Lawyers and Spies

The Unraveling

All Amanda could think about was rushing to the hospital after receiving the most devastating call from Elijah.
She burst through the double doors, heading straight to the nurse's front desk at 9:00.
"Hi...um, my name is Amanda Parker...my friend, Rylee Whittle, was brought in her – "
"Hello, please calm down while I check our records." One of the nurses said.
"Amanda!" Elijah called, running up to Amanda. She turned to him, relieved to hear his voice and, at the same time, burdened by all that had happened. She flung herself into Elijah's chest. "Oh my....she was supposed to meet me....oh my god...Elijah." Her arms tightened around his neck as she shut her eyes, holding back the relentless tears that seeped through the brim of her eyes.
Elijah pressed his hand against Amanda's back, rubbing a soothing pattern to assuage her emotions. When Amanda opened her eyes, they came in contact with Philip's blue eyes and his silvery blonde, disarrayed hair. She pulled away from Elijah, spotting the visible discomfort that flashed through her ex-boss's face. He looked away as if he didn't want to see her in the arms of another man.
"Philip," Amanda acknowledged when she finally was out of Elijah's arms.
"Amanda." He called, now staring her in the eye. "Ralph is here too." He said with a forlorn look.
Amanda's eyes widened as her gaze darted from Elijah to Philip.
"What!" She yelled, drawing some attention their way. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Is he involved..." she trailed off, unable to finish her statement.
Elijah shook his head, grabbing her hand and squeezing lightly, "He believed Apexian abducted him, and a tracking device was put in his body."
Oh my god. Amanda staggered back, using her free hand to massage circles in her temples as she suddenly felt dizzy. "I need to sit down." Elijah guided her to the waiting chairs arranged in series by the left of the hospital. "I think he ran into an organ harvester, but we will find out soon."

Amanda settles on the chair with Elijah squatted in front of her. Philip stood behind Elijah, quietly – saying nothing. How could he? Amanda thought. How could any of them when their lives have been flipped upside down?
"Rylee, her belongings...she has a recorder just like the one we use for witnesses. The recorder has the audio of the night." Amanda explained.
Philip drew closer, "Tell me you have it?"
Amanda pursed her lips, staring at her friends with a dejected expressions, and they looked back at her like they expected her to whip out the recorder magically. She shook her head slowly, "I don't."
Elijah hissed, "It wasn't in the purse the nurse gave me." He bit his lips, scratching his head with his fingers.
"Calm down," Amanda said, touching his shoulders lightly. Philip chuckled darkly, plopping down on the chair beside Amanda. "You are right. We are indeed sitting docks."
Amanda glanced his way, knowing he meant she was right about wanting to leave. "Whoever has it knows it was an accident."
"That's if it is in the right hand, Amanda." Philip shook his head. "Imagine it gets in the hand of this notorious organization. They now know we killed their man....so tell me...." He turned to Amanda, making sure she was looking into his eyes. "Where can you run to that Apexian can't find you?"
"Philip is right. We have to stick together." Elijah said, occupying the empty chair by Amanda's side.
It was true. Where could she run to that they would not find them? Could Rylee and Ralph turning up in the hospital be random? "Is Rylee's accident random?" Amanda asked no one in particular.
"Let's not assume. I'll keep an eye on the team in charge of the accident scene, and as for Ralph, we will get to the bottom of it." Elijah said in a surprisingly calming voice.
Amanda nodded at Philip and  Elijah. She had to be positive, but then she remembered Rylee saying she had received threatening messages. "Rylee told me she received some strange messages...so...I don't know."
"Amanda, just calm down. We're all tensed, and we can only think straight and help each other if we remain calm." Philip interjected.

