(no subject)
Deep had just come out into the arrival gate when the first thing he noticed was Lionel, with a pair of gradient sunglasses blocking out his eyes and a slouch that made him seem as if he had been seated for hours, waiting.
"Hello," Deep went over with a smile and placed his hand on Lionel's head. "Are you awake?"
Lionel shook his head to make Deep's hand go away. "Of course I am. Have you ever seen me sleeping?"
"Come to think of it, no." Deep retracted his hand but held it back out to help Lionel get up. "You are wide awake every time I see you."
Lionel took Deep's hand and tiredly brought himself to stand, slightly self-conscious once more about his towering height. Airport security cocked their heads about it every time they saw him, and it gave him the impression that, very soon, an overly suspicious guard might run over to try to knock him off the conjectural stilts that gave Lionel his length. However, he wasn't really just a short man on stilts. It was at that moment he realized that he was worrying over nothing. The self-consciousness dispelled. "That's because I'm both a night owl and a morning person."
Deep grinned and began walking, with Lionel at his side. "So when do you sleep?"
"When no one is looking."
"Oh, very mysterious of you."
"That's a popular way to describe me." Lionel excused himself as he accidentally brushed by a lady. "I have a question for you, Deep. Why is it that you trust me when no one else does?"
Deep laughed and paused to think of an answer. "I trust you because you do what you're told. As for your stories, your histories, your name even, I don't know what I think. I am prepared to believe that they are all false. But there is just something about you that makes me think you have nothing to lose."
Lionel looked at him, a smirk slowly carving itself out.
"It's strange, because I also get the impression you have nothing to gain either. I'm not sure why you work in this sort of thing, since you've express no interest in money and no real bastardly mechanism at all." Deep wrinkled his nose and looked up at his companion. "So why are you here?"
"To put it really simply, Deep.. I have no reasons. Like you said, I do what I'm told." Lionel sighed and took off his sunglasses, putting them on Deep instead. "But do know that when I do have a goal in mind, I pursue it relentlessly."
Deep blinked at how dark the shades were. "Which is possibly another reason why I like you so much, Leo. You're straightforward. I think that if you wanted to kill me, you would have done so a long time ago. I'm guessing as soon as possible. Is that close?"
"Sooner. So that's fairly close."
"Hmm!" Deep smiled and reached up to return the sunglasses back onto Lionel's face. "I like it when people have nothing to hide."
"Or at least pretend like they do." Lionel pushed the sunglasses up onto his head. "You're rather energetic after a long flight."
"It's because it was so long that I'm energetic. Oh, I think I forgot to ask; how has everyone been doing?"
"They've been..doing, I can say." Lionel shrugged, closing his eyes briefly. "Or they haven't been doing. It's cryptic, I know, but I'm not close enough with anyone from any of the groups to be trusted with any specific information."
Deep sighed and patted Lionel's arm gently. "And to think that you are so diverse in your work, and physically capable for anything."
"Except hiding. Definitely not hiding."
Deep laughed. "Of course, of course."
"But it makes sense. People wouldn't normally place their confidence within a moral liar. By the way, how did you like that video?"
"Ah, it was wonderful! I had been in such a poor mood lately that the surprise knocked me out of it for the most part. That will be subject to change I'm sure, but for now, I feel good. Thank you. I enjoyed hearing about your lumberjack experience in particular."
Lionel chuckled and shook his head. "Why is that? Because it is a funny image?"
"Actually, no! Remember that time when we were with Benjamin and Yousei, for that gem sale? I distinctly remember the way you handled the, um, interruption. I was wondering how you handled an axe so well, and when the explanation came I felt as if I was let into a secret. It was an eye-opener."
Lionel smiled grimly at the word "secret". "If only you knew, Deep."
"I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but perhaps in time I'll know. We are friends, aren't we?"
"We are friends if you say so, sir. Have you known that Roy was a hemophiliac? I almost could not believe him when he said so."
Deep widened his eyes and scratched his head, nodding. "I still don't believe it! How could a man with such a disorder be working within our sort of thing? I'm only able to accept the idea if I'm free to think that he's a madman. He must be. Inspired by risk or not, I can't understand why he would put himself in the line of fire. Though perhaps it may be the life-or-death tilt that gives him any motivation at all."
