“Alex?! Are you alright?!”
It seemed she heard someone shouting.
“Alex is gonna be okay?!”
“First, calm down, then please answer some questions.”
“Questions?”
“Can you tell me her name, age, and address?”
“Ah, yeah, right, um… Her name’s Alexander. Alexander Colt. She’s a casual worker here at the zoo, and I reckon she’s eighteen…? Her address should be in the office…”
Next, she could hear the voice of her senior colleague from her part-time job. But drowning out that voice, an ambulance wailed its piercing yelp siren. The stretcher, dragged out from within the ambulance, rattled noisily, and she could hear the clamorous exchange of people who seemed to be medical personnel. The din of onlookers could also be heard.
The surroundings were far from quiet, a situation unimaginable for a zoo late at night.
“Alex!!”
“Hey, what are you standing around gawking for! Get these rubberneckers back!”
“I’m not just some rubbernecker!! I’m Neil Archer, a mate of hers, of Alexander!”
“A mate, you say?”
“Yeah, that’s right!”
A jolt reverberated to the core of her cold body. Alexander then opened her eyelids ever so slightly, muttering in a small, muffled voice.
“...Nee...il...?”
Alexander was now lying supine upon a stretcher. Her blurry vision was filled with nothing but an oxygen mask and a machine measuring her vitals, making her understand that she was inside an ambulance.
Come to think of it, how did this happen? Alexander tried to recall the events that had led to her being put in an ambulance, but her memory was frustratingly fragmented, and she could not seem to remember.
She remembered coming to see Wicked, the white lion, on a whim before finishing her shift. But beyond that… she could not recall.
“Her name’s Alexander Colt, born on the thirteenth of August, seventeen years old. Home is Unit 5, 3 Everlasting Street, Grevillea, Canberra, Capital Special Administrative Region of the Federal Republic of Alusthogrun. The Colt Detective Agency.”
“Right, that’s a great help. And you are?”
“I’ve got her old man’s contact details. Plus, I know Alexander better than that zookeeper over there, and I saw the lion get shot and fall on top of her from a distance. I’ve got a handle on the whole situation, so I should be useful. Let me come with you.”
Alexander raised her head a little, peering at the scene outside the ambulance. Beside her was a single female paramedic, communicating with someone over the radio, whilst outside, two male paramedics were dealing with the crowd of onlookers. Among the onlookers was her senior from the zoo, and for some reason, her friend Neil Archer was there as well.
What on earth was going on? Alexander tried desperately to think, but a throbbing pain interrupted her thoughts. Her entire body ached as if she had been in a pile-up. Her head hurt, and her left cheek, too. The pain in her left cheek, in particular, was a searing sensation, as if she had been slashed by a large piece of metal.
“Canberra National University Hospital will take her. We’re heading there now,” the female paramedic said to her colleagues dealing with the crowd outside, after taking her ear away from the radio.
Canberra National University Hospital. As it happened, that was the same hospital where Yun was admitted.
“Right then, got it. —Can’t be helped, you get in too.”
One of the male paramedics outside said to Neil. And as the two paramedics and Neil—three people in total—climbed aboard, the ambulance’s engine roared to life.
Clatter, clatter. The stretcher shook violently, and Alexander’s body was rattled about. A further, sharper pain shot through her already aching body. Unable to bear the pain, Alexander let out a small groan. The female paramedic then gently took Alexander’s limp right hand.
“Are you okay, Alexander? Do you know where you are?”
“...An ambulance...!”
The vehicle lurched particularly hard, and the stretcher moved with it. A sharp pain assaulted her body again, and Alexander’s face contorted. It was then that she caught a momentary glimpse of Neil’s expression. His eyes, fixed on her, were utterly cold.
“Good thing it was only minor injuries. Your old man said he’ll be at the hospital soon.”
After her treatment was finished and she had been moved to a hospital room, Neil spoke to Alexander. His tone, however, was somewhat sarcastic, with a detached coldness to it. His face was devoid of any smile.
He was not the usual Neil Archer. That was something even the most obtuse fool would understand.
“Yeah, sure was. Bloody lucky it was just scratches, bruises, and a concussion.”
Alexander feigned ignorance of the change in him, laughing lightly in her usual manner. How on earth did it come to this? I just don’t get it, she muttered. Neil then cuts her off and says, "...Alex."
“Hm?”
“Don't play dumb, Alex.” As he said this, Neil glared at Alexander. It was a sharp gaze she had never seen before. “The bullet was a .22 long rifle. Do you know what that means?”
“...Nah.”
“It means they were clearly trying to kill you. But it seems Lady Luck’s got a soft spot for you. As luck would have it, that white lion became your shield and took the bullet for you.”
“Wicked did?”
“Yeah, that’s right. To me, it looked for all the world like that lion was protecting you. The price for that, I suppose, is that you’ve got a new scar on your left cheek.”
