Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 44: Chapter 44

— Léon —
Rob, Léon, and Rafa exchanged a glance. As the eldest among the three, Rafa took a step forward and said,
"You do know Phillip is in an ICU bed, yeah?" She crossed her arms, furrowed her eyebrows, and tipped her chin up in the same way Rob did when he wanted to look taller. "What sort of tasteless proposal would bring you from your posh office and into a public emergency unit when one of the people you want to talk to is unconscious?"
"Maybe we should just hear what she has to say." Rob squared his shoulders. "She brought Toni back, didn't she? Hearing her is the least we can do."
"It's about the timing, Roberto," Léon said. "Besides, this is an ICU room, we can't crowd it."
Jackal placed a hand on her breastbone. "I'm sorry if I seem insensitive. Oh!" She snapped her fingers. "Here, I brought flowers too."
She walked out the door, long strides coming from even longer legs. When Jackal came back, she carried at least three different bouquets of flowers so exquisite and big that even Léon was impressed. They seemed too rare and too expensive for Cidade Santa's only flower shop.
Rafa's eyes widened like a child receiving a birthday present. She reached for them, but stopped.
"This doesn't change anything," Léon said in a controlled tone. He didn't want to, but his eyes kept flicking back to Toni. Léon knew who he was and what kind of history Rob and him shared. "Flowers or not, you're intruding. You all are."
And he definitely didn't like to have him here, out of the blue and so close to his husband.
"I'm sorry for starting on the wrong foot"—Jackal placed the flowers in Rafa's hands—"but once you hear me out, I'm sure you'll understand my reasons."
"These are... oh, fuck." Rafa almost choked on her own spit. She coughed and cleared her throat. "This is a bouquet of Opalean thornbush!"
If Jackal's grin was any wider, the corners of her lips would've ripped her own cheeks. Something changed in her expression. She narrowed her eyes and winced, clasping a hand around her tattooed wrist. After a heartbeat, she took a deep breath and smiled as if nothing had ever happened.
"I can't believe you know them," she said.
"Of course I do! I love flowers, and this one is... a legend. I never dreamed I would see one in person," Rafa mumbled. She caressed the pearlescent thorn sticking out from the center of a green flower bud. "I thought they were extinct."
Jackal nodded. "They were." She chuckled and pointed at an empty chair. "May I?"
Uh. No.
Outside, a breeze shook the branches in front of Phillip's window. Shadows of little leaves danced on Jackal's face as she stared at Léon, making her eyes look even darker and harder than before. She hadn't done anything to hurt them. She had apologized for her bad timing, and she was decent enough to at least bring flowers... but something about her struck Léon as odd. No, more than that—as dangerous.
He didn't want her here. He didn't want any of them here! Léon glanced and Rob and Rafa; they didn't seem that keen either.
Jackal raised her eyebrows. She looked at the flowers and a soft crease formed between her eyebrows.
"As I said"—Léon hardened his voice—"the flowers don't change anything."
"The proposal I mentioned?" Jackal clenched her jaw as her gaze moved to Phillip. "It might save his life, Léon."
Her eyes were vacant, the muscles in her face flexed in specific places that looked less genuine than her expression from moments ago. This one felt almost too fabricated—like a great drama actor in a bad children's play. Still, she didn't seem to be lying about Phillip, only about how much she cared if he died or not.
"Jackal?" Léon waited until she looked at him, then continued, "He was caught in a fire; there's no secret to curing that other than constant care and observation. Besides, my Amma—my mother—is a doctor here." Léon stepped to the side, putting himself between Jackal and Phillip. "She'll have him on his feet in no time. Then you can contact us."
She studied Léon. His eyes first, then his lips, neck, chest, and the hands he tried to keep steady at his sides. Jackal's stare was more than unnerving, it was withering. Something in his mind told him that she looked scarier than The Mayor himself, but those words didn't make sense in his brain.
"Look," she said in a soft tone—almost too soft. "I admire you, Legend. I really do. I know you're doing your job here, protecting your family and your friend's interests, and keeping a stranger, myself, at bay. And I know this is all about social etiquette. Maybe you'd receive me better had I been more careful. Maybe you'd be more welcoming had I not brought your husband's ex-fiancée."
Toni chuckled, but Jackal raised a hand, stopping him with a glare.
"It was an oversight on my part; I just didn't expect you to know him." She said it in a hard voice, looking at Rio. Then, she looked at Léon again. "But truth be told, I also didn't expect you all to be here. I needed to see Phillip's situation with my own eyes." Jackal fished for something in the internal pocket of her caramel blazer and offered Léon a business card. "You're wrong about Phillip. This is more than a burn." Her lips curled at the ends. "Cidade Santa's doctors, your mother included, can do nothing for him." She smirked. "Doctor Kali knows that too, that's why she agreed to let me see him."
Amma did what?
"All I ask in exchange is for your help studying his condition," Jackal completed. "You have a good life, Léon. You don't have enemies, you don't have to fight, you have your family close... there's absolutely nothing you need to worry about." Her smile widened, showing a wall of sharp teeth. "Why don't you lend me some of your time in the name of the greater good, huh?"
Exhausted, low, weak words echoed in his mind.
She's... already using you, little one. He is using you too. Don't let them.
This was... Léon frowned, and his eyes stung. Why did it feel like it's been such a long time since he last heard him?
What do you mean, Lampee?
He didn't answer.
Lampee?
