Fighting for You

Chapter 13

Kara manages to pick herself up off the alley floor and stumble through to the street. She looks up to the skies when the first drops of rain hit. It only makes sense that it would rain on her on top of the day she's had. Her body protests severely as it suddenly starts to downpour. She hugs herself tightly. She keeps her head down to try to huddle warmth into her body. She wasn't paying attention when she walks straight into a pole.

Kara falls to her ass and as she tries to catch herself with her hands, a sharp sudden pain runs up the arm she used to punch the brick wall. A passerby sees the whole thing and runs to her side. They help her onto her feet and insists that she gets checked out at a hospital. They even go as far to help her hail down a cab and load her in. She shivers in the back seat and apologizes profusely for getting everything wet. The driver rushes as fast as allowed to get her to the nearest emergency department. Thankfully, Kara had some bills crammed in her pocket to pay for the ride.

Kara shuffles to the automatic doors. The nurse working the front desk spots her right away and rushes to her with a wheelchair. She's taken in for xrays and find a broken wrist. Her face is already starting to swell with fresh bruises from the metal pole. The nurses are so nice to her. They give her extra blankets from warmer. They continued to offer to call someone for her, but she said that her person was 'unavailable.' When they finally stop fussing over her, she lets her head plop back on the bed with her eyes shut. She lets everything relax momentarily. Every muscle melts the tension away. Her hearing wanders just a bit, and that's when she hears it: a shutter click. Someone just took a photo, and judging by the way the little hairs stand up on her arms, they took a photo of her.

Kara keeps her body relaxed. She doesn't let on that she knows or suspects being followed. She just thinks about it. It must have something to do with Lena. It has to. A way to keep her compliant. Something to blackmail her with. Kara clings to this. She's in no shape to fight this person, but she needs to get her hands on that phone. This person undoubtedly has contact with whoever took Lena. She needs that lead.

A nurse came back in to give her the discharge paperwork as well as provide her a prescription for pain. Kara was thankful for their care, but she was getting impatient. She needs to get her hands on that phone. She needs to find Lena. She gingerly slips off the bed and redresses. The nurses were kind enough to give her some spare scrubs, bagging up her soaked clothing. Kara hangs out under the awning, waiting for the cab the nurses called for her. All of her senses, though, are tuned into the person tailing her. Her powers come and go, but she makes sure to completely focus them on the perp.

When the cab pulls up, Kara signals them to roll down their window. She makes up a quick excuse that she forgot some belongings and requested that the cabbie wait. It was time for her plan. She rushes back into the hospital. Her target is planted just past the sliding doors. She tries to seem more meek, and unfortunately, that doesn't take much effort. She blunders her way right into him. She apologizes profusely and hisses in real pain. While he's distracted trying to help her stand upright, Kara pickpockets him. From there, she is quick to make her way to the front desk again. She asks the worker a quick question about the prescription before walking right past her tail again to go out to the cab. She apologizes to the man one more time before leaving the hospital for a second time.

Only after the cab has driven a few blocks does Kara dare to take out the phone. Her hands tremble as the screen flickers to life. It's password protected. Kara blacks out the screen to try to see the smudges on the screen. It's no use. There are smudges all over the place. Kara lets out a frustrated huff. Her head thuds against the headrest. She instructs the driver to go to a different address: the DEO. At much as Kara doesn't want to alert her sister that she chased a lead on her own, but she needed Brainy's help getting into the phone.