Just then, the doctor in charge of Ralph's case walked toward Amanda and her friends. Elijah was the first to stand up as he recognized the doctor from bringing Ralph in. "This is Ralph's doctor." He said in a small voice.
Amanda and Philip shoot up. The doctor looked at them for a second and took a deep breath. "He said we could talk to you, and you are his family." The doctor started.
"Yes, we all like family." Amanda chipped in impatiently. Philip's eyes meet hers as if silently challenging her words. She looked away from him, knowing she did sound like a hypocrite. One minute she was packing her bags; the next, she claimed to be family with people she was about to ditch.
"This is Amanda and Philip, they are very close friends of Ralph, and just like he said, we are family," Elijah explained.
The doctor nodded, exhaling deeply as he relayed his news. "Our scans show that Ralph is missing his left kidney."
Amanda blew a gush of air. Partially relieved, there wasn't a tracking device in her friend's body, but then it was short-lived.
"Has he been in any surgery recently...because a doctor did this."
"No." The group chorused.
Nodding slowly, the doctor continued, "Well, we will have to monitor him for a couple of days, and he will be free to go." He said. "I should get back." He added, turning on his heels and walking away.
"Someone stole Ralph's kidney," Elijah said. "He said something about a Dr. Bushwick."
No, way. All in the space of forty-eight hours. Becky died, Rylee was involved in an accident, and Ralph's kidney was stolen. Amanda sauntered back to the waiting area and plopped down on her chair.
Elijah and Philip joined her. "How are you feeling?" Philip is the first to break the silence that had seeped into their midst. She shook her head, completely lost for words. "Jean-Luc reached out to me." She murmured.
"What did he want this time?" Elijah asked.
"He said the governor killed Patrick," Amanda answered.
They both turned to Philip, whose face was drained of blood as he stared at nothing like he had seen bloody Mary in real life. "What?" He managed to ask in a low voice.
"He said he wanted us...me...to get the governor impeached, and he will prove the governor killed Patrick Oz."
"Are you sure?" Elijah asked.
Amanda chuckled, folding her arms across her chest. "He begged not to leave. I don't trust him, but I know he meant what he said." Feeling a strong pull to her right, Amanda turned to see Philip staring at her in disbelief.
"I need to speak with Jean-Luc." He stated in a firm tone.
*****
My whole life is falling apart, Philip thought as he stared down at Rylee with his arms folded across his chest. Amanda was sitting by her side on the hospital bed. Elijah was standing on the other side with Ralph, who was still in a plain hospital blue gown in a wheelchair.
He was standing opposite Elijah by Amanda's side. Rylee was looking up at them as she blinked a few times. The doctor had excused himself to give them time alone with her.
"How are you doing, Ry?" Ralph is the first to speak.
Rylee smiled weakly at Ralph, then blinked a few more times, and her weak eyes widened. "What happened to you?" She asked. When no one answered, she looked around at everyone else, expecting an answer.
"It is not important," Ralph said.
Like hell it isn't, Philip winced, looking from Ralph sitting in a wheelchair to Rylee's leg secured in a cast. "We brought you balloons," Amanda said, trying to change the topic.
Philip held the balloon banquet for her to see. "I don't care about balloons." Philip lowered his hand and remained silent, as well as his friends.
"What happened to Ralph?" Rylee asked in a much louder voice that caused the machine attached to her body to beep a little faster.
"His kidney was stolen," Elijah answered.
Rylee's mouth dropped open. She looked at her friends again and asked, "How random is that?"
That is exactly the question Amanda asked. Philip thought with a low hiss. "It is, Ry. Elijah is looking into catching whoever is responsible."
Rylee sighed, relaxing, before tensing up again. "And my accident?" She prompted. "Wa-was it Apexian?"
"We don't know." Elijah lied, causing Philip to look his way. But he remained quiet, telling himself his friend did it for Rylee's best interest. She needed to focus on recovering than worry about the missing audio recorder Elijah could not find in her car.
"I need to get back to my room," Ralph said, reaching for Rylee's hand. The two held each other for a brief moment before letting go.