Maybe unconsciously, Toni brought a thumb to the corner of his lips and flicked it aside as if cleaning it. "Your power is beyond impressive, Léon, just like Rafa's was. Together, you can help us do a lot of good. Don't let this opportunity pass you by."
A shiver crossed Léon's back. And after that, the rustling of plastipaper brought him back to the conversation.
"I'm not sure if I like where this is going." With a sigh, Rafa offered the flowers back. "Take this back, Jackal."
"What?" Jackal tensed. She raised a hand to stop Rafa. "No. Please keep them; it's a gift."
Rafa shook her head no. "It feels wrong to accept something so expensive when you're clearly trying to convince me to do a favor for you."
"Nonsense." Jackal scoffed and stepped away. "Money was never a problem for me. Knowing that they'll be appreciated by someone with the knowledge to care for them is more than enough." She sighed and fit her hands into her pockets. "But let me tell you this—what Phillip has will spread. First to the plants, then to the animals, then to the people around him." She gestured at something behind Léon and said, "Together, we can not only stop it, but revitalize everything. These flowers are only a fraction of what we could bring back if we work together." She smiled. "Think about it. And if you find the time to hear me out, give me a call."
Léon's eyebrows shot up. He pivoted around and shivered. Starting with the leaves closer to Phillip, the flowers he and Rob had brought were starting to wither. The card Jackal had given him seemed to weigh down in his hands.
"See you later," Toni said with a small wave. "Let's go, Rio."
"What do you think, love?" Rob asked in a low voice. His index finger brushed the side of Léon's hand.
"A different sickness would explain why Phillip was so out of himself," Rafa said. "It wouldn't hurt to listen to her."
Léon swung his hand away from Rob.
"Wait," Léon said. His balled hands trembled. Léon glanced at Toni's smug expression before forcing himself to focus on Jackal. "If you want to talk, let's talk outside. We can't risk worsening Phillip's situation."
Jackal adjusted her silk shirt and grinned. "I know a nice place nearby, so let me take you out for lunch. It's always better to talk business over food, right?" She chuckled. "Besides..." Jackal pivoted around; something dark seeped into her words.
"I'm starving."
He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy their lunch together. Jackal took them to a popular restaurant a few blocks from the emergency unity, a small a quirky place that focused more on homely than fancy; still, the virado a paulista Léon ordered was the best he had eaten in his entire life.
Now, with the food gone, Jackal excused herself to get something in her NAV while Rio and Toni introduced the subjects she wanted to discuss. Instead of talking business, though, as Rio had been trying to do for the past minute, Toni kept interrupting the conversation to reminisce on the old days, and this was starting to nib away at Léon's patience.
Rob's eyes were narrowed, small bags forming in the place where his cheeks met the almost faded dark circles under his eyes. He was smiling a lot. Laughing a lot, too.
"Well," Rob said, "That happened 'cause you're a bloody arsehole, that's why! If you hadn't told Rafa where I was, she'd never find out."
"Pfft. Please." Toni supported his arm on the opened window and leaned forward to take a deep breath outside. Léon' couldn't see his face, but he heard the smile in his voice when he added, "If I hadn't told her, you'd still be lost in that place with a two-wheeled NAV and an empty stomach. Who the hell goes on a ride in the desert without gas charges, food, and a water bottle?"
Rob let out a loud laugh. "Well, I wasn't the brightest kid around, but no one can say I didn't have my adventures."
"Many of which I had to save you from," Rafa added. She took a swig of her juice.
"Well, Rob was and will always be a dork," Toni said with a chuckle. He sighed, and it was difficult to ignore the affection laced in his words. "I just hope you're taking care of yourself, Robbie. Goddess knows you were never too good with that. Always the reckless little bear you were."
To that, Rob's fingers tightened around his glass of guarana. He raised it and glanced at Toni. His eyes stayed there for a moment longer than normal in a mix of feelings that Léon couldn't quite name.
Great. Just great.
If he tried really hard, maybe he could forget the knot building in his throat. When they started dating, Rob looked like the carcass of a ran-over bear after a bad taxidermy job. The Mayor definitely didn't help with all the inhuman training and all the emotional baggage he gave to both Léon and Rob.
Rob's eyes met Léon's. The latter schooled his frown and looked away, taking a calming breath.
Sometimes, Léon still caught himself hurting. Sometimes, he wondered if he would ever feel well again. He tugged at a loose thread on his jeans and tore it off. Sometimes, all he wanted was for all the pain to go away.
"Toni?" Rob said.
"Hum?" Toni paused. A waiter offered the dessert menu, and he accepted. "What, Robbie?" He chuckled. "You're looking at me with that face. What do you want? And I'll go for a petit gateau. Anyone?"
Wait. The Mayor? No. Rob was a surfer, why would he need to train with The Mayor? And why would that old superhero hurt Léon? The Mayor was a hero, and so was Léon, albeit retired. He had a great life, a blank slate, and nothing to suffer about. Nothing to... to....
Something cold rippled in his mind. Recognition? No. A train of thought. A thread. Something he could grab; something he could follow. If he could just reach out with his thoughts...
"Leo?" said a voice at his left.
Léon faced its owner and found Rio's scared expression. The doubts and questions disappeared like a warm fog in his head. His thoughts grew warm again; the thread was lost.
"Are you okay?" Rio placed a hand on Léon's.
He really wished people would stop touching him without permission. Léon opened his lips to answer, but a movement at his right caught his attention.
"Hey! You need to stop," Rob said in a hard tone.