Jail's Bait: Time Served (Book 5)

Ms. Cheyenne arrived at the hospital about an hour later.  She came rushing in, a bundle of nerves and looking frightened.  The kids got her over to a chair, then Marquis ran to get an update on Kap as Carmen and Angelina both tried to soothe Kap’s mother down somewhat.  “I just don’t understand why all this happened,” Cheyenne said, wiping her eyes.  “Michael isn’t the type to get involved in a stabbing…” 

“We don’t know the details, Ms. Cheyenne,” Angelina said, stroking the shaking lady’s back, “but we do know that we got Kap here in time; the doctors looked confident when they took him to the back.” 

“Who is this… animal, who would do this to my baby,” Cheyenne asked, her reddened eyes narrowed with frustration.  “Will they even catch him...?” 

“I think that whoever it is, they’ve probably already gotten the payback,” Angelina reassured Cheyenne with a smile. 

“Are you so sure,” Kap’s mother sullenly asked his girlfriend. 

“Pretty much,” she replied, passing a quiet, intense look to Carmen, who returned it just as intently.   “Karma works like that.” 

The double doors swung open and Marquis reappeared.  “I spoke to a nurse in the back.  The doctors have finished the surgery and one of them will come out to speak to you,” he said to Cheyenne, kneeling down in front of her and taking her hands. 

Cheyenne looked at Marquis, Carmen and Angelina, who surrounded her then.  “My son must be a good man,” she said then, her eyes filling with tears; “for him to have such devoted friends.  Thank you.” 

“We’re all best friends, ma’am,” Marquis said then with a smile.  “We wouldn’t be anywhere else.” 

“I heard about your uncle,” Cheyenne replied then, squeezing Marquis's palm.  “It’s all over the tv and the radio.  He cared for my son like he was part of the family; my condolences to you all.” 

“My whole family loves Kap,” Marquis smiled again to his mother.  “They’re all pulling for him to be okay.” 

They all sat there in silence then, Marquis getting to his feet to pace about.  After a few more moments, the double doors swung open once more to reveal a slightly pre-occupied looking older man dressed in scrubs.  He headed straight for them.  “Are you Michael DonaTello’s family,” he asked. 

“Yes, I’m his mother,” Cheyenne replied, getting to her feet, the girls following suit as Marquis drew close.  “How is he, doctor?” 

“The wound was deep, and a few minor arteries were ruptured, but it missed the major organs by millimeters,” he answered clinically.  “We repaired the damage and closed him up without any further trouble; he’ll be just fine.” 

Cheyenne nodded as the kids gave a collective sigh of relief.  “When can I see him?” 

“He’s in recovery now; once the surgery meds we gave him wear off he should awaken, in about fifteen minutes.” 

Cheyenne gave the doctor a curious smile.  “Thank you, doctor, but is there anything else you’re not telling me...? You seem a bit preoccupied.  Did something go wrong in surgery?” 

The doctor looked at her.  “No, no- it’s not that.  We just had the strangest stabbing victim brought into the ER, I’m going to consult on the surgery in a few moments.” 

“Wow, doc, you can do surgeries back to back?” Carmen asked with some surprise. 

“Well, usually I would let another attending doctor step in, but this victim- it’s the strangest thing.  Two box-cutter blades embedded in his shoulder-blades at perfect angles, perfectly severing the anterior deltoid and all of the rotator cuffs on both arms.  He couldn’t move them now even if he wanted to.  Whoever attacked him knew exactly where and how to do it, to achieve such a grand effect.” 

“It almost sounds like you admire their attacker,” Cheyenne said with a slight disgust to her tone. 

“Oh, I’m only amazed at the perfection of the situation, Miss DonaTello,” the doctor explained.  “It’s just a good thing that we got him in here in time, we may be able to save his arms.” 

“Yeah… good thing…” Angelina murmured, casting surreptitious glances at Carmen and Marquis.  They returned her gaze silently. 

“Anyway,” the doctor was saying, too intent on getting back to the ER to notice anything odd, “I should go.  The nurse will be by to escort you back to his recovery room in about five minutes.”  And with that he bustled off. 

