| ALESSANDRO |

T W E N T Y - E I G H T

T W E N T Y - E I G H T

My eyelids felt too heavy to open. Beeping noises came from an indefinite direction and the heavy smell of hand-sanitizer wavered in the air. My body was stiff and I couldn't move at all. It wasn't painful. Something seemed to be holding me back.

For the second time, I tried opening my eyes and was shocked by the wave of light hitting my tired eyes. I hissed at the painful ordeal. After a few seconds, my eyes got adjusted to the sudden hit of light and I began taking a look around. I was sat in a bed in a fairly small hospital room. It didn't look as dirty and crowded as hospital-rooms usually do, so I assumed it to be a private-patients-room. A young-looking doctor was starting to remove all the cables and pipes, I was connected to. The room actually looked quite pleasant: a small table was right next to me full of food and magazines, a half-open door where a nice-looking bathroom peaked through and a large window showcasing the breathtaking view and a man sitting on a chair right in front of the window and snoring.

As I was about to shift my attention to the man the nurse in a  slightly annoyed voice announced:

"Finally, you're awake. Halleluja."

I looked up to her:

"Wait, how long have I been resting here?"

The nurses blue eyes mustered me for a second. She was pretty, even in the unflattering hospital-lighting her chocolate-like complexion was glowing.

"Miss, you have been laying in a come for two days. You were brought in here under extremely critical circumstances. Fume poisoning, blunt force head trauma, broke ribs and the list goes on. Honey, I really would like to know how it came this far."

"Well, to be honest, I can't remember", I lied.

"Anyways, I need you to stay one more week. No more operations, just for check-ups and rest", she explained and walked over to the door.

"One more question doctor."

"Yes", she stopped before opening the door and looked at me full of expectation, but still seemed to be in a hurry.

"Who has brought me here?"

"The gentleman right there", she pointed at the snoring man and then exited the room.

I stared at the man. I started clapping my hands, but he didn't seem to budge not even an inch, he was deep-asleep. So I tried getting up. My head was ill hurting like hell, but I obviously needed to get out of this place. He couldn't be dead. I didn't believe it one second. No man as powerful as Alessandro would simply die in his own building, without any precautions. He always had a few cards up his sleeve. When I finally got to standing I noticed I was only wearing the skimpy gowns you got in hospitals that only covered your front and left you behind butt-naked. Literally.  I started opening different drawers and cupboards next to the bed and finally found a big plastic bag with my clothes. I started putting on my old clothes, while still keeping an eye on the man. I have never seen him before. He looked to be in his early thirties and wore the kind of suits Alessandro's personal bodyguards usually would wear. They had his initials knitted onto the front pocket of their navy suits.  I walked closer to look at his pocket. There it was. A.S.M. Alessandro Santo Moretti. Only his family and his bodyguards knew his middle- name, so it must be real. 

Suddenly the urge to sneeze overcame me and  couldn't hold it back anymore, so a second later a blew out aloud:

"Hatschu."

The man on the chair immediately jumped up and pointed a gun I hadn't seen before at me. I looked at him in shock. He seemed to recognize me because he then started lowering his weapon and excused himself in a low and seemingly embarrassed thick Russian accent: