Repaying the debt of her gratitude

"Although the bullet grazed an artery, it did not hit any vital organs. Tomorrow, you can transfer him to a normal hospital if there's no complication"

Although Vivienne had already changed back into her usual attire which covered all her scars, Ryan still felt a bit awkward and did not know where to look at while talking with her.

"Okay," he said.

"You can go back and rest. I can arrange a nurse to look after him," Vivienne looked at the exhausted man. What she did not know was that the thoughts about her scars and how to face her without thinking about them were the causes of his exhaustion. Even more so than his strenuous chase after the robbers and the dangerous gun fight.

"I'll go after he wakes up," he answered with his eyes avoiding the blue ones of Vivienne.

No matter how tactless Vivienne was, by this time she had noticed Ryan's strange behavior. She thought for a while for the reason behind and then a glint passed through her eyes.

"Look at me," she said.

Ryan looked at her face but still not meeting her eyes.

Vivienne let out a quiet sigh and took off her hoodie revealing the grey T-shirt underneath and the overlapping scars on her arms and upper chest. Ryan immediately looked away, thinking it was rude to look at a woman's weakness. Don't all women want to be beautiful? However, Vivienne's next words shattered his thoughts.

"Do you know why I always try to cover my scars? It's not because they are ugly, nor because I feel ashamed. It's because I hate to see the eyes like yours, filled with pity. I don't even feel sorry for myself. Why would you feel sorry for me?"

Her words were so calm but they stirred up the deepest emotions inside of Ryan. He then looked straight into her eyes, full of wonder.

She then continued with a faint smile hanging on her lips.

"Actually, I feel quite proud of them. They are like trophies for my courage and loyalty".

She then sat down beside Ryan.

"You should know how underground doctors are like. Because of the nature of our job, we learn of people's secrets even if we are not willing. Five years ago, I was still a newbie in this city. No one to protect me like right now. People used to threaten me all the time. Some even tortured me to make me speak of my patients' secrets. Being alive till now is already quite lucky for me."

"I see," Ryan did not know what else to say.

Noticing that Ryan's eyes again evaded hers, she pulled his hands to touch her scars. Ryan's fingers twitched and formed a fist but he did not pull his hand away from her grasp. Vivienne looked at his eyes as if encouraging him. Looking at those clear blue eyes, he had to give in. He took a deep breath and released his fist, his fingers finally feeling the weird texture of the scars.

"This one was made by a whip, a cliché form of torture, don't you think? This one was made by pouring some kind of acid. Even my bones were exposed at that time. This one… well, they were quite creative with this one. They used an iron comb to tear through my flesh. Even with all that, I still stuck to my own principles. Don't you think I'm tough?"

Her lips curved upwards to make a mischievous smile.

"Is it worth it?" Ryan felt more uncomfortable after seeing her smile.

"Don't you see the state I'm in now? Those old men couldn't help but come to my hospital whenever something happened to them or their gang members. Do you know how much I made every year?"

"Is that really because of money?" Ryan asked. She did not strike him as a money hungry person.

"Why else? Did you think that I get all those plants and animals for free? Did you know how much I had to compensate the family members for those organs?"

Ryan laughed remembering her weird hobbies. Yeah, like the other girls, she loved 'shopping', too

"Now that you've seen those scars, get used to them. Otherwise, how will I talk to you if you are acting weird every time you see me? I'm still the same me, even with or without them."

Ryan nodded as his mood became lighter.

"So, how much are you gonna charge me for treating Allen?"

"I won't charge you for money. You have more valuable things to give me," she stood up preparing to leave.

"Information?"

After hearing Ryan's question, she looked down into Ryan's eyes, her eyes becoming darker.

"What about your life?"

Ryan was a bit startled by the seriousness of her tone.

Seeing Ryan's slightly widened eyes, she added.

"I'm joking. Call me when he wakes up"

With that, she left the room.

The next day, Ryan moved Allen to the first hospital they went. The doctors did not ask many questions as if tacitly understanding. Even his officers did not persist with their questions after Ryan gave them some vague answers. They were already happy that Allen was out of danger.

"You know I could've gone with captain," Shelly said.

She was visiting Allen at the hospital, even bringing her homemade soy milk, which Allen had no intention of drinking after hearing about Julian from Ryan.

"You wouldn't have caught up with captain as fast as I did," Allen answered.

Even though Shelly might beat him in a fight, she would never be as good a driver as him.

"Fair enough," Shelly admitted with a shrug.

"The girl you gave the vest to came to the station asking about you. Shall we tell her you are at this hospital?"

Allen thought for a bit before answering, "I guess it's fine. You can tell her."

Two days later, the girl showed up at Allen's hospital room when Ryan was also present.

"Thank you," she said with a lowered head. She must be feeling guilty.

"I was just doing my job," Allen said with a smile.

"Even so, you got hurt because you gave the vest to me."

"It was my decision. Not your fault," Allen replied.

The girl felt a bit better after hearing Allen and looked at him. Then, she looked at Ryan sitting on a chair.

"Umm… Actually, we have met before. You questioned me about a murder."

Because of her words, both Ryan and Allen looked at her properly.

"Are you the clerk at that convenience store?" Ryan asked. Allen also remembered the clerk of the store near the place Bill's body was disposed.

The girl nodded.

"I said I saw nothing because I was scared I might be targeted by those people. But actually, I noticed something strange that day"

Ryan stopped her with a hand gesture and walked towards the door. After making sure that no one was outside, he locked the door.

After Ryan gave a nod at her, encouraging her to go on, she continued with a soft voice.

"In that neighborhood, garbage trucks were supposed to come on Thursdays. Yet there was one on that day, even though it was a Saturday. I didn't really see the corpse being carried out from the truck but I'm sure that it was not there before the truck came."

"Thank you," Allen said sincerely. It really meant a lot for a timid person like her to overcome her fears and gave a statement.

"It's nothing," she smiled and stood up.

Ryan also got up and opened the door for her.

However, the girl turned back after almost reaching to the door.

"I almost forgot. Someone else asked me the same questions as you did before you came into the store. She was wearing a hoodie and bought many popsicles"

After saying that, the girl finally left.

Just after the girl disappeared from their sight, Allen's smiled disappeared.

"Vivienne Byrne. She saved my life, didn't she? What is she hoping for?"

"May be information? She didn't mention what she wanted… yet"

Ryan did not want to worry Allen by telling him that she did ask for his life, although as a joke.

"I don't think she was merely interested in the dead bodies," Allen said.

She did not have to question the clerk if she was only interested in the bodies.

"She's like an onion. Showing one layer of secret after another," Ryan remarked. He did not told Allen about the scars either because he felt like it was her privacy.

"Anyway, the garbage truck would also explain why no dogs barked at the first crime scene. They must be already familiar with the truck and felt nothing suspicious."