Cheyenne took out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.  “I’ll go splash some water on my face before the nurse gets here,” she said then, walking over to the drab door that had a LADIES sign on it. 

Once she vanished into the bathroom Marquis turned to the girls.  “You wanna go get your blades?” he asked Angelina. 

She shook her head.  “No, I told Hooch that he could have em,” she replied conversationally. 

“You know he could retaliate,” Marquis mentioned with an arch look. 

“Yes,” Angelina said nonchalantly, “he very well could.”  And she bent down to do some stretching exercises. 

Carmen went into Marquis's embrace.  “I guess we should all thank you again for getting us those martial arts lessons from a real ninja,” she noted, burying herself into her boyfriend’s arms. 

Marquis held Carmen tightly.  “Only the best for my best friends and my girl,” he smiled. 

“I was afraid you’d think Angel had gone overboard,” Carmen confessed to Marquis then.  “What she did to Hooch.” 

Marquis stared down at her in surprise, and then laughed.  “I don’t think so, Carm; she let him off easy.  If the roles had been reversed and Angel rode in the ambulance and I went after Hooch, I don’t think it would have ended so… decently, for that nigga.” 

********************************************************************** 

A half-hour later Kap lay in the hospital bed in his room, strapped to beeping monitors and IV tubes, surrounded by his mother, the girls and Marquis.  Kap was still groggy, but he was awake.  “You’re going to need some bed rest for a few weeks, with nothing more strenuous then reaching for the remote,” the doctor was saying as he checked all the tubes and monitors, “but afterwards we can start scheduling you in PT, and then you’ll be back to your 100%...!” 

“Thanks, doc,” Kap smiled weakly. 

“Yes, doctor, thank you,” Cheyenne smiled gratefully. 

The doctor nodded.  “I’ll check in on you later,” he said, closing the door and leaving the group alone. 

Kap turned to his friends.  “I guess our weekly double-date will have to wait,” he smiled weakly at Angelina, who smiled back, patting him on the arm. 

“How are you feeling, sweetie,” Cheyenne said then, smoothing her son’s hair down. 

“I’m fine, Ma,” he said, smiling up at her.  “You didn’t have to come all this way.” 

“Nonsense,” Cheyenne said, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek.  “Aint no mountain high enough, baby.” 

They all laughed. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent with everyone sitting around Kap’s bed, and as the sunlight turned to dark red on the wall, Cheyenne seemed to finally be satisfied that Kap was going to be just fine.  “And you’re sure that you’ll go straight to Marquis's house when they release you?” 

Kap nodded.  “Yes, Ma, I will. There’s more room to recuperate there, and I’ll be fine.” 

“Most of his teachers have a live feed in their lectures,” Angelina said then; “he’ll be able to keep up.  The only class he’ll miss is-” 

“-Wrestling practice,” Kap groaned, laying back in the bed gingerly.  “Dammit- sorry Ma,” he interjected then, “but we have a game next week.” 

“Not anymore, you don’t,” his mother replied, the stern look she gave him confirming that his career as a college wrestling star was put on hold, if she had anything to say about it… at least for now. 

“Guess I’ll arrange for the jet,” Marquis said then to break the silence, reaching for his cell phone. 

******************************************************************* 

Two days went by.  It was arranged that Thursday night Kap would be mobile enough to fly to Seattle and spend the remainder of his recovery time there, which would encompass about four to six weeks, given the severity of the wound.  Cheyenne had flown back to Seattle to go back to work; as promised to her, Marquis and the girls hardly ever left Kap’s side, which made for some interesting remarks made by the on-call nurses once other visitors from campus came to stop by to see the champion wrestler of the Grizzles- the term ‘revolving door visitors’ being one of the comments made about Kap’s huge list of daily visitors. 

