Nucleic † Dennor

On the Way

Lukas lifted his head off of the desk at the sound of the wooden door creaking open in front of him. Assuming it was the officer coming back from the water run, he kept his head down and decided to rest. If the officer wasn't going to provide him with any more information, he wasn't willing to engage in small talk.

To his surprise, he heard the sound of heels clicking as the person entered the room. Looking up, he noticed detective Nilssen march into the office holding a paper cup filled with water.

"How's our resident hero doing?" she asked, sliding the paper cup across the smooth surface of the desk with a smile.

"I'm fine" Lukas uttered, taking a sip from the cup as the detective leaned atop the desk. "I just want to know what's going on."

"I obviously can't tell you everything because this is an ongoing operation- but captives are being moved out of the facility as we speak and all known employees with access to the lower floors are currently being booked before questioning" she replied robotically, watching as Lukas looked down into the cup of water, seemingly not paying attention.

"Do you know where Mathias is? Mathias Kohler? He was on floor 16" Lukas asked, finally breaking eye contact with the stagnant cup of water to look up at the detective.

"I'm not sure of his state currently- but the last I heard was that naloxone spray was administered- apparently he was in the midst of an overdose when the officers arrived. The sick fucks must've been using him as a narcotics lab rat. No updates on his condition yet. I'm sorry" she stated, looking down at Lukas with a sympathetic stare.

Lukas looked back down into the cup. He didn't feel like speaking. He kind of just wanted to go home and curl up into a ball and forget that any of this had happened. But he also wanted to escape the office and find Mathias to make sure he was okay. Lukas had made a promise to the Dane after all, and if Mathias hadn't made it out alive, Lukas would never forgive himself. He wasn't one to break promises.

"Do you know when I'll be allowed to leave?" Lukas questioned, practically begging the woman in front of him.

"You'll probably be asked back in for questioning tomorrow so you can leave whenever you want. We just didn't want you to go off on your own because we don't know if there is anyone out there looking for you... whistleblowers aren't usually very popular" she replied, seemingly sizing him up as she looked down. 

"I can go?" Lukas asked, suddenly perking up in his chair, hoping to be able to get out and find Mathias. 

"If you feel safe on your own.. we exactly don't have any jurisdiction over where you're allowed to go or not" she responded as Lukas practically flew out of his chair. 

"Do you know what hospital the people were sent to?" Lukas asked frantically as the detective stared at him with a look of surprise on her face.

"Most likely the university hospital" she replied as Lukas strode across the room. "You care an awful lot about this Mathias fellow."

Lukas paused a moment and took in a breath. "I- He's special" Lukas shot back simply, immediately feeling embarrassed. He probably looked like such a weirdo hyper-focussing on Mathias. The detective shot him a suggestive glance. Lukas swallowed. "I- have to go. Thank you for everything" he blurted, not wanting to waste any more time. 

"Good luck. We'll reach out to you soon" she said with a concerned look on her face as he finally grabbed the door knob. Lukas could tell she didn't want him to go out into the streets without protection, but he honestly couldn't wait any longer. He was still freaking out about Mathias. 

Upon opening the door, Lukas swiftly walked in the direction that the other officer had walked when getting him water. Upon pushing through another door, Lukas was in a hallway that seemed to lead to the lobby of the station. After practically running down the hall, Lukas pushed through another door into the waiting area he had been through a few days prior. 

Upon exiting the lobby he was finally on the street. He knew he couldn't walk to the hospital, as it was way too far. He decided instead on hailing a taxi. Although anxious about interacting with anyone on the street who he didn't know, Lukas hopped in and asked the driver to drive as fast as possible without getting pulled over. The driver obliged, taking only 20 minutes to get to the hospital. Lukas thanked him immensly and practically ran into the hospital with no idea where he was going or how to get there. 

Knowing he needed to appear composed, he approached the front desk with a calm expression, relaxing his shoulders and sweeping a strand of his blond hair out of his face. 

"Can I help you?" a nurse sitting at the desk asked politely. 

"Can you direct me towards the overdose unit? I need to visit a patient" he asked. 

"An overdose usually requires an emergency room visit. Do you know if this person has been admitted to the hospital or released?" the nurse questioned with a smile on her face.

"I don't know- I'm assuming he was admitted" he shot back.

"What is the patient's name?" she asked, looking down at the computer screen in front of her.

"Mathias Kohler. K O H L E R." Lukas replied. The woman typed his name and read the screen for a moment before pursing her lips. Lukas's heart skipped a beat. Was he dead?  

"Doesn't seem as though we've got him in the system" she spoke, eliciting a frustrated grunt from Lukas. 

"Any Ola Nordmanns that need to be identified?" Lukas asked rather loudly, hoping that the list of unidentified patients was short. 

"A few- but all on file have police holds. They're wards of the state. Patience privacy also requires visitors to show valid identification" she replied, shooting him an apologetic look. Lukas suddenly fumbled around in his pockets before whipping out his identification and handing it to the woman. The nurse chuckled before handing him back his identification. 

"I'm sorry- I still can't help you. Unidentified patients still have privacy rights" she said. 

"What if I give you his biometrics?" Lukas asked rudely, trying his last resort as the nurse continued to give him an apologetic stare. 

"That won't help- You're going to have to wait until the patient returns to consciousness or identifies himself" she snapped. Lukas was incredibly annoyed. He turned to storm out before composing himself. He was about to put on an Oscar-winning performance. 

Taking a deep breath, Lukas turned back to the desk, his eyes already watering as he tried to produce fake tears. The nurse seemed to be taken aback at the sudden change in demeanor. Lukas wiped his eyes and sniffled a bit before sagging his shoulders in defeat. 

"I-I'm sorry I just- my husband is in here and I can't even see him?! What if he dies and I'm left alone- what will I tell the kids?" Lukas cried, letting out a whimper as the nurse seemed to panic behind the desk. "I can't bear to lose him."

"Oh sweetie-" the nurse muttered softly, suddenly running around the desk towards Lukas, who was trying his best to seem distraught. The woman wrapped her arm around him and tried to calm him down.

"I- I just want to know if he's okay" Lukas uttered through sniffles. The nurse grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him in th eyes. 

"I'm gonna help you find him" she whispered, shooting him a wink as he looked into her eyes with a hopeful stare. 

"Thank you" Lukas choked out before letting out a small sob, immediately hugging the nurse. He was surprised this woman was willing to bend the rules for him. Maybe biology really wasn't the career for him after all- his acting was really getting him far. 

"Wait here and I'll get you a list of descriptions for the patients. I'll be back soon" she reassured, giving Lukas a comforting smile as she turned and swiftly strode down the hall. As soon as she left, Lukas composed himself, wiped the tears from his face, and smiled.

 Mission accomplished.