"Is he okay, doctor?"
"Yes, he woke up. He seems fine, we ran a few tests, and everything looks okay. He has, however, asked for Claire."
"Claire never came with us, Dr."
"I suggest you get her here while his memory is fresh."
"Did he mention anything besides Claire?"
"No, nothing that I can think of. Sorry."
Claire walked up the staircase to Jack's room; he was still asleep when she pushed open the door and peeked in; he was lying half-naked on his bed.
He was lying with his stomach far on the bed. She walked into the room and noticed something she had seen before. It was the same tattoo as she had. She looked closer as she leaned over; he somehow appeared different, with finer detail, strips on the crown indicating your ranking and killings. She had nothing; he had stripes. Those eight stripes could mean ranking or family; she was a soldier and sat with no stripes. Down on his leg on his inner thigh, he had a date. In the center of his back, down his spine, he has a sword and what seems like a dragon circling around it. The dragon had orange flames, and the sword's bottom was like realistic blood the award stabbed into. "Who was he?" She wondered. Was his name Jack, or was that a fake alias? All this felt irrelevant to her; this moment might never come again. She stepped up Jack and sat beside him, leaning her lips to his ear. She was ready to run her index finger down his spine when her phone rang. Waking him, he stretched out, turning around, "what are you doing here?"
"Nothing just came to check if you are awake. Your sister is calling to find out if you are up."
"Angela, hello?"
"Yes, I need you to come down to the hospital."
"Is everything okay?"
"What is wrong, Angela? Is Marcus okay?"
Jack forgot Claire was in the room and got dressed.
"Everything is fine, and what are you doing in my brother's room?"
"I came to check if he was awake?"
"Okay, bring him with you."
"Sure," Claire hung up the phone, staring at Jack, then confidently walking up to him as she pushed him to the wall. Bringing her lips to his, he turned away.
"Now is not the time for this."
"Dammit, Jack, will it ever be the time you always turn me down."
"I do that because I care for you, Claire, and it's because I care for you; I want us not to rush things, besides now is not the time."
The doorbell rang. "Are you expecting visitors, Claire?"
"No, I thought you were?"
"No, I am not. Who could that be?"
Jack walked over to his room window and saw the car but couldn't see straight down the door.
"Who is it, Jack?"
"I don't know. I will have to go check."
"It's fine. I will go; you need to get ready. Your sister is waiting for us."
"Okay, you do that. I will be down soon."
"Claire went down the stairs and tried to see who it was through the hole in the door. She saw no one."
"I think someone is messing with us, Jack."
Jack never heard. She then proceeded to open the door. It was agent Ross, "Hello, you must be Claire?"
Claire frowned. Who is this guy who has as many wrinkles as a raise, "I am Agent Ross."
He flipped open his badge, "Is Jack around?"
"How do we know that a real badge?"
Jack came up from behind Claire, "it's okay, I got this."
"Agent Ross, you look just like you sound."
Jack patted him on the shoulder, "agent Ross," said Jack, not wearing a top, as agent Ross made a mental note of the detailed tattoo.
"Please do come in."
"Jack, now is not the time your sister is waiting for us."
"Claire, you are welcome to leave now if you would like. Then I will see you there."
"No, we are leaving together. I will go change into something comfortable."
Agent Ross looked at Claire; she was his type of girl with blue eyes, blonde hair, a perfect figure, and the dimples any guy's heart desires. He would say it's a pity she is half his age.
He stared in lust, wondering what was beneath those clothes, "So Ross, are you going to sit there with a mouth full of teeth undressing that girl who's old enough to be your granddaughter, or are you going to tell me why you are here?"
Agent Ross looked around, "this is a nice house. Do you and your sister stay here alone?"
"No, Nicole and Claire stay here as well."
"So you the only thorn between the roses," agent Ross chaffed, "Do you have a coffee machine?"
"Depends on how long you plan to stay because I have a busy day ahead."
"Our lives are always chasing us like a marathon. Would you mind if I help myself to coffee?"
Jack looked at his wrist and the watch he was wearing for the time, "your welcome to help yourself." Agent Ross stood up and walked to the kitchen, switching on the kettle.
"So Jack, how is your friend Marcus?"
"Fine, can we get down to the point? Why are you here?"
"Yes, yes, of course, I do apologize for my manners, it just caught me off guard how you knew all these things about me, and I knew nothing of you."
"I dont know what you are talking about," Jack brushed his fingers through his hair.
"Oh, you playing the 'I dont know' card because you think I might be recording or I am wired?"
"Sir, with all due respect, if you are going to come here to my place throwing these accusations at me, I will have no choice but to ask you to leave."
Agent Ross calmly stirs his coffee, looking through the opening from the kitchen to the lounge.
"Jack, we all have a choice. You will always have a choice. We make choices and decisions every day, but we back off when we stare it in the eye. It's like a hyena. They hunt in packs, but when they are alone, they run."
"Perhaps Agent Ross, they run because they might run into something worth fighting."
"Unlike a lion, they kill then eat. With a hyena, it eats till the heart stops beating."
Agent Ross took a sup on his coffee, "maybe that's because a hyena is a backstabbed. I mean, see where they start eating most animals."
Jack went quiet and walked around to the kitchen, "maybe the hyena was like it was because he didn't trust anything around him."
"Interesting, Jack. You sound like you had your fair share."
"Not fair share just took a specific interest."
"Cut the bullshit, I know who you are, and I am not letting this go."
Jack laughed, "always taking life too seriously. Maybe they would still be alive if you saved your family from that fire."
Agent Ross ran up to Jack, grabbing him by the chest, "your bloody piece of worthless shit, you dare to speak of my family, I will rip you to piece. "
Claire ran over, pushed the agent, grabbed him, and pulled him off Jack, "you will leave this house now."
Agent Ross looked to the cabinet and noticed a red light flickering, letting go of Jack and straightening his shirt."
Then he moved his mouth close to Jack's ear, "you a piece of shit who will get what's coming to you."
"And that's why they keep animals in the zoo because they are blinded by fury and idiocy. Get the fuck out of my house."
Agent Ross stepped out the door, stood outside, removed his red notebook from the car, and started making notes.
"I can't believe that asshole with his accusations. He comes to my house and starts making all these wild accusations."
Claire touched Jack's hand and then placed her fingers between his, "it will be okay."
"Anyway, I'm not going to let him ruin my day."
This kid is opening up wounds breaking open memories agent Ross was trying to forget, and he felt anger. He had never hated anyone as much as he hated Jack. He was willing to lose his job to prove his point.
"I think we should leave, Jack. We have wasted enough time. Your sister and Nicole are waiting for us."
Jack stepped out and climbed into his sports model car with Claire. Jack tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he thought of what had just happened.
"You need to relax." Claire placed her hand over his and ran her index finger over his arm.
They arrived at the hospital within a few minutes, where they found Nicole and Angela.
"Hey, is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine." Angela answered, "Claire, Marcus was looking specifically for you; that is why we called you over."
"Me? Why me?"
"I don't know, but the doctor advised you to see him. He must undergo a few more tests before they release him."
Jack walked over to the window of the ward which Marcus was in. He lay there with his eyes open, staring up. "Doctor, is he okay? He doesn't blink. It's as if he can see something on that roof."
"Thats why we need to get Claire inside, so we can see if he responds well to her. Patients often wake up, and for the first few hours, they play, but memories start fading, and they become forgetful. We will be able to establish if speech therapy is needed."