15. in too deep

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Gillian opened her eyes slowly, trying her perceptions

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Gillian opened her eyes slowly, trying her perceptions. She felt light, but her head wasn't as numb as the rest of her body. Brock's cologne pinched her nose and made her turn her face to him. He sat up in his chair when she moved.

"Hey," he said, keeping his voice low. "How are you feeling?"

She managed a mild smile. "High..."

He arched his eyebrows. "Beware of the comedown." He saw her look around and said, "Coleman took Connor for lunch."

Her lips shaped a silent, 'oh'.

"And Andrea says hi."

She smiled a little wider and nodded. Russell knocked on the glass wall and came in with a paper cup that caught Gillian's smell even more than Brock's cologne.

"Hey, babe! You're awake!"

"I hate you," she grumbled, her eyes on the paper cup.

Russell scoffed and leaned to kiss her forehead. "No coffee for you for a while, I'm afraid."

"We'll see. Connor?"

"Mike and Tim showed up, so he went with them to the cafeteria."

"Let's do this, Russ."

Russell gulped up the coffee, pulled up a chair and sat right by the bed. He softened his voice to talk in a calm, slow way.

"Okay, Reg, you know how this goes," he said. "Close your eyes, breathe deep and think of this morning."

Gillian did as he said. She was afraid the morphine would take her mind anywhere, but a heartbeat later she saw the store access again behind her closed eyes. She wasn't surprised to find Russell standing by her side this time.

"What d'you see?" he asked.

She looked around. "The usual—people, cars..."

"You were waiting for Connor..."

She turned to the corner. "Yes, I see him coming."

She watched her son come down Temple St. and stop before crossing Washington St. to give way to a big old car. Funny, she didn't even know she'd seen that car.

"He lets this car drive by," she muttered. "It's old, two kids on board. I can hear their music. Too loud."

"That's them," Russell said, his calm voice depriving his words of any other meaning than providing information. "We already have the car. Can you see the boys in it? Their faces, or something distinctive?"

She tried to see clearer and grimaced. "No... They look like gangbangers, though... Weird. They don't belong downtown, but nobody seems to notice."

"That's because it all happened so fast. They were there less than two minutes. D'you see Kyle, the boy who shot you?"

In her mind, Gillian turned again to the corner where Connor was. And she saw this other boy, Kyle, striding straight to her.

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