Page 2 of Unraveling Connections

The doctor nods, “Yes, as I explained, we are monitoring him closely. Some patients take longer to come around from sedation than others, and if we look at it like that, then it's not as scary. He is in good hands.”

I nod, “Okay, thank you.”

“Ever, what’s going on?” Trick asks as he walks into the hospital room, moving surprisingly swiftly with his crutches, the others following closely behind him.

Everyone looks worried and I nod to the doctor in thanks, waiting until he has left the room before I start to explain to them everything that the doctor just told me.

By the end, just like me, none of them look particularly comforted by my words. Letting them process, I move to Luc’s bed and hold his hand.

“At least he’s not in pain, I guess?” Jensen says, coming to stand behind me and putting his hands on my shoulders.

“I suppose,” I reply.

“I really don’t like this,” Trick mutters, looking stressed.

Alaric frowns, “I will get them to question the guy that we took in again to see if he can tell them anything else. He knew that the poison was on the file so there is a chance that he might know what it was.”

“Can I question him?” I ask.

Alaric’s eyebrows raise, and he studies me closely, “Can you honestly tell me that you can question him without losing it if he doesn’t give you the answers that you want?”

I sigh and shake my head, “Honestly, probably not. If I think he is hiding something from me, then I am likely to resort to Shadow techniques.”

Alaric nods, “That’s what I thought. You guys just stay here and keep an eye on Luc’s condition. I’m going to get some cameras and sensors set up outside Luc’s parents' place just in case Hunt sends anyone else to check the place out when the guy we have doesn't return to him with the file. Although, I am fairly certain that he most likely already knows that his attempt to get the information was not successful.”

“Hopefully, it’s left him scrambling and possibly panicking; that would make me feel a bit better,” Riot mutters.

“I’ll send you the link to the camera that I install since you will be the team that’s in the area, so if you get the alert, you’re going to need to check it out,” Alaric replies. “I will call if I get any more information. The file is on its way back to the HQ already, so they can start testing it as soon as possible.”

“Thanks, man,” Atlas replies, sighing heavily.

“We’ll sort this out, and Luc will be fine,” Alaric replies.

We all watch as he leaves, and a nurse pokes her head through the door.

“We figured that you would all want to stay for a while. You can grab some chairs from the waiting room down the hallway.” She says with a soft smile and then adds, “We will be in regularly to check on him and to make sure that there is no change in his condition. The doctor will be back in as soon as we have the results from the test.”

“Thank you,” Rage replies for all of us.

“Come on then guys, let’s go and grab some seats,” Trick says.

Everything feels so much more scary as soon as they have left the room. I didn’t realize how much it was helping to have them here with me. Now it’s just me and an unconscious Luc, the beeping of the machines and my thoughts that are trying to terrify me. Fortunately, I am not left on my own for too long, and they are all soon coming back in with their chairs and setting them up around the room, as Atlas puts one right next to Luc's bed for me so I can still hold his hand.

When it has been silent for a while, Rafe asks, “Did anyone see what was on the file before it was bagged?”

Peter shakes his head, “No, I didn’t. I think we were all too focused on trying to make sure that no one else touched it.”

“It should be back to HQ by now, it’s a long shot but I’ll call Mr R and see if he can get a copy to us or something,” Trick suggests.

“Good idea,” Peter replies, “I’ve got my laptop on me, he can send it over the secure email and then we can get a look.”

“Sounds good.” Trick replies, as he presses a few buttons on his phone and then holds it to his ear. “There’s a chance that they haven’t had time to secure it yet, so it might not be possible, but it’s worth a shot.”

We all stay silent as we listen to half of the conversation, and I stare at Luc, willing him to wake up. It is making me really nervous that he is still asleep; and he shouldn’t be. I am trying really hard not to lose it, but I can feel my grip on my freak-out slipping quickly.

When Trick hangs up, we look at him expectantly, and he launches straight into an explanation.

“Mr R says that they haven’t received the file yet. Apparently, I thought it had been longer than it actually has,” Trick says with a frown and then looks at his watch, “well shit. It’s only been an hour or so since Alaric left.”

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