by Jack Parker
"I'm fine, damn it! Get out!" I was scared. I'd missed a factor, and now I'd drawn a good person, a person I cared for into the line of fire. I should never have done this.
"No, not until you tell me what happened." He grabbed my shoulders, and I pushed him away with my bloody hands. The slamming of a car door outside caught our attention. Andre was here. I felt it. Maybe I could use Jason to my advantage.
"Please, Jason, you need to leave right now." Andre pounded at the door.
"Open the hell up!" He swung the door open and then slammed it as he entered.
"Andre, what are you doing here?" My voice shook.
"I came for Lilly. Where she at? You take my best girl and think you can get away with that? Nah, Bitch. Where is she?" His eyes flared with anger, and I saw his pulse beating against his neck.
"Listen, man, I think you need to leave." Jason stepped between us, and I acted. I shoved Jason into Andre, and they tumbled onto a side table.
The lamp lighting the room crashed to the floor. The neighbor's dog barked. I leapt, knife in hand. I felt Jason still on top of the shorter man and sat on his back, hoping he didn't buck me off. I found Andre's hand in the darkness and pressed the knife into it. He seemed to recognize the feeling of his weapon and lashed out with the blade. Flesh tore, but it wasn't mine. Jason squirmed beneath me as I fumbled for the knife. A pinching sting in my shoulder told me where it was, but the endorphins from the adrenaline and the pain killers I'd swallowed earlier absorbed most of the pain the wound might have caused. I grabbed Andre's wrist before he removed the blade. I held it in place with one hand as I gripped his thumb with the other.
A faint popping told me that I'd just fractured his wrist as I bent his hand away from the weapon. I grimaced and then pulled the knife from my shoulder before I thought about the pain. His uninjured arm must have been pinned underneath Jason's squirming body. The blood on the blade looked black in the faint light filtering in from the street. Don't think! I screamed silently, and pushed down my rising hysteria. I pushed Jason's body to the side, on top of Andre's good arm and then stabbed him with my entire force. Just once, in the chest, like Luci had instructed. He'd bleed out before any help could arrive, which would depend on her call.
I pulled out my phone and watched blood spew from Andre's mouth as he gurgled and sputtered. I'd hit a lung or something. I felt sick. I hadn't anticipated this. How could I have known it would be this graphic, this real? I pressed the number two button and held it down. Luci's strained blue silk filtered through the connection.
"Is it done?" Andre gurgled as Luci's voice filled my ear.
"We had a problem. Tell you when you get here. It's done." I ended the connection, and then slammed my cheap flip phone on the floor like she had instructed. The back cover and battery skidded across the floor, effectively severing all communication with the outside world. Luci would complete the rest of the mission.
I pulled Jason onto his back and looked for a wound. He'd stopped moving a few seconds ago, but I couldn't see a wound on his body. Finally, I squinted at his neck in the darkness and then quickly covered the gaping hole with my hand. Andre had jabbed the knife into his neck. That's why Jason hadn't cried out or asked for help. He couldn't. I didn't feel a pulse, no sign of life beneath my palm, but I held on anyway. He wasn't dead, not until I said he was.
Genuine tears streamed down my face as the adrenaline seeped out of my shaking body. I laid my head on his chest and allowed them to flow freely. My shoulder throbbed and burned as the adrenaline wore off, and I reminded myself to breathe through the pain. It hurt. My heart hurt. I lost track of time. I couldn't be sure how long I'd held onto Jason lifeless neck, but just as Luci had planned, cops came bursting through the door. I stared up at the bright lights beaming from their long flashlights and winced at the guns pointed in my direction. I never liked guns. One of them flipped on the overhead light and gasped at the amount of blood.
"Ma'am, what happened here?" The female officer with her gun trained on my chest asked in a curt but terrified voice.
"He's dead." I whispered. Fresh tears burned the back of my throat, and I looked at Jason's lifeless eyes.
"Ma'am, please, show me your hands. Are you armed?" I raised my bloody right hand but found my left arm unable to move. Andre must have severed something when he stabbed me. It stayed limp at Jason's neck.
