Melvine met with Ryan's famous lazy smile the moment she opened the door .
" Hello darling . " , he said maintaining the smile .
She didn't say anything . It was clear that the last night's events have affected her very badly , just one more blow and she would collapse .
As Ryan entered , she silently closed the door behind and looked at him .
Ryan was going to say something but he was cut off as she suddenly spoke up , " Take off your shirt . "
" Huh ? " , he raised his eyebrows as he was really confused by her words .
" Can you please do as I say ? Just take off your shirt . "
He chuckled a little and said , " Darling , aren't you taking things a bit too fast ? "
Melvine didn't say anything and approached Ryan .
Before Ryan could say something , she opened some of his shirt's buttons and exposed his wounded shoulder . Though the wound was bandaged , it still couldn't hide the fact that the wound was pretty deep .
She gasped seeing the wound . She looked straight into his eyes and asked in a shaky voice , " How did it happen ? "
" Oh this ? I just got a small cut . It's nothing serious and also it is already taken care of . But how do you know about this ....."
" Can I see the small cut that was bleeding that much yesterday ? " , she spoke up without letting him finish .
" But ..."
" Sit down . " , she cut him off again .
Ryan didn't feel like objecting anymore and sat down on the nearby couch . Melvine looked at the wound closely .
" The bandages are not looking very promising . I hope , you won't mind me taking them off . " , she said as she gently removed the bandages . Ryan inhaled deeply in pain .
Melvine took a glance at him before saying , " It needs stitches . "
.....
Melvine was stitching Ryan's wound in silence .
" Darling , you really didn't need to take the trouble of doing all this . I am okay . " , Ryan spoke up .
" Yeah , I can see , how okay you are . You have a fever . "
" Fever is not serious for me at all . " , he said .
" But the wound is very serious . "
" Really ?? What should I do ? Am I going to die because of it ?? " , he teasingly said .
He was going to say something more but stopped as Melvine touched his uninjured shoulder .
She spoke up , " Ryan , please stop pretending that you are okay . I know , you are in pain . "
-------------------------------------
Meanwhile , in a small yet elegant bar , a police officer had been racking his brain for all most one hour thinking about the confusing informations , he had found all day long .
[ Sir , a person entered the medicine room . He looked through the newly purchased boxes ... he destroyed all the medicines . ]
[ They took the dead bodies away ... They were four in number . ]
[ Amidst all the chaos , the doctor left my husband without treating him properly ... my husband fell from the bed as his condition was getting worse .... I couldn't lift him up .... a dark soul entered the cabin ..... he was approaching my husband ... I thought , he would harm him ... so I attacked him with the scalpel , the doctor left while running away ... his shoulder was injured .... but he didn't do anything to me .... he put my husband to bed and did something to him ... my husband's breathing was stabled ..... he left after that ... ]
[ A dark soul pushed me on the floor when I tried to stop him . ]
[ Those dark souls did something to our guards ..... they fell unconscious on the ground . ]
[ A dark soul instructed me to make the announcement to instruct the people to leave the hospital ..... ]
[ They damaged a lot of things on their way to the west wing .... ]
[ The cut the electricity connection .....]
[ In the darkness .... the shattering sounds continued ..... a cold wave passed over us ... then the lights came back ... a kind of calmness could be felt ... we knew , the angels have come to save us . ]
His mind was crowded with all those statements . He downed another glass and muttered to himself , " Something is definitely wrong with all these ... I'm damm sure ... I'm missing something ... it's right in front of my eyes .... I just can't see it ..... " , he sighed and raised his head to order another bottle . He was about to call the waitress but his eyes caught a very familiar figure who was talking to an another person . A small smirk appeared in his face .
As the person was passing by Phil's table after finishing his work , Phil spoke up , " Leaving without even saying hello to your old friend ! "
The person didn't notice him before , now hearing his voice he looked at Phil .
" Oh , what a surprise . I didn't think , I would see you here again . " , the person remarked .
Phil spoke up with a laugh , " Want to have a drink together ? "
" I don't think , it's a good idea to have a drink with a policeman . " , the person said .
" Why ? Are you afraid , you might end up in prison ? "
The man laughed a little and replied , " As if you can catch us . "
" I won't give up though . Anyway , I am not on duty . So , don't consider me as a policeman now . "
The person shrugged his shoulders as he pulled the other chair and sat down .
" So , what's up ? How's everything going ? " , asked Phil pouring the other person some wine .
" Same as always . What about you ? The new life must be very different ! "
" It is . I have too many responsibilities that I had always neglected in the past . "
" Your decision was quite daring I must say . Was there any specific reason for that decision ? "
" I met an amazing person . He gave me the life changing choice . He believed me which nobody ever did ... I couldn't bring myself to let him down . And you can see the rest . "
The person nodded as he took a sip from his glass .