"It sounds correct. The boy's taught himself to laugh at everything and with an attitude like that, the only good way to go out is to do it willingly. Rather, to get into something where going out quickly won't be a surprise."
"Yes, I suppose that you're right. It's very good that some people behave as though they are invincible when they aren't. The morale it gives is spectacular. The cynics are the only ones who ruin it."
"Wow, listen to that!" Lionel raised his eyebrows. "The humanist looks down on the cynics!"
"No, no!" Deep laughed hard, which his walking pace slow down. "It isn't that. You see, cynicism is infective. It's easier to feel as though the world were to end, and it makes the invincible attitude seem silly. It's good to be realistic but believing that things will always go wrong limits a person from reaching their maximum capabilities, since they have already resigned themselves."
"Oh, yes. I know, and I agree with you. By the way, would you like me to carry your luggage out?"
"That's quite alright. I didn't bring any luggage with me."
Lionel turned his head to look Deep over. "And no carry-on. You were gone for so long, either you were in a place where nothing was needed or you left everything behind. Now, I'm going to take a stab at it--you weren't in a jungle, were you?"
Deep laughed. "No, I was in Pakistan."
"I was close." Deep looked at Lionel and made a face. "I'm joking. What made you want to come back with your arms swinging at your sides?"
"Watching the video put me in a certain state of mind. When I was packing I thought, 'Do I need to change something?' When the answer came back to me as a yes, I decided to do something different."
"So leaving your luggage at home seemed reasonable."
Deep shrugged and grinned. "It made sense at the time."
Lionel grinned back. "Yes, I'm sure it did. I've noticed that's how it works with majority of the decisions we make."
-
"I love it here," Deep panted out as he struggling to keep up next to his much taller friend. "Out of a taxi and right into work once again! Don't you just love the city?"
"Stop talking," Lionel couldn't help but knock someone down to get away. Deep had to leap over the fallen shopper. "If you don't, you'll only slow down. Thank goodness you're still energetic!"
Deep followed Lionel into the street and a shocked driver stopped in front of them, stunned. Deep ran straight into the vehicle and got the wind knocked out of him. He quickly sank to the ground and a bullet from behind just barely missed his head, and it whizzed through the car window, into the driver's cheek. Several passerby shrieked and everyone ran or ducked. A brave few crouched behind larger objects to call the police and describe the situation.
Lionel had reacted quickly enough to hide behind the other side of the car, screaming at Deep. "Hey! You're alive, right?"
"Of course," Deep heaved, "Living is as good as it gets," He summoned the strength to draw his pistol and raised his arm to shoot back, but there was no one he could see.
Lionel tried to open the car door but it was locked. With a frustrated sigh he elbowed the window and broke it, reaching inside quickly to unlock the doors. He pulled the dead driver out and dumped the body onto the ground, calling out to Deep. "Get in and drive yourself away!"
Deep scrambled into the car and kept low, flinching as another bullet missed the gas tank. He rushed to adjust himself properly while still keeping his head down, "Get in the back!"
Lionel rose his head for a moment, and another projectile knocked his glasses off. He scowled, ducked again and slapped the side of the car. "Just go on without me!" After a second of no response, he slapped the car again. "Did you hear me? I'll be fine!"
"I'm coming back for you!" Deep hammered his foot down onto the accelerator, beginning to speed away.
"No, no!" Lionel tried to follow the car for a little while, just to keep a few more seconds of protection. "Leave!" Through the broken window he saw the bob of hair shake from side to side. He muttered a curse to himself and tore away from the car to keep on running, watching Deep veer away from the corner of his eye. A few more shots sank into the side of the car, either aimed at the driver or at the gas tank, but as the vehicle disappeared, Lionel returned to being a target.
He bolted into a store and skidded to a stop as he noticed the stunned faces around him. Some of the people who had seen the man get killed outside or heard the gunshots had taken safety here, and the young woman at the register had her ear pressed to a phone, supposedly connected to the police, her mouth open slightly. They all had the same look of: I can't believe you're bringing your trouble here.
A man who seemingly shared Lionel's young age approached him cautiously, "Is everything alright out there?"
