[TIER 10] IATL: Chapter 9 (Patreon)

When they arrive at the hospital, they're met by a doctor and three nurses at the door to the emergency unit. The doctor is quick to ask about his stats, the head paramedic handing over a clipboard. He reads it on the go, striding alongside the nurses as they roll the stretcher to the emergency room. Trailing at his side, the head paramedic lists off a few observations. Chase manages to catch words like; trauma victim, massive blood loss, head injuries and possible concussion, as he follows, eyes wide.

That doesn't sound good. He looks back at Gabriel, who's lying unconscious on the stretcher. There is a make-shift bandage on his head now soaked with blood. His heart squeezes tight. Gabriel's going to be alright. He is bleeding yeah, but these doctors are going to fix him up in no time.

If he needs more blood, then Chase is a willing blood bag. He just needs Gabriel to be alright. He has to be. He doesn't think he can go through suffering the loss of another person he cared about so soon after his dad. Tightening his grip on the rails of the stretcher, he follows.

Out of nowhere, a palm rests on his chest stopping him and his grip on the stretcher slips. He tries to grab it, but it's too late. He watches as Gabriel disappears behind two swinging doors. When he looks up, Chase stares into the face of a stern looking nurse.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to wait here."

Chase glances at the closed door and back at the nurse, opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He has reached his breaking point. The head paramedic touches the nurse's arm, communicating silently. The nurse nods and glances up. Staring her in the face, he realizes that she's the sympathetic paramedic from earlier.

"Why don't we take a seat over there? You must be exhausted." She points to a row of chairs just a few feet away.

He glances towards the chairs then back at the paramedic. The name tag on her shirt reads "Hael." Then, he looks back at the closed door of the emergency room, feeling numb and lost. Tears start to pool in his eyes, and he bites his lips, trying to stop himself from crying. He had cried enough today. And Gabriel is going to be fine, so why the hell is he crying? Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looks up. Hael is looking at him, concerned.

"What's your name?" she asks.

"Chase."

"Well, Chase. Don't worry. I'm sure the doctor is doing his very best to save your... um..." she hesitates, unsure on how to refer Gabriel.

"Friend. He is my friend. His name is Gabe. Gabriel Ward." His voice is so hoarse and gruff, rough from all the tears.

Hael nods then adds. "I know the doctor who's working on him. Dr. Benton is one of the best here. Your friend is in good hands." When he doesn't answer, just nods dumbly, she continues. "Is there someone I could call? His parents? Family members? They will want to know."

He shakes his head. "No, he is an orphan. Like me. We lived in the same group home."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there someone at the home I should call?"

"You could call Lucas, I guess." He jots down the number of the home on Hael's notepad and watches as she walks to the reception desk to make the call. Lucas is going to be pissed. Shoulders slumping, he walks towards one of the chairs and sinks into it. He feels drained all a sudden. He covers his face with his hands, leaning forward and tries to shut out the background noise of the hospital. The strong smell of disinfectant is giving him a headache.

He isn't sure how long he'd been waiting when an officer approaches him. He introduces himself as Officer Corbett and says that he's here to take his statement. He was understanding and patient when Chase struggled to describe the scene of the crime, unable to stop his voice from cracking. He told Officer Corbett about the men he saw leaving the truck stop.

When asked for more details, he mentioned the Harleys and the black man and no, he hadn't caught any number plates. Officer Corbett wanted to know why they were there in the first place, so he made up some story about their dinner appointment just to be safe. Chase doesn't know how far Zael's reach in the police force is and doesn't want to incur his wrath. Satisfied with his answers, Officer Corbett gave him a pat on the back and left him alone.

He stares at the closed doors, legs jittering with nerves. Every time the doors swing open and a doctor or a nurse steps out, his heart skips a beat. But there's still no news on Gabriel yet. He glances up at the clock hanging on the white walls of the hospital. It has been almost an hour now, what the hell is taking so long? He's starting to get agitated, jerky so he hums Metallica under his breath, tapping the tune out on his thigh. It's a nervous habit, but it calms him down.