The Grizzlies Wrestling Team Head Coach and some of his teammates stopped by just before Cheyenne left for the airport, and the coach spent some time with her regaling her with Kap’s victories on the mat, and sent her off with full promises that he would be there for his recovery process every step of the way.  True to his word, he’d been coming to see Kap every day since, promising that his place on the team could never be filled, and that they would win the upcoming match in his honor. The police also stopped by after visiting hours one evening to question him about what happened, and when he told them who the culprit was, they informed Kap to his surprise that the suspect in question was at that very moment in the hospital; recovering from being the victim of a vicious attack himself.  Having no further leads, the cops soon enough let him alone with his thoughts.  This was the only time that he had a moment alone, which he spent mostly wondering why Hooch would just stab him like that...?  He knew that Hooch was secretly involved with Melo; could Hooch have found out that Melo and he had sex...?  That would make sense, then, of the reasons why.  But it didn’t explain who in the hell could have attacked Hooch the same night that Hooch attacked him...?  Kap knew even though Hooch was a student at Berkeley, he was still a Compton thugg at heart, living that life still, and that brings its own Karmic justice- so was the attack on Hooch a random reaction to how he lived is life, or was someone paying Hooch back already for attacking him? 

Kap knew full well that with Hooch, the answer could be anything.  But he also knew that his best friend and lover Marquis had a nasty temper that could easily snap over something like this… and then again, Melo was the Captain and Head Quarterback of the Grizzlies football team.  You have to have intense strength and a thirst for violence to be able to head the Grizzlies. 

Which one of them did it, he wondered as the long hours of the night would stretch on.  Which, of course, would lead to him thinking of Melo for long periods of time.  His relationship with Marquis stretched back as far as the eye could see… from the moment they first laid eyes on each other in the playground, they were the best of friends, no one and nothing could tear them apart.  Even after Marquis Howard at the time became Marquis Hill, and moved into the mansion that lay halfway up a mountain, they were forever connected.  Falling in love had been the most logical choice for them to make… but he couldn’t help remembering Melo’s kisses… that first one on Melo’s couch right before he got drunk, and the last one right before Hooch stabbed him… 

Kap was starting to become painfully aware that whereas Marquis's touch had awakened something new and exciting, Melo’s kiss alone took him to levels of passion that he never really experienced with Marquis.  He closed his eyes and sank back into the bed, frustrated.  Oh, how he wished he could remember the sex he had that night with Melo… his body still responded on some level at just the thought of being in Melo’s strong arms, with his breath smelling like traces of weed, his clothes smelling like cologne and malt liquor, and Kap feeling Melo’s hot kisses rain down on him, knowing that at one point that night he must have lain down on his back, his muscled legs curved outward and wrapped around Melo’s strong, sexy back as the head quarterback lowered his hot, throbbing dick into Kap’s warm, dark hole- slowly, slowly filling up his insides like a swollen phython- 

“And what, pray tell, are you thinking about…?” 

Kap snatched his absently groping hand away from his swollen dick, grateful that he had all the bedcovers pulled up to his neck.  Opening his eyes, he saw to his surprise, that Jake was coming into his hospital room all alone. 

Deciding not to answer Jake’s intimate question, he gave Jake a look of ill-bred shock.  “Well as I live and breathe, if it isn’t our lil’-ol Jakey, come to visit me… I declare; the sky is fallin...!” he proclaimed in a mock Southern drawl. 

“Only for you, monsieur,” Jake mumbled as he pulled up a chair to the bed and sat down in it. 

“What was that?”  Kap asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Jake smiled deprecatingly.  “I’m still working on how to use zis language to ze best of my ability, monsieur.” 

“You use people to the best of your ability,” Kap said underneath a false set of coughs. 

“What was zat?” Jake asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Nothing, man,” Kap smiled back, clearing his throat.  “What are you doing here?” 

“I come in peace, Michael; I just wanted to see if you were okay,” Jake replied with a completely convincing concerned look. 

“Did you...?” Kap asked sullenly, laying back in his bed and putting one hand behind his head, staring at Jake through narrowed eyes. 

“Indeed; ze story of your attack in ze dorm, tsk-tsk.  I myself ‘ave never been attacked before, but I wanted you to know that I am very sympathetic to your plight,” Jake said with an air of righteousness. 

