CHAPTER 8 - ICU
LOUISA

“I bought you flowers,” Louisa said awkwardly. “But they wouldn’t let me bring them in as apparently that’s a health hazard.”

Dimitri gave a weak smile, at least, Louisa thought that it was a smile behind the tubing. Dimitri looked god awful, lying back on the hospital bed, his skin grey-green, his usually sharp blue eyes muzzy and unfocused, an oxygen mask strapped over his face... She sat in the chair next to his bed, gazing at him, then started to slowly recap everything that had happened while he’d been out.

The muzzy look in his eyes faded almost instantly, and Louisa had to fight a smile. Dimitri really was a bodyguard to the marrow.

“So we’ve basically had no word since the first ransom note,” Louisa finished with a small sigh. “Something about this is off Dimitri. It really is, but I can’t place it.” She ran a hand over her hair. “I can’t place it yet and it’s riling me.” She looked up quickly. “Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to instantly come up with the answers. Hell, they said I wasn’t to tell you, but I thought that you’d like to be kept in the loop. That you deserved to be kept in the loop.”

He nodded slightly, with another weak smile. And Louisa swallowed awkwardly, leaning forwards and gripping Dimitri’s arm, keeping a careful distance from the tubes in the back of his hand, and gave him a long look.

“I know I’m not you,” She said quietly. “And I know I’m nowhere near your standard Dimitri, but if I can find Alexi, I swear to you, I’ll do it. I’ll do everything I can to find him and bring him back. You gave him your best shot, and I’ll give mine.”

Dimitri met her eyes, then winked. Louisa smiled at him, then got up.

“And get better, you hear me?” She commanded, grinning. “I don’t know, you think being shot a couple of times is an excuse to get off work?”

She turned away, laughing, and carefully shut the door to the intensive care room. And the moment that she’d shut the door after her, her face went flat, cold and serious, mind churning. She had no evidence for anything... so she needed to get some. As she bent her footsteps towards the hospital car park, her mind was turning.

Well the police and Chen had turned over the school with a fine tooth comb, but what was the harm in trying again, going back to the scene of the crime? She couldn’t imagine that Chen would miss anything, but it might be worth checking out, all the same. It would be better than doing nothing...

And Louisa stopped short, ears pricking up. Was that... She peered cautiously around the door of an empty hospital room, and sure enough, there was Chen. She had a mobile pressed to her ear... and it wasn’t her work mobile. All of them had been issued with mobiles, the same make and model, and that was definitely not it. Having a second phone wasn’t a weird thing, Louisa herself had one for when she wanted to talk to her family, but Chen didn’t seem the type to have a life outside work.

Just because you don’t like Chen doesn’t make her evil, Louisa told herself firmly, and prepared to walk past, when something caught her attention.

“... I don’t care what the kid told you. He’s a liar, and he’ll tell you anything to get what he wants. Oh come on, I was assured that you were the best...” Chen glanced up and caught sight of Louisa. “Look, I’ve got to go, but trust me, will you?”

Chen clicked her phone shut.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt,” Louisa said smoothly. “I just thought I heard your voice and wanted to have a chat. I can go if now is a bad time?”

Chen looked up.

“Oh no, just having babysitting troubles,” Chen said mildly.

“You’re a mother?” Louisa demanded, startled.

“Oh no,” Chen shook her head. “It’s my nephew. My sister and her husband have gone out for a while. I was meant to be covering, but after everything I ended up hiring a professional,” Chen shrugged, then scowled at the phone. “You really can’t trust any-one to do a job anymore.”

“I can cover for you, if you want to go and look after your nephew?” Louisa asked.

“Oh no, it’s alright,” Chen said with a sigh. “I’ll kill him later.” She looked up at Louisa. “So, how can I help?”

“I was just wondering if anything had been heard about Lucas,” Louisa said, inventing quickly.

“Lucas?” Chen asked with a frown.

“Yeah. Lucas Saul, you know, Alexi’s usual tertiary bodyguard?” Louisa prompted.

Chen shook her head.

“Not that I know to,” She said with a frown. “I haven’t heard any news of him anyway.” She gave Louisa a curious look, an almost gauging look. “Were the two of you close?”

Louisa shook her head.

“Barely knew each other. Seemed like a nice bloke though,” She shrugged. “It’s just, with Jonas down, and Dimitri... in trouble, I was wondering if there was any good news, ya know?” She pushed herself out of the doorway. “Anyway, I’d better head off home. Thanks for the time.”

Louisa walked back towards the door, but glanced casually at one of the windows, reveal nothing but flat blackness, and the reflection of Chen’s face. Unreadable as always, but there was something like anger... or maybe even worry, in those black eyes.

Louisa let the door swing shut after her and bounced down the stairs with an absent-minded lope. Yeah, she thought, I’ll head to the school. But I’ll stop off at the embassy first, maybe there is something more to Lucas’ disappearance.