Protective Custody

Chapter 4: Precious Student

Blanca-

In an old building that had once been a hat factory, Blanca stood over his target.

Blanca was a professional.

As a professional he did not allow emotions to interfere with his work and always carried out whatever contract he’d agreed to. That being said, he wasn’t currently under contract to anyone which made the situation unique. He acted under his own will and decided for himself what would happen. A small part of him, deeply buried, enjoyed the thrill.

His shoes tapped on the cement floors and echoed against the walls as he walked around his target. Blanca was a big man and he knew how to use that to his advantage. He’d been taught very well. Standing at an imposing seven foot, two inches and just over three hundred pounds of muscle, Blanca towered over just about everyone. He certain towered over Angie. “Now, Angie,” Blanca said as he circled the man. “I’m going to kill you.”

Angie had a bullet wound in one shoulder, but that hadn’t been Blanca’s work. Ash had put it there. Angie was very ordinary looking. One wouldn’t notice him if one passed him on the street, but he had worked for Dino Golzine and he had hurt Blanca’s precious student more than once.

Angie fumed. His whole body tensed and Blanca knew Angie was looking for a way out of the situation. There wasn’t one, but Angie could be excused for hoping. “You betrayed Papa Dino! Siding with that whore!” Angie went on with several more colorful words describing Ash and Blanca didn’t approve.

“There’s really no need to be crude. Ash is a good boy and I didn’t betray anyone. I carried out the agreed upon contract exactly. When that contract was fulfilled, I left. I always carry out my contracts. I have a perfect record, I’ll have you know.”

“Damn you and your record!”

Really, Angie was very impolite. Not that Blanca had expected better. Blanca kept circling him and while Angie also kept turning to keep Blanca in sight, Blanca had no trouble at all lashing out with one hand and jabbing his finger into a pressure point on Angie’s throat that had Angie crying out in pain as he collapsed to the floor on his knees. “You should think better of Ash; he didn’t kill you when he had the chance. He could have. My precious student could have easily killed you.” Blanca had no doubt of that. ‘Ah, my kitten,’ Blanca had thought when he’d realized that Ash had given up a kill shot to simply wound Angie and put him out of commission for a little while. ‘You missed that shot deliberately. You must have. To miss a shot at such a short distance? No. You left him alive when you should have killed him. You always had a soft heart.’ He had known long ago that Ash didn’t have the heart for cold murder. Oh, he could kill readily enough in self-defense or in defense of someone else, but if he didn’t have to, he didn’t kill. It was one bad habit that Blanca hadn’t been able to train Ash out of. ‘Never mind. I’ll take care of these little loose ends so you don’t have to deal with them, Ash.’

“If you think I’m going to be grateful to Papa’s little mistress...”

“Oh, I don’t expect anything of you except answers. When Ash and his gang ambushed Monsieur Golzine’s car you and Gregory were in it. I found you at the car. So, tell me - where is Gregory? Where would he have gone?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s a lie.” Because it was a lie, obviously. Angie had been a ruthless and obedient soldier for Dino Golzine, but he was not a good liar and never had been. Lying had been a large part of Blanca’s training as a child and he’d taught Ash the same lessons in effective lying. Ash had, as always, been a very clever student.

“How should I know where Gregory went?” Angie protested. “I was unconscious until I woke up here with you looming over me!”

“True. I found you where Ash left you and brought you here.” Blanca knelt down in front of Angie. “You and Gregory have been standing right beside Golzine long before his war with Ash began. You were there when he took Ash into his house as a child and kept him as a plaything. You were there when Ash attempted to break free. You were there when Golzine murdered people close to Ash as he attempted to retrieve him. You were there when Golzine used that evil drug to poison Shorter Wong and you were there when Golzine took so many street children as prisoners in order to bring Ash to heel. You were there, in Golzine’s car, with Gregory when Ash and his gang ambushed Golzine’s car and took him hostage to exchange him for all the street children. What you don’t know is that Golzine is dead.” The look of shock on Angie’s face was rewarding. “Golzine’s cohort decided to kill him rather than give in to Ash’s demands.” Blanca looked steadily into Angie’s eyes and kept smiling. “So, all that time you’ve spent with Gregory, all those years working and living together, and you expect me to believe he never once mentioned any sort of safe house or hide out? No, I can’t believe that. I feel certain you know something and I feel certain that you’re going to tell me what it is you know.”