Lionel breathed out heavily and shook his head, trying not to look at the man directly. Leaving him with a "worry about yourself", he ran off to the stairs, the adrenaline and excitement helping him sprint four levels up. On the way he noticed that someone was trying to hide there too, and he passed right by her to avoid instilling even more anxiety. Not that it could be avoided, however; just delayed.
When he got to the fifth floor he headed straight for the windows, looking down at the street everyone had shied away from, except for one individual with a strong gut who was trying to move the dead body out of the way for the police. The three pursuers had just made their way into the store--apparently at least, since they couldn't be seen outside. Anyone who was also on the fifth floor quickly either moved off to the side or into a corner.
With his hand over his eyes, looking between his fingers, Lionel growled and stepped back to stare at the window itself. Ceiling-to-floor. He took hold of the closest clothes rack and rammed it through the glass, watching it fall while carefully carving out an escape plan. Someone squeaked behind him but he ignored it. At lightning speed he thought of new ideas and then rejected them until he realized: there's no way out of this. What you're doing only made sense at the time.
As he leaned out the window, he inhaled sharply and shook his head. If only Deep hadn't made up his mind to return, Lionel wouldn't have had to stay put. Loyalty was troublesome at times.
He decided to wait a few minutes, still wavering between stable ground and falling. The key was to make oneself as noticeable as possible. People down below were pointing upwards at him, trying to call out as if they could save him somehow. Even the police arrived fairly quickly and the vehicle Deep was driving appeared coming from another street.
By the time he heard steps coming up the stairs, there was a coroner outside inspecting the dead body. Why bother? Lionel rolled his eyes and whirled around to see the image of one of the three men bounce into sight.
Lionel could only think of one thing to say while a gun muzzle was being pointed at his face. "Develop taste!"
He leaped out. It was an expected move but people were still surprised. Deep was too shocked to react at all. The screaming came only after Lionel hit the concrete because there was no crunch to respond to, no distinct sound of bones breaking or a skull cracking. There was just a heavy thud where a soft body had landed. Not even a splatter of red beneath it. The three men appeared by the window to see what had happened to Lionel before they ran off to escape, even though the police were already entering the building.
Lionel rolled over slowly onto his back with a groan, coughing to breathe and stretching his limbs out very carefully to gauge the damage. Deep burst out of the car to go over, shoving aside an officer who made an attempt to block him off. "There's nothing to see here, sir!" The officer tried to pull him back.
Deep shoved him off, saying "fuck you" without even looking back at him. He approached Lionel with shaky hands, worry cutting through his features. "Leo, Leo, oh my god, I--I have to get you somewhere. I don't--I don't see any blood. Where are you hurt? Oh, what a stupid question.."
Lionel stiffly shook his head just a few centimeters, as though he was nearly paralyzed. "Don't.. Deep, don't.."
"What are you talking about, don't? Do you have any idea how high you fell? Maybe--maybe sixty feet, I don't know, but a five story fall kills people. Leo, I have to at least make sure that you--" Deep shoved away another officer. "Fuck off!"
"Deep, please.." Lionel closed his eyes and listened to the people crowding and fussing around him. The attention made it seem even more painful. The presence next to him disappeared as Deep got up to argue with the police. The same young man from before stepped not-too-close to Lionel shakily telling him, "I don't know..what to do or say to you. Is there anything you want? Anything. I know you're not all right.. I won't ask why those men were chasing you.. but please, tell me, is there anything at all that I can help you with?"
Lionel opened his eyes to look at him. "What's your name?" he asked quietly.
"Brendan. U-uh, Brendan Watson."
Lionel closed his eyes again and placed his hand gingerly on his chest, making sure he was still breathing; it was an odd thing to check for but one could never be too sure. "...We'll be in touch.." There was a very long pause due to Lionel coughing. "I don't want anyone to move me.." An even longer pause as Lionel caught onto a breathing pattern and steadied it. "I will move when I am ready."
"Yes.." Brendan stared at him nervously. "How long do you think it will take? How much..pain are you in right now?"
"I'm so numb I can't feel a thing.." Lionel tried to grin but wasn't sure if it looked right. It must have been a grimace instead, because Brendan immediately left to try to stall the police. Considering how the police generally behaved, they knew it wasn't going to work. Then again, between personal comfort and necessity, the better choice had to be made.