Did something go wrong? Is Gabriel going into cardiac arrest? Are they jump-starting his heart right now? With the machine and two metal plates? What is it called? A defibrillator? Is his vitals going down? Chase had watched enough Dr. Sexy reruns to form a compilation of scary medical malfunctions. Sitting there, scaring himself half of out of his mind with possible worst case scenarios, he's snapped out of his horror by someone rudely slapping their hands together in front of his face.

"What the hell happened?!" Lucas seethes, face livid.

Blinking, Chase takes in the fury pouring off Lucas in waves, shocked. He's never known Lucas to be capable of expressing emotions like this. He's always so calm and impassive, even when he arrived at the club last night and found Gabriel half conscious. His voice was even, and his eyes icy when he admonished Alastair. Nothing like how he looks like now, blue eyes blazing, nostril flaring and lips in a tight line. His blonde hair is a disheveled mess.

"He asked you a question. Are you mute? Can't you speak?" Zael snaps from beside Lucas, wearing the same expression of fury.

"I- I don't know. I went to the truck stop, and I just found him like this. Beaten bloody." Then, in a whisper, he adds. "I think he had been raped..."

Lucas snaps his head toward Zael. "Who the hell would do this?" he demands, glaring daggers at Zael. "I thought you had your people under control! Where's Alastair? Aren't his men supposed to be keeping the streets safe?"

"I assure you, no one I know is responsible for this. They wouldn't dare," Zael says, voice tight. "You know as much as I do that Alastair's men don't have eyes everywhere. And they're more repercussions than prevention."

"Repercussion I can do myself. What I needed him to do is to keep my people safe. And now-" Lucas motions towards the emergency door.

"Trust me, I'm as angry as you are. Gabriel's a good kid." Zael glances towards the doors, eyes angry, but there's a tinge of sadness to it. "He doesn't deserve this."

"At least tell me we know who did this."

"The witnesses that we'd spoken to didn't seem to notice much apart from Chase rushing into the deli with Gabriel. The truck stop is an inbetween place. These men could have just been passing through which will make senses. They couldn't have known of the unspoken embargo on your people." Zael turns his attention to Chase. "In your statement, you said they all drive a Harley?" When he nods, Zael continues. "Where did they park them?"

Chase tries to remember. "By the deli. In front of the windows that looked out to the parking lot."

Zael nods, a determined look on his face. "They have cameras at the truck stop, near the front of the deli. I'll check to see if they manage to capture these men. Maybe it will shed some light on who these people were," Zael reassures Lucas. "I will hunt these men down myself if I have to."

Lucas nods, still angry but somewhat calmer. "Thank you, Zael." Lucas gazes at the closed doors, a grim expression on his face before he seems to remember him. "Chase, it's almost eight. Go home. You have work to do." And anticipating his protest, Lucas adds. "I'll keep you updated on how Gabriel is doing."

"I want to stay. I need to stay. I need to be here. What if- what if..." He couldn't make himself continue.

"Go home, Chase. There's nothing you can do here. Do not make me repeat myself again. A police officer will give you a ride home." He motions towards Officer Corbett, who's having a deep conversation with Zael.

"But-"

"Don't force me to do something you wouldn't want me to do, Chase. I'm not in the mood for arguments. Think about your brother."

He pales staring at Lucas with wide eyes, unable to believe his ears. It's a staring contest, icy cold blue eyes, so unlike Gabriel's warm blue ones against green. This is one fight he'll never win. Clenching his jaws, he storms towards the exit. Fuck Lucas and his fucking whorehouse. Fuck.

Fuming into the night sky, it isn't long before Officer Corbett comes out and leads him to a patrol car. He opens the passenger side door and waits for Chase to climb in. He does so and slams the car door shut with a loud bang. He winces. It isn't Officer Corbett's fault that Lucas is being a dick. He shouldn't take out his anger on the man.

But boy, does he hate Lucas's gut so much right now. He couldn't believe that Lucas would threaten him with Sam! While Gabriel is in the hospital no less? He could be dead, and Chase wouldn't even know! Tears prick at the corner of his eyes, and he grabs his thighs hard in case he might hit something.

