Chapter 41: The Debrief
Theo wheeled Estea out, the chair ticking over the polished floor, and Lance and his subordinates started blinking, unsure what was going on. Once she was settled, he came back for Sesan and carried her to the car as well. Frank and the heroes offered to help with the lifting, but he waved them off. Not because he didn’t need the hands.
Because his wives, especially Estea, could bite.
Another thing he noticed was that Lance and the other heroes had no idea who the two women were. They gave no reaction out of the ordinary, grown heroes going still where they stood, and that was all. Two of them forgot to breathe for a second when Sesan’s face came into the light.
They settled into the fierce ride. From the outside it looked like an armored beast, but the inside was a luxurious suite, plush cream-colored seats facing each other across a small table. The door shut with a heavy, padded thunk that swallowed the street noise whole, and the city dropped away behind tinted glass. The contrast should have been funny, an armored shell wrapped around a sitting room, but Theo was too tired tonight to enjoy it.
The car ate the distance to the hospital. Theo sat with Sesan slumped warm against his side and Estea silent across the little table, and for a long stretch the only sound was the tires humming over asphalt. An hour into the deep night, they finally reached it, the engine settling into a low idle as they pulled in.
This time Theo let Frank wheel Estea while he carried Sesan, who was still fast asleep against his chest. They rode up to the top floor and down a hushed corridor to the room, and the moment the guards saw him they tensed and pulled the door open. Beyond it the room was wide and dim, a couch along one wall, the machines waiting quiet in the corner.
Uthed sat cross-legged on the seat beside the door, eyes closed. The moment Theo stepped in, his eyes opened, and he went still, staring at the two women he’d brought in, one crimson-haired, the other with pale, frost-colored hair. Both of them were, in a word, breathtaking, and whatever calm he’d been holding cross-legged left him all at once.
’Heavens, what gorgeous ladies. Are those his wives? Where did he get them from?’
Theo set Sesan down on the couch and let her sleep freely. Then he walked back to Estea, whose gaze had settled on Thall.
She said nothing, nor looked any kind of way. She simply stared at Thall, no expression at all, just that flat stare holding on him a beat too long. And then she turned her wheelchair.
"Help me to the toilet."
Theo was shocked, but he followed her without a word. He slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, lifted her clear of the wheelchair, and set her down on the seat.
"I guess it must have been killing you? Did you almost let it loose on yourself?"
"Are you okay in the head?"
"I’m only surprised you asked so smoothly. I figured you’d have turned it over in your head a long while first, and Sesan was asleep..."
"Do you intend to watch me do it?"
Theo gave a cocky chuckle.
"Do you like to be watched?"
Estea lowered her head for a few moments. She was silent, her hair falling forward to cover the vein at her temple, the one standing out like it might burst.
’This bastard. Where did Thall pick him up from?’
Theo, satisfied he’d achieved his mission, stepped out. He went to wash up in the suite’s spare bathroom, scrubbing the last of the night off his arms and face, then found Lance and Frank waiting for him in the lobby of the high floor. The lobby was dim and quiet at this hour, a low lamp burning between the chairs and a tray of tea already set out.
He smelled better now, and looked better too, even though his hair was still wet and clinging to his forehead.
As he sat down, he asked:
"So what would you like to know?"
Lance studied him for a few seconds before speaking.
"Can you give us the details of how the Gate came about?"
Theo nodded.
"Yes, of course. After I met you the other time, I had to come home right away. I’d barely gotten in when my wife’s stepmother dropped by to leave a wedding gift. The moment she left, the Gate opened. I couldn’t run, not with the condition my wives were in, so I had no choice but to fight. And that was what I did."
Lance paused, thinking it over. Meanwhile, Agent Frank kept his eyes on his tab and shook his head at something on the screen.
Then he leaned in and whispered something in Lance’s ear. Afterwards, Lance leaned forward, took a small sip from the cup of tea in front of him, and asked:
"So, did you notice anything strange? Anything at all?"
Theo let the silence run for a long moment.
"I think... the monsters in the Gate were fewer than usual. According to the Gate course we took at university, what makes a Gate dangerous, more than the rank of the monsters inside, is the endless number of them. This one didn’t have that."
Aide Lance nodded.
"Yes. This is something I noticed too."
He went quiet, his gaze drifting out of focus, the long night showing in it. For a moment he and Frank traded a look that neither of them explained. But soon he let out a tired breath and got to his feet.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Theolyne. You’ve been a great help. I’ll contact you and keep you up to speed on the rewards. Would you also like me to assign some Veteran Heroes to the hospital?"
Theo brightened at the thought of free protection posted outside his wives’ door.
"Oh, I’d appreciate that."
Lance offered a tired smile and bade Theo farewell.
After that, Theo sighed and sat back down.
Only now did he finally have the time to check the system, which had been beeping insistently at him for a while. He’d been putting it off all night. He let out a slow breath and let the notifications rise in front of him.
[An EXCEPTIONAL-grade Investment has been Detected]
[You have fought with your life on your life, not caring if you lived, and only caring about whether they live. Even when tired, you stood your ground, at the cost of your life, to protect that of your wives]
[You have discovered a new Investment Type: LIFE-RISK]
[Effect on Sesan: LOW]
[Effect on Estea: VERY HIGH]
[You have gained some EXCEPTIONAL REWARDS AND UPGRADES]