Orphic

Spring Twenty two - Elliot

"Okay, let's just try one more time Clint, no need to get so frustrated." Harvey urged.

Bella had already warned us that while it seemed like Clint's condition was getting better that it wouldn't last.

He'd gone from being almost fully mobile to slowly losing the ability to move his legs and his reaction to it was making it harder for the rest of us to watch.

Emily finally went home to take a quick shower, Sam and I promised to stay with Clint and that's exactly what we did.

I would be lying if I said I was actually paying any attention to him.

My mind had been hooked on Cass ever since I'd heard he left. I was constantly texting Andrew for updates since I knew he had Cass' phone.

Unfortunately, he knew just as much as everyone else. Nothing.

Bella promised that Ash was working on finding a location for this 'old friend' that he'd gone to visit but it had been over a day since we heard anything from her.

Sam leaned over, gently placing his head on my shoulder and letting out a sigh, "This is depressing." He whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. I hummed my agreement while checking my phone again.

Andrew had messaged, asking me to call him when I had the chance. I stood up so quickly I nearly elbowed Sam in the face. I was sure I earned a few confused looks, but I had already dialed the number and was on my way out of the room.

"What is it?" I asked once I heard Andrew pick up on the other end.

"I'm going to get Cass."

"Where are you?" I was rushing to get my jacket on.

"You're not coming." He laughed. "Cass would kill me."

"Like hell I'm not. If you don't take me, I'll just follow. Where are you?" I asked again.

~

An hour later, Andrew and I were back in the stuffy little car that brought us to Pelican town only a few days ago.

"His name is Mr. Qi, although I don't think that's his actual name. He cut ties with Lucien shortly after everything went down. He doesn't seem too fond of our old boss." Ash explained.

Andrew gave her another call for some more information once we finally got on the road.

"So he cut ties after Cass left?" Andrew asked.

"mm, maybe, I don't know the exact events that took place but I do know that Cass was the only one who came in contact with Mr. Qi. He refused to work with anyone else."

"Why?" I asked.

"Probably because of his particular skill set. Either way, if Cass was wanting something from Mr. Qi, he'd have to give something in return. That's probably why you haven't heard from him. Apparently, he's not a fun guy to deal with."

Andrew bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair, "Cass wouldn't."

"He might. Qi would be a good ally."

Andrew hung up the phone, gripping the steering wheel and suddenly picking up speed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, "What did she mean?"

His face didn't change, he didn't look like he was going to answer, but he did.

"Cass was an experimental psychologist. He took the job at the hospital to take part in a study."

"Okay so?"

"Never mind. I just want to get there sooner rather than later."

I wanted to keep asking, but his panic made my mouth dry.