bump

eighteen

Back in Jin's room, Rika gets her phone from her bag and sits down on the couch. She glances guiltily toward the door as she types.

"I can always say I found it again. It was more than a little chaotic yesterday."

She hits enter. Eyes widening and mouth falling open as the search results load.

"How did I not recognize that name?" She shakes her head. "I had no idea..."

She scrolls down the page, noticing a distinct lack of coverage on the incident yesterday, despite all the press that was on the scene. "Somebody must have had the articles pulled. Wow... I guess family and money still have the power to muzzle the press after all. "

She jumps up as the door opens and a pair of nurses wheel Lucky into the room. Corkle and Jin again side-step the formality of the door, entering through the adjacent wall.

Rika's face colours slightly as she quickly tucks her phone into her back pocket.

"What's with that expression?" Jin asks glancing over at her. "Just what the hell was she doing that it looks like she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar?"

The nurses return Lucky to his bed in one fluid movement, with one of them then moving to the end of the bed to set up the massage boots while the other connects a fresh IV.

"He'll be out for another couple of hours." The IV nurse informs Rika. "His doctor will be in later this afternoon to check on him and the floor nurse will be around in about an hour to administer another pain block."

The other nurse finishes adjusting the boots. He collects the gurney and the pair head toward the door.

"Thank you." Rika says, nodding to them as they leave. They return her bow in unison, closing the door after them.

Rika resumes her position on the couch, pulling her legs up underneath of her and her phone from her pocket. She glances over at Jin's body on the bed next to her and closes the search page, opening a reading app instead and queuing up a book she'd been wanting to read.

"Well, unemployed, at least I'll have a chance to catch up on my reading..."

"You know it's more than a little creepy to be looking at myself unconscious like that." Jin says staring over at Lucky.

"Yes, indeed," Corkle observes, "and had you succeeded in your attempted endeavor, it no doubt it would have been exponentially creepier still to gaze upon your countenance reflected back from a cadaver."

"Yeah, okay, what-ever." Jin says irritably as he begins toward the bed. "So what exactly do I need to -

what the hell!" He says, stopping abruptly.

He tries again, only to stagger backwards, hand going to his chest. "Jeez-is! What the hell is this?" He looks over at Corkle.

"What is what?" Corkle asks, brow arching as he watches him.

"Like... somebody just, nailed me with a major sucker punch."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Like somebody just winded me... Jeez-is! It hurts like a freakin' -"

"I have already explained, I believe," Corkle cuts in, "that as you are not presently in a physical form, it is impossible for you to feel physical pain."

"LIKE FREAKIN' HELL IT IS!" He remains nearly doubled over, eyes tightly shut. "Alright look, I get the bit about not being able to feel physically based pain - but something sure as hell is making it feel like my rib cage and everything in it is about to be yanked out through my navel - "