Recompense

by Alan Richards

  Alexa turned left out of the lift flanked by her entourage. They weren’t going to make it easy for her, she would have to be ready to make her move quickly when it came. A few more twists and turns around the corridors and they reached the outpatient ultrasound.

  “Alexa Blake,” barked one of the guards.

  The receptionist looked up from her computer screen.

  “Ah yes, the prisoner appointment.”

  “Can we get her in and out quickly?” the guard asked.

  “I need to ask her some questions first and then you can take a seat along with everyone else.”

  Alexa stepped forward and smiled at the lady looking up at her.

  “Date of birth please?”

  “30th May 1987,” Alexa replied.

  “Current address?”

  “Prison.”

  The receptionist didn’t know where to look, she continued with easier questions.

  “Are you on any medication?”

  “No.”

  “Could you be pregnant?”

  “No.”

  “Have you emptied your bladder in the last three hours?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, you will need to drink some fluids for the next hour and only then can you have the scan.”

  “That will be after her appointment time,” interjected the female guard.

  “Nothing I can do, she needs to have a full bladder. She drinks for an hour and then she gets the scan. Take a seat.”

  The receptionist looked back at her computer screen before any of them could question her. The three of them left the desk and found three seats in the corner of the waiting room.

  * * *

  The waiting room was like most hospital waiting rooms, seats all around the outside edges of the room with rows of seats in the middle. Her guards had positioned themselves and Alexa in a corner at the back of the room where they could get a full view of people coming in and out. It also meant Alexa would have a long way to go to make it to the door if she decided to make a run for it.

  Alexa was sipping on her beaker of water and scanning the room as she noticed two people come in through the swing doors into the waiting room. It was a man and a woman but that wasn’t what made them noticeable. The fact that they scanned the room in a methodical way as they walked in and the bulges underneath their jackets just below but slightly in front of their left armpits was what made them noticeable. She had seen those exact bulges before and they normally only meant one thing, they were carrying shoulder holstered sidearms. They tried not to look at her for too long, but she could sense a pause in their scanning as they caught her gaze. They sat at the opposite end of the room by the door, they had a perfect view of the waiting room and Alexa. Not only did she have to get away from her guards she would now have to deal with two of Felicia’s lackeys as well.

  * * *

  An hour passed and Alexa’s bladder was well and truly full, she needed to visit the toilet again but she new her guards wouldn’t let her do that. Her only hope was that she would be alone in the scan room and that there was another way out. The radiographer came out of one of the scan rooms. She was a tall lady about the same height and build as Alexa with short blond hair. Alexa would be able to overcome her if she needed to. She didn’t want to involve anyone else she just wanted to get away from here quietly and disappear but if she needed to she would do what was needed. Quiet would be the best option if she wanted to avoid Felicia’s goons.

  “Alexa Blake.”

  Alexa rose from her seat and walked towards the radiographer, closely followed by her minders. As she reached her she turned and looked down at her still handcuffed wrists.

  “Are you Alexa Blake?” she asked.

  “I am,” replied Alexa.

  “I am Jane. I will be doing your scan today,” She said as she turned to the guards. “She will need to have those taken off.” she added as she nodded towards the handcuffs.

  “They stay on,” replied the male guard.

  “Not if you want her to have the scan they don’t. I cant scan her with those on.”

  “I don’t think you understand, this woman is dangerous. She is here because we had to restrain her after she nearly killed four other inmates.”

  She stared straight at the male guard.

  “Remove the handcuffs. There is only one way in and out of this room and you will be standing right here. So where exactly is she going to go.”

  The guard stared back but eventually broke away. He took the keys from his pocket and removed the handcuffs. Alexa rubbed her wrists to get some of the feeling back she had lost. Jane turned to go into the room. Alexa followed hoping that she was lying about the door she was passing through being the only way in and out.

  Thirty Seven

  Alexa followed Jane into the scan room. She instinctively scanned it to get her bearings and see if there were any escape routes. It was a square room, about twenty feet square with no windows. In the centre of the room was a hospital bed with what Alexa assumed was the scan equipment at the side of it. Her eyes continued to move around the room, there were various posters on the wall and then she found it, her escape route. In the corner of the room was a door. Alexa had no idea where it went but she didn’t care, it was a way out of the room and away from her minders and Felicia’s goons.

  “If you can lie down on the bed please Alexa and pull you trousers and underwear below your waist line.”

  “I am really sorry Jane but thats not going to happen.”

  Jane turned to Alexa, her eyes had filled with fear.

  “I’m not going to hurt you. I only hurt those that deserve it and as long as you don’t get in my way then we will be fine,” Alexa smiled at Jane, trying to reassure her that she was safe as long as she did exactly what she wanted her to do.

  “Please... I will do whatever you tell me to.”

  “Where does that door lead to,” Alexa pointed at the door on the corner of the room.

  “It leads to an open space where all the scan rooms converge and then from there into the back of the X-Ray suites.”

  “Can I get out that way.”

