Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

— Rob —
The emergency unit was way too bright.
The many lights overhead, the almost-reflexive white walls, and the metallic clasps and stripes in the staff's uniform made this place look like the salt desert in New Potosí. His eyes hurt, so Rob decided to keep them down, staring at the way his fingers interlocked with Léon's. Amidst so much sickness and coldness, having his husband's hands in his gave Rob some comfort.
Ah... husband. He loved the sound of that.
This was a hand he recognized; a hand he had felt, held, and kissed many times before. It was Rob's, Léon had said in his vows. His to love, care for, and respect. And yours are mine; mine to love, care for, and respect.
"I'm sorry, Sir, I really can't find any Esposito here." The desk phone started ringing again, but the receptionist raised it and smashed it back in place with way more strength than necessary.
For the past five minutes, it had been ringing without a pause, and every time the receptionist answered it—interrupting his search for Phillip's room—he had to use the same polite refusal to whatever products were being offered. People didn't call hospitals nowadays; they had emergency apps for that, leaving the few landlines still working at the mercy of marketing sharks.
"Are you sure?" Rob said. "It's Esposito. E-S-P-O-S-I-T-O. With an S and only one T."
Léon raised an impressed eyebrow.
"What? I'm good with names," Rob whispered.
"Are you?" Léon's voice was teasing and low, said in an almost whisper that made Rob's skin crawl.
"Right, only one T." The receptionist focused on the screen again. His cheeks darkened, and he cleared his throat. His fingers ran across the projected letters beside the monitor. "Searching again."
Rob licked his lips. Here, standing in this hospital in Cidade Santa, moments before meeting their family, Léon's hand felt different; it felt more solid than anything else around them. It felt real. Rob pulled his bag up his shoulder and glanced at Léon. He wore a serious countenance, his beautiful brown eye set on the sky outside as Rob's were, only a moment ago. As if sensing Rob's stare, Léon moved his gaze to him.
"Something you want to tell me, Bhalu?"
For a moment, Rob considered pointing out how strange those words sounded. For a moment, Rob thought Léon expected him to say something specific. To say what?
"Here, found him. Room seventeen of the ICU," the receptionist said. "South wing, third floor. Visiting hours end at eleven, so please be quick. You have less than an hour." He placed two visitor passes on the desk and smiled. The gesture was strained and apologetic, as tired as the few patients pacing around the hall. "Take a left here and—"
"I know where it is." Léon took the passes and offered one to Rob. "But thank you."
"Ah. Right," said the receptionist. "Wait. Léon Dickens. You're Dr. Kaliandra Dickens's son, right? I heard so much about you." He breathed out a smile. "I'm still new here; I hope I didn't offend you or anything."
"No!" Léon grinned. "No, of course not."
Rob smiled. He put the pass on his chest pocket and tapped it to activate it. Rob loved to see Léon interacting with other people. Léon was still known as Legend in Cidade Santa. Sure, nowadays he was a retired superhero—they didn't have anything to fight against anymore; the world was finally at peace—but people still looked up to him with respect. With deference.
"I'm glad," the receptionist said with a chuckle. He pointed at the guest passes in Léon's hand and said, "I hope your friend gets better soon."
Léon smiled in lieu of an answer and turned around to leave.
"Oh! Mr. Dickens? Can I ask you a favor?"
He and Rob shared a glance, then looked at the receptionist again.
"Can you give this to your mother for me?" He jumped to his feet and dug around the many folders and boxes spread around the reception desk. "Someone from the archives said she wanted information about an old patient of hers. They left this here." The receptionist smiled and raised the folder in his hands. It was a plastipaper folder, but the information inside it seemed to still be written on paper. "I'd give this to her myself, but—there's so much to do here. I really can't leave the desk."
Léon raised an eyebrow and took the folder. "Uh. Yeah. I'm sure Amma will be glad to receive this." He tried on a smile. "Leave it to me."
