Chapter Six. The Monitor

As the sterile scent of antiseptic hung in the air, James sat in a dimly lit hospital room. His face was etched with worry as he watched Kelly, lying motionless on the bed, hooked up to various monitors and IV drips. Her pale face looked peaceful yet fragile against the stark white pillows.

Every beep from the machines sent a shiver down his spine, each one a reminder of the delicate balance between life and death. Outside the room, the bustling sounds of the hospital faded into the background as he focused all his energy on her. The minutes stretching into hours as he waited by her side.

Though Kelly's life wasn't in danger, the doctors had worked tirelessly only hours ago to remove the bullet. Miraculously none of her vitals were damaged, but she had lost a lot of blood in the process.

He reached out to hold her hand, his fingers trembling as they enclosed hers in a protective grip.

"I'm sorry Kel." He said to her, his voice barely above a whisper.

The door opened abruptly and Nancy rushed in, the anguish in her eyes mirroring James' as she searched the room for Kelly. In the search, her eyes met James first, and her expression grew cold as they locked gazes.

"You." She spat out disdainfully

"Me? He replied in a puzzle. Baffled by the level of contempt that filled a single word. The last time he saw Nancy was during the war, and they were on good terms then. He racked his mind, in search of what he had done to offend her but he couldn't recall a thing.

Nancy's gaze softened as she saw Kelly, she immediately rushed by her side, taking her hand right out of James' protectively.

"What did you do to her?" She accused acidly.

"She was shot. Didn't the nurses inform you?" His eyes narrowed as he watched Nancy, confusion washing his features.

"Yeah right, like someone could take a clean shot at Kelly and succeed. I know you did something to her?."

"Yeah, it's my fault." He lowered his head remorsefully.

"You're damn right it is!" She snapped while James fell silent in thought.

"Did I offend you Nancy?" He had to ask, his voice innocent and confused. Surprisingly, Nancy was taken aback by the question.

"Me? What?...No."

"Then why are you mad at me?"

"Seriously! You can't be that oblivious." Her response only confused James the more and she had to clarify.

"I'm mad at you because of what you did to Kelly, how worried sick you made her. She was so afraid of loosing you that she worried excessively over you, and you were constantly giving her ample reason to, a month ago she began showing symptoms of panic disorder and have been in therapy ever since. You've been oblivious to her entire ordeal the whole time and just kept disappointing her."

"To be honest, I kind of knew. I knew she was hurting but, I never knew how much. Honestly I was too afraid to ask, and I only ended up hurting her even more." He lowered his head in guilt and silence swept into the room, except for the rhythmic beeping from the machines which left an unsettling atmosphere. Nancy could tell from the way he clenched his teeth that he was seriously berating himself. That was one of his bad habits. He knew just how to condemn himself, whether it was his fault or not. And at times he took it to extreme. Seeing that, Nancy decided to ease up on him.

"You know, you can make it up to her." Nancy said gently. With eyes widened in curiosity and a face washed with childish innocence, he looked at her as if she were the embodiment of hope itself.

"How?" He asked, his conflicting thoughts coming to a pause.

"It's pretty easy. You both share a nexus that can't easily be severed. Come what may , your friendship has survived through worse. All you gotta do is have her back, like you've always done in the past. For this past three months, you've been as good as dead. literally you made the whole world think you died in that war. You need to return from your death if you're gonna make it up to her."

"I wanted to mourn Ng in peace. If people knew I was alive, I wouldn't have that liberty anymore." He replied.

"For how long do you intend to mourn Ng, so much so that you're barely alive." Nancy sighed.

"For as long as I live." He replied firmly. "She was the light that was snuffed violently away from my life. Why did she chose to die and leave me behind? Thinking about it, I felt angry, betrayed and most of all, I hated myself for letting her die. For as long as I live, I'll mourn her, for as long as I live, I'll never forgive her for giving up so easily and I'll never forgive myself for letting her go. But I'll never make the same mistake with Kelly, I'll protect her with my last breath, and even if I don't, I'll avenge her with my last blood." For a second, as James spoke from the depth of his heart, there was a flash of red in his eyes, so quick that it was almost imperceptible. But Nancy caught it. She gasped, but quickly dismissed the notion that ran through her head, concluding she had too much coffee earlier.

"Can I ask a favor?" James asked her with a sweet smile. "Could you watch Kelly for me? There's an urgent business I need to attend to."

"Huh..." Came Nancy's reply as he got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"To pay an old friend a visit."

Hurrying out the door and down the hospital stairs, he mistakenly bumped into a girl accompanied by her friend. Without batting an eye, he apologized courtly and left before she could respond.

The girl stared as he made his way down the stairs and kept watch long after he had faded from her line of vision.

"Oh no Venita, not this one." Her friend called out to her.

"What?" she asked, her tone of voice already denying the accusation she knew was coming from her friend.

"I know that look, He is the one isn't it. You absolutely need to stay away from him, okay he is drop dead gorgeous but trust me he's toxic, the grim look on his face says everything."

"Relax Lizzy, he isn't the one." She laughed.

"Then what's with that stare."

