Ch. 25 – I Know a Guy

They slammed the car doors shut, and Theo helped another White Leopard carry Ah Jun to the hospital entrance. Ping, who they had all agreed was too clumsy to move the old man, was shielding him from the rain with one of their jackets, since Alan had taken the only umbrella when he left.

one of the White Leopards said.

Theo grunted, catching Ah Jun as he stumbled and almost fell. Alan might just have the answer to that question.

Rows of glowing windows, and illuminated eaves, stretched across the large facility’s exterior. It was a reasonable size, considering the hospital served a sizable population around the New Shore City outskirts. The “Emergency” sign above the entrance glowed a dull red.

The other White Leopard scoffed.

The built-in window displays had a large green check mark on them, meaning the hospital was nowhere near patient capacity. The automatic sliding doors opened, releasing a blast of warm, dry air into their faces, and their shoes squeaked as they walked into the lobby.

“I need help for this man!” Theo said, walking towards the front desk.

The receptionist on duty looked up from her computer screen. “Welcome to the ER sir—could you please keep it down, though? Why are you being so loud?” She snapped her gum, rolled her eyes, and returned to viewing her screen. “So what’s the problem?”

Theo gestured toward Ah Jun, who the other Leopards had helped into a chair, and was clutching the side of his head. “This man has severe head pain, and needs to be seen immediately.”

“What’s your relationship to the patient?” she shot off in staccato, between chews of her gum.

“Distant relative.”

“Okay, we’re gonna have you fill out some forms here,” she pulled out a clipboard and a slightly-chewed pen from behind the counter. “Have a seat and our triage nurse will be right with you.”

Theo glanced around the room. It was full of people seated in the drab waiting-room chairs. They might be waiting all night. He leaned on the counter, looming over the receptionist, who furrowed her brow. “Have a doctor come see him right away. You don’t want any trouble with the White Leopards, do you?”

The receptionist’s mouth paused mid-chew, and she made eye contact with a nurse who had been rummaging through the drawers behind the counter. The nurse glanced at Theo, and then at the group of bloody White Leopards crowded around Ah Jun’s seat, before nodding her head and scampering off.

“Okay, sir, we’ll get a doctor for you right away. You said it was a head injury, right? Just please wait a moment.” Her overly large nails clicked on the intercom as she pressed a button on it. “Dr. Devito!” she said. “Dr. Devito please come to the waiting room right now.”

Another receptionist, sitting on the chair at the other end of the counter, shook her head and whispered just loud enough that Theo could hear her. “He’s probably shooting up in the bathroom again, you’re gonna have to go find him.”

The receptionist got up from her swivel chair and stomped away in her stupidly large heels, almost tripping on the corner of the counter as she went towards the back.

The door to the emergency department opened again, and someone came running up to the desk. It was Alan, soaked to the bone, despite the umbrella he had brought for himself. After reaching the front desk, Alan glanced around the room until his gaze locked onto Ah Jun, and he grit his teeth.

Theo cleared his throat, looking at one of the patient testimonials on the wall to clear his mind and keep his face neutral. Alan was in the dark. He wasn’t there when Ah Jun’s head started hurting, and he had no idea how angry the boss had gotten on the phone when he heard Ah Jun had been hurt. Alan had probably missed the few most crucial minutes of his life. Theo said.

“—HEY!” Alan shouted, beckoning at the receptionist who had just started heading towards the back. “Bring me Dr. Devito. I don’t care what he’s doing, I want him down here, NOW.”

Theo asked.

Theo said.

Someone cleared their throat behind them. It was one of the White Leopards, who had been waiting at the front desk with Theo, and had been clenching and unclenching his fists. Before the local Leopards got into the big fight with the Hermanos that night, he had been getting along with Ah Jun like a grandfather and his grandson. He was snarling a bit as he spoke.

Alan inhaled sharply through his nose and clapped a hand on the Leopard’s shoulder. Alan said.

Alan shook the man’s shoulder.

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Alan’s jaw clenched tighter and tighter, each time the young man interrupted him. Alan had never been the patient type; why was he trying so hard now?

<—Yes, Alan,> Theo cut in.

Alan looked away from Theo, and down at the other White Leopard, letting go of the man’s shoulder.

<—But what if they turn the tables on you, what then?> Theo asked. Alan’s excuses were getting more and more nonsensical.

Alan said, glaring. Alan’s face was getting redder by the minute, like a schoolyard bully who had flinched in a stare down.

Theo glanced around. The other White Leopards, faces haggard but alert as they sat in the waiting room chairs, were staring at their shouting match, no doubt getting ready to jump in if someone threw a punch. Since Alan was the acting boss, they would take his side by default, and Theo would be seen as a troublemaker.

