006 - From the ashes

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

In the room Evelyn had been visiting for the past few months, only the sound from the monitor was keeping the silence at bay. The white hospital room had nothing extravagant about it. It was simple and not too big, with only one bed inside. Despite the months, the one she had been visiting was still unmoving, connected to the monitoring devices around, and to the IV drip that was not far from running empty, the left side of his face half-covered.

A nurse came inside and seemed stunned by the absence of Evelyn. But with how deep the night was, it was not too surprising either.

What she failed to notice though, was the trace of a transparent liquid on the patient's arm.

The nurse was of average height and look, and she looked around thirty years old. Seeing the bandage, she lamented at the circumstances of the handsome face:

"Ai, you are so handsome. It's a pity. I'm sure you would have been even more handsome if not for the scars that will remain on the side of your face. Sigh, I feel sorry for your face. But at least you have a good girlfriend who didn't leave you, instead coming over every day to take care of you."

She didn't lose her professionalism, and checked the constants of the patient. She went to check the IV bag and was about to take it off, when suddenly, she felt a big hand clamp around her throat.

It was squeezing it just enough to stop the air from passing through, but it was not to the point of crushing it, or causing undue pain yet, which the hand seemed strong enough to do.

At some unknown point in time, the needle of the perfusion that should have been in the vein of the patient was in front of her eye that she widened in terror.

She froze, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw that the patient was awake, and he was the owner of the hand. He had an indifferent look on his face, like the life he was holding was failing to make his emotions fluctuate.

"Who sent you?"

The hoarseness of the man's voice showed that he had not spoken for quite a while, but it couldn't hide the magnetic charm it contained.

"Calm down, sir. You are at the hospital."

Now the nurse understood why her throat was still safe, so she hastened her explanation before her brain stopped working due to the terror she was feeling, and the lack of oxygen. She continued speaking like a machine gun to keep herself safe.

"You have been in a coma for months. Hi-"

The nurse paled when she felt what the hand of the patient was doing after removing the needle from before her eye.

'Didn't the rumors say that he was a hero who saved a beauty by taking a bullet? Is he a scum in truth? Oh, God, I'm done for.'

He didn't focus on her, as he started searching her pockets. He was already inclined to believe her, as her reactions were at his fingertips, literally, and she didn't seem to be pretending. What's more, she seemed too dull to be anything she was not supposed to be. Or she was too good of an actress.

Soon, he took out her smartphone and forced its lock through some means she didn't understand, before making a call.

All this time, she remained unmoving like a statue, and looked at the man who should have been handsome but had half of his face bandaged.

If not for the dangerous situation, she might have already cooked up some romance story in her imagination.

"Art gallery Rockcliff, what can we help you with?"

The woman's voice she heard stunned her as she didn't understand why he would call a gallery in this situation.

The patient frowned and spoke in a cold voice:

"Override protocol. Zulu 13, code Delta Romeo Kilo Sigma 47520619063856. Emergency check up."

The voice on the other side immediately changed from the welcoming sales woman's voice to an indifferent one that sent chills down the spine of the nurse who was wondering if the world had changed without her knowing, or if she was unlucky enough to be entangled in some dubious story.

"Delta 36459213. Code confirmed. We have been expecting you, sir. We are happy to hear your voice-"

"Locate my call."

He cut off the woman on the other side dryly, but it seemed that nothing could make the latter lose her professionalism.

"You are at the General Hospital of your hometown, sir. You have been there for three months, and we have had your safety secured. If you want, we can send for an exfiltration. A few minutes would be enough."

The man looked at the terrorized nurse who was still trying to stay frozen with her throat in his hand, before taking a better look at the room.

It was simple, with nothing superfluous but a pot of cheap flowers on the table beside the bed. The other weird detail that made him frown was the transparent liquid like water that was on his arm.

He looked at the wallet that had remained in his hand till earlier for a moment, before he replied with an unchanging coldness:

"No need."

He directly hung up and let go of the nurse. He scrambled the data of her phone, and he knew that the ones on the other side would also be cleaning things up from their side.

After he was done, he threw the phone to the nurse and said:

"Forget anything happened, for your own good. Some people will visit you soon to make things clear."

He didn't specify anything, nor if she would only have to sign some documents for confidentiality.

The nurse didn't want to spend any more time inside, so she left after a hurried stutter:

"I- I will get the doctor."

The man stood up after she left and checked his body.

He found no wounds apart from his face that was half-bandaged. Any other wound seemed to have healed while he had been unconscious.

He checked his belongings and found that clean clothes of the right size were placed in the wardrobe.

It was not what he remembered he was wearing when the incident happened.

He frowned when he thought back to his torn clothes, and the bullet proof vest that had been hidden beneath. The vest helped him avoid a new hole in the body when he had saved the woman.

He relaxed his brows the next moment. The people he just called must have come and cleaned anything that could pose a problem.