“Like Hell!” Angie tried to get up, but Blanca easily lashed out one foot and kicked Angie in the knee. The knee popped when it was dislocated and Angie, again, went down in pain. He clutched at his leg and cursed Blanca. He screamed a second time when Blanca kicked his other knee and dislocated that one, too.

“I would like you to think very carefully, Angie. You see, my precious student is on the threshold of a new life,” Blanca smiled and looked away from Angie. The last time he’d seen Ash, Ash had been happy. Happier than Blanca had ever seen him. A tiny bit of surveillance had shown that Ash was keeping company with the Glenreed family. It was good. They seemed like decent people, as far as Blanca understood such things. He refocused on Angie. “I won’t allow you or anyone else to disrupt that new life.” He had visions of Ash going to college, becoming a professor of something or other. He’d go home every night to someone who loved him. Yes, his kitten would have a fine life - a life that Blanca had never had and likely never would have. “There are so few of Golzine’s men left and only two who have any personal reason to hurt Ash - you and Gregory. You were both so very loyal to Golzine; Ash’s war against him must have seemed like an insult to you. And then Ash went on to openly attack Golzine. You must have hated how incompetent he made you look. So, you’re going to tell me where Gregory is before I kill you.”

“You’ll never find him.”

“Oh, now really! Do you remember why Golzine signed a contract with me?”

“To train Ash.”

“That’s right. He paid me to teach Ash, to make him dangerous and foster his intelligence. He paid me for years and gave me complete discretion when it came to Ash’s education for the simple reason that I am the best. You think I won’t find Gregory? As I said - my record is perfect and even if I do this job without any contract at all, I will not break my record now. I will find Gregory, sooner or later. I’m a very patient man.”

“I won’t help you. I’ll never tell you anything.”

“Of course you will. Do you know what Golzine wanted me to teach Ash? Marksmanship was only part of my precious student’s education. I have taught Ash everything he knows, including how to put someone in pain and keep them there for weeks without allowing them to die. Ash is able to torture people with the correct motivation, but I consider myself a master of the art. I’m very accomplished and, unlike my precious student, I have very few morals to restrain me.” He reached under his long coat and pulled out a knife. It wasn’t especially impressive, only three inches long, but it had served Blanca well for many years. “I’m going to hurt you until you tell me everything you know about where Gregory might have gone and then I’ll kill you.” It pleased Blanca greatly to see how pale Angie went as he finally realized the dire situation he was in. “I won’t allow anyone to hurt my precious student.”

Angie began to frantically shake his head. “I won’t. I swear I won’t go near him, Blanca. You’ve got to believe me.”

“Oh, I know you won’t go near him. Not anymore. I remember when I’d been in the employ of Golzine for less than two weeks.” He remembered that day and frowned. Back in those days, he had truly believed that Ash could never belong in any other life than a life of violence Golzine had trapped him in and he had thought it a good thing that Ash had found himself in a position to benefit from Golzine’s obsession with him. It was not a happy life, but Ash would never go hungry or cold. Perhaps he’d been wrong... perhaps not. Regardless, Ash wanted a life away from crime so, with Golzine dead, that was possible and Blanca wanted to give it to him. “I remember walking down a hall in Golzine’s mansion and seeing you walk out of a room. When I went into that room, I found Ash all disheveled, putting his jeans on. He’d been crying. He saw me looking at him and he looked so ashamed. He was only fourteen - a child. I know what you did to my precious student that day and I thoroughly disapprove. So many people have hurt him over his life. You were one of them. You hurt him and you enjoyed it. I always regretted that I didn’t save Ash from that life when he was younger, that I didn’t understand how he could have anything better. Now I do. Now, he is free and I won’t allow anyone to take that from him.” So Blanca took immense pleasure in the fear on Angie’s face.