"I sensed something from him when he passed by, an emotion."

"What emotion?" Lizzy asked excitedly, completely at ease with Venita's strange reaction.

"Anger." Her excitement left, anger was a very common emotion in the city, in fact almost every one in the city was angry at one thing or the other, nothing special about it.

"So what? This is a hospital, the gloomy smell of this place alone is enough to make anyone here have a bad day." Lizzy stated as a matter of fact.

"Not just anger, rage. The type that says 'I want you dead." Venita explained and Lizzy shivered at her words.

"There's something else." She said again but this time, her voice was barely a whisper.

{R}

At a secluded part of the city was a tavern, a haven for the most ferocious people in the city. It was only a small old bar building, with an influx of normal day to day customers with a sole desire to get wasted and more often than not, drunkards flushed in and out of the building leaving a characteristic strong scent of cigar and whiskey in the air. But behind the scenes, every clandestine activity, whether legal or illegal, in the city went through that tiny bar. Every significant change in the city had a connection to the four walls of that little bar.The one who governed its activities was called Monitor. With access to the entire information network in the city and beyond, he possessed a certain type of affluence and influence that earned the respect of even the highest military officials. With no particular loyalty to any organization, he was a man that worked in the grey, be it assisting the military to catch a big bad or abetting a terrorist organization as far as they met his standards.

Amidst the mirth and glamour, clinking of bottles, grunts of masculinity and sounds of wooing men as the beckoned on tempting females, The doors flung open, bringing with it an icy gust of wind and an egregious figure, who waltzed in arrogantly without a care in the world, oblivious to the watch dogs that lurked the dark. They were instantly aware that he wasn't one of theirs, he was too clean to belong to a place like that. So either he was there for business or he was trouble. The silent alarm that swept through the otherwise mirthful atmosphere was imperceptible to the untrained eye.

But James was aware of the tension that accompanied him into the tavern. And contrary to their thoughts he was well aware of the watch dogs despite their stealth. Even taking the liberty, to count both their numbers, flaws, advantages and every step he took was well calculated.

Approaching the bar table, the bartender met him with hostility, a looming figure twice James' size with a surprisingly clean English that greatly contradicted his build.

"How may I help you?" He asked, his courteous attitude juxtaposing the aura of hostility he exuded.

"I'm looking for the Monitor." James blurted carelessly. The once imperceivable animosity that lurked in the shadows of the bar became evident in the silence that befell the tavern. But the side eyes they gave him only made a smile tug on his lips.

"I'm afraid you're in the wrong place." The bartender replied carefully.

"I know he's here, I have a deal for him."

"The boss doesn't take unannounced visitors. Come back when you have a proper appointment."

"The boss? I see he has acquired some new dogs." James commented provokingly and he could hear snarls from far ends of the tavern.

"I'm not any ordinary dealer, Tell your boss..."

"Is there a problem here?" Another menacing figure approached interrupting him."

"I think the kid's lost, it seems he wouldn't take no for an answer." The bartender explained and the other man bent towards James.

"Get lost." He whispered in his ears showing him a gun in its holster. James heaved a tired sigh then turning to the bar tender, he said.

"I hate the eyes that guy gives me." He gestured to a man who sat by the far end to his right feigning a neutral expression but was ready to spring to his feet the moment things escalate. " So let me make a proposal. Peacefully let me see your boss, or I could break a bottle on this dude's head over here, take out the guy giving me the eye by the right and take you as my hostage right before your boss walks through that door." He threatened, the smile on his face completely faded.

"I like to see you try." The bartender laughed at the preposterous threat. In that instant a bottle came crashing into the head of the man that stood behind James and he went out cold. The man by the far right jumped instantly to join the frey but as quick as he came up, he went down with a terrible cry as the rough end of the shattered bottle found its way into his face taking out his eyes gruesomely.

The bartender shreiked, horrified by the frightening speed and precision James used to launch the shattered bottle. He reached for his gun by his back pocket and aimed at James but unfortunately he was much slower, James grabbed his arm ferociously, preventing him from pulling the trigger and with a twisting motion, he snapped it like a twig making the bartender cry out while dropping the gun pathetically.

In that second, all the men in the tavern unveiled guns from every nook and cranny ready to end James without a slightest hesitation but he was quick to act, pulling the bartender effortlessly who was probably twice as heavy as he was right over the counter. Then he placed a single finger at a particular artery dense portion of his neck.

"Careful now," he said to the men who aimed at him ready to fire.

"I know exactly where his carotid artery is, I could end his life twice as fast as you can pull that trigger." Though threatened, they didn't back down, but they were hesitant to shoot.

"Enough." A voice commanded as the door behind the bar table came open and The monitor walked in, guarded by two highly decorated assassins.

"Lower your weapons. This is a fight you don't want to pick, trust me, that man has ended men heavily armed and twice your number with nothing but his bare hand." The Monitor announced, as James turned to him with a demonic smile letting go of the bartender.

"He is a Noble, after all." He added sending a wave of shock and panic through the tavern.

"I prefer not to be defined by my Father's name Travis." James frowned calling him by his actual name and he had to smile.