Lunas web

Chapter 5

While Meredith and his assistant performed surgery on Ash's brother, I decided it would be better if we waited in the hall. Eiji seemed distraught over the incident and Shorter wasn't going to be any help towards them. Sitting myself on the wall across from them, it was hard not to be worried. Ash had never told me he has a brother, and it seemed the others didn't know either. There must have been a reason for it but without him to explain, it was hard to understand why. Eiji was the first to break the silence.

"I wonder if Ash's brother will be okay."

I know he cant see my face with the mask on but I tried my best to sound reassuring.

"We just have to believe in Meredith, he is a doctor so he knows what he's doing I'm sure of it."

Shorter gave me a small smile and then turned his attention back to Eiji, the guy didn't seem too convinced by my words. He slumped lower on the wall.

"They took away the bottle, I was supposed to give it to you."

This caught my attention. "Whats he talking about Shorter?"

He stood beside me now, keeping his attention on Eiji.

"Well Ash gave him the task of finding me and giving me whatever was in this bottle that Arthur and his boys took. He gave me all the info while looking for me at the restaurant."

Eiji looked more confused than ever. "What do you mean? I couldn't find you, I only spoke to an older guy."

Shorter pulls out his classic 'elderly man disguise' showing it off to us. Eiji was so shocked that I couldn't help but laugh at him. When Shorter uses that disguise he really does look like an elder man, the fake mustache and wig really pull it together. Im having to hold myself up I'm laughing so hard. I didn't even notice the boys had both turned their attention to me, staring long enough that they joined in a bit.

Composing myself, I pulled out my phone to give my uncle an update on the situation. Leaving him in the dark was never a good thing. I prefer to be open with him about things, which reminded me.

"Eiji, have you contacted that older guy you came with? Im sure he is pretty worried about you." I didn't wanna sound like a mom, but I wouldn't be a good 'city protector' if I didn't ask. This seemed to get his attention so I passed him my phone to make a call. As he walked off with it, Shorter sat beside me. Not close enough to be touching but close enough that I could get a sense for his breathing. Based off vibrations, it was easy for me to tell he was stressed.

"He's gonna be okay, I can sense it ya know?" Placing my hand on his shoulder to reassure him. Hoping it wasn't too weird, having friends while keeping a secret identity didn't mix so the only one I have to go on is Ash. Though he rarely allowed anyone to touch him.

His glasses slipped down his face enough so I could see his eyes. He looked tired to me, like he hadn't slept in awhile. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could, Eiji was in front of us again, handing me back my phone.

"Im going to get Ibe-san, bring him here and explain. He can help."

I paused before taking my hand off Shorters shoulder and standing.

"Ill go with you, its too risky to be alone. Shorter can stay and guard."

He seemed reluctant but accepted my proposal. Wasting no time, we make our way back on to the streets of New York

———-

Finding Ibe was easy in the crowds. Standing at 5'9", he was just above everyone. Plus his short brown hair and goatee made it even easier to find. Convincing Ibe to come with us was much easier than I had expected as well. The guy seemed frantic over Eiji, upset that he was left in the dark but given their line of work let it slide. Once back inside the office, we let Meredith explain everything we knew so far. He had taken us to his private office in back, pulling out a small jar with some white powder inside. He wasted no time.