Two severed fingers, one punctured eardrum, and a pint of blood later and Blanca had all the information he felt Angie could give him. He killed Angie with a single bullet to the back of the head - quick and clean. After all, Blanca wasn’t cruel. He left that old factory, intent on finding Gregory.

Michael-

Michael was asleep when he heard the door open. His eyes sprung open, all sleep driven from him. He stayed as still as he could and hugged his teddy bear tightly. His heart raced fearfully. In this apartment daddy had brought them to when they’d left their home in California and come to New York, Michael shared the only bedroom with his mommy. Michael’s night light cast enough light that he could look across the room to where mommy was asleep in her bed. Her long, blonde hair was tied into a neat braid and hung over the side of the bed like a rope. Her eyes opened and she smiled at him as she started to get out of bed. She pulled on a bathrobe before Michael sat up and whispered,

“Don’t go!”

“It’s alright,” mommy whispered. “Everything’s fine. Daddy’s the only one who can open the door. Remember?”

That was true. Ash had given daddy the key and promised Michael that there was only one key. “This way no one else can get in,” Ash had said.

Ash never lied, so Michael tried to relax. “Can I see daddy, too?”

“Sure, but then it’s right back to bed.”

Michael took his teddy bear with him and didn’t entirely relax until he actually saw daddy in the living room of the apartment. All was good then, because no one could hurt them so long as daddy was around. Sometimes, Michael had nightmares about the bad men hurting mommy and he wished he was as strong as his daddy so he could have saved her. Those bad men had torn mommy’s clothes and touched her and she’d screamed and cried and Michael couldn’t do anything.

Daddy saw them and stepped closer to mommy which let Michael see who was standing behind daddy.

“Ash!” Michael squealed and ran to Ash so fast he almost slipped in his footie-pajamas, but daddy caught Michael and gave him a hug before passing him over to Ash’s waiting arms. “Hi, daddy. I missed you, Ash!”

“Missed you, too, kid.” Ash and Michael hugged before Michael was set back down. “Hope you don’t mind if I spend the night.” It was only then that Michael saw a small pile of clothes on the coffee table and a couple of books, including ‘The Little Engine that Could’ book he’d let Ash borrowed because Ash had never read it.

“You’re staying? Really?” Michael could only be happier if daddy was finally staying home, too. He took hold of Ash’s hand and pulled him over to the coffee table. “Where are you gonna sleep? Will daddy get you a new bed?”

“Naw. I’ll take the couch. I’ve slept in worse places.”

“If you come to California with us, you can live in the guest room.” The guest room, mommy had once explained, was for very important people to stay in. Ash entirely qualified as a ‘very important person’ in Michael’s mind. “We have a yard and a swing set and we can go to the park.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Mommy had taken Michael into the bedroom for a talk and explained that Ash needed a safe place to stay so he would stay with them for a little while. Michael was thrilled. He wanted Ash to stay forever. So he helped mommy to bring Ash a pillow and a blanket and then wanted to sit with Ash on the couch for a few minutes before he went back to bed. He fell asleep within five minutes.

The next time Michael woke up, he was laying down on the couch and the blanket he’d brought for Ash was covering him. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. He could hear voices.

“What are you doing here?” Ash’s voice was soft.

“Playing mailman. Here. It’s a letter from Eiji. He wanted me to give this to you.”

That was a voice Michael had never heard, but Ash was there and didn’t sound worried, so Michael didn’t panic. He lay there and waited for Ash’s friend to go away.

Ash was quiet for a time. “Thanks.”

“He’ll be in Japan, now. Sorry, but I couldn’t find you before his plane left.”

“I’ve been busy. The trial...”

Michael sat up a little and peeked over the back of the couch. There was Ash, by the door, talking with a boy. The boy was bigger than Michael, but smaller than Ash and he looked a lot like the men who’d hurt mommy. Michael sank down far enough that he could only barely see over the couch. He didn’t like the boy and wanted him to go away, but Ash wasn’t afraid. Ash didn’t even look at the boy, he was reading a letter. The apartment was dark, but the light from the hall cast enough light on Ash’s face that Michael could see him smiling.

