mobster mash

Athena forced herself to take a sip of the water Herman had handed her; it gave her a moment to compose herself so she could make sure her voice sounded crisp and businesslike.

“Did you happen to lose or leave anything at the hospital when you’ve made your recent deliveries?” she asked. Herman’s brow furrowed.

“What is this all about?” he grumbled.

“It’s a pretty simple question, Herman. Just answer it,” Athena said firmly.

“The only thing I left there was what your dad asked for.” He looked like he wanted to add something snarky, but cut a quick glance toward Max and seemed to decide against it.

“And you’re sure you didn’t lose something?” Athena pressed. “Nothing fell out of your pocket or anything?”

“Of course not.”

Herman was looking at her like he thought she was crazy. Athena didn’t think she should mention the Red Queen or her dad being missing; she wasn’t sure she trusted Herman with that information. She had a handful of people she needed to question and she was going to have to be careful about how she did it.

“You have a guy who sometimes helps you with the deliveries,” she said after taking a few more sips of water. “What about him, have you ever seen him leave something behind at the hospital?”

“Just his good sense when you’re around,” Herman scowled. “He’s young and stupid and easily distracted.”

Athena resisted the urge to make a face at him. But she did remember seeing the guy in question last time Herman had made a delivery, and she didn’t think it likely that he’d have stashed something without anyone noticing. It also seemed unlikely that either he or Herman would have the brains or capability to steal from the Red Queen.

“If your father has a problem with my product or how I do business, he can come talk to me himself,” Herman added.

“He doesn’t have a problem,” Athena said, annoyed. “We found something at the hospital and we’re just trying to figure out who might have lost it.” She watched his expression and body language carefully, but he gave no sign that this information meant anything to him. She figured it was the best way to probe people for a reaction; hopefully when she did talk to the thief she’d be able to spot them.

“Thanks for your time, Herman,” she said, finishing the last of the water. He snatched the glass back and grunted.

“Next time try calling. During normal hours,” he muttered.

“I’ll try to be sure there isn’t a next time. We’ll show ourselves out.”

Athena left Herman standing in his living room with the empty glass, twisting the fabric of her jacket sleeve as she and Max descended the stairs. She pushed open the front door of Herman’s building and stepped outside, mentally running through her list of possible suspects. It didn’t seem like anyone she knew would have the means and opportunity to steal from Stefania, but one of them must have. And they’d gotten her dad mixed up in their shit.

“Sorry that was a bit fruitless,” Max said.

“I suppose it was a long shot that I’d walk up to the first person on the list and he would just confess to the whole thing,” Athena sighed. “Would’ve made my life easier though. We should get back, I guess. I need to sanitize the operating room before-“ She broke off with a yelp as someone loomed up out of the shadows of an alleyway they were passing. The guy was gaunt, and with his disheveled hair and pupils that were too large he looked like some kind of feral animal. He had what looked like a steak knife clenched in his left hand; with his right he tried to touch Athena’s hair. She backed away from him, startling when Max pushed her behind him. The guy in the alley shouted some incoherent nonsense and tried to pounce at Max.

Max took a step to the side, trying to angle away from the blade; the strung out guy seemed to be trying really hard to bury it in Max’s neck. He lunged again, but Max pretty easily blocked the the attack and pushed the man away. The guy stumbled a few steps and fell over. He made a weird hissing noise, like a rabid raccoon. He watched them for a moment with his cheek twitching, then let out a stream of vulgar insults and scurried away.

Athena stood there for a few moments, watching to make sure the cryo addict wasn’t coming back. Then she glanced at Max and frowned.

“Oh, he got your shoulder,” she said, spotting the gash and the blood. Max shrugged.

“It’s all right, he really just grazed me.”

“It’s not all right. Come on, I need to get that clean and disinfected.”

She led him back to the hospital, ordering him onto the exam table for a second time. She washed her hands and then started cleaning the cut with antiseptic, studying it more closely.

