Chapter 24: Hospital Shenanigans

As the car came to a halt in front of the mansion, two figures were already waiting on the front porch. Jill and Chris were there, with Chris perched on the stairs beside Jill. At the sight of the car pulling up right in front of them, Ethan noticed Jill's raised brow as she glanced towards the driver's seat.

Choosing to disregard it for the moment, Jill reached down to assist Chris, who was seated on the ground, in getting into the car. She knocked on the window, signaling Claire to open the door from the inside.

"What the hell?" Chris questioned, his brow furrowing as he finally took notice of the driver's seat. "Who is he?"

"It's too complicated to explain right now, Chris," Claire sighed, making room for her brother to enter the car. Chris got inside, but Jill remained outside, shutting the door behind him. "Just stay put and try not to move around too much."

Chris didn't respond, his gaze fixed on the driver, making him visibly uneasy.

"You can trust him, Redfield," Ethan assured. "Stop staring."

Chris grunted, finally tearing his gaze away and looking out of the window. Meanwhile, Jill moved to the window on Ethan's side. She shot him a questioning look, arching an eyebrow.

'Really?' She conveyed her thoughts to Ethan silently. 'Mind control?'

'What?' Ethan responded with an amused look. 'I have to adapt, Jill.'

Jill scoffed. 'So, he's our chauffeur to Chicago? Are you sure about this?'

'One of them, yes,' Ethan shrugged. 'We'll need one or two more cars. He'll probably buy or 'borrow' them for us.'

'He?' Jill furrowed her brow again.

'Well, he's a local, and we can't use our IDs, so…' Ethan explained.

"Hey, let's get going," Chris interjected, tapping on the seat. "If you two want to have a staring contest, you can do it later, after we're done here."

"Alright, Chris, alright. Why are you in such a foul mood today?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Are you one of those kids who doesn't like hospitals?"

"Every kid hates hospitals..." Chris scoffed.

"You're not a kid anymore, Chris," Claire rolled her eyes. "Let's go, Travis, to the hospital."

"Aye, Ma'am," the driver saluted. Ethan waved his hand dismissively at Jill, and the car pulled away from the mansion, leaving Jill standing alone with her hands on her hips, watching as the car disappeared into the darkness.

—

Parking in front of a quaint town clinic adorned with a prominent red plus sign, Claire and Ethan emerged from the vehicle before the driver followed suit.

"Uh... Travis? This isn't a hospital," Claire remarked.

"Well, there ain't any hospital near here. We gotta go to the city for that," the driver replied. "Best I could do here."

Ethan reassured Travis, patting him on the shoulder. Meanwhile, Claire moved towards the opposite side of the car to assist Chris in exiting. Ethan, too, joined them, positioning himself in front of the brother-sister pair. Chris draped his arm over Claire's shoulders.

"Here's the money," Ethan handed Claire a substantial stack of bills from his pocket. "I'm not sure if it's enough, but it's just broken ribs. They'll probably prescribe some ibuprofen and apply patches around the chest, so it shouldn't be too costly."

"That's a lot of money," Chris commented. "Those rings and necklaces definitely won't cover that."

"Yeah, well, we took a less conventional route," Claire responded with a wry smile. "Alright, we'll be back in a jiffy."

"Remember not to give them any IDs," Ethan reminded Claire.

"Yeah, yeah," Claire acknowledged before turning with Chris and heading towards the clinic, leaving Ethan alone with Travis.

Returning to the car, Ethan leaned against the hood, and Travis did the same. Travis retrieved a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Ethan. "You smoke?"

"Nah..." Ethan began to decline but hesitated. "Actually, why not? I've never tried it before."

He accepted one, and Travis lit the cigarette for him.

He didn't find it to his liking.

---

Around thirty minutes later, a disheartened-looking policeman emerged from the clinic, holding a brown bag. He appeared weary and dejected as he walked toward the clinic's entrance. Stopping just in front of the door, he let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

However, his attention was drawn to two individuals leaning against a car's hood, one of whom he recognized. He approached them and greeted the familiar face.

"Bickle, surprised to see you here," the cop remarked, then turned to the stranger beside his acquaintance. "Who's this?"

"Hello, Chief," Travis saluted the man. "This guy's… uh… Bill. Just helping him and his friend get to the clinic."

"That's... unusual for you to help a stranger," the cop raised an eyebrow.

Travis shrugged. "Well, there's always a first time."

The cop simply nodded and gestured towards the cigarette pack in Travis's hand. "Mind if I have one?"

"Help yourself," Travis offered the pack, and the cop took one. Travis lit it up, enveloping the area in a puff of smoke, and the cop sighed in satisfaction.

"I've never seen you around," the cop inquired, turning to Ethan. "Bill, is it? Where are you from?"

"Just a hiker, sir," Ethan replied, slipping into character. "Our camp was attacked by bears, and my friend broke his ribs. We're just getting him checked out here."

"Bears? That's a problem," the cop muttered, his gaze lingering on Ethan as if trying to remember something. "You haven't reported it to the station?"

"Do we have to?" Ethan questioned. "I mean, we lost a few things, but I don't want to trouble the local police here."

The cop scoffed. "We have nothing much going on here. The whole station would probably help you find your stuff."

"I don't want to waste taxpayer's money, sir. We'll be out of this town in a couple of weeks once my friend recovers."

"Where are you staying now?" the cop probed.

"The motel," Ethan replied simply.

"That place is pretty rough. But I guess it'll do in your situation," the cop mused.

Just then, Claire and Chris emerged from the clinic, Claire supporting Chris as he walked. Claire held a brown bag, presumably containing medication. They approached the group.

The cop eyed Chris and his condition before remarking, "You look tough, but your ribs broke just like that?"

Chris chuckled in response. "Hey, accidents happen."

"Well, Chief, we should be on our way now," Travis said, rising from the car's hood. They all entered the car except for the cop. Travis rolled down the window and saluted the cop once more. "See you around, Chief."

With that, the car sped away down the road, leaving the cop standing alone.

Meanwhile, the cop remained in place, gazing after the departing car. He muttered to himself, thinking about Ethan's face. "Have I met that guy before? I feel like I've seen his face somewhere..."

—

Late at night, the cop had just driven from the clinic to his police station to clock in. as he opened the front door, he was greeted by the receptionist, who was in the middle of something. She was holding a couple of papers, and there was some duct tape around the edges.

"Hello, Chief." the receptionist said. "Got your headache meds?"

"Yeah, just a quick trip." the cop hummed. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, the fax that came yesterday." The receptionist waved the paper in front of the cop. "Haven't put it on the board."

"Fax?" the cop questioned again.

"Yeah, from the feds, you gave it to me. You said some accidents happened a couple towns away." the receptionist continued, walking over the board and putting the papers there, displaying it for all the people to see. One by one, the paper was plastered, and the cop finally recognized the faces, one of them was Ethan's.

The cop massaged his temple as the realization came in. "Oh shit…"

The receptionist was confused. "What?"

"Call them. The feds." the cop simply said. "I just met the people they were looking for."