"Are those wraps getting bloodier?" Hope questioned as she probed Max's side.
The man grit his teeth. "Damn it, Hope, stop prodding me, I'm not a piece of meat here, not for you
anyway."
Hope ignored him and put a hand on his forehead as she searched his eyes. "Max, you're burning up.
We need to get you out of here."
Max snorted. "And just give you to whoever the mole is? No way."
Mole? "Tell me more about the mole to keep your mind off what I'm doing," Hope encouraged as she
poked at another one of his injuries. It wasn't just her imagination .He was still bleeding at some points.
If she didn't take care of this soon, awful things were going to happen to him.
"Ethan was bragging about it before I crushed his fucking windpipe. Some of Varys' men are bought off.
Ethan promised that Varys would never get to keep you. My guess is these sleeper agents are going to
come for you, and since Ethan is dead, they're just going to try to kill you as well."
"And these people are the ones that have Uncle Vincent?" Hope continued. Good, at least two of his
injuries weren't weeping. Fucking Ethan with wanting to make his targets suffer. Thank God that man
was off the face of the planet.
"Probably," Max groaned as his eyelids fluttered. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck, Hope. Did you run
my heart over when you rejected me? Is that what this is?"
Hope only winced a little. "No, Max. You're running a fever, I think. You're burning up, your injuries are
red and one is leaking pus. You need a doctor."
"Not happening, we're locked in this room, and I'd rather die than put you at risk."
Hope ran to the door and pulled on it but to no avail. Of course it was locked. She'd heard it lock. And
she was stuck here, with a possibly dying Max while she waited for Varys to return.
The window on the door opened and she stared into a pair of friendly green eyes. "Were you trying to
get out? Did something happen?"
"Who are you?" Hope demanded as she eyed him with a frown. "I don't recognize you."
"It's fine, you don't need to. I was left to guard you, but I heard you at the door." He glanced past her at
the figure of Max on the bed. "Hey, is he okay?"
"No," Hope replied. "Do you have the key to this room?"
He nodded. "Yeah, Varys wouldn't have left you without a way to get you out. I've got it on me."
"Good, call me a doctor for him. I won't have him die because of Ethan getting in my way."
"Call a doctor?" he replied. "Sure. "Hey, if you need anything, my name is Garret, okay?"
Hope nodded. "Thanks, Garret. Just call the doctor for me first."
"Right away, we've got one on staff. I'll go grab him." The little metal plate slammed as he left and Hope
went back to Max's side once more.
Sweat beaded up in little pearls not just dotting his face, but his entire body. He grimaced as he stared
blankly up at the ceiling. I'm fine, Hope. Stop worrying."
"You're not, we've got to get that fever down. The doctor will be here soon."
"I don't need one," Max growled at her as he closed his eyes. "I just need a little rest. I'll be just fine
after that. You nag so much, I'm dodging a bullet, really." His words slurred at the end.
Hope ran to the sink and turned the cold water on full blast. There wasn't much to use in here that
wasn't dirty, so she took desperate actions. She took the bottom of her shirt and tore it into one long
strip stopping only before it reached the bottom of her bra. She thrust the improvised cloth under the
water and wrung it out before plopping it on Max's head.
He relaxed beneath the touch and smiled. "That feels great."
With her hands still cold, Hope stroked them over Max's cheeks and neck. "When you get better, I'm
kicking your ass, Max. If you destroy things between me and Varys because I have to take care of you,
I'll set you on fire."
Max chuckled. "You two sound like a match made in hell."
"Shut up," Hope snapped as she stroked his forehead again. It was helping, but what he needed was
actual medicine.
The door swung open and a doctor walked in, followed by the young guard from before. He wore black
leather gloves and clenched his fist as if working the leather. "Here you go, one half-asleep doctor."
"I wasn't half-asleep, I was drunk off my ass, you idiot." He stumbled into the room. "Now, let's see,
who is our lucky patient today?"
"You brought me a drunk doctor?" Hope demanded. "he's all but useless!"
"Hey," the doctor snapped. "Unless you want me to tie you down for non compliance, I suggest you
stand back and let me work my magic." He pulled out a bag and shook it. A variety of items clashed
against each other. "We'll start him on antibiotics right now. They won't take long to kick in, and he's
going to feel like a brand new person when they do."
The bottle the doctor dug out spun around and around in his hands as he attempted to thwart the child-
safe technology. "Here, let me help," Hope snapped. She grabbed the bottle from him and popped the
lid. Odd, these didn't look like any antibiotics she was aware of. They looked homemade actually.
"Here, take these," The doctor grabbed them up in a handful and shoved them at Max. "Just swallow
them dry, Lad, you're a man, aren't you?"
Hope stared at the pills as Max struggled against the doctor. "These don't look like regular antibiotics,"
she reached out and slapped the pills from the doctor's hands. "Sorry, I just don't trust those."
"Young Lady, do you know what you've done?" he snapped. "Guard, hold her down too. I have to take
care of the patient."
The guard smirked. "Whatever you say, Doctor."
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