  “Yes. Through the door into the space. Any of the other doors opposite will take you into the X-Ray suites. You can go through those into the waiting areas and then out into the main corridor.”

  Alexa’s pocket buzzed. She took the phone from her pocket and looked down at the text message that had appeared on the screen.

  In car park. Will meet you at the main reception area.

  It was from Letitia, she had got her text message. The sense of relief was overwhelming, everything was coming together.

  “Take you clothes off,” Alexa ordered Jane.

  “Why?”

  “Because I need to blend in and these prison clothes won’t exactly do that.”

  Jane removed her clothes and threw them in Alexa’s direction. Alexa undressed and put on Jane’s clothes, they fitted very nicely. She moved to the door, turned the handle and went through closing it behind her. She knew that as soon as the door was shut Jane would run to the guards and they would follow her. She also knew that Felicia’s goons wouldn’t be far behind either.

  * * *

  Alexa was in the space that Jane had told her about. There were six doors spread around the walls of the hexagonal space. All of them had plaques, she quickly scanned them and found one that said X-Ray one. She darted towards the door, turned the handle, opened the door and walked though. She found herself on the other side of a screen, in front of her was a computer and a panel with lots of buttons. She assumed it was the control panel for the X-Ray machine. She moved around the screen into the empty X-Ray room. She scanned the room and found a door at the opposite end to the screen. She moved around the bed in the middle of the room and headed to the door and quickly moved through it into the waiting area. As she stood in the waiting area scanning for her next exit route she could see all the people staring at her.

  Did they know who she
was?

  Would they start running and screaming in fear?

  It was then she remembered that she was wearing a radiographers uniform, they were all staring to see if she would call their name next. They would be disappointed. She continued to scan the room and found the sign that read Exit. She headed towards it and passed through the door into the main corridor. The corridor was full of people; patients, relatives, doctors and nurses, all going about their business. She walked with the flow of people trying to blend in, she had made it this far but she knew her guards and Felicia’s goons wouldn’t be far behind.

  * * *

  Jane was glued to the spot for what seemed like hours. She couldn’t believe what had happened to her, she had been stripped of her clothes and was stood in the middle of her examination room in her underwear. She knew she had to raise the alarm that Alexa had escaped but the realisation that everyone in the waiting room would see her undressed didn’t make it any easier to step outside of the door. Eventually she summoned the courage to go into the waiting room. As soon as she stepped through the door, everyone turned to look at her. She turned to the guards. She didn’t need to say anything, they knew straight away that Alexa had made a break for it. They immediately ran into the room, Alexa was gone.

  “How the fuck could we lose her,” exclaimed the male guard.

  “She must have gone through that door,” the female guard said as she pointed to the door that had been Alexa’s escape route.

  “You call it in and then follow me. I’ll see where that door leads.”

  The male guard left the room as she took the phone from her pocket and dialled the number for the police. Alexa was dangerous, they would need all the help they could get in finding her. She had a head start and was dressed in hospital clothes, she would blend in to her surroundings. Her call was answered by the operator. She hadn’t noticed Pasha entering the room through the door behind her.

  * * *

  Ionna and Pasha were scanning the waiting room for exits as Jane came walking through the door. Pasha couldn’t help but notice her slender body only covered by her pink underwear set. He was still gazing at Jane’s body as his sister hit him in the arm to snap him out of it.

  “Stop looking at the woman and find Alexa,” Ionna said.

  “I was thinking,” he replied with a smile.

  As they stood from their chairs the guards rushed into the room from where Jane had come. They walked calmly through the waiting patients, no one noticed them as they were to interested in the half naked body of Jane stood in the doorway of the examination room. She was starting to realise what could have happened and had started crying uncontrollably.

  “You follow them,” Ionna said as she pointed in the direction the guards had taken.

  “And what will you be doing?”

  “I will make my way back to the main entrance in case she heads for there.”

  They split with Pasha going through the door that Jane was now stood next to being comforted by colleagues and patients. Ionna headed out the door, past reception and into the throng of people moving around the hospital.

  * * *

  Pasha slowly pushed the door in towards the examination room. He could hear a female voice but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He slipped his hand in behind his jacket and toook the knife from its sheath that was hooked to his belt as he moved through the door into the room. He could see a woman in the middle of the room with her back to him. She was talking to someone on the phone about Alexa’s escape, she was asking for help in finding her. He realised that there would be more police in the hospital very soon. That would make his job a lot harder.

  He looked around the room, he knew two guards had come in to the room so where was the second one. It was then he noticed the door on the opposite side of the room, both Alexa and the guard must have gone through that door; he needed to follow them. He wouldn’t be able to get through unnoticed, the guard was facing the door. He only had one choice. He moved silently up behind the guard, she was too busy on the phone to hear him and he was too good at his job to make any sound. He closed in on her and as he got within a strides distance he put his left hand around her head and covered her mouth and with one swift movement Pasha pushed home his knife in an upward motion through her ribs and directly into her heart. She was dead within seconds and made no sound as he lowered her to the floor. He took the phone, pressed the ‘hang up’ button and headed to the door that had been Alexa’s exit.

