บท 81: Chapter 81: Finding a Car
Regardless of the situation, Jack knew he had to personally dispose of his phone's remains. Who knows? If someone managed to recover the data inside, he might end up in the same scandalous situation as Edison Chen.
"It's just a little over 16 feet (5 meters). Look, I'm not even hurt."
Jack nonchalantly brushed the dust off his uniform. To avoid appearing too extraordinary, he had intentionally performed a rolling landing after jumping. Otherwise, given his current physical condition, he could have done a Marvel-style superhero landing (you know, the one-knee pose). If he had, the onlookers' cheers might have been even louder.
"There's another one at the motel. You take care of it. The higher-ups said to keep an eye on this idiot. Bring me something to eat when you come back to the hospital."
Jack climbed into the ambulance, tossing the broken gun he had tucked at his waist to John as evidence, and waved him off before shutting the door forcefully.
"What's the patient's condition?" In the emergency room of the Central Hospital, Carrie, who was there to receive the patient, was taken aback upon seeing Jack again.
"Comminuted fracture of the left femur, possible internal bleeding, and a concussion."
The paramedic reported crisply.
"Blood pressure?" Carrie checked the injuries as she spoke.
"Stable. We administered two 1000cc bags of saline en route to the hospital."
Carrie finally looked up to greet Jack, a peculiar expression on her face.
"How did he get hurt? Car accident, or did you beat him up?"
"No, no, no. He was being chased and fell from a pedestrian bridge onto a car. I jumped down to save him." Jack quickly explained.
"You jumped off a bridge? Are you the Terminator? Do you know his name?" Carrie teased him despite her busy schedule.
"Alex... uh, César Ojeda. That's what it says on his driver's license." Jack looked a bit embarrassed, almost letting something slip.
"Alright, get him an MRI and notify the surgical team. Do you need to be checked too?"
Jack shook his head repeatedly. Though he knew the guy wasn't in any immediate danger, he couldn't help but ask.
"Could the concussion cause him to lose his memory?"
Secretly, Jack prayed for no dramatic twists like that. Losing the $30K reward he was eyeing would be a real blow.
Carrie seemed a bit puzzled by his question.
"He's involved in a significant case. I'm a bit concerned."
Carrie shook her head. "It depends on the results. Usually, without intracranial bleeding, memory loss isn't likely."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Jack urgently grabbed Carrie's arm. "This guy is really important. He's being hunted. I can't go into the operating room, so can you keep an eye on him? You're the one I trust the most in this hospital."
Carrie, seeing the anxious look on his face, patted his arm reassuringly. "Leave it to me. The doctors here are all trustworthy, but I'll accompany him during the surgery and notify you immediately if there's any issue."
Jack finally relaxed and stepped aside, watching as Carrie and the nurses pushed the stretcher into the operating room.
"Hey, Jack, you're back?"
Returning to the hospital lobby, Jack ran into Angela and Wesley, who were just about to leave.
"I was supposed to find someone today. As soon as I got there, things went south. Luckily, it wasn't too bad. Carrie has already taken him in for surgery."
Jack looked frustrated.
"Then I'll stay and help you." Angela turned, pulled Wesley by the tie, and kissed him on the lips.
"Darling, forgive me for not being able to join you for your mother's dinner."
"Hey, no, no, no." Jack was caught off guard by the PDA. Sure, he was a bit hungry, but not that hungry for this kind of attention.
"You two go ahead with your plans. Both suspects are down, so it should be fine."
Jack didn't dare keep Angela around. After all, she was pregnant. If anything happened, he couldn't take responsibility.
"Are you sure?"
"Just go. John will be here soon. You know he won't miss any chance to see Carrie."
Finally getting rid of the lovebirds, Jack put on a professional smile and chatted with the pretty nurse at the front desk. He managed to borrow the desk phone.
"Ray King, yes, we found him. There was a little incident, but he should be fine. He's in surgery. I'll wait for you at the hospital."
After hanging up, Jack bought a few Snickers from the vending machine to stave off his hunger and waited by the operating room.
Ray King, on the other end of the line, was surprised at how smoothly things had gone. Finding the missing undercover agent in less than 24 hours made his all-night flight back to Washington, D.C., seem a bit unnecessary.
Still, he promised to bring people and head out immediately, aiming to arrive by the next morning at the latest.
With a long night ahead, Jack eagerly anticipated John's arrival. Even a burger and a Coke would be better than the overly sweet Snickers bars.
"Hey, look what I brought you."
John appeared at the operating room door, holding a large paper bag with a big IN-N-OUT logo on it.
Jack was overjoyed. He tossed the half-eaten Snickers into the trash and reached for the bag, but John slapped his hand away.
"Careful, there's also a portion for Carrie. She loves their cheese fries and lemon iced tea."
"Priorities over friends, huh?"
Jack muttered under his breath, taking the double burger and iced Coke John carefully handed over. He bit into the burger, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"How much longer is the surgery?" John also grabbed a burger and began eating, his eyes never leaving the indicator light on the operating room door, eager to see his old flame.
Love rekindled after so many years—Jack thought to himself—this guy is a goner.
"No idea. It's been less than an hour. Is your heart rate jumping from zero to 180 again?"
Having just been fed some PDA by Angela and Wesley, Jack was now prying into John's love life. With Zoey and Maureen not often around and Hannah out of town, the single life felt a bit too lonely and cold.
"I'm going to propose to her as soon as I finish renovating the house." John grinned like a lovesick teenager.
Jack suddenly found his burger hard to swallow. Was he asking for trouble? Maybe he should rethink helping John with the renovation and drag it out for a year or so.
"You guys just reconnected a few months ago. You're sure Carrie is your soulmate for the rest of your life?"
John glanced at Jack with a look that said, "You young folks don't understand love."
"20 years ago, I left without a word. Now fate has brought us back together. What's there to hesitate about?"
"In the meantime, help me find a good used car. I'll help you finish the house as quickly as possible. Deal?"
"What kind of car are you looking for?" John, an experienced driver and a pickup enthusiast, had plenty of leads on used vehicles.
Jack thought back to his last car incident and was tempted to say he wanted something spacious. John's old Toyota pickup had been replaced with a Toyota Tundra after it got wrecked, and Jack had been eyeing it ever since. He wondered if he should consider getting a Ford Raptor when he had the money.
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