The drive back to the home is quiet and tense, the sky outside getting darker and gloomier by the minute. Officer Corbett seemed to sense that he's not in the mood to talk and had decided to mind his own business. It's probably for the best seeing as he's still stewing in anger, he might bite the poor guy's head off for no reason.

Watching the streetlights pass in a blur, he can't shut out the bigger louder part of him that's worried sick about Gabriel. Is he okay? Is he awake? Is he scared? What if-? He stops himself before he can finish the thought.

Soon enough, Officer Corbett is pulling up at the home. He undoes his seatbelt, mutters thanks under his breath and gets out of the car. There's a few strange cars parked outside. The lights are on inside the house, filtering through the flimsy curtains. He could see shadows moving in one of them. Giving Officer Corbett a curt wave as he pulls away, he walks into the house going straight to his room.

Sam is lying on the bed, books open all around him. When he sees Chase, his face brightens, scrambling up onto his knees.

"Chase! You're back! Did you find Gabe?"

"Hey buddy, yeah I did." He walks over to Sam and sits beside him, wrapping him in his arms. "But he is not feeling too well, so he is going to be at the doctor's for a while."

"Is he okay?"

He nods. "Yeah, buddy. Gabe is tough for a little nerdy dude. He is going to be alright." He lets go of Sam and turns around to fumble in his bedside drawer. Taking out a mp3 player, he holds it out to Sam. "I'm going to work for a little bit. Why don't you listen to some music while you're working on your..." He takes in the mess of books on Sam's bed. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Oh, I'm reading one of Amelia's books. There are a lot of words that I don't understand. So I borrowed a few dictionaries from the others," Sam says sheepishly.

"That's... That's great, Sammie! Attaboy! Always known you're the smart one in the family," he grins, heart swelling with pride. "You've finished the one Ms. Rosen asked you to, right?" Sam nods. "Here, take these," he says, putting the earbuds into Sam's ear.

"But Chaseeeee... All you listened to are Metallica, ACDC, and classic rock songs," Sam whines. "They're noises. How could I concentrate like this?"

"Ah shush, what do you know about music? ACDC rocks," he smirks, playing 'Back In Black'. Sam rolls his eyes when the music hits his ears. Taking one earbud out, he instructs, "Now, be a good boy and continue your reading. I'll just be in Gabe's room. Be back before you know it. If you need something, come over. But knock first," he adds sternly. Then, he leans over and kisses Sam's forehead, "Love you, buddy."

"I love you too, Chase." Sam sticks the earbud back into his ear and lies down on the bed again, trying to find a comfy position. He smiles down at Sam and pats his head. Sam dodges out of the way, sending him a scowling bitch face. Raising his hands up in a universal sign of surrender, he steps outside the room, closing the door shut.

As he approaches Gabriel's room, his body feels heavier with every step he takes. He is going to have to do this in Gabriel's room. In his bed. Which would undoubtedly smell like him. His heart clenches again. His heart muscles seem to be having a massive workout today, and he wonders if he's going to go into cardiac arrest anytime soon.

17 years old male died of heart attack during a dubious sexual encounter with an older man. That sounds like a winning headline. Cringing at the lame attempt at trying to distract himself, he takes a deep breath and pushes open Gabriel's door. A chubby middle aged man greets him.

"About time. What took you so long?" he whines in a childlike voice.

"I'm sorry, something came up," he starts when the man stands up, already naked except for the tiny white thong peeking out from under his big belly. Wrapping his big arms around Chase, the man gives him a big bear hug, squeezing the air out of him as he almost lifts him up.

"It's okay. You're here now."

"Gotta... Breath..." Chase wheezes out, falling back onto his feet when the man lets go of him with a sheepish apology.

"Oh and you can call me Cupid." Chase almost rolls his eyes at that. Babies in diapers. Ain't that accurate. Oblivious, Cupid motions to the bed. "Shall we?" Chase stares at his over eager face. Great, he's going to get fucked by someone called Cupid.

