As they reached the main entrance, dozens of police cars surrounded the hospital building. Hunter snorted dismissively at the police who were aiming their guns, using their car doors as shields, and walked out unconcerned.
“Stand still and put your hands up!”
“Shut up, can’t you see I’m wearing a patient’s gown?”
Hunter retorted with a completely wrinkled face. Seeing his blatant displeasure, Marsha tactfully stood in front of him. Normally Hunter would have complied with police orders, but the situation wasn’t good now. Federico’s death seemed to have made him sensitive.
“Hunter?”
Taylor’s eyes widened as he pulled up in a black SUV, leaving skid marks.
“You’re awake.”
“I couldn’t just keep lying down forever.”
Taylor hurriedly got out of the car, took a blanket from the trunk, and wrapped it around Hunter’s shoulders. Though Hunter’s answer was curt, a smile gradually formed on his lips as he looked at Taylor.
“…It seems like asking what happened would make for too long a story.”
Taylor glanced at the building with its framework exposed by the bomb and nodded.
The police’s vigilance gradually eased at his casual attitude. When David, who had followed Taylor out of the car, also greeted them, the dozens of gun barrels finally turned away.
“Pleased to meet you, I’m David Boyer Clemence, FBI investigator.”
David, composing his voice neatly, showed his ID and offered a handshake. Hunter quickly scanned his credentials, immediately relaxed his expression, and shook his hand.
“You’ve had a busy early morning. Though it feels a bit late.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“You’ll find out when you conduct an internal investigation.”
I should at least get a Brave Citizen Award for this to be fair. Hunter muttered, pointing to the hospital building with his chin.
Sensing something difficult ahead, David gestured to the police to enter the building. Hunter pushed Marsha toward the officers who were about to move in unison.
“Marsha, guide them through.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“No need for thanks. It’s quite a burden to watch you wasting time.”
I always wondered why FBI appears only after the case is solved in movies and dramas, never imagining it was based on reality. David’s mouth twitched at Hunter’s stinging remark delivered with a pleasant smile, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything back.
Hunter, blankly watching their retreating figures, tilted his head, feeling like he had forgotten something.
“What are you thinking about?”
Unable to come up with a proper answer, he looked up at Taylor, but then glanced around as a question suddenly occurred to him. The dozen or so police officers remaining in the parking lot narrowed their eyes, finding his shifting gaze suspicious.
“What about Michael and Hyungoh?”
“Pardon?”
“Those two, haven’t they come out yet?”
“…Are they here too?”
Taylor asked in surprise. How could they be here? I heard Michael was hiding in the Cenaline organization, and Hyungoh went missing in Washington state.
Hunter stood up, clutching his throbbing head. Even after nearly dying, those two still give me headaches.
He could clearly picture them trying to find their way through a darkness without a single ray of light. I hope they haven’t caused any trouble. He glared through the shattered hospital windows, toward wherever Hyungoh and Michael might be.
* * *
“What’s that?”
A police officer scanning the forest path behind the parking lot called out urgently. Just as he spoke, a car in the distance approached rapidly, emitting bright light.
“It seems to be coming this way?”
“S-stop right there!”
The police officers all aimed their guns at the approaching car. The vehicle hesitated, seemed about to reverse, then slowed down and approached carefully.
“What brings you here?”
They asked the driver who lowered his window. However, the man only sighed deeply without giving a proper answer and spoke irritably to the passenger beside him.
“Hey, you answer.”
“They asked you, why are you passing it to me?”
“I get chills just looking at police uniforms.”
“And you think I’m happy to see them?”
The police officers, who had been watching in bewilderment as the two bickered while ignoring their fully armed presence, raised their guns again.
“Both of you, get out.”
“…Shit, really.”
Theo, who emerged from the driver’s seat grumbling, halfheartedly raised his hands. Herick, who got out after him, was raising his hands when he noticed the hospital, now almost in ruins. Has something already happened? Herick, putting on a serious face, surveyed the surroundings.
“…Hunter?”
Did I see wrong? Theo blinked several times when he glimpsed Hunter appearing behind the police officer blocking his way. No, I couldn’t have seen wrong. Seeing Taylor supporting him from the side made him even more certain.
“Hunter!”
He moved forward impulsively. When the police officer blocking Theo was about to pull the trigger at this sudden action, Taylor shook his head.
“Don’t worry, they’re people who will cooperate.”
Though the gun barrels lowered at his words, vigilance remained high. Regardless, Herick, who had been busy staring at Hunter as if seeing a ghost, came to his senses and spoke.
“How are you alive?”
“Are you disappointed?”
“That unpleasant tone confirms it’s really Hunter.”
You didn’t seem to age despite the years, but now you’ve finally got some wrinkles. Despite the joke that didn’t match the situation at all, Hunter gave a slight smile. Theo, who had been secretly checking if he was injured, also smiled furtively.
“Hunter, look over there.”
Taylor, who had been staring intently at the main entrance drawn by an inexplicable feeling, frowned as a blurry figure appeared.
Everyone’s heads turned in unison, following Taylor’s gaze. But there was something strange about the figure gradually becoming clear in the fog.
“Hyungoh?”
Theo murmured in disbelief. The person approaching, staggering while carrying someone larger than himself on his back, resembled the man he knew.
“…Ha.”
With a sigh that pierced the air, Hunter pressed his forehead. His appearance, covered in even more blood than Marsha, looked incredibly thin.
The fact that the figure carried on his back was Michael left everyone unable to even think of speaking. Blood that showed no sign of stopping flowed from Michael’s fingertips as they dangled and swayed in the air.