“I’m sure you are,” Kap answered sarcastically. 

Kap sighed.  “S'il vous plaît (Please), Michael; I would very much like to, how does it go, ‘bury ze hatchet’.” 

“I’ve been stabbed already this episode, thanks,” Kap remarked wryly. 

Jake stared at Kap, and then sighed with forced regret.  “Needless to say, as you are getting well I will keep Marquis diverti (entertained) for you, until your safe return to school.” 

Kap actually managed to smile at Jake this time.  “Guess again, French-Flake; Marquis and I will be staying at HT until I get better- it seems that my best friend wants to take charge of my recovery.”  He smirked.  “So if I were you, Jakey, you’d better say your goodbyes now; it’ll be weeks before you see your boy back on campus...!” 

Jake got to his feet, his eyes baleful.  “You know, I go out of my way to try and be a good little boy, reach out to you… and how do you respond every time...?  With sarcasme et insultes (sarcasm and insults),” Jake exclaimed in mock pain. 

“Sorry; I don’t trust you, Jakey, and I don’t like you either,” Kap said simply. 

Jake gave Kap another baleful look… then his face slid into an oily grin.  “Well, it really doesn’t matter what you think, does it...?  It only matters what Marquis thinks, of course.”  And what he will think of you once he sees what I’ve got on my camera-phone, you two-faced lying bitch, Jake added inwardly.  Aloud he added, “Now, what I think, is zat I will wait for Marquis to show up,” he smiled again, reaching into his pocket and holding up his cell phone.  My phone is truly "l'état de l'art" (state-of-the-art), you know...?  It takes pictures and records video as well.  There’s a small clip I saved zat I’m dying to show him.  Ze multi-pixels make every angle so clear, so crystal clear.” 

Kap gave Jake a look which suggested that he could care less about the video capabilities on Jake’s cell phone. 

“Very well.”  Jake nodded to Kap, and turned to leave - only to find the door blocked by Marquis, Carmen and Angelina, all giving Jake the most startled of looks. 

“I can’t believe you came to visit Kap,” Marquis said happily, coming into the room and throwing his arms around Jake, hugging him tightly. 

Carmen, Angelina and Kap each looked at one another, simultaneously sticking their fingers into their open mouths in mock gagging.  Just behind them followed the Hill twins, Tyra and Danielle.  “Hi, Kap, hi Jake,” they said simultaneously. 

Marquis pulled away; Jake smiled at him.  “I was worried about our Michael here, and I came to see if there was anything I could do to help.” 

Marquis looked at Kap.  “You see, Kap,” he said brightly, “times like this shows you who your real friends are, don’t they...?” 

Wisely, Kap shut the fuck up. 

Jake said then, “I cannot stay.  Can you step with me outside...?  I would like to have a quick word…” 

“Sure,” Marquis said then, looking around at Kap. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and without another word he followed Jake from the room. 

************************************************************ 

Jake and Marquis went down the hospital hallway a ways, then Jake pushed open a door, going inside and Marquis following him; it looked like a doctor’s in-call room.  “I don’t think we’re supposed to be in here, Jake,” Marquis began, looking about worriedly. 

“I wanted to speak with you en privé (privately),” Jake said, going into his pocket and pulling out his cellphone.  “You shouldn’t have to look at zis out in the open, comprendre (understand)?” 

“Jake, what’s this all about...?” Marquis asked seriously.  “You’re making me nervous.” 

Jake hesitated.  “I just figured you have enough on your plate, but I wouldn’t be a friend to you if I held onto it without saying anything.”  He produced his cell phone and opened it up, pressing some buttons. “It seems like I took zis just before Kap was attacked, and I was on my way to find you when all zis went down.  I happened to be in ze wrong place at ze wrong time, I guess, but I wouldn’t be ze friend zat I say I am if I didn’t let you see what my cell phone caught on camera.”  And he held up the cell phone in front of Marquis's face… 

**************************************************************** 

“So… what did the French-Flake want,” Angelina asked, sitting down on the bed and reaching over to smooth down Kap’s forehead. 

