The Color of Money

[Wade Braddock]

The blackness was comforting, relaxing, but gradually it began to lighten and slowly Wade began to regain his conscious senses. Where ever he was, it was quiet, and what ever he was laying on felt soft, and actually pretty comfortable. His eyes felt heavy and his eye lids seemed like they were glued shut, but with a bit of effort he managed to open them. Blinking a few times he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the bright light over top of him then took in his surroundings.

He appeared to be in some kind of hospital, as far as he could tell. Various medical instruments and machines were visible around the room. Yet, the walls were a soothing shade of beige and most of the surfaces in the room were finished in a dark wood. A few paintings hung on the walls to add some color. The bed he lay in seemed to have nice soft cotton sheets, nicer than any he’d personally ever slept on. If it wasn’t for the medical equipment, he might have thought he was in a nicely furnished bedroom.

He tried to sit up a few times, but each time he did a wave of nausea swept over him and forced him to lay back down again. Just as he’d managed to get himself sitting upright the door to the room opened and a man in a white coat walked in. He took a few minutes to look Wade over then consulted his clipboard and nodded in satisfaction.

“You’ll survive. Rest here tonight and you can be on your way in the morning.” The doctor said as he moved towards the door.

“W…wait.” Wade croaked, in a mix of pain and alarm. The Doctor didn’t respond but did stop and turn to look at Wade with a questioning look. “I… gotta get back. Curfew.”

The doctor merely pointed up to a clock on the wall with his pen. It was nearly 2:30 am.

“Not sure when your curfew was… but I’m pretty sure you’ve missed it. Rest here tonight, you’ll have to figure out your curfew issues in the morning.”

With that the doctor left the room and shut the door on his way out. Wade looked across the room and saw his reflection in a mirror on the wall. He didn’t look good. His left eye area was swollen; it would turn into a nasty shiner. His lip had a considerable split, also on the left side, and it looked like the doctor had put a few stitches in it. He extended his arms and saw over a dozen cuts across the two of them. All of the cuts had been stitched up. Great... Now he was going to look like one of those moody Goth kids, the ones who cut themselves. He couldn’t see his ribs, but he could tell they were probably purple by now. His knee still throbbed but he didn’t see a cast on it. Gentle pokes didn’t reveal any really sharp pain to either his knee or ribs, so he guessed they hadn’t been broken. At least that was a good sign.

Wade still felt groggy so he returned to laying on the bed. Things had gotten a bit weird after the fight on the street. The girl in the red dress had said help was coming. Wade had expected an ambulance and the police. Instead a sedan pulled up and then almost right after, two SUVs had screeched to a halt as well. In a flurry of activity, Wade has helped into one of the SUVs by a couple of big guys. He heard someone barking out orders, and that guy didn’t sound happy at all. The next thing Wade knew he was speeding along in the back of the SUV and shortly after, was being helped in through the front doors of a building. He remembered the doctor, he put a needle into Wade’s arm and then he must have passed out.

Now he was in a hospital… or some kind of medical place. He was way past curfew and beaten to a pulp. Even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t have walked back into Westbrook. He wasn’t sure what he’d tell them. Hell, he wasn’t even sure exactly what had happened that night. There had to be an explanation. It would probably turn out to be something really simple and make sense, but right then, it all seemed very confusing.

[Wade Braddock]

Wade was awoken by the door to his room opening. The same doctor from the night before walked in to again check Wade over, and once again seemed satisfied. He informed Wade that he’d be free to leave, but first he had a visitor.

A big part of Wade hoped to see the girl in the red dress walk through the door, but instead a man in an expensive looking suit entered. He paused just past the door and spent a moment looking Wade over. It took a moment to register, but Wade soon recognized him as the same man he’d encountered nearly a month ago, during the hold up at the diner in Steel Canyon. The same man who’d sent him to see Mario at Dockside Deliveries.

“Wade.” He began as he moved further into the room then turned to shut the door. “What you did last night goes beyond appreciation. I’ve come to let you know that I’ll be keeping an eye on you. Keep up the work like that and I promise that you’ll be well looked after for as long as you need anything.”

“Oh… ok, thanks.” Wade began then paused for a moment. He had a burning question on his mind, but he wasn’t sure if he should ask or not. He decided to go for it. “The girl from last night…” Was about all he was able to get out before the suited man raised a hand and Wade fell silent.

“Alexis is fine. You saved her, her friend as well. Now, was there anything you needed right now? Maybe a ride home?”

Westbrook! Wade had forgotten about the trouble he’d face once he got back. He still wasn’t sure how things would play out, but maybe he could get some help with it. It couldn’t hurt to ask, so Wade quickly explained the situation as the man listened. After a moment’s consideration he spoke.

“Wade, there is no one I could call who would be able to speak to your administrators. Here’s what I’m going to suggest though. Don’t mention last night. Explaining things might seem simple, but they’ll quickly get complicated. For instance, they’ll want to know why you didn’t involve the police, and how it was that you came to be treated in a private hospital.”

“Actually…” Wade broke in then immediately fell silent when the man frowned. Clearly he didn’t like being interrupted, but he seemed to tolerate it and he even nodded as if he knew exactly what Wade was about to say.

“What about the police and this hospital? Don’t worry Wade, the police are in the loop and they’re doing exactly what they should. Those thugs will be caught and justice will be served. As for this hospital, it’s a private facility that only a select few can afford, to be honest. They care for me and my family when the need arises. It seemed the least I could do for you last night… unless you’d have preferred waiting for hours on end just to be admitted in a general hospital?”

“No… Uh. No, this was great. Thanks. But, what should I say back at school?”

“Right now, you’re pretty banged up. That’ll be tough to hide, but it’s the best they can do for you. I understand you’ve got a lot of gifted kids back at Westbrook. Perhaps one of them can speed things up, recovery wise? That way you’d only have to explain the missed curfew. And everyone falls asleep at friend’s houses once in a while, don’t they?”

“What friend? I don’t….” Wade stopped himself and felt a bit sheepish as he suddenly clued in to what was being suggested. “Right… I’m with you.”

“Good. You’ll get things figured out Wade. I’ve got a feeling you know how to handle yourself.” The suited man said as he checked the gold wristwatch he wore. “I have to be going. Here, take my card. Use it if you have to.”

The man slid a business card into Wade’s hand then turned and left the room. Wade glanced down and read the name on it. Tony Bullivia. President of Tricom Ventures.

Wade looked around the room and saw a wardrobe in one corner. Opening it, he found a pair of sweat pants and a plain white t-shirt hanging up, black socks and a pair of basic looking running shoes. The clothes all seemed to be in a size suitable for him to wear. Realizing that his suit was most likely on the officially deceased list, he began dressing himself. As wade was gathering his things he noticed a piece of paper sticking out of his wallet. Pulling it out he unfolded it and took a moment to read it over. A cursive hand writing that was clearly feminine had been scrawled across the scrap of paper. Wade smiled as he read it.

Figured you earned this…
555-9375
Lexi

Maybe enduring a nasty beat down had been worth it after all.