"He stabbed me." I turned my shocked face to my shoulder. I had planned carefully what I would say and how I would act when the police arrived, but as the reality of the situation crashed around me, I found that my shock and fear was real. I didn't have to pretend.
"Who stabbed you, Ma'am?" She asked and holstered her firearm. Everything felt fake, surreal. This surely wasn't reality.
"Andre. He's my sister's boyfriend." I turned my eyes to the man whose murder I'd planned and executed.
"What's your name?" Her partner was speaking quickly into his walkie talkie, and my gaze followed him around the room.
"Ma'am? Are you injured anywhere else?" She stepped around the puddle of blood but stayed just out of arm's reach of me.
"He killed Jason." I looked into her horrified green eyes. They looked like mine. No, nobody's eyes were like mine. Nobody could possibly love Luci with the fierceness of my eyes.
"Is this Jason?" She pointed at my former lover, and I nodded.
"I think I'd like to go outside now." I whispered. She stepped back and allowed me to stand. She wanted to touch me, support me, but there was so much blood that she shouldn't take the chance. So, she hovered at my side and led me away from the damage I'd done.
"Ma'am, could you please tell me your name?" She asked me again, but I couldn't remember how to answer the question. The cool September night stole my breath when I exited the house, brought me back to my senses. Perhaps I'd just overheated, not had a panic attack.
"Lauren Danes." I breathed the crisp air deeply, let it flow through my blood. It was rejuvenating, but also made my shoulder wound ache. I ignored it.
"Okay, Lauren, can you tell me what happened here?" More flashing lights surrounded the house. Paramedics rushed inside, but I knew there was no hurry. I smirked. Luci would be proud.
"Ma'am?" I'd lost time. I mustn't lose a moment of this. A female paramedic was shining a light in my eyes, and the cop hovered over her shoulder with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Can you tell you me what today is?" The emergency responder asked as she cut the sleeve of my shirt.
"September something. I know it's Monday. I never remember the number date." I tried to watch her work on my arm, but my neck hurt, probably from whiplash.
"Good. What happened, Lauren?" The cop stepped beside me, pen and notepad poised to record every word.
"Jason came over with Chinese. Monday and Thursdays are date nights. Andre is my sister's boyfriend. He was looking for her, but she wasn't here." How much should I tell them? The script I'd developed with Luci was destroyed because Jason was never a variable in the equation.
"Where is your sister? Can I call her for you?" The cop asked. She pitied me. I saw it in her eyes. I was winning her over without even trying, probably because my shock and fear were real. Jason was not meant to be involved in this, and now he was dead simply because he cared for me. I shook my head.
"A friend of ours took her to a rehab clinic in D.C. this evening. She must have called Andre before she left. She was in pretty bad shape." Keep your answers short, focus on sympathy answers. She must believe me.
"Who is your friend?"
"Luci Pravitas. I emailed her last night, and she came. She always comes." I smiled a little, even though the pain was beginning to shoot through my fingertips from the stab wound in my arm. Why couldn't I move it?
"Lauren!" Luci's desperate voice called out for me over the lull of voices and the hum of car engines.
"That's Luci." I told the cop. She disappeared from my sight for a few seconds and then reappeared with a distraught Luci.
"Oh t
hank God!" She crawled into the ambulance beside me and took my bloody hand. "I was so scared. When I got that call and heard you screaming… What happened?" She was good, very good. I believed her and I knew she was lying through her teeth. One day, I would achieve her greatness.
"Ms. Pravitas, are you the one who called 911?" The cop asked cautiously, trying to pry her way into our world.
"Yes, I heard a struggle on the other side and then the line went dead. I returned as quickly as possible." She turned back to me. "Oh, Darling, I'm so sorry I left you alone. What happened? Did someone break in?"
"It was Andre." I answered simply. Luci would fix my mess. She always did.
"Ma'am, do you know this Andre?" The cop directed the question at Luci as the paramedic cautiously began cleaning blood from my body. I assumed she was searching for the wounds on my body that were bleeding, trying to separate the different sources.
"I've never met him, no, but Lauren informed me of his relationship with Lilly, uh, Lauren's sister. He is, from what I am told, quite abusive and has threatened both Lilly and Lauren. Please tell me that you have apprehended him." Luci pleaded with the cop as she fussed over my hair and searched for wounds, much to the irritation of the paramedic.
"He's dead." She stated flatly and scribbled something into her notepad.
"I killed him, Luci." Real tears sprang into my eyes, not for the death of that worthless life but for Jason. She wrapped an arm around my waist and ignored the glare of the paramedic working on my arm and the blood that was transferring to her pristine clothes. I leaned into her warmth and shivered.
"He killed Jason, that guy I've been seeing. He just came in and started yelling about Lilly." I focused my voice on Luci's ears. I hadn't told her about Jason, so I hoped that she picked up on my subtle clues. She was supposed to be a close friend, so she'd know I was seeing someone. I spoke only to her, trusting her to stop me if I began to screw up any information I should withhold. "He came after me first, hit me. Jason tried to help, but he stabbed him. Jason fell on top of him on the floor. I got the knife somehow and then…"
"Shh, it's quite alright, Darling. You've had quite a trauma. I'm going to take care of you, now. You're safe." She kissed the top of my head.
"Officer, does Lauren need a lawyer?" Luci's blue silk soothed my racing thoughts. I wanted to kiss her. She was so talented.
"If the evidence matches her statement, I wouldn't think so. A double homicide in a neighborhood as nice as this will probably be dealt with quickly, so we'll probably know by the end of the week what the forensic evidence supports. Right now, though, I think she needs to be at a hospital." The female officer stood at attention as another cop in a suit and tie approached her.
"Officer Fallon, a word please." She nodded at him and held a finger up to us, indicating that she would return in a moment. He spoke to her in a hushed tone ten feet from the ambulance. Her eyebrows rose in surprise at something he'd said, and then she nodded before returning to us.
"Lauren, did you know that Andre was involved in a gang?" I shook my head. "Ms. Pravitas, don't worry about that lawyer. It looks like breaking and entering, assault, and drug trafficking are late night hobbies for this guy." Her voice hardened as she spoke about the bad guy. She was so naïve, so certain of the justice that had taken place here tonight.
"You're lucky to be alive, Lauren. Take her to the hospital." The paramedic nodded. "Ms. Pravitas, could I ask you a few more questions and get your phone number if we need to get in touch with you anymore?"
"Certainly. Lauren, I shall follow you as soon as I am able. To which hospital will she be admitted?"
"Saint Agnes is closest. They may transfer her to Mercy Medical if she needs extensive reconstructive surgery on her shoulder. Can you stand, Lauren?" I stood, and she held my good elbow as we moved to the bed. Luci smiled and waved encouragingly and then walked away with Officer Fallon.
"I'm going to strap you in for the drive, okay. Don't want you falling out of bed. My name is Kay. Gary's up front driving. We're going to take good care of you." She spoke softly but quickly as she secured me to the bed and then closed the doors.
"Let's move, Gary!" She called to the front as she took a seat at my side. "I'm sorry that I can't give you anything for the pain right now."
"It's okay. It doesn't really hurt that much. Is that what shock feels like?"
"It can, but I think you've suffered a mental shock more than a physical one." She offered a small smile as comfort and continued to check off things on her list as she did them. Temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, eye movement.
"Kay, I need to fill out one of those papers to make Luci my medical guardian if I need surgery. My sister is the only family I have left, and she isn't capable of making those decisions right now."
"Okay, Honey. When we get to the hospital, I'll grab one for you. You can sign it, and she can fill out the rest when she gets there."
The rest of my night happened in a blur. Nurses and doctors surrounded me and filtered in and out of my room. They moved my shoulders, x-rayed my chest, took an MRI of my brain, stitched my lip. Kay shoved the paper and a pen in my hand and then disappeared in the sea of faces. The caregivers paused long enough for me to write Luci's name and then sign mine. They stuck the flimsy white sheet into a clipboard and then whisked me away for a consult with the trauma surgeon. I just wanted Luci. Finally, after they moved me to a bed in triage, she came. She smirked as she crossed the room and pulled an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair to my bed.
"Well done, my darling." She set her warm hand on my thigh, and her calm, her pride spread through my body.
"It happened so fast. What did Officer Fallon want?" At this point, I feared being caught more than my pending surgery.
"We're in the clear, Darling, and let this be a lesson. Never directly engage unless you are certain your target has a documented history of violence. Only then will a charade of this sort prove successful. The rest requires more cunning. I am pleased, however, with the result. You were brilliant, resourceful, and thorough. You should be proud, my love." I opened my mouth to speak but closed it when the doctor returned to the room. I wanted to tell Luci how guilty I felt about Jason's untimely demise. He was a great guy, a good man, and he died because I chose to use him as a human shield.
"Miss Danes?" I turned my eyes his face and grabbed Luci's hand. He wasn't a particularly attractive man, middle age, a huge bald spot, and a chubby face and an abundant belly. His hands were too cold and too soft, but he was nice enough.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Pratt." He shook Luci's hand cordially.
"Luci Pravitas." Her blue silk voice slid across eardrums, and I watched his features change under her scrutiny. Was he blushing? He ducked his head and cleared his throat as he reviewed my file, disguising his attraction to my beautiful lover. I smirked. She truly was a breathtaking creature.
"Ah, yes. I will need you to complete this, please. Lauren has signed already. We just need some more information."
"This is a medical power of attorney form." She looked up from the paper and searched my eyes. "Are you certain this is what you want?" I nodded, and she smiled.
"I don't have anyone else and I trust you." She grinned and moved to the counter to finish the paper as the doctor continued. He held up a picture of the muscles of the shoulder and pointed as he spoke.
"This muscle, the deltoid, was severed. That's why you are having trouble moving your arm at the shoulder, okay. I'm going to go in and fix that, put it back together as best I can. You are very lucky, a few inches over, and your artery would have been nicked. You would have bled out, so count your blessings." His words were meant to reassure me, but I only felt empty. Jason hadn't survived, and all I needed was one lousy surgery.
"Why can't I feel any pain? I mean, it stings and burns, but it doesn't really hurt." I wanted him to tell me that I was monster, incapable of feeling what I deserved, but he smiled and slid my chart onto the foot of the bed.
"The
best I can figure is that sometimes with major trauma like this, your mind already knows your body is injured and doesn't need to send signals to the brain. Other times, it's due to the amount of nerve damage in the area. Either could be true in your case. You've been through quite a lot tonight, and your mind may simply be overloaded. If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to answer them. If not, I'm going to prepare the operating room. The surgery will take anywhere from 1 to a few hours depending on how extensive the damage is when I get in there."
"Thank you, Dr. Pratt." Luci stepped forward when I only stared at the wall behind his head. He nodded and slipped from the room.
"Darling, are you alright?" I shook my head. "Tell me what your busy mind is thinking?"
"I should feel the pain. I'm the reason Jason is dead. He was a good man." I wanted to hurt. I longed to feel the real, physical manifestation of the injury I'd caused.
"Darling, he was collateral damage, but you didn't kill him. The fact that Andre did only further solidified my assessment of him. He wasn't worthy of this world, and he only caused more harm than good. You've done a great deed this night and are more beautiful than ever for it." She was right. I avenged Jason when I killed Andre, and the conviction in her azure eyes alleviated my guilt. I was a hero. I'd saved my sister, and I avenged a good man and friend.
"Thank you." She smiled and then leaned over for a chaste kiss.
"I've got you, Darling." She smoothed my hair back from my face and tucked a strand behind my ear. "Rest now. I'll be here when you awaken after your surgery. I promise." I nodded as my eyes slipped shut under her gentle fingers through my hair.
I heard the anesthesiologist speak softly to Luci. He wanted her to leave while he worked, and I grabbed her wrist before her hand left my head and my eyes flew open. Her eyes moved back and forth as she searched my purpose, but I think she knew. A small smile spread slowly on her lips, and I felt mine follow suit. This was right. Us. Together. We belonged as a team, a duo, and we needed to be united in her cause, our cause.
