Emergency

The Shadow was catching up Noah on the events that had taken place that day on their side of things. Being unable to change the past, Noah could only listen and take it in as he focused on the here and now along with the possibilities of the future. So, after hearing all the facts, Noah thanked the Shadow for protecting Laila and Maria, feeling happy on how she had handled the situation. After that he explained how he wanted to head over to the hospital to see Steve and know in what condition he is in before he decides how to further handle the situation. He also asked them if they were able to check his car before he made matters worse.

The bodyguard was the one to answer Noah's question, "Well, in that regard we are in luck as this one here happens to be an expert in bomb locating and diffusing." But before the bodyguard could finish his praises, the Shadow interjected. "Though I am confident I can locate the bomb and diffuse it, I can tell you without looking that your car will definitely have been rigged as well and diffusing it will take time. More time than you should be spending here, waiting, in a situation like this. So, I would like to propose you taking the car I drove your wife and her friend here with."

She pointed her chin in the direction of the car that was still in the middle of the path between two lines of parked cars. As Noah's eyes followed the direction she was pointing in, the Shadow clarified the situation before Noah could realize whose car it actually was. "I hope you don't mind that I took a car from your garage without permission but I felt that getting here as soon as possible took priority. Since it seemed that your wife didn't have a problem with me borrowing it either, I went with my decision. Now that we are here, I have no need for it and you could use the car to safely get to where your friend is. I can find another mode of transportation or I could bring the car you came to work with after I handle any bomb in there. All I know and care about is right now is that that one is certainly safe and it will allow you to see your friend as soon as possible. While you all head to the hospital, me and this fella here will stay to deal with your car and handle this mess so that you can focus on matters there."

Noah nodded and thanked the Shadow once more before he said with a tightened jaw, "Aside from the matters with my car, I need you two to find out who did this. I know Harold is the one who gave the order but I want everyone involved in what happened today to be punished. No one get to walk away after coming after the people I care about." They nodded and said, "Leave it to us." After hearing these words, Noah walked away, letting them handle this mess while he handled what mattered most.

Soon all three of them were in the car driving over to the hospital where they had taken Steve to and they arrived there about ten minutes after. Noah let Laila and Maria step out at the entrance while he went to find a parking spot. As the two of them walked into the hospital, they didn't waste any time to ask the person behind the front desk where Steve had been taken to. The person behind the desk was a kind looking woman who appeared to be in her late forties to early fifties. She smiled warmly when they approached and quickly helped them with the information they were looking for.

After looking at the screen in front of her for a brief moment, she said in a calm tone, "It appears he had to be taken into emergency surgery. I can't see much in his file as they haven't been able to fill his report out yet but if you head over to the OR department, the staff there will be able to tell you more about his situation." Though her voice had been calm and soothing, her eyes revealed that Steve's situation wasn't very good. For Maria, hearing the words 'emergency surgery' had been enough to make her stomach fall to ground. The calmness she had built up had been completely washed away by waves of worry over Steve's condition.

With a pale face, shaking hands and legs, Maria nodded and swallowed hard as she said, "Ok. Thank you." and followed the signs to where the OR department was situated. Laila nodded and smiled at the woman as she thanked her as well. The woman had of course noticed Maria's reaction to the news and saw how distressed she had become from her words, so she responded to Laila's words of thanks by saying, "I'm sorry I couldn't be more of help. Good luck to the both of you." and smiled at her. Laila returned her smile before she followed after Maria.

At the OR department, which was a sub-department of the ER department, things were even more hectic than the garage just after the explosion. Doctors and nurses were running around from one place to another amidst the worried looking people, the crying of younger patients and the beeping of the machines. When Laila and Maria stepped through the doors, they felt overcome with different emotions and couldn't help but slow down their steps as they walked to the front desk of that department.