Nick mustered a faint smile, his face ashen as he swallowed back the metallic taste of blood. "I think I can hang in there a bit longer."
"Save your breath," Adler said, trying to sling Nick''s arm over his shoulder. But he winced when he felt the wet, sticky fabric of Nick''s sleeve.
Mirabe had sent him a message,ying out the grim details: shot in the chest, surgery just a week ago, barely snatched back from death''s door.
Now, Adler cautiously supported Nick by the waist, letting him lean in. He didn''t dare touch anywhere else, worried about worsening the wound.
The elevator quickly arrived at the parking garage. As the doors slid open, Adler hurriedly helped Nick out.
His phone buzzed in his pocket just then.
Juggling Nick''s weight, Adler couldn''t answer, nor did he dwell on how a call got through in a ce with blocked signals.
They finally made it to the jeep. Nick, barely upright with Adler''s help, almost crumpled to the ground.
Adler caught him just in time and managed to swing the car door open.
Thankfully, the garage was deserted, giving Adler a moment to carefullyy Nick across the back seat.
By that point, Nick was slipping into unconsciousness.
Adler quickly checked Nick''s pulse-weak, as if it might stop any second. He shed his jacket and draped it over Nick, then rushed to the driver''s seat and sped off.
Once they were clear of the research facility, Adler grabbed his phone, noticed the missed call from Mirabe, and immediately dialed her back.
The call connected in a heartbeat. Before Adler could say anything, Mirabe''s cool voice came through with instructions.
"Take a left at the next junction, pull over on the right two hundred meters ahead. I''ll be waiting."
"Got it," Adler replied, instinctively nodding, and followed her directions.
He floored the gas, and within two minutes, spotted her by the roadside, near a sleek ck sedan.
He pulled up alongside her.
Mirabe tucked her phone away and, as soon as Adler stopped, swiftly opened the back door,
climbed in, and shut shet
belongs to swnovel
"Stay on that car ahead," Mirabe instructed, eyes fixed ahead.
Her voice was steady, yet carried an undercurrent of urgency that made Adler tense up.
Rubbing his nose, Adler refocused and confirmed, pressing the elerator to keep pace with the sedan.
In the back, Mirabe had already lifted Nick''s jacket, revealing a white protective suit soaked in rming red.
The severity of the wound was unmistakable.
Mirabe''s eyes narrowed slightly, t
but she kept moving, gently lifting the shirt to expose bandages, blood.
darkened with dried content belongs to swnovel
She took a deep breath, then nět
pulled
ut her silver needles,
them with precision into
I points on Nick''s che
swnovel
Leaving the needles in ce, she began to press and massage other areas to bolster the faint signs of life.
Just then, a small ss vial slipped from Nick''s jacket pocket and rolled onto the car floor.
Goodnight, see you tomorrow~