Classified

Classified Part 22 Kind of a Misunderstanding

      Thalia opened her eyes, confused. She was in a white room, in a cold, but comfortable bed. An IV dripped at her side and a monitor beeped relentlessly against the wall.

      "What's going on?" Thalia murmured, her memories fuzzy. Her left arm was in a short cast below the elbow. As her thoughts and vision came back into focus, she remembered Alex. She pulled the IV out, and pushed the bed's edge down. Feeling more than a little lost she swung her legs over the edge, feeling her head spinning.

      "Oh, you can't get out of bed." A tall blonde nurse said, coming into the room with practiced efficiency. "Back into bed, young lady." She pushed Thalia back onto the bed, tucking her feet back in.

      "No." Thalia objected, trying to sit back up. "I need to find my partner."
      "You need to get back into bed." The nurse said firmly, reaching for the IV line. "You've been hurt very badly."

      "I'm fine." Thalia protested, although she knew it wasn't completely true. "I need to make sure the man I came in with is okay." She looked at the nurse plaintively. "Twenty-eight-year-old male, gunshot wound. Alex...." She tried to remember one of the surnames from Alex's ID cards, realizing she actually didn't know his last name. "We came in together!"

      "It's okay, sweetheart." The nurse said soothingly, failing to get the IV in against Thalia's struggles. "You need to rest. You need time to heal."
      Thalia was shaking from the effort of stopping the IV. "Please listen to me. I need to know about the man I came in with." She pleaded, trying not to cry. "Is he alive? That's all I need to know."

      The nurse shook her head. "I can't comment on another patient." She insisted, holding Thalia's squirming arm. "You need this IV in, honey. It's for your own good."

      The nurse must have pushed a call button because a doctor came in. Before Thalia could get out of the bed or find any information, a needle sank into her flesh, and her body became even weaker.
      "Where is he?" Was the last thing she murmured before drifting into an unpleasant sleep.

      When her eyes opened again, she lay on her back, trying to gather enough strength to get out of bed. The IV was back in, but it was giving her plain saline now. The window was dark, and Thalia wondered how long she'd been out.

      "Dr. West." A man said from the corner of the room, speaking accented English.
      Thalia tipped her head up and saw a bearded man in a dark suit in the corner.
      "You're awake." The man observed, unnecessarily.

      "Who are you?" Thalia asked suspiciously, using the remote for the bed to get herself into an almost upright position. She wanted to be prepared for whatever was about to happen, even though she knew she wasn't physically capable of much in her condition.

      "I work with the agency, Dr. West." The man moved to a chair near her side, and showed her some ID. "How are you feeling?"
      Thalia shook her head, knitting her eyebrows together. "I'm fine. Where is Alex? Where is my partner?"

      "Your partner is stable." The bearded man said. "He was transferred to London for surgery, but he's alive." He offered her a tight smile. "Your medical intervention saved his life."
      "London?" Thalia repeated, feeling equal parts happy and let down. "Why London?" She asked, needing to see him to really know that he was okay. "Couldn't they help him here?"

      "It was felt that his best chance at recovery was outside of Russia." The bearded man told her. "You have some broken ribs and a broken wrist, but most of your injuries are superficial. It has been decided that you will be going home in the morning. Your flight is at 11 sharp." He gave her an envelope. "You will find adequate money in there, as well as a plane ticket and a locker key. The locker will have your necessary items. A car will pick you up at 6:30 am out front."