But that would change if they discovered that Alan had put Ah Jun’s life in danger somehow, and Alan’s shifty behavior this entire night made that a very real possibility. But Theo needed more proof.

Theo shrugged his shoulders.

Alan, his face completely flushed, took a deep breath and glanced back at the other White Leopards. he said to Theo, before heading out of the hospital. He disappeared out the automatic doors, into the pale glow of the floodlights at the hospital entrance, and then fading into the dark, rainy night. Theo walked past the first set of automatic doors, and tracked Alan’s silhouette until he got into the same van that he had taken from the hideout. So he hadn’t changed cars. That would make things easier.

Theo tapped on the table, whistling at the receptionist at the far end of the bench. She had her hair in a neat-looking bun, and none of the gaudy accessories or makeup that her friend wore. “Excuse me miss, could you tell me where the bathroom is, please?”

There was a hint of fear in her eyes, but she spoke softly and calmly. “To your left at the far end of the other waiting room.” Mm. Girls like her were fun to play with.

“Thank you. Tell one of my friends over there to come get me if Dr. Devito arrives.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

Theo gave her a smile and strode off into the other, dim, empty waiting room, and found the bathroom entrance. The lighted sign above it was only half-lit.

The bathroom itself was also empty, and surprisingly clean. The stalls were outfitted with those disgusting little knobs that were hard to grip. The stall door wobbled after Theo closed and locked it. He had pulled out his cell phone to call on some local help, when his wrist notifier vibrated again, and a notification flashed across the top of the screen.

It was a selfie from Astrid, pointing down at her glossy lips, cutely stuck out tongue, and her deep, v-neck dress. She was kneeling on her bed, and the familiar patterns of her sheets invoked a Pavlovian response in Theo’s pants. The selfie was accompanied by a message.

[Bought this for you today. What are you wearing?]

Theo closed his eyes and massaged his brow. He would have to respond. Astrid got so upset when he messed up their selfie streak. But he was supposed to be in a nice hotel, after having wined and dined a bunch of rich executives, not in an emergency hospital bathroom. Well, he’d be able to come up with a convincing lie, he always did. The bathroom was empty, and the stall didn’t have any identifying markings. Resolving himself, he grabbed a wad of toilet paper—the dispenser was thankfully quite clean—and wiped the sweat off his head with it, so as not to stain his shirt. Aiming the front camera toward the tiled bathroom wall so that the plastic stall and toilet weren’t visible, he loosened his tie and mustered his most nonchalant smile. Click.

[Late night eats. Almost shit my pants, the food was so spicy.]

Theo sent the selfie and swiped out of the messaging app, before opening up his contacts list. Theo couldn’t tail Alan himself without opposing him directly, and he couldn’t ask one of the White Leopards to do it either. But in the time that Theo had spent around the New Shore City area, he had made sure that there was more than one person in town who owed him a favor: a common-sense precaution, especially since he was on someone else’s turf. Who would be the best at tailing a gangster . . . Ah, this one was a thief. Pretty successful too, until he had tried casing out a White Leopard hideout. Theo had personally caught him and let him go without telling anyone, so the man didn’t have any loyalty to the gang itself, only to Theo.

The phone rang twice, and the man picked up. “Hey T,” he said, before bursting into a coughing fit. “Sorry you had to hear that. How can I help you?”

“I need you to tail someone, coming from Sacred Oath Hospital. He’s in a cream colored van, should be close to the only car on the road in this weather heading toward the highway most likely. You need to leave now, before he gets away.”

“Shit. This is a rush job if I’ve ever seen one.” There was rustling and a crash at the other end of the line. “I’m heading out the door now. I could tail the guy no problem, But how am I ever gonna spot him in this weather?”

“I stuck a toll pass on the van.” Theo had done that for every vehicle in the local White Leopard fleet that he could find a good spot to hide it on. It was always good to know what his ‘friends’ were doing. The local White Leopards had officially banned toll passes on their vehicles, but the things were so convenient that members put them on anyway, only to take them off when inspection time came around. So no one would be suspicious if a pass had been left on a car. “You still have access to the city’s toll tracking system right?”

The sound of a door slamming came through the telephone. “Yeah, I can pull it up on my car’s system.”

“Okay, let me find the ID number for you. Head over there now, and tell me what you see. When you call back, don’t report right away. Ask me if it’s a good time, and I’ll go to a private place.”

“Alright, T. After this, we’re even, right?”

“Of course.”

Theo hung up the phone and wiped his forehead. He was sweating even harder. Alan would try to kill him if he found out, but if everything went according to plan, Alan might be driven out of town instead.