“It’s not too deep,” she said. “I think you can even get away without stitches, but you’ll need to keep it clean. We have plenty of antibacterial soap in the apartment.”

She rummaged around for a bandage in the right size, carefully laying it over the cut. “I’ll put a new one on tomorrow after we clean it. Or, later today, I guess,” she added, glancing at the clock and realizing it was almost three-thirty in the morning. She shooed him off the table, disposing of her bloody gloves and starting to disinfect the entire operating room.

“I’ll show you where the elevator is that goes up to the apartment,” she said while she worked. “We don’t exactly make it common knowledge that we live here, just in case. You can get some sleep, you need it after the amount of injuries you sustained today. And then get anything you need from your place. I assume you’ll want some other clothes since your shirt has blood on it. I think my dad has some old sweatshirts you could use. They won’t fit you great but it’s something. I can wash the shirt if you want, and-“

She almost smacked her nose on Max’s chest as he moved to block her path as she rather aggressively wiped down the table. She blinked up at him in surprise.

“I think maybe you should get some sleep yourself,” he said. “It’s late.”

“I can’t.” Athena shook her head slightly. “I still have to find this mysterious thief, and I have some patients coming in this morning. I have to take care of them all, since Dad is…while he’s gone.”

She stepped back and put her cleaning supplies away. “I’m just going to go up to show you around and take a shower. Then I have to come back down and work.”

“You need rest,” he insisted.

“I’ll rest when this is over,” she mumbled. “For now I have the espresso machine in the kitchen. Come on.”

She led him to the secret elevator and they rode up to the apartment in silence. The apartment was large but still cozy, with the fluffy carpet in the bedrooms and living room and all the photos of Athena and Michael on the walls. The coffee table was also covered in candles and the kitchen was stocked with all the junk food her dad loved to eat. She tried to remind him that he was a doctor and should know better than to eat so many doughnuts, but he always just grinned and said he also knew life was too short not to enjoy the things that make you happy. Athena realized she was standing there awkwardly, trying not to cry. She cleared her throat and adopted her no-nonsense doctor voice again.

“I’ll find you something else to wear and throw your shirt in the wash,” she said. “We don’t have a guest room, but you can use Dad’s room, if you want.”

Max looked startled. “I’m sure the couch will be fine,” he said. Athena nodded before going down the hall to dig through her dad’s old sweatshirts. She found one from his college days that she thought might fit Max; at least well enough. She forced herself out of the room, trying not to look at her dad’s silly knickknacks or the anatomical heart she’d made out of glass for him that he kept on the nightstand. She grabbed some extra pillows and a blanket too.

She gave the sweatshirt to Max, though he hesitated before changing. She actually managed a small laugh.

“I can turn around if it’ll make you feel better,” she said, which made his ears turn red again. She busied herself with making the couch comfortable while he tugged the sweatshirt on. It looked a little silly since it was too tight in the chest, but it was long enough at least.

“Get some sleep, and don’t pick at the bandage on your shoulder,” she instructed. “With those painkillers in your system you’ll be asleep for quite a while. I’m going to take a shower and then go down to deal with my appointments. I have a kid coming in to pick up an inhaler and I have an ultrasound and then I have to remove a cast. Then I’ll come back up. There’s plenty of food in the kitchen, you can help yourself if you wake up before I get back. Otherwise I can make you something when I’m done with the patients, and then you can get stuff from your place and I’ll figure out who I’m going to question next.”

“You don’t need to make me food,” he started but she waved him off.

“I said I would feed you, remember? Now sleep,” she said firmly. After her shower she wiped the steam off the mirror and got ready to blow dry her hair. Her reflection stared back at her, her blue eyes looking tired and worried. She sighed and dried her hair, pulling on fresh jeans and tying her hair back. She poked her head into the living room to find that the painkillers had indeed knocked Max out. Assured that he was getting some rest, she fixed herself a giant cup of coffee, pinched some color into her face, and went back down to start her morning.