She was thinking about how the two assassins
probably hadn’t been expected to kill her. She realized that possession of the
gauntlet was more important than her death. Any of the societies would benefit
from it. So the assassins had only meant to incapacitate her. It made her feel
a little bad about Serenetizing them.
Her first step should be to find the
orderly who took the gauntlet. Someone who likely didn’t work there, but had
somehow convinced everyone he did.
So as soon as she’d stepped outside
and began to reorient herself within the Uptown of Falling Rocks, she turned
around and headed back inside.
She walked back upstairs to the
floor she’d woken on and found the break room for the staff. There was a sign
on the door that instructed non-hospital staff to stay out, but she didn’t
think she’d be inside very long. She swung open the door and looked inside.
There was a doctor on the phone by
the window, and a female nurse on the couch, watching the television. Both looked
over at Bren, but only the female nurse said anything, “Can I help you?” She
sounded bored.
“I’m looking for Charlie Variety,”
Bren said, “Could you tell me where I could find him?”
“He’s on break in fifteen minutes,”
the female nurse said, “He’s going on after I get off.”
“Well, you wouldn’t happen to know
where my belongings would have been taken, would you? Something of mine is
missing.”
The nurse sighed, “Ask at the
reception desk on this floor, they’ll be able to help you.” Her tone said, I’m on break right now, I shouldn’t have to
deal with you.
“Thank you,” Bren said. She turned
and headed towards the desk following the yellow strip on the floor that
proclaimed RECEPTION DESK, in white font. She found it after a minute; the
strip had led into an unfinished ward, and she’d had to found a detour which
cost her some time.
When Bren stepped up to the desk, the
receptionist looked away at first, and then back with surprise, “You’re the
dead woman?”
Bren nodded, smiled, “Yeah, I’m
looking for something. Something I came in with but I don’t have now.”
“The glove thing?”
“That’s what my nurse called it,”
Bren said, “He said someone took it away for some reason?”
“They said it was suspected to have
chemicals on it,” the receptionist said, “I don’t really get why.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know where they took it?”
“No,” the staff said, “But I know who took it. A guy I’ve never seen
before. Said his name was Mort.”
“Mort?” Bren asked.
“Yeah,” the staff said.
“Did you see where Mort went?”
“Downstairs, probably.”
“What did Mort look like?” Bren asked.
“He had black hair and a beard. Thin face. I
think he was Hispanic or maybe, uh, Arabic,” the receptionist said, “Or, both?”
“I’ll ask around,” Bren said, “Thanks
for your help.”
“I hope you find your glove thingy!”
Bren went around the hospital,
asking questions. She got lost another time and ended up asking a few questions
on how to get unlost. But most of her questions concerned mort. Most people had
no idea who she was talking about, but a few did.
One man on the second floor, a patient with
gauze wrapped around his entire left arm, said he saw a man with a nametag of
Mort walking around, holding the gauntlet in one hand almost carelessly. On the
first floor, a janitor said they’d seen Mort carrying a box, with the gauntlet
on top.
One doctor claimed to have seen him
walking out the back of the hospital with the gauntlet equipped; the box was
not mentioned. “Looked like he was going somewhere in a hurry,” the doctor said
finally. The doctor was an old man whom looked more than old enough to retire.
Bren wondered why he hadn’t but didn’t think to ask.
“Thank you,” she said.
Bren had no idea what she was
supposed to do next. There was a whole town out there, a population of at least
a hundred thousand or more.
One of them had her gauntlet. At least the
nurse, Charlie Variety, had been kind enough to leave her the phone, wallet,
keys, and gum she’d come in with. She placed a strip between her teeth and started
chewing.
NEXT CHAPTER
NEXT CHAPTER
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