Nodding, he undresses and climbs into Gabriel's bed, lying on his stomach. He reaches towards the drawers beside the bed and opens them, searching for the condoms. He spots an analog camera in the bottom drawer. Frowning, he ignores it to grab at the condom packet and throws them on the bed. He digs his face into Gabriel's pillow and breathes deeply. Chase relaxes into the familiar scent of the home's fruity shampoo and something else that's just Gabriel. A little musky and heady, like Gabriel has been sweating into his pillow. His eyes snap open. Gabriel probably did, especially if he's been fucked into this bed every night.

Okay, this is just wrong, breathing in Gabriel's sex stench while he is in the hospital, fighting for his life. He doesn't have much time to dwell on it, though because then Cupid drapes himself over him. It's like being squashed by a giant cushion. Not the lightweight cottony cushion. A substantial cushion. A cushion filled with rice. Struggling to breathe, he closes his eyes and hopes that Cupid doesn't last long.

---

The hospital is bustling with activities, and the noises are driving him up the wall. Lucas gets up from where he'd been sitting the past hour and paces the floor, head whirring. He's feeling confused and partly perplexed. He wasn't surprised by the rage that had consumed him upon hearing about Gabriel. That was to be expected. No, what he didn't understand was the feeling that came after. The sudden fear. He was worried.

He'd calmed down since, but that fleeting panic about the boy had him concerned. He'd be fooling himself if he said he doesn't feel something for the boy. But he had thought it was purely physical. But this? The alarm he felt. It's disconcerting.

Why does he care about someone whom he felt this inexplicit desire to hurt? This makes no sense at all. Frustrated, he focuses his excess energy on the source of the problem. Someone had hurt one of his people. That someone had thrown out an open challenge to his authority and power. That someone has got to pay.

Pacing around some more, he sneaks glances at Zael, who's occupying one of the chairs, busy typing something on his phone. He had wanted to stay in case Gabriel woke up, and he could get a statement from him.

From the three months he'd known Zael excluding the one month he'd spent studying him, he thinks he knows the man inside out. Zael is ambitious and career driven. It didn't take him long after he'd graduated from the Academy to make Lieutenant for the Criminal Division. A great start to a promising career. At least it was until an unfortunate incident involving a misfiring. For a year, he scraped by unnoticed and forgotten.

Then out of the blue, a few years back, he began to solve case after case, closing each case with a success rate of 100%. It launched him back onto the map and the next few years saw a steady climb in his career. It took him another year and a high profile arrest of the local cartel's second in command that got him into the position of Chief of Police. He doesn't know what kind of devil's deal he'd made with the local gangs, but Lucas's certain that his success is man-made.

Maybe because of that, Zael is a control freak. He needs to know everyone and everything that goes on in his city. That's one of the reasons Zael approached him in the first place. Yes, he may have had eyes on Zael for some time, but it was the man who made the first move. Noting the changes in the local gangs' chain of commands, the unsolved murders, Zael can spot an up and comer a mile away. As he stares at Zael's gaunt face, high cheekbones casting his face in shadows, Lucas can understand why the man is stressed right now.

Scrubbing his face with his hands, Lucas returns his gaze at the clock. The time seems to crawl by. Apart from that one time a nurse asked for his signature for a consent form, he'd heard nothing. From that brief conversation, he'd gathered that Gabriel suffered massive internal bleeding and needed to be prepared for surgery right away. He had signed the forms without another word. But that had been hours ago, and the waiting is starting to eat at him.

"I've got you, motherfucker," Zael exclaims in his breathy gruff voice. Standing up triumphed, Zael strides towards him with his mobile phone outstretched. "We've got a clear shot of those men that Chase saw. Take a look."

He takes Zael's mobile phone and stares at the picture of a black man on a Harley. Not recognizing the man, he returns the device. "Do you know who he is?" Zael shakes his head. "No, he's not familiar to me. I've sent these pictures out to every database and patrol car. If they're still in the city, they won't get far. Alastair's also sending out his feelers. If he finds anything, we'll know."

Nodding, he prays for these men that they've left the city. Because if they're not, they would wish they were. He's good with faces, and he has got this man's face memorized. Good thing too, because once he gets his hands on him, there would be no face left to find.