"Thank you." The receptionist winked, then went back to the ringing phone.
The door clicked and slid to the left with a soft whir of old machinery.
Rob pocketed the visitor pass once more and stepped into the room, fighting the urge to escape; the strong scent of disinfectant, cureburn gel, and citrus-scented ethyl alcohol washed over him like a crashing wave. It was dark inside; the closed shutters let nothing but thin slices of light pour over the body on the hospital bed and the one hunched over beside it. A digital beeping filled the silence that neither Rob nor Léon had the courage to break.
Finally, Rafa lifted her head from her arms. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, raking her fingers through long, strong locks of dark hair.
"Oh. You're here." She got up and motioned them closer. Her hand found Rob's, and she pulled him to a tight hug.
"Hey, Sis," Rob mumbled. He caressed her hair, and it somehow felt strange when it kept going until the middle of her back, instead of the short hair he was used to. "How is he?"
Wait. Why would he be used to her having short hair? She had never cut it any shorter.
"Beto. Leo. Thank you for coming so fast." Rafa repeated the process with Léon, then jerked a thumb towards the bed. "Rio had to sedate him so he would stop trying to leave, that pile of stubbornness." She scoffed and shook her head. "But Phil should be waking up soon. I think he'll like to have his friends around when he wakes up."
Rob nodded. He placed the bouquet of strawflowers on the bedside table, pulled a chair for Léon, and another for himself. As Rafa busied herself looking for something to use as a vase, Rob studied the man on the bed.
The only thing he could really see was his face and hair; the rest of his body was bandaged, from his neck to the soles of his feet. There was an IV needle on his left arm, life sign sensors stickered across his chest and temple and another clipped on his index finger.
"Shouldn't he be wearing an oxygen mask or something? You know, after surviving a fire and all?" Rob asked. "I mean, I'm no expert on this, but he must have breathed a lot of stuff and..." he trailed off.
Rafa shrugged. She ripped the plastic around the bouquet, placed the strawflowers on a vase, and walked to the small restroom.
"I'm just glad Kali got us a private room." Rafa stared at the glass in her hands.
"Here, let me." Léon got up and reached for the vase. He took it and placed it back on Phillip's bedside table, moving the flowers and leaves around to rearrange them.
"What happened, Sis? You sounded so scared on the phone."
Rafa drummed her fingers on her thigh. As if considering her words, she pinched her lips and paced left and right until something crossed her eyes. She was tense, the muscles on her face and shoulders pulled taut.
"It's... something Phillip said and that keeps bothering me." She pulled her hair over her shoulder and ran her hand through the strands, again and again, always stopping inches above her neckline. "He doesn't remember much about me, about himself, or about our team in the forest rangers. He's... confused, I reckon. Keeps saying gibberish about how he's immune to mental suggestions. Medusa and Fred are coming to visit him later today... I wanted to understand what's happening before that."
Rob hooked a finger through Léon's and gently brought him closer.
"Uh. I'm not sure I follow," Léon mumbled. He sat down on Rob's thigh and they shared a worried gaze.
Rafa leaned against the wall beside the bed. Her eyes traveled all the way down to the tips of her boots, then raised to meet Phillip's sleeping face. She brushed a lock of dirty-blond hair from his face and sighed.
"He's my friend, Léon. I'm... trying hard to believe in him because I... feel... I feel he believes what he's saying." She clicked her tongue. "But it's bloody hard this time."
"Why?" Rob asked. "What did he say?"
Rafa opened her lips to answer, but the words never came. There was a knock on the door; it slid open, giving way to three pairs of expensive shoes.
"Oh, shit. You're all here," said a soft voice. A woman's voice.
Rob didn't recognize the woman in the middle. From left to right, there was first Rio, Kali's most trusted nurse. He breezed past Rafa and leaned forward to listen to Phillip's breathing. Rio placed a hand on Phillip's forehead and checked the numbers and graphs on the Life Support machine.