Neil snorted. But he was not smiling. His gaze remained as sharp as ever. Then, the cold-eyed Neil said, “...I know, Alex. I know what you’re up to.”
“Know what? What are you on about?”
“I know what information you’re looking for.”
In that instant, a bottomless fear filled Alexander’s heart. But Neil continued with his unsettling words.
“I know you have that person's contact details. And I know you’re too chicken to call the number yet.”
“Hang on, Neil. What does that ev—...”
“...Senior Technocrat Pellmond Varlozzi.”
Was the man standing before her now truly Neil Archer? The suspicion crossed Alexander’s mind. Or perhaps this was just some impostor wearing a mask of Neil’s face. Such a preposterous, hopeful thought also flashed through her mind.
But hope was swiftly extinguished by despair. Neil, with a look of apology, averted his gaze from Alexander. Then, he confessed in a voice that was barely a whisper.
“Let me apologise first, Alex. I’ve been keeping something from you ever since we started high school.”
“…”
“I, ah… I was asked by an agent from the ASI. To keep an eye on you.”
“Keep an eye on me? Hang on, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your old man knows Pellmond Varlozzi. So…”
The ASI, the Alusthogrun Secret Intelligence agency. The intelligence agency of Alusthogrun, primarily engaged in espionage. The very same ASI that was often the subject of spy films. Neil had just confessed that he had been asked by one of their agents to watch her. To watch Alexander, and her father.
“What are you talking about, Neil?”
“—They told me to keep a close watch on your movements because you might get killed. And today, that almost became a reality.”
“Neil, stop it.”
“Alexander! Please, just listen to what I have to say!!”
For the first time, Neil raised his voice. He then slumped to the floor, planting his hands on the ground and bowing his head. In a trembling voice, he said quietly,
“...I don't want you to die. Not you, not ever. Because you’re my…—!”
It was a somewhat chilling night. The melancholy waning moon shone into the hospital room through the wide-open curtains. The pale, bluish light it cast illuminated Neil’s ashen face from the darkness.
Perhaps it was because she had been clawed by a large carnivore like a lion. The doctor told her she would need to be hospitalised for at least two days for observation, and so Alexander was forced into a short stay.
On her first morning in the hospital, Alexander, having slipped out of her room to escape the memories of the previous night, found herself in an empty dayroom.
The dayroom was very sunny, but it had little else to recommend it. At most, there was a chatty AI robot of questionable utility.
And so, as Alexander was sunbathing with nothing in particular to do, she heard the sound of an electric wheelchair approaching. Turning round, she saw Yun, sitting in her wheelchair.
“Alexander, you’re here too…?”
Yun looked quizzically at Alexander, whose head was wrapped in bandages. Alexander gave a wry smile.
“Yeah. Got myself stuck under a white lion at the zoo where I work, and now look at me.”
“You work at a zoo?”
“Yeah, I do. …But it’s just picking up rubbish, working the till at the gift shop, that sort of thing. I don’t get near the animals. I’m not a proper member of staff, you see.”
“Then how did you end up under a lion…?”
“Just unlucky yesterday, I s’pose. To be honest, I’m not really sure how it happened myself. One minute I was standing, the next I’d conked out, and when I came to, I was in an ambulance.”
At this, Yun chuckled. Just like me, she added. “I kinda get what you mean. That feeling when you wake up in hospital, and for a second you’ve got no idea where you are. It’s scary. But then you see the doctor’s face and you feel relieved.”
“The doctor? You mean that bloke with the light blue hair?”
“Yeah, that’s him. Dr. Pevalossam. You know him?”
“Yeah. When I came to visit you, I got lost in this hospital. He was the doctor I grabbed to ask for directions.”
“...You came here, Alexander?”
“Well, of course you wouldn’t know. In the end, I couldn't find your room, so I couldn't visit you that day. The stingy doctor wouldn't tell me.”
“Oh, so that’s why I didn’t know… But to have someone other than family visit, it’s a first, and, well, thanks.”
Blushing shyly, Yun manoeuvred her electric wheelchair to come alongside Alexander. Her pale skin, now in the sunlight, seemed even whiter, almost translucent. Observing her pallid complexion, Alexander spoke to her.
“Anyway, being in hospital is more boring than I thought. There’s nothing for entertainment here. I can’t believe there isn’t a single book or comic in the dayroom.”
“That’s ‘cause patients are supposed to bring their own stuff. Plus, the internet’s free for everyone to use, so you can play games or look things up. That’s why there’s not much interaction between patients.”
“Isn’t that a bit lonely?”
“But that’s just how it is here.”
“You’re kidding me. Hah, I should’ve asked Mum to bring something…”
Side by side, the two of them gazed out of the same window at the same view. They chatted idly without looking at each other.
They were alone in the dayroom, set in a corner of the corridor by the lifts. There was no sign of people passing by, and despite it being midday, the hospital air lacked any sense of liveliness. To chat cheerfully face-to-face in such an atmosphere would have been embarrassingly awkward. But at that moment, that comfortable distance was just right.