“He wanted… to ‘bury ze hatchet’,” Kap said in fake French, wiggling his fingers in quotation marks. 

“Let’s bury it in his face then,” Carmen said with a smirk. 

“Oh, are we not liking Jake anymore...?” Tyra asked, eyes arched. 

“It’s a long long story,” Angelina said warningly. 

“You know what,” Tyra said then resolutely, “I don’t need to hear it.  You say ‘hate Jake’, I say ‘fuck him’then.” 

“Yeahhhhh,” Danielle agreed; “fuck him then...!”  They all laughed.  

There was a knock on the door.  “Come in,” said Kap, still chuckling. 

The door opened, and the twins gasped in surprise.  “Necie,” Dani and Tyra simultaneously said in shock. 

Into the hospital room walked Necie, captain of the Grizzlies Cheer squad.  She was tall, light-skinned, beautiful and completely fit; all curves and strength in her stance, borne from her acrobatics as Head Cheerleader.  There was also a subtle trace of arrogance in her swagger, which lent to the assumption of her always laughing inwardly at a secret joke.  Her eyes were light green, and her honey-red hair was arranged in a sort of windblown, Farrah-Fawcett style; Kap immediately believed that this girl just KNEW that she could have every man in the room if she chose.  Adding to this was the fact that as she came further into the room it was revealed that she was holding hands with someone behind her back… who turned out to be Melo, following her into the room with a Cheshire-cat grin on his face, his eyes focused solely on Kap.  This, of course, confirmed to Kap that this Necie was Melo’s girlfriend, revealed at last.  Kap instantly covered from his shock, and pushed away that instant in which his heart beat faster when he saw the campus football star… 

“Hi,” the red-headed girl proclaimed to everyone.  “I'm Necie,” she smiled at Kap, holding out her hand for him to take; “and we just had to come see you when I heard about what happened; we wanted to wait until you had rested up though a couple of days; let it not be said that Berkeley’s Head Cheerleader and Head Quarterback aren’t without compassion...!” 

From her pose, Kap knew that he was supposed to kiss her hand, the way they did back in the old days.  He obliged as the twins jumped up and came over to the girl.  “Hey, we didn’t know you were coming here,” Tyra said. 

“Well, I really didn’t know myself, but Melo insisted,” Necie said then honestly; “Kap, I don’t know you well, but that’s going to change.  You’re friends with the best girls in my squad, so I've just got to know simply everything about you...!  And then when I heard you were involved with the one that got away…!” 

“What’s this,” Kap said curiously. 

“It’s nothing,” Angelina surprisingly replied then, blushing furiously. 

“Angel; you never told Kap?” Carmen asked then, a wide grin on her face. 

“Next subject please,” Angelina said, her face now beet red. 

“You never told me what,” Kap said, an intensely curious cast to his smile. 

“Well, it so happens that our Angel here tried out for and won a spot on the Grizzlies Cheer-Squad,” Necie replied, folding her arms across her chest.  “And then dropped out the same day.” 

The whole room stared at Angelina.  She looked back at them all.  “WHAT?” she said then, her arms out.  “I never really wanted to be a cheerleader- no offense,” she said to Tyra, Dani and Necie. 

“But how did you win a place on the squad,” Kap asked then, eyes wide with laughter.  “You hate cheering!” 

“I only tried out as a dare from Carm,” Angelina confessed.  “She accused me of being too chicken to meet new people, to step outside of my comfort zone.  I proved her wrong.” 

“Proving me wrong would have meant staying on the squad,” Angelina, Carmen intoned. 

“Didn’t I meet new friends,” Angelina countered, waving her arms at the twins and Necie.  

“Necie knows my name right now, because I stepped outside my zone.  So there,” she added petulantly. 

“That’s why I can't stay mad with her, she’s just too cute,” Necie replied to them all, her eyes sparkling with cheerleader zest.  “And of course, we had to come, especially when I found out that you and Melo are so close…” she finished, smiling up at her boyfriend.  Angelina and Carmen looked curiously at Kap. 

“We are, huh...?” Kap asked with an arch look. 

