Yi breathed out slowly, touching the bandage that wrapped her head and kept its stitched up wound from being exposed to any airborne irritants and infections. The Gnawer returned to the wrinkled thin sheets piled atop her hospital bed, sitting quietly on the very edge as she eyed Officer Xu shyly.
Yi breathed out slowly, touching the bandage that wrapped her head and kept its stitched up wound from being exposed to any airborne irritants and infections. The Gnawer returned to the wrinkled thin sheets piled atop her hospital bed, sitting quietly on the very edge as she eyed Officer Xu shyly.
"So, Xiao Li, what were you doing picking a fight with the Youngbloods? There are quieter ways of suicide. Not to mention, cleaner.”
Officer Xu, a woman of rough, middle-class taste and loads of common sense, watched the young girl as the other tensed under her casual, but full-of-implications questioning. The officer had been on her late afternoon break from walking patrol when she’d heard shots fired and saw the group of young boys making a break for it from the alley, dodging and weaving through the panicked crowds. Xu stopped her chasing of any suspects, knowing that she alone couldn’t face them all down, and there were likely to be injuries. When she had gotten to the narrow alley, the young girl had been lying on her back, bleeding profusely from a wound to her head. But, of all the lucky things to happen to this stray kitten, the bullet had only grazed her skull. Still, Xu had called for backup as well as an ambulance immediately, and they had taken the nameless, identification-less youth to the nearest hospital and patched her up. Xu only managed to convince the newspaper seller whose stand was next to the alley, to give his very short and begrudging testimony. The guy must have been on the gang’s protection racket.
Yi’s fingers curled involuntarily, wrinkling the sheets beneath her as she tried hard to remember what had occurred. All she could remember was staring down the barrel of a very large gun. She hated that – getting guns shoved in her face. No one ever just used knives anymore. Knives were quiet and subtle. Knives, when used properly, could surprise anyone, anywhere, and best of all, a knife didn’t run out of ammunition. But still. Stupid girl, the Gnawer thought, way to be subtle about it. Going right up to the nearest prick and getting shot. Might as well have lit up the city with fireworks in the sky displaying your name and address to the whole mob of them. Yi looked up from her knees, noticing the officer was still sitting there, patiently, waiting for her to answer the question. How was she going to tell this policewoman what she was doing? How was she going to get out of this hospital and look for Hanna? Oh crap. Why did she shift, when there’s a doctor on the way to check her out? Stupid, stupid girl!
Yi winced with the headache her thoughts brought, touching her hands to the still sore graze underneath the bandages. Officer Xu observed quietly at the fidgeting nervousness of the young girl in front of her, sighed, and stood. “Come on, Li. I can see you aren’t comfortable here, so maybe I can treat you to some custard pastry at the downstairs café. How about that, hm?” Yi looked up again. She could have kissed the policewoman right there. But, of course, the ragabash leaned more towards the opposite gender.
The elevator ride down was quiet between the two, but certainly not quiet as far as the hustle and bustle of the hospital staff. No one paid the policewoman and her young charge any mind as they made their way to the café located beside the waiting rooms, where families and friends of patients could grab a coffee and a pastry, filling their stomachs in attempts to fill the gnawing feeling of dread, worry, and impatience as their kin went under the knife.
“What can I get you, Li?” asked Officer Xu, her head tilting towards the small, but tasty menu. Yi lifted her gaze from the officer to the boards as well, realizing that the half of the chocolate bar she had only served to whet her appetite some more. Still, she told herself, this was a police officer. Police and Garou – especially ragabash Garou like herself – did not mix. They were not friends.
“I’ll just have a coffee.”
“You’re sure? Come on, the way you ate that candy bar, you’d think your mother wasn’t feeding you.”
“… Maybe a sweet bun, then.”
The two sat down at a table far off near the corner of the waiting room, with Yi consuming her generously given prize and Officer Xu simply watching her. Waiting for her to finish, Xu eventually turned her gaze off towards the open space, observing people and families. Yi finished her sweet bun, and then started on the coffee. Lots of sugar, but no cream. “So,” Xu began again, once more casually, “what were you doing in the alley?” Yi slowly sipped at her coffee, mind still fuzzy on the details. “I just got into a little bit of trouble,” she replied. “Turned down the wrong alley.”
“You sure did. But I’m surprised. Everyone knows the Youngbloods control that alley and the corner next to it. Tong always talks big, doesn’t he?” Officer Xu lifted her brows, realizing that she hadn’t seen this girl’s face before. And she had a certain feel around her, the way of one who grew up on the streets, but somehow managed to stay out of them at the same time. Come to think of it, the way this Xiao Li dresses, didn’t put her in the same league with the locals. She was much more slick. More… foreign. “Which part of the city are you from, Li?”
“Downtown.”
“Every part of town can be called down town.”
“Which part of downtown do you think I’m from then?”
Yi’s question poked at the officer’s usually calm pond of patience. Xu narrowed her eyes, frowning at the girl who continued to defy her. “Look, Li. I only want to find out the details because you were in very serious danger. You could have been killed. The Youngbloods are not a joking gang. They’re new, but they have power backing them, and if you try to disrupt police investigations into them…” Officer Xu trailed at the end of her threat, seeing how there didn’t seem to be any fear coming out of the younger girl. In fact, Yi was stewing in a myriad of other tumultuous thoughts, and it showed through her eyes. Something was bothering the girl deep down, and the police officer could sense it. With another sigh, Officer Xu stood up from the table. She reached into her pocket, and placed a card down onto the table, sliding it over with her fingertips. “I can see you have some secrets that you don’t want to talk about with me right now,” Xu explained. “But if you ever feel like talking, or if you just want another cup of coffee, then call me. This is my business card. But, it also has my home phone.”
Yi looked at the card on the table, then up at the woman officer. She blinked, puzzled at the sudden relenting of the interrogation storm. Slowly, her hand reached out and took the card, bringing it closer to her face. “I will,” Yi said finally. “If I need someone.” Her head dipped slightly in a bow. “Thank you again, for the coffee and sweet bun.” Officer Xu quirked a smile at the young girl, and shrugged a shoulder. “Don’t mention it. Just, Call me. I should get back to my patrol. Break turned out to be much longer than I intended. See you later, Xiao Li.” Then, the woman turned and weaved her way out of the waiting room, to the hospital lobby, and out the front doors. Yi looked at the card once more, and slipped it into her jacket pocket.
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