Deep returned to Lionel's side. "We have to take you, now."
Lionel furrowed his brows and looked at him, uncomfortable and unimpressed. "You can't carry me."
"I said 'we'."
Lionel flinched as a hand was laid on him. "No, no, no. Please.. I'm alright. I'm alright."
The EMT withdrew his hand quickly and apologized. "Sir, look, I'm sorry but we've got to get you out of here. You need to get checked out."
"I'm glad you didn't tell me I'm causing gridlock." Lionel sighed and turned his head away. "I classify as a doctor. I know that you're not supposed to move me."
-
Lionel knew he was actually fine; he just wished everyone else could accept that. They checked him over and over and over for injuries, for broken bones, for anything indicative of a serious matter. They had already sent in at least two doctors, both of whom asked the same questions. There would probably be another one later too.
Deep was sitting next to him with his head in his hands, shaking it slowly. "I'm so sorry.."
"I haven't blamed you for anything, Deep. Please stop saying that."
"I just can't bring myself to believe how lucky you are.." Deep squeezed his eyes shut and let a sigh escape. "I thought you would be dead. I was so certain that if I saw you, you would have your spine sticking out of your neck. I can't imagine what god allowed this miracle to happen.."
"I don't believe in any god, Deep, so there was no miracle at work. Let's keep it at luck. It's easier to digest."
"Surely there had to be a god somewhere, taking care of you. Someone special. Perhaps it knew you had unfinished business."
"So are you telling me that anyone who dies is 'finished'?"
Deep remained quiet and placed his hand over his friend's. "I just cannot believe it. Whether you believe in a god or not, there just had to be something.."
"What if I told you I was a god?" Lionel gave him a sidelong glance.
Deep picked his head up and looked at him, numb. He gaped slightly and collected himself just enough to say, "That's not funny. I've seen things, Leo, and that's not funny."
Lionel coughed himself into a smile. "How could I be a god anyway, if I do not believe in things like that?"
Deep shook his head and rested it back onto his palms. "I am just so glad you're alive."
"Living is as good as--" Lionel stopped himself as someone else in a white coat came in. "Doctor." A lady followed him in. "Two doctors."
"Hello, Mister.." The male glanced at his clipboard. "Krueger. I understand you had quite an adventure today." The woman cleared her throat and he apologized immediately. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made light of that. I'm here to ask you some questions, and then we'll finally get to take you somewhere. Okay?"
"Take him where?" Deep asked suspiciously.
The woman spoke up. "Don't worry, sir. He needs a physical examination and we need to make sure that his blood circulation is...." Blah, blah blah, blah blah.
Lionel would have rolled his eyes but he closed them instead, shutting the world out. They weren't telling Deep what he needed to know because they didn't think he needed to know.
They said that they were there to ask questions, and Lionel cycled through them in his head. There was a mnemonic for that, for basic examination. The key to remember was to use "champ fasts". The steps were: Complaint, History of illness, Allergies, Medications, Past medical history, Family medical history, Alcohol, Street drugs, Tobacco, Social history or Sexual activity. Becoming a doctor wasn't about learning, it was about memorizing numbers one to twenty and bullets in the correct order. He opened his eyes and the doctors were looking at him expectantly.
"Mister Krueger, are you feeling light-headed?"
"I'm here because I fell out of a building."
"Uh.." The male doctor seemed flustered.
The female went on, "Have you--"
"No history of illness. Rather, nothing important enough." Lionel sighed. "I'm not allergic to any medications and I'm not on anything right now, but the nurses did administer morphine."
"Okay.." The male doctor either wrote things down or made sure they were already written down. "Have you--"
"Nothing, and for your next slot I have nothing to tell you. My father didn't have anything that I was aware of and I never knew my whore mother well enough to know what she could have given me." Lionel glanced at Deep for a second.
"You've pretty much memorized the questions, haven't you?" The male doctor smiled weakly. The female doctor, on the other hand, looked impressed.
"I'm frequently sober and I have smoked with a tobacco pipe on occasion. I also partake in sex, but I haven't been able to do anything lately. I believe that's all you would need to write down," Lionel breathed out, annoyed by the tediousness.
he stared at the female doctor dully as she blushed.
note: this happened sometime between the last post and yesterday.
"Hello," Deep went over with a smile and placed his hand on Lionel's head. "Are you awake?"
Lionel shook his head to make Deep's hand go away. "Of course I am. Have you ever seen me sleeping?"
"Come to think of it, no." Deep retracted his hand but held it back out to help Lionel get up. "You are wide awake every time I see you."
Lionel took Deep's hand and tiredly brought himself to stand, slightly self-conscious once more about his towering height. Airport security cocked their heads about it every time they saw him, and it gave him the impression that, very soon, an overly suspicious guard might run over to try to knock him off the conjectural stilts that gave Lionel his length. However, he wasn't really just a short man on stilts. It was at that moment he realized that he was worrying over nothing. The self-consciousness dispelled. "That's because I'm both a night owl and a morning person."
Deep grinned and began walking, with Lionel at his side. "So when do you sleep?"
"When no one is looking."
"Oh, very mysterious of you."
"That's a popular way to describe me." Lionel excused himself as he accidentally brushed by a lady. "I have a question for you, Deep. Why is it that you trust me when no one else does?"
Deep laughed and paused to think of an answer. "I trust you because you do what you're told. As for your stories, your histories, your name even, I don't know what I think. I am prepared to believe that they are all false. But there is just something about you that makes me think you have nothing to lose."
Lionel looked at him, a smirk slowly carving itself out.
"It's strange, because I also get the impression you have nothing to gain either. I'm not sure why you work in this sort of thing, since you've express no interest in money and no real bastardly mechanism at all." Deep wrinkled his nose and looked up at his companion. "So why are you here?"
"To put it really simply, Deep.. I have no reasons. Like you said, I do what I'm told." Lionel sighed and took off his sunglasses, putting them on Deep instead. "But do know that when I do have a goal in mind, I pursue it relentlessly."
Deep blinked at how dark the shades were. "Which is possibly another reason why I like you so much, Leo. You're straightforward. I think that if you wanted to kill me, you would have done so a long time ago. I'm guessing as soon as possible. Is that close?"
"Sooner. So that's fairly close."
"Hmm!" Deep smiled and reached up to return the sunglasses back onto Lionel's face. "I like it when people have nothing to hide."
"Or at least pretend like they do." Lionel pushed the sunglasses up onto his head. "You're rather energetic after a long flight."
"It's because it was so long that I'm energetic. Oh, I think I forgot to ask; how has everyone been doing?"
"They've been..doing, I can say." Lionel shrugged, closing his eyes briefly. "Or they haven't been doing. It's cryptic, I know, but I'm not close enough with anyone from any of the groups to be trusted with any specific information."
Deep sighed and patted Lionel's arm gently. "And to think that you are so diverse in your work, and physically capable for anything."
"Except hiding. Definitely not hiding."
Deep laughed. "Of course, of course."
"But it makes sense. People wouldn't normally place their confidence within a moral liar. By the way, how did you like that video?"
"Ah, it was wonderful! I had been in such a poor mood lately that the surprise knocked me out of it for the most part. That will be subject to change I'm sure, but for now, I feel good. Thank you. I enjoyed hearing about your lumberjack experience in particular."
Lionel chuckled and shook his head. "Why is that? Because it is a funny image?"
"Actually, no! Remember that time when we were with Benjamin and Yousei, for that gem sale? I distinctly remember the way you handled the, um, interruption. I was wondering how you handled an axe so well, and when the explanation came I felt as if I was let into a secret. It was an eye-opener."
Lionel smiled grimly at the word "secret". "If only you knew, Deep."
"I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but perhaps in time I'll know. We are friends, aren't we?"
"We are friends if you say so, sir. Have you known that Roy was a hemophiliac? I almost could not believe him when he said so."
Deep widened his eyes and scratched his head, nodding. "I still don't believe it! How could a man with such a disorder be working within our sort of thing? I'm only able to accept the idea if I'm free to think that he's a madman. He must be. Inspired by risk or not, I can't understand why he would put himself in the line of fire. Though perhaps it may be the life-or-death tilt that gives him any motivation at all."