“...Still, under a lion, eh? Wasn't it heavy?”
“Course it was heavy. For a moment there, I couldn't breathe. Thought I was a goner. It’s a miracle I got away with just a scratch on my face.”
“But why would the lion attack you in the first place…?”
As she discussed this with Yun, Alexander felt a sense of surprise.
She had thought of Yun as a gloomy girl, but now, talking with her one-on-one, Alexander realised that was not the case at all. The image of her being frail and delicate was hard to shake, but Yun’s personality seemed inquisitive and cheerful. At the same time, it made her wonder. Why would such a bright and seemingly kind girl be subjected to such vile bullying? Alexander could not understand why she had been so disliked.
She imagined that if it were not for her physical condition, Yun would have been much more active. The thought brought a sense of frustration from somewhere deep inside.
“...Ah, well, about that... It’s not like the lion actually attacked me. It was more like, I was just really lucky, I guess.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s true I was crushed by the lion. But that’s ‘cause it took a bullet for me. The lion shielded me.”
“A bullet?! Whoa, what? That’s super scary, but what an incredible story…”
Wicked, the white lion, who had leapt over the fence of his enclosure, pounced on Alexander as if to tackle her, and took a bullet in her stead. Fortunately, Wicked’s life was not in danger. The bullet had only grazed his side, a minor injury. …However, that was the situation for now. Due to his advanced age, there was a possibility his condition could suddenly change from the shock, and that possibility was not a low one.
It was her father who had relayed this information to Alexander. He had also passed on some information he had heard from an acquaintance in the city police’s forensic science division.
According to that information, the bullet that had hit Wicked—or had been aimed at Alexander—was a .22 calibre long rifle round. Coincidence or not, it matched the information Neil had given her last night.
Furthermore, her father had also said that the investigation was called off less than half a day after it had begun. Apparently, pressure had come from the top, but the unprecedented speed of the closure had started to raise suspicions even within the police department.
‘Their classic cover-up job. The bastard who shot the lion is still on the loose. It’s only a matter of time before someone ends up dead. Dammit. My daughter nearly died, and what are the police doing?!’
With those final curses, her father had left her hospital room. That had been this morning.
And Alexander, once again, had been unable to confess anything to her father. Not about the phone number, and not about Neil.
“Hey, Alexander.”
“Hmm?”
“You look a bit pale. Are you alright?”
Meeting Alexander’s eyes for the first time, Yun peered intently into her face. A wave of inexplicable embarrassment washed over Alexander, and she averted her gaze. Then, she said evasively, “I’m fine, yeah. Just lost in thought.”
“But you hit your head and got a concussion, didn’t you? Maybe you should call a doctor, just in case…”
“I’m really fine. See?”
“But…”
“I said I’m fine! Really, I am. I don’t need a doc—…”
Just then, the watch-style communication device on Alexander’s right wrist began to ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring. It was the tone for an unknown number.
“Sorry, just gotta step outside for a sec.”
With that, Alexander left the dayroom and hurried down the stairs. In the middle of her descent, the ringing stopped. The call had ended.
What was that all about? Alexander frowned, staring at her watch. It was then, as her attention wavered from what was in front of her, that it happened.
“...Ouch!”
A gaunt-cheeked man collided with Alexander’s shoulder from the front.
He was a man dressed all in black: a long, black trench coat that reached his calves, a black fedora pulled down low to hide his face, square-framed black spectacles, and an unshaven stubble. He was about 175cm tall and surprisingly muscular. Despite bumping into her, the man walked away without a word.
“Wait, you! What’s the big idea, bumping into me and not sayin’ a word!”
Alexander yelled at the man’s back, but he paid her no mind, disappearing from her sight without so much as a backward glance.
“Damn it, my luck’s been rotten since yesterday…”
Alexander grumbled. As she did, she happened to glance down. The pocket on the side of her hospital gown was slightly bulging.
A moment ago, there had been nothing in the pocket. But now, something was inside.
“…”
There was only one possible explanation, one person who came to mind. The man who had just bumped into her must have put something in her pocket. Alexander retrieved the present the man in black had delivered.
“...What the hell is this…?”
Inside was a small, palm-sized envelope. Taped to the outside was a sticky note with a message. The envelope read, ‘Give this to Elaine,’ and the sticky note had a short message, seemingly addressed to Alexander.
‘You and your father are to drop this case immediately. And forget about it. Prying any further will only lead to your ruin.’
After reading the note, Alexander scanned her surroundings. She looked for the man in black, but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she found another man: her father, visiting the hospital again. Alexander rushed over to him in a panic. “D-Dad! You gotta listen to me!!”
“Alexander, what is it? What’s got you in such a flap? Did you see a cockroach in here?”
“It’s not that, it’s this. This envelope!!”
“An envelope? —…Hey, hey, hold on a minute, Alexander. Where on earth did you get this...!?”
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