“He wants me to go to Japan. He sent a plane ticket,” Ash said, softly. “I guess he wasn’t joking.”

“Joking?” The other boy said. “Even I know he wouldn’t joke about this. Eiji wanted you to go to Japan with him. We all knew that.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. Me, Kong, Bones, Cain... everyone. Jeeze, Ash. He tried to kill Golzine for you. He took a bullet for you. He cooked for you and did your laundry! Why would you doubt him?”

Ash opened his mouth, then closed it. “Never mind. It’s better if he stays in Japan, now. He’s still hurt and the danger isn’t gone. I won’t bring more danger to him.”

The other boy sighed. “Just think about calling him on the phone, then. He’ll understand if you explain everything - you know he will - and saying nothing will hurt him.”

The other boy left and Ash closed and locked the door. He stood there for a while, staring at the letter. Then he came back to the living room and Michael closed his eyes so Ash wouldn’t know he was awake. Ash sat on one of the chairs and stayed quiet, but every time Michael opened his eyes to look at him, Ash was staring at the letter. Michael glared at the letter and almost cried. It sure sounded like Eiji wanted Ash to leave and go to Japan. That wasn’t right. Ash was supposed to stay with Michael and be his big brother.

The night went on and Michael fell back to sleep. When he woke up, the sun was rising and Ash was still looking at the letter, still sitting in his chair. Michael got up and got dressed and ate some cereal and all the time Ash sat in his chair and read his letter. Michael went back to the couch and turned on cartoons to watch, hoping Ash would watch with him. After a little while, Ash stood up and pulled on his long coat.

“Hey, Old Lady!” Ash called out. “I’m going out for a bit.”

Mommy called back from the kitchen. “Be careful, Brat.”

“Sure thing, Old Lady. Lock the door behind me.”

“Right. Right.”

The minute the door closed behind Ash, Michael stood up. He looked at the door and then at the door that led to the kitchen. Mommy didn’t come out straight away. Michael thought for a moment, then went to quietly get his coat.

There was a rule Michael had to follow ever since the bad men had hurt mommy at their home in California. Michael was never to leave the house alone, not even to play in the backyard. It was a rule. Mommy was very firm about the rule. In the city, he had to stay in the apartment. He couldn’t even go to school. He’d been inside the apartment for days. So of course, when he saw Ash walk out of the apartment Michael wanted to go with him. If he went with Ash, then he wasn’t alone and wasn’t breaking any rules.

Michael quickly put on his coat. It was his favorite coat - the one with the frogs on the pockets - and followed Ash out the door.

The hall was empty. Michael looked down the hall to the elevator. If Ash was going out, then he must have gone outside and that meant Michael had to go down to the first floor. Michael walked to the elevator, he knew he wasn’t supposed to run inside, and pushed the right button that would take him down to the first floor. He felt very grown-up and was sure Ash would be proud of him for figuring it out on his own. He got down to the first floor just in time to see Ash leave the building and turn right. Michael followed, walking as quickly as he could, but the minute he got out onto the sidewalk, he froze.

Strangers. There were strangers all over the place! People were everywhere, going this way and that, and Michael was afraid. He didn’t like strangers. He wanted to run back inside. Strangers hurt people and did bad things. But... he saw Ash still walking away. Ash wouldn’t be afraid of strangers, Michael decided. Determined, Michael hurried after Ash. “Ash!” Michael called out as loudly as he dared. He didn’t dare very loudly because he didn’t want all the strangers to look at him, but he did keep calling out, getting closer and closer to Ash as he quickened his pace and felt all his anxiety about being in the city with strangers slip away the closer he got to Ash. Soon, he was only a few yards behind and smiling happily.

He got so close that he could almost reach out and grab Ash’s arm. Michael opened his mouth to call out, again, certain that Ash would hear him, when a man bumped into Ash. Ash jerked and, in a flash, reached behind him and pulled something out from under his coat. There was a loud sound, like thunder. Everyone on the sidewalk screamed and started running and the crowds vanished. The other man, who was much bigger than Ash, fell to the ground and didn’t get back up.