"It sounds correct. The boy's taught himself to laugh at everything and with an attitude like that, the only good way to go out is to do it willingly. Rather, to get into something where going out quickly won't be a surprise."
"Yes, I suppose that you're right. It's very good that some people behave as though they are invincible when they aren't. The morale it gives is spectacular. The cynics are the only ones who ruin it."
"Wow, listen to that!" Lionel raised his eyebrows. "The humanist looks down on the cynics!"
"No, no!" Deep laughed hard, which his walking pace slow down. "It isn't that. You see, cynicism is infective. It's easier to feel as though the world were to end, and it makes the invincible attitude seem silly. It's good to be realistic but believing that things will always go wrong limits a person from reaching their maximum capabilities, since they have already resigned themselves."
"Oh, yes. I know, and I agree with you. By the way, would you like me to carry your luggage out?"
"That's quite alright. I didn't bring any luggage with me."
Lionel turned his head to look Deep over. "And no carry-on. You were gone for so long, either you were in a place where nothing was needed or you left everything behind. Now, I'm going to take a stab at it--you weren't in a jungle, were you?"
Deep laughed. "No, I was in Pakistan."
"I was close." Deep looked at Lionel and made a face. "I'm joking. What made you want to come back with your arms swinging at your sides?"
"Watching the video put me in a certain state of mind. When I was packing I thought, 'Do I need to change something?' When the answer came back to me as a yes, I decided to do something different."
"So leaving your luggage at home seemed reasonable."
Deep shrugged and grinned. "It made sense at the time."
Lionel grinned back. "Yes, I'm sure it did. I've noticed that's how it works with majority of the decisions we make."
-
"I love it here," Deep panted out as he struggling to keep up next to his much taller friend. "Out of a taxi and right into work once again! Don't you just love the city?"
"Stop talking," Lionel couldn't help but knock someone down to get away. Deep had to leap over the fallen shopper. "If you don't, you'll only slow down. Thank goodness you're still energetic!"
Deep followed Lionel into the street and a shocked driver stopped in front of them, stunned. Deep ran straight into the vehicle and got the wind knocked out of him. He quickly sank to the ground and a bullet from behind just barely missed his head, and it whizzed through the car window, into the driver's cheek. Several passerby shrieked and everyone ran or ducked. A brave few crouched behind larger objects to call the police and describe the situation.
Lionel had reacted quickly enough to hide behind the other side of the car, screaming at Deep. "Hey! You're alive, right?"
"Of course," Deep heaved, "Living is as good as it gets," He summoned the strength to draw his pistol and raised his arm to shoot back, but there was no one he could see.
Lionel tried to open the car door but it was locked. With a frustrated sigh he elbowed the window and broke it, reaching inside quickly to unlock the doors. He pulled the dead driver out and dumped the body onto the ground, calling out to Deep. "Get in and drive yourself away!"
Deep scrambled into the car and kept low, flinching as another bullet missed the gas tank. He rushed to adjust himself properly while still keeping his head down, "Get in the back!"
Lionel rose his head for a moment, and another projectile knocked his glasses off. He scowled, ducked again and slapped the side of the car. "Just go on without me!" After a second of no response, he slapped the car again. "Did you hear me? I'll be fine!"
"I'm coming back for you!" Deep hammered his foot down onto the accelerator, beginning to speed away.
"No, no!" Lionel tried to follow the car for a little while, just to keep a few more seconds of protection. "Leave!" Through the broken window he saw the bob of hair shake from side to side. He muttered a curse to himself and tore away from the car to keep on running, watching Deep veer away from the corner of his eye. A few more shots sank into the side of the car, either aimed at the driver or at the gas tank, but as the vehicle disappeared, Lionel returned to being a target.
He bolted into a store and skidded to a stop as he noticed the stunned faces around him. Some of the people who had seen the man get killed outside or heard the gunshots had taken safety here, and the young woman at the register had her ear pressed to a phone, supposedly connected to the police, her mouth open slightly. They all had the same look of: I can't believe you're bringing your trouble here.
A man who seemingly shared Lionel's young age approached him cautiously, "Is everything alright out there?"
