Falling In Love With My Target

Chapter 5

When Clover gets to the military base, he immediately heads to the infirmary. Outside the room his mother was in, his father and sister are talking to the doctor.

"What's wrong with Mom? Why did she collapse?" Clover asked, a little out of breath from all the running.

"Just like I was telling your father and sister, Mrs. Ebi collapsed due to dehydration and sleep deprivation. But what's really concerning is her high blood pressure." the doctor explained.

"High blood pressure? But, she's never had issues with that before. She's a very healthy person." Punzie replied confused.

"Then she's clearly under way too much stress and it's affecting her health. She needs fluids and rest, I highly suggest she not even leave her bed until all these issues are under control." the doctor tells them.

"Yes, sir, I'll personally make sure of that." Trevor said.

"Now, can I see my wife?" he asked.

The doctor nods then opens the door for Trevor and his kids. Before Punzie enters, she briefly looks over her shoulder and spots Councilmember Logan coming down the hall.

"I'll be in there in a minute, I have to take care of something first." Punzie told Clover.

"Punz, wait." Clover said grabbing her wrist.

"Be careful, please." he told her.

"I will be. Are you okay, you look pale?" Punzie asked, looking at Clover concerned.

"I'm fine, I was just worried about Mom." Clover assured her.

He lets her wrist go and she walks towards Councilmember Logan. 

"What are you doing here?" Punzie asked folding her arms across her chest.

"I just came to see if Councilwoman Joanna was alright. I was quite concerned seeing her just drop like that." Logan said, with a smug grin.

"This your fault, ya know. She's only in this state because of you!" Punzie said angrily.

"Silly child, how am I responsible for your mother's inability to manage her stress?" Logan asked.

"Oh wait, I mean adopted mother, your real mother kept you isolated against your will...correct?" they added.

Angry, Punzie clenches her fists and her jaw, resisting the urge to throat-punch this b*stard. 

"You may have the council fooled...but I know you're not to be trusted...you're up to something. And soon everyone will know what I know." Punzie told them.

"And what exactly do you know, little girl...hmm?" Logan asked, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow.

"I...I-I...I'm not..." Punzie stammered, avoiding eye contact.

"Hahaha, perhaps it would be best, Miss Gothel, if you kept your silly little conspiracy theories to yourself...especially when you have absolutely no proof." Logan said condescendingly.

They pat Punzie on the top of the head, as if she were nothing but a child, then walk away. At home, Trevor takes Joanna to their room to rest, Punzie goes off to her room, and Clover quickly heads to where this morning's fight took place and quickly cleans up the blood. He was sweeping up the glass shards from the broken glass door when his dad walked in. 

"What the h*ll happened here!?" Trevor asked his son.

"Uhhhhhh.....h-how's Mom doing?" Clover asked, trying to change the subject.

"She's asleep, and I just got off the phone with the head councilman, he's given her four to six weeks medical leave, but don't try to change the subject mister. What happened to the patio door!?" Trevor replied.

"*sigh* There...may or may not have been an...intruder in the house earlier today." Clover told him carefully.

"What!?" Trevor gasped.

"B-but don't worry! I handled it, I fought him off, kicked him through the patio door." Clover explained.

"Were you hurt? Did this intruder hurt you?" Trevor asked concerned.

"....No, I'm fine." Clover lied.

"Seriously, Dad, I've got this. I'll clean up everything and buy a tarp to cover the door until it gets fixed. You just focus on taking care of Mom." he added.

"Okay. But did you see the face of the intruder?" Trevor said after taking a deep, calming breath.

"No, he wore a mask. And I don't think he'll be coming back." Clover said.

"Good. And let's not tell your mother about this...she doesn't need another thing adding to her stress, not in her condition." Trevor sighed.

"I agree." Clover nodded.

Afterwards, Clover goes out into town and buys a tarp and then calls someone to fix the door. While returning home, Clover saw a very drunk-looking man stumble out of the bar and stagger on his feet. Then the man loses his balance and falls into the road, in front of oncoming traffic. A large truck would've flattened the poor man if Clover hadn't have rushed over and pulled the man back onto the sidewalk.

"Sir! Sir, are you alright?" Clover asked, shaking the limp man in his arms.

He only heard a groan and incoherent slurred muttering in response. It was clear the man was trashed, the smell of alcohol on him made Clover a bit queasy. Something falls out of the man's pocket, so Clover picks it up and examines it. It was a keycard for a room to a hotel that wasn't far from where the bar was. The moment it suddenly started to rain, and rain in Atlas is very harsh, Clover decided to help this man get back to his hotel room so that nothing else bad would happen to him. To Clover, the man was surprisingly light to carry...it actually kinda concerned him how light a man who was well over his age was. By the time he reached the man's hotel room, he was completely soaked and shivering, his drunken state making him more vulnerable to the cold.

"Let's get you dried off. You'll catch your death in these wet clothes." Clover said, even though he knew the man probably wouldn't hear him.

Clover sets the drunk man onto a chair and begins to strip the wet clothes off of him...except for the underwear...he didn't feel comfortable doing that to the poor stranger. Next, he grabs some towels from the bathroom and dries the man off. After that he puts him into the bed and covers him with the thick blankets. That's when Clover really got a good look at the man's face. He was quite handsome, in a rugged rogue-ish type of way. His dark black hair had the tiniest bits of grey, and he had rough facial hair with a five-o-clock shadow. Now that this man was safe in his bed, Clover left. Luckily, he didn't notice the mask that laid just out of eyesight under the man's bed...or else he would've found out that the man he helped was the same one who had attacked him earlier that day.