Michael stopped walking and stared. He felt funny in his tummy. Something was wrong. Something bad. Michael was afraid. The man on the ground was bleeding. Ash’s arm hung at his side and Michael saw then what Ash had taken from under his coat - a gun. To see Ash with a gun was a terrifying sight. Ash put the gun back under his coat. He started walking, slowly, as if he were suddenly exhausted.

With a swallow so hard that it felt like he was almost choking, Michael broke into a run. “Ash!” He grabbed Ash’s arm the moment he was in reach. “Ash, you okay?” Michael’s voice trailed away when he saw the blood. There was blood all over Ash’s shirt near his tummy. Ash had his hand pressed against it, but the blood leaked around his hand. Michael looked up at Ash, white-faced. “What happened?”

Ash blinked down at Michael. He looked very pale and his breathing was weird. “Oh... kid...” He took a deep, painful sounding breath. “You’re not supposed to leave the apartment without your mom or dad. What are you... I’m sorry. I didn’t want... I’m so sorry.”

“You’re bleeding.” And, just like when the bad men hurt mommy, Michael didn’t know what to do. He felt his eyes starting to burn and he rubbed them to stop himself from crying.

Ash tucked his letter from Eiji in his pocket and took Michael’s hand. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t let you get hurt.” He started walking, leading Michael slowly down the sidewalk. “I’ll protect you.”

“We gotta go to mommy,” Michael squeezed Ash’s hand. “She’ll know what to do.” He tried very, very hard not to cry - Ash wouldn’t cry for anything! - but Ash was bleeding and it wasn’t stopping. Ash’s hand on Michael’s felt weak. Ash was never weak. He was almost as strong as daddy. Michael was scared, really scared. “Please, Ash. Please, let’s go get mommy.”

Ash whispered, “Mommy is three blocks away. The library is around the corner. We’ll go to the library.” He stared straight ahead as he spoke. At one point, he stopped walking and swayed a bit. “Maybe a little help would be good.” He reached into a pocket and pull out his cell phone, but his hand shook and he dropped the phone. The glass screen on the phone cracked and looked like a spider web. Michael picked it up for Ash and tapped the screen, but it stayed black.

Michael felt his lower lip wobble. “Ash... it’s broke.”

For a horribly long time, Ash was very quiet. Then he put the phone back in his pocket. “Well... I guess we won’t be calling 9-1-1, then. Right.” They started walking, again. The library came into sight, a huge stone building with statues of lions at the front steps, and Ash said, “Look, when we get in, you stay with me, ‘kay? Wanna keep you safe.”

They got to the library’s stone steps and Ash started to move slower. He had to stop for a moment and breathed very hard.

Michael’s eyes started to water. “Ash? I’m scared.”

With a smile that seemed sad, Ash started walking, again. “What for? Everything’s fine. Everything’s just fine. Gonna call for help in the library.”

Michael wasn’t reassured when Ash’s words began to slur or when he staggered. Somehow, they made it into the library. There was no librarian at the front desk. Michael looked for a telephone at the librarian’s desk when Ash told him to, but there wasn’t one. So they went and sat at one of the long, empty tables. “This is my seat,” Ash said. He leaned back in the chair and smiled at the ceiling. “I brought my Eiji here, ya know? I sat here with Eiji. I always sit in this chair. It’s my favorite.” Then he leaned forward and rested his head on his arms. “I’m sorry, kid. Never wanted you getting in...involved.” Ash closed his eyes, then slowly reopened them. “Kay, right. Gotta get up.” He made as if to stand, but he couldn’t quite manage it and slumped back down in his seat. “Damn it.”

Michael was going to help. He had to. Ash wouldn’t be afraid! Daddy and mommy wouldn’t be afraid! So Michael wouldn’t be either and he would save Ash! Ash’s eyes were closed, like he was sleeping. Michael patted Ash on the head and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll get help!” Michael flapped his hands in his agitation, then took a deep breath and looked around. The library looked empty until he noticed, in a lonely corner at the far end of the great room filled with tables and chairs, a man sitting in a big, comfy chair. The man had yellow hair, like Ash, and was holding a magazine with a picture of Kermit the Frog on the front cover. Anyone who liked Kermit the Frog had to be nice. The thought of talking to a stranger was horrible and Ash had told Michael to stay with him, but Ash needed help! Michael told himself to be brave and he ran.

