He was half off the hospital bed, restrained in part by the screeching cuffs that scraped against the opposite guard railing of the hospital bed.

"Pull the trigger and I rip your goddamn throat out," he hissed.

"Hey! Stand down now - " the armed guard barked in instant retaliation.

"Nathan!" Nahdra stopped dead in her tracks about three feet inside the door, maintaining a defensive posture now.

"Put it DOWN!" Bonnie yelled authoritatively over the others. Her hand hovered for the Emergency Call button next to the door.

The dim blue illumination of his eyes left the guard without a crucial piece of information in the nature of Nathan's intent. Blood dripped from his weakened wrist as he held the barrel away from the doorway, quickly forming a red pool on the white floors beneath. This was no good, he had no element of surprise now and a gun aimed at his own chest. He looked at the unfamiliar woman he was protecting...how does she know who I am...

"Nahdra?" he asked as his eyes turned back to the man.

She nodded briskly, never taking her eyes off the guard.

The guard hesitated - his training dictated that he should neutralize the threat immediately, but he knew the situation was much different now. This man was a protected VIP, but he didn't know much else about him yet. He clicked the safety back on, and growled in a low voice.

"Release my weapon!"

He hesitated, reluctantly dropping the weapons barrel after a few long moments of studying the man. He watched him closely, barely able to see the girl nod from his peripheral.

"Get out of here before you get hurt Nahdra..." his eyes briefly looked her over, memorizing as much about her unmasked face as possible. Only seconds later his eyes shifted back to the guard. "Let her go and I will tell you what you want to know. Why I don't show up in your background checks, everything."

"What the hell are you talking about?" the guard seemed confused. He took a step and a half away from Nathan, his gun lowered towards the floor.

Bonnie stayed close to the door, ready to hit the call button at a moment's notice. She was scowling, obviously dissatisfied with the havoc that had broken out in her room. Nahdra strayed a few steps away from the guard, catlike and focused. "What are they doing - "

Dembry ran into the room, huffing for breath and stopping in the doorway. His sidearm was not drawn and he looked disheveled and confused, but not aggressive. "Come on...I told you!..."

"They're going to take you where you need to go Nahdra, the only thing I ask is that you take care of what you find there," he said as he watched Dembry heave himself into the room. "Do we have a deal?"

I'm too old for this shit, Dembry thought as he noticed his partner's weapon at the ready and the nurse in a state of discord. "Does somebody want to tell me what the hell's going on here?"

"You're going to let Nahdra go in exchange for full disclosure of who I am and why I don't show up on your records," Nathan said bluntly. "Do we have a deal?"

"What do you mean, let her go?" Dembry's brow wrinkled like an old wadded-up napkin.

The room waited in the anxiety of the hushed anticipation for Nathan's response.