Elijah wheeled Ralph out, and Philip followed behind him. They walk through the hallway, with Ralph trying to make some small talk about how he can't wait to get out of the hospital. Elijah's phone chirped, cutting Ralph off. He reached into his pocket for his phone, still pushing Ralph to his room with one arm. Philip decided to take over. Elijah nodded at him and focused on his phone call.
"Okay, I'll be on my way." Elijah suddenly said, drawing Philip and Ralph's attention.
"Any updates?" Philip asked.
Elijah slid his phone back into his pocket. "Yes, we have a match and a name... Dr. Ian Bushwick."
"You should go," Ralph said.
Elijah patted his shoulder and turned to Philip. "I will keep you posted." He said. Philip gave him a small nod, and Elijah walked away while Philip continued the journey to Ralph's room.
On getting inside, he helped Ralph onto the bed. "I will be out soon." He announced, blushing as Philip helped him into the bed. "You don't have to...sir."
Philip laughed – it was self-mocking. "You still call me sir even after everything." He chuckled darkly, mostly to himself.
"I respect you, Philip. I still do...and I know you are innocent. I know people want to pin dirt on you because of your father's sins."
Philip nodded, folding his arm across his chest as he edged closer to Ralph, who was now lying on the bed. "My father had a lot of secrets, but you, my friend...you haven't told us everything about your abduction."
Ralph swallowed, refusing to meet Philip's eyes. "Elijah is suspicious too. I asked him to let it go." He explained. "How did Ian Bushwick get you to follow him?"
"I'm bisexual," Ralph confessed.
Philip stared at him – not saying a word because he couldn't have known Ralph was into men. He never showed any signs; he was indeed good at covering his tracks. "It is nothing to be ashamed of....this is the twenty fucking first century."
Ralph shook his head. "It is if you come from my family. My mom is Jewish and a control freak...she thinks I am an abomination, and that's why I never go home because I can't deal with her fanaticism and backwardness."
"It's okay. You can live however you want as long as you are happy, and it is the right thing to do."
Ralph nodded, then yawned, pressing a hand over his mouth for decency. "I feel a bit sleepy." He said.
"I guess I should let you rest, Ralph," Philip said with a small smile.

Turning, He walked out of Ralph's room back into the hallway when he skids to stop at a bright auburn-haired, all too familiar lady. Sage.
What the hell was she doing here?
As if she could feel his eyes on her, she turned his way, and then a grin spread across her face. "Philip,"
"Sage. What are you –" He couldn't finish his statement as two reasons registered in his mind. She is either here for the baby or because of what happened to Rylee and Ralph.
She shot him a sly, impish smirk, "You guessed right, Oz. I am here to check on our baby." She rubbed a hand on her clothes belly.
Philip hissed as his eyes fell to her stomach. Could the child be his?
Was she playing tricks on him? "I can't do this here."
"You can't run," Sage said in a stern tone.
He shrugged, "I am not trying to...but you could have told me rather than telling Amanda, who is not responsible for your pregnancy."
Sage huffed. "Tomorrow at Hyatt Central."
"Time?"
"Be there by four." She answered and majestically catwalk past him.
Philip sighed. It was drama upon drama. He fucking needed to be featured in a Netflix mystery thriller. He headed back to Rylee's room when his eyes landed on Amanda.
Fuck! He cursed. How did he not see her? He quickened his steps as he approached. "Hey, it's not what you think." He started, knowing he sounded pathetic.
Why he needed to explain himself to Amanda, he didn't even understand. His feelings for the beautiful black woman had snowballed overnight.
No, not overnight, he disagreed.
It had begun gradually, and now he wanted her to be in his life.
Philip didn't even understand her friendship with Elijah. First, they go to Russia together, behind his back.
He will need to tell Elijah to back off at some point – when the time is right. For now, there were too many things going on. Perhaps, they are just friends; after all, he and Amanda shared great moments. She couldn't have been playing him, could she?
Focus, Philip. Focus on the present.
"What do you think I am thinking?" Amanda retorted.
Philip winced. "We need to talk. You can't keep pretending nothing is going on between us."
"We don't need to talk, Philip. What you need is to be with Sage." She stated.
Disagreeing, he shook his head vigorously, "When I find out the baby is mine, I will take responsibility, Amanda, because I am not a deadbeat dad. But what I will not do is be with Sage because you and I belong together."
Amanda raised both her hands to stop him. Now it is her turn to shake her head at his words. She acted like she didn't want to hear it, but the look on her face proved to Philip that his actions had betrayed her.
"I will make it right...just give me a chance."
"I contacted Jean-Luc, and he has a plan," Amanda announced, changing the topic. "He agreed to meet you too."
Yes, I, too, wanted to see Jean-Luc. Since Amanda wanted to talk about only work, he told her about Elijah's discovery. "Ralph's description pinned his abductor to a doctor called Ian Bushwick." He said. "Elijah is already on it. So we can focus on Jean-Luc and the governor."
"Then follow me because we are meeting in an hour."
Philip didn't hesitate as he followed Amanda down the hallway, letting her lead the way. As much as the current state of their lives felt like drowning, he was pleased with just one thing.
He was working with Amanda.