“Help! Help!” Michael managed to yell and the man he was running towards looked up. “Please, help, please!” Michael came to a stop in front of the man and grabbed his arm. “Please! Please, help! My brother’s hurt!” Michael pointed to where Ash was, his head still resting on the table.

The man looked at Ash. His eyes went wide. He hollered, “Bruce!” Then he stood up and ran to Ash.

Michael followed and hesitated only a moment when, from out between some of the tall book shelves, came a small man with brown hair. He wore a gray sweater and glasses. “What’s going on?”

The man Michael had got to help was touching Ash’s wrist and Michael wanted to yell at him because he knew Ash didn’t like people touching him. “This kid’s bleeding real bad! He’s still got a pulse!”

Michael didn’t know what a pulse was, but he did know that ‘bleeding real bad’ wasn’t good so he could be forgiven for bursting into tears.

“Hey, now.” Michael opened his eyes and sniffled and found the man he’d run to for help kneeling in front of him. “My friend’s a doctor. He’s doing everything he can to help your brother. Can you tell me what happened?”

“I dun know!” Michael wailed. “I think the other man hit him.”

“Okay, that’s a good job remembering. Can you tell me where you live so I can take you home? Or maybe tell me your mom or dad’s phone number so I can call them to come get you?”

Michael rubbed his eyes with his fist. “Not supposed to talk to strangers.”

“That is a really smart rule. So, let’s not be strangers. We’ll be friends. My name’s Steve Rogers. What’s yours?”

“Michael.”

The other man, Bruce, said, “Steve, call 9-1-1! We need an ambulance!”

“Right.” As he pulled out a cell phone, Mister Rogers patted Michael on the shoulder. “Try not to worry. You’re going to be just fine.” He made his phone call and Michael heard him talk about ‘teenage boy’ and ‘stab wound to the lower abdomen’ and other stuff Michael didn’t understand. Meanwhile, Mister Bruce had a hand pressed very firmly to the bloody spot on Ash’s tummy. He kept looking at Ash’s eyes and talking to him with, ‘Can you hear me?’ and ‘It’s going to be alright. Stay with us.’ Until more people wearing blue uniforms arrived. There was a lot of confusion and Mister Bruce said a lot of things to the uniformed people that Michael didn’t understand.

“The paramedics will take care of your brother and get him to a hospital.” Mister Roger’s squatted next to Michael. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” Michael’s eyes flew wide when the paramedics brought out a funny looking bed on wheels and started to put Ash on it. “I wanna go with Ash!”

“Ash, huh? Can you tell me his whole name?”

“Ash Lynx. I wanna go with him. I’m supposed to stay with him; he told me to!”

“Alright. You can come along with me in the ambulance,” Mister Bruce said when he joined them. “Let’s go. Maybe we can get your parents to meet us at the hospital.” And they hurried out of the library after Ash and the paramedics.

Bruce -

Bruce and Michael stayed still and silent in the ambulance to let the paramedic take care of Ash and stayed with Ash as he was brought into the emergency room at the hospital. There, they kept to the back of the room while the doctors and nurses worked. Ash’s shirt was cut off to allow better access, but just as someone was about to cut off his pants, Ash woke up with a vengeance. He blinked and looked around. The moment he appeared to realize where he was, it was like a volcano erupted. “Get off me!” He swung a fist at a doctor and connected with enough force to knock the man off his feet. Everything went into chaos after that. Someone shouted for security and Michael looked near tears, again. Ash struggled and fought, despite his failing strength. The blood soaking his shirt was damp and the stain grew. “You’re not touching me!” He shouted at the nurse who held his hands up in front of him in a placating manner.

