Chapter 2

Now you might be able to understand what had me so tense. I had completed my search and was waiting for Julius but when he finally staggered in, he was bleeding profusely. The only word he uttered before falling unconscious was “Gesù...”

Luckily, Julius had handed me a notebook before leaving which contained the bios and no’s of the people to contact in case of an emergency yesterday. I had called and informed a Dr. Tenma about fifteen minutes ago and he had said he was coming as soon as he could. This house was rented under another name, so I hoped we were comparatively safe here.

Despite all my hopes, when I heard a knock on the door, I thought it prudent to live by the idiom ‘Better safe than sorry’ and brought out my firearm. Reaching out towards the door while keeping myself at the side, I quickly unbolted it.

A man walked in and reflexively flinched at the sight of a gun’s muzzle trained at him. I remembered his face from Julius’s diary. Taking a quick look outside to check if there was someone suspicious outside, I bolted the door.

“Thomas Sanchéz. Pleased to meet you, doctor.” I introduced myself, holstering my gun and shaking his hand.

“Doctor Tenma, at your service. Where’s Julius?” The doctor asked me while I appraised him. I quickly led him to the adjacent room where Julius was still lay unconscious.

“I cleaned the cuts as well as I could and stopped the bleeding but I can’t do anything about the bullet wounds,” I informed him walking swiftly.

“He is not hurt very badly. Unfortunately, he seems to have had a head injury too. He will have a headache when he wakes up. I can easily pull out the bullets and I would recommend a full two days rest. But...police being police, they don’t listen well to doctors’ orders, do they?” The doctor said after a quick inspection.

The last bit wasn’t actually a question so I left and once again stepped into the balcony to observe if there was any movement around the street. After five minutes just as I was about to go in, I spotted a shadow moving outside. I decided to assume the worst.

Walking inside, I said, “Doctor Tenma, we might have a little problem.”

When he turned and raised an eyebrow, I elaborated, “There is a guy moving in and out of the shadows. He might be related to the case Julius is on. And might have followed Julius here. I suggest that you stay the night.”

Dr. Tenma began bandaging my friend’s shoulder, “Do you know what I did before I became a normal surgeon, Mr. Sanchéz?”

“Well, I have always maintained that surgeons are hardly normal so...” I trailed off, completely failing at an attempt to make a jest.

The doctor answered his own question, “I was an army surgeon, Sergeant. I know how to defend myself. I was going to stay anyway, seeing as my patient seems to have been used for target practice. Now, please go and rest. You will be of no help to either me, neither Julius nor yourself if you can barely keep your eyes open tomorrow!”

He was right, of course. Working since morning had left me worn out. Only worry for Julius had kept me standing on my feet this whole time. Nodding my acquiescence I left the room and reaching my own barely managed to take off my boots before falling into the bed.