All eyes jumped to Melo, who managed to look slightly guilty.  “What I meant was, we got cool living in the dorm, and we’re both A-list sports stars on campus,” he explained to everyone; “so it was bound that we would meet up sooner or later.  How you doing, man,” he asked then with what sounded like genuine sympathy. 

“I'm mending up,” he replied to Melo; “I got 12 stitches.” 

“Well I got 12 inches,” Melo replied with a lecherous grin- without thinking. 

The room got silent as the girls all stared at Melo with a weird expression, while Kap held his breath- Melo just flirted with him in front of females...! 

“What you tellin him that for,” Necie tittered, elbowing Melo in the ribs; “that’s only for me to know, got it...?”  Obviously she thought he was only making a joke, Kap hoped to himself. 

Melo let slip one look of pure terror- and then his face relaxed into that self-same grin.  “That was just jokes, baby-girl,” he said to Necie, putting one arm around her waist and squeezing her; she seemed to be mollified then.  “But seriously,” Melo said, obviously trying to move on with the subject, “Man, that little punk-ass Hooch got what he deserved.” 

“The police told me that Hooch was brought in here about an hour and ½ after me,” Kap asked then, his eyes meeting Melo’s.  “You happen to know what happened to him?” 

“The word is, someone heard Hooch yelling out over the rainstorm and went to investigate; they found him and called the hospital,” Melo answered.  “They overheard the doctors telling him that they repaired the damage, but there was going to be a healing period and months of physical therapy before he’d get the full use of his arms back.” 

“And no one’s come forward to claim the role as Hooch’s hero, huh...?” Kap asked then. 

“Nope,” his Good Samaritan is staying quiet, Melo replied somberly. 

“Oh well, I hope things work out for him,” Angelina replied under her breath.  Out loud she changed the subject: “So when can we get you on the jet, baby?” she asked Kap. 

“Probably by Thursday night,” Kap said with a groan as he stretched.  “Remind me to get my prescriptions earlier so that we can have everything we need for Seattle.” 

“Jet...?” Melo asked, eyebrows raised.  “You going somewhere?” 

“Yeah, Marquis is flying me back to his house in Seattle to convalesce,” Kap said; “so you guys actually came by at the right time.  If you’d waited any longer you might have missed me.” 

I miss you now, Melo grumbled inwardly.  Out loud he said, “What about your classes?” 

“Besides wrestling practice, I can keep up with all of my classes through the live feed; I know you’ve seen them in lectures.” 

“Yeah, I've seen those cameras and computer hookups,” Melo said, somewhat crestfallen.  “It’s good that you can go away and rest up until you heal; I'm sure Dean Callwell will approve you being an off-site student until you heal up.” 

“It won’t be too long,” Kap said with a determined look; “I can't miss too many matches.  We have a good shot to take gthe Grizzlies to the ‘18 CW Championship…” 

“Well Kap, we’ve gotta get going,” Necie interjected then, leaning over and patting him on the leg.  “When boys start talking sports, we’ll never get another word in edgewise,” she added slyly to the girls.  “Have a good trip to Seattle, and when you get back let us know; we’ll throw you a party.”  She smiled genuinely at him.  “Just imagine; beforehand, you were just part of Marquis Hill's entourage, but now you are an A-Lister yourself; it’s almost like this attack on you was the best thing that could have happened to your social life…!  You go boy!!!” 

Kap looked like he had no clue how to reply to this. 

Necie, however, paid no attention.  She looked at the girls.  “Carm, Angel- you guys take it easy, and you two- we have rehearsal tomorrow afternoon,” she added to the twins, who nodded in agreement.  She turned gracefully and led the way out of the hospital room, pulling Melo along in her grip. 

He turned back to the room.  “Yeah, see you guys, and stay safe, Kap,” he managed before disappearing into the hallway. 

The group left in the room stayed silent for a few moments.  “Wow, she’s a ball of energy, aint she?” Kap said with a smirk.  

“We call her ‘Hurricane Necie’ when she’s not listening,” Tyra said in a low tone. 

“I bet,” Angelina said with a grin. 

