Mafia

10 Damon: After the Gallery

Once Lupin ran out of the gallery, there was no point in staying. She was the only interesting part of the whole night.

As we drove down the street, Steve driving, Tony riding shot gun, and me in the back seat, my thoughts kept coming back to the mysterious Dr. Lupin Sphinx.

I was jerked out of my thoughts by the sound of a scream.

"Pull over!" I yelled. Steve was already moving into the alley before I could get the words out of my mouth.

"Stop!" I yelled. I looked out the window. A figure was limping out of the alley. It was a woman, and she was covered in blood. She collapsed before making it to the street. After a moment, another figure made his way down the alley. This time it was a man, and even from the car I could tell he looked pissed. He was half hopping and half limping as he held his shin with one hand and a bloody knife in the other.

All three of us immediately jumped out of the car. Tony and Steve took off after the guy as he ran off. I stayed with the woman. I pulled out my phone and called 911 as I checked her pulse. Once I found a pulse, I did what I could to stop the blood coming from her hands and arm. Eventually, I got hold of a 911 operator and told her what happened and where we were. I hung up as soon as she said EMTs and police were on the way. I didn't plan on sticking around long enough for the cops to show up and accuse me.

"It's okay," I said, "an ambulance is on the way."

"No," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"What?" I asked.

"No hospital." I was stunned. As hurt as she was, this woman was refusing to go to the hospital. My eyes scanned her body, looking for any other injuries. Even covered in blood, there was something familiar about the dress she was wearing. I brushed the hair out of her face.

"Lupin?!" I said, "What the Hell happened?!" I wrapped the torn strips of my jacket tighter around her arm. She winced at the pain, but I didn't care. I had to stop the bleeding.

"Never mind," I said, "we'll talk about this after I get you to the hospital." Her eyes shot open.

"No!" she begged trying to sit up, "No hospital! Please!"

"Lupin," I said gently. She kept trying to sit up, and it was getting difficult to hold her down without risking hurting her even more. "You're hurt. You need to go to the hospital."

"No." Even as weak as she was, she tried to push me away.

"Damon," I heard Tony say, "he's gone."

"Damnit," I said, "Help me with her. The EMTs will be here soon, but she's lost a lot of blood."

"No!" She pushed my hands away, "No! No hospital!" She was far too weak to actually do anything, but she was fighting so much that I couldn't hold onto her without risking hurting her even more.

"Damnit, Lupin," I cursed, "Stop fighting!" It wasn't long before the bleeding sped up again.

"Here," Steve said. He and Tony got on the ground. Steve tried to hold Lupin still while Tony and I kept trying to stop the bleeding. No matter how hard they tried, Lupin kept struggling. It was getting a lot harder for Tony and Steve to hold her still without hurting her.

"Shit," I said grabbing her arm again, "Lupin, if I promise no hospital, will you stop fighting and let me help?" She gave me a small nod.

"Change of plans," I said, "We're taking her to the house."

"You sure boss?" Steve asked, looking up at me.

"No choice," I replied, "She won't go to the hospital, and we can't leave her here."

"Alright," Tony said.

"Steve," I said rewrapping her arm and hands, "you drive. Tony, help me get her in the car and call Doc on the way."

I scooped her up and ran to the car. Steve revved the engine as Tony and I climbed into the back seat with Lupin.

I pulled her onto my lap, forcing her to sit up in an effort to keep her awake. It wasn't long before my nose was filled with the smell of blood and dirt. Beneath the grime, I could still smell traces of Lupin's perfume.

"Lupin," I said as I held her to my chest and put my hand on her cheek, "Stay awake, Lupin. Look at me. Don't close your eyes." I saw that she was trying to stay awake, but the blood loss was starting to get to her.

"Doc's already there," Tony said, "She'll be ready when we get there."

"Good," I said, "How much longer, Steve?"

"Five minutes." I put my fingers to the side of her neck, checking her pulse again. It was still there, but it had definitely gotten a lot weaker.

"Make it two," I said. I felt the car speed up and heard the engine rev as Steve floored it.

"Here," Tony said as he took off his belt, "This'll help." He started coming towards us with his belt in hand. When he reached for Lupin's arm, she tried to move away.

"Hey," I said, looking into her bright green eyes, "He's not going to hurt you. No one is. We just want to help." She gave a weak nod and stopped resisting.

"I'm sorry," Tony said as he took his belt and wrapped it around the upper part of Lupin's arm, "but this is gonna hurt." Before she could say anything, Tony pulled the belt tight around her arm. She buried her face in my shoulder. Once she'd gotten over the initial surprise, she tried to take the belt off her arm.

"Stop," Tony said. She kept going.

"Stop!" Tony grabbed her wrist. She tried to get her wrist out of Tony's grasp. I couldn't help but get angry at Tony for scaring her, even though I knew he was doing the right thing.

"I know it hurts, Lupin," I said, holding her tight so she wouldn't move, "but you need to leave it for now. Okay?" She nodded her head.

It wasn't long before she started to pass out. I kept telling her to stay awake, while Tony yelled at Steve to drive faster, but it was no use. She'd lost too much blood.