Phil said again , " Whare is your friend ? As far as I knew , he was the one who was mostly seen at places like this . I never saw you coming to this kind of places even when we used to work in the same field . "
" He couldn't come today . So I came . "
" Why ? Did he get stabbed or something ? " , Phil remarked keeping a sharp glance at the person sitting opposite to him . But he couldn't see any hint of surprise in his eyes . Rather , there appeared , in those dark green eyes , a tint of mockery as he spoke up , " Stabbed ? Your sense of humour still hasn't improved , I see . Do you think , stabbing him is that easy ? "
Phil laughed and said , " Yeah , and you still didn't learn to understand jokes , Shawn ! "
After some time Shawn spoke up , " You've already downed so many glasses . Any special occasion ?? "
" My brain works better when I am drunk . The case , I'm handling right now , is really giving me a hard time . "
" Is it the Daisy hospital case ? "
" Yeah , how do you know ? "
" That case all over the news at the moment . So , it's not very hard to guess ."
" I see . "
" Well I must say , capturing the dark souls is gonna be extremely difficult . "
" That's not what I'm stressed about . For now , I just want to know their motive . "
Shawn frowned a bit .
Phil started again , " Police department has never taken the dark souls seriously . They've always assumed that the angels would take care of the dark souls . But it seems , even angels are no match for the dark souls ..... Now that , this case is in my hands I won't leave out any single clue about them . "
" Good luck with your case . " , Shawn said . But Phil didn't mind his words as he started , " I don't understand one thing , if they wanted to destroy the hospital why they didn't do that . I've studied all of their previous attacks . Whenever they targeted a building in the past they've destroyed it completely . Then why did they leave the hospital partly damaged ? Some people were saying , they couldn't be able to destruct the hospital but I don't think that's true . They've taken down even larger buildings before . What's the reason ? " , he took a sip of his drink and said again , " What do you think ? "
" Why are you asking me ? " , Shawn said .
" You were famous for your extraordinary planning . My previous gang had suffered so many losses because of that . So , would you mind using your brain a bit to help me out ? "
Shawn remained silent for some time and then started .
" Destroying the hospital completely , probably ,wasn't their plan . May be their goal was something else . "
" I think , I know what you are implying at . You think , they wanted to take away all the people of the building , as they did in their previous attacks , right ? I've thought about that too . But the thing is , they didn't take any living person , this time . They only took dead bodies and also they didn't take all of them . "
Shawn didn't say anything . Phil again said , " Why did they leave some bodies behind . And if that was their goal why did they damage the medicine room ? They've destroyed a good amount of property too ... People are giving different statements about them , some are saying they harmed them , some are saying that the dark souls helped them . I really don't understand their different attitudes and I also can't guess what the f*** they wanted to do with the hospital . " , he stopped talking and waited for Shawn to speak .
" The way I see it , there is more than one motive and I think , you'd get to know them in the course of your investigation . "
" But I can't really believe , some of the dark soul members have suddenly become too kind that they're now helping others . I mean , that's too impossible . "
" What if they were not the dark souls ? "
" Huh ? " , Phil confusedly looked at him .
Shawn started again , " You yourself said that this attack is very different from their previous deeds . Their style and attitude are changed . "
" Yes but ...."
" Then didn't you have the slightest suspicion that it might not be the dark souls this time ? "
" Are you saying , it's some other people ? "
" I'm not saying that . I'm just trying to say that black hoodies are very common , they're widely available in the stores and ... every black hoodie doesn't possibly belong to a dark soul . "
Phil frowned and remained silent for some time , then he asked , " If they are some other people then tell me one thing why would somebody try to pretend that they're the dark souls ? "
" Isn't that too easy to guess ? Dark souls are the social enemies . Putting blame on them is the easiest when the town has already seen enough of their deeds . "
" I see . But some of them helped the people in the hospital .... "
" Well , about that I don't know . You need to find out yourself . Okay , I have to leave now . Good luck , again . " , Shawn said as he stood up .
Phil was in deep thought . He just nodded without lifting his head , if he did he could've noticed the suspicious smirk that Shawn had on his face before turning to leave .
------------------------------------
Melvine was almost done dressing Ryan's injury . He was silent all this time .
He suddenly spoke up , " Aren't you feeling disgusted to treat the person who attacked your workplace , who made you go through such dreadful moments ? Don't you have anything to say to him ? "
As Ryan's back was facing her , she couldn't see his expression when he said those words .