"At least his breathing is getting better," Rio said. "Still no fever."
The woman in the middle seemed only a few years older, with tanned skin and straight locks of black hair tied back in a short ponytail. Her burnt umber eyes had an unusual warmth to them, small and framed by way-too-thick and way-too-many eyelashes—but above all else, it was the marks on her right hand that made the hairs on Rob's arms stand on end. They looked like burns, yes, but purposeful burns. Shapes. Figures.
Tattoos, perhaps.
Léon's voice cut through Rob's daze. "This is a good sign, then. Right, Rio?"
"Yes," Rio said. His tentative smile built into something wide and almost proud. "I never expected anyone to be resistant like this—but I guess Phillip has always been a tough cookie."
Mirroring Rio, Léon stepped towards the bed, but something gave him pause.
The third person who entered the room was someone that Rob knew well... once, a long time ago. Rob's muscles went rigid and coldness hit his core as he recognized the man's face.
"Toni," Rob mumbled.
Toni winked at Rob and took the two steps that separated him from Léon. He placed a hand on Léon's shoulder, stopping him from moving any further. Toni's smile widened, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. There was something wrong with that smile. Something bitter and resentful that seemed to drip from the curve of his lips like blood from the fangs of a predator.
"I would suggest keeping your distance, Legend," Toni said in a soft voice. "It's never a good idea to get between two people who love each other." He pivoted around, but only enough to catch Rob's eyes in the periphery of his vision. Toni's lips relaxed and tugged upward in something softer and sweeter this time. "See? Robbie agrees with me."
Only then did Rob realize he had a hand ironed around Toni's arm. For a tense and long moment, none of them moved. It was so weird to see Toni again. It was so surreal to have him at arm's length, alive and breathing, after such a long time!
Rob's grip softened and his fingers ran down the length of Toni's arm. His skin was so soft and so warm, his pulse was so strong and so steady, his eyes were so intense and so kind. He looked just like Rob remembered, every beauty mark and strand of platinum blond hair in the place they should be.
This, this was... this was the Toni from long ago, from before-all-this, from a time Rob couldn't even begin to fathom as real! This was Toni.
This was his Toni.
"Rob?" Léon asked in a whisper.
He swallowed and stepped away. "Sorry," he muttered. With some hesitance, he let go of Toni's hand. "It's just... it's been a long time, Toni. I never thought we'd see each other again."
And it was the truth. Rob's thoughts brushed past the reason why they had been separated for so long—that didn't really matter, right? The only thing that mattered was that he was here again, real again, with him again.
"No harm done, Robbie," Toni answered with a grin. "On the contrary." He moved towards Rafa and opened his arms. If it was possible, his voice softened even more. "And won't my little bird give me a hug?"
Rafa sobbed. She rushed forward and met his leaner body with hers, wrapping him in a tight embrace.
"Well, you look at that," said the unknown woman. "It seems like you all knew each other already." The weird comment was accompanied by a pointed look that hit Rio like a slap across the face. "I guess I'm the only one who still needs introductions here... and I want to do it right this time." She cleared her throat and stepped forward. "I'm Connie Travone, but please call me Jackal." She offered Rob a handshake; Jackal raised an eyebrow, and that was all she needed to bring a flustered Toni back to her side.
"Jackal," Rob said. He accepted her handshake and looked from her to Toni, back at Rio, then at her again. "I'm sorry for being this blunt, but we don't know you. I understand why Rio is here, but not you two." His gaze rested on Toni again. "Although I'm thankful you brought him back," he added in a whisper so low, it was almost as if he tried to keep it only in his thoughts.
"Nah, don't mention it." Jackal smiled and straightened her back. "You see, I came looking for you. For all four of you. Roberto, Léon, Rafaela, and Phillip." Her smile widened. "I have a proposal for you—one that you won't be able to refuse."