Lionel breathed out heavily and shook his head, trying not to look at the man directly. Leaving him with a "worry about yourself", he ran off to the stairs, the adrenaline and excitement helping him sprint four levels up. On the way he noticed that someone was trying to hide there too, and he passed right by her to avoid instilling even more anxiety. Not that it could be avoided, however; just delayed.
When he got to the fifth floor he headed straight for the windows, looking down at the street everyone had shied away from, except for one individual with a strong gut who was trying to move the dead body out of the way for the police. The three pursuers had just made their way into the store--apparently at least, since they couldn't be seen outside. Anyone who was also on the fifth floor quickly either moved off to the side or into a corner.
With his hand over his eyes, looking between his fingers, Lionel growled and stepped back to stare at the window itself. Ceiling-to-floor. He took hold of the closest clothes rack and rammed it through the glass, watching it fall while carefully carving out an escape plan. Someone squeaked behind him but he ignored it. At lightning speed he thought of new ideas and then rejected them until he realized: there's no way out of this. What you're doing only made sense at the time.
As he leaned out the window, he inhaled sharply and shook his head. If only Deep hadn't made up his mind to return, Lionel wouldn't have had to stay put. Loyalty was troublesome at times.
He decided to wait a few minutes, still wavering between stable ground and falling. The key was to make oneself as noticeable as possible. People down below were pointing upwards at him, trying to call out as if they could save him somehow. Even the police arrived fairly quickly and the vehicle Deep was driving appeared coming from another street.
By the time he heard steps coming up the stairs, there was a coroner outside inspecting the dead body. Why bother? Lionel rolled his eyes and whirled around to see the image of one of the three men bounce into sight.
Lionel could only think of one thing to say while a gun muzzle was being pointed at his face. "Develop taste!"
He leaped out. It was an expected move but people were still surprised. Deep was too shocked to react at all. The screaming came only after Lionel hit the concrete because there was no crunch to respond to, no distinct sound of bones breaking or a skull cracking. There was just a heavy thud where a soft body had landed. Not even a splatter of red beneath it. The three men appeared by the window to see what had happened to Lionel before they ran off to escape, even though the police were already entering the building.
Lionel rolled over slowly onto his back with a groan, coughing to breathe and stretching his limbs out very carefully to gauge the damage. Deep burst out of the car to go over, shoving aside an officer who made an attempt to block him off. "There's nothing to see here, sir!" The officer tried to pull him back.
Deep shoved him off, saying "fuck you" without even looking back at him. He approached Lionel with shaky hands, worry cutting through his features. "Leo, Leo, oh my god, I--I have to get you somewhere. I don't--I don't see any blood. Where are you hurt? Oh, what a stupid question.."
Lionel stiffly shook his head just a few centimeters, as though he was nearly paralyzed. "Don't.. Deep, don't.."
"What are you talking about, don't? Do you have any idea how high you fell? Maybe--maybe sixty feet, I don't know, but a five story fall kills people. Leo, I have to at least make sure that you--" Deep shoved away another officer. "Fuck off!"
"Deep, please.." Lionel closed his eyes and listened to the people crowding and fussing around him. The attention made it seem even more painful. The presence next to him disappeared as Deep got up to argue with the police. The same young man from before stepped not-too-close to Lionel shakily telling him, "I don't know..what to do or say to you. Is there anything you want? Anything. I know you're not all right.. I won't ask why those men were chasing you.. but please, tell me, is there anything at all that I can help you with?"
Lionel opened his eyes to look at him. "What's your name?" he asked quietly.
"Brendan. U-uh, Brendan Watson."
Lionel closed his eyes again and placed his hand gingerly on his chest, making sure he was still breathing; it was an odd thing to check for but one could never be too sure. "...We'll be in touch.." There was a very long pause due to Lionel coughing. "I don't want anyone to move me.." An even longer pause as Lionel caught onto a breathing pattern and steadied it. "I will move when I am ready."
"Yes.." Brendan stared at him nervously. "How long do you think it will take? How much..pain are you in right now?"
"I'm so numb I can't feel a thing.." Lionel tried to grin but wasn't sure if it looked right. It must have been a grimace instead, because Brendan immediately left to try to stall the police. Considering how the police generally behaved, they knew it wasn't going to work. Then again, between personal comfort and necessity, the better choice had to be made.
Deep returned to Lionel's side. "We have to take you, now."
