'I just can't understand their logic. Mr. Alistair can really talk, can't he? He simply downgraded the situation to a squabble. Can a simple disagreement lead to the death of others? What a joke!'
Loraine wanted to scream but held it in since he was already badly injured.
He must be straining himself just to keep talking and seem confident like this.
One of his guards rather looked somewhat dangerous earlier as well. He looked like if Loraine refused to help, he would have attacked and used her or Sarah so they would have no choice but to help.
Their desperation was on another level.
"Thank you in advance, Miss Loraine," Alistair smiled.
"Did your pursuers know that I'm here?"
Loraine needed to be sure she was only involved as far as helping him survive this and nothing else.
"No, they don't.
If they had known, they wouldn't have chosen to act at this time and place," Alistair assured her.
Alistair knew that if his grandfather had known that Rand Antares' daughter was present, he would not have taken action. The old man did not want to make any more enemies either.
"That's good then.
Let's leave immediately.
Your injuries might worsen if they aren't properly treated in time," Loraine glanced at Alistair's clothes which got drenched in more blood as they spoke.
It was honestly making her dizzy and nauseated but life was the priority here.
"Do we have to wait any longer?" Loraine inquired since Mr. Alistair's other people were not there yet.
"No need, we acted separately to confuse our pursuers. They are capable of escaping on their own."
"Alright, then."
Loraine pretended to be utterly calm and gave instructions.
"Mr. Mo, you arrange someone to erase our tracks as well as Mr. Alistair's and the others'.
We need to get out of here quickly.
Ms. Lorna, call our cars.
Sarah, arrange a place for us to stay in the next town to treat their injuries."
Loraine ordered a few more things as if she were used to this. Then she had them bandage Mr. Alistair's and the other's bleeding injuries before they hurried down the mountain.
Thankfully, despite their injuries, Mr. Alistair's men were strong so they managed on their own. Only Mr. Alistair who was injured the most was carried down the mountain.
They remained as silent as they could as they moved swiftly down the mountain.
Loraine and Sarah were breathing harder than Mr. Alistair when they finally reached the cars and they were not even injured.
It was quite embarrassing but she wasn't a mountain climber. This was her first in forever so climbing up or going down was both difficult.
After getting in the car, Loraine asked, "Mr. Alistair, what injuries do you have?"
Aside from the obvious scrapes and cuts, she could tell he had more injuries.
They only bandaged what was obvious earlier.
"A gunshot wound and, I believe, a bone fracture on my legs due to the car collision."
They were traveling in secret, so they didn't want to draw attention to themselves.
Thus, Alistair didn't bring the majority of his men to fool the old man into thinking he was somewhere else. It was effective but only for six months.
Alistair knew that the old man was getting anxious because he was winning.
After casting the net for so long, he only needed at least three more moves before winning.
But his whereabouts were still exposed to the old man. He thought he had gotten rid of all the moles on his side, but it turned out he needed another thorough cleaning.
"Then we must move quickly. If you are not treated immediately, you might lose your legs."
Contamination and infection, especially since they even went through the forest were also a threat to Mr. Alistair and his men's wounds.
Loraine had a new sense of admiration for Mr. Alistair.
He must have been feeling severe pain throughout his body, particularly in his legs, but he still didn't call out or even groan.
He was even controlling his breathing so he wasn't breathing as hard as she did when they just reached the foot of the mountain.
If other people were in his situation, they would have passed out already.
"Sarah, did you contact our nearest doctor?" Loraine inquired.
"Yes, we are very fortunate.
Dr. Sam was on vacation with his wife nearby.
They are staying near the city.
I had already told him to go to the next town according to our usual routine."
Dr. Sam wasn't publicly known as one of their private doctors.
Thus, when confidentiality was required, he was one of the few doctors to be called.
The "usual routine" Sarah mentioned was for him to be in disguise and be wary of tails following along the way.
"Mr. Mo, what about the pursuers of Mr. Alistair? Did they catch on to us?" Loraine asked warily. She didn't want to get into any trouble.
If the pursuers were Mr. Alistair's family, it meant they were as powerful as her father for them to be able to hire stronger men than Loraine had.
"No, they didn't seem to be aware of us.
They're inspecting the other side of the road.
They have also begun to block the mountain," Mr. Mo reported.
"I see. That's good then.
They probably thought Mr. Alistair was still in the mountains.
But it wouldn't be long before they started looking in other places."
With Mr. Alistair and his subordinates' injuries, the pursuers probably thought they could not get very far.
They didn't think Alistair encountered Loraine and asked for help.
This was their chance to get away quickly.
After all, the pursuers should still be short on personnel. Once reinforcements arrive, they would like to cover larger areas and scour the entire mountain.
It was a good thing Loraine went foraging in the forest today.
If she didn't, she might have gotten stuck in her bungalow unable to leave until those people were done with their search for Mr. Alistair.