She remained silent for a moment and then spoke up , " I do have a lot to say to the dark soul who attacked the hospital but the person I'm treating right now is not the dark soul from last night ..... he is my partner . "
" What ? " , Ryan asked turning his head a bit .
" You once told me not to mix up different scenarios . I am just trying to follow that advice . "
He laughed a little and said , " You don't need to follow everything I say . You can curse at me as much as you want . I won't mind . "
" I know , a person has many roles to play in their life . You did what you had to as a dark soul . Though I really want to know what kind of reasons you might have that you couldn't even spare a hospital I won't ask you about that . I think , it'd be better for me not to interfere in your dark soul activities . Your this side is enough for me where you are just Ryan not any dark soul . "
" You understood right . That'd be the best for you . "
She nodded and said , " It's done . Let me get you some medicines . "
.....
Melvine sat beside Ryan and leaned against the couch . None of them spoke for a long time . Then Melvine started in a tired voice , " You know , we would most probably have to shut down our hospital . The chairman's mental strength is completely shattered . He had already been doing more than his age allows him to do . But I don't think , he'd be able to overcome the loss , this time . "
She looked at Ryan . His face was devoid of any expression . Melvine said again , " Um , I'm , in no way , complaining about you or your members . I just feel like saying these things and .... I don't have anyone else to talk to , except for you . "
" I'm listening . " , he said in usual straightforward tone .
" The chairman's father made the hospital against too many obstacles . He didn't have any support at all . And when the responsibility fell on the chairman's shoulder he also did everything he could for the betterment of the hospital . For the last few years , he had been very tensed about the future of the hospital as he doesn't have anyone to entrust the responsibility of the hospital . But , I think , he can stop worrying now . Because the fate of the hospital is already decided . " , she sighed a little .
" Doesn't he have anyone to help him ? " , Ryan asked finally .
" No . He doesn't trust anyone even the authority . We can't blame him though . In the past , he had to go through some shams in the course of trusting others . That's why he didn't involve with any company if it's not absolutely necessary . "
Again silence filled the room . Melvine looked at him and said , " Won't you , at least , comfort me ? "
He smiled and said , " Well , darling , you should never lose your hope till the last moment . The hospital is not closed yet . And the hospital has a great amount of good karma . Do you think , the dark souls can do anything to the hospital ? Don't worry , the good karma of the hospital would definitely return to it . Everything will be alright . "
Melvine didn't say anything , he said again , " Isn't it a bit weird to hear these words from the person who himself is responsible for everything ? "
" It is but right now these are the very words I want to believe the most . " , she said with a smile .
Some times later he asked , " You were dealing with some critical patients , right ? So , are they alright ? "
" Yes , they are stable now . " , she replied with a smile .
" I'm really impressed that you didn't run away like others . "
Melvine's smile faded as she looked down . Then she spoke up in a low voice , " I was about to . "
Ryan frowned a bit , she looked up and continued , " Believe me , I was going to run away too .... I've told you , I'm not strong . In my life , I've always run away from problems . I never had the courage to face them . Last night , when the nurse also left I became very scared . People's screams ..... the quivering lights ... sounds of shattering glasses .... the small cabin ..... the unconscious patient .... everything was so unbearable for me . "
After a moment of silence she continued, " " I would've run away if I hadn't met you then . I was also going to leave those patients alone ..." , she was going to say more but Ryan spoke up , " But you didn't and that's the only thing matters . Okay ? "
She nodded .
" I should leave now . " , he said after some time . Melvine didn't say anything . Ryan looked at her and found her staring at him . He said with a smile , " What's wrong darling , do you want me to stay with you tonight ? "
Melvine's cheeks became pinkish as she looked down immediately .
Ryan smiled a bit and said , " I'm staying then . "
Saying that Ryan immediately went to the bed and put the blanket on . Melvine hurriedly said , " Ah , don't move your arm too much . "
Some times later .
Ryan had his eyes closed . Melvine was standing near the bed and thinking God knows what .
" Darling , how long are you going to stand like that ? " , she got startled by his voice and found him staring at her .
She stuttered , " I...I.... a...actually ....." , before she could finish Ryan held her wrist and pulled her towards him .
Their faces were inches apart . She became red as a tomato , she spoke up , " W.... what are y....you d..... doing ? "
Ryan rolled his eyes and layed her beside him and covered her with the blanket . She was looking at him confusedly , she was still processing what was going on .
He put his arm around her waist and spoke up , " I am doing nothing . What are you blushing for ? Stop thinking too much and sleep well . You need rest . " , saying that he again closed his eyes .
Melvine softly held his arm which was around her waist . She has always been awkward to any form of intimacy . But at the moment , Ryan's warm hug was the very comfort she needed the most . A small smile appeared on her face as she closed her eyes .