Bruce, stunned at how violent everything had gotten so quickly, almost ran out of the room. He didn’t like such stress. He could feel, deep inside him, Hulk stirring, roused from his sleep by shouting and Bruce’s own emotions. Bruce tried, very hard, to sooth Hulk. While they couldn’t exactly ‘talk’ Bruce tried to calm himself and pushed thoughts of peace at Hulk, attempting to communicate that all was well, there was no need for either of them to get upset. When Hulk had settled, but not gone entirely back to sleep, Bruce held up a hand and said, “Let’s have some calm!” To be safe, he put Michael behind him a little, but said to everyone in the room. “All this shouting is getting nowhere. I’m sure we don’t need security. Let’s take a moment to breathe.” He really wished Phil or Clint were there - they really knew how to calm down bad situations. “Everyone just back up a little.” He waited until the doctors and the nurses did what they were told then looked at Ash. “No one’s going to hurt you. You’re safe. You’re in a hospital and everyone’s trying to help you. Your little brother asked us to help you in the library. Do you remember?”

Drawing Ash’s attention to him was, apparently, a mistake. Ash looked at Bruce and then at Michael and, in a split second, he had leapt forward and aimed a punch directly at Bruce. The punch didn’t connect, but it was enough of a surprise that Bruce loosened his grip on Michael’s hand just enough that Michael slipped loose. He went straight to Ash and threw his arms around him. Ash, just as Bruce had done, put Michael behind him and backed into a corner of the room to shield Michael from everyone. Ash’s wild, panicked eyes flitting from person to person. He’d grown frighteningly pale during the confrontation. Without his shirt, it was easy to see that the wound on his abdomen wasn’t his only injury. He had another wound near the main one and another stab wound on his shoulder, but those had been stitched up some days ago. Security guards appeared at the door and Ash seemed ready to keep the battle up until he passed out.

“Please,” Bruce kept his hands at his sides and didn’t move to get closer to Ash even as he feared little Michael might be accidentally hurt. Again, he felt Hulk trying to move closer to the surface of their mind, obviously getting agitated by Bruce’s agitation. So Bruce had to pause to let Hulk know there was no danger. The last thing anyone needed was for Hulk to come bursting out in the middle of a hospital because of a confused kid. “This is all getting a bit busy in here.” He looked at the doctors and the nurses and the security guards. “Please step out in the hall. It’s alright. We’ll be fine.” It took a moment to persuade everyone to leave, but soon it was only Bruce, Ash, and Michael in the room and Bruce tried to relax his posture. “You might not remember, but in the library your little brother asked for help when you were hurt. My name is...”

“Doctor Bruce Banner,” Ash answered. “You’re also The Hulk and one of The Avengers.” He was breathing hard, but he kept himself between Bruce and Michael. “I’ve heard of you.”

“Yes. And if that scares you, I can have someone else come in to help, but you do need help. In a few minutes, you’re going to pass out and then you won’t have a choice in the matter.”

Ash hesitated.

“Goodness,” a new voice said. “What a lot of noise.” Bruce turned to see another man in the doorway. He was not just big, he was immense. The man stood close to seven feet tall and was so broad that he nearly filled the doorway. He had long black hair tied at the back of his neck and looked around the room and seemed amused. He smiled at them all. “Maybe I can help.”

Bruce was on the verge of shooing the man out of the room, but he noticed that Ash had relaxed entirely. He swayed a little where he stood. “Blanca? What are you doing here?”

Blanca answered, “Working. You’re gaining a lot of attention with this attitude.”

“Do I want to know what you were working on in a hospital?”

“Probably not. Now,” Blanca kept smiling. “Stop being a brat and let’s see what you’ve done to yourself.” He went to Ash without fear and took note of the wound. “You need surgery. It’s time for you to quiet down and behave.”

Bruce was certain, absolutely certain that Ash would argue and fight, but he nodded and stepped a little to one side so Blanca could see Michael. “Michael, this is Blanca. He’s a good guy. Blanca, look after the kid until his parents get here, yeah? I said I’d take care of him.”

“Of course.” Blanca took Michael’s hand and smiled so kindly that even Hulk seemed to be calmed. “Now, let’s get you back up on the table.”

Ash tried to do it himself, but couldn’t quite manage. Blanca took hold of Ash under each arm and lifted him like he was no bigger than Michael and put him on the table. Ash smacked Blanca on the arm. “Stop that!”

