Deep Down Under

Chapter 37

Apollo Emergency Centre, Vienna, 1:57 pm

Sadowsky waited for the stings to die down. The antiseptic was being a little to harsh on him but at least it would protect him from any diseases that he could potentially catch.

Lucia did not need any physical treatment as she received no injuries but a mental one was certainly needed. She kept breaking down every fifteen minutes because she had taken a life. She wept on and on about the guilt, the counselling staff tried to tell her that she had done more good than wrong, but she wasn't ready to buy it. According to Jerome, she was not as bad as was now after the terror attacks and learning about her father's death.

In fact, Sadowsky could hear her whining right now, muttering something like, "I'll never get over with the blood on my hands,"

His attention shifted to Jerome, who was looking fine, especially for a person who had just been shot in the leg. The medication was working effectively on him.

The other obstacle they had were the police force, who would question them the minute they were all released from the hospital.

Sadowsky wasn't sure, but he assumed that The Nine were captured. Something felt wrong, there were supposed to be nine people but Giggs, Mohammed and Subramanian were the only ones he saw. It was unlikely that The Assassin or any of the terrorists were part of The Nine.

What's missing here?

The bigger picture, that's what was being missed. Six other unknown men or women. He wasn't aware of Adrian, one of the other members who had died the night before Sadowsky had been kidnapped.

He decided to lie down for a while, take a nap. His eyelids got heavier, his consciousness slowly drifting away. That was when jolted up, all his drowsiness drained away.

What?!

A face greeted him, he knew that face all too well. It was the face of Peter Giggs.

* * *

Milan-Malpenso Airport, Milan, 2:01 pm

Sophia muttered a thousand thanks to God for what had just happened. Her historian colleague and friend, Mario Morata bought the reason for going to Vienna. He didn't mind spending some extra money on his pilot. Mario was a somewhat superstitious man, so convincing him was no problem. He even insisted on coming along, but Sophia explained that they needed someone in Milan to cover their backs.

The jet was scheduled to depart within one hour. But it wouldn't take off without some suspicion. They had to make a great escape. Not something Sophia was looking forward to, meddling with international authorities was a pretty big deal, but if she were right, it would be completely worth it.

Her grandfather who had been sleeping woke up with a jolt, like he had come out of a nightmare. He angled his face towards her, "Mohammed... A man of Mohammed."

"Circles...circle...everything goes in circles," he muttered. Sophia was sure that he had gone mad. No please...not now. She tried to shake him out of it but it wouldn't work.

A few people were staring at him as he had a mental breakdown, "What has happened will happen and what will happen has happened!"

He stood up started making circles in air with his fingers. The scene was too embarrassing for Sophia. As a result, she started to blush. The crowd tried looking away those who had children couldn't control them from bursting out in laughter.

Then Papa snapped right out of it. He hid his face in shame as soon as he got to know what he had done.

After the whole incident blew over, he kept cursing himself for the curse he had held. According to him, when he went on the expedition, the energy on from the meteorite had embedded itself within his brain. And when it went active, it would cause him to act like how he was now.

A curse nonetheless.

* * *

Apollo Emergency Centre, Vienna, 2:04 pm

Sadowsky tried to call out for help but Giggs' hand never allowed him to do so. He placed his finger over his lip, gesturing Sadowsky to keep quiet. "I'm here to help," and slowly released his grip over his mouth.

"How can I trust you?" he asked, confused.

"I'll explain later. Right now I need you to trust me,"

Sadowsky got up, "And why is that?"

Giggs gave him a short stare, "Because you and your friends are in grave danger."

Sadowsky couldn't tell what compelled him to trust Giggs, but he did it. The tone, the expression, all didn't equate to lying; he was sure that Giggs was telling the truth.

A nurse stopped Sadowsky in his path, "And where do you think you're going?"

Giggs opened his wallet and handed over some cash, "Danke für ihre diensteilstung," he thanked in German, which translated to 'Thank you for your service.'

"Your friends? Where are they?"

Sadowsky answered by leading him to a room, where Jerome was sitting in a wheelchair, his face full of despair. He looked up, "Who is that?"

"A friend," Sadowsky lied.

"Oh," Jerome paused and looked back down, "They say I'll be like this for weeks. Ben...the bullet took my femur, the thigh bone." He was clearly disappointed and saddened by the situation.

Sadowsky placed his hand on his shoulder, "We need to get out of here,"

He looked back up again, "How? How can I?"

Just then the white curtains flew open, paving way for Lucia, who stopped in her tracks. She noticed something odd, "Who is that?" she asked rudely, pointing to Giggs.

Sadowsky gave the same answer as he did to Jerome. He asked another question, "You asked me to get out of here, why?"

That was when Giggs answered, "Because things are going to get ugly here."

* * *