When he was loose again, Omar would probably say they’d done the damage and tied him up with duct tape.
“If we don’t get out of here fast, we might all land in a Mexican jail,” Rod said, almost as though he’d read her mind. “Firemen will be coming and they’ll unwrap Omar.”
“Which way is safer? Through the hospital corridors, or over the bridge?” Mike asked.
“We’d be too visible, running across the bridge,” Vincent said. “Everyone’s probably looking out the windows since the fire alarm sounded.”
Rod nodded. “We’ll have to try to get through the hospital without being caught. I’m afraid we might run directly into fire-fighters, though. The way we’re all soaked, they’ll know we were here and want to detain us for questioning.”
“Dry towels are in the garbage can that I used to hide Heather and Michelle in when we snuck over here. I’ll go get them,” Mike said. He ran to the back of the lab, by the door to the bridge, where they’d left the garbage can and scooped up an armful.
Vincent still seemed dazed from being bashed on the head so Rod held his arm, steading him, as they sloshed through the litter and debris toward the front door of the lab.
Michelle opened the door cautiously and peered into the corridor. “All clear.”
Mike sprinted up to them and handed out clean white towels. They all wiped themselves as dry as they could get and threw the towels on the floor, warily moving through the doorway and out into the hallway.
As they exited the lab, the hospital was so quiet they heard a distinct ding from the elevator.
“Uh-oh,” Michelle said. “We have to move fast.”
As they hurried away from the lab, Rod got on his cell phone to let Sammy know they would be leaving the hospital and to get ready to move the car and pick them up. He was still holding Vincent’s arm, who was stumbling and seemed to have trouble moving swiftly.
Since the fire alarm was located in the hallway, the whole floor had been hosed down. The carpets were squishy as they ran. Michelle thought the sprinklers had probably gone off in this whole wing of the hospital. There might be other people who had been sprinkler soaked. Still, the five of them didn’t have a good excuse for being here, especially this late at night.
They wanted to avoid any hospital personnel so they hurried toward a faraway exit sign, making several turns in the long corridors, moving away from the elevators, and finally found a stairwell door at the end of a long hallway. They slipped through the door, panting with exertion. There they stopped to catch their breath.
Michelle sank down on the cement steps. “I think we’re safe for the moment.” She was shivering. Hospitals are always cold, and now they were soaking wet. She pulled off the wet sheet that covered her head and tried to squeeze the water from her long hair.
Rod sat down beside her, gave her a one armed hug and kissed her cheek. “I’m away from you for two days, and look what happens. You get in big trouble...again.”
“Now you know—I’d do anything to see you,” Michelle said, smiling back at him. It was so wonderful to see the face she loved. “Thank you for coming to the rescue!”
“Thank Heather. She arranged for us all to get here and tracked down the pilot Omar hired so we could find you.”
“I certainly will.”
“Did you really marry Omar?”
Michelle nodded. “He ambushed me in the parking garage at work and used some kind of drugs. I can’t even remember most of the ceremony, or how I got to Mexico. But yes, we’re legally married. I have wedding pictures. And a document; a marriage license signed by both of us.”
“You’ll have to get it annulled,” Rod said.
“I will. As soon as we get home.”
Rod whispered in her ear. “I think Vincent’s hurt. He was conked on the head pretty hard. Can you do your magic? Help him out?”
Michelle swiveled around and looked at Vincent, who was almost collapsed a couple of steps above them. His head was bent down, he was panting hard, and looked like he was in pain.
She turned back to Rod and whispered, “I don’t know how to turn the healing stuff on. I’ll try.”
Michelle got up and went over to Vincent. She sat down on the step beside him. “I was so surprised to see you here. I’m grateful you came to help.”
“Couldn’t pass up a chance to see my favorite witch in action,” Vincent said.
Michelle just laughed and shook her head. “How’re you doing?”
“Okay. I’ll just rest here for a while. You all go on ahead. You don’t want to be in the vicinity when they let Omar loose,” Vincent said, his shaggy eyebrows pulled together in a frown. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Since that tape is stuck to Omar’s clothes, they might have to strip him naked to get it unstuck and off of him. Freeing him will take a while.”
“Don’t underestimate him,” Vincent said urgently. “You need to get away from here asap.”
“We’re not going anywhere without you. And I need your help. You told me I have healing abilities, and you got whacked pretty hard. I don’t know what to do, how to make it better.” As she spoke, she could see that Vincent had a big egg-shaped bump on the left side of his head. She touched it gently.
“Ahhh,” Vincent said.
Michelle pulled her hand away like it was on fire. “Did I hurt you?”
Vincent shook his head. “No, it actually feels better.”
“But I’m not doing anything,” Michelle said as she replaced her hand over the injury. “I wish I knew how to use the diamond. It has demonstrated some magical properties. It might help.”
“I felt better as soon as you put your hand on my head. The pain really has receded.”
Vincent was a professor. Michelle could tell he was going into teaching mode