“Hush. Lay down.” Blanca looked at Bruce. “Perhaps you would ask his doctor to step back in? Ash will behave, now.”

And Ash was prepared for surgery and taken into the operating room while Bruce, Blanca, and Michael were led to a small waiting room. Less than five minutes later, as the three of them sat around a small television in the waiting room, Phil came in. He looked the same as always, completely in control and at ease, but Bruce could see the tightness around the mouth and eyes that showed the stress Phil was feeling. “What’s going on?” Bruce asked.

“Steve called me to tell me what happened. He said the boy’s name is Ash? Ash Lynx?”

“Yes.”

The tension around Phil’s eyes deepened. “Thin boy, bright blonde hair? Green eyes?”

“Yes. Do you know him?”

“He’s the witness.”

It took Bruce a moment to digest that. “You mean... the Club Cod witness? But he’s just...” It was like a final puzzle piece slid into place as Bruce came to a realization. “He wasn’t an employee or a customer. He was a...” A victim. He was too young to be anything but one of Club Cod’s victims. In Bruce’s long trek around the world he had seen many bad things and he met kids stuck in circumstances similar to Ash’s. For a kid who’d suffered through that sort of thing to be willing to stand in the spotlight and tell the whole world what had been done to him was amazingly courageous. Bruce cast a discrete look at little Michael sitting next to Blanca and motioned for Phil to follow him into the hall. Once Bruce was sure Michael wouldn’t overhear, he said, “Steve explained everything to you, didn’t he? Well, the little boy said his name’s Michael but he doesn’t want to say anything else because he’s not supposed to talk to strangers. We need to find out who his parents are so they can fetch him.”

“I already did that. They’ll be here any minute. Who was that man?”

“Ash called him ‘Blanca’ and seems to trust him. He calmed Ash down so the surgery could start.”

Phil pressed his lips together, a sure sign of his unhappiness. “Clint was meant to start guarding Ash in just an hour. Just one hour and this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Don’t blame yourself. Please. Ash was very combative in there. I think he was trying to fight his way out of the hospital, but I’m not sure how far he thought he’d get in that condition.” Bruce tucked his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet. His next news would make Phil even more unhappy and he didn’t like making people unhappy. He was only comforted by the fact that Phil never yelled. “He’s got other wounds. They’re only a few days old and I think they were pretty bad when they happened. The one he’s getting fixed now... it’s worse. He’s lost a lot of blood. I’m not sure where he got the energy to start fighting in there, but it didn’t last long.” Bruce scuffed the toe of his shoe on the floor. “He might not make it.”

“It’s that bad?”

“Yes. If that little boy hadn’t asked Steve for help... I think your witness would be dead now. Surgery is always dangerous and he’s in critical condition. I didn’t want Michael to hear, but you need to be prepared for Ash to die. It’s a very real possibility.”

Phil’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell Max.”

“So, he’s the witness?”

“He’s the witness. Ash Lynx.”

“I suppose,” Bruce, now that he’d delivered the bad news and had gotten no bad reactions from Phil, began to relax. “That whoever did this is one of the people connected with Club Cod.”

“I suppose it must be. I’ve already sent some agents over to the library to investigate and Steve said he was going to look around, too. If Ash wakes up, he can tell us exactly where he was attacked and maybe we can learn something, then. This wouldn’t have happened if he’d been with us.”

There was nothing else to do but wait. Phil joined them in the waiting room. The television was set to a local news station, but Bruce ignored it. He had seen many injuries during his life and he knew that Ash’s injury was bad, very bad. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he said Ash might still die. To think one injury might not only end a boy’s life, but prevent so many criminals from getting the justice they deserved. Two more people joined them and Phil, after shaking their hands, introduced Bruce to Max Glenreed and his wife, Jessica. The two of them hugged their son and told him Ash would be just fine, he was young and strong so he would make it through. While all that was going on Phil stepped up next to Bruce and quietly asked, “Where did Blanca go?”

Bruce looked around the small room. He hadn’t even realized Blanca had left. How? The man was bigger than Steve, so how had he just slipped out of the room without any of them noticing?

To be continued...