“I don’t know how to deal with the fact that me almost dying puts me on the social register at school...” Kap said, still stunned. 

“Congrats on the A-Listing,” Carmen chuckled to Kap.  “Too bad Key missed out on that whole scene.” 

“Lucky Key,” Kap grumbled; “Whose to say what he’s getting up to now, when French-Flake Jake’s with him,” Kap muttered, staring out at the now empty hallway. 

 ************************************************************ 

Marquis simply stared at the looped video of Melo kissing Kap, their tongues lapping and overlapping again and again; it was obvious to anyone seeing this that both men were enjoying the intimate embrace. 

“I thought that zis was necessary for you to see,” Jake was saying; “what kind of friend would I be if I allowed zis to go on without your knowledge...?  I’m sure zat you had no idea zat he who calls himself your best friend is gay (well, bisexual, I guess), and that he eez carrying on with, of all people, Melo Johnson, the Head Quarterback on campus...!  Well, I would be a ‘orrible person had I kept zis secret from you.” 

Marquis said nothing as he stared at the loop, his eyes growing darker with each replay.  “Have you shown this to anyone else,” he asked then. 

“No, of course not,” Jake replied with an air of asperity.  “I wanted to show you first, and let you decide how to proceed…” 

“Well, thanks for showing me first,” Marquis absently said, handing the cell phone back to Jake.  “Say nothing to anyone until I say so.”  Then without another word, he opened up the door to the on-call room and went back into the hallway. 

Jake looked at the continuing loop again, and closed the phone with a smirk.  “Check, and pretty soon, check-Mate…” and he continued smirking to himself as he left the on-call room. 

************************************************************ 

The hospital room at the other end of the hallway was as quiet and full of shadows as the hospital room Kap laid in was full of light and visitors.  One man occupied the room, his dark arms bound from shoulders to elbows.  With all the medication and sedatives running through the man’s arms and with the lights off one would believe the man would be sleeping.  Yet the man lay there, staring at the ceiling. 

There was a glare from the door as it opened up, spilling light in for a few seconds as footsteps crossed the threshold; the door closed up again and the footsteps were swallowed into the gloom. 

The man in the bed heard the approaching footsteps, yet remained still.  Closer the footsteps came until they stopped, and a shadow leaned over the railing to peer into the gurney.  “How are you feeling,” asked a low voice. 

The eyes of the man moved to stare at the shadow.  “Why did you save me,” Hooch rasped, his voice sounding raw and worn.  “I’ve never been nice to you.” 

“You’ve never been nice to anyone, monsieur,” Jake replied; “but I knew where you were, and I knew I was ze only one who would even want to save you.  Tsk-tsk-tsk,” murmured Jake then; “how stupid of you to attack such a widely popular one as Kap DonaTello.” 

“He tried to take what was mine,” growled Hooch- then he began to cough. 

Jake reached over and grabbed a cup of water that sat on a nearby table.  “Here,” he said, raising the mattress and letting Hooch drink from the cup.  He put the cup back down.  “Now, to answer your question,” Jake said then; “I saved you because I want you to owe me; and I’ll need a favor from you soon, perhaps.” 

“Who’s to say I’ll take you up on some dumb-ass deal,” Hooch spat at Jake. 

“Ohhhh, I’d say that zis would be collateral enough to get your word,” Jake replied then, pulling out his cell phone and hitting the PLAY button on his recorder. 

“Angel got Hooch back.” Came Marquis's voice. 

“Where are your blades...?” Carmen was asking. 

“Lost em.” Angelina replied. 

“She lost em, and that’s all there is to say,” Marquis said. 

“He’s my god-damed boyfriend; I couldn’t just stand by.” Angelina said. 

“Aint nothing more to say,” said Carmen.   

Jake pressed the END button on his phone, turning now back to Hooch, who was now trembling with rage.  “I know how to get you get your revenge… all you have to do is… what I say,” Jake smiled darkly at the bandaged thugg. 

Hooch stared at Jake, malice and revenge in his eyes.  “You have a deal,” he said through gritted teeth.