Lionel furrowed his brows and looked at him, uncomfortable and unimpressed. "You can't carry me."
"I said 'we'."
Lionel flinched as a hand was laid on him. "No, no, no. Please.. I'm alright. I'm alright."
The EMT withdrew his hand quickly and apologized. "Sir, look, I'm sorry but we've got to get you out of here. You need to get checked out."
"I'm glad you didn't tell me I'm causing gridlock." Lionel sighed and turned his head away. "I classify as a doctor. I know that you're not supposed to move me."
-
Lionel knew he was actually fine; he just wished everyone else could accept that. They checked him over and over and over for injuries, for broken bones, for anything indicative of a serious matter. They had already sent in at least two doctors, both of whom asked the same questions. There would probably be another one later too.
Deep was sitting next to him with his head in his hands, shaking it slowly. "I'm so sorry.."
"I haven't blamed you for anything, Deep. Please stop saying that."
"I just can't bring myself to believe how lucky you are.." Deep squeezed his eyes shut and let a sigh escape. "I thought you would be dead. I was so certain that if I saw you, you would have your spine sticking out of your neck. I can't imagine what god allowed this miracle to happen.."
"I don't believe in any god, Deep, so there was no miracle at work. Let's keep it at luck. It's easier to digest."
"Surely there had to be a god somewhere, taking care of you. Someone special. Perhaps it knew you had unfinished business."
"So are you telling me that anyone who dies is 'finished'?"
Deep remained quiet and placed his hand over his friend's. "I just cannot believe it. Whether you believe in a god or not, there just had to be something.."
"What if I told you I was a god?" Lionel gave him a sidelong glance.
Deep picked his head up and looked at him, numb. He gaped slightly and collected himself just enough to say, "That's not funny. I've seen things, Leo, and that's not funny."
Lionel coughed himself into a smile. "How could I be a god anyway, if I do not believe in things like that?"
Deep shook his head and rested it back onto his palms. "I am just so glad you're alive."
"Living is as good as--" Lionel stopped himself as someone else in a white coat came in. "Doctor." A lady followed him in. "Two doctors."
"Hello, Mister.." The male glanced at his clipboard. "Krueger. I understand you had quite an adventure today." The woman cleared her throat and he apologized immediately. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made light of that. I'm here to ask you some questions, and then we'll finally get to take you somewhere. Okay?"
"Take him where?" Deep asked suspiciously.
The woman spoke up. "Don't worry, sir. He needs a physical examination and we need to make sure that his blood circulation is...." Blah, blah blah, blah blah.
Lionel would have rolled his eyes but he closed them instead, shutting the world out. They weren't telling Deep what he needed to know because they didn't think he needed to know.
They said that they were there to ask questions, and Lionel cycled through them in his head. There was a mnemonic for that, for basic examination. The key to remember was to use "champ fasts". The steps were: Complaint, History of illness, Allergies, Medications, Past medical history, Family medical history, Alcohol, Street drugs, Tobacco, Social history or Sexual activity. Becoming a doctor wasn't about learning, it was about memorizing numbers one to twenty and bullets in the correct order. He opened his eyes and the doctors were looking at him expectantly.
"Mister Krueger, are you feeling light-headed?"
"I'm here because I fell out of a building."
"Uh.." The male doctor seemed flustered.
The female went on, "Have you--"
"No history of illness. Rather, nothing important enough." Lionel sighed. "I'm not allergic to any medications and I'm not on anything right now, but the nurses did administer morphine."
"Okay.." The male doctor either wrote things down or made sure they were already written down. "Have you--"
"Nothing, and for your next slot I have nothing to tell you. My father didn't have anything that I was aware of and I never knew my whore mother well enough to know what she could have given me." Lionel glanced at Deep for a second.
"You've pretty much memorized the questions, haven't you?" The male doctor smiled weakly. The female doctor, on the other hand, looked impressed.
"I'm frequently sober and I have smoked with a tobacco pipe on occasion. I also partake in sex, but I haven't been able to do anything lately. I believe that's all you would need to write down," Lionel breathed out, annoyed by the tediousness.
he stared at the female doctor dully as she blushed.
note: this happened sometime between the last post and yesterday.