  Thirty Eight

  Alexa was walking with the flow of people but without really knowing where she was going. She needed to find the exit to the main entrance and hope the guards hadn’t raised the alarm soon enough, if they had then the entrance could be overrun with police. She was scanning the corridor to find a sign for the main entrance when she heard the voice.

  “Blake stop there or I will use the taser.”

  It was the male guard.

  How had he managed to pick the right door to come through?

  She should have picked a different number than one, when choosing the door to come through.

  She turned, he was running down the corridor towards her, barging people out of the way as he came. He wasn’t fit but he was making a good effort of running. Alexa started running, still scanning for the exit sign. She turned a corner to her right and finally saw a sign pointing to the main entrance. She knew she would have to go down two floors. Lift or stairs, she thought to herself. She saw the sign for the stairs and made her choice. She took a left turn through the door to the stairs. She was half way down the first set of stairs when she heard the door slam against the wall as it was swung open by the guard. She could hear his heavy breathing as he tried to follow her down the stairs. As she reached the bottom of the first flight of stairs she heard the door slam against the wall again. Was that the second guard coming down the stairs as well. She had expected her to use the lift to get down to the ground floor before she did.

  Alexa was halfway down the final flight of stairs now, she had started to breath heavily but not as heavily as her pursuer. As she reached the final steps she heard a faint noise and then the unmistakable sound of a body falling down the stairs and landing with a thud at the landing at the start of the second flight of stairs. She quickly looked round to see the male guard slumped against the wall on the stair landing at the top of the final flight of stairs. She could see blood pouring from the back of the head. It wasn’t the second guard following, it was one of Felicia’s goons.

  * * *

  Letitia was pacing up and down in the main entrance. She had got the text from Alexa as she was talking to Drew. They had rushed to the hospital together in Drew’s car. He was pretty sure he had gone through numerous red lights and speed cameras, but he would be able to wipe those from the record once he was done. They had arrived at the hospital and Drew had pulled up in front of the hospital doors, he knew some self important car parking prick would be out soon to tell him he couldn’t park there but he didn’t care. Letitia had been very persuasive and he was now fully involved in their adventure.

  Letitia was still pacing as she saw Alexa burst through the doors from the stairs. Alexa was scanning the main entrance for her. Letitia started to wave her arms like a child. Alexa looked straight at her and started to run towards her as the door to the stairs flung open and a man came running out after Alexa. He stopped and raised his right arm, Letitia saw the gun and screamed at Alexa to get down.

  * * *

  Alexa heard Letitia’s scream to get down, but she heard it a little too late. She started to go down towards the floor as Pasha squeezed the trigger on his Beretta. Alexa heard the faint sound that the silenced weapon made and milliseconds later she felt the searing pain as the bullet passed through her skin like a hot knife. The bullet clipped the scapula of her left shoulder then exited through the front of her shoulder. She hit the floor face down and rolled onto her back, she scanned behind her as best she could for Pasha. The pain of her shoulde
r was excruciating. She tried to block it out.

  The main entrance to the hospital was full of people who were now just starting to realise that they were in danger. No one had really paid any attention to the shot, it had only been a small noise among many others. They had however noticed the woman on the floor with blood pouring from her shoulder. Panic was setting in as people started running screaming for the exit. With all the panic and people running past her towards the exit, Alexa was struggling to find where the gunman was. Before she knew it a man was standing over her with a Beretta pointed at her head.

  “Hello, Alexa. My name is Pasha.”

  “Nice to meet you Pasha,” Alexa replied.

  “Mrs Fenner sends her regards.”

  “Thats nice of her. If you help me up maybe we can go visit her and I can repay her kindness,” Alexa was biding for time. She was trying to work out a way out of this.

  “I am sure she would like to meet you, but I am afraid that wont be possible. I have my orders to kill you. I would have liked to take longer over it but it looks like that won’t be the case.”

  “You take as long as you like.”

  Pasha leaned down towards Alexa and put the Beretta against her forehead.

  “Say hello to your maker.”

  Thirty Nine

  Ionna exited the lift to a space full of chaos and screaming people, she assumed Pasha had reached Alexa. She walked into the chaos and withdrew her sidearm from its holster, keeping it out of sight of the people around her. She didn’t want to raise anymore panic, everyone was running in one direction towards the exit and once they had dispersed she hoped she would be able to find Pasha. She kept scanning the space as it emptied.

  She looked to the left of the exit and could just make out the shape of a woman on the floor with a man leaning over her through what was left of the people in the space. As the space cleared she could see that it was Pasha standing over Alexa with his Beretta pressed against her forehead. She could see the pool of blood forming around her shoulder as she lay on the floor, Pasha had winged her and was now going to finish the job. She started to walk towards them. She heard Pasha say something but couldn’t quite make out the words.