“Otis Burkley.” Marlowe told the man on the other line. “B-U-R-K-L-E-Y. Burkley.”
She hung up the phone and picked up the sketch that she had received of Burkley. She wasn't sure what to do. Otis was the mystery man that Borjes had been chasing when he died. She remembered the smirk on his face when she and Borjes had met him for the first time.
They had burst into an abandoned apartment to find Burkley burning something in the bathtub with acid. He had mysteriously managed to escaped prison soon after, again using some sort of acid.
And then there was Chambers. Marlowe shuddered, thinking again about the revolutionary phone call she had made to her boss the day before.
She buried her face in her hands and inhaled shakily. Confusion whirled through her thoughts. She didn't know what to believe. Had Tyler really killed Borjes? Or had it been Otis...or even Chambers? Had Tyler even been there?
She slipped into her jacket and picked up her car keys. All she needed was some fresh air.
“Lean forward.” Kim said, helping Jay lean his forehead against the chair in front of him .
Jay winced as Kim gently rubbed oil over his shoulders.
“Jay...”
Jay shook his head. “I told you, there's nothing to talk about.”
“Don't you want to go after him?”
“No.” Jay answered shortly. He gasped as her fingers reached a particularly sore spot.
“Sorry.”
“When are we supposed to hear from Alice and Nel?”
Kim shrugged a little and dipped her fingers back into the warm oil.
“I have no idea.”
Jay rested his chin on the chair and fingered the pattern on a pillow. “I hope they'll be okay.”
“Don't worry, Jay. They will. You have enough problems of your own.”
Jay was silent.
“I wish we could take you to the hospital. You're really banged up, Jay.”
Jay's cheeks flushed at the pain in her voice. He loved and hated that she was feeling so much for him.
“How bad is it, really?” He argued, trying to sound tougher than he felt.
Kim sat down in front of him and wiped the blood from a deep cut in his forehead.
“Well...” she squinted at the cut and reached for some ointment. “....besides the cuts and bruises, you have three broken ribs, a concussion, a jammed finger, and no sleep.”
Jay looked down at the floor, but she took his chin and forced him to raise his eyes.
“You have to start taking care of yourself. I know that saying you're stressed is an understatement, and I know that you don't want to be self-absorbed like...”
“Tyler?” Jay growled.
“Yeah. Like Tyler. I know you're trying not to be like him, but you're going to the opposite extreme. Go get some sleep, please. I'm begging you.”
Alice stared at Will's monitors, counting his heartbeats to distract herself from the awkward silence. Nel was on the couch next to Alice, her arms wrapped around herself, biting her lip and looking very nervous.
“I can't believe you.” Rob finally blurted. “You want me to do what?”
“Wreck the ambulance.” Alice repeated, timidly.
This conversation was getting longer and longer. Alice watched Will carefully, afraid that this was too much of a delay. At the same time, she had to be careful not to rush Rob into this situation.
Rob was pacing around the room wildly, grabbing at fistfuls of his hair.
“I could lose my job, I won't be able to explain what happened. I don't even have a technical reason for being on this ambulance.”
“Even if the victim was in your home?”
He frowned. “I don't see that going well. Wouldn't you be suspicious? A doctor calls for an ambulance. When the patient arrives and the hospital staff finds out that the doctor really doesn't know the patient, it looks even worse. To top it all off, your friend's had that wound for a week; you expect them to believe that a normal, innocent person would wait a week, after a nearly fatal gunshot wound? Alice, I know you're smart and good at your job. This, though,” he shook his head. “This is pushing it.”
Alice thought for a moment.
“What if you were kidnapped?”
“Huh?”
“Listen, Rob.”She took his hands and stared into his eyes. “Listen closely, because this gets complicated. If you do everything I tell you, both you and your job will be safe.”
“What about you?” he begged. “Are you going to be okay? Don't put yourself in danger.”
Alice waved her hand dismissively.
“Don't worry about that right now. It's part of my job to be in danger.
“Here's the plan.
“You call 9-1-1. Tell them the truth; you have a friend suffering from a gunshot wound. He can't breathe, and you need to get him to the hospital right away.
“When the ambulance arrives, we're going to make it look like a set up. Nel and I -in masked disguises- will hold you and the people on the ambulance hostage and “force” you to take the bullet out of Will and patch him up.”
Alice paused. “Is this making sense so far?”
Crossing his arms, Rob nodded.
“I'll make sure that they don't get a look at Will's face.” Alice continued. “Nel will drive the ambulance while I keep an eye on you in the back. Once you've taken out the bullet, we'll stop long enough to shove all of you out the back, and drive away. We'll crash it and get away before the police can show up, and you will blend in with the others as an innocent doctor turned hostage.”
“So...I'll be one of your hostages? I'm not supposed to know who you are?”
“Correct.”
“Will I ever see you again?”
“We'll be wearing masks, remember? They won't know who it was.”
“Okay. I'm okay with that.” Rob sighed. “I don't think I could stand never seeing you again.”
Alice stood and wrapped her arms tightly around him, tearing up. “I love you, too.”
She kissed him and touched his cheek. “Go call the ambulance. Nel and I have to change into our bad guy costumes.”
As soon as Rob left the room, Alice gagged and wiped her lips.
“I hate this part of being a spy.” she moaned.
Nel almost laughed as she pulled the thick black mask over her head and tucked her hair into it.
“You are good at it.”
“I kinda feel bad for him, you know? Leading him on and making him think I'm in love with him?”
“Well, if all your plans work out, how does this story end?” Nel asked curiously.
Alice tied her light brown hair against her head and toyed with the black gloves she held.
“I disappear one day. And he never hears from me again.” she shrugged sadly, then grinned sheepishly. “He won't be able to find me because, surprise-surprise, my name isn't Alice Patterson.”
Nel nodded. “New name, new place, new identity?”
Alice nodded. “David and I will move on.”
“And Will?”
Alice didn't look up or miss a beat. “He's always been a loner.”
“What about Maya?”
“She's dead.”
Nel opened her mouth to ask more questions, but closed it quickly as Rob came back into the room.
“They'll be here in ten minutes.” he whistled in admiration. “You girls look great.”
Alice